:Saints: What Have Sports Republic ever done for us?

Right, that’s a fine mess they have got the football club in to, so what do you think they are going to do/should do.

What do I think they will do?

  • keep running the numbers/metrics/beans and fill out their spreadsheets
  • accept relegation and still make profit on players like Lavia, ABK, Livramento, JWP and KWP (depending on how long he hast left on his contract)

What do I think they should do?

  • invent a Time Machine
  • if the Time Machine isn’t an option, then just pack up and go home
2 Likes

It seems like they are going to stick with the Luton boy. So watch us all become divided on the pitch and as a club v fan base.

The should not have appointed him any way. But they should acted now as all can see and hear in the words used we are divided and spiralling out of the premier league with a whimper. I have seen it with clubs that hit rock bottom. They should sack him as he has not got a clue and for the first time writing this I am not half thinking, but this could come back and bite me on the arse. We need a short term manager now, someone who has done it all before who knows how to keep teams up and unite players, get us to 17th and then reassess at the end of the season. If they do not get a week or so with the team, they are not going to be able to fully use the transfer window to our advantage.

If we do not make the change we will 100% be out both cups this time next week. Then losing a 6 pointer and make Everton look really good.

Please get someone in to give us a lift especially before the Everton game as a win there would be huge and also see the end for Frank.

What do I think they will do?

Nothing but let the ball roll to where it stops.

I do genuinely fear that inaction will set our football club back decades, the worst scenario being that they may not survive an asset strip.

Something to consider. Rhetorical questions as much as anything.

Sport Republic have clearly and openly doubled down on the club’s model of buying young talents, giving them a platform to play and then sell them on to the usual suspects for profit.

That made sense when we had a playing style involving intensity and high pressing because the top teams (Liverpool especially, hence why they pillaged us so often) look for players who can adapt to that style of play, as it is their own style.

But with Jones we seem to have abandoned such a style in favour of hoofing it long. How many top teams play like that? None.

So how will we attract the Lavia’s of this world going forward with that playing style? We won’t in my opinion because it isn’t attractive and immediately transferable to top team styles.

Off the top of my head I cannot think of any decent examples of the big 6 clubs buying players from the likes of Burnley, Cardiff, WBA. Andrew Robertson from Hull (?) might be one example but it was so long ago I can’t even recall how they played.

So what exactly are Sport Republic doing? I can’t see the direction (other than down of course) or any semblance of a footballing plan coming to fruition.

Jones has already claimed he doesn’t have the players to play the way he wants. Which all evidence suggests will be direct and long. Championship football. So does this mean he’ll be backed and we’ll sign kick and run merchants, all over 6 foot? I’m all for pragmatism and horses for courses if it gets results, but we don’t look even remotely capable of winning.

I’m so confused because surely the people in charge are not as incompetent or arrogant as their actions and decisions to date suggest.

But if we apply Occam’s razor, perhaps the simplest answer is that they just are THAT incompetent and arrogant and have dropped a massive bollock.

As many people have already pointed out, there is already grounds to sack Jones - results, performances, defeatist / uninspiring media comments and the entire fan base turning on him. I don’t believe for a second that they will axe him though. I’m not sure the egos could do it.

1 Like

This

And this

Calm down, calm down.
They done bought a player already
Allegedly

This is undoubtedly good news. Not because he has any chance of helping us stay up, but good news because it is someone different for us to watch other than Elyounoussi, Djenepo et al. Variety is the spice of life after all.

A good summary of the current state of play.

2 Likes

Look we need to stop beating around the bush. We all know deep down what our problem is.
We let the wrong player go in the summer.
We miss Redmond

2 Likes

From what I’ve seen, this bloke plays from the left and likes to cut in on his right foot A LOT. So with a little bit of coaching we can stop him cutting in and shooting and get him to cut in and pass it backwards instead. Or square, but only if absolutely necessary.

PS - a four year deal for a 30 year old answers the question of how we convinced him to accept a ticket on the Titanic.

1 Like

Give Adam Blackmore’s conversation with Paul Doswell (Havant and Waterlooville manager and Saints fan) a listen.

I’m still coming to terms with just how universal the opinion that Jones is out of his depth is. Paul talks about ‘levels’ and how plain and obvious it is that Jones is nowhere near the standard required in the Premier League.

It’s also pretty powerful when another manager (albeit and admittedly from a much lower league standard) comes right out and says that a manager needs sacking after 5 games. No ifs, no buts - he has to go because things won’t improve.

The show is live at the mo but the interview starts almost right at the start.

2 Likes

Here you go:

1 Like

Very good radio discussion, but it left me somewhat depressed with the situation.
Saints are almost the worst team in all leagues for points per game over the last year?
Ffs management team, do something quickly, please?

More of the same sentiment but it’s in the mainstream now too. With embarrassing articles like this and radio phone ins full of credible claims that he hasn’t got a clue, I’d argue the situation is already untenable. His credibility is absolutely shot. The players will see and hear all this and think “I’m not going to listen to this numpty who has been banging on about working in the mines”.

Just take it on the chin, admit it was the wrong decision and put the bloke out of his misery.

4 Likes

This whole situation feels worse than the Ali Dia debacle.

1 Like

Some wise words here and brutal in their accuracy. Something has to change really quick. Sad days.

1 Like

I find it bizarre that so many people are putting so much stock in Doswell’s opinion without spotting the irony of it all.

Some no-mark who admits that his own level is National League having the audacity to call out a manager that has successfully managed a team that finished 11 places or so below the team he currently manages?

People are acting like Saints have employed someone who hasn’t ever managed above Tyro or something - all very weird.

The Forest game was awful, granted, but people (esp on Spazweb) are going way over the top as if we’re Man City having employed a League 2 manager. People never even wanted to give Jones a chance.

1 Like

Does your opinion differ to his then? For me, I found it interesting and compelling because managers, regardless of level, very rarely if ever, call out another manager as you say. They usually advocate that people need time blah blah blah. Which is probably true but at this moments in time neither he nor the club have time. What time he had over the World Cup was unprecedented and seemingly wasted.

You may not hold his opinion in any high regard but ultimately he is a Saints fan and has more managerial experience than anybody else who has commented on this situation so far, probably due to what I’ve said about the manager’s union approach.

There is undoubtedly sections of the fan base that this is true of. However, plenty were optimistic, including myself, that he had something about him that would inspire an upturn in performance and then results.

Forget the Forest game, the Lincoln City game saw a lot of that optimism dissipate. The reason being was because he had 6 weeks over the World Cup to get a system or style of play over to the players and show that on the pitch against a League 1 side. One of our goals was clearly offside and if VAR had been used it would have been ruled out. Sure we also missed those horrific chances in stoppage time but I think it’s important to acknowledge the context of the fact that Lincoln had nothing to lose at that point so went all out to equalise (because of the offside goal) and we caught them out on the break.

The reality though was, as Doswell, Tim Howard, Higginbottam and dozens of other observers have pointed out, there was no evidence of a clear plan or style. There has been chopping and changing of formations, no patterns of play on show other than hitting long diagonals from centre back to wing back. Ignore the fact it is an unattractive way of playing, it has also been ineffective. No goals scored from open play in the league.

We were told he was flexible, pragmatic and not married to a particular formation. To me that suggested he would play in a manner that suited the players available to him at this present time. But clearly we have not built this squad to play like that. We’ve not played with a target man since Pelle left and Vestergaard was the only centre back capable of playing a raking diagonal.

Doswell was right when he said about Poch, Koeman and Ralph getting a message and style across within a couple of weeks. I remember Pochettino’s first few games against Everton and then Utd when Ferguson said that ours was the best performance against his side that season.

After 6 weeks, in my opinion, we are genuinely worse than before he arrived and are not showing any signs of improvement. If there was something to cling on to then we would be. Other than a few transfers, but even then it’s an uphill task.

5 Likes

Fiverweb in complete meltdown as you might expect. Fresh from my shower having strayed on there for a laugh. Whether it’s true or not, a couple of assumed ITKs now reporting discontent at SR and inevitable axe sharpening. Apparently players have been speaking directly to SR ?