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Reply | Martin would have gone by now if....
at 14:56 21 Oct 2024
Unfortunately, I believe the current issues with Saints are somewhat complex. It’s difficult but I’ll try to be brief. For starters:
The players. Saints have too many players who are not good enough individually. This need not be a fatal problem but is exacerbated by:
1) Mental fragility – both individually and collectively;
2) Lack of fitness; and
3) Being played out of position and in a team which is picked inconsistently.
The manager. Many of the players’ issues are compounded by the way they are managed. Last season Saints were lucky to be promoted – we came good in the play-offs (lottery) whilst Leeds, to a certain extent, imploded. Given the squad last year, this was simply not good enough and was a good predictor for this season. Unfortunately, Martin is tactically naïve and seems stubborn. Some people say he deserves a chance because “he is a nice guy” or because we got promoted last season. These are both irrelevant – the only thing that counts is current performance. Quite frankly, he should have gone some time ago – I suspect it’s now too late.
The owners/board. Many of the root causes are down to the owners/board. When Sport republic took over Saints were 14th in the Premier League and beat Brentford 4-0 in the first game. By the time of the Man. City cup match, Saints were up to tenth on 35 points. Since then, it’s been downhill. A combination of poor player recruitment and shocking managerial recruitment/management has been at the heart of the decline. I believe it’s not because of a lack of investment in transfers but, put simply, the board is trying to be too clever. I think they are experimenting with an unproven model of running a multi-club structure without either the necessary funs or competence to do so effectively. In order for Saints to get out of the current hole, either this season or next, the need is for a proven manager & I think that the board would find this too challenging and so I have no faith in their ability to appoint the type of manager Saints need.
There are two other issues that are worth noting:
The fans. There’s always a lot of criticism of Saints’ fans for two reasons – being too quiet and being on mobiles during the matches. The former is a long-standing problem exacerbated by a lack of on-field joy this season. The latter is a function of modern society. I don’t believe that either of these issues are unique – but they don’t help in the current circumstances.
Refereeing. By all accounts Saturday’s refereeing performance was beyond inept to the point that it raises some serious questions. It’s worth noting that last season Forest were fined for complaining, seemingly with some justification, about the quality of refereeing. I can’t help but notice that this week they are playing on Monday AND Friday, which I’m sure is just a coincidence. |
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Reply | Southampton Board Split On Russell Martin Situation
at 12:18 3 Oct 2024
If I were Solak, I would be furious at these charlatans p!ssing away his hard earned!
Nick's implication that Ankerson knows about football is laughable, as the performance since SR took over suggests that even some of the crazier people on this forum actually know more about football than he does.
These guys are destroying the club we all love and it's gut wrenching! |
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Reply | 'Martin Out' fans are clueless!
at 12:02 1 Oct 2024
It's worth bearing in mind the following:
1 November 2022 Unai Emery starts as Villa manager
10 November 2022 Nathan Jones starts as Saints manager!
I said last season that I thought that we would be in trouble with RM as manager in the Premier League and frankly nothing has changed! Saints got lucky last year and, although people quote the 25 game unbeaten run, there were some awful games/results to balance this out. I'm afraid he's as much of a charlatan as Jones.
The issue is that Kraft and Ankerson think they're "smarter than the average bear" and are playing at being clever with someone else's money (Solak), which is always easy. I worry that they will not want to hire a manager who can challenge them and much as I want rid of RM, I do worry who the replacement would be.
BTW - those fans who want Martin out seem to be backed up by facts, those that don't are back up by God knows what. |
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Reply | Lots of transfer activity but no sign of a Goalkeeper
at 10:55 4 Jul 2024
We are FOUR days into the transfer window yet you're already whining like a pre-pubescent little girl. I've never met a so-called international businessman at any level who whines non-stop.
Let's wait a bit to see what happens especially as in a separate thread on Woods' arrival, Areasix mentioned that we are waiting on an answer from a good keeper who is away on holiday. |
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Reply | Who are you voting for?
at 11:55 20 Jun 2024
I came across this on the Integrity Project website:
"These are good times for the hypocrite, the spineless, the shallow, the venal; for the zealot, the fanatic, the freak, and the fool.
"Wherever we look – in literature, in history, in the newspaper, to say nothing of closer to home – we find excellent examples of hypocrisy, corruption, plagiarism, fabrication, selling out and compromise. But then there are also the rarer cases of integrity maintained under extraordinary circumstances, but at the cost of all the niceties of social life."
When you judge which party to vote for you may want to consider the above! |
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Reply | (No subject) (n/t)
at 11:47 20 Jun 2024
Have you had any luck with your kind offer?
I'm not holding my breath as some people are really only happy stirring things up on the other side of a key board. I've always held the view that if you wouldn't say something to someone's face then you shouldn't post it but unfortunately some people's lives are so empty they can't manage that. |
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Reply | General Election
at 21:03 13 Jun 2024
The way I look at it is:
1) You can judge the Tories on their actual performance. Do you think they have done a good job? Are you confident that they can do a good job going forward? By good job, you can assess this for you and your family and/or the country as a whole. Has the last 14 years worked for you? Has it worked for the UK as a whole?
2) If no, do you believe that Labour would do a BETTER job? It's difficult to judge so this is about gut feel and reflecting on 1997 - 2010 performance;
3) If you're still not happy then does one of the other parties chime with your values, personal aims and aims for the country as a whole?
For me, the answers to the first 2 questions are, for the country as a whole, NO. The UK is broken in so many different areas and I have no faith that either main party to put it right.
So I'm left with the Lib Dems , Greens, Reform or spoiling my ballot. At present I have no idea which way to go but I hope that I can vote for a party that at least I can feel comfortable with. It may boil down to which party can deliver a positive campaign, which party could deliver electoral reform, which is long overdue, and whether I feel that I can trust any of the lying b*stards! If not, then I'll spoil my ballot - I certainly won't vote for any particular party just as a protest. |
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Reply | General Election
at 14:55 13 Jun 2024
If you vote for a party whose policies you don't believe in then you are effectively endorsing their position.
Rather than not voting, an alternative is to spoil your ballot paper. That way, your "vote", or lack of it, gets counted but you haven't endorsed any particular party. |
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Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 11:13 6 Jun 2024
I agree with all the sentiments so far. I just wanted to add a couple of things:
1) In the USA, college football is much more accessible and popular than NFL. I don't think an ESL would have a huge negative impact on English leagues;
2) Nick is right to suggest separation between ESL teams and other members of their franchises in English leagues. Nick's second model is one that I would advocate so as not to punish the true fans of those teams;
3) Back in the 70's & '80's English teams played in European competitions. Today, those teams may be based in Manchester, Liverpool, London but in my view they are not English teams (even clubs like Saints to a certain extent). The ownership is foreign, the managers & players are predominantly foreign and in the case of the big 6 so too are the majority of the fans;
4) The effect of the polarisation has also been devastating for the smaller European leagues - their best players are poached and they often then poach players from Africa.
Given the emotional connection between football clubs and their cities/fans I would like to see an ESL (or even GSL) for the telly watching fan and national leagues for those of us who like to attend live matches. |
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Reply | Stu Armstrong
at 11:22 5 Jun 2024
I suspect it's the right time for both parties & he leaves with dignity. |
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Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 11:21 5 Jun 2024
I'd love to know the views of the City support who used to post on here .....& then left in a huff!
I suspect many older fans share the views of all of us that this has all gone too far and the game needs to be "returned to the fans". |
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Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 10:33 5 Jun 2024
100% agree - there are far more supporters of other clubs so I think the needs of the majority need to be put first. |
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Reply | Brighton Alleged To Be Talking To Russell Martin To Replace Roberto De Zerbi
at 15:17 9 Apr 2024
True - however, I never equated the Swedish Cup with the FA Cup or even League Cup. The important thing is that Potter was on an upward trajectory. He had had more success at his previous appointment to Swansea than Russell Martin had. I would compare winning the Swedish Cup and playing in the top flight in Sweden as better than mid table League 1 and not winning any trophies (even the JPL or whatever it is now).
If you want to compare to Jimmy Ball then fine but it does explain some of the post-match reports we read! |
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Reply | Brighton Alleged To Be Talking To Russell Martin To Replace Roberto De Zerbi
at 12:51 9 Apr 2024
I apologise - I missed your comment about the cup in Sweden.
According to Wikipedia - "Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information, or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs."
My previous post showed no confirmation bias - I was comparing a manager with a track record of some success as a manager with a manager with a track record of zero success as a manager.
[Post edited 9 Apr 12:56]
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