:saints:šŸ‘Øā€šŸ’¼ The Next Manager Thread

Apparently Russell Martin is the favourite to become our next manager. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose first thought was Who? and second was Please not Jones Mk II. Exactly the same again. Little experience, ā€œgood developing playersā€. But what about actually being a proven good manager! Looks like a other metrics-driven Ankersen punt in the dark

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I remember him playing for Norwich. That’s about all. I know Swansea were dreadful over the Winter but picked up towards the end of the season. No idea what he’d be like as a Manager here, but 15th and 10th place finishes for the Swans over the last two seasons don’t really make me think he’d be the next Guardiola. But, if he comes in, gotta give him a chance.

I remember briefly thinking that about Nathan Jones.:frowning:

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Would apply to anyone who gets the job, i guess. I remember watching a clip from an interview with Ashley Williams who was at Stoke on loan when Jones went in there. He said that Jones came in first day and said something along the lines of ā€œI don’t need to tell you how to play football, just go out there and do itā€ - he had no plan, no structure and no idea. He inferred it was because Jones had an inferiority complex as he’d achieved little in his playing career and couldn’t communicate with players of a higher calibre than him.

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Being mental probably contributed too.

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Can’t help feeling this is hardly the best prep for the last 2 games. Although Selles has been poor, he has been good in front of the cameras, being positive and engaged. Running the rumours so obviously before the end of the season is a bit of a kick in the balls for him and he’s going to have to dig deep to get himself and the team motivated to avoid two massive whippings by in form teams.

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It hardly matters now. Let’s face it, the players couldn’t look any less motivated than they did last week.

I think we are broken as a club, we seem a little clueless in all honesty.

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The one good thing is that they have pulled their finger out and look like they might have him in place for the entire summer

This is particularly important when we faced with a not so inconsiderable squad change

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So we’ve got this to look forward to?

We’ll go from not wanting the ball and not knowing what to do with it when we’ve got it to boring the opponent (and fans) in to submission.

https://twitter.com/mkdonsfc/status/1376625211429285893?s=46&t=IKgJwo1raSBUez0fme4SNQ

Anyone remember the painfully slow build up play under Puel? Where counterattacks were seen as bad sport so we always let the opposition get back before progressing up the pitch.

For the record I agree we need to be better on the ball but Martin sounds a bit extreme with his possession obsession. Can’t help but feel a more pragmatic manager and style is required so that we don’t get to a stage where we can only do one thing and play a certain way. Which is one of the reasons we are where we are now.

Because of the Jones and Selles appointments I feel that I don’t need to give Rasmus Ankerson the benefit of any sort of doubt here. I hope I’m wrong but this appointment reeks of another data driven exercise.

Ankerson: ā€œWe are shit with the ball and there are lots of games in the championship so need to have more possessionā€

Checks spreadsheet…

ā€œSwansea have the highest possession percentage stats, let’s take their managerā€.

Even though they won 3 out of 21 games mid season. So looks patchy, again when we need consistency. Funny how those stats don’t make it in to his data models.

I just hope other factors (like personality and not being a complete loon) have been factored in this time around and that Jason Wilcox has had a say in this and it isn’t just Wankerson.

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I can’t help feeling that the owners (or at least one of them) are fixated on the idea of discovering a young manager. The first attempt failed miserably since I don’t think Jones had a footballing brain but they don’t want to admit defeat a d go for experience.

They’ve cited Vincent Kompany as a role model but fid every one like him I’d say there are 10 ex-players who fail. He also had the advantage of respect having played at a high level.

If this works, they’ll claim it as a brilliant move. it could work if the team buy into it but I’ll admit I’m not confident.

Ah, but MK Dons once passed the ball 56 times before scoring, so he must be fucking brilliant. :+1::+1:

Mind you, that could read either way. That they were so comfortable in possession that they could knock it around at will before clinically dispatching the move with a perfect and well-crafted strike, Guardiola style, or that it took them 56 bastard sideways passes before getting past the halfway line and close enough to finally have a pop at goal now the keeper’s fallen asleep through sheer boredom. It’s a tough call.

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The latter!

I do believe we scored a goal of the season contender from which we took great pride as we took something like 37 passes in the build up.

Just saying

(Someone better at google can go find it i’m sure)