New Manager Debate

[Miltonaggro]

1 minute ago, sockeye said:

It needs to get toxic towards SR at games

It will very very quickly if they proceed to FAFO!

[Zorba]

Keep Tonda in for a few more games, just until Eddie Howe’s sacked. EH would do it for £4m a year. Come on Eddie, throw your hat in, man.

[Farmer Saint]

11 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

I don't think the likes of OGS, Viera, even Carrick, are anything like the other SR appointments, and personally would be happy with any of that trio.  I think that at present we need a recognised name to provide a fresh start for the squad and long suffering supporters, another work experience appointment at this point will unravel very quickly and likely end in disaster.

Who or what approach would be your personal preference at the current time? 

 

I don't like any of the options myself. Maybe Rogers if he's interested.

[Matthew Le God]

15 minutes ago, Zorba said:

Keep Tonda in for a few more games, just until Eddie Howe’s sacked. EH would do it for £4m a year. Come on Eddie, throw your hat in, man.

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

[CB Fry]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

Odd, because in this thread here I wanted Still, the incumbent at the time, to be replaced on September 22nd...

Or here:

 

Or here:

Or here:

No, I don't think the cap fits.

You seem to be getting into quite a tizz about this.

[Fabrice29]

28 minutes ago, Miltonaggro said:

I don't think the likes of OGS, Viera, even Carrick, are anything like the other SR appointments, and personally would be happy with any of that trio.  I think that at present we need a recognised name to provide a fresh start for the squad and long suffering supporters, another work experience appointment at this point will unravel very quickly and likely end in disaster.

Who or what approach would be your personal preference at the current time? 

 

I can’t honestly believe anyone over the age of 14 thinks we should appoint somebody because they are a recognised name. 

[Farmer Saint]

4 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

You seem to be getting into quite a tizz about this.

Not at all, just showing you that you're wrong.

[ChrisPY]

14 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

Reported that’s what Benitez earned whilst manager of Championship club Newcastle in 2016/17.

[Matty's Caddy]

Listened to solskjaer on stick to football podcast. 
a good listen and would seem to be a good fit. 
whether we could afford him is another matter

[MarkSFC]

17 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

Maybe not in your little game. In real life its possible. If someone wants to pay someone that amount as its the only way to get the person they want, they might. Stop writing opinion as fact. 

[Miltonaggro]

18 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

I can’t honestly believe anyone over the age of 14 thinks we should appoint somebody because they are a recognised name. 

I can quite believe that...

[Zorba]

26 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

We are a Premier League club.. just not at the moment.

[Hawkswood]

3 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

We've all seen this script before, it's been 3/4 years of this same script. We all know exactly how it will end, so there is no point in waiting. We knew Bazunu would be shit, there was no point in waiting. We knew Stephens would be shit, there was no point in waiting. We know that Eckert is Selles Mark II so there's no point in waiting.

It will end with him maybe stuttering to a couple more wins as we sniff to the edges of the Top 6 and everyone wets their pants, they'll announce him as manager until the end of the season.

Come the end of the season, we'd have fallen off and finished bottom half of the Championship. We are then going to sack him or do whatever with him, and be in the market for a new manager once again. 

At that stage we are a much less attractive proposition. Less money, less competitive as stronger teams will be in the league, and the usual 'no pre-season to plan, as we're looking for a new manager' nonsense.

Now is the time to appoint the manager who can raise the standards and instal the experience this squad needs. Not next year, not in the summer. Now.

Dude, if you have to spell this all out to people then its probably not worth your time and effort doing it. 

[CB Fry]

22 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Not at all, just showing you that you're wrong.

There's absolutely no one around better than Tonda, who just so happens to be our manager right now.

Got it x

[Saint Pete]

It would be totally crazy in my opinion to put trust in yet another ridiculously young and inexperienced coach after what's happened with the last couple. So we should resist any temptation to be swayed in any way by a few temporary results, particularly as the 2 wins so far have been against inferior opposition and not accompanied by particular impressive performances or any kind of improved approach really, game management has been poor but we have just been luckier than under Still.

We are surely crying out for a more experienced head and a safer pair of hands at this level and in this country to steady the ship and get everyone moving in the right direction again. If the delay is about securing such a person that they have in mind then fine, but I fear it is dithering and hoping that another couple of positive results will allow SR to take the easy/cheap option and put in their man with zero experience and track record. In which case more pain for Saints fans will inevitably be incoming over the rest of this season and potentially beyond. 

[Dusic]

Apols for a long post. Interesting thinking back over our most recent successful managers.

None of Hasenhuttl, Koeman or Pochettino had played or managed in English football.

One of them couldn't speak English. One joined after being very successful, one after being bottom of La Liga with two wins from 12 games.

One was a big name, the other two were not.

One was in some ways flexible, the other two were not.

All got off to pretty decent starts.

IMO the one thing they all had in common was a complete confidence in what they were doing. They didn't say they couldn't play a certain system until they had signed more players, or say it would take ages to get the team playing how they wanted, they pretty much said this what I am going to do and they did it. Pochettino had two sessions in zero degrees with an interpretor relaying every word and the team looked totally different.

We have had managers who were experienced names at the level, who joined after being successful elsewhere, old, young, whatever. Many haven't worked.

The ones who did were able to show very early that they had it covered. Something Will Still didn't.

Reason for saying this is in part because personally I don't think that Championship experience is particularly relevant. I don't think age is particularly relevant and I don't think being a 'name' is particularly relevant.

What is, IMO, is calmness, clarity in what you do and being able to very quickly get a team playing how you say they will. Where Pochettino, Hasenhuttl (and Martin) did, Jones, Still, Pellegrino etc didn't. Even Hughes, a very experienced manager was unable to show any kind of consistent approach aside from an initial flurry, which combined with a Swansea implosion, kept us up.

I think players work out very quickly if they rate a manager or not which is why our best ones make an impact quickly and the poor ones never do. Can't recall a recent Saints manager who had an iffy start and then turned out great.

Anyway, the club obviously rates Tonda. And in a way are fortunate to get a very clear view on whether the players are having him or not, which will become clear over the next 3 games. Thats a bit of a luxury so can see why they will use that opportunity.

If its not him then I don't care if its someone old, young, inexperienced, a veteran, from England or elsewhere - just that it is someone has confidence in themselves and clarity on how they want to play and is able to get players to actually do it - like all our best managers have. That is what fans will see and rally behind rather than just a 'name', which to be honest for SR would be the easiest thing to hire.

Edited 8 hours ago by Dusic

[Farmer Saint]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

There's absolutely no one around better than Tonda, who just so happens to be our manager right now.

Got it x

Again, haven't said that, but carry on making things up to suit your agenda, and in the meantime read what I wrote here:

"I'm not sure anyone is actually saying TE should have the job permanently - my thoughts are if we haven't had anyone that we think is suitable apply, and we can't find anyone we think will be good, why just appoint any Tom, Dick and Harry when the interim option has won two on the bounce. Keep him on in the interim until we find someone to bring in. If he really starts failing then fine, we'll have to appoint someone who may not be suitable."

I would argue everyone being interviewed is potentially better than TE, but surely that's a very low bar and we want someone who will be good, not just someone who is better than TE.

Good things come to those that wait.

[Miltonaggro]

4 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Apols for a long post. Interesting thinking back over our most recent successful managers.

None of Hasenhuttl, Koeman or Pochettino had played or managed in English football.

One of them couldn't speak English. One joined after being very successful, one after being bottom of La Liga with two wins from 12 games.

One was a big name, the other two were not.

One was in some ways flexible, the other two were not.

All got off to pretty decent starts.

IMO the one thing they all had in common was a complete confidence in what they were doing. They didn't say they couldn't play a certain system until they had signed more players, or say it would take ages to get the team playing how they wanted, they pretty much said this what I am going to do and they did it. Pochettino had two sessions in zero degrees with an interpretor relaying every word and the team looked totally different.

We have had managers who were experienced names at the level, who joined after being successful elsewhere, old, young, whatever. Many haven't worked.

The ones who did were able to show very early that they had it covered. Something Will Still didn't.

Reason for saying this is in part because personally I don't think that Championship experience is particularly relevant. I don't think age is particularly relevant and I don't think being a 'name' is particularly relevant.

What is, IMO, is calmness, clarity in what you do and being able to very quickly get a team playing how you say they will. Where Pochettino, Hasenhuttl (and Martin) did, Jones, Still, Pellegrino etc didn't. Even Hughes, a very experienced manager was unable to show any kind of consistent approach aside from an initial flurry, which combined with a Swansea implosion, kept us up.

I think player work out very quickly if they rate a manager or not which is why our beat ones make an impact quickly and the poor ones never do. Can't recall a recent Saints manager who had an iffy start and then turned out great.

Anyway, they obviously rate Tonda. And in a way are fortunate to get a very clear view on whether the players are having him or not, which will become clear over the next 3 games. Thats a bit of a luxury so can see why they will use that opportunity.

If its not him then I don't care if its someone old, young, inexperienced, a veteran, from England or elsewhere - just that it is someone has confidence in themselves and clarity on how they want to play and is able to get players to actually do it - like all our best managers have. That is what fans will see and rally behind rather than just a 'name', which to be honest for SR would be the easiest thing to hire.

Who do you suggest with these attributes?

[Saint Fan CaM]

3 hours ago, Farmer Saint said:

Why do you say that - doesn't look like he's commanded respect of anyone in his managerial career?

As a player who has played and managed at the top of World football - he was and still is, hugely respected in the sport.

I have no idea how you’ve arrived at the conclusion he’s not commanded respect - you really do show your ignorance sometimes.

[CB Fry]

6 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Again, haven't said that, but carry on making things up to suit your agenda, and in the meantime read what I wrote here:

"I'm not sure anyone is actually saying TE should have the job permanently - my thoughts are if we haven't had anyone that we think is suitable apply, and we can't find anyone we think will be good, why just appoint any Tom, Dick and Harry when the interim option has won two on the bounce. Keep him on in the interim until we find someone to bring in. If he really starts failing then fine, we'll have to appoint someone who may not be suitable."

I would argue everyone being interviewed is potentially better than TE, but surely that's a very low bar and we want someone who will be good, not just someone who is better than TE.

Good things come to those that wait.

The idea that we are interviewing "any Tom Dick or Harry" is mental for a start, even for people with a low opinion of SR. So I don't agree with that.

And "just keep going with Tonda until he starts failing" is not effective stewardship of this club or any club.

It ignores the idea that we played terrible opposition and the team played thrn for a caretaker, they have never played for Tonda as "the man".

So yeah, you're opinion but it feels insane to me.

 

[John B]

On 13/11/2025 at 10:41, Katalinic said:

To insinuate that there is nobody available and therefore we should go the unproven route (again) is ludicrous. 

I did not say we should go for the unproven route I just think getting in a good manager is very difficult because most of the suggestions on here are unlikely to happen

 

So best to wait until we can get in someone decent

 

[BERMUDASAINT]

Just some info on our u21 coach, i did not know much about him, so thought I would take a look, i am impressed, his young career stats look very good!

U21 before he took over:

2024-2025 Southampton U21 Stats
Previous Season Next Season
Record: 10-4-6, 34 points (1.70 per game), 7th in Premier League 2 (1st Tier)

Home Record: 5-2-3, 17 points Away Record: 5-2-3, 17 points

Goals: 38 (1.90 per game), Goals Against: 31 (1.55 per game), Diff: 7.

U21 under him, he had improved results and goals per game:

2025-2026 Southampton U21 Stats
Previous Season
Record: 5-3-1, 18 points (2.00 per game), 5th in Premier League 2 (1st Tier)

Home Record: 3-1-0, 10 points Away Record: 2-2-1, 8 points

Goals: 20 (2.22 per game), Goals Against: 15 (1.67 per game), Diff: 5

His career so far, has worked with some good coaches. I see Marco Rose was one of them. He has been mentioned as a canidate, i wonder if that would be a good fit as they havd worked togethef in the past?

Club & role		from / until	Games / PPG
	Southampton Caretaker Manager	25/26 (03/11/2025) / -	2 / 3.00
	Southampton U21 Manager	25/26 (11/07/2025) / -	10 / 1.90
	Genoa Assistant Manager	21/22 (19/01/2022) / 25/26 (10/07/2025)	-
Assistant Manager of: Alberto Gilardino (79 Games), Alexander Blessin (33 Games), Patrick Vieira (26 Games)
	Barnsley Assistant Manager	20/21 (13/08/2020) / 21/22 (19/01/2022)	-
Assistant Manager of: Valérien Ismaël (44 Games), Markus Schopp (16 Games), Poya Asbaghi (8 Games), Gerhard Struber (7 Games), Adam Murray (3 Games), Joseph Laumann (2 Games)
	FC Bayern U17 Assistant Manager	19/20 (01/09/2019) / 19/20 (30/06/2020)	-
Assistant Manager of: Miroslav Klose (16 Games)
	RB Leipzig U19 Assistant Manager	17/18 (01/07/2017) / 18/19 (30/06/2019)	-
Assistant Manager of: Alexander Blessin (31 Games), Robert Klauß (28 Games)
	RB Leipzig YL Assistant Manager	17/18 (01/07/2017) / 18/19 (30/06/2019)	-
Assistant Manager of: Robert Klauß (6 Games)
	AKA Salzb. U18 Assistant Manager	16/17 (01/07/2016) / 16/17 (30/06/2017)	-
Assistant Manager of: Marco Rose (22 Games)
	RB Salzburg YL Assistant Manager	16/17 (01/07/2016) / 16/17 (30/06/2017)	-
Assistant Manager of: Marco Rose (9 Games)
	1.FC Köln U17 Assistant Manager	13/14 (01/07/2013) / 15/16 (30/06/2016)	-
Assistant Manager of: Stephan Möthrath (63 Games), Ralf Aussem (14 Games), Markus Daun (1 Game)
	Fortuna Köln Head of Scouting	12/13 (01/07/2012) / 12/13 (30/06/2013)	-
	Germany Match Analyst	11/12 (01/11/2011) / 14/15 (30/08/2014)	-

 

He did play as a CM

Transfer history as a player

16/17

01/07/2016

Retired

Free Transfer

 

 

Arnoldsweiler

 

Total transfer fees:

 

 

 

 

Stats 25/26

 

Competition	Matches	W	D	L	Points	PPM
Total:	12	7	4	1	25	2.08
	9	5	3	1	18	2.00
	2	2	-	-	6	3.00
	1	-	1	-	1	1.00

Edited 8 hours ago by BERMUDASAINT

[Hopper]

5 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

As a player who has played and managed at the top of World football - he was and still is, hugely respected in the sport.

I have no idea how you’ve arrived at the conclusion he’s not commanded respect - you really do show your ignorance sometimes.

Don't understand the fascination with Viera. Most middling of managerial careers, great player, bang average manager - at best.

[Osvaldorama]

The answer is no; we absolutely should not appoint a 32 year old. 

 

And yes, there are better candidates out there, obviously.

 

SR, stop trying to be fucking hipsters and appoint an actual manager FFS 

[EBS1980]

I feel TE would be similar to Still in that he wouldn’t walk through the door and instantly have the respect of the players. That seems to be our issue currently, which is why many are asking for a name this time around.

Carrick OGS Viera etc would have that instant respect imo.

SR run our club like a game of roulette but every decision that make seems to be like putting all on number 1, rather than making decisions a little safer like backing red or black. 

[revolution saint]

34 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

There's absolutely no one around better than Tonda, who just so happens to be our manager right now.

Got it x

Said no one ever.

I get you really, really want to win an argument but that's a bit desperate.

[beatlesaint]

50 minutes ago, Matty's Caddy said:

Listened to solskjaer on stick to football podcast. 
a good listen and would seem to be a good fit. 
whether we could afford him is another matter

He would definitely fit the requirement to earn the players respect......just not sure about the rest of it ! 

[Chez]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

One thing we know is that the club makes decisions often because they don't want to upset the fanbase too much. It is almost guaranteed they are keeping an eye on forums like this. They will have seen the reaction to appointing Tonda and will know that if they do it and we get off to a shaky start that there will be something close to a revolt. For that reason I reckon they will keep him in place with no official announcement and hope he does well enough that they can then just announce it. Otherwise he won't and they might panic and just bring someone in ready for next year. Not really a way to manage a football club with purpose and vision but there you are.

I think there might be an overestimation of the importance of fan opinion on the decisions the club makes. Will Still wasn't sacked because of the anti SR songs at the PNE game, they sacked him because we weren't wining games and playing like a team devoid of any confidence and going nowhere. The club needs to get promoted. The impact on the business if we don't is massive. Do you really think a poll on saintsweb with less than 400 votes is going to sway their decision?

I've no idea what the plan is, but it could easily be that there just isn't a suitable candidate or they haven't been able to persuade the guy they want to take the job...so Tonda continues. The lack of announcement would then be because there is nothing to announce. I keep reading that they are "desperate" to appoint Tonda. How do posters know that?

 

[Saint Pete]

13 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Apols for a long post. Interesting thinking back over our most recent successful managers.

None of Hasenhuttl, Koeman or Pochettino had played or managed in English football.

One of them couldn't speak English. One joined after being very successful, one after being bottom of La Liga with two wins from 12 games.

One was a big name, the other two were not.

One was in some ways flexible, the other two were not.

All got off to pretty decent starts.
 

I don't disagree with a lot of what you said in your post, I too get nervous when people talk about appointing a "name", football is littered with managers who get appointed because of illustrious playing careers rather than their abilities as a manager/coach and usually it doesn't end well. But although the 3 successful Saints managers you mention didn't have experience in English football, they did all at least have a body of work as coaches behind them that would have given those making the appointment some confidence they could do the job we needed at the time. Poch was the youngest and definitely a left field choice at the time but he still had over 3 years experience of managing Espanyol in La Liga to give Cortese etc a good idea of what he could do and what kind of coach he was going to be. The other 2 were both experienced coaches at a good level. 

Surely you can see the difference between that and appointing the likes of Selles and potentially Eckert on a wing and a prayer just because they are easily to hand within the club already? (We have previous examples of that with Stuart Gray and Steve Wigley for those longer in the tooth like myself and they didn't end well either!). 

[Lallana's Left Peg]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

No, they pay them alot more when they sack them after a few months...

[sadoldgit]

15 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

The answer is no; we absolutely should not appoint a 32 year old. 

 

And yes, there are better candidates out there, obviously.

 

SR, stop trying to be fucking hipsters and appoint an actual manager FFS 

Should age be an issue? Fabian Hürzeler is doing ok at Brighton and he is 32.

 

[vectraman]

6 hours ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

This is a good post apart from alleging Jack Stephens "is poisonous to team harmony". The bloke absolutely bleeds red and white these days (see his reaction to the goals v QPR).

Thank you. My feeling with Jack is that I don’t believe he, THB or Flynn Downes have been fully committed 100% behind Will Still. Certainly THB and Downes have been way off the standards that they can play at. Jack Stephens I don’t think has played too badly this season. What I have issue with is he has not at any point come out and backed Will Still, and apologised for poor team performances, which as captain I’d expect him to be doing. I don’t see him on the pitch driving the team on and encouraging more from them. 
It is this nondescript non committal attitude of not publicly backing Will Still, not openly accepting we have played poorly and stating he and the players have let everyone down and it isn’t acceptable and he will strive to improve it with the squad and not let the manager down. 
Minimum expectation as club captain. Never really got that from him. Why I believe he is part of the issue as a long term player here.

 

Edited 7 hours ago by vectraman

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

1 hour ago, ChrisPY said:

Reported that’s what Benitez earned whilst manager of Championship club Newcastle in 2016/17.

With inflation, in now money terms he was paid the equivalent of £40m!

🙃

[Channons Windmill]

Thank you @BERMUDASAINT for an interesting post. A few things have struck me reading through this thread. 

Firstly, we know very little about about Eckert as a person. Spors clearly rates him so we have to run with this. I think the age thing is irrelevant, he might be a fantastic coach, organiser and motivator, we just don’t know. I think there has been a subtle change in the way the team played in the last two games and that’s a positive. Trying to change the culture of a club in two games when there has been many years of decline is unreasonable and impossible. Small changes can be effected, some of which will have quick results, others won’t. For instance he can’t pick a top quality keeper or striker if they don’t exist.

Secondly, all the names bandied around are consistently unimaginative and uninspiring. Middlesborough bounced up after Carrick’s departure, so why would we want him? Rodgers? Read the better articles about his departure from Celtic and you’d not want him nowhere near us. O’Neill? Already a journeyman manager. Hassenhuttl/Martin? Seriously?  And anyone that wants Allardyce tor Warnock can’t be taken seriously. Then who else?  For British managers, it’s a very short list - look at Danny Cowley - in recent history he was the next big thing now he’s got a lengthening CV and is currently 16th in L2 with Colchester.  Where exactly are these ‘proven Championship managers’?

I actually think we have the skeleton of a very good team, a lot of the summer signings are rather decent. It’s easy and a bit lazy to write Eckert off without further evidence but I would feel more comfortable with him coming in over one of the names above.

I may be in a small group here but I like most of what Spors has done since he’s been here, so we have to trust him..

Edited 7 hours ago by Channons Windmill

[SWLondon Saint]

6 minutes ago, vectraman said:

Thank you. My feeling with Jack is that I don’t believe he, THB or Flynn Downes have been fully committed 100% behind Will Still. Certainly THB and Downes have been way off the standards that they can play at. Jack Stephens I don’t think has played to badly this season. What I have issue with is he has not at any point come out and backed Will Still, and apologised for poor team performances, which as captain I’d expect him to be doing. I don’t see him on the pitch driving the team on and encouraging more from them. 
It is this nondescript non committal attitude of not publicly backing Will Still, not openly accepting we have played poorly and stating he and the players have let everyone down and it isn’t acceptable and he will strive to improve it with the squad and not let the manager down. 
Minimum expectation as club captain. Never really got that from him. Why I believe he is part of the issue as a long term player here.

Well, to be sort of fair to him, Cap'n Jack has never really done that - he's not an inspirational lead by example guy, he doesn't get the team going, and he doesn't take responsibility. He's much more the 'niggle at opposing players, wind yourself up and lose your own rag and get sent off' type of leader...

Edited 7 hours ago by SWLondon Saint

[Farmer Saint]

42 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

As a player who has played and managed at the top of World football - he was and still is, hugely respected in the sport.

I have no idea how you’ve arrived at the conclusion he’s not commanded respect - you really do show your ignorance sometimes.

The fact that he's failed everywhere he's been. Either that or he's just a shit manager. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Farmer Saint

[Chez]

21 minutes ago, Hopper said:

Don't understand the fascination with Viera. Most middling of managerial careers, great player, bang average manager - at best.

Likewise. Great player, but hasn't he been underwhelming all at the clubs he has been at? 

[hypochondriac]

24 minutes ago, Chez said:

I think there might be an overestimation of the importance of fan opinion on the decisions the club makes. Will Still wasn't sacked because of the anti SR songs at the PNE game, they sacked him because we weren't wining games and playing like a team devoid of any confidence and going nowhere. The club needs to get promoted. The impact on the business if we don't is massive. Do you really think a poll on saintsweb with less than 400 votes is going to sway their decision?

I've no idea what the plan is, but it could easily be that there just isn't a suitable candidate or they haven't been able to persuade the guy they want to take the job...so Tonda continues. The lack of announcement would then be because there is nothing to announce. I keep reading that they are "desperate" to appoint Tonda. How do posters know that?

 

I don't agree. I know it's not all on the fans but it's obviously a significant factor. At the fans forum they admitted that the decision to sack Martin was taken after he lost the fans and that if we had wanted him to stay then he wouldn't have gone. Clearly what the fans think is important to them. 

Personally I didn't want O'Neil at all but in a weird way I would have had more respect for those in charge to push for him and then own the decision. Cortese didn't give a fuck what the fans wanted because he knew best and ultimately he Did know best and the fans got in line when it became clear that appointing Poch was the right decision. Basically if they want Eckert then appoint him permanently now and announce that's what you are doing and own your decision. If it all blows up then it's unambiguous who is at fault. Similarly if we go charging up the league then Spors will rightly get all the plaudits. 

Edited 7 hours ago by hypochondriac

[Farmer Saint]

40 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

The idea that we are interviewing "any Tom Dick or Harry" is mental for a start, even for people with a low opinion of SR. So I don't agree with that.

And "just keep going with Tonda until he starts failing" is not effective stewardship of this club or any club.

It ignores the idea that we played terrible opposition and the team played thrn for a caretaker, they have never played for Tonda as "the man".

So yeah, you're opinion but it feels insane to me.

 

And that's why 3 pages ago I said we'd have to agree to disagree - just not sure why you had to start making stuff up to try to create a narrative that didn't exist - but that's your prerogative I guess.

[sotonjoe]

1 hour ago, Matthew Le God said:

A Championship club isn't going to pay a manager £77k per week

Source?

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, Miltonaggro said:

What does she refer to you as? The caretaker

The owner/trainer

[Farmer Saint]

7 minutes ago, Turkish said:

The owner/trainer

"Sir".

[CB Fry]

22 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

And that's why 3 pages ago I said we'd have to agree to disagree - just not sure why you had to start making stuff up to try to create a narrative that didn't exist - but that's your prerogative I guess.

The narrative of a cohort of this forum defending the incumbent has existed with every manager we have had, i was expressing amazement that it is happening with a U21 coach who has been here 5 minutes.

You're the one who decided that was aimed at you when it was a wider observation

Stop getting in a tizz x

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

4 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

"Sir".

If we don't get Gareth Southgate, I'll be furious. He's available, played and managed at top international levels, is a knight of the realm and has been in a funny Pizza Hut advert. No brainer.

[Chez]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I don't agree. I know it's not all on the fans but it's obviously a significant factor. At the fans forum they admitted that the decision to sack Martin was taken after he lost the fans and that if we had wanted him to stay then he wouldn't have gone. Clearly what the fans think is important to them. 

Personally I didn't want O'Neil at all but in a weird way I would have had more respect for those in charge to push for him and then own the decision. Cortese didn't give a fuck what the fans wanted because he knew best and ultimately he Did know best and the fans got in line when it became clear that appointing Poch was the right decision.

I think Phil Parsons said something along the lines of 'it was brutal for Russell Martin with 30,000 fans calling for his head'. But I don't recall him saying anything about them being happy to keep him if fans had wanted him. Maybe your memory is better than mine. 

Ultimately, fans disgruntlement will probably mirror what board and owners feel. I think they sacked him because they felt results were not going to change.

I agree. If they appointed O'Neil it would have showed that they felt he was the best man for the job. There is an assumption he hasn't been appointed because of the fans chant. But maybe the club didn't feel he was right for them or vis versa. 

Perhaps I am being naive, but when you have £200m invested in a club do you really allow fans to dictate how it is run?

[Lighthouse]

4 minutes ago, Chez said:

Perhaps I am being naive, but when you have £200m invested in a club do you really allow fans to dictate how it is run?

No, they don't. They will no doubt have considered than GON would be an unpopular appointment, but fans don't dictate how a club is run. The only thing that would make a difference would be if you run the club into the ground financially with widespread boycotting, which wouldn't happen if GON came in and actually did a half decent job.

[John B]

22 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I don't agree. I know it's not all on the fans but it's obviously a significant factor. At the fans forum they admitted that the decision to sack Martin was taken after he lost the fans and that if we had wanted him to stay then he wouldn't have gone. Clearly what the fans think is important to them. 

Personally I didn't want O'Neil at all but in a weird way I would have had more respect for those in charge to push for him and then own the decision. Cortese didn't give a fuck what the fans wanted because he knew best and ultimately he Did know best and the fans got in line when it became clear that appointing Poch was the right decision. Basically if they want Eckert then appoint him permanently now and announce that's what you are doing and own your decision. If it all blows up then it's unambiguous who is at fault. Similarly if we go charging up the league then Spors will rightly get all the plaudits. 

Why would they appoint Eckert after two wins against mediocre teams as there is no hurry as it is highly unlikely we will get promoted this season and if we did it would likely be a disaster

 

SR would have learnt from their mistakes with Jones and Juric  despite what some on here might think

 

Getting in a Manager when we were in the PL was much easier than in the Championship but we were only really successful with PL managers who moved on very quickly to bigger clubs

 

 

 

 

[Miltonaggro]

30 minutes ago, Turkish said:

The owner/trainer

Martin Pipe…

[Fabrice29]

1 hour ago, CB Fry said:

The idea that we are interviewing "any Tom Dick or Harry" is mental for a start, even for people with a low opinion of SR. So I don't agree with that.

And "just keep going with Tonda until he starts failing" is not effective stewardship of this club or any club.

It ignores the idea that we played terrible opposition and the team played thrn for a caretaker, they have never played for Tonda as "the man".

So yeah, you're opinion but it feels insane to me.

 

We played terrible opposition before TE took over and didn’t win so maybe he’s the messiah. 

[Fabrice29]

1 hour ago, EBS1980 said:

I feel TE would be similar to Still in that he wouldn’t walk through the door and instantly have the respect of the players. That seems to be our issue currently, which is why many are asking for a name this time around.

Carrick OGS Viera etc would have that instant respect imo.

SR run our club like a game of roulette but every decision that make seems to be like putting all on number 1, rather than making decisions a little safer like backing red or black. 

How long does instant respect last? Can you lose it? Can it be earned?