The continuing brave, fun adventures of Russell Martin

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Martin out?


  • Total voters
    117
Yep I agree with Che, Shoehorn Stephens is totally justified. The last 4 games showed that Russ was right - every team needs a Jack Stephens.

I mean, I loved him anyway and have always been a fan, but seeing how much it meant to him to lead the team, & lifting that trophy at Wembley was something :emoticon-0115-inlov

Whatever anyone thinks of his footballing abilities, one thing you can't deny is his passion and love for our club. And that means a lot.
 
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A lot of the pro-Russ Swansea fans used to say that he was restricted by the quality of the squad he had there. It was hard to know what to think of this at the time, but seeing as their best two players from 22/23, Piroe and Manning, have been largely disappointing in top 6 teams, it stands to reason that those Swans fans were absolutely spot on.

I still think it took Martin until December and beyond before he knew which players he could trust to play in his system. Players like Charly and Sulemana weren't cut out for it, especially in the Championship against such defensive opposition. But he has absolutely got the best out of players like Adarma, Smallbone, and Fraser, and for me the whole Jack Stephens shoehorning thing has been justified with our playoff performances.
I always liked the Jack thing but saw that it confused things at times. I think the move to a back 5 has made it work and has improved Mannings performances

I also believe that this, combined with Flynn’s return, has allowed Will to blossom