I'm now going to confidently predict that RM will still be our manager at the end of the season regardless of relegation. In the past I have confidently predicted Grand National winners, lottery numbers and the England football team, so if I were Russell I would be checking out other jobs as soon as possible. But I still have a sneaky suspicion Sports Republic have no appetite to replace another manager. I also feel they would be quite happy yo-yoing between the PL and the FL.
I remember when the Austin rumours were circling, and he said not happening, but the medical had already taken place…..I made a few quid out of that one.
What is the worst...?? If we lose to Arsenal and Leicester we then have City so could be 1 point in 9
Was going to ask, was it Sheffield United in their second season under Wilder? Swear they didn't win til February or something.
I suppose it depends on how you define "worst start". Most games stuck on zero points? Most games without a win? Lowest points tally after 10 games? Some other measure? Palace (17-18) and Pompey (09-10) have both started with seven consecutive defeats. But they both won their 8th game. And there are a whopping 13 examples are teams who have had less than three points after eight games (seven on one point, including us in 98-99, and six on two points). As Libby alludes to, it took Sheff Utd (20-21) until game 18 to win their first game. But they did draw two games (games five and 14) before then. There are five teams (including Palace and Pompey) who didn't have their first point after game five. Does that draw in game five mean that Sheff Utd had a better start than Palace and Pompey? Or does them having just two points after 17 games (the next lowest after 17 games is Sunderland on five) mean that they have the worst start?
For me his credit is already used up. In my opinion he didn’t get that much credit for getting us promoted by the narrowest of margins. It could have easily gone the other way and we’d still be in the championship. Enjoying it.
Not sure after 9 games. But the worst start is losing 7 games in a row, so after 8 games the worst must be 1 point.
Good post. I apologise about the length of the reply and I realise a lot of you won't read it. It's okay with me, honestly. I'll answer it this way. Are we losing a lot? Yes, but we are in the top division and if we are brutally honest most of us of any age who support Southampton are used to it, I started in 1970 aged 8 and usually it means more defeats than most other teams, a few absolute hammerings here and there and certain teams we never beat even if they turn up with eight players. So it goes. So getting mad about this is an anger that goes on, well, however long you've supported Saints - so we need to temper it with that. But you have to add this - is it entertaining? Is our poor squad and sub-par players putting a shift in, playing the best football they can and sometimes being unlucky? This season - no. It is 'king awful football, turgid, mistake strewn, some players obviously not good enough, and any team spirit and belief we have seems to last as long as the first goal conceded. So in a word - awful. I will add my bias is, although I Ioved beating a lot of teams last season, the football (I saw, I live in the Highlands) was usually 70 passes too many and frankly at times really boring. Also the squad we had, the teams we played there is no way we still should have had to have seen two utter hammerings by 5-0 and losing at home to teams like Millwall and Stoke City. I'll accept the 5-0 hammerings in the top league at any time and in the lower divisions when we are struggling at the wrong end of the table but not when we're pushing for promotion? So I'm not happy about this start to the season, even with the caveats of this season.
I read it, good post. This is exactly it, the Johnny come lately fans who haven’t witnessed season upon season of being drubbed and staying up by the skin of our teeth will be unhappy we’re likely to go down. I wouldn’t mind if we saw some swashbuckling play, the odd goal etc. But we’re not even ‘plucky Southampton’ as someone else said. There’s no entertainment, that’s when the died in the wool fans start to say enough is enough.
Part of the problem I think is that the players themselves don't believe in his way of playing. They just don't seem to have confidence in his tactics. I really can't see him lasting much longer.......surely!!!!!
yep. That’s my thoughts too. It’s not whether the tactics are good, bad, boring or exciting, it whether the players believe in them or not. That’s what will make or break him. They don’t think they can win at the moment and that’s a bad place for RM to be.
Actually it’s all of that but yes, if the players don’t believe it’s doomed & so is the manager (unless he can adapt, now, very quickly).
I remember last season all the players raving about how we played and how enjoyable it was to play. I’m sure knocking it around and dominating/winning most games was more fun than winning playing a more direct style. It isn’t as fun when you are losing every week and you the player is made to look **** because of losing the ball in a dangerous area in probably the most scrutinised league in the world. Even if you don’t see yourself at Saints for the rest of your career and it is hopefully a stepping stone, it’s not going to do you much good if you look useless getting caught on the ball 2/3 times a game because we invite so much pressure. Team spirit building was one of the things fans said was a strength of Martin, it’s easy to do when you are winning most weeks, basically impossible if you are losing. He gets very defensive/arrogant when questioned about his methods when it isn’t working as we saw last season at times and now this, that wouldn’t fill me with confidence as a player, especially as he mainly threw the team under the bus in a couple of interviews this season. Firstly when he said the promoted team weren’t good enough and then the team for Bournemouth didn’t try.
