With Southampton failing to gain a point in their first three games of the season back in the premier League, it is natural questions will be asked about Russell Martin's management. but are stories of discord behind the scenes mischief making, or do they have substance.

The first thing to consider in the above statement is that it is the international break coming after the start of the season and the transfer window shutting, suddenly the media is struggling for gossip and stories.

So that makes it very easy to turn their focus onto the clubs that have started the season badly and produce a few headlines.

The latest one that has emerged as peddled by footballinsider247.com is that "Russell Martin is fighting for his job"

They say:

"The 38-year-old faces the sack by the end of September if he does not turn around the results after a dismal start to the season.

"Some in the Southampton boardroom want Martin to adopt a more pragmatic style to churn out Premier League results.

"However, Martin is adamant he won’t change the playing style regardless of the results that his team suffers."

Tell us something that we don't know !

But does the substance of the story match the shock horror headline and that is the case in most stories of this nature, the headline will say that the manager's job is on the line, the story itself will involve just an opinion, usually from a pundit who has no real knowledge of the club he is talking about and is just putting two and two together.

Russell Martin will be well aware that football is a results driven game, he will know that if he loses another three games in a row, then his position will be under pressure, but that doesn't mean that he is fighting for his job in any way other than his fellow football managers at every club in the country.

I would suspect that there will be some board members at Southampton FC who like many of the supporters would be happy to see our possession football game tempered a little to suit the playing squad we have, but that is normal and it doesn't mean that there are emergency board meetings about the situation.

Likewise the viewpoint that Russell Martin is adamant that he won't change the playing style, I don't think he has actually said that, what he did say was that he would not change his footballing philosophy and that is quite a different statement.

I would not want him to change his philosophy, no club wants a manager who is willing to change the way they do things to pander to a board or the fans, a manager has to believe in what he is doing and be prepared to live or die by it.

But you don't have to change your philosophy to fine tune the playing style, at the top in the possession football playing style, you have Manchester City, they have the best players so can play it.

But every other side in the Premier League is playing it to some degree, the difference is knowing your weaknesses and knowing where the line is that you can play your way out of trouble.

This is where we seem to have gone wrong this season, of the five goals conceded this season, four have been from either poor passing or getting caught on the ball, the fifth was just poor marking.

It is not about changing our philosophy, it is about fine tuning our game and knowing our limits, at the moment it looks like our players are scared to do anything other than pass the ball and keep passing it, from the stands it looks like they feel that if they launch it long. they feel they will find themselves dropped or worse.

The truth is that if some of those goals were just down to human error, the goal at Newcastle United was not a flaw in our passing game, it was a simple pass that Alex McCarthy was well capable of making, he was under no pressure but he fluffed his pass, he is far from the first player to do that in any position in the field.

So some of our issues are not down to Russell Martin's possession football tactic's as in the third goal at Brentford, they are down to players just not doing simple things that they should have done.

But when you are daubed with having a certain way of playing and not in a good way, it is always going to be a stick to beat you with, whatever the reality.

No one, not even me is saying that we are not playing possession football, the issue is not that style, but the degree to which we are playing it, watch Liverpool play, they play it, but they are not frightened to play long when they are under pressure, they don't over cook it and they are continually looking for the killer ball forward rather than yet another pass sideways or backwards.

So the issue for Southampton is not Russell Martin's footballing philosophy, it is the way that he is currently applying it.

The evidence though is that he can be flexible, at the end of last season after a run of poor results, including a 5-0 drubbing at Leicester City, he knew that he had to change his strategy if we were to go up, he knew that Alex McCarthy could not play with his feet and at Elland Road in the final game of the season, we saw a different style of possession football and the change beat Leeds on that day and also at Wembley a few weeks later.

It showed that Martin isn't so single minded that he can't change the way we play and he did so without changing his philosophy.

This season is a little harder to implement change, he is trying to implement his playing style, but with a squad that was changing constantly as the month went on.

He had to stick to his style otherwise it might have been chaos with players not knowing what to do week to week.

Now as happened last season, the transfer window is closed and now he knows what he has to work with and he can implement his style and fine tune it.

He has given those that got us up their chance, some have taken it, some not so far, but that doesn't mean they are finished yet. Now he has to blend in our signings late in the window and assess just what he can and can't do in the possession based football game.

Now we will truly find out whether Russell Martin is going to be Southampton manager for more than just a season and a bit, can he pull us clear or will he fail.

Having lost the first three games, his task will be far harder, put bluntly if we lose the next 3 there are few managers who can survive 6 straight defeats at any point in a season, let alone at the beginning, the pressure is on.

So is he fighting for his job, as the headlines suggest, I would say not, at least not in a way any different than any other manager in the Premier League, it is results driven.

Disgruntled board members is nothing new in football, there isn't a football board in the country that will be completely happy with every performance and all will have an opinion on why their team is going through a bad run, but that doesn't mean that they are planning to sack the manager just yet.

But football is a results driven game, end of and from that perspective Russell Martin is no different than anyone else, he has to win games of football, if he does then he will keep his job, if he doesn't then the clock is always ticking.

Photo: Action Images

City_boy added 09:34 - Sep 6 Reference comment "I don't think he has actually said that, what he did say was that he would not change his footballing philosophy". I think the comment he made, "Live by the sword etc", suggests he will not change. Many of the shortcomings and reasons for the defeats are down to Martin's philosophy. If the players aren't good enough and keep making same mistakes, why continue do the same ? It is not just about Martin's philosophy about possession based football. He never seems to pick his best team and is too loyal, preferring to 'shoe horn' his favourites in and playing players out of their position. Like most on here, I am prepared to give give him a chance, but I fear his arrogance and ego will be his down fall.

8

kenis added 09:35 - Sep 6 I hope it’s completely untrue speculation. I would also hope he and the players (many of whom signed because of or have a personal connection to him) are given plenty of time. I agree he is not so rigid he won’t learn, adapt and think once he can figure out how to get the best of what he’s got to work / the best combinations on the pitch with we’ll pick up points. Not much he can do if our strikers miss the chances they will have or if there are individual errors that directly lead to goals, he can only motivate and coach them so much. Despite the three straight losses we actually played well at Newcastle and Brentford, and it was a narrow defeat vs forest (much improved from our last match against them) - Nuno did outdo us tactically though and we were a little off it all over the pitch as RM has said as well. Being tactically out thought or losing out due to quality of individual players will likely happen again this season as no one will just assume they can beat us, all the other managers and teams will still prepare the same and they are in the premier league because they are the best.

4

davidargyll added 09:50 - Sep 6 Before all the “give RM a chance” merchants spout any more from their ivory towers, one statistic that many forget about is that last season we conceded 64 goals, which was equal fourteenth, yes FOURTEENTH! Which I believe underlines the basic underlying problem with RM’s possession-based style which is exactly that, TOO MUCH POSSESSION. And it’s simply a case of mathematics. Suppose you have 35% possession and you lose the ball ten times in a game. That may or may not lead to a goal or two against you, maybe more, may less. But…. If you have 70% possession, then by simple maths, that would lead to maybe 20 losses of the ball, so twice as many chances of conceding. But even if you manage to play better with more possession and keep the loss of the ball to say 15 times or less - and we clearly have been unable to - then that still means you are much more vulnerable than if you only have 35% possession. And this is without the increased tiredness that comes with it. So proof positive that lots of possession is a good thing is an utter fallacy. We may have got away with in the Championship, but in the PL? Not an earthly AND THAT IS WHY RUSSELL MARTIN HAS TO GO… PS. I seem to recall all those nutters who were saying sacking Adkins was completely wrong and look what then happened; and it’s the same now, fine in the lower leagues, out of his depth in the PL.

-4

kevleykeegle added 09:50 - Sep 6 The knives are out from two sources, low brow amateur journalists filling column inches, and impatient fans - of which there are many, and they dominate saints forums. They’ll soon disappear from view if we start winning.
4

davidargyll added 09:58 - Sep 6 Interesting keyleykeegle you say “if” not “when”…
-1

saintbazza added 10:05 - Sep 6 I think this is just lazy journalism! No story lets make one up.
2

StAnt added 10:49 - Sep 6 Whether there is any truth in this story or not the fact remains that we have lost 3 games in a row and they weren't the most difficult fixtures. Newcastle down to ten men should have been a win, Forest at home they clearly created the better chances due to our line up and tactics, Brentford was a fairly even game handed to them by two monumental mistakes. RM has never been able to set up a team to stem the flow of goals against and this will never change unless his philosophy changes which he continues to tell us it won't. I don't rate him as a manager although he achieved promotion. His level for me is the Championship because he isn't smart enough in terms of tactics when starting games and making tweaks during games to change things. From what I'm seeing unless he is willing to make a substantial gear change in his style of play which is so possession based we will continue losing games so it's inevitable he will be sacked sooner rather than later. Hi is too welded to his beliefs for me and I think that's his biggest weakness rather than a strength. Maybe he's like that because he has no other ideas much like a one-trick pony. I'd be delighted and amazed in equal measures if he showed us some different strings to his bow but his history so far tells us it's not happening.

13

kevleykeegle added 10:54 - Sep 6 Us ivory tower brigade still have doubts, like all fans David, but unlike some we don’t slag off a manager who in one season changed the way we played, rebuilt the squad and team and got us promoted. We wait a little longer than 3 games and we hope for the best. I wonder who you think should and would replace him. You seem a half glass empty kind of fella.
2

davidargyll added 11:27 - Sep 6 To win points from here we need to play better, I think we all agree on that. But we are also depending on other teams playing worse but, if we think we can play better then why on earth shouldn’t others be able to? I actually think I am a half full person because I see some if not most of our players up to PL standards. But under this manager I just cannot see them being able/allowed to play to their best. Brian Clough was brilliant at making B and C class players into an A class team. Can we really say that about Russell Martin?

1

Bowlercow added 12:37 - Sep 6 Don't change the way we play Just play it better by using the players we have bought We assume that we bought them because they are better than what we had Those knocking RM are the same ones who were saying we would get relegated to L1 this time last year if he didn't change his style of play I would keep him even if it does mean relegation At least we would have a coach capable of getting us up again In our last PL season we had 3 managers Leeds and Leicester had 2 each so changing managers doesn't work Wise up and get behind the team and their manager

1

WestSussexSaint added 13:10 - Sep 6 The article has no substance so click bait. I think we have to bear in mind: - the board have backed RM in the transfer market with a dozen new players. - many of these new players are likely better than what we have but need some time to get used to the system. RM pointed out that the team would be different for Man U after 2 weeks of training with the players not on international duty. - RM deserves his chance to prove himself - 3 matches is no time! - Sports Republic were burned last time in the PL with chopping and changing managers so I think they will be more cautious this time. RM knows it’s a results game and will be well aware that if he wants to keep his job then these need to improve but I doubt we will see any changes until Xmas at least.

3

JoeEgg added 13:21 - Sep 6 It isn't just the amateur journalists as the Ivory Tower brigade like to call them that have been super critical of RM this season. The ' far from amateur' journalists on Match of The Day have expressed their very serious concerns about RM's tactics with the very 'ordinary' squad that he has put together; It is difficult at the moment to imagine any scenario or system which will enable our squad of players to score more than the occasional goal. A continuation of RM's tippy tappy defensive system will concede goals regualrly to the vast majority of Premier Lea

2

JoeEgg added 13:27 - Sep 6 It isn't just the amateur journalists as the Ivory Tower brigade like to call them that have been super critical of RM this season. The ' far from amateur' journalists on Match of The Day have expressed their very serious concerns about RM's tactics with the very 'ordinary' squad that he has put together; It is difficult at the moment to imagine any scenario or system which will enable our squad of players to score more than the occasional goal. A continuation of RM's tippy tappy defensive system will concede goals regularly to the vast majority of Premier League teams. We have brought in a new army of Premier League hopefuls and it remains to be seen just how successful and effective they will be. The best teams got promoted irrespective of the efforts of their managers - they quite simply had the best players and pulled well clear of the remainder. This season is different and we will see just how good or bad RM is when coping with better quality opposition on a weekly basis, and deploying his only slightly more competent squad to deal with it!

0

BlackAngel added 14:16 - Sep 6 Yes. It was very disappointing to lose the first 3 games. But surely we all knew that the Prem would be hard going? Especially as we scraped into it via the playoffs. I think that we’ve had a massive number of new players injected into the squad, with transfer window only just having closed. This disruption means it will take time for the newbies to find their feet, let alone RM knowing what our best formation should be, and who will be the preferred player in each position. The key factor is - whatever the game or circumstance - that we support the team to our utmost ability. It is critical that we make our home games uncomfortable as possible for visiting teams by getting behind our team. It will take time and we need to be patient. We do have a chance to stay up - despite the odds. If our players ‘feel the love’, they will improve, and our role as supporters is to support the team - whatever the circumstance, as we did throughout the playoffs. We are in the Premier League now and it will be hard going. The last thing we need is a string of disruptions caused by changing the management team. We know from bitter experience which way that ends… We need continuity at the club, and a settled - yet purposeful - squad of capable players, playing with confidence, backed loudly by their fans. COYR’s

2

beynali73 added 15:46 - Sep 6 The media have been vocal in their condemnation of the way Saints have played so far with the most mocking being the Sky commentator during the game v Brentford - have a listen if you haven't already. This is football, like life, in the social media era. Despite my own average rating of RM he's not an idiot and he doesn't want the sack or to lose games. He will change from this weird obsession of playing into trouble from the back. With the support the board have provided him we do have a team which can compete within the mini division of the bottom 6 or 7 we're up against. However the weirder thing is how he tweaked his approach once Bazuna got injured but he has not continued that into the new season. Rather he's gone back to the system which saw 4 conceded at home against the likes of Norwich - and other average championship sides. The question is why has he done this when it cost us so many goals in a much more forgiving league? It is illogical. What he needed to do was get points on the board - I'm sure we'd be happy with 3 pts after three of the easier games we will play this season than a deflating 3 losses. RM got us promoted but made it unnecessarily difficult in a league where we had a large strong squad which was on par with the other top 4 teams in that division. Two big calls which defined our season were his decision to jemmy Jack Stephens into a record setting winning team which saw results fall away and the injury to Bazuna (statistically the worst GK for two years running) which forced RM to change the style of play and saw us stop a run of results which saw us fall from 2nd to 6th. The jury is out on RM - I think he's got what it takes to be a decent Saints manager and build something good. But he's also got a blinkered stubborn streak which could cost him his job. I really want the capable side of his personality to win out as it will provide stability and as a result some kind of success for Saints. COYR's

9

slimcarto added 19:44 - Sep 6 FootballInsider has always stirred up trouble about Saints - pure speculation hell bent on click bait. Don’t ever bother to read anything that comes from that source, pure fabrication.
2

undertoomers added 11:31 - Sep 7 The bottom line is HE DOESN'T CARE, HE'S A BUDDIST !
-3

underweststand added 16:25 - Sep 9 It took time for RM to instill his formula into last season's squad and we had a few lucky results at the start of last season, before the " September crash", but after the revival in beating Leeds it started a 25 game unbeaten run. Although it's unlikely that we will get anywhere near those performance levels, it should be remembered that once again he is starting with yet another new squad, however we must turn the corner...and PDQ. Last season we blamed the defence for conceding too many goals, but now the boot is on the other foot. Two games have been lost by a single goal (which were down to individual errors) whilst we have had 42 shots in 3 games and yet scored only once - in stoppage time in the 3rd match. The Armstrong / Brereton Diaz combination has yet to yield a single goal, but it now seems that creativity is somehow lacking in the midfield despite the high possession % stats. I'd go along with " West Sussex Saint" (above ) and say we have to grit our teeth and wait for a change of luck, but I don't see panic sackings so early in the campaign. A few points on the board will change the drop zone considerably and some of the teams above us are looking equally uncertain a.t.m.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls