Will Still

[coalman]

Just now, trousers said:

 

 

Yeah, but gung-ho tactics aren't going to win you record unbeaten run trophies, are they now...? 😉

Or concede 60+ league goals a season.

[Fabrice29]

2 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

Real David Moyes vibes from this

[Saint Fan CaM]

2 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

My word, makes you realise how poor team management has been. As far as Manning is concerned I hope Still is saying…

”The boys that want to defend can get back to defend. Yes Manning, that means you”!

[S-Clarke]

40 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Real David Moyes vibes from this

He wasn't wrong tbf, it's still relatable today as well. Awful team.

[Colinjb]

3 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

Stop being so f**king sensible and institute a philosophy FFS.

[StrangelyBrown]

2 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

My word, makes you realise how poor team management has been. As far as Manning is concerned I hope Still is saying…

”The boys that want to defend can get back to defend. Yes Manning, that means you”!

What about Will Smallbone? Will, yes you can jog about a bit doing not a lot? 😄 

[Weston Super Saint]

8 hours ago, StrangelyBrown said:

What about Will Smallbone? Will, yes you can jog about a bit doing not a lot? 😄 

And Baz?  Will he still be allowed to miss anything low and left?

[SWLondon Saint]

 

9 hours ago, StrangelyBrown said:

What about Will Smallbone? Will, yes you can jog about a bit doing not a lot? 😄 

I reckon last year's defensive 'philosophy' was definitely just do whatever you feel like, including making quarter-arsed attempts to stop someone walking past you and shooting aka Small Willy style...

[Miltonaggro]

15 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

In the interviews so far Still appears very calm and pensive, none of gobby sports teacher of Jones, or OTT false bonhomie of Martin - I like that.  He's obviously using the friendlies to weigh up this squad in action, see what they can and can't do before final decision making.  Hopefully he will see what the majority fanbase has seen in the past three years, and act accordingly.

[egg]

15 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

Good to read. 

If nothing else this season, I have a feeling we won't be bored to tears. That's an improvement already. 

[Jack]

15 hours ago, CSA96 said:

Ryan Manning:

"The gaffer has given us the freedom to attack. He's told the boys who want to cross to cross it. The boys who want to dribble can dribble. The boys who want to score need to shoot. He's given everyone a licence to express themselves."

"This year, the timing and quality of our crosses, having bodies arriving in the box at the right time, will make the difference in winning a game."

Playing to our individual player’s strengths? Sounds almost too sensible after the last couple of years. 
 

I wonder what he’ll do when he learns his captain’s strengths are roaming around the pitch out of position and pulling people’s hair.

[egg]

10 minutes ago, Jack said:

Playing to our individual player’s strengths? Sounds almost too sensible after the last couple of years. 
 

I wonder what he’ll do when he learns his captain’s strengths are roaming around the pitch out of position and pulling people’s hair.

There's too much fixation on Stephens. He's a championship level CB playing for a championship team. He'll be a starter, and if we fail to go up, it won't be because of Stephens.

I'm more concerned about left wing, GK assuming Ramsdale leaves, ditto AM if Fernandes goes. 

[gio1saints]

Classic English putting people down attitude very prevalent here unfortunately. 
I don’t know what’s better - conceding 60 goals and getting promoted or conceding 60 and not getting promoted. Better still going on a record unbeaten run and promoted or not going on a record breaking run and not promoted? 

The glass for many Saints fans seems often to be half empty. Instead of being so God- awful miserable and looking for scapegoats most or all the time you do know you can choose NOT to look on the dark side for once? Choose NOT to revel in the cynicism like pigs in shit? 

Amazing things can start to happen. You become more grateful for ever smaller things in life. You can become  happier and at ease, less restless and permanent-angry. Saints results even player performances don’t even matter so much after a while - you enjoy a sense of community with no expectations. 
You can decide now : This season I will enjoy watching the team! Just repeat five times daily morning and night and should all be fixed in a month or two. 

Edited Friday at 09:58 by gio1saints

[Jack]

1 hour ago, egg said:

There's too much fixation on Stephens. He's a championship level CB playing for a championship team. He'll be a starter, and if we fail to go up, it won't be because of Stephens.

I'm more concerned about left wing, GK assuming Ramsdale leaves, ditto AM if Fernandes goes. 

I’m fine with us having mediocre players, that’s going to happen at this level.
 

What I can’t get behind is making one of your most mediocre players your captain when he’s demonstrated time and time again that he’s a liability and will cost us stupid points in big games because he loses his head. Just because he’s apparently got some bants, I don’t know how that makes him leadership material. Especially when most wouldn’t even have him in a starting XI based on talent alone. 

[Miltonaggro]

13 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Classic English putting people down attitude very prevalent here unfortunately. 
I don’t know what’s better - conceding 60 goals and getting promoted or conceding 60 and not getting promoted. Better still going on a record unbeaten run and promoted or not going on a record breaking run and not promoted? 

The glass for many Saints fans seems often to be half empty. Instead of being so God- awful miserable and looking for scapegoats most or all the time you do know you can choose NOT to look on the dark side for once? Choose NOT to revel in the cynicism like pigs in shit? 

Amazing things can start to happen. You become more grateful for ever smaller things in life. You can become  happier and at ease, less restless and permanent-angry. Saints results even player performances don’t even matter so much after a while - you enjoy a sense of community with no expectations. 
You can decide now : This season I will enjoy watching the team! Just repeat five times daily morning and night and should all be fixed in a month or two. 

This season I will mostly enjoy watching the team!

[egg]

30 minutes ago, Jack said:

I’m fine with us having mediocre players, that’s going to happen at this level.
 

What I can’t get behind is making one of your most mediocre players your captain when he’s demonstrated time and time again that he’s a liability and will cost us stupid points in big games because he loses his head. Just because he’s apparently got some bants, I don’t know how that makes him leadership material. Especially when most wouldn’t even have him in a starting XI based on talent alone. 

As I said, too much of a fixation on him, and all judged on him at PL level in a shit team under shit management. If he's a disaster this season feels free to tell me I got it wrong, but I'm pretty confident he'll be fine. 

[coalman]

59 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Classic English putting people down attitude very prevalent here unfortunately. 
I don’t know what’s better - conceding 60 goals and getting promoted or conceding 60 and not getting promoted. Better still going on a record unbeaten run and promoted or not going on a record breaking run and not promoted? 

The glass for many Saints fans seems often to be half empty. Instead of being so God- awful miserable and looking for scapegoats most or all the time you do know you can choose NOT to look on the dark side for once? Choose NOT to revel in the cynicism like pigs in shit? 

Amazing things can start to happen. You become more grateful for ever smaller things in life. You can become  happier and at ease, less restless and permanent-angry. Saints results even player performances don’t even matter so much after a while - you enjoy a sense of community with no expectations. 
You can decide now : This season I will enjoy watching the team! Just repeat five times daily morning and night and should all be fixed in a month or two. 

It strikes me that conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact. We went on a record unbeaten run and got promoted in spite of this. Our unbeaten run didn't have more wins because of this so we missed automatic promotion. In the premiership we were unable to win or even draw games because of this and were relegated as a result. It seems relevant to the position we find ourselves in so understanding how that happened might help us in future.

[trousers]

21 minutes ago, coalman said:

It strikes me that conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact. We went on a record unbeaten run and got promoted in spite of this. Our unbeaten run didn't have more wins because of this so we missed automatic promotion. In the premiership we were unable to win or even draw games because of this and were relegated as a result. It seems relevant to the position we find ourselves in so understanding how that happened might help us in future.

I've reported your post to the forum pragmatism police. They'll deal with you appropriately.

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Miltonaggro said:

This season I will mostly enjoy watching the team!

Boris has left himself go since leaving office

[gio1saints]

42 minutes ago, coalman said:

It strikes me that conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact. We went on a record unbeaten run and got promoted in spite of this. Our unbeaten run didn't have more wins because of this so we missed automatic promotion. In the premiership we were unable to win or even draw games because of this and were relegated as a result. It seems relevant to the position we find ourselves in so understanding how that happened might help us in future.

I don’t disagree. Facts are facts.
 

But how the fact of that “unbeaten run” and promotion first time of asking after a miserable relegation the year before has been converted into something to ridicule the club and RM - and some of his players over - is something I struggle to understand. We’ve had two terrible years interleaved with a year in which we actually played some great football and won a bunch of games. But it’s like it’s been airbrushed out of our history because of the anger of how bad we were the two years before and after. A bit of perspective. And @trousers yeah being pragmatic is not the same as by default continuing to support glass half empty posts. Just a gentle idea but try thinking for yourself instead of selecting what you think will be the most popular line. You are perfectly capable of doing so when your need to be popular ( and my goodness you certainly ARE v popular ) urges have not overtaken you. 🤣

 

 

[coalman]

7 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

I don’t disagree. Facts are facts.
 

But how the fact of that “unbeaten run” and promotion first time of asking after a miserable relegation the year before has been converted into something to ridicule the club and RM - and some of his players over - is something I struggle to understand. We’ve had two terrible years interleaved with a year in which we actually played some great football and won a bunch of games. But it’s like it’s been airbrushed out of our history because of the anger of how bad we were the two years before and after. A bit of perspective. And @trousers yeah being pragmatic is not the same as by default continuing to support glass half empty posts. Just a gentle idea but try thinking for yourself instead of selecting what you think will be the most popular line. You are perfectly capable of doing so when your need to be popular ( and my goodness you certainly ARE v popular ) urges have not overtaken you. 🤣

Unless you're psychic you could perhaps gain credibility by avoiding stating your assumptions of how other people think as fact. Claiming we know other people's inner thoughts and motivations is only marginally less offensive than telling other people how to think.

[Saint Fan CaM]

2 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Classic English putting people down attitude very prevalent here unfortunately. 
I don’t know what’s better - conceding 60 goals and getting promoted or conceding 60 and not getting promoted. Better still going on a record unbeaten run and promoted or not going on a record breaking run and not promoted? 

The glass for many Saints fans seems often to be half empty. Instead of being so God- awful miserable and looking for scapegoats most or all the time you do know you can choose NOT to look on the dark side for once? Choose NOT to revel in the cynicism like pigs in shit? 

Amazing things can start to happen. You become more grateful for ever smaller things in life. You can become  happier and at ease, less restless and permanent-angry. Saints results even player performances don’t even matter so much after a while - you enjoy a sense of community with no expectations. 
You can decide now : This season I will enjoy watching the team! Just repeat five times daily morning and night and should all be fixed in a month or two. 

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”… 🤭😉

[gio1saints]

28 minutes ago, coalman said:

Unless you're psychic you could perhaps gain credibility by avoiding stating your assumptions of how other people think as fact. Claiming we know other people's inner thoughts and motivations is only marginally less offensive than telling other people how to think.

You have def misunderstood me.
You quite literally gave a statement of fact in your previous post. “ it strikes me that could conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact”. I agreed. My point was that fact - plus other golden nuggets from others like “unbeaten runs “ and getting promotion are just being collapsed together into one bin called “rubbish” when that is not so. My agreeing with your opinion should not offend -if anything I’m reinforcing you.😍

[trousers]

49 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

your need to be popular

You couldn't be more wrong, but if it makes you happy thinking that's what I'm thinking then fill your boots... 

[Saint86]

2 hours ago, coalman said:

It strikes me that conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact. We went on a record unbeaten run and got promoted in spite of this. Our unbeaten run didn't have more wins because of this so we missed automatic promotion. 

This isn't the great argument you think it is.

We conceded 17goals in that 22game unbeaten run, with 9 clean sheets... Only two games in that period entailed more than 1goal against, which we won 5-3 vs Huddersfield (home) and drew 2-2 with Preston away.

A very significant portion of our goals against in the championship came at the start of the season when we were transitioning to Martin's style whilst simultaneously managing huge player turnover - We conceded 13 goals in just 3 of our first 6 league matches - 20% of our tally for the season, and 16 total over those first 6 matches (25%).

A better argument would be to say that we lost automatic promotion either side of our unbeaten run - with the initial change and unsettled squad coinciding with the home defeats to Ipswich and Leicester early on, and the draw with Norwich. Its a warning if anything - we have Sheffield united, Ipswich and Boro all within the first 8 games so a fairly similar start - Hopefully something similar doesn't happen this time around (i.e., lost points to a fundamental change of style and lots of late window squad changes).


 

Edited Friday at 13:42 by Saint86

[StrangelyBrown]

7 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

In the interviews so far Still appears very calm and pensive, none of gobby sports teacher of Jones, or OTT false bonhomie of Martin - I like that.  He's obviously using the friendlies to weigh up this squad in action, see what they can and can't do before final decision making.  Hopefully he will see what the majority fanbase has seen in the past three years, and act accordingly.

Which poses the question why on earth did they already extend jack Stephens' contract?

[saintant]

3 hours ago, gio1saints said:

I don’t disagree. Facts are facts.
 

But how the fact of that “unbeaten run” and promotion first time of asking after a miserable relegation the year before has been converted into something to ridicule the club and RM - and some of his players over - is something I struggle to understand. We’ve had two terrible years interleaved with a year in which we actually played some great football and won a bunch of games. But it’s like it’s been airbrushed out of our history because of the anger of how bad we were the two years before and after. A bit of perspective. And @trousers yeah being pragmatic is not the same as by default continuing to support glass half empty posts. Just a gentle idea but try thinking for yourself instead of selecting what you think will be the most popular line. You are perfectly capable of doing so when your need to be popular ( and my goodness you certainly ARE v popular ) urges have not overtaken you. 🤣

 

 

We're already hearing that the players are being worked much harder than they were last preseason. Along with many I questioned our fitness levels all last season. To fall short on such a key issue is indefensible and should never have been allowed to happen. We were always going to struggle but, if you don't even match a basic like fitness, you are on a hiding to nothing and it showed. Down to RM in my book and he'll need to do better with the Ranger's squad or the Jocks will show him what stick from your own fans is really all about.

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Which poses the question why on earth did they already extend jack Stephens' contract?

Yes, most odd.  My guess is that Lallana and Stephens were identified as 'important characters' by Spors and Co last season and those deals were already in the pipeline as well as the two lads from Germany.  No way Still made the Stephens decision a fortnight after arriving with most of the playing staff on the beach.  Like a lot of people have said the last fortnight of the window is going to be the acid test.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

6 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Boris has left himself go since leaving office

My first thought was that Boris had tidied himself up, since leaving office. 🙂

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

We're already hearing that the players are being worked much harder than they were last preseason. Along with many I questioned our fitness levels all last season. To fall short on such a key issue is indefensible and should never have been allowed to happen. We were always going to struggle but, if you don't even match a basic like fitness, you are on a hiding to nothing and it showed. Down to RM in my book and he'll need to do better with the Ranger's squad or the Jocks will show him what stick from your own fans is really all about.

The glass isn't so much half empty or half full, but broken against a table and coming towards your face. 🙂

[coalman]

17 hours ago, gio1saints said:

You have def misunderstood me.
You quite literally gave a statement of fact in your previous post. “ it strikes me that could conceding 60 goals is a statement of fact”. I agreed. My point was that fact - plus other golden nuggets from others like “unbeaten runs “ and getting promotion are just being collapsed together into one bin called “rubbish” when that is not so. My agreeing with your opinion should not offend -if anything I’m reinforcing you.😍

I get where you're coming from. There was some great attacking pay under Martin. But.... he refused to change or adapt despite the evidence to the contrary. When Rusk came in, who wasn't the best, the simple change of "stop fucking about with it" made us look so much better. It would've been better to maintain that than whatever the hell madness Juric brought. We invited teams to score and had zero ambition to get the ball forward.

If Martin had learned the lessons of the playoffs and adapted he could have be one of the great Saints managers. Instead his inability to adapt took over. His teams have always conceded lots of goals and he has never made any attempt to learn from it. He wasn't rubbish but he also was stubborn to the point of causing harm. He left an unfit team that was comfortable being shit and boasted about it. He could be better than that - we should aspire to being better than that. We got promoted yet we were so abject as to make it a parody. Pretending that the signs weren't there and we couldn't have done better is the narrative that Martin wants - in his recent press conference he boasted about how he joined in the Championship and left in the Premier League. This kind of shit of why we are where we are.

Will Still is making noises that fill me with a lot more hope than a man who seemed to be in it just for himself. Watching some of the attacking play from pre season friendlies is making me excited about next year. Hearing about how we're working harder in training makes me excited. I'm really looking forward to 2025-26. 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:33 by coalman

[Holmes_and_Watson]

6 hours ago, gio1saints said:

I don’t disagree. Facts are facts.
 

But how the fact of that “unbeaten run” and promotion first time of asking after a miserable relegation the year before has been converted into something to ridicule the club and RM - and some of his players over - is something I struggle to understand. We’ve had two terrible years interleaved with a year in which we actually played some great football and won a bunch of games. But it’s like it’s been airbrushed out of our history because of the anger of how bad we were the two years before and after. A bit of perspective. And @trousers yeah being pragmatic is not the same as by default continuing to support glass half empty posts. Just a gentle idea but try thinking for yourself instead of selecting what you think will be the most popular line. You are perfectly capable of doing so when your need to be popular ( and my goodness you certainly ARE v popular ) urges have not overtaken you. 🤣

 

 

I get on well with my local law enforcement. Yet here I am, stuck in a cell, for innocently saying I was off to a meeting of the very popular @trousers club. "Like a glass half empty or full," I said, "sometimes the @trousers club is up, but a lot of the time they're down.." That seems to have concerned them more.

Without a Friday night VA game, I can only hope a life changing post of positive thinking appears.

9 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Classic English putting people down attitude very prevalent here unfortunately. 
I don’t know what’s better - conceding 60 goals and getting promoted or conceding 60 and not getting promoted. Better still going on a record unbeaten run and promoted or not going on a record breaking run and not promoted? 

The glass for many Saints fans seems often to be half empty. Instead of being so God- awful miserable and looking for scapegoats most or all the time you do know you can choose NOT to look on the dark side for once? Choose NOT to revel in the cynicism like pigs in shit? 

Amazing things can start to happen. You become more grateful for ever smaller things in life. You can become  happier and at ease, less restless and permanent-angry. Saints results even player performances don’t even matter so much after a while - you enjoy a sense of community with no expectations. 
You can decide now : This season I will enjoy watching the team! Just repeat five times daily morning and night and should all be fixed in a month or two. 

Crumbs! That was handy!

That sounds like the bit in Scooged, where Bill Murray talks about giving up being a cynical, grumpy, sarcastic pain. Y'know, all the stuff I'm good at. And instead become a giving, warm, caring person who looks out selflessly for others, every day. Like, for nothing.

Well, Mr Murray. You've not been scarred by possession football for a season and a bit! Opening yourself up to that, just leads to being in the PL gutter, hoping some other idiot, sorry selfless, well meaning soul, will take away your baggage (ABK, Fraser, Baz etc), so you can rise to your feet again.

Which brings me back to @trousers club. It might be really popular, but I was on my way there to say I found Bill Murray avatars triggering, in every post, all thanks to that misplaced, and frankly wrong, speech in Scrooged. Oh, the irony. Not just a concept to be mangled by Canadian singers.

 

 

[gio1saints]

@Holmes_and_Watson did you ever  read editions of a magazine /comic entitled “ MAD” by any chance? Or even contribute to it writing for them? Probably back in the seventies? Your dry, occasionally disturbing humour reminds of that style. You have a knack of making even the banal sound, well, mad, and it’s usually well constructed comedy prose as well ( as long as you don’t mention the footballing stuff, nobody can make that funny). Unlike some who I shall not mention by name you are obviously made of superior humoured mental mettle. Think it’d be called dry humour sometimes verging on the side of sick occasionally the weird or tangentially mental but often very accurate in a cruel to be kind of way. 
Please do carry on posting. Think it’s worth the £5 just to read some of your stuff. But then there are others who are worth the entrance money also I hasten to add. @trousers is one - I always enjoy reading his nice pieces and seeing him agreeing with everyone on everything makes me believe that World Peace is, truly, possible. 🙏

[Sevvy]

Don't tell Trousers but I love him,

[Dark Munster]

1 hour ago, Sevvy said:

Don't tell Trousers but I love him,

"him" is a "her" I think I read some time ago.

[Verbal]

1 hour ago, Sevvy said:

Don't tell Trousers but I love him,

You bitch! He's mine

[Crab Lungs]

On 17/07/2025 at 20:18, Saint Fan CaM said:

My word, makes you realise how poor team management has been. As far as Manning is concerned I hope Still is saying…

”The boys that want to defend can get back to defend. Yes Manning, that means you”!

He’s basically releasing them from the Martin’s vanity project cage 

[Whitey Grandad]

11 hours ago, gio1saints said:

@Holmes_and_Watson did you ever  read editions of a magazine /comic entitled “ MAD” by any chance? Or even contribute to it writing for them? Probably back in the seventies? Your dry, occasionally disturbing humour reminds of that style. You have a knack of making even the banal sound, well, mad, and it’s usually well constructed comedy prose as well ( as long as you don’t mention the footballing stuff, nobody can make that funny). Unlike some who I shall not mention by name you are obviously made of superior humoured mental mettle. Think it’d be called dry humour sometimes verging on the side of sick occasionally the weird or tangentially mental but often very accurate in a cruel to be kind of way. 
Please do carry on posting. Think it’s worth the £5 just to read some of your stuff. But then there are others who are worth the entrance money also I hasten to add. @trousers is one - I always enjoy reading his nice pieces and seeing him agreeing with everyone on everything makes me believe that World Peace is, truly, possible. 🙏

[Holmes_and_Watson]

11 hours ago, gio1saints said:

@Holmes_and_Watson did you ever  read editions of a magazine /comic entitled “ MAD” by any chance? Or even contribute to it writing for them? Probably back in the seventies? Your dry, occasionally disturbing humour reminds of that style. You have a knack of making even the banal sound, well, mad, and it’s usually well constructed comedy prose as well ( as long as you don’t mention the footballing stuff, nobody can make that funny). Unlike some who I shall not mention by name you are obviously made of superior humoured mental mettle. Think it’d be called dry humour sometimes verging on the side of sick occasionally the weird or tangentially mental but often very accurate in a cruel to be kind of way. 
Please do carry on posting. Think it’s worth the £5 just to read some of your stuff. But then there are others who are worth the entrance money also I hasten to add. @trousers is one - I always enjoy reading his nice pieces and seeing him agreeing with everyone on everything makes me believe that World Peace is, truly, possible. 🙏

There you go folks! Gio would pay a fiver for my posts! Who will give me £10? Thank you madam! That's £10. Now, who...sorry madam? Oh, it was £10 to stop.....oh, well...SOLD!

[sockeye]

Very glad Still is pushing the players' fitness hard and that he's playing them to their strengths. Simple ideas that were missing for far too long...

[John B]

25 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Very glad Still is pushing the players' fitness hard and that he's playing them to their strengths. Simple ideas that were missing for far too long...

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

[Whitey Grandad]

37 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

I used to read MAD in the 1950s. I've just done some research and originally the Alfred E Neuman graphic was used to advertise painless dentistry. I used to like the printed adverts in it and I still remember two phrases from them,

"I understand that if I am not completely satisfied then I have been had"

"I understand that I do not have to sign this for it to be legally binding upon me"

[gio1saints]

23 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

I used to read MAD in the 1950s. I've just done some research and originally the Alfred E Neuman graphic was used to advertise painless dentistry. I used to like the printed adverts in it and I still remember two phrases from them,

"I understand that if I am not completely satisfied then I have been had"

"I understand that I do not have to sign this for it to be legally binding upon me"

Excellent work @Whitey Grandad. Those quotes are still true today!
I was/am a big fan.

“I understand that if I am not completely satisfied then I have been had"- said every Season ticket holder at SMS last season! 

It was the best social commentary /satire disguised as a comic book ever published imo. Certainly well ahead of its time and following in the footsteps of people like Swift etc. More contemporary is Hislops Private Eye but that does not present its messaging as well as MAD did and VIZ on the more comic side was /is a very blunt instrument. 

Maybe that’s what I enjoy about this saintsweb forum. Occasionally, some of the posts here are brilliant social commentary disguised as Southampton football club chit chat. Occasionally. 🥰
 

Edited Saturday at 08:28 by gio1saints

[Barsiem]

 

 

[coalman]

4 minutes ago, John B said:

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

Someone must have made a decision about the level of fitness to maintain. Whether that's the manager or fitness coach(es) or the players giving feedback. 

When we talk about fitness my mind always goes back to Pochettino and how his response to the players asking for fewer double sessions was to give them a triple session. Different managers are going to put a different emphasis on it and work with the fitness coaches to get the players to that level and maintain it. The trouble is - if you come into the season undercooked it's hard to build that level of fitness without compromising matchday performance.

[CamSaint]

It will be interesting to see if Edwards is included in the squad for Spain. Still mentioned in his interview yesterday that he and Fernandes were back and had done a couple of light training sessions. Also possible that Downes & Dibling may not travel if they are injured, which will set the rumour mill going!

[beatlesaint]

To make them run 9km then play a match the next day is showing he wants Strachan type levels of fitness.

I like that, so far impressed by him.

[Badger]

23 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

To make them run 9km then play a match the next day is showing he wants Strachan type levels of fitness.

I like that, so far impressed by him.

Clearly it’s the Ginger factor at play 

[St Chalet]

I think some of the best times I've seen as a fan have been where the team have been very fit. The Pochetino era springs to mind where we punched above our weight by high pressing teams into submission.

Like what I am seeing from Still so far.

[LGTL]

Still is so far proving to be a breath of fresh air after the vanity project of last season. The acid test is still to come of course, but it’s enjoyable to have a a normal fucking person in charge of us.