Tonda Eckert

[Lighthouse]

55 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

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

He picked up a bad muscle injury, didn't he? AFAIK, that's the reason he's been out for a few weeks, not that the club don't rate him.

[Dr Who?]

I think Tonga will be given until the end of the season, either tomorrow or Monday. IF it does not work out, we have next season to make sure we get it right. We are still in with a shot at the top 2-6 if we put another run together between now and Christmas, but there are a big group of clubs that will be thinking the same. 

[harvey]

3 hours ago, Badger said:

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. 

I would have said Aribo was more 'lightweight' than Matsuki........I cringed when I saw Aribo was coming on. He's slow, negative and offers nothing.

[obelisk]

1 hour 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.

A few steps backwards to something like the QPR performance if you ask me. I'm not sure that Eckert's the man for the job right now but he'll probably get the nod and we'll end up wallowing in mid table.

[Saint86]

50 minutes ago, obelisk said:

A few steps backwards to something like the QPR performance if you ask me. I'm not sure that Eckert's the man for the job right now but he'll probably get the nod and we'll end up wallowing in mid table.

I'm still not convinced he's ready for it yet, and I am not sure I see the rush to give it to him full time - he isn't going anywhere.

I also cannot shake the fact that we've got issues in the dressing room (re effort / player power / attitude), and that specifically some of those players have been some of the most vocal at bigging him up.

Edited Saturday at 23:47 by Saint86

[Wade Garrett]

5 hours ago, Saint86 said:

I'm still not convinced he's ready for it yet, and I am not sure I see the rush to give it to him full time - he isn't going anywhere.

I also cannot shake the fact that we've got issues in the dressing room (re effort / player power / attitude), and that specifically some of those players have been some of the most vocal at bigging him up.

Spot on and one of the reasons I would prefer a manager with experience, both as a manager and a player.  
 

[coalman]

He was lucky to get wins in his first two games. Then presided over our two best games of the season. Now he's presided over just about our worst performance.

Any other teams watching yesterday will have noted that if they press and deny us an out ball to midfield that we offer no threat and will keep giving them the ball back.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

58 minutes ago, coalman said:

Any other teams watching yesterday will have noted that if they press and deny us an out ball to midfield that we offer no threat

But this has always been the case and was the big downfall with RM's plan in the Premier League. Teams know how to press effectively nowadays so do we practice finding an out ball in training with opposition around them? It's a bit like watching the goalkeepers in pre=match warm-up. They all look like they've got a safe pair of hands with no-one around them, but for corners, Baz tends to be a flapper and has no presence. Again, it looks like they haven't practiced these situations.

Admittedly, you can't hoof all goal kicks to AA hoping he's going to win the first ball but yesterday he was far too far up the pitch at goal kicks.

[coalman]

35 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

But this has always been the case and was the big downfall with RM's plan in the Premier League. Teams know how to press effectively nowadays so do we practice finding an out ball in training with opposition around them? It's a bit like watching the goalkeepers in pre=match warm-up. They all look like they've got a safe pair of hands with no-one around them, but for corners, Baz tends to be a flapper and has no presence. Again, it looks like they haven't practiced these situations.

Admittedly, you can't hoof all goal kicks to AA hoping he's going to win the first ball but yesterday he was far too far up the pitch at goal kicks.

Armstrong isn't going to win anything if you play long ball. Playing it into feet with him coming short or over the top / through the middle works but he's easily nullified by a big lad that stays tight. Without space to operate in he's in trouble.

I'd hope we practice playing against the press but our own press is so poor these days I doubt it's good practice.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

10 hours ago, Harry_SFC said:

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

A lot will depend on if they have anyone else lined up. Tonda could well get it by defaullt... which isn't very satisfactory.

[Wade Garrett]

Looks to me like the lunatics have taken over the asylum.  Player power - Stephens back in the side and a return to pointless tippy tappy football.

Eckert has neither the experience or reputation to take them on.  We need someone who has.

[Whitey Grandad]

40 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Looks to me like the lunatics have taken over the asylum.  Player power - Stephens back in the side and a return to pointless tippy tappy football.

Eckert has neither the experience or reputation to take them on.  We need someone who has.

What was Stephens thinking with that back header?

[Fabrice29]

On 26/11/2025 at 07:41, Wade Garrett said:

Maybe.  After last night I wouldn’t be upset if he got the job.  Best football I’ve seen us play in ages, and superbly organised when we don’t have the ball.

 

42 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Looks to me like the lunatics have taken over the asylum.  Player power - Stephens back in the side and a return to pointless tippy tappy football.

Eckert has neither the experience or reputation to take them on.  We need someone who has.

The above you? Perfectly encapsulates the madness of this place. 

[The Wyvern]

57 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Looks to me like the lunatics have taken over the asylum.  Player power - Stephens back in the side and a return to pointless tippy tappy football.

Eckert has neither the experience or reputation to take them on.  We need someone who has.

What exactly do you think is “player power” here? Picking Stephens over Quarshie? Is that it? 

[Harry_SFC]

21 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

What was Stephens thinking with that back header?

That's the issue. He doesn't think.

[Wade Garrett]

11 minutes ago, The Wyvern said:

What exactly do you think is “player power” here? Picking Stephens over Quarshie? Is that it? 

Stephens, who don’t forget, went to the board and threw Still under the bus, back in the side after we kept a clean sheet.  
Back to RussBall with no end product.  It was a fucking hard watch yesterday and a throwback to a load of shite performances we have seen with the usual suspects in the side.

[Wade Garrett]

28 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

 

The above you? Perfectly encapsulates the madness of this place. 

Not really.  I hadn’t seen the Millwall game after the Leicester match.

Out failings yesterday were clear for all to see.  Eckert may well get the job, but I think an experienced manager would have us organised, well-drilled and the players would know who was boss.

 

[Toussaint]

3 hours ago, coalman said:

He was lucky to get wins in his first two games. Then presided over our two best games of the season. Now he's presided over just about our worst performance.

Any other teams watching yesterday will have noted that if they press and deny us an out ball to midfield that we offer no threat and will keep giving them the ball back.

That’s what was worrying me. Nobody has really moaned too much about the poncing around at the back under Tonda,  because until yesterday we were getting results. However, I felt it was inevitable that when we played better teams who pressed us it would backfire. Millwall pretty much had us pinned in our defensive third and when we did get out,  counter attacked really effectively. This is where not having a holding up centre forward really causes us problems. 

[tdmickey3]

1 hour ago, Whitey Grandad said:

What was Stephens thinking with that back header?

He is a liability, an accident in the making, no sense of positioning, no awareness, a poor leader, no discipline and very little talent.

[Fabrice29]

59 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Not really.  I hadn’t seen the Millwall game after the Leicester match.

Out failings yesterday were clear for all to see.  Eckert may well get the job, but I think an experienced manager would have us organised, well-drilled and the players would know who was boss.

 

Yeeea, maybe stop basing your opinions and emotions on only the latest performance. It’s okay to not write off a manager after a defeat and bad performance btw. Maybe he’s shit. Maybe we’re shit. Just let it play out. 

[Dr Who?]

21 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

He is a liability, an accident in the making, no sense of positioning, no awareness, a poor leader, no discipline and very little talent.

A perfect Saints defender! 

[Wade Garrett]

17 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

Yeeea, maybe stop basing your opinions and emotions on only the latest performance. It’s okay to not write off a manager after a defeat and bad performance btw. Maybe he’s shit. Maybe we’re shit. Just let it play out. 

Thanks for the advice, I really value it.

[SfcPhil]

Lose to a last second goal away at a side that started the day in 4th position and look at this place.

If that doesn't go in, then a draw is a good result there in my opinion. Fine margins.

We're not going to dominate games like we have in the last two games, every game and you're going to have a drop off in performance levels every now and then, especially with three games in a week, but I'd rather it was against a good side than one at the bottom (Blackburn anyone?).

We were also missing key players in CM and in Leo, this disrupts the harmony of a winning side. If Downes doesn't get booked against Leicester, then I doubt Romeu would be in the squad for example.

Also saw a post saying to that was one of the worst performances of the season.. behave. We scored twice, under Still we rarely looked like scoring. Some posters have very short memories indeed.

Edited Sunday at 11:02 by SfcPhil

[Wade Garrett]

10 minutes ago, SfcPhil said:

Lose to a last second goal away at a side that started the day in 4th position and look at this place.

If that doesn't go in, then a draw is a good result there in my opinion. Fine margins.

We're not going to dominate games like we have in the last two games, every game and you're going to have a drop off in performance levels every now and then, especially with three games in a week, but I'd rather it was against a good side than one at the bottom (Blackburn anyone?).

We were also missing key players in CM and in Leo, this disrupts the harmony of a winning side. If Downes doesn't get booked against Leicester, then I doubt Romeu would be in the squad for example.

Also saw a post saying to that was one of the worst performances of the season.. behave. We scored twice, under Still we rarely looked like scoring. Some posters have very short memories indeed.

You could be right, but it was a piss-poor performance from the players and the manager.  A throwback to shite we’ve all seen before, which for me is a worry.  
Eckert is a bright guy, that much is clear.  But there are plenty of bright guys out there who have been round the block, which I think is what we need.
 

Edited Sunday at 11:12 by Wade Garrett

[S-Clarke]

13 minutes ago, SfcPhil said:

Lose to a last second goal away at a side that started the day in 4th position and look at this place.

If that doesn't go in, then a draw is a good result there in my opinion. Fine margins.

We're not going to dominate games like we have in the last two games, every game and you're going to have a drop off in performance levels every now and then, especially with three games in a week, but I'd rather it was against a good side than one at the bottom (Blackburn anyone?).

We were also missing key players in CM and in Leo, this disrupts the harmony of a winning side. If Downes doesn't get booked against Leicester, then I doubt Romeu would be in the squad for example.

Also saw a post saying to that was one of the worst performances of the season.. behave. We scored twice, under Still we rarely looked like scoring. Some posters have very short memories indeed.

I go with the general feeling that we were lucky to even be in the game, we were fortunate to be at 2-2 in the 95th min.

We weren't in it yesterday, we couldn't gain any control nor management of that game in any minute. It was a really piss poor effort when you look at what went on before, but it also raised the alarms as to how we revert back to type when opposition press us aggressively. We didn't have that against Leicester, Charlton, Wednesday etc - and we were fine.

QPR pressed us hard, but we were lucky as shit to get out of thee with a win. So this performance was more in line with the QPR away one for me, still major, major question marks over the makeup of this squad and the inexperience in and around the coaching staff to see us over the line in these 'bog standard' Championship encounters.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Wade Garrett said:

  
Eckert is a bright guy, that much is clear.  But there are plenty of bright guys out there who have been round the block, which I think is what we need.
 

What you describe is a need for a Robbins or similar.
 

Say it quickly and often enough and that stacks up. In practice the difficulty is identifying and attracting one who is either available, and/or willing to come to us. 
 

Yes, you’re right but without repeating  the same debate from this and the manager thread there doesn’t seem to be any immediate candidates meeting the above requirements. In which case we end up recycling a manager from the same stagnant pool. 

[Wade Garrett]

5 minutes ago, Badger said:

What you describe is a need for a Robbins or similar.
 

Say it quickly and often enough and that stacks up. In practice the difficulty is identifying and attracting one who is either available, and/or willing to come to us. 
 

Yes, you’re right but without repeating  the same debate from this and the manager thread there doesn’t seem to be any immediate candidates meeting the above requirements. In which case we end up recycling a manager from the same stagnant pool. 

There are several out of work managers that I would take.  

[Badger]

2 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

There are several out of work managers that I would take.  

But are they realistically likely to be interested?

Rose aside - and he won’t be interested I’m sure - I don’t see many that I’d be keen on. Carrick was a name mentioned at the outset that appealed but reading the comments from his time at Middlesbrough it seemed a bit ‘Lego-esque’ in how it ended up.

 

[Mboto Gorge]

2 hours ago, Fabrice29 said:

Yeeea, maybe stop basing your opinions and emotions on only the latest performance. It’s okay to not write off a manager after a defeat and bad performance btw. Maybe he’s shit. Maybe we’re shit. Just let it play out. 

Top work Jordan 

[Fabrice29]

6 minutes ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Top work Jordan 

Either I’m Jordan or just not an absolute looney who publicly declares he’s not spending money on the club on a message board because he doesn’t like us winning 4 games in a row.

[Willo of Whiteley]

This is quite funny to read now.

I’m in the camp of I don’t really give a shit who is in charge as long as we win and perform.

Ultimately I think Tonda will get the job until at least the end of the season. But I have huge reservations still about our formation, give at the back simply invites pressure and nullifies any attacking threat - that is basic stuff.

I’m also concerned about his persistence in bringing players like Aribo on when they clearly aren’t interested, over a youngster, which as must as a risk as it may be, I’d rather have them.

Another KEY point is that most of these players are not that great. A new manager will get them playing better, but they won’t become Man City overnight, if ever.

I think this conspiracy theory of “SR want to play five at the back, Jack Stephens runs the club” kind of bollocks needs to stop. That is very pathetic in itself, and with absolutely no substance to that.

[Wade Garrett]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

But are they realistically likely to be interested?

Rose aside - and he won’t be interested I’m sure - I don’t see many that I’d be keen on. Carrick was a name mentioned at the outset that appealed but reading the comments from his time at Middlesbrough it seemed a bit ‘Lego-esque’ in how it ended up.

 

I wouldn’t mind Carrick or Solskjaer.

[skintsaint]

3 hours ago, Badger said:

Rose aside - and he won’t be interested I’m sure

Hey Marco, you been out of work for a bit. How about £500k to take over for this season with a £1.5m bonus on promotion.

The added bonus of managing the Saints will please your god too.

Should tempt him.

[Mboto Gorge]

5 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

There are several out of work managers that I would take.  

Oh no there isn’t, according to some on here, there are literally no other options. There’s no one at all who could do the job other than Eckert now

[StrangelyBrown]

7 hours ago, tdmickey3 said:

He is a liability, an accident in the making, no sense of positioning, no awareness, a poor leader, no discipline and very little talent.

It has always been this way but somehow he's still here after a very long time

[StrangelyBrown]

3 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I think this conspiracy theory of “SR want to play five at the back, Jack Stephens runs the club” kind of bollocks needs to stop. That is very pathetic in itself, and with absolutely no substance to that.

Jack Stephens runs the club clearly as you say is a load of bollocks, but

I'm not so sure about 3 CBs - Rasmus put Brentford's success in his Brentford days down to 3 CBs and we've had a weird obsession with the formation for a number of managers now despite it not working. Relentlessly playing this way makes no sense at all.

[goodymatt]

 

[S-Clarke]

Not a surprise, fully expected. The club wanted this as soon as they shuffled him into the first team, at the expense of the incumbent Trollope/Lallana.

And then when you add the continuous club fluff pieces with players blowing praise up his arse, it was always the end goal.

Is it the right call? I don't think so, personally. He had a great run of 4 games, things clicked against Charlton and Leicester specifically - but we came down to that same bump against Millwall, all the old fragilities and lack of game management on and off pitch came back to bite us.

The club clearly can't hang on an Interim for long, so they had to make a call - but I don't agree with the view that there is simply no one else out there other than Tonda, we'd have been attractive to a wide range of more experienced managers.

But it's what it is, the club have stuck themselves on Tonda - will it be the first SR masterstroke, or yet another catastrophic misjudgement in their history of misjudgements?

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

22 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Not a surprise, fully expected. The club wanted this as soon as they shuffled him into the first team, at the expense of the incumbent Trollope/Lallana.

And then when you add the continuous club fluff pieces with players blowing praise up his arse, it was always the end goal.

Is it the right call? I don't think so, personally. He had a great run of 4 games, things clicked against Charlton and Leicester specifically - but we came down to that same bump against Millwall, all the old fragilities and lack of game management on and off pitch came back to bite us.

The club clearly can't hang on an Interim for long, so they had to make a call - but I don't agree with the view that there is simply no one else out there other than Tonda, we'd have been attractive to a wide range of more experienced managers.

But it's what it is, the club have stuck themselves on Tonda - will it be the first SR masterstroke, or yet another catastrophic misjudgement in their history of misjudgements?

Agree and well said.

 

[Suhari]

Another SR gamble and example of them trying to be super-clever.

Admittedly his extened job interview has gone pretty well (results-wise). But I'm not convinced such an inexperienced manager is what we need to drive a promotion push this season and probably next.

I guess we will see...

[LiberalCommunist]

I like TE, and I'm not against giving him the position, albeit on a short contract. But they should wait. We've seen the players respond to him, we've also seen a blip. Leave him in the try out stage for a few more matches. Get closer to January, then if the power shift in the dressing room suddenly rears its head, we have a chance to cut it out root in all with a new boss. I still don't trust some of these players. And I'm not prepared to blame the RM hangover any longer. They are all on probation right now. 

[Wade Garrett]

7 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

I like TE, and I'm not against giving him the position, albeit on a short contract. But they should wait. We've seen the players respond to him, we've also seen a blip. Leave him in the try out stage for a few more matches. Get closer to January, then if the power shift in the dressing room suddenly rears its head, we have a chance to cut it out root in all with a new boss. I still don't trust some of these players. And I'm not prepared to blame the RM hangover any longer. They are all on probation right now. 

Sensible view.  I think tomorrow will be a good barometer for the manager.  Will he be strong enough to make changes needed?  
I hope so, because if he lets the influential players dictate, we’re going down the shitter.

Would be a master stroke to get an experienced guy involved in the set-up.

[sadoldgit]

20 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

I like TE, and I'm not against giving him the position, albeit on a short contract. But they should wait. We've seen the players respond to him, we've also seen a blip. Leave him in the try out stage for a few more matches. Get closer to January, then if the power shift in the dressing room suddenly rears its head, we have a chance to cut it out root in all with a new boss. I still don't trust some of these players. And I'm not prepared to blame the RM hangover any longer. They are all on probation right now. 

There will be more managers to choose from in a few weeks time too when the mid season cull begins in earnest.

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, sadoldgit said:

There will be more managers to choose from in a few weeks time too when the mid season cull begins in earnest.

What you mean the managers who have been sacked because they're shit?

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

What you mean the managers who have been sacked because they're shit?

Bizarre thing to say. Virtually every manager in football has been sacked. As an example, Eddie Howe has been sacked in the past "for being shit" but no one at this point would suggest that means he wouldn't be good enough for us. 

[Zorba]

As it stands at the moment, Eckerts appointment will end in a mid table finish, just outside the play-offs. Of the five games, only the Charlton game has impressed me. QPR and Sheff W are crap. Leicester were riddled with defensive injuries and we lost to Millwall who have the worst goal difference in the top half of the league. I’ve enjoyed the wins and watching Scienza shine, but we haven’t turned a corner imo, we’ve just played some really poor teams. I like Tonda and hope he does well but he’s going to have to grow some balls, drop the shysters and challenge the board to get some critical positions filled with quality players. If SR want him in so much, I expect them to back him in the January Transfer Window.

Edited 4 hours ago by Zorba

[capitalsaint]

I really like him and think he'll do well.

But then I thought the same about Will Still, so I'm basically an idiot.

[LeBizzier69]

Hoping the fans give him a chance, get behind the team, and don't start booing (whether that's the team/manager/SR/all three) at half time if we go in 0-1 down. Honda might surprise us all.

[Saint Pete]

Well, if we are appointing him it feels like a lazy, indecisive move from the club to just go with the man already to hand, ignoring evidence of experience and capability for the job. Common sense says that we should be going for a more experienced man with a track record as a manager. I get nervous when people talk of "rapport with the squad" as a justification to appoint him, players will say what they think people want to hear when asked questions about prospective managers and wouldn't want to get in the bad books of the guy who will be picking the team of course!

That said, there has been some improvement in the period he has been in charge so we can only hope that the club have stumbled on a gem in the making this time and have got it right. He will have my support, but I think patience will be needed as when you appoint such an inexperienced guy you will have to accept he will make some mistakes while he is learning. 

[vectraman]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

What you mean the managers who have been sacked because they're shit?

Name a manager who has never been sacked!!