Who Had Heard Of Pochettino ! As Saints Fans Question New Manager's Credentials Friday, 20th Dec 2024 13:24 Even though an official announcement has yet to be made it seems that Ivan Duric is going to be appointed as the successor to Russell Martin at Southampton, but some Southampton supporters are questioning the appointment already. It cannot be denied that most Saints fans were pleased to see the back of Russell Martin, the accusation cannot be levelled at the supporter base that they turned on Martin unfairly, most appreciated that he had done the job he was brought in to do and most were willing to give him a chance to show that he could cut it in the Premier League, although there were some who predicted that it would all end in tears. But it did all become clear that Russell Martin was either way out of his depth or just too stubborn to compromise the level of his possession game even slightly, even if it meant getting relegated. The crowd at the games though never turned on the manager until the game against Spurs last Sunday when it was the straw that finally broke the camels back. That proved to be the case for the Southampton owners and board and they moved swiftly to relieve Martin of his position, although most would say it was 5-6 games after they should have done it.
Now the knives are out for the alleged new manager Ivan Juric, even before he has arrived in the City, let alone been appointed as manager, I can understand the frustration amongst the fanbase, the club dithered far too long in sacking the manager and they were hoping that they would bring a new man in who would be experienced in the Premier League and Juric has neither played or managed in this country. But although there is disappointment, that should not mean that the manager is judged before he has been given a fair crack of the whip, after all he is not the first manager to come in whom the fans were criticising the appointment before a ball had been kicked. Some managers of the club who are now regarded as legends, were given stick by the fans at the start of their tenure and ended it as legends.
Lawrie McMenemy & Gordon Strachan in earlier era's did not exactly arrive to a warm welcome from Saints fans. Perhaps one still fresh in the mind of most Saints fans was Mauricio Pochettino, when he was appointed on January 13th 2013, there were many who were on the club's back, ironically for sacking a man who had just got us promoted from the Championship and was doing ok in the Premier League in Nigel Adkins. There was uproar at Adkins sacking by Nicola Cortese and even more of a backlash when his successor was named as Mauricio Pochettino, it was fair to say that most had not heard the name before. Although Pochettino had played for Argentina, winning 20 caps, most of his football had been played in Spain for Espanyol, the second club in Barcelona. They were a middling La Liga team and when he finished playing he started his coaching badges and had no coaching experience at all aside from the womens team at Espanyol at the end of the 2009 season when he was appointed coach and tasked with saving from relegation, He would then spend a further 3 seasons as Espanyol boss, most of which were about fighting relegation before he was sacked in November 2012.
So when he was appointed Southampton manager it was fair to say that Saints fans were underwhelmed and it wouldn't be unfair to sat that they were also outraged. But Pochettino showed that he could make the step up and although it would all end in tears with his defection to Tottenham Hotspur he proved that sometimes a person's track record is not great but he can still become a success. So there are some comparisons to be drawn, should as expected Ivan Juric be appointed as Southampton manager this afternoon, Juric has built his coaching career up over a longer period than Pochettino, he got Crotone promoted to Serie A and he has managed at four other Serie A clubs with varying success over the past 9 years. Some would say that all he has achieved as a coach is one promotion from Serie B, but that is one more item on his CV than Mauricio Pochettino had when he joined Southampton. So the moral of this article is that in football nothing is guaranteed, you can bring in a top manager and they can be disasters, Pochettino is also evidence of this elsewhere and you can bring in unknown coaches who flourish. As I say nothing is guaranteed, but whoever is the manager, the support of the fans can be crucial. Supporters can change the perspective, we are sunk this season, well almost, but we can go down with pride and back the team and manager, we can help it be easier to succeed rahter than making it easier to fail. Perhaps Ivan Juric will be another in the line of managerial disasters, but then again perhaps he will be next to be one of the successes, don't judge him till we have seen what he can do. So till we know that the jury has to be out, NOT the Juric has to be out! All Photos Via Reuters Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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