Will Still Poll - Keep or Replace?

[OneMrsWallace]

Some insightful and intelligent comments on this thread..WTF is going on! I agree it's a much bigger issue than the manager but I voted sack him, mainly for the drama.

Can we do this again after tomorrow night's game. It's fun - in a kind of masochistic way 😄

[RedArmy]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

 

The fact that Edozie, Aribo and Smallbone, who were all regulars in our promotion team, can’t get a game now should tell you something about the players we’ve got now.

Smallbone doesn’t play for Saints so he’d do well to get a game. 
 

Edozie and Aribo weren’t with the first team for a long period as they were assumed to be leaving. They will be brought back in gradually and based on the first teams performances will get minutes on the pitch. 
 

 

[RedArmy]

3 hours ago, saintant said:

This is my take as well. Will Still has to be given time to work with the new players and integrate them into a formation that works. If after perhaps a maximum of 10 more games he hasn't done that then fair enough it will be time to look for a replacement.

He’s not reinventing the wheel. Whatever his system is, if he even has one, it’s basic as fuck.
If professional footballers can’t pick that up in the 3 weeks they’ve been here then they never will. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

21 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We spent a fair whack last summer

 

Yes we did, but on what and to what end? Didn’t buy a GK when we were faced with relying on the statistically worst GK in the previous Championship season and a senior GK that is well past his prime (but still better than the no.1). Didn’t buy a big, strong, mobile striker who knew how to shoot on target but instead chose to rely on forwards crocked, scarred or too young. Didn’t buy two top quality commanding midfielders - a box to box playmaker and a defensive enforcer, but relied on players that had mediocre previous seasons. And lastly we continue to play two CB’s that are probably collectively league one standard and a full-back mate of RM who can’t defend.

Yes, we’ve bought 10 new players, but how many are making the first team?  I mean what could go wrong? Oh…it already is.

Last point. Hulls squad is valued significantly less than ours, but guess what…it’s fit for purpose. Ours isn’t.

Edited 9 hours ago by Saint Fan CaM

[Ted Bates Statue]

When a manager gets off to a bad start with Saints - sadly, more often than not in recent years -  this quote from The Thick of It often springs to mind: “The PM is not going to sack you after a week. Sacked after 12 months - looks like you've fucked up. Sacked after a week - looks like he's fucked up.”

Accordingly, they'll wait until the concept of promotion is a distant ship on the horizon, and any better, proven managers have grasped opportunities elsewhere, before cutting loose.

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Ted Bates Statue

[saintant]

49 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

He’s not reinventing the wheel. Whatever his system is, if he even has one, it’s basic as fuck.
If professional footballers can’t pick that up in the 3 weeks they’ve been here then they never will. 

The International break ended on 9th September. Whether we like it that didn't allow for a great deal of preparation or for integrating 5-6 new players into a new system. So they've not had anything like 3 weeks to pick it up and anyway new players invariably take time to settle not just at our club. The first game after the International break was on 14th September and being the big local derby against Pompey not exactly an ideal fixture because of all the noise surrounding it. We started ok against Hull but there is nothing Will Still can do if his keeper makes a schoolboy error other than drop Bazunu for the next run of games which I hope he does. THB then has a couple of brain farts and he's another who must now be dropped. The fragility of this side when going behind is well documented and remains a thorn in our side. There are extenuating circumstances for why we are not anything like the well oiled machine we'd like but I'm afraid, like it or not, it is going to take patience. 

[Sheaf Saint]

1 hour ago, OneMrsWallace said:

Some insightful and intelligent comments on this thread..WTF is going on! I agree it's a much bigger issue than the manager but I voted sack him, mainly for the drama.

Can we do this again after tomorrow night's game. It's fun - in a kind of masochistic way 😄

The life of a Saints fan right now...

[Roo1976]

3 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Yeah, but Laurie had pedigree & had done a couple of decent jobs in this country. He also didn’t learn his trade playing Subbuteo with his brothers. He was a leader of men, and more importantly, wasn’t ginger. 

but  you voted to give him more time?.................................................................

[RedArmy]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

The International break ended on 9th September.

How many of the new signings went away on international duty? 

[Dr Who?]

Cannot trust our board to replace, as they have a terrible record. 

I just would like our club to be taken over from these cowboys! 

Edited 4 hours ago by Dr Who?
‘The’ club changed to ‘our’ club.

[Gloucester Saint]

17 minutes ago, Dr Who? said:

Cannot trust our board to replace, as they have a terrible record. 

I just would like the club to be taken over from these cowboys! 

There’s the root of the problem, not Jones, not Selles, not even Martin and not Still. @L1Minus10 is right, SR spent around £20m, a lot of money at this level, on three kids from German division 2. Maybe sign the best of the three and put some Championship experience and quality around them. I like Tom Fellows but AA plays there and does have track-record. The recruitment feels like a clutch of individual transactions yet again without any thought about how they knit together on a Saturday.

[Dr Who?]

5 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

There’s the root of the problem, not Jones, not Selles, not even Martin and not Still. @L1Minus10 is right, SR spent around £20m, a lot of money at this level, on three kids from German division 2. Maybe sign the best of the three and put some Championship experience and quality around them. I like Tom Fellows but AA plays there and does have track-record. The recruitment feels like a clutch of individual transactions yet again without any thought about how they knit together on a Saturday.

Yes and I have questioned why 2 of our promotion rivals let players leave to come to us, and at this stage it has not had an impact on their start to the season. 

[saintant]

1 hour ago, RedArmy said:

How many of the new signings went away on international duty? 

Not sure that's relevant to the point I'm making which is that new signings at any club usually take a number of games to settle in. They have to deal with moving to a new area/country, change of coaches and team mates, new systems, language for foreign players, different training methods. It's not just a case of turning up with a pair of boots, saying 'Right I'm ready, what position do you want me?' and hitting the ground running.

[Saint Fan CaM]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

Not sure that's relevant to the point I'm making which is that new signings at any club usually take a number of games to settle in. They have to deal with moving to a new area/country, change of coaches and team mates, new systems, language for foreign players, different training methods. It's not just a case of turning up with a pair of boots, saying 'Right I'm ready, what position do you want me?' and hitting the ground running.

Perhaps the point is, if they were of the standard expected they would be able to hit the ground running?