Will Still

[Greenridge]

1 minute ago, Maggie May said:

I’m hoping we will have a massive clear out. Regardless of who we bring in under Still, it’s imperative we shift a few players who we know are not up to standard and never will be. 

We've tried the 'massive clear out' approach and, baring the odd exception, pretty much always seem to replace players with even lesser quality...

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, Greenridge said:

We've tried the 'massive clear out' approach and, baring the odd exception, pretty much always seem to replace players with even lesser quality...

The current recruitment team haven't had a window yet. Harsh to judge them on the mistakes of others.

[Wiggles31]

I’d go so far as to completely gut the first team, minus only a couple of the younger ones. We need to get the long term vision back of building a team capable of stepping up to the Premier League (strong, athletic and coached to a tee like Thomas Frank at Brentford). Even if that means 2-3 season to get promoted. Otherwise it would be another yoyo scenario. 

[Greenridge]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

The current recruitment team haven't had a window yet. Harsh to judge them on the mistakes of others.

Where did I judge them Matthew? Don't worry, it's a rhetorical question.

[Turkish]

8 minutes ago, Maggie May said:

I’m hoping we will have a massive clear out. Regardless of who we bring in under Still, it’s imperative we shift a few players who we know are not up to standard and never will be. 

The last few years have shown how hard that is. Weve probably got 5 players other premier league teams would want, one of them is out of contract. The rest aren’t premier league level but even with their wage reduction will be on money out of the reach of most clubs in Europe and definitely other championship clubs. So you’re either looking at loans or selling cheap. Remember how hard it was to get rid of Hoedt, Lemina, Tall Paul, we had to pay Carillo to leave FFS. 

[austsaint]

15 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Sulemana has been here 2.5 seasons and shown apart from a couple of decent games that he is anything more than a sprinter with a trick. Mane wss only here 2 seasons, he took a few months to settle and we didn’t change manager while he was here. Koeman signed him and Mane left the same summer Koeman did. Other than them both being African there is nothing similar about them

There were a couple of hiccups early in Mane’s Saints career, yet you could see very early on that he was a special talent.   From memory it was an early game v Arsenal where he drew a penalty; made several attacking runs and troubled the Arsenal defence.   He remains among the very top Saints players in my 35 years watching the Club.  Sulemana divides opinion, but given his transfer fee, has been disappointing….. he’s more than a sprinter with a trick though.   Watching his spirited performance on Sunday, it was notable that no other Saints attacking player could keep up when he made several counter attacking runs.  Despite what some posters claim, he was wilfully overlooked by Manager Martin.

Given that Will Still knows Sulemana well, it wouldn’t surprise if he remained and played the Championship season.  He may yet, belatedly repay some of that record transfer fee.  He’s no Sadio Mane though.

[Miltonaggro]

Watching the interviews with Still and three things that strongly come across are positivity, momentum and determination. This is beyond the usual plaudits and PR on joining we had from the likes of Jones and Martin - gut feeling, but there appears to be some unusual depth of character and good fit.  As a manager I think this could well translate as ‘I’m ambitious with a working model to succeed and only want players who are 100% aligned’. Saints fans have been desperate to have a truly committed and competive side for years and I think we may well see one this season. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

27 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Sulemana has been here 2.5 seasons and shown apart from a couple of decent games that he is anything more than a sprinter with a trick. Mane wss only here 2 seasons, he took a few months to settle and we didn’t change manager while he was here. Koeman signed him and Mane left the same summer Koeman did. Other than them both being African there is nothing similar about them

Nothing similar about them, other than the fact they’re both attacking forwards that didn’t live up to expectations initially. You forgot to mention that Mane was part of a MUCH better team which must have helped and sped up his development. 

Look, I’m not saying for one moment that Sulemana is the panacea to our goal drought etc. and I’m the one that’s been advocating a complete clear out, however it is true he has been mismanaged over a period of time and there may be some value in giving him another season under Still’s guidance/system in what some claim is an ‘easier’ league. He’s been no worse than the £100m valued Dibling, so what’s the better sell - £15m for Sulemana or £50m for Dibling in terms of re-shaping the squad?

[macca155]

1 minute ago, Matthew Le God said:

The current recruitment team haven't had a window yet. Harsh to judge them on the mistakes of others.

I don't think the original comment is necessarily about the competency of the recruitment team, although they clearly didn't do well.

I think clear outs can be very cathartic for the fans, but inevitably the replacements aren't Messi, and disappointment looms.

We have several players who get dogs abuse from some on here. In reality they are good pros, just not up to Prem level. Get rid we all shout, makes us feel better, but what then.

Finding improvements who are at least as good, and can prosper at a a higher level is a difficult task. I guess this is why the club bought players like Sando. To survive in the Prem you need to take  developing, decent young players with you.

That of course is a gamble but it really is the only way. Good business model as well.

 

 

[Saint Neil]

57 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

That's three chaps who've really rated a YouTube video that has been taken down, and I cannot see the title of to search for it! What was it called? What was the theme? Does anyone have a working link for it?

https://youtu.be/lwfopMpKXHU?si=66xwE7VenGjic7VO

You have to watch it on youtube doesn't work via saintsweb.

[LuckyNumber7]

A couple of years old, but this is an interesting watch if you want to know more about his background.

 

[BILLYDO]

I’m an eternal optimist and believe (or want to believe) that Will will storm the Championship winning with the highest points tally ever. More than this I believe he will not only get us promoted but keep us up in the first year. Call me an old fool but I got to believe. 

[Patrick Bateman]

38 minutes ago, Saint Neil said:

https://youtu.be/lwfopMpKXHU?si=66xwE7VenGjic7VO

You have to watch it on youtube doesn't work via saintsweb.

13 mins in, the gentle bollocking is brilliant!  What he says applies to MOST of our team this year, I'm optimistic! 

[Midfield_General]

I've now watched and listened to every video that has been posted of him talking and working and I'm so much more excited. I certainly feel like I know a bit more about him than I did a week ago, and it's good to see beyond the silly headlines about how he only got jobs by being good at Football Manager, which is complete bollocks. The behind the scenes one of him working with the players and the High Performance one of him talking about his career to date are the most interesting two. 

He is incredibly blunt. He is searingly honest, extremely self-deprecating and completely transparent about things that working football managers almost never talk about, like self-doubt and what he struggles with. At the same time, he is obviously spectacularly driven and has great faith in what he is able to deliver if he is allowed to work with the freedom that he needs to build the working environment he wants. The grounded way he speaks when compared to a loon like Jones or a smoothie like Martin is like he's from a different planet. No platitudes or cliches, just answering questions honestly. 

It will be very interesting to see if the players take to him and his demeanour. I'm sure some will look down on him, and he's certainly not going to be turning up with a glamour model on his arm and being best banteriffic mates with them. For the ones that don't, I hope the club back him to the hilt to do whatever he feels is necessary to let him create the group dynamic that he needs. I hope he gets off to a good start, but if he doesn't, I hope that both the club and the fans treat it as a long-term project and give him time to do his work. 

This will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge of his career so far, and I have no idea if it will work out or not, but to me his brutally honest, 'anti-managerspeak-bullshit' demeanour comes across incredibly well, and the almost unanimous praise from the fans of the clubs he has worked with in the past has to be a very good sign. The comments sections below each video are basically just hundreds of fans of his previous clubs saying what a fantastic person and manager he is. Compare and contrast that with the feedback that most past managers get. 

It's not a traditional appointment for sure, but for me it's a very exciting one, and who knows whether it will be a success, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun finding out. If I had to stick my neck out I think our fans generally tend to appreciate a grafter who doesn't take any shit from the players, and in that respect I think he's got the potential to become something of a cult hero, in the vein of Strachan. 

Edited yesterday at 19:34 by Midfield_General

[sfc4prem]

The videos are great, gives a real insight into his personality and management style.

I'm wary though that if Russell were to create a short documentary on his management, he'd be able to make himself look like a superb man manager, theoretician and human, I'm sure.

[Midfield_General]

3 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

The videos are great, gives a real insight into his personality and management style.

I'm wary though that if Russell were to create a short documentary on his management, he'd be able to make himself look like a superb man manager, theoretician and human, I'm sure.

True, but what is inarguable is that he has come up the hard way with no previous reputation or contacts in the game to give him a leg up, and no head start as a 'name' from a starry playing career to fall back on. He has come from being an absolute nobody, sat in his bedroom in his mum's house writing off to clubs asking to be given a chance, to going toe-to-toe with Mbappe's PSG, through sheer determination, hard work and by consistently delivering results when he's been given the opportunity. 

The hundreds of comments below each video from fans of his previous clubs, almost unanimously positive, wishing him well and tipping him for the very top, are also a bit different to the way that some of our former managers are talked about! Or maybe French / Belgian supporters are just nicer than we are... 

Anyway, it's definitely another step up for him, and time will tell, but for me, just having a gut reaction that isn't 'oh god, they've obviously found another muppet' feels like a nice step back in the right direction after the horror show of the last 12 months. 

Edited yesterday at 13:45 by Midfield_General

[Wade Garrett]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

The last few years have shown how hard that is. Weve probably got 5 players other premier league teams would want, one of them is out of contract. The rest aren’t premier league level but even with their wage reduction will be on money out of the reach of most clubs in Europe and definitely other championship clubs. So you’re either looking at loans or selling cheap. Remember how hard it was to get rid of Hoedt, Lemina, Tall Paul, we had to pay Carillo to leave FFS. 

Selling cheap at least gets the shite off the books.

[Whitey Grandad]

6 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Selling cheap at least gets the shite off the books.

And saves their wages. 

[Gloucester Saint]

7 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Selling cheap at least gets the shite off the books.

It’ll still require large levels of subsidisation though in wages and lost bonuses etc as outside of the PL, not many other leagues including the one we are back in can afford to match what these flops are on.

Edited yesterday at 10:52 by Gloucester Saint

[Turkish]

40 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Selling cheap at least gets the shite off the books.

 

34 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

And saves their wages. 

Yep but we’ve been unwilling to do that in the past and as @Gloucester Saint says still need to subsidise transfer fees that are owned to who we bought from, paying off contracts etc 

[AlexLaw76]

Surely Sully and Paul only required £4-6m each to now break even from an accounting PoV.
 

That has to be achievable????

[Gloucester Saint]

12 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Surely Sully and Paul only required £4-6m each to now break even from an accounting PoV.
 

That has to be achievable????

Onachu very likely judging by Beskitas ongoing interest, maybe not too much more than that top figure. Sulemana is hard to value, very quick but the data in terms of end-product is quite appalling. Big clubs in smaller leagues - Benfica, Ajax, Old Firm - might look at the level of instability around him and believe he could improve significantly with a team structure in which case £6-10m is possible. 2 years left on his contract as opposed to Onachu’s one year which may nudge the value up. If nothing else he could be an impact player to begin with.

Edited yesterday at 12:42 by Gloucester Saint

[Wade Garrett]

3 hours ago, BILLYDO said:

I’m an eternal optimist and believe (or want to believe) that Will will storm the Championship winning with the highest points tally ever. More than this I believe he will not only get us promoted but keep us up in the first year. Call me an old fool but I got to believe. 

You’re absolutely right.  We’re going to fucking walk the Championship next season.  Fucking walk it.

[Guan 2.0]

23 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

YouTube version...

 

 

First of all, thank you for posting it here. 

 

Secondly, the ginger hair and mumbling makes me think of Shy Ronnie. 

 

 

But after the miserable season we've all just endured, I'm willing to give the man a chance, especially given that his record is reasonable, and his appointment has been made before the end of the season, giving time for a summer of Assessment, transfers that are targeted rather than reactive, and a full pre season to bed in tactical play.

 

Here's hoping for a brighter future! Good Luck Will, and Good luck to us watching!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

6 hours ago, BILLYDO said:

I’m an eternal optimist and believe (or want to believe) that Will will storm the Championship winning with the highest points tally ever. More than this I believe he will not only get us promoted but keep us up in the first year. Call me an old fool but I got to believe. 

Got to admire his Willpower to succeed. 🙂

 

[Chez]

I like what i've seen in the videos. Describing himself as the ugliest manager in the league is the kind of self-deprecation I can warm too when faced with non stop hyperbole and bullshit from most of the frauds in management positions.

It's a massive and very difficult job with little room for error, but if the club can help shape a decent squad for him, I am hopeful he can get the best out of them. After the 9 month shitshow, it's time for some optimism. 

[Matthew Le God]

 

 

[hypochondriac]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

I like what i've seen in the videos. Describing himself as the ugliest manager in the league is the kind of self-deprecation I can warm too when faced with non stop hyperbole and bullshit from most of the frauds in management positions.

It's a massive and very difficult job with little room for error, but if the club can help shape a decent squad for him, I am hopeful he can get the best out of them. After the 9 month shitshow, it's time for some optimism. 

Good post. I personally hated Martin's faux self depreciation as you could tell he proper loved himself. 

[Crab Lungs]

The ligue un documentary really shows him as a ‘boss’.

The other interviews, if you watch them before the one above can be misleading; he seems a bit awkward, evidently conscious of how he looks and that led me to believe he’d be gobbled up by our knobhead players.

Watching the doc, absolutely zero chance of that. He’s a boss. In his environment, he comes alive. I love his honesty and I’m a lot more hopeful now than I was 2 weeks ago.

[The Kraken]

15 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Good post. I personally hated Martin's faux self depreciation as you could tell he proper loved himself. 

Thats one big thing that annoyed me with him in our championship season (and I pretty much enjoyed most of that ride). If we lost or played below par he’d say “that’s entirely one me, that’s my fault”. But then the question of resolving it, not making the same mistakes?  “I believe in the system and we’ll keep doing it”. 

[hypochondriac]

5 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

Thats one big thing that annoyed me with him in our championship season (and I pretty much enjoyed most of that ride). If we lost or played below par he’d say “that’s entirely one me, that’s my fault”. But then the question of resolving it, not making the same mistakes?  “I believe in the system and we’ll keep doing it”. 

It was just words and he knew what to say but you could he tell he didn't believe that at all. Hence the getting all angry and rude with the media when they asked him any sort of probing questions. It was a big improvement on Nathan Jones who wasn't intelligent enough to know what to say but it was still grating. One plus for Will is he seems quite transparent and I believe what he says and I don't think it's an act. If he has a shit run though then all of this will count for very little in the end. 

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, Crab Lungs said:

The ligue un documentary really shows him as a ‘boss’.

The other interviews, if you watch them before the one above can be misleading; he seems a bit awkward, evidently conscious of how he looks and that led me to believe he’d be gobbled up by our knobhead players.

Watching the doc, absolutely zero chance of that. He’s a boss. In his environment, he comes alive. I love his honesty and I’m a lot more hopeful now than I was 2 weeks ago.

Which documentary is that? 

[Crab Lungs]

1 minute ago, Saint_clark said:

Which documentary is that? 

 

[Matthew Le God]

5 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Which documentary is that? 

 

 

 

[Saint_clark]

@Crab Lungs @Matthew Le God cheers gents.

[The Kraken]

Well done Crag Lungs for posting that scoop first 👍

[Pamplemousse]

Something MLG might want to get involved in to resolve, there's an editing row going on the wikipedia page for next season's Championship, on the list of managers, someone keeps editing Will Still's nationality to Belgian and then someone changes it back to English, and so on. Quite amusing how petty some people can get about this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_EFL_Championship

[Give it to Ron]

9 hours ago, Crab Lungs said:

 

I loved some of that “don’t over complicate….keep it simple….angles” after Poundland Pep and that Jones training video talking like schoolboys this was great to watch.

Thanks CL for posting….interesting.

[Convict Colony]

Just an additionaly comment, my mate is a Rheims fan (he went to cup final last weekend v PSG) and he said Will Still is absolutley awesome.

Make of that what you will 😁

[Give it to Ron]

If I have one big concern of Still is his age 32 will the players listen, work and respect him?

I haven’t seen anything to suggest was a problem at RC Lens though.

i wonder if we will see new coaches alongside that may help with this as brothers not joining.

Edited 15 hours ago by Give it to Ron

[coalman]

3 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Just an additionaly comment, my mate is a Rheims fan (he went to cup final last weekend v PSG) and he said Will Still is absolutley awesome.

Make of that what you will 😁

I choose to make of it that next season is going to be great.

[Patrick Bateman]

46 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

If I have one big concern of Still is his age 32 will the players listen, work and respect him?

I haven’t seen anything to suggest was a problem at RC Lens though.

i wonder if we will see new coaches alongside that may help with this as brothers not joining.

Didn't seem an issue at Brighton with Welbeck having a great season playing for a manager younger (first example I could think of, but there are many) - oh and James Milner! (actually now don't shoot me, but that's the kind of out of contract experienced player I'd love to see in the club)

[Give it to Ron]

9 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Didn't seem an issue at Brighton with Welbeck having a great season playing for a manager younger (first example I could think of, but there are many) - oh and James Milner! (actually now don't shoot me, but that's the kind of out of contract experienced player I'd love to see in the club)

Yes agreed and hope it’s not an issue here and he gets off to a good start.

As we know it’s nearly all about summer recruitment to give him the best chance.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Give it to Ron said:

If I have one big concern of Still is his age 32 will the players listen, work and respect him?

I haven’t seen anything to suggest was a problem at RC Lens though.

i wonder if we will see new coaches alongside that may help with this as brothers not joining.

Added to which is how things work with his coaching staff if they're not part of his team .

Lallana for example is older and a more experienced player with caps and medals. How might that fit into the coaching team if he stays ?

[coalman]

22 minutes ago, Badger said:

Added to which is how things work with his coaching staff if they're not part of his team .

Lallana for example is older and a more experienced player with caps and medals. How might that fit into the coaching team if he stays ?

I'd assume he only stays if Still thinks he's going to do the job he wants. 

Same with any of the players. After last season they should embrace anyone who walks through the front door with a clue. If they think they know better after the shit show we just witnessed then they should be out the door.

[E_H_Saints]

27 minutes ago, Badger said:

Added to which is how things work with his coaching staff if they're not part of his team .

Lallana for example is older and a more experienced player with caps and medals. How might that fit into the coaching team if he stays ?

I like that he is 32 which is probably why he is so eager to win.  He shoots from his hip right or wrongly.  Older managers don't commit to an idea and try to stay mutual whereas as he doesn't come across as safe.  He's eager and hungry to win at whatever cost including adaptability.  Iny opinion we haven't had that since poch.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

Added to which is how things work with his coaching staff if they're not part of his team .

Lallana for example is older and a more experienced player with caps and medals. How might that fit into the coaching team if he stays ?

Lallana may have been a good player but when it comes to coaching, a totally different area, he is a mere novice compared to Will Still. if he is part of the team he will need to show Still the respect he deserves as the senior and far more experienced man. 

Edited 12 hours ago by saintant

[Holmes_and_Watson]

56 minutes ago, coalman said:

I'd assume he only stays if Still thinks he's going to do the job he wants. 

Same with any of the players. After last season they should embrace anyone who walks through the front door with a clue. If they think they know better after the shit show we just witnessed then they should be out the door.

Couldn't agree more.

If anyone at the club wants to sulk, thinks they are special, or generally gets in the way of the new manager, then they can be shown the door.

Hopefully, a door that is already wide open for a number of players already after the last couple of seasons.

[Paul.Studio]

I wonder if we would consider Nigel Adkins as an assistant to Will Still. Huge championship experience (got us up!) and a fan favourite. 

[skintsaint]

10 minutes ago, Paul.Studio said:

I wonder if we would consider Nigel Adkins as an assistant to Will Still. Huge championship experience (got us up!) and a fan favourite.