Will Still

[Miltonaggro]

6 minutes ago, Dman said:

 

The thing is, we have tried that. We started with Jones then ended up with Juric. Our fanbase weren't having them and made a hard job even harder. Same with Puel. 

I think a lot of Saints fans are savvy when it comes to the manager's 'style' and how this is being expressed on the pitch.  Strachan was all about fine margins, narrow results to gain points and getting the maximum from average players - a fair few low scoring wins and draws but he was likeable and the supporters loved him.  Maybe Still can try to replicate that.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

Never should have appointed him. Another stupid gamble by a board that doesn't know what it's doing.

Just get rid now. The longer this persists the worse it's going to get and then we'll be in some stupid position where we hand Adam Lallana the reins for the last 10 games. 

There's experienced managers out there who could come in tomorrow and turn this around. Just get it done. 

 

 

[AlexLaw76]

Another masterclass from him today. 

 

[Wade Garrett]

We look hopeless.  But Still is a genius of a manager 😉 
 

 

Edited Tuesday at 20:12 by Wade Garrett

[benjii]

25 minutes ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

Never should have appointed him. Another stupid gamble by a board that doesn't know what it's doing.

Just get rid now. The longer this persists the worse it's going to get and then we'll be in some stupid position where we hand Adam Lallana the reins for the last 10 games. 

There's experienced managers out there who could come in tomorrow and turn this around. Just get it done. 

 

 

If Still goes, it needs to be the whole first team coaching team. Failures hanging around offering nothing.

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

Can't quite believe the result tonight. I still don't think he's up to the job. 

 

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Another masterclass from him today. 

 

Jumping the gun

[Baird of the land]

1 minute ago, Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd said:

Can't quite believe the result tonight. I still don't think he's up to the job. 

 

Agree. The reality is that, that win has probably bought him extra time.

[Wiggles31]

Think he got most of that right. It was always going to be an ugly performance. He doesn’t fuck about with the substitutes. Hopefully we can get some momentum going now. 
 

 

[Colinjb]

A win we deserved, he clearly has a far better idea over who his best team is and a striker has finally stepped up.

Progress. A positive result now needed v Derby to show it's no fluke..... although it has been 3 good 'performances' in a row.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, benjii said:

If Still goes, it needs to be the whole first team coaching team. Failures hanging around offering nothing.

Anyone know why his brothers didn't come with him? 

[Patrick Bateman]

9 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Anyone know why his brothers didn't come with him? 

Could you work with family? My brother would do my head in 😂

[beatlesaint]

It’s not his fault he hasn’t been given a decent striker and a decent keeper.

Fortunately tonight Stewart showed what he’s capable of so if he stays fit he might solve a problem.

Some of these players have been here less than a month. Give the guy a break ffs, we need Still to work out cos Christ knows where we go if he doesn’t. 

[LeG]

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

[Mixedkebab]

1 minute ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

SR strategy of not signing experienced leaders causes this type of panic.

No matter who the manager is under these owners they are hampered by the owners money centred strategy over footballing common sense.

[austsaint]

2 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

Yes, yes and Yes.  The Saints reaction to going 2-1 up on the hour looked like a combination of panic, jitters and a fragile mentality.   There was no collective nous on how to manage the game or press for a third goal to kill off the spirited Blades.  It was unnecessarily nervy and a dose of good fortune was needed to get that precious result.

Well done to Ross Stewart.   I’ve consistently written him off, and even tonight after 30 minutes I thought that Archer should replace him - at which point he nearly scored with a header.    His first goal was a clinical side footed finish after Arma’s headed poster and that second was a worldly strike, complete with a half turn.   Bravo; stay fit, keep banging them in and quite a few of us will be eating humble pie.

I hope humble pie will be on the menu after a good Finn Azaz performance, but apart from some technical skill, tonight was another meh performance.   He seems to need more time on the ball than he’s mostly going to get.   He doesn’t seem to have the quick feet and guile to evade a tackle or initiate quick ball movement.    Stray passes and being dispossessed are also showing up in his game.   At this stage I’d like to see Jander or Scienza tried in the 10 role, with Downes and Charles in CM.

Wood and  Edwards were both good and should be at the front of the CB queue.   A game to forget for Quarshie, after being skinned for the goal he just seemed to drop his bundle.   Still will need to rebuild his confidence which should see him away from the action v Derby.

One of the problems Still has is the overall numerical strength of the squad without there being many nailed on starters.    Take Charles, Jander, Wood, maybe Armstrong, maybe Stewart and Fellows out and the rest of the 18 man match day squad is still unclear.

 

 

 

 

 

[notnowcato]

7 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

You could’ve just said “scar tissue” 😉

We’ve been here before, not that long ago. Patience is key. Green shoots are clear to see, we look like a team that can score goals. I can only see a leaky defence but ironing out the brain fart decisions would help. 

[egg]

7 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

I get that the confidence was drained from the players who were hear last year, but it's surprising that it's still an issue this long after Still's appointment, and with so many of last years players moved on and the sheer number of new lads. 

The management team isn't just there to pick the team and coach tactics, it's job is also to manage the players. I'm staggered that these players are such a bag of nerves - they shouldn't be. 

[Football Special]

8 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Could you work with family? My brother would do my head in 😂

I thought his previous manager roles he had his brothers as part of the coaching set up, was just interested why that stopped when he came here and must take Will Still some time to get used to working with a new support team 

[Harry_SFC]

7 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

Good post 👍

[Toussaint]

44 minutes ago, egg said:

I get that the confidence was drained from the players who were hear last year, but it's surprising that it's still an issue this long after Still's appointment, and with so many of last years players moved on and the sheer number of new lads. 

The management team isn't just there to pick the team and coach tactics, it's job is also to manage the players. I'm staggered that these players are such a bag of nerves - they shouldn't be. 

I’m not sure this has much to do with last season, it’s a typical performance of a team who don’t believe they can win, having not done so for 6 games straight. Hopefully we can string a few results together and a winning mentality will prevail. 

[St. Ciervo]

8 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

Finally someone not wetting the bed. I have certainly enjoyed our games more this year, and it is no surprise to watch the Rangers suffer immensely (also enjoyable). Back Still for the renaissance. 

[egg]

Just now, Toussaint said:

I’m not sure this has much to do with last season, it’s a typical performance of a team who don’t believe they can win, having not done so for 6 games straight. Hopefully we can string a few results together and a winning mentality will prevail. 

They've looked a bag of nerves all season. Pompey was a case in point. The players looked full of fear, couldn't handle the stage or pressure, kept giving the ball away, etc. Last night they looked shot to pieces, when leading. 

I agree that it shouldn't be a hangover from last season, but the players shouldn't be such a bag of nerves this season. Good management teams instill confidence. 

Hopefully the win will be a turning point. 

 

[LeG]

8 hours ago, Mixedkebab said:

SR strategy of not signing experienced leaders causes this type of panic.

No matter who the manager is under these owners they are hampered by the owners money centred strategy over footballing common sense.

I agree. We haven’t had proper leaders out there for years now. It’s been a huge part of the problem. 

[Patrick Bateman]

54 minutes ago, LeG said:

I agree. We haven’t had proper leaders out there for years now. It’s been a huge part of the problem. 

We never replaced Jimmy Case.

But jokes aside what you say is true. I would say McCarthy should fulfil that senior leader role, BUT, he's been in some bloody dreadful Saints teams. Ben Mee would've been good.

[Patrick Bateman]

1 hour ago, Football Special said:

I thought his previous manager roles he had his brothers as part of the coaching set up, was just interested why that stopped when he came here and must take Will Still some time to get used to working with a new support team 

Yeah I honestly don't know tbh, I presume they just didn't want to move to the UK?? Who can blame them, French supermarkets are superb ... 

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, LeG said:

I agree. We haven’t had proper leaders out there for years now. It’s been a huge part of the problem. 

Should have kept Fonte 

[egg]

1 hour ago, LeG said:

I agree. We haven’t had proper leaders out there for years now. It’s been a huge part of the problem. 

Stephens, Manning, Downes, McCarthy, Stewart, and others, are all seasoned pros. Leadership and confidence comes from the management, then to the players. 

[Miltonaggro]

31 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

We never replaced Jimmy Case.

But jokes aside what you say is true. I would say McCarthy should fulfil that senior leader role, BUT, he's been in some bloody dreadful Saints teams. Ben Mee would've been good.

Mee would have been a smart move, but would seem preference of Spors was to entrust the leadership role to Jack Stephens. Personally, I think we should have approached Fonte to join coaching staff when he left Braga in 2024, over Lallana. Fonte has profile, presence and very vocal (currently captaining Casa Pia at 41). Also, Romeu would have been a no brainer approach option for player/coach this summer, regardless of his age. Have to assume Spors & Co. think otherwise. 

[manji]

37 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Yeah I honestly don't know tbh, I presume they just didn't want to move to the UK?? Who can blame them, French supermarkets are superb ... 

they are ambitious working with Will in France was low profile if they moved here they didn’t want to be seen as Wills brothers moving forward and he didn’t want to be seen and clinging to family for footballing support . Poor fella can’t win whatever he does. Never mind he knew what he was in for. 
im avoiding finding pictures of his brothers I really am 

[AlexLaw76]

Armstrong, Manning, Stephens, McCarthy, Fraser, Stewart, Downes, Wood, Roeslov

are all seasoned pros, senior players 

[saintant]

12 hours ago, Baird of the land said:

Agree. The reality is that, that win has probably bought him extra time.

Was he about to be sacked then? Must have missed that news.

[saintant]

10 hours ago, LeG said:

Tonight was a clear example of how washed the players are IMO. We've seen just how mentally fragile they are... It's there for all to see, surely? Look at that last 20mins...you can see them all panic...they didn't know what to do when in the lead with a chunk of the game to go. I'm surprised at the amount of fans blaming Still. He tried to help the players...did all the right things. I think we are making progress each game now, but he has so much to fix after each performance. Game by game he will put it right and game by game we will keep making steps forward. He will have them back on the training ground now and working on what to do when actually in the lead. Get behind the manager and appreciate that he's rebuilding a club in a terrible state basically from scratch. 

Agree on game management when we go in front. What we should be doing is going for the jugular a bit like when a boxer lands a big punch and piles in to try to finish the fight. Ok, not completely gung-ho but the opponents will be looking to get back into the game so that usually means committing more players forward. All the good sides get in front and go looking to finish the game - we, along with many other teams seem content to hold on to what we have which is just about the worst form of defence going. I'm sure Will Still is going to be working to improve this aspect of our game.

[hypochondriac]

45 minutes ago, saintant said:

Agree on game management when we go in front. What we should be doing is going for the jugular a bit like when a boxer lands a big punch and piles in to try to finish the fight. Ok, not completely gung-ho but the opponents will be looking to get back into the game so that usually means committing more players forward. All the good sides get in front and go looking to finish the game - we, along with many other teams seem content to hold on to what we have which is just about the worst form of defence going. I'm sure Will Still is going to be working to improve this aspect of our game.

I can't remember the last time we acted like that. Maybe during the promotion season we had a couple of high scoring wins but other than that it's been years.

[egg]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Armstrong, Manning, Stephens, McCarthy, Fraser, Stewart, Downes, Wood, Roeslov

are all seasoned pros, senior players 

Yep. I don't buy this "we have no leaders nonsense". It's an excuse for management shortcomings. Coaching ain't managing. 

[Midfield_General]

Never understood why we don’t leave at least one player up on the halfway line when the opposition have a corner, especially if we’re winning or trying to close out a game. It not only gives you an out ball and a chance of scoring on the counter as they crowd into the box looking for an equaliser, but can also actually make it easier to defend the corner as they need to leave at least one person back to mark the attacker loitering up the pitch. At the very least it gives them something to think about rather than just letting them pile everyone in there. 

We’ve been done like that countless times from our own corners but we never seem do it to other teams. We always have all 11 back in our own box which just invites pressure and sees the ball come straight back even if you initially get it clear from the corner. 

Armstrong would be perfect for that role because he’s quick and it’s not like he’s going to be much use defending a corner anyway. 

Edited Wednesday at 10:31 by Midfield_General

[hypochondriac]

3 hours ago, egg said:

They've looked a bag of nerves all season. Pompey was a case in point. The players looked full of fear, couldn't handle the stage or pressure, kept giving the ball away, etc. Last night they looked shot to pieces, when leading. 

I agree that it shouldn't be a hangover from last season, but the players shouldn't be such a bag of nerves this season. Good management teams instill confidence. 

Hopefully the win will be a turning point. 

 

The main thing is rpeventing the other players from being I fluenced by those tainted from last year. Our mentality always seems to be to shit down and try to preserve the slender lead we have. We never seem to relentlessly attack.

Edited Wednesday at 10:35 by hypochondriac

[Mr X]

13 hours ago, Colinjb said:

A win we deserved, he clearly has a far better idea over who his best team is and a striker has finally stepped up.

Progress. A positive result now needed v Derby to show it's no fluke..... although it has been 3 good 'performances' in a row.

You think we deserved it? I thought we were gash for 75% of the game, we got very lucky with Stewart finally doing something useful but overall we didn't look any better than the blades! Verdict "still" out on still 

[Patches O Houlihan]

13 hours ago, Football Special said:

Anyone know why his brothers didn't come with him? 

4 hours ago, Football Special said:

I thought his previous manager roles he had his brothers as part of the coaching set up, was just interested why that stopped when he came here and must take Will Still some time to get used to working with a new support team 

I think I saw somewhere that one had just bought a house, and they both have young families and wives to consider. Also if you were a 'minor' Still with a football brain and you looked at Saints managerial sacking history under SR would you move your wife and family to the UK from their home?

Will moved because his wife lives here and he was fed up of being in the wrong country - particularly while she was unwell.

Edited Wednesday at 10:57 by Patches O Houlihan

[Dusic]

Same points after 8 games as we had under RM.

Wouldn't it be awful now if Still manages a club unbeaten run stretching until after Christmas but which contains a few draws? 

Edited Wednesday at 12:10 by Dusic

[danjosaint]

1 hour ago, egg said:

Yep. I don't buy this "we have no leaders nonsense". It's an excuse for management shortcomings. Coaching ain't managing. 

Just because there senior pros doesn't make them leaders 

[CampionSaint]

14 hours ago, Football Special said:

Anyone know why his brothers didn't come with him? 

I think Still made a priority of coming back to England because his partner was struggling health wise and wanted to stay in the South of Englabd to recover.  Still's brothers were happier staying abroad.

[Patches O Houlihan]

Interview after the win away at Sheffield Utd. Worth posting here - his emphasis different to when you read the highlights.

 

[egg]

19 minutes ago, danjosaint said:

Just because there senior pros doesn't make them leaders 

I don't dispute that, but, I'd hazard a guess that there's leaders in the group.

People are just assuming that there's no leaders amongst our squad of players which is a strange assumption. 

[Osvaldorama]

Very happy he got the win. Really want this to work out so hopefully that was the first step in the right direction. 
 

I reckon it can breathe some confidence into the whole team. Glad to see him continue to drop the players that have let him down. Good stuff. 

[LuckyNumber7]

1 hour ago, Dusic said:

Same points after 8 games as we had under RM.

Wouldn't it be awful now if Still manages a club unbeaten run stretching until after Christmas but which contains a few draws? 

Indeed.

W16 D6 L0

Wasn't enough for some people. What we'd give for that kind of run now.

[Zorba]

2 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Never understood why we don’t leave at least one player up on the halfway line when the opposition have a corner, especially if we’re winning or trying to close out a game. It not only gives you an out ball and a chance of scoring on the counter 

We never counter attack. It’s been missing from our game for ages. We’re too busy trying to pass out from the back and don’t have a decent counter in us.

[pimpin4rizeal]

15 hours ago, beatlesaint said:

It’s not his fault he hasn’t been given a decent striker and a decent keeper.

Fortunately tonight Stewart showed what he’s capable of so if he stays fit he might solve a problem.

Some of these players have been here less than a month. Give the guy a break ffs, we need Still to work out cos Christ knows where we go if he doesn’t. 

Not sure he can be excused of blame with the keeper. He was the one raving how good bazunu was pre season and picking him. took him a while to find out what we already knew. Also you would hope the manager would be strong enough to tell the board that both our keepers are shit if that’s the case, there needs to be some communication there not just a he gets what he’s given 

[OldNick]

49 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Indeed.

W16 D6 L0

Wasn't enough for some people. What we'd give for that kind of run now.

14games W1 D2 Lost 11 0.36 points per game 

[Lord Duckhunter]

I think people are being a bit harsh over last night. I thought the past 3 games we’ve started to look like a team with a bit of an idea, rather than 11 players thrown together. I’m still not convinced he’s the man, but fair play to the bloke he’s made some big calls and they’ve resulted in 3 decent performances. Dropping Baz & BOTH centre halves, was gutsy, as was reverting back to a back 3. I’m sure other managers would have fudged it and left THB or Jack in. 
 

There’s still too much Lego ball & personally I think he needs to rid us of Armstrong & Manning, they do ok at times, but them  just being there gives me PTSD. The 3 defenders & central midfielders have looked a breath of fresh air (although I’m not a fan of Ronnie), so jilting Armstrong & Manning could do similar in other areas. 
 

If we can beat Derby Saturday, 7 points from those 3 (plus a decent Anfield performance) is a good response to the horrendous preceding results and performances. 

Not convinced, but a hell of a lot happier than 10 days ago. 

 

Edited Wednesday at 13:51 by Lord Duckhunter