Tonda Eckert

[Turkish]

14 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

This is interesting

Just like how i predicted we'd never lose again, i told you....

[Tamesaint]

20 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Well the OP was a bit premature in the end

What kind of reactive fool would write something like that

 

Well done on manning up and taking the piss out of yourself. Mind you at the time you summed up my feelings  and those of (I guess) 99% of Saints fans. 

Wnen did you change your views on Tonda? I think I was initially converted after Charlton. Mind you I did lose my faith at Christmas having watched us at Oxford and was in your apoleptic camp after Boro. Lets just enjoy him while we can. 

 

[SNSUN]

I was reading an article about Tonda and his past in analytics and prior coaching. The bloke studies everything. No wonder nobody knows much about his personal life, he probably doesn't have one as he seems wedded to the job. I wouldn't put it past him doing a job on Man City, even if it's the class of player that sees City through. I was unsure about him for a while but I have seen the light. Give him a long contract. 

[Dman]

11 hours ago, LeG said:

5 year deal now. Let him build. 

The problem is, it'll be a total rebuild if we fail to go up. 

I'd still want to see how he performs for the first half of next season, whether that is in the PL or Championship. Both will present different, but equally as difficult challenges. We rushed in to giving Martin an extension and it came back to bite us on the arse.

I would however say that I think Tonda would be much, more suited to the PL than we ever were under Martin and you'd like to think SR have learned how to build a PL side and wont make the same mistakes again. 

Edited April 8 by Dman

[Saint_clark]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

The problem is, it'll be a total rebuild if we fail to go up. 

I'd still want to see how he performs for the first half of next season, wether that is in the PL or Championship. Both will present different, but equally as difficult challenges. We rushed in to giving Martin an extension and it came back to bite us on the arse.

I would however say that I think Tonda would be much, more suited to the PL than we ever were under Martin and you'd like to think SR have learned how to build a PL side and wont make the same mistakes again. 

Difference is even in getting promotion we were playing utter shite, moronic football under Martin and it was clear as day we would come straight back down if we kept him. Now we look like a side that could compete with anyone in the Prem and that's without the draw of the money and status of actually being there to attract better quality players.

[Dman]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Difference is even in getting promotion we were playing utter shite, moronic football under Martin and it was clear as day we would come straight back down if we kept him. Now we look like a side that could compete with anyone in the Prem and that's without the draw of the money and status of actually being there to attract better quality players.

I don't disagree at all and tried to call that out in my final sentance. We were always going to fail in the PL under Martin which made the contract extension even werider (can only assume it was something previously agreed). 

With a couple of smart additions at LB, CB, right wing, CF - we'd have more than enough to compete to stay up.

 

[Turkish]

Just now, Dman said:

I don't disagree at all and tried to call that out in my final sentance. We were always going to fail in the PL under Martin which made the contract extension even werider (can only assume it was something previously agreed). 

With a couple of smart additions at LB, CB, right wing, CF - we'd have more than enough to compete to stay up.

 

Yep, got to be a different strategy this time. Keep what we've got and add a few players of quality, even loans in key positions. No Baz or other experiments. Im assuming if we stay up Ramsdale will be back which will likely mean we dont sign Peretz which will be a huge shame but lets see. Quality CB to play alongside Hardwood-Bellis, quality striker, easier said than done i know as everyone wants one. None of this fucking around trying to be clever.

[Sheaf Saint]

23 minutes ago, Dman said:

The problem is, it'll be a total rebuild if we fail to go up. 

I'd still want to see how he performs for the first half of next season, whether that is in the PL or Championship. Both will present different, but equally as difficult challenges. We rushed in to giving Martin an extension and it came back to bite us on the arse.

I would however say that I think Tonda would be much, more suited to the PL than we ever were under Martin and you'd like to think SR have learned how to build a PL side and wont make the same mistakes again. 

We didn't really. It was conditional on getting us promoted and was pre-agreed.

It's fair to say that many of us had our doubts even during that unbeaten run that RM's philosophy would work against PL teams, and so it proved. It was naive in the extreme. I don't have such doubts with Tonda because he's proven himself to be very astute and adaptable, and has already masterminded more wins against PL opposition this season than Martin did in 2024.

[trousers]

Hmm...

 

[Dman]

27 minutes ago, trousers said:

Hmm...

 

To be fair, I wouldn't disagree with any of those from a manager point of view, other than perhaps the fella at Boro - all punching above their weight being in the top 6. 

Nailed on for Lampard, but Neil and the geezer at Hull have done a brilliant job. 

[SNSUN]

33 minutes ago, trousers said:

Hmm...

 

Lamps nailed on winner though Hull manager has performed miracles. 

Our early season form has probably put paid to one of our players being nominated but it's possible one or two will make the team of the season. THB, Azaz, Downes and Leo must be in with a shout although maybe looking at it through rose tinted specs. 

[Sheaf Saint]

45 minutes ago, trousers said:

Hmm...

 

How on Earth do both Scienza and Azaz get overlooked for that shortlist? They both have more goal involvements (14 and 18 respectively) than Hackney (12). 

[skintsaint]

56 minutes ago, trousers said:

Hmm...

 

Neil should win it, the Milwall ST guys i play footbal with thought they were going to really struggle this year.

[sockeye]

2 hours ago, Tamesaint said:

Well done on manning up and taking the piss out of yourself. Mind you at the time you summed up my feelings  and those of (I guess) 99% of Saints fans. 

Wnen did you change your views on Tonda? I think I was initially converted after Charlton. Mind you I did lose my faith at Christmas having watched us at Oxford and was in your apoleptic camp after Boro. Lets just enjoy him while we can. 

 

I think after we came back from 3-0 down to win against Leicester I started to believe we had turned a corner and were starting to build something really special.

Things have only gotten better since then, I think he’ll be poached at some point - we are in a false position due to our start to the season right now but beating Arsenal will have certainly put eyes on him. Hungry eyes you could say.

[S-Clarke]

My overriding opinion when Tonda was appointed wasn't positive, I felt a bit sorry for Tonda as I felt he was going to be thrown under the bus. It's not like I didn't have evidence to go back on, as Selles and Rusk are the examples of when we tried this before. No one of us really knew about Tonda, it was really his analysis background and no footballing/management background which made us all blink a bit.

But maybe he's what we needed, a bit of intelligence and analytical structure applied to the players in a way they understood, as I'm sure we all agree that as a squad/players - most of them are as good as this league can offer.

Personally I think he's very clever, very perspective and an exceptionally quick learner. He always seems to be thinking and analysing, and obviously that comes from his background. I didn't realise he produced the dossier for the Germany team in the World Cup Final against Argentina many years ago, so I'm not sure why it's taken so long to be truly seen.

I don't think he's a shouter, nor an ego driven manic - he seems calm, composed, introverted and quite reserved - which is probably why he's not been on anyone's radar before now. I don't think he can hide now though.

We can definitely shout when they get it wrong, which they have, but I think it's worth giving genuine credit to the footballing department, including Spors, for a few elements this year. The singings of Jander, Azaz, Larin, Pertez, Leo - not 'obvious' picks, but absolutely shrewd. I'd been calling for those sorts of clever signings for years, and we've done just that. Still was a blot - but I think the intentions were right, it just didn't work and it doesn't always work.

At this stage the 2 year deal may not be good enough! Let's hope he's not the Saganowski of Management  

Edited April 8 by S-Clarke

[saintant]

7 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

My overriding opinion when Tonda was appointed wasn't positive, I felt a bit sorry for Tonda as I felt he was going to be thrown under the bus. It's not like I didn't have evidence to go back on, as Selles and Rusk are the examples of when we tried this before. No one of us really knew about Tonda, it was really his analysis background and no footballing/management background which made us all blink a bit.

But maybe he's what we needed, a bit of intelligence and analytical structure applied to the players in a way they understood, as I'm sure we all agree that as a squad/players - most of them are as good as this league can offer.

Personally I think he's very clever, very perspective and an exceptionally quick learner. He always seems to be thinking and analysing, and obviously that comes from his background. I didn't realise he produced the dossier for the Germany team in the World Cup Final against Argentina many years ago, so I'm not sure why it's taken so long to be truly seen.

I don't think he's a shouter, nor an ego driven manic - he seems calm, composed, introverted and quite reserved - which is probably why he's not been on anyone's radar before now. I don't think he can hide now though.

We can definitely shout when they get it wrong, which they have, but I think it's worth giving genuine credit to the footballing department, including Spors, for a few elements this year. The singings of Jander, Azaz, Larin, Pertez, Leo - not 'obvious' picks, but absolutely shrewd. I'd been calling for those sorts of clever signings for years, and we've done just that. Still was a blot - but I think the intentions were right, it just didn't work and it doesn't always work.

At this stage the 2 year deal may not be good enough! Let's hope he's not the Saganowski of Management  

Agree but would you like to fall under the Tonda death stare? Up there with the Fergie hairdryer treatment I reckon.

[Saint_clark]

By the way, the craziest bit of info that came from the Arsenal game commentary was that Tonda wasn't even born when Shearer scored a hattrick on his debut against Arsenal, if you want to feel old.

[Patches O Houlihan]

4 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

By the way, the craziest bit of info that came from the Arsenal game commentary was that Tonda wasn't even born when Shearer scored a hattrick on his debut against Arsenal, if you want to feel old.

Tonda wasn't born when the Premier League started.

[Crab Lungs]

How Hellberg is in there I’d never know.

 

 

[Lighthouse]

I don’t know if anyone remembers this game specifically but it was being played as Tonda’s mother was going into labour.

[Saint86]

On 08/04/2026 at 01:02, revolution saint said:

I can’t wait for @Saint86 ten thousand word essay on how results aren’t everything. I mean, courage of your convictions and all that?

Just face reality mate, you chat a large amount of shit at times, and you don't even have the balls to admit it when you're wrong (unlike most of the forum). If you want to wear that like a badge of honour then all the more power to you, personally I'm enjoying how much its got to you whilst drinking cocktails by a pool... You gave me an extra little smile if that helps 🤣... Hope that the nibble you're after... But fyi, if you don't like when you get called out for being wrong on a football forum, you probably best find a new hobby... Your "precious" levels seem to be off the chart though...

 🤣😆

I'm hoping we get him signed up to a new contract quick as he's clearly learned PDQ and has addressed all my initial concerns over him in fairness. Sadly he's done so well (more than I suspect anyone was even hoping) that I suspect we'll lose him to a bigger club / bundesliga in the not too distant future 🤷.

Edited Thursday at 12:11 by Saint86

[revolution saint]

14 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Just face reality mate, you chat a large amount of shit at times, and you don't even have the balls to admit it when you're wrong (unlike most of the forum). If you want to wear that like a badge of honour then all the more power to you, personally I'm enjoying how much its got to you whilst drinking cocktails by a pool... You gave me an extra little smile if that helps 🤣... Hope that the nibble you're after... But fyi, if you don't like when you get called out for being wrong on a football forum, you probably best find a new hobby... Your "precious" levels seem to be off the chart though...

 🤣😆

I'm hoping we get him signed up to a new contract quick as he's clearly learned PDQ and has addressed all my initial concerns over him in fairness. Sadly he's done so well (more than I suspect anyone was even hoping) that I suspect we'll lose him to a bigger club / bundesliga in the not too distant future 🤷.

Presume you had to edit that down?

[Lard]

Manager of the month in consecutive months. 
can’t say he doesn’t fully deserve it. 
unfortunately not in the running for manager of the year. 
maybe the EFL are a little premature in announcing the nominations. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[SW5 SAINT]

Congratulations to Tonda on manager of the month. Let’s hope the manager of the month curse doesn’t strike this weekend…….

[Pilchards]

It never last month so I’m not worried.

Edited Friday at 07:21 by Pilchards

[Nordic Saint]

2 hours ago, Lard said:

Manager of the month in consecutive months. 
can’t say he doesn’t fully deserve it. 
unfortunately not in the running for manager of the year. 
maybe the EFL are a little premature in announcing the nominations. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hopefully, he'll be Manager of the Month every month. There isn't a better manager.

[pimpin4rizeal]

One thing you gotta love is at the moment we can make a load of changes and there’s hardly any drop off in performance , near enough the whole group is contributing , there’s hardly even any scapegoating from the fans. Gotta give props to tonda for this 

[Toadhall Saint]

Last 2 games = 7 different scorers (please correct me if I’m wrong). That smacks of a squad bang in form and full of confidence. That doesn’t just happen. 

[AlexLaw76]

3 hours ago, Toadhall Saint said:

Last 2 games = 7 different scorers (please correct me if I’m wrong). That smacks of a squad bang in form and full of confidence. That doesn’t just happen. 

it smacks of a squad full of quality for this league, and certainly no where near the "relegation" standard many suggested before xmas

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

it smacks of a squad full of quality for this league, and certainly no where near the "relegation" standard many suggested before xmas

If we had stayed with WS we were going down. 

[AlexLaw76]

5 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

If we had stayed with WS we were going down. 

because he was/is an appalling manager

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

because he was/is an appalling manager

Managers don’t make any difference pal

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

Managers don’t make any difference pal

I bet there are few who would, in hindsight, want to have "stuck with him no matter what", as THB, Manning and co are the problem

[Toadhall Saint]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

because he was/is an appalling manager

And Tonda is?

[Badger]

Saw this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq59yvy6v0eo

Union Berlin sack their manager and appoint a women as their interim until the end of the season.

Should this be a concern for us ? Would Tonda be interested at this stage of his career?

 

 

 

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

The run over Easter has been good. Has kept the team going and refreshing or tweaking per each game. 

Doing a good job. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

20 minutes ago, Badger said:

Union Berlin sack their manager and appoint a women as their interim until the end of the season.

Should this be a concern for us ? Would Tonda be interested?

Depends how fit she is I suppose. 

Edited Sunday at 17:38 by Lord Duckhunter

[SNSUN]

2 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Depends how fit she is I suppose. 

She's only a year older than Tonda. I'm sure he'll do all his meticulous planning before he enters into the relationship and as someone who seems to be able to improve performance levels, I'm sure there will be satisfaction.

[Badger]

3 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Depends how fit she is I suppose. 

I was going to post a picture of her from the article to canvass opinions of where she is on the 9 Pinter scale 

[BarberSaint]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

I was going to post a picture of her from the article to canvass opinions of where she is on the 9 Pinter scale 

As in Lucy?

[Holmes_and_Watson]

4 hours ago, Badger said:

Saw this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq59yvy6v0eo

Union Berlin sack their manager and appoint a women as their interim until the end of the season.

Should this be a concern for us ? Would Tonda be interested at this stage of his career?

 

 

 

The article says she will be taking charge of the women's team in the summer. But if she were to win all her games in charge, I wonder if she would then be offered the job.

[Fabrice29]

15 hours ago, Turkish said:

Managers don’t make any difference pal

 

On 11/01/2026 at 12:36, Turkish said:

How were you right about Romeu?

are you still right about our manager situation after you citied Chris Wilder not turning Sheffield United around after 1 game as reason why we don’t need an experienced manager?! 😂

 

Edited yesterday at 07:11 by Fabrice29

[Turkish]

7 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

 

 

Best post you’ve ever made 

[Sheaf Saint]

https://youtu.be/Cl2Ft5ViyE4?si=TbMGtoSOtlpjKpGz

This is from before Derby. Good analysis.

[Gerryv]

So do we think we would get a better manager if more experienced?.

He’s done a remarkable job compared to most managers we’ve ever had and deserves the respect of the fans.

i doubt any experienced manager would have done as well, or better, so let’s all support him to the hilt and hope his success continues.

[Saint86]

On 12/04/2026 at 18:17, Badger said:

Saw this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq59yvy6v0eo

Union Berlin sack their manager and appoint a women as their interim until the end of the season.

Should this be a concern for us ? Would Tonda be interested at this stage of his career?

 

 

 

I fear that if we don't get promoted, we will be vulnerable to losing him.

We all know that in that situation, sales will be required this summer - would he stick around to build up a new team when its likely he'll have bigger clubs or Bundesliga clubs calling etc?

[Toadhall Saint]

Gets a tune out of Archer.

[saintant]

39 points from a possible 45 is some going at any level. Add in cup wins against Fulham and Arsenal to secure a trip to Wembley for the semi final. Take a fucking bow Tonda.

[Pilchards]

I’m still not sure about Tonda as our manager.

Think we should give it a couple more games before deciding what to do next.

Think the boos towards him will have Sports Republic sacking him soon.

 

[RedArmy]

Well he’s certainly proved me wrong. 
 

4th from bottom on the day he took over as interim manager and now 4th from top. 
 

63 points from a possible 90. 
 

63 goals scored and 31 conceded. 
 

Magnificent.