Yeah. When I'm looking down the bookies odds, I'm immediately discounting Martin and Ralph. I really, really, really, don't see it.
Can we just employ someone to kick the **** out of the players for a month or two and sod the league position? I think nothing bar a win at Fratton would make me happier this season than seeing Flynn Downes sat on the bench with a black eye and broken nose.
The main reason I don’t think it will be Martin is not because we aren’t stupid enough to try it, it’s because his ego wouldn’t allow it. All the stuff at the back end of his tenure where he was sarcastically applauding the fans and not even trying to hide that he believes fans know **** all compared to him makes me think that he thinks we’re a bunch of ****s who are ungrateful for the stellar job he did by getting us promoted, and he’s probably taking great delight in our current position as he dislikes us.
Yeah. I'm kind of thinking we should almost write this season off and go with a Pardew type appointment. Someone who's managed in the Premier League and has the legitimacy to tell players they aren't good enough and/or aren't trying hard enough. Maybe similar to the way Pardew told Lambert he could play in the Premier League if he sorted himself out.
I know you first suggested it (probably) as a joke, but ever since them, I can't help but feel someone like Neil Warnock is what the club needs. Someone strong, someone who has been there and done it, and someone who won't be afraid to kick some ass and tell some home truths. He'd get the players well up for Fratton as well, I'm sure of it. Not another hipster type.
We need to just grind out some results until Jan. Whether thats with a new manager or not I don't really care. Now this is going to sound too extreme but Jan I want a complete clear out. Get rid of: Stephens THB Manning Flynn Wood Mccarthy Baz (just don't tell my daughter I said this ) Those pricks are the issue. We've been through several managers now. The fault lies in one place only. There's not a manager which fits the SR profile that could possibly man manage these arseholes. So get rid. Write the season off (again) and let us get players with some pride in the club
Another thing that was mentioned on the podcast last night that I hadn’t considered/hadn’t see mentioned was the Hull game. This was the first REALLY bad performance/result of the season, sure we’d been playing **** up to that point but that was much worse than anything else we’d seen to that point. Still drops THB, Stephens and Downes (you’d think our “experienced” core) for the next game and gets plaudits from the fans for taking action, but since then results/performances have not improved and the suggestion last night was basically that that was when Still lost the support (if he ever had it) of the senior players which then filtered down into the rest of the squad. He kept talking about “big conversations” in the week leading up to the Preston game, if these actually happened surely some hard truths were said, or something along the lines of “we need to start winning or I’m gone”. The players showed how much they cared about him staying with their performance on Saturday. As has been said it’s clearly a toxic environment with the players ruling the roost and knowing that if they want a manager gone they can just down tools and it works. These players are talented for this level as they have shown previously, they just clearly as a collective are being ****s. Whether any of them care as if we go down again/finish bottom half they can just move on, albeit taking a likely pay cut in doing so
The main reason I want Carrick is that he has proven before he can turn a team’s fortunes around, without the need of a summer window. His most successful season was when joined Boro at the end of October in 22/23. He won 15 of his first 20 games. That’s outrageous.
I guess it depends on if we want to get a tune out of some of the current lot or if we just want to cut ties and move on. I think there are a core of players who don’t want to be here and aren’t fussed at all and someone like Warnock is only going to further exacerbate that feeling amongst them. I’d expect Warnock to not take any **** from them and just drop them, but that means this season is a write off, which I don’t know if the club would accept given the parachute payments etc. Seems much more likely to me that they try and pander to the players and try and get them performing to the levels we have seen previously by bringing in someone they like. The question for me is, if they go down this route, even if it works and we look like a top 6 champ team because they start trying, does that con the club into keeping them around or do we look to move them on regardless as the second half of last and first third of this season has shown what they are capable of when they want to be.
Then those players need to be dropped out the squad and made to train on their own. Kept apart from the squad. Banished from the dressing room etc. You're not committed? Tough. You're out. Someone like Warnock would be the perfect man to assert that authority.
Pardew seems to get forgotten a lot when talking about our managers but him telling Rickie to lift his shirt up and calling him a ****ing disgrace is arguably one of the most important managerial decisions in our modern history.
Sure he would do that, but by doing that it would appear we would lose a fair few from the squad (of course some of them may change their attitude), is that a risk the club wants to take? To me the smart move would be to bring someone in the players will play for to get them playing for the rest of the season, hope it goes well and we fly up the table. All the while knowing that you are going to move on the ones who you think are the problem regardless of how they perform from here on out. Even if we end up in the playoffs and go up you still look to bin off the players part of this toxic core people are referring to
That and him asking Jose Fonte's wife to lift up her blouse. With him gone, we got the beloved Nigel Adkins!
Nah it wasn't a joke. It was a bit of a mad thought based on adrenaline but the more I thought it through the more it makes sense imo.
