Tonda Eckert

[benjii]

Carrick is good enough for Man U, but I'm glad we weren't seduced by the hype and went for a data-driven, clever choice, instead.

[Turkish]

3 minutes ago, benjii said:

Carrick is good enough for Man U, but I'm glad we weren't seduced by the hype and went for a data-driven, clever choice, instead.

the data tells us that our use of data driven outcomes is flawed.

[John Boy Saint]

7 minutes ago, benjii said:

Carrick is good enough for Man U, but I'm glad we weren't seduced by the hype and went for a data-driven, clever choice, instead.

Man U haven't been clever in any department since SAF hung up his whistle - been a while since they have been a benchmark .........................unless you want to consider buying nothing plays at over inflated prices and having your pants pulled down royally in the process - think we have followed their lead on that one well: relative to our finances.

[Saint NL]

On 10/01/2026 at 21:01, qwertyell said:

"I'm basically just a chilled out entertainer."

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

[Weston Super Saint]

1 hour ago, Saint NL said:

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

Surely by his logic a coach is a co and an ach, which is as much nonsense as ageing man!

[AlexLaw76]

[Miltonaggro]

1 hour ago, Saint NL said:

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

What a fucking tool! I am amazed he is yet to manage Saints. 

[tdmickey3]

Just now, Miltonaggro said:

What a fucking tool! I am amazed he is yet to manage Saints. 

He still might as he wont last long at Chelsea

[Miltonaggro]

3 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

He still might as he wont last long at Chelsea

Sure Rasmus can manage it and Spors will mansplain the reasoning. 

[S-Clarke]

2 hours ago, Saint NL said:

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

He may go on and be a huge success at Chelsea, but logic dictates that he won't. He hasn't helped himself by talking nonsense though.

Going into a Chelsea press conference and saying that 'I'm good at what I do' isn't confidence from his perspective, it's setting yourself up to fail. Speaking waffle like above isn't confidence, it's setting yourself up to fail.

Of course Jose came in and proclaimed he was the special one, but he had league Trophies, Champions League Trophies behind him to somewhat give his confidence a bit of credibility. This guy failed at Hull - a squad including Delap, Carvalho, Giles, Twine, Philogene, Zaourey, Greaves, Seri should not have finished outside the playoffs. He then took Strasbourg to mid-table in France, nothing to shout about either. What he's achieved does not give him any edge to start shouting about like he is. 

There were genuine links to him in the summer, I think we'd have grabbed him if he was obtainable - but I never rated him. He's another modern philosophy-driven manager, who talks corporate guff to appease the people who actually make the decisions above him.

[saintant]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

He may go on and be a huge success at Chelsea, but logic dictates that he won't. He hasn't helped himself by talking nonsense though.

Going into a Chelsea press conference and saying that 'I'm good at what I do' isn't confidence from his perspective, it's setting yourself up to fail. Speaking waffle like above isn't confidence, it's setting yourself up to fail.

Of course Jose came in and proclaimed he was the special one, but he had league Trophies, Champions League Trophies behind him to somewhat give his confidence a bit of credibility. This guy failed at Hull - a squad including Delap, Carvalho, Giles, Twine, Philogene, Zaourey, Greaves, Seri should not have finished outside the playoffs. He then took Strasbourg to mid-table in France, nothing to shout about either. What he's achieved does not give him any edge to start shouting about like he is. 

There were genuine links to him in the summer, I think we'd have grabbed him if he was obtainable - but I never rated him. He's another modern philosophy-driven manager, who talks corporate guff to appease the people who actually make the decisions above him.

This corporate guff is what is ruining football. Rich people who think they are clever have infiltrated football clubs. They don't want to be coaches but their huge egos lead them to actually believe that they know enough about the game to warrant influencing what goes on and how the game should be played. It is a slippery slope and things are getting worse. High time the grass roots guys who know and love the game took back control but the stark reality is that money talks so these charlatans can buy their way in and manipulate the narrative. We have first hand knowledge of how damaging such charlatans can be once they attain position of power and influence.

[Badger]

12 hours ago, Saint NL said:

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

Seemed a hipster cunt at Hull, and living up to that now.

Glad we’ve given this one a wide berth , an ego to match Russell.

Expect him to be out of Stamford Bridge by October. 

[saintant]

18 minutes ago, Badger said:

Seemed a hipster cunt at Hull, and living up to that now.

Glad we’ve given this one a wide berth , an ego to match Russell.

Expect him to be out of Stamford Bridge by October. 

He probably will but his bank account will look pretty healthy. 

[Patrick Bateman]

12 hours ago, Saint NL said:

This guy is giving off big David Brent energy

Man Age ... brilliant(ly cringeworthy), what a bell. 

[Gloucester Saint]

29 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Man Age ... brilliant(ly cringeworthy), what a bell. 

I’d much rather listen to a seasoned football manager like Stevie Cotterill at my local club than idiots like him, Tonda, Martin, Maresca and the other bullshitters. 

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj9rw324zmpo

Some sombre facts there.

Most possession in the Championship. 

Most build up in the Championship. 

Armstrong is the top scorer (great) but has had over 80 shots! 

[SaintNewForest]

Christ, all this hipster business corporate bullshit is doing my head in. Technical directors dictating styles of play with no accountability as well. Managers nothing more than a glorified cone and bib man. 

Chelsea and Man Utd (and us!) are everything wrong with modern football. 

[S-Clarke]

2 hours ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cj9rw324zmpo

Some sombre facts there.

Most possession in the Championship. 

Most build up in the Championship. 

Armstrong is the top scorer (great) but has had over 80 shots! 

I saw those stats, to those at the club they are sadly evidence that everything is fine. They're doing it right etc.
But those sorts of stats are stats without context, because when you watch it with your own eyes the passing sequences, possession etc happens between the centre backs, GK and full backs. That's where the stats get the tick up, of course oppos are happy for us to do it there.

I'd be interested to see our possession stats in the final third, rather than an overall. I'd predict it would be very low.

[SaintNewForest]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

I saw those stats, to those at the club they are sadly evidence that everything is fine. They're doing it right etc.
But those sorts of stats are stats without context, because when you watch it with your own eyes the passing sequences, possession etc happens between the centre backs, GK and full backs. That's where the stats get the tick up, of course oppos are happy for us to do it there.

I'd be interested to see our possession stats in the final third, rather than an overall. I'd predict it would be very low.

That's allon page 2; Rasmus hasn't got to that point in his spreadsheet yet. 

[Gloucester Saint]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I saw those stats, to those at the club they are sadly evidence that everything is fine. They're doing it right etc.
But those sorts of stats are stats without context, because when you watch it with your own eyes the passing sequences, possession etc happens between the centre backs, GK and full backs. That's where the stats get the tick up, of course oppos are happy for us to do it there.

I'd be interested to see our possession stats in the final third, rather than an overall. I'd predict it would be very low.

Plus it’s as dreadful to watch as Branfoot’s ‘the full backs hit diagonals in the channels looking for the big lump’ style. Both are anti-football.

[Willo of Whiteley]

Stats mean absolutely fuck all. 

If you don’t score one goal more than the opposition then it’s all irrelevant.

Nothing should matter more.

Not really sure why most managers want to play pretty nowadays, play effective.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

2 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Stats mean absolutely fuck all. 

If you don’t score one goal more than the opposition then it’s all irrelevant.

Nothing should matter more.

Not really sure why most managers want to play pretty nowadays, play effective.

Yep. Thats why i had hope when Still came in saying he's here to win....little did we know then of what was going to transpire.

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Gloucester Saint said:

Plus it’s as dreadful to watch as Branfoot’s ‘the full backs hit diagonals in the channels looking for the big lump’ style. Both are anti-football.

It's absolutely anti football, propaganda football you could call it. It's not just us who do it, all these low-calibre managers instruct it because it makes them look better than they are and incorrectly inflates statistics and 'data'.

I think it was all borne out of the tika-taka Barca days, clubs trying to be the next Barca/Man City, managers trying to be the next pep (it's all about possession football). That's one part of it, and they ignored the fact that Pep had some of the best players in the world at his instruction to implement it.

Try the same with fricking Downes and Manning and you get what we've got.

I think you have to ensure any team trying to play 'catch up' with the big clubs is full of pace and power, lots of energy and use that to press hard and counter on the 'better sides'. That's what makes these teams uncomfortable, if you try to copy them (which is what too many teams are doing) then they will sit back, wait for you to get bored and just pounce - and football then becomes boring, predictable and full of false platitudes. (like Pep coming out and praising us, after thumping us 4-0)

[Gloucester Saint]

7 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Stats mean absolutely fuck all. 

If you don’t score one goal more than the opposition then it’s all irrelevant.

Nothing should matter more.

Not really sure why most managers want to play pretty nowadays, play effective.

I’d dispute whether it’s pretty at all. Liverpool did it in the 1980s during the last 10 minutes of games before the backpass rule to the keeper (one of the reasons it was introduced) to kill off narrow wins frequently.