Tonda Eckert

[SaintNewForest]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

Did they though ? SR could have dispensed with Ralph at the end of the previous season. 
The biggest failing was the transfer window summer 2022 and not signing a striker. Wasn’t that under Semmens watch ?

 

Wasn't there a bit of a power struggle that summer, between the old guard and the new guard? 

[sockeye]

I always believed in you.

[Lighthouse]

Well, I said it was never going to be him but if he carries on like this we’ll have no choice.

[badgerx16]

Nice to get a new manager bounce for a change.

[Colinjb]

If he makes it 4 out of 4, he's in for me.

Hope he does mind! 

[Nordic Saint]

The first time Saints have scored 5 away in a league game since the 5-2 win at Ipswich in 2011.

Is Tonda Eckert the first Saints manager ever to win his first 3 league games? He's having the same effect on the first team players that he had on the U21s.

Edited 3 hours ago by Nordic Saint

[Saint_clark]

Funny that we're playing the same formation and system as under still, creating the same amount of chances but players are actually putting them away now. Ekhart will end up getting it now. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

It’s great to see a manager (coach) come in and see a real difference in play, however I think he did a job on Jones today - outsmarted him hands down and the players followed instructions perfectly (despite Stephens/Baz). Now that my friends is the definition of a good manager and a huge plus in his credentials to get the full time gig. The bigger tests are coming though, so not getting too excited yet.

[CB Fry]

He's going to Brian McDermott this division no bother at all

[Lighthouse]

1 minute ago, Saint_clark said:

Funny that we're playing the same formation and system as under still, creating the same amount of chances but players are actually putting them away now. Ekhart will end up getting it now. 

We're playing far, far better than we did under Still, it's not just the finishing. We're playing the formation the way it should be played, back five when defending and three when attacking. Manning and Fellows are getting forward all the way to the by line and putting dangerous balls in. We're playing the ball around neatly at the back, then breaking quickly and with purpose into the spaces we create. Today was night and day from watching Still's teams, which looked like they just needed an extra defender because nobody knew what they were doing.

[benjii]

5 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Funny that we're playing the same formation and system as under still, creating the same amount of chances but players are actually putting them away now. Ekhart will end up getting it now. 

If you think we're playing the same way and are as creative then you don't know what you're watching. 

[23rdSaint]

10 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

We're playing far, far better than we did under Still, it's not just the finishing. We're playing the formation the way it should be played, back five when defending and three when attacking. Manning and Fellows are getting forward all the way to the by line and putting dangerous balls in. We're playing the ball around neatly at the back, then breaking quickly and with purpose into the spaces we create. Today was night and day from watching Still's teams, which looked like they just needed an extra defender because nobody knew what they were doing.

I get that Eckert has been involved in a decent EFL setup previously, but the fact a coach in a similar mould to Still, albeit more inexperienced (younger and having never managed before), is a hugely damning indictment of Still.
 

It is a bit of a shame. I was desperate for him to succeed, but he's either not as good a coach as we were led to believe or he's not been able to establish a relationship with the players and they just wouldn't play for him. Or both. 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by 23rdSaint
Grammar

[Toussaint]

20 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Funny that we're playing the same formation and system as under still, creating the same amount of chances but players are actually putting them away now. Ekhart will end up getting it now. 

I don’t agree with that, we are far more fluid and mobile under Tonda. Players making runs, giving options, pulling the opposition out of shape. The CB’s aren’t tripping over each other and spread well In possession. It’s still five at the back but bears no resemblance to Still’s five at the back. Much more dynamic.

Edited 3 hours ago by Toussaint

[Turkish]

He’s going to get it. If we can play like we did first half im sold

[ally_uk]

I don't understand how can the players suddenly start banging them in? Wtf were they doing under Still? Did they down tools ?

[Dan Johnson]

Avoid defeat against Leicester and he's in, I'd no longer be unhappy about it either, todays performance was the best we've played since Koeman 

[Wade Garrett]

5 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

I don't understand how can the players suddenly start banging them in? Wtf were they doing under Still? Did they down tools ?

Armstrong virtually said as much.

[Tom & Gerry]

25 minutes ago, 23rdSaint said:

I get that Eckert has been involved in a decent EFL setup previously, but the fact a coach in a similar mould to Still, albeit more inexperienced (younger and having never managed before), is a hugely damning indictment of Still.
 

It is a bit of a shame. I was desperate for him to succeed, but he's either not as good a coach as we were led to believe or he's not been able to establish a relationship with the players and they just wouldn't play for him. Or both. 

 

It's a funny business. A coach either fits or he doesn't.  Most of our best coaches have had a bad time with other clubs. You can have all the experience in the world but it doesn't mean it will work Take Mark Hughes, an International player and manager, managed Man City but although he kept us up few would say he was one of our best.

[Barsiem]

Hope we still take a few weeks before giving it to him full time, but today's performance was very encouraging 

[Saint_clark]

1 hour ago, Toussaint said:

I don’t agree with that, we are far more fluid and mobile under Tonda. Players making runs, giving options, pulling the opposition out of shape. The CB’s aren’t tripping over each other and spread well In possession. It’s still five at the back but bears no resemblance to Still’s five at the back. Much more dynamic.

 

1 hour ago, benjii said:

If you think we're playing the same way and are as creative then you don't know what you're watching. 

 

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

We're playing far, far better than we did under Still, it's not just the finishing. We're playing the formation the way it should be played, back five when defending and three when attacking. Manning and Fellows are getting forward all the way to the by line and putting dangerous balls in. We're playing the ball around neatly at the back, then breaking quickly and with purpose into the spaces we create. Today was night and day from watching Still's teams, which looked like they just needed an extra defender because nobody knew what they were doing.

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

Edited 2 hours ago by Saint_clark

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

Very encouraging today. Quick transitions is what I've been banging on about all season and that was on view today in the first half. Great to watch and see the other team on the receiving end. 

Fair play to him. Looks like he's used the international break to get his ideas across. Using Armstrong with the overlapping runners worked a treat. 

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

7 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

 

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

Have to disagree, after a preseason and 10 games why didn't we see the progression then? 

Transitioning from midfield to attack was much better today than anything this season.

I liked Still but it wasn't working with him.

[CB Fry]

15 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

 

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

The performance vs Swansea compared to the performance today are worlds apart.

Swansea if we had scraped a goal we would have inevitably shit the bed and quickly conceded as we did vs Derby and Bristol and Blackburn (and others). We were never comfortable in that game despite all those nearly goals.

Every Still match was a disorganised mess, even when we won. Nothing like the effective controlled performance of today.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by CB Fry

[saintant]

16 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

 

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

For me the big difference was that our wing backs got higher up the pitch and so could influence the play. It's important they keep doing this because it is vital if playing 3 centre backs.

[Raging Bull]

2 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

The performance vs Swansea compared to the performance today are worlds apart.

Swansea if we had scraped a goal we would have inevitably quickly conceded as we did vs Derby and Bristol and Blackburn. We were never comfortable in that game despite all those nearly goals.

Every Still match was a disorganised mess, even when we won. Nothing like the effective controlled performance of today.

 

So what’s changed exactly? I’ve not got the time or inclination to look into the differences at the moment. 

[Lighthouse]

14 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

I've no idea why you're trying to argue this viewpoint. I'm not saying Tonda is definitely the right man for the job but I've no idea how you can't see a clear difference between the three games he's had so far and Still's team.

Last three games - Won 3 - Scored 10 - Conceded 3

Still's last three games - Lost 3 - Scored 2 - Conceded 7

Even if you say Still's game plan against Swansea was absolutely perfect and credit him with a 4-0 win, it still leaves us about 17th in the table at the time he gets sacked. On that note, he wasn't sacked because of 20 minutes of booing at St Mary's, he was sacked because he was useless and our £60m team was sinking towards the relegation zone.

[benjii]

21 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

 

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

Rank nonsense, I'm afraid.

[benjii]

3 minutes ago, Raging Bull said:

So what’s changed exactly? I’ve not got the time or inclination to look into the differences at the moment. 

Centre backs playing a bit wider, because wing backs encouraged to start higher up. Central midfield moving more quickly to pull the opposition out of shape and make channels for passes forwards. Defenders told to trust their ability, not punt it up the pitch (who can forget our masterclass against the Skates?).

Armstrong dropping into better pockets of space and Scienza playing closer to the ball to make things happen.

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, ally_uk said:

I don't understand how can the players suddenly start banging them in? Wtf were they doing under Still? Did they down tools ?

Stills tactic was lump it long, today we play quick incisive pass and move, the difference in tactics and style was bleeding obvious pal 

[Give it to Ron]

4 minutes ago, Raging Bull said:

So what’s changed exactly? I’ve not got the time or inclination to look into the differences at the moment. 

Our 3rd goal summed it up drew them in accurate passes then pinged in at pace to feet and runners and options off the ball. 

[Give it to Ron]

1 minute ago, benjii said:

Centre backs playing a bit wider, because wing backs encouraged to start higher up. Central midfield moving more quickly to pull the opposition out of shape and make channels for passes forwards. Defenders told to trust their ability, not punt it up the pitch (who can forget our masterclass against the Skates?).

Armstrong dropping into better pockets of space and Scienza playing closer to the ball to make things happen.

Bang on the money!!

[Midfield_General]

The difference today was:

- every time someone received the ball in midfield they had clearly been told to turn, look up, and drive forward

- we played to the strengths of the three midgets/ wisps up front and played the ball along the ground as much as possible and into space behind rather than pumping the ball up in the air

- we took our chances (Azaz early one aside)

- we were aggressive and competed for everything (almost - free header for the goal aside)

- we got our forward players who have the ability to hurt people on the ball as early as possible, to feet, in the areas they wanted it - specifically Scienza, Fellows, Azaz and Armstrong 

Basic stuff, but put it all together and it’s stuff we haven’t been doing and it’s night and day from the nervous, back foot shite that’s been served up by managers and players too damaged by defeat to to trust our ability to attack. 

Edited 17 minutes ago by Midfield_General

[RedArmy]

14 minutes ago, benjii said:

Centre backs playing a bit wider, because wing backs encouraged to start higher up. Central midfield moving more quickly to pull the opposition out of shape and make channels for passes forwards. Defenders told to trust their ability, not punt it up the pitch (who can forget our masterclass against the Skates?).

Armstrong dropping into better pockets of space and Scienza playing closer to the ball to make things happen.

And the most important thing is getting the ball up the pitch in as few passes as possible. 
 

Will Still seemed to think all you needed to do was build your way up the pitch and commit men forward (even if it’s a CB)  to create the overloads and open the space.  
Get the ball forward while the space is already there and the quality of chance is drastically improved as we saw today. 

Edited 1 hour ago by RedArmy

[Wade Garrett]

39 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

 

The players were getting to the point that Toussaint outlined in his post. The five at the back is exactly the same, last two games we played worse and today we played better. 

Still was sacked early because fans changed against Sports Republic and they couldn't have that. If he'd been given time we'd have seen the same progression. 

 

Today - 31 shots on goal

Swansea home - 28 shots on goal. 

The difference? Not the formation or the style of play, simply the composure of the players on the pitch.

I don’t think we’d have seen the same.  The players downed tools on Still.  Absolutely no doubt about that.  I don’t like it, but he was that bad I don’t really blame them.

[benjii]

21 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

The difference today was:

- every time someone received the ball in midfield they had clearly been told to turn, look up, and drive forward

- we played to the strengths of the three midgets/ wisps up front and played the ball along the ground as much as possible and into space behind rather than pumping the ball up in the air

- we took our chances (Azaz early one aside)

- we were aggressive and competed for everything 

- we got our forward players who have the ability to hurt people on the ball as early as possible, to feet, in the areas they wanted it - specifically Scienza, Fellows, Azaz and Armstrong 

Basic stuff, but put it all together and it’s stuff we haven’t been doing and it’s night and day from the nervous, back foot shite that’s been served up by managers and players too damaged by defeat to to trust our ability to attack. 

You say we took our chances... yes, but:

- we still fluffed two or three very good ones

- we created more than in any match under Still (highest xG of the season by far)

I can't believe there are people on here who think finishing is the only difference between this and Still's version.

[HarvSFC]

Okay, he's quickly made me eat my words from the last two weeks. Charlton are a well drilled outfit under Jones and had only lost one of their last six before today. Was expecting a tough match, but it wasn't.

I maintained belief that this squad of players were capable of providing these types of results in this league. Although they got dumped out of the Premier League, they're still up there with the best in the Championship. We just never saw a good performance under Still, even in pre-season when we were playing against Eastleigh. We never 

A good manager unlocks the team to perform like they did today. No arguments regarding today. 

Fellows and Azaz, two of the more exciting signings of the summer for us have finally been unshackled.

[SteveBish]

Still not 100% on TE but this is the type of play we should of been playing since Ross got injured, we seemed to find the style of play worked a bit with Ross as a target man but as soon as he got injured we have no one else to play that way and needed to change playing style but we didn't and Still did not seem to understand that you have to change tactics.

These tactics with fast pace and balls into space are what we should of been playing for a long time.

So well done TE for seeing it and playing to the teams strengths

Lets hope it continues to work for the next 2 games🤞

Edited 59 minutes ago by SteveBish