Russell Martin

[Midfield_General]

44 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

I'd better watch one of their games while I have the chance.

The possession stat is there. But what is it that the players are letting Russ down on? Are they still at the lots of passes, but no transition stage? Is the scar tissue, preventing them from being brave enough to embrace the system?

Do they now lack the individuals capable of making the basics work - Baz keeper, Downes picking it up from defence, Smallbone as versatile link-up player, AA able to cleverly get goals from wide, or be on the end of cut backs? 

After us, and Rangers, I was thinking he'd be able to get a spine of of players with those attributes. Just as a starter. Both Rangers and Leicester have required overhauls. Perhaps that's left him without that spine, where he was fortunate to have it still there with us.

Part of his pitch is to transform a team, with automations. But he still needs other attributes in there. It's one of the disconnects from his pitch (getting the best out of what's there) to reality (getting in players who capable of building on his approach)

As they they look out at their 5 star hotel and training complex, they have to buy in to being more a hard working  Martin's MK Dons, than fallen PL super stars.

17th with a single win. The deliverable will be promotion. Let's see if the board back him. They will be there for a while at the price they've asked for the club. But when that promotion becomes impossible, experts were saying that administration, at least, is imminent. Everyone there will be well aware of that.

Edit: Watch the 4:23min highlights.
For three of them, got caught playing too high a line. They've not learned that racing back is a focused thing, to block and push players where Martin wants them. Instead, the full backs allow balls in for relatively easy finishes, against centre halves who are not keeping pace with the attack.

The fourth had plenty of defenders around it. None of them forced a decision, allowing Oxford to pass through them and score. 

What we've seen before. Players working on part of a system, leave massive gaps, because they can't/won't do the rest.

And that can be the coaching too. Poor Holgate was under orders on what to do, making his appearances a horror show. He'd have angered Russ, hoofing it, but wouldn't have conceded 2 goals.

 

The further down the leagues he slips, the worse the quality of players he has to work with, and the less likely his ‘system’ is to work. And it didn’t work to start with. 

[stknowle]

53 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

Didn’t take long….

 

Can’t be far away from the sarcastic hand clap to his own fans. The point of no return.

[SaintsBarry74]

He should become a career coach.

I’d like to know how this fraud keeps landing these gigs, despite his horrid track record.

[Lord Duckhunter]

16 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Hull up to second in the PL

 

Edit: wrong thread 

No, it’s  the right thread. Remember there were nods telling us it wasn’t Lego’s fault, no team could stay in the premier league, particularly those that came up via play offs. Every single year, other sides show us that those 12 points were absolutely pathetic and Lego head set this club back far more than Nathan Jones, Ivan or the other assorted numpties which followed him. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

5 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

No, it’s  the right thread. Remember there were nods telling us it wasn’t Lego’s fault, no team could stay in the premier league, particularly those that came up via play offs. Every single year, other sides show us that those 12 points were absolutely pathetic and Lego head set this club back far more than Nathan Jones, Ivan or the other assorted numpties which followed him. 

Don't think we've ever had such a thick-skinned, arrogant manager and yet we accepted it. At C.Palace, Nathan Jones was told in no uncertain terms by sections of our support that we didn't like his style of football, yet I recall trekking up to Huddersfield and Blackburn and watching absolute bollocks yet we stayed silent and were told to trust the tactics. And because he got us in to the playoffs, he had his apologists.

He deserves all the misfortune he gets but like flotsam, if Leicester get rid of him, he'll resurface somewhere else.

[coalman]

Masterclass. It was the energy and he should've kept experienced players on instead of putting on kids who made bad decisions.

[Midfield_General]

Ran away down the tunnel at full time too and let his team of youngsters take all the shit from the fans

Edited 16 hours ago by Midfield_General

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, Stu Man Do said:

You get what you deserve! Remember him fawning over Russell in an interview which was no doubt part of his “rehabilitation “ tour before getting jobs again.

They're probably very much aligned politically.

[LGTL]

Since we won the playoff final, he has managed to win three league games. Three. 

I wonder if Fabrice is still wanking him off? 

[Zorba]

14 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

 

[Saint Scott]

3 hours ago, TheSoundman said:

Why do some posters tell other posters they shouldn't be interested in a subject and they should move on.

It's just weird. I don't see a Will Still, Nathan Jones, Ivan Juric, Ralph Hassenhuttl thread constantly posted in.

He royally fucked up in the PL and is married to his bizarre tactics, but he also gave us one of our most enjoyable seasons in the last decade

[Harry_SFC]

4 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

It's just weird. I don't see a Will Still, Nathan Jones, Ivan Juric, Ralph Hassenhuttl thread constantly posted in.

He royally fucked up in the PL and is married to his bizarre tactics, but he also gave us one of our most enjoyable seasons in the last decade

Its probably to do with his stubborness and arrogance and how he was basically gaslighting the fans towards the end of his tenure. 

[Colinjb]

4 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

Its probably to do with his stubborness and arrogance and how he was basically gaslighting the fans towards the end of his tenure. 

This is it. We knew what we were watching. We could see what was wrong.

And this bloke had the sneer of, 'No, you are the idiots.... It's not me' all along.

So, I will gladly take delight in his misery.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

The further down the leagues he slips, the worse the quality of players he has to work with, and the less likely his ‘system’ is to work. And it didn’t work to start with. 

He did have an upward trajectory on his way here.

Now, it can be (and is, on every one of his club's forums 🙂 ) argued that it was far from great when he was at those clubs. But he left to go upwards.

In his time at MK Dons in L1, would have had fewer resources than Leicester. He may have to go back to his MK Dons thinking. 14 new players it was said on the interview. That was the opportunity to bring in players to suit his approach. He could be looking at that, to get those basics in place, and use the resources to have individual talent to get out of the league.

From the highlights, his team today lacked that awareness and fight that he needs, both individually and as a unit. If they're caught up the park, they need runners to force attackers into poor shooting angles. They need to be aware when full backs are pushed up, or inverted, and provide cover.

None of that for those goals. Caught out by straightforward, but well drilled, counters from Oxford, and lose 3 goals. 

Martin spends a lot of time hammering in certain things. But the players have to not only be receptive to those, they have to have the energy to keep their heads during a match, for all the rest. 

[Mboto Gorge]

Leicester fans are absolutely fuming with his post match interview where he takes Zero responsibility and blames the young players for the defeat. They obviously still don’t know him very well yet. As has been said earlier, he was the sole reason we completely embarrassed ourselves in the premier league . He knew full well we were being embarrassed every week but he stuck to his guns on the style for Russell Martin’s benefit rather than Southampton FCs. Far more interested in his image and was happy for the club to be absolutely ridiculed and battered every single week and mocked in the media, in the process. There is a reason only one other side in 34 years of premier league football have done as badly as we did.  The bloke is an absolute prick 

Edited 15 hours ago by Mboto Gorge

[Holmes_and_Watson]

26 minutes ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Leicester fans are absolutely fuming with his post match interview where he takes Zero responsibility and blames the young players for the defeat. They obviously still don’t know him very well yet. As has been said earlier, he was the sole reason we completely embarrassed ourselves in the premier league . He knew full well we were being embarrassed every week but he stuck to his guns on the style for Russell Martin’s benefit rather than Southampton FCs. Far more interested in his image and was happy for the club to be absolutely ridiculed and battered every single week and mocked in the media, in the process. There is a reason only one other side in 34 years of premier league football have done as badly as we did.  The bloke is an absolute prick 

There's a bit in the video @coalman put up above, where he does blame himself for taking off two experienced players and replacing them with youngsters. He wanted to bring on some energy, but they lost even more control of the game.

He's clearly been through all this pressure before. As self contained as he is in his interview bubbles, he seems even more relaxed after a drubbing than before. 

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Saint Scott said:

It's just weird. I don't see a Will Still, Nathan Jones, Ivan Juric, Ralph Hassenhuttl thread constantly posted in.

He royally fucked up in the PL and is married to his bizarre tactics, but he also gave us one of our most enjoyable seasons in the last decade

Fuck talking about saints being shit for hours on end. This thread is my safe place. 

[MB]

Seen on X they have called emergency board meeting 😂 didn’t take long did it Russ 

[Patrick Bateman]

4 hours ago, coalman said:

Masterclass. It was the energy and he should've kept experienced players on instead of putting on kids who made bad decisions.

I started watching this and had to stop it. PTSD from his time here, but also, he is REALLY FUCKING irritating. 

[jarhead5]

10 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

I started watching this and had to stop it. PTSD from his time here, but also, he is REALLY FUCKING irritating. 

PTSD or scar tissue?

[CSA96]

 

Edited 12 hours ago by CSA96

[Weston Super Saint]

8 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

There's a bit in the video @coalman put up above, where he does blame himself for taking off two experienced players and replacing them with youngsters. He wanted to bring on some energy, but they lost even more control of the game.

He's clearly been through all this pressure before. As self contained as he is in his interview bubbles, he seems even more relaxed after a drubbing than before. 

Although to be fair, just after he says 'and MAYBE that is on me', he then says 'but that's no excuse' and goes on to blame the young inexperienced players for being shit.

He's gaslighting Leicester after just 5 games.  

[AlexLaw76]

if he gets bombed out of Leicester....what next?

Something like Bromley, or Exeter?

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

9 hours ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Leicester fans are absolutely fuming with his post match interview where he takes Zero responsibility and blames the young players for the defeat. They obviously still don’t know him very well yet. As has been said earlier, he was the sole reason we completely embarrassed ourselves in the premier league . He knew full well we were being embarrassed every week but he stuck to his guns on the style for Russell Martin’s benefit rather than Southampton FCs. Far more interested in his image and was happy for the club to be absolutely ridiculed and battered every single week and mocked in the media, in the process. There is a reason only one other side in 34 years of premier league football have done as badly as we did.  The bloke is an absolute prick 

Is it because we weren't brave enough?

[Midfield_General]

9 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

He's clearly been through all this pressure before. As self contained as he is in his interview bubbles, he seems even more relaxed after a drubbing than before. 

I mean, he’s won a grand total of four league games across three clubs since May 2024. He’s a serial defeat specialist so he’s pretty used to talking about it by now. 
 

[Osvaldorama]

8 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

I mean, he’s won a grand total of four league games across three clubs since May 2024. He’s a serial defeat specialist so he’s pretty used to talking about it by now. 
 

It’s not the manager, it’s the players. The manager has very little impact. 
 

At least that’s what I was told on here? 

[SaintsBarry74]

All about the stats...... except for goals of course.

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

if he gets bombed out of Leicester....what next?

Something like Bromley, or Exeter?

It’s not his fault the players aren’t good enough for his philosophy if he as at a top club it’d be very different

[skintsaint]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

if he gets bombed out of Leicester....what next?

Something like Bromley, or Exeter?

FGR

[Holmes_and_Watson]

40 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

I mean, he’s won a grand total of four league games across three clubs since May 2024. He’s a serial defeat specialist so he’s pretty used to talking about it by now. 
 

Living proof that the scar tissue can be overcome.

[beatlesaint]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

if he gets bombed out of Leicester....what next?

Something like Bromley, or Exeter?

Sky Sports every Saturday afternoon telling Premier League managers where they are going wrong 😂 

[SW5 SAINT]

18 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Sky Sports every Saturday afternoon telling Premier League managers where they are going wrong 😂 

I don’t think even Sky would be able to withstand the switch off from GSS in Swansea, Southampton, Glasgow and Leicester…..

[Midfield_General]

11 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

He did have an upward trajectory on his way here.

Now, it can be (and is, on every one of his club's forums 🙂 ) argued that it was far from great when he was at those clubs. But he left to go upwards.

In his time at MK Dons in L1, would have had fewer resources than Leicester. He may have to go back to his MK Dons thinking. 14 new players it was said on the interview. That was the opportunity to bring in players to suit his approach. He could be looking at that, to get those basics in place, and use the resources to have individual talent to get out of the league.

From the highlights, his team today lacked that awareness and fight that he needs, both individually and as a unit. If they're caught up the park, they need runners to force attackers into poor shooting angles. They need to be aware when full backs are pushed up, or inverted, and provide cover.

None of that for those goals. Caught out by straightforward, but well drilled, counters from Oxford, and lose 3 goals. 

Martin spends a lot of time hammering in certain things. But the players have to not only be receptive to those, they have to have the energy to keep their heads during a match, for all the rest. 

Fair points but also worth noting that since he’s been at Leicester he has brought in 14 new players there too - 10 perms and 4 loans. 

They haven’t got a pot to piss in so they aren’t big money signings but he knew going in what their financial situation was so he can’t blame that. 

He’s doing what he always does - coaching into them the only system he knows, regardless of whether it works, is right for the game in front of him or suits the players at his disposal. Then trying to shrug off responsibility when it goes horribly, horribly wrong yet again. 

Personally I hope he keeps getting jobs and keeps doing it, because it’s fucking hilarious.

Edited 3 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Football Special]

9 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

I started watching this and had to stop it. PTSD from his time here, but also, he is REALLY FUCKING irritating. 

Sounds like you need to do relaxing yoga with Russ bro , release the tension 

[Colinjb]

Just now, Football Special said:

Sounds like you need to do relaxing yoga with Russ bro , release the tension 

[Turkish]

With him and Nathan Jones we must have had two of the most delusional, egotistical managers for decades. They both seem to think they’re the dogs bollocks, constantly spouting off in the media how great they are with nothing whatsoever to back it up. They both crack me up with the stuff they come out with. Jones yesterday going on about Stoke fans should wish he goes there every week as they’re louder when he there 😂

[Saint_clark]

10 hours ago, CSA96 said:

 

He has an incredible ability to turn mild mannered fan bases into the most toxic environments.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

4 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

if he gets bombed out of Leicester....what next?

Something like Bromley, or Exeter?

Have Bromley and Exeter fans done something wrong?

13 hours ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Leicester fans are absolutely fuming with his post match interview where he takes Zero responsibility and blames the young players for the defeat. They obviously still don’t know him very well yet. As has been said earlier, he was the sole reason we completely embarrassed ourselves in the premier league . He knew full well we were being embarrassed every week but he stuck to his guns on the style for Russell Martin’s benefit rather than Southampton FCs. Far more interested in his image and was happy for the club to be absolutely ridiculed and battered every single week and mocked in the media, in the process. There is a reason only one other side in 34 years of premier league football have done as badly as we did.  The bloke is an absolute prick 

From his perspective, he said the club, and he, knew they were very probably going straight back down. That seemed to be due to resources and recruitment in progress as part of the project.

Part of the buy in to what a tremendous amount of scar tissue and embedding the process is getting everyone to believe how impossible it all is in the PL. Until Sunderland do well, or Hull start a season well.

I, like Dragan's foot against a chair, remember that Spurs game. After the first half drubbing under his style, he told the players just not to make it embarrassing. Sorry, more embarrassing. They were much better second half, not completely beholden to his style. An small indicator of how better the season could have been with some pragmatism.

4 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

He's gaslighting Leicester after just 5 games.  

Probably my first post on the hint of his arrival was about his time at Norwich. As captain, or club captain, when things were going wrong, he would do the post match interviews. In every one, he was taking part in a game that must have just happened in a parallel universe. Absolutely no bearing on what had just happened. regardless of the underlying system or process Norwich were reaching for. 

But in his head, even then, he was seeing his dream team playing what's now an outmoded system. That they were a million miles from it, didn't stop him trying to convince people that the steps to get there were small ones. He's been consistent, if nothing else.

He, and his employers just don't realise that it might not be worth the effort of trying to get it working, considering the time it might take (and it's only a might), how little players and fans like a lot of it, and how unsuccessful it can be in a results driven business. 

2 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Fair points but also worth noting that since he’s been at Leicester he has brought in 14 new players there too - 10 perms and 4 loans. 

They haven’t got a pot to piss in so they aren’t big money signings but he knew going in what their financial situation was so he can’t blame that. 

He’s doing what he always does - coaching into them the only system he knows, regardless of whether it works, is right for the game in front of him or suits the players at his disposal. Then trying to shrug off responsibility when it goes horribly, horribly wrong yet again. 

Personally I hope he keeps getting jobs and keeps doing it, because it’s fucking hilarious.

Agreed. If you are in a position for an overhaul, at least have a scouting system that knows exactly what type of players you're going to need. FoxesTalk has plenty of posts about the club's possession based obsession, and Martin being something they've been after for years. So, it's not as though they couldn't have been set up for it. 

To have that opportunity, end up with a squad that looks lost, and then blame them falls on him, and the disjointed club that allowed it. But pretty much him.

Had they got him last season, at least he would have had a higher level of quality players to paper over things, while he got some of his  other ideas into place. But then, the club was probably a sinking basket case even then. 

It's increasingly unlikely. But I'd like to see the system work somewhere. Just out of curiosity. Little RussDrones, resetting after every move, ignoring the momentum of the match and the atmosphere. 🙂 

 

3 hours ago, Osvaldorama said:

It’s not the manager, it’s the players. The manager has very little impact. 
 

At least that’s what I was told on here? 

Obviously following that accurate piece of advice, one of the Beeb's stat people came out with a new manager at most making the difference of 7 points or something. He was ridiculed for it. But then Alex Ferguson called in and apologised for being a charlatan. I didn't even know Sir Alex was into Britpop. 🙂

 

[whelk]

Think they said on Sky that RM has only won one league game in each of his last 3 seasons so 3 in total.

[Cuddles]

He's such a fraud 😂

[Sarnia Cherie]

Poor Russ. Wasn't his fault, doesn't deserve it. Never at fault. He blames the players fitness levels. That comes from intense training. Just ask managers and coaches like Iraola. Saints were the most unfit team in the Prem under Martin, by his own admission. Never mind, he will soon be trousering a few million smackers to help him get over the way the players and supporters have let him down.

[Turkish]

 

[Midfield_General]

39 minutes ago, whelk said:

Think they said on Sky that RM has only won one league game in each of his last 3 seasons so 3 in total.

You are right. I thought it was one at Saints, two at Rangers and one so far at Leicester, but he only won one league game at Rangers.

Out of seven.

In the Scottish league. 

With the club that's won the league 55 times. 

[Midfield_General]

Leicester considering Russell Martin future

Graeme Bailey @GraemeBailey·2026-09-06·Updated 2026-09-06

Leicester City are understood to be considering the future of Russell Martin after a poor start to their League One campaign, @TEAMtalk understands.

Martin was appointed in the summer following the Foxes’ relegation from the Championship, with Leicester widely regarded as one of the favourites for promotion.

However, they have won just one of their opening five league games, while home defeats to Burton Albion and Oxford United have piled the pressure on the manager.

The defeat to Oxford proved particularly damaging, with home supporters turning on Martin and chanting “you’re getting sacked in the morning” during the game.

TEAMtalk understands Leicester’s hierarchy are now assessing the situation and considering Martin’s position as the club looks to respond to the disappointing start.

Martin is facing a battle to save his job, with the pressure building after a run of results that falls well short of what Leicester expected when they appointed him.

The situation represents another difficult chapter for Martin since guiding Southampton to promotion via the Championship play-off final against Leeds in 2024.

Since then, across three different clubs, Martin has won just three league games.

He managed just one league victory at Southampton before being dismissed in late 2024, while his subsequent spell at Rangers lasted only 122 days and again produced just one league win.

Now, with only one league victory since taking charge at Leicester, the pressure is mounting once more.

The Foxes went into the season expecting to challenge at the top of League One, but their early results have fallen well short of those expectations.

With supporters now openly expressing their frustration and the club’s hierarchy assessing the situation, Martin’s position is firmly under scrutiny.