Russell Martin

[gurru991]

13 hours ago, Farmer Saint said:

Better squad than Leeds? Are you fucking mental? Leeds had a far better team than anyone in the League, they just had a shit manager.

I honestly thought that Leeds would replace Farke this summer but it seems they are going to give hime another crack at the Premier. Personally I feel that it is a mistake. 

[Farmer Saint]

1 minute ago, gurru991 said:

I honestly thought that Leeds would replace Farke this summer but it seems they are going to give hime another crack at the Premier. Personally I feel that it is a mistake. 

Absolutely - they will sack him very early on this season.

[aintforever]

1 hour ago, gurru991 said:

I honestly thought that Leeds would replace Farke this summer but it seems they are going to give hime another crack at the Premier. Personally I feel that it is a mistake. 

Possibly, but it’s a tough one. Farke is obviously a risk at that level but it is probably more of a risk to rip it all up and try and start afresh just after promotion. I think the best chance any promoted team has is to keep a cohesive team together and try to add a bit of quality.

[gurru991]

15 hours ago, aintforever said:

Possibly, but it’s a tough one. Farke is obviously a risk at that level but it is probably more of a risk to rip it all up and try and start afresh just after promotion. I think the best chance any promoted team has is to keep a cohesive team together and try to add a bit of quality.

The problem being that the Premier League is so tough that no club can afford a poor start & hope to recover. If you wait 12 to 15 games to replace the manager the next manager has an almost impossible task.

[johnnyboy]

3 hours ago, gurru991 said:

The problem being that the Premier League is so tough that no club can afford a poor start & hope to recover. If you wait 12 to 15 games to replace the manager the next manager has an almost impossible task.

Especially if that next manager is Ivan Juric !

[gurru991]

1 hour ago, johnnyboy said:

Especially if that next manager is Ivan Juric !

Or Rud Van Nistelrooy !

[skintsaint]

Apparently Russ looking at getting Johnny Cardoso as a first signing, seems ideal for his setup.

 

[Midfield_General]

Rusty off to a good start. Their first friendly of pre-season and they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and have just been booed off by their own fans at half-time 🤣

Fans already questioning their fitness, marking, closing down, defending and the fact that Martin's decided not to wear their precious club suit on the touchline. He has got a big, big task ahead of him. 

Edited 6 July, 2025 by Midfield_General

[beatlesaint]

12 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Rusty off to a good start. Their first friendly of pre-season and they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and have just been booed off by their own fans at half-time 🤣

This is their 3rd game, they haven’t won yet, not sure if they’ve even scored.

Not the greatest of starts but hey you don’t get any prizes for winning pre season friendlies !

[Midfield_General]

6 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

This is their 3rd game, they haven’t won yet, not sure if they’ve even scored.

Not the greatest of starts but hey you don’t get any prizes for winning pre season friendlies !

True. But when your first Champions League qualifier is in two weeks time, it helps 😉

Edit: 1-2. Shocking defending and goalkeeping from Brugge. 

Edited 6 July, 2025 by Midfield_General

[coalman]

24 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Rusty off to a good start. Their first friendly of pre-season and they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and have just been booed off by their own fans at half-time 🤣

Fans already questioning their fitness, marking, closing down, defending and the fact that Martin's decided not to wear their precious club suit on the touchline. He has got a big, big task ahead of him. 

Trust the system. It's part of a long term process. The result doesn't matter.

[beatlesaint]

5 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

True. But when your first Champions League qualifier is in two weeks time, it helps 😉

Edit: 1-2. Shocking defending and goalkeeping from Brugge. 

That first qualifier is absolutely huge for RM if he wants to stand any chance of getting their fans on board for a season of Russball

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Midfield_General said:

Rusty off to a good start. Their first friendly of pre-season and they were 2-0 down after 15 minutes and have just been booed off by their own fans at half-time 🤣

Fans already questioning their fitness, marking, closing down, defending and the fact that Martin's decided not to wear their precious club suit on the touchline. He has got a big, big task ahead of him. 

Is there a McFabrice or McLighthouse contrarian on their forum defending him regardless..?

#lightenupitsonlybanterFFS

#letitgo

Edited 6 July, 2025 by trousers

[Midfield_General]

FT: 2-2. They were better second half once Brugge took their foot off the gas but it was very noticeable that it really doesn't take much for that crowd to turn. If they're ready to boo them off in a pre-season friendly, then if he's not winning every week they're going to be on his back very quickly in the games that actually matter. 

[bangkoksaint]

Years ago when Dave Jones was manager a friend and I went to Norway for the pre-season tour. The team were based in Bergen but the team changed the date and location of their friendly and we couldn’t afford to go. Rangers were in town also and their supporters were off the scale with respect of their intensity and numbers. Anyway we got in with a group of them and went to watch them play a friendly a couple of hours away. The coach ride was something I’ve never experienced before or since following football!! Make no mistake whether it’s a friendly or not they expect to win and this start will be a nightmare for him.

[Midfield_General]

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

Is there a McFabrice or McLighthouse contrarian on their forum defending him regardless..?

#lightenupitsonlybanterFFS

#letitgo

Fergus29 certainly seems to be a big fan 😉

[trousers]

2 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

FT: 2-2

The unbeaten run world record attempt starts here...

[coalman]

Got to remember it's going to take Martin a while to coach the high risk no reward football into them so it's automatic and for their fitness levels to drop to the right level. It's not an overnight thing.

[Gloucester Saint]

27 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Fergus29 certainly seems to be a big fan 😉

Don’t forget about NotnowJimmy

[beatlesaint]

1 hour ago, Midfield_General said:

FT: 2-2. They were better second half once Brugge took their foot off the gas but it was very noticeable that it really doesn't take much for that crowd to turn. If they're ready to boo them off in a pre-season friendly, then if he's not winning every week they're going to be on his back very quickly in the games that actually matter. 

He’ll be getting a bit chippy most weeks then, didn’t take much for Blackmore to push his buttons and I’m bloody sure the local and national press will be a lot harder than the easy time Adam used to give him.

[Dr Who?]

I watched some of this. RM was clapping like mad if they kept the ball and passed it around with no gain. For me it looked like some of the players are not onside with the style of play as there was a lot of long passes out from some. Hard to tell as Rangers look sluggish and laboured, but that is what we were like a lot of the time. 

[saintant]

Read this on the Rangers fans forum today;

"I'm excited by Russell Martin talking about players not wasting time dropping deep and looking for the ball when their job is final third chance making/shot taking/chaos creation.

The new signings and targeted players are exactly what we've long needed to replace wingers who think it's their role to take the ball off the fullback, run 5-10 yards, check back/in and pass the ball to someone behind them to essentially kill all momentum of a move.

I feel we have a Manager who at least understands how we need to play and who we need to help us achieve it - that alone is a major shift in the right direction."

 

There was someone else suggesting Martin will play 4-2-3-1

They clearly have no clue about him.

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, saintant said:

Read this on the Rangers fans forum today;

"I'm excited by Russell Martin talking about players not wasting time dropping deep and looking for the ball when their job is final third chance making/shot taking/chaos creation.

The new signings and targeted players are exactly what we've long needed to replace wingers who think it's their role to take the ball off the fullback, run 5-10 yards, check back/in and pass the ball to someone behind them to essentially kill all momentum of a move.

I feel we have a Manager who at least understands how we need to play and who we need to help us achieve it - that alone is a major shift in the right direction."

 

There was someone else suggesting Martin will play 4-2-3-1

They clearly have no clue about him.

Oh dear! 😂

[RedArmy]

16 minutes ago, saintant said:

The new signings and targeted players are exactly what we've long needed to replace wingers who think it's their role to take the ball off the fullback, run 5-10 yards, check back/in and pass the ball to someone behind them to essentially kill all momentum of a move.

 

They have no idea what’s coming do they? 

[coalman]

32 minutes ago, saintant said:

Read this on the Rangers fans forum today;

"I'm excited by Russell Martin talking about players not wasting time dropping deep and looking for the ball when their job is final third chance making/shot taking/chaos creation.

The new signings and targeted players are exactly what we've long needed to replace wingers who think it's their role to take the ball off the fullback, run 5-10 yards, check back/in and pass the ball to someone behind them to essentially kill all momentum of a move.

I feel we have a Manager who at least understands how we need to play and who we need to help us achieve it - that alone is a major shift in the right direction."

 

There was someone else suggesting Martin will play 4-2-3-1

They clearly have no clue about him.

Can't blame the Rangers fans for living in hope. I remember the heady days after the playoffs final where I started believing that Martin had learned how to adapt his tactics to the situation and opposition. 

[Dusic]

Pretty sure in the Championship* we were the 2nd or 3rd top scorers and made the most amount of "big chances"

Certainly not the best defensive performers but if we are now slagging Martin for stuff like chance creation then perhaps somewhere along the line the actual reality has been overlooked in favour of just slagging him for everything?

*accurate representation of the conditions Rangers will face, e.g dominating the ball and having better players than most teams

[gio1saints]

25 minutes ago, coalman said:

Can't blame the Rangers fans for living in hope. I remember the heady days after the playoffs final where I started believing that Martin had learned how to adapt his tactics to the situation and opposition. 

Fair point.
A probably meaningless point of distinction to most ( but I feel it’s relevant)  is that RM did what he had to do under sufferance for the playoffs ie relax the dogma. Was not the way he wanted to play but he had to. 

That he then reverted to his predictable style of play in the EPL shows not that he had not “learned” anything - he’s far from stupid - but more a calculated decision which went wrong. His reasoning was that the quality of his squad was probably inadequate for survival so I think in his mind we could play a season like plucky Luton - and get relegated - or take a chance and see if the system that had generated play offs and unbeaten runs could overcome the reality of his relatively poor squad. And that even when it was obviously not working nor going to work he felt that we may as well get hung for a sheep as for a lamb. His name is become synonymous with a style of play. If he had chopped and changed likelihood was we still go down and he’s become anonymous instead of notorious. Call that ego or call it bloody minded defiance but I genuinely thought we had a shot playing that way in a league loaded against the smaller teams like us. 
He failed, we failed. I actually respect he held to his principles not  flip flopped like a no principles politician s we all despise. He lost. That season. The season before he won. This season with Rangers- who knows? 

Edited 9 July, 2025 by gio1saints

[saintant]

23 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Pretty sure in the Championship* we were the 2nd or 3rd top scorers and made the most amount of "big chances"

Certainly not the best defensive performers but if we are now slagging Martin for stuff like chance creation then perhaps somewhere along the line the actual reality has been overlooked in favour of just slagging him for everything?

*accurate representation of the conditions Rangers will face, e.g dominating the ball and having better players than most teams

Not sure where he's been slagged off for chance creation. More a case of being surprised that Ranger's fans don't seem aware that Martin's sides are notorious for getting the ball to the winger then turning back, recycling followed by rinse and repeat. We saw it all the time and it was frustrating to say the least. Maybe he's learned some new tactics but every time I've seen him interviewed he's repeated the same mantra and insisted he'll never change.

[beatlesaint]

16 minutes ago, saintant said:

Not sure where he's been slagged off for chance creation. More a case of being surprised that Ranger's fans don't seem aware that Martin's sides are notorious for getting the ball to the winger then turning back, recycling followed by rinse and repeat. We saw it all the time and it was frustrating to say the least. Maybe he's learned some new tactics but every time I've seen him interviewed he's repeated the same mantra and insisted he'll never change.

And why would he? Somehow its landed him a job at a top club. Things might change of course if he's binned off by Christmas but given the type of fella he is I doubt it. 

[Saint86]

I know we take the piss, but I think he'll do well at rangers - it's like managing man city or Liverpool relative to prem opposition, but for rangers Vs most of that league. They just won't ever deliver in Europe etc Vs better sides. But they'll forgive that in the grand scheme of things. It's a good move for all parties imo - and we aren't paying his wages 🙌

Edited 9 July, 2025 by Saint86

[Dusic]

47 minutes ago, saintant said:

Not sure where he's been slagged off for chance creation. More a case of being surprised that Ranger's fans don't seem aware that Martin's sides are notorious for getting the ball to the winger then turning back, recycling followed by rinse and repeat. We saw it all the time and it was frustrating to say the least. Maybe he's learned some new tactics but every time I've seen him interviewed he's repeated the same mantra and insisted he'll never change.

I don't remember Adam Armstrong doing that too many times from the right wing as part of a season where he scored over 20 goals.

[Weston Super Saint]

50 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

And why would he? Somehow its landed him a job at a top club. Things might change of course if he's binned off by Christmas but given the type of fella he is I doubt it. 

Does a 'top club' (ranked 2 of 2!) in Scotland count as a 'top club'?

[Midfield_General]

22 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Does a 'top club' (ranked 2 of 2!) in Scotland count as a 'top club'?

No. The Scottish PL isn't even rated in the top 30 leagues in Europe, and they can't even win that. They have a big ground and a lot of fans, and their two-horse race league means they get into Europe, but so do Total Network Solutions. In the wider context of the game they're mid-Championship level in terms of pull and spending power.

Look at the signings they've made so far that they're getting all excited about - Rothwell for £500,000, Fernandes from Peterborough for £2.9m, Aasgaard from Luton for £4m, Max Aarons on loan. They're mid-level Championship players. 

Edited 9 July, 2025 by Midfield_General

[saintant]

3 hours ago, Dusic said:

I don't remember Adam Armstrong doing that too many times from the right wing as part of a season where he scored over 20 goals.

How about the team in general? Can't be denied.

[ally_uk]

Geezer is a onion and play shit bland boring football..... 

[Fabrice29]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

How about the team in general? Can't be denied.

 

6 hours ago, saintant said:

Martin's sides are notorious for getting the ball to the winger then turning back, recycling followed by rinse and repeat.

 

[steve green]

On 09/07/2025 at 09:29, RedArmy said:

 

They have no idea what’s coming do they? 

 

It may be a while before they do. I didn't realise just how weirdly biased the Scots PL and other competitions are towards the old firm. -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crk6r7jk3lxo

 

If Russ manages to finish 3rd in anything up there he really does deserve a medal.

Laughing but aware this is where the English game is likely to go in future sadly.

[kitch]

On 09/07/2025 at 09:11, saintant said:

Read this on the Rangers fans forum today;

"I'm excited by Russell Martin talking about players not wasting time dropping deep and looking for the ball when their job is final third chance making/shot taking/chaos creation.

The new signings and targeted players are exactly what we've long needed to replace wingers who think it's their role to take the ball off the fullback, run 5-10 yards, check back/in and pass the ball to someone behind them to essentially kill all momentum of a move.

I feel we have a Manager who at least understands how we need to play and who we need to help us achieve it - that alone is a major shift in the right direction."

 

There was someone else suggesting Martin will play 4-2-3-1

They clearly have no clue about him.

Drinking before 10am isn't a good look.

[Weston Super Saint]

6 minutes ago, kitch said:

Drinking before 10am isn't a good look.

Maybe not.

But in Glasgow it's called "breakfast".

[Gloucester Saint]

37 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Maybe not.

But in Glasgow it's called "breakfast".

Then again, I’ve seen youngsters (early 20s) drinking on the trains at 7.30am recently. I understood it when the Teat match was on at Edgbaston and they had tickets but mid-week on a working day?

[Midfield_General]

Friendly result: Rangers 1-1 Barnsley. 

Goal conceded by having the entire team pushed up beyond the half way line and then the CB losing possession. One pass into the wide open spaces, striker ran clean through, goal. 

10 days until their first CL qualifier. Four pre-season games played, yet to win one. 

Edited 12 July, 2025 by Midfield_General

[coalman]

9 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Friendly result: Rangers 1-1 Barnsley. 

Goal conceded by having the entire team pushed up beyond the half way line and then the CB losing possession. One pass into the wide open spaces, striker ran clean through, goal. 

10 days until their first CL qualifier. Four pre-season games played, yet to win one. 

He's getting the bravery in possession going sooner than expected 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Friendly result: Rangers 1-1 Barnsley. 

Goal conceded by having the entire team pushed up beyond the half way line and then the CB losing possession. One pass into the wide open spaces, striker ran clean through, goal. 

10 days until their first CL qualifier. Four pre-season games played, yet to win one. 

Michael Sheen begins to prepare his Russell Martin beard for The Damned United spinoff: Old Firm Damnation.

[Verbal]

1 hour ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Michael Sheen begins to prepare his Russell Martin beard for The Damned United spinoff: Old Firm Damnation.

Looking forward to RM's version of Cloughie's "You can all put your medals in the bin because you won them by cheating."

[Holmes_and_Watson]

4 minutes ago, Verbal said:

Looking forward to RM's version of Cloughie's "You can all put your medals in the bin because you won them by cheating."

"Yes you were champions. But you weren't good champions. Not with below 70% possession."

 

Edit: Champions hasn't applied to Rangers for a while outside their seasonal aspirations.

Edited 12 July, 2025 by Holmes_and_Watson

[Verbal]

9 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

"Yes you were champions. But you weren't good champions. Not with below 70% possession."

 

Edit: Champions hasn't applied to Rangers for a while outside their seasonal aspirations.

Thus proving Karl Marx right again: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy then as farce." Let's see - I have a feeling it won't be far off.

[sockeye]

19 minutes ago, John B said:

So did we not have any coaches monitoring the players fitness levels last season

I don't know what was going on at Staplewood, but what I saw in every game last term was a strong start for 15 minutes before most of the squad began to blow smoke

[John B]

5 minutes ago, sockeye said:

I don't know what was going on at Staplewood, but what I saw in every game last term was a strong start for 15 minutes before most of the squad began to blow smoke

So what do you think the fitness coaches were doing sports science is pretty advanced these days perhaps they were told rushing about was not helping so conserve some energy

[coalman]

32 minutes ago, sockeye said:

I don't know what was going on at Staplewood, but what I saw in every game last term was a strong start for 15 minutes before most of the squad began to blow smoke

Which is clearly shown by who did the most sprints.

We also completed the second lowest number of pressing sequences of any team in the top flight and the lowest percentage of turnovers won by pressing resulting in a shot (21 shots created by pressing compared to the second lowest on 37 and highest being 68).

 

It doesn't help when the manager's view is that his team runs the most out of possession even if the data says the opposite.

"A team that's going to give everything. One thing that's always overlooked with our teams is they always run the most out of possession, because they have to if they want to dominate the ball and be aggressive."

Edited 19 July, 2025 by coalman

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, coalman said:

We also completed the second lowest number of pressing sequences of any team in the top flight and the lowest percentage of turnovers won by pressing resulting in a shot (21 shots created by pressing compared to the second lowest on 37 and highest being 68).

That's why I think Rangers fans are in for a bit of a shock. They are all under the impression that he's going to bring an intense pressing game, when in fact his teams do anything but.