Tonda Eckert

[saintant]

Tonda must be on Liverpool's radar right now 🙂

[Midfield_General]

17 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Which former Page 3 girl do we think he'll end up banging?

I'm thinking Keeley Hazell.

 

Kathy Lloyd. Kick it old-skool. 

[lambtiss]

31 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Kathy Lloyd. Kick it old-skool. 

I raise you Linda Lusardi and Maria Whittaker 

[Charlie Wayman]

1 hour ago, saintant said:

Tonda must be on Liverpool's radar right now 🙂

Probably a bit too early in the guy's career for the Scousers or himself to take a punt.

We should take comfort from the fact that Frank was not tempted away from Brentford even after promotion. My gut feeling is that Eckert is cast from a similar mould, if he sees Saints as his project he'll probably want to stay with us to try his hand at the Premier League with a group of players he feels comfortable with. Young hopefuls willing to learn form a far different proposition from a bunch of millionare prima donna's who think they know everything there is to know already.

Edited Thursday at 17:39 by Charlie Wayman

[Charlie Wayman]

I'll await Wade's take on us stepping into the Lion's Den but after recent perfomances it's hard to see past a Saints win, just a matter of how many we can score. I'll stick my neck out and say 6-0.

[Number9]

3 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Probably a bit too early in the guy's career for the Scousers or himself to take a punt.

We should take comfort from the fact that Frank was not tempted away from Brentford even after promotion. My gut feeling is that Eckert is cast from a similar mould, if he sees Saints as his project he'll probably want to stay with us to try his hand at the Premier League with a group of players he feels comfortable with. Young hopefuls willing to learn form a far different proposition from a bunch of millionare prima donna's who think they know everything there is to know already.

Not necessarily from a first team manager perspective but may be from a U21 / Assistant manager point of view. 

That would certainly be a bigger draw for Tonda than staying with the Saints with no guarantee of promotion to the premier league.

[washsaint]

1 hour ago, Midfield_General said:

Kathy Lloyd. Kick it old-skool. 

Cor blimey, I had a real crush on her back in the day (same age as me).  I just saw a recent picture of her.  WTF has she done to her face?  Looks like she'll melt if she goes near a fire/heat!

[Ted Bates Statue]

19 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Which former Page 3 girl do we think he'll end up banging?

I'm thinking Keeley Hazell.

 

Lucy Pinder would be the logical choice because she is well known for supporting us

[Miltonaggro]

20 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Which former Page 3 girl do we think he'll end up banging?

I'm thinking Keeley Hazell.

 

Christopher Biggins, safari sogoody! 

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, Ted Bates Statue said:

Lucy Pinder would be the logical choice because she is well known for supporting us

I think a certain former manager might have something to say about that 

[Turkish]

4 hours ago, saintant said:

Tonda must be on Liverpool's radar right now 🙂

He’s going to be our Alex Ferguson 

[Weston Super Saint]

53 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I think a certain former manager might have something to say about that 

Nah. She only likes men with jobs.

[Rivers]

I kept my powder dry, and held off on committing to a final decision on Tonda for a while. I was guilty of nailing my colours to the mast of the impending glorious Selles revolution far too soon. And that didn't go so well.

It was driven by emotion, and the feel-good-factor of finally ridding ourselves of that fucking nail-munching bellend. You know, the one from the small Welsh mining village. The fittest human being in history. Ruben came in, and his positivity and exuberance immediately lifted the deep-seated gloom that weighed so heavy over the whole city for so long.

Tonda Eckert has imparted a similar effect upon us, albeit without the cult of personality, and by consistently actually winning football matches, which is nice. 

I needed to be sure that there was some genuine substance behind the uptick in form. The first two wins did not convince me.

But then came Charlton away, and what a day that was. The obnoxious toxic cunt that is Nathan Jones, was clearly sooo very desperate to get one over on us. I'm pretty sure he was smugly confident of the sweet revenge he'd been seething for. What a joy it was, to blow him away with twenty minutes of scintillating attacking football!

Finger-tips taped up to the max. Gnawing away at the flailing threads of his failing dream, as the Saints away support gleefully taunted him all game long. 

It seemed pretty clear by now, that Tonda was making swift headway in his task of constructing the proverbial silk purse out of the steaming pile of shite that had been our beloved Southampton Football Club for far too long.

But -- still -- it was emotion that was leading me. Relief. Joy. Celebration.

Tuesday night was something else entirely though. It was a masterclass, that showcased extreme attention to detail, and tactical understanding. I am struggling to remember how long it must be, since I actually enjoyed watching Saints play football. For years now, even when stringing a few wins together, it has been like slow water torture.

I love to see my team keeping the ball, but not for the sheer fucking sake of it. Possession should be maintained in and around the edge of the opposition's penalty area, patiently probing to pick the lock of a packed defence; not endlessly and dangerously recycled around in our own. It should be a form of attack, rather than a mind-numbing spirit crushing vanity project.

And after another supremely confident first half blitz of that same Leicester City that always blow us away, that second half display from us was simply pure tactical control of the game. It was calm, measured and authoritative. And it was a joy to behold.

It was understandable as a fanbase, who are frankly sick to death of seeing our wonderful Club being dragged through the gutter of abject humiliation -- wrought upon us by Sport Republic's revolutionary "if it ain't broke, then clusterfuck it up royally" brand of decision making, to have absolutely no trust left in them to make a quality decision.

But on this occasion, it sure seems like credit must be given where due. They obviously wanted Tonda, because behind the scenes, in the training environment, they could clearly see what we as yet could not. 

He is very quickly putting together a quality attacking football team, out of a clearly talented squad who just a few weeks ago were "not fit to wear the shirt". He has unleashed the creativity we've been crying out for. Set our players free from the shackles of all that endless footballing negativity. Shunned the excruciatingly cautious approach, and is sending us out to actually attack from the first whistle, and try to score as many goals as we can.

Now that's what I call football! 

Keep up the good work Meister Eckert. It has been a joy to watch.

 

[saintant]

9 hours ago, Rivers said:

I kept my powder dry, and held off on committing to a final decision on Tonda for a while. I was guilty of nailing my colours to the mast of the impending glorious Selles revolution far too soon. And that didn't go so well.

It was driven by emotion, and the feel-good-factor of finally ridding ourselves of that fucking nail-munching bellend. You know, the one from the small Welsh mining village. The fittest human being in history. Ruben came in, and his positivity and exuberance immediately lifted the deep-seated gloom that weighed so heavy over the whole city for so long.

Tonda Eckert has imparted a similar effect upon us, albeit without the cult of personality, and by consistently actually winning football matches, which is nice. 

I needed to be sure that there was some genuine substance behind the uptick in form. The first two wins did not convince me.

But then came Charlton away, and what a day that was. The obnoxious toxic cunt that is Nathan Jones, was clearly sooo very desperate to get one over on us. I'm pretty sure he was smugly confident of the sweet revenge he'd been seething for. What a joy it was, to blow him away with twenty minutes of scintillating attacking football!

Finger-tips taped up to the max. Gnawing away at the flailing threads of his failing dream, as the Saints away support gleefully taunted him all game long. 

It seemed pretty clear by now, that Tonda was making swift headway in his task of constructing the proverbial silk purse out of the steaming pile of shite that had been our beloved Southampton Football Club for far too long.

But -- still -- it was emotion that was leading me. Relief. Joy. Celebration.

Tuesday night was something else entirely though. It was a masterclass, that showcased extreme attention to detail, and tactical understanding. I am struggling to remember how long it must be, since I actually enjoyed watching Saints play football. For years now, even when stringing a few wins together, it has been like slow water torture.

I love to see my team keeping the ball, but not for the sheer fucking sake of it. Possession should be maintained in and around the edge of the opposition's penalty area, patiently probing to pick the lock of a packed defence; not endlessly and dangerously recycled around in our own. It should be a form of attack, rather than a mind-numbing spirit crushing vanity project.

And after another supremely confident first half blitz of that same Leicester City that always blow us away, that second half display from us was simply pure tactical control of the game. It was calm, measured and authoritative. And it was a joy to behold.

It was understandable as a fanbase, who are frankly sick to death of seeing our wonderful Club being dragged through the gutter of abject humiliation -- wrought upon us by Sport Republic's revolutionary "if it ain't broke, then clusterfuck it up royally" brand of decision making, to have absolutely no trust left in them to make a quality decision.

But on this occasion, it sure seems like credit must be given where due. They obviously wanted Tonda, because behind the scenes, in the training environment, they could clearly see what we as yet could not. 

He is very quickly putting together a quality attacking football team, out of a clearly talented squad who just a few weeks ago were "not fit to wear the shirt". He has unleashed the creativity we've been crying out for. Set our players free from the shackles of all that endless footballing negativity. Shunned the excruciatingly cautious approach, and is sending us out to actually attack from the first whistle, and try to score as many goals as we can.

Now that's what I call football! 

Keep up the good work Meister Eckert. It has been a joy to watch.

 

I agree with much of this and I was very sceptical of Tonda based on him being only 32 and the coach of our U21s. My sceptism has been replaced by respect and admiration after our performances in the last two games. Of course it could be a false dawn but I don't think it is.

The clever tweaks he has made all over the pitch have worked brilliantly. His attention to detail is clear and it is obvious he works tirelessly to get the team playing how he wants. In a few short weeks we have gone from a ragtag bunch who had zero cohesion, no shape and a look that they weren't enjoying playing to a well drilled unit in which everyone knows his role. The players are smiling again and the team spirit is back in abundance.

Some of the football has been a joy to watch, fast, creative and with a clear aim to get the ball up the pitch and not constantly recycle it. We all know it could come crashing down but it doesn't have that feeling so I'd like to thank Tonda for giving me back the feeling of enjoyment and excitement when watching Saints play which has been missing for so long - I'm certain many others think the same and, if it goes pear shaped, at least we've had our hopes raised for now. Our long suffering fans deserve this to be the real deal.

Edited yesterday at 10:18 by saintant

[saintnick]

The more I listen to him and see the team performing as it has now and in recent games,  I can’t argue anything other than give him the job. He's calm, takes time to provide a clear and concise response to questions and above all delivers… 

[die Mannyschaft]

Win at Millwall and club will announce he's got job till end season. 

[Zorba]

Should have changed something at half time today but didn’t, just continued with the same routine and it was clear that Millwall had sussed that out. Subs were poor in the second half and made us worse. I’m back in the “keep looking for a new man” camp, there’s no major rush and we’ll see how Tonda fares when we’ve faced a few more top 10 sides. Today was a let down.

[LGTL]

Performance, and context of the defeat, is more concerning than the actual defeat. You can’t win them all but we were pathetic after going ahead and he could do absolutely nothing to address it. 

[Harry_SFC]

4 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Performance, and context of the defeat, is more concerning than the actual defeat. You can’t win them all but we were pathetic after going ahead and he could do absolutely nothing to address it. 

Agree. It was his biggest test so far and failed it unfortunately. Let's hope we bounce back next weekend.

Edited 4 hours ago by Harry_SFC

[Dr Who?]

Not on it today and nearly came away with a draw, which would have been a great point. Not to be today. It is easy to judge and say what we should have done differently, but Millwall are bloody good at home and that is why they are 3rd. Give him the job until the end of the season, I not going to knee jerk reaction to this. He has done enough to earn this at least and it is clear we do not have anyone else in mind. 

[bpsaint]

3 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Performance, and context of the defeat, is more concerning than the actual defeat. You can’t win them all but we were pathetic after going ahead and he could do absolutely nothing to address it. 

Inclined to agree with this. Poor game management not just the lack of change after HT, but the choice of subs in the second half. Manning was having a shocker and that left side needed a change. Bringing Aribo on when he’s clearly phoning it in was a big error.

It’s an odd one because if this loss was in the middle of his 5 games we’d probably all be saying how well he’s done and to give him the job full time. 

[saintant]

On 27/11/2025 at 16:20, saintant said:

Tonda must be on Liverpool's radar right now 🙂

As you were - he's just been removed from their radar.

[saintant]

On 28/11/2025 at 10:15, saintant said:

I agree with much of this and I was very sceptical of Tonda based on him being only 32 and the coach of our U21s. My sceptism has been replaced by respect and admiration after our performances in the last two games. Of course it could be a false dawn but I don't think it is.

The clever tweaks he has made all over the pitch have worked brilliantly. His attention to detail is clear and it is obvious he works tirelessly to get the team playing how he wants. In a few short weeks we have gone from a ragtag bunch who had zero cohesion, no shape and a look that they weren't enjoying playing to a well drilled unit in which everyone knows his role. The players are smiling again and the team spirit is back in abundance.

Some of the football has been a joy to watch, fast, creative and with a clear aim to get the ball up the pitch and not constantly recycle it. We all know it could come crashing down but it doesn't have that feeling so I'd like to thank Tonda for giving me back the feeling of enjoyment and excitement when watching Saints play which has been missing for so long - I'm certain many others think the same and, if it goes pear shaped, at least we've had our hopes raised for now. Our long suffering fans deserve this to be the real deal.

We can't have nice things can we 🙂

[Willo of Whiteley]

The thing that concerns me is that he brings Aribo on.

That in itself is alarming.

[saintant]

41 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

The thing that concerns me is that he brings Aribo on.

That in itself is alarming.

Agree - Aribo has done nothing each time he's been brought on.

[egg]

54 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

The thing that concerns me is that he brings Aribo on.

That in itself is alarming.

Yeah. Matsuki would have been a better option. 

[Badger]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

Yeah. Matsuki would have been a better option. 

Possibly, but I wonder if the expectation is that the bigger and more experienced Aribo is a better and more physical option than a lightweight Matsuki. 

Answer on a postcard has now hopefully dropped through Tonda’s door for future matches. 

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Tonda is not for me, not yet. He lacks stature and his naivity cost us today.

[Badger]

14 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Tonda is not for me, not yet. He lacks stature and his naivity cost us today.

Critical thing for me is if he learns from it. If Aribo is cast aside and not called upon again then that’s a good sign. If he keeps bringing him on then worrying.

Agree that he doesn’t come with the ready made stature or aura, but of those who might - Gerard or Carrick perhaps - I’m not sure they’d provide a better option. And we’d have to go through another painful process of them finding out about their squads.

Sadly the managers (or ‘head coaches’) who might meet the ‘stature’ criterion are unlikely to be persuaded to come to us. 
 

But it also goes to underline the poor squad depth any manager has to work with (GK’s, CB’s, Manning, Aribo … CF). 

[BARCELONASAINT]

Their subs made a difference, ours made us worse. I never want to see Aribo again. This was not the right game to bring on Romeu!

[Wade Garrett]

Eckert has massively enhanced his reputation and good luck to him.  For me though, I would prefer someone experienced and today proved it.

[Lighthouse]

I’m willing to give him a lot more slack than Still for the simple reason that his team selection and subs were somewhat dictated to him by player availability. Downes and Charles were out, meaning Bragg had to start but at his age it’s never wise to play 90 minutes in consecutive weekends. After 75 minutes at Charlton, he was always likely to be brought off today too. An unfit Romeu really was the only option by that point.

When Tonda starts bring on Stephens to replace Leo, when we’re only 1-0 up, then I’ll be more concerned.

[AlexLaw76]

Not for me. Today he had absolutely no idea how to manage a game that, very early on, was clearly not going how he/we wanted it.

Great when it works, but no chance are teams just going to leave the midfield wide open for us.

Someone experienced please

[Harry_SFC]

10 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I’m willing to give him a lot more slack than Still for the simple reason that his team selection and subs were somewhat dictated to him by player availability. Downes and Charles were out, meaning Bragg had to start but at his age it’s never wise to play 90 minutes in consecutive weekends. After 75 minutes at Charlton, he was always likely to be brought off today too. An unfit Romeu really was the only option by that point.

When Tonda starts bring on Stephens to replace Leo, when we’re only 1-0 up, then I’ll be more concerned.

The Aribo sub was a stinker though. There's no denying that.

[BILLY]

Tonda had a poor game today.  Very poor in game management.  Manning should have been off at H/T.  Aribo was dog shit and didn’t give a fook. 

[saint michael]

Until we got ahead Leicester could have scored and I think with our mentality the result might have been different. Today really showed up the capability of the defence against a strong team. 
 

we need to be sure that Tonda can influence games when up against it and can stabilise this bloody awful defence. I’ve not seen enough to believe he can direct and change this defence. Even with absolutely shyte players it still lacks structure and the techniques of the basics. 
 

I think that we will see a lot more of today’s stuff if we keep him as mgr. I like him but he needs to work alongside someone with more experience. 
 

I do wonder if today’s players are bothered about learning how to play a position in a team or just turn out wear a shirt and deal with what happens when it happens 

Edited 51 minutes ago by saint michael

[S-Clarke]

Next Saturday will be a good test - see if he's able to lift the side. Birmingham will be another tough game.

Nothing he did worked today, although the players need to take some serious responsibility in the later stages of games - it can't all be on the manager. (I'm looking at you, Captain Jack)

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

Next Saturday will be a good test - see if he's able to lift the side. Birmingham will be another tough game.

Nothing he did worked today, although the players need to take some serious responsibility in the later stages of games - it can't all be on the manager. (I'm looking at you, Captain Jack)

Birmingham are a team who will press us pretty hard, and not allow the space/time on the ball for us to do what we want.

[Roger]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

Next Saturday will be a good test - see if he's able to lift the side. Birmingham will be another tough game.

Nothing he did worked today, although the players need to take some serious responsibility in the later stages of games - it can't all be on the manager. (I'm looking at you, Captain Jack)

Stephen’s and thb proved vs hull they can’t compete against big players and Millwall had 3 defenders who bullied them. Fellows isn’t a wing back and manning can’t stop crosses so with this in mind we should have played quashie rather than Stephen’s. 

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, Roger said:

Stephen’s and thb proved vs hull they can’t compete against big players and Millwall had 3 defenders who bullied them. Fellows isn’t a wing back and manning can’t stop crosses so with this in mind we should have played quashie rather than Stephen’s. 

I wouldn't even have fancied Quarshie today, his legs would have been going all over the place. I think we need a better CB, as I don't really rate any of ours. I like Edwards, but seemingly the club want to cash in on him.

I agree with Fellows, in the last couple of games he was excellent from wing back because he was attacking - he was against 10 men mid-week, and against Charlton they didn't even attack - so he could just play as a winger. That's where we bought him for, so I agree - play him as a winger once Mads is back.

[Wade Garrett]

4 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Next Saturday will be a good test - see if he's able to lift the side. Birmingham will be another tough game.

Nothing he did worked today, although the players need to take some serious responsibility in the later stages of games - it can't all be on the manager. (I'm looking at you, Captain Jack)

He shouldn’t have picked Stephens in the first place  after our clean sheet v Leicester.  He was fucking crap today.  
 

 

[Roger]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

I wouldn't even have fancied Quarshie today, his legs would have been going all over the place. I think we need a better CB, as I don't really rate any of ours. I like Edwards, but seemingly the club want to cash in on him.

I agree with Fellows, in the last couple of games he was excellent from wing back because he was attacking - he was against 10 men mid-week, and against Charlton they didn't even attack - so he could just play as a winger. That's where we bought him for, so I agree - play him as a winger once Mads is back.

Quashie did well in the week though and wins a lot in the air. I agree we need better than all 3. Jelert is better than mads isn’t he? 

[saintant]

I wonder what is being discussed at the club regarding the manager situation. Discussions will obviously be going on and, at some stage, a decision has to be made. 4 wins on the bounce by Eckert has bought some time but today was a step backwards in terms of set up, tactics and in game management. We can't let this drag on too long - either appoint Eckert or bring in someone else but don't dither.

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Roger said:

Quashie did well in the week though and wins a lot in the air. I agree we need better than all 3. Jelert is better than mads isn’t he? 

I think the club have decided Jelert is for the bin, he'll be gone in January.

[Harry_SFC]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

I wonder what is being discussed at the club regarding the manager situation. Discussions will obviously be going on and, at some stage, a decision has to be made. 4 wins on the bounce by Eckert has bought some time but today was a step backwards in terms of set up, tactics and in game management. We can't let this drag on too long - either appoint Eckert or bring in someone else but don't dither.

I've got this feeling it's already a done deal and they will announce it next week. 

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Harry_SFC said:

I've got this feeling it's already a done deal and they will announce it next week. 

You mean Tonda will be confirmed?

[Harry_SFC]

1 minute ago, saintant said:

You mean Tonda will be confirmed?

Yeah. Based on nothing other than gut feeling. But we'll see.

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, Harry_SFC said:

Yeah. Based on nothing other than gut feeling. But we'll see.

Yeah I imagine they've done most of the legalities already, they just wanted a full week between fixtures before announcing it. 

[Sheaf Saint]

34 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

The Aribo sub was a stinker though. There's no denying that.

On paper, it should have been a good one to make. When he's playing to the best of his ability, Aribo is good in possession and less likely to give the ball away than JRob was. He's obviously been training OK, otherwise he wouldn't even be on the bench, but for whatever reason he decided to just phone it in today (and in other recent cameos) and that gave Millwall all the momentum.

As far as poor substitutions go, it's not quite up there with Still taking off Scienza and replacing him with Jack Stephens at Ewood Park.