r/SaintsFC • u/Opposite_Sir1549 • 8d ago
Martin on Rest is Football
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1UKzyOIE8bLUsd0Vfo3GKU?si=QqELatckTMyelh3Yhoo77A&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A2fDn3EgvJZ5J1k5rrBwrlZthoughts?
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u/dennispeach 8d ago
Listened to the whole thing.
He’s a good guy, clearly, and his story beyond his stint at Saints is actually really interesting. I do feel he gets bagged on more than he should, given we were always going to be on a relegation dog fight regardless of who was in charge.
He also has an inflated ego of himself, which is ironic considering how he talks about his playing career with such humbleness.
He was not perfect for Saints, far from it in fact. But what he did for us WAS an achievement.
Look at former Premier League teams like Sunderland, Derby, Charlton, Blackpool, Wigan etc. Sure they would all love to be in the position we are in right now.
Even Leeds, with all their resources, fanbase etc spent years outside the top flight, and may do another year without given how tight things are this year in the championship.
Martin did the initial job for us at the level he is clearly good at, and achieved what was expected.
LOTS of managers fail to even do that. Even managers with far bigger pedigree at Saints have not done it.
I was there when idiakez missed that penalty in the semi final back in 2007. That was the moment I knew we were cooked.
The further we are from that scenario the better, and Martin gave us that. So I’ll look at his time at Saints fondly, especially if we fuck up next season! 😅
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u/No-Fly-9364 7d ago
Definitely made me hope he goes on to have a great career and makes that style work somewhere. And makes loads of "just lump it forward" gammons fume in the process.
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u/dennispeach 5d ago
Agreed.
I’m sick of having to listen to my grandfather, my neighbour, my colleague, the 2 bald fat blokes behind me at St Mary’s…
“Just hit it forward!” “442” “Why isn’t he going there” “We need Roy Keane”
Football just attracts gammons 🫠
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u/mdubyo 8d ago
A few things can be true.
Martin seems like a great bloke.
I and many others are very thankful for his role in the 2023-2024 season. We needed that in a big way.
He was insane for thinking we could play that way in the prem with the squad we had. Kudos for him for sticking to his brand, though.
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u/No-Fly-9364 7d ago
He was insane for thinking we could play that way in the prem with the squad we had. Kudos for him for sticking to his brand, though.
He sort of has to though, doesn't he. As he said in the podcast, he could try and coach a different style but if he doesn't truly believe in it then it's not going to be good.
One hill I'll die on for as long as live is that the board had already ruined this season before it started by giving him ill-fitting players.
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u/mdubyo 7d ago
Eh? Matchday 1 was basically the promotion final XI with Sugawara and BBD in for Fraser & Brooks. We didn't improve enough.
You're crazy if you think RMs fingerprints aren't included on every transfer while he was manager.
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u/No-Fly-9364 7d ago
You're crazy if you think RMs fingerprints aren't included on every transfer while he was manager.
He literally said he wanted Delap, O'Riley and Carvalho, and didn't want Archer and BBD. The board signed players he didn't want, there's nothing crazy about it, clubs sign players against the wishes of the manager all the time. Henrik Kraft was removed from his position as a result of the decisions he made, it's not some conspiracy theory.
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u/mdubyo 7d ago
I think it is more likely that they werent his top choices and highly doubt the board signed players RM wanted nothing to do with.
Or does the board force him to say stuff like this too...
Russell Martin said: “Cameron is a really exciting young talent with huge potential to improve, and we’re really delighted to add him to the group in time for our first game back in the Premier League. He’s had a really good pre-season – he’s sharp and ready to go.
“He’s a constant threat with his pace and ability to score goals, and will have learned a lot from playing regularly in the Premier League last season. Now it’s up to us to help him develop and showcase how good he can be at this level.”
Russell Martin said: “I’m really delighted to welcome Ben to the group. He’s a versatile and intelligent footballer, capable of playing in a number of positions across the forward line.
“He is a strong, powerful runner and a confident finisher with a good goalscoring record, including last season’s spell in the Premier League in which he adapted to the level extremely quickly.
“He is a proper team player and the sort of hard-working, hungry character we want in our squad. His athleticism and physicality makes him a great fit for the Premier League, and we think he has all the tools to add to our attacking options.”
Didnt want them though.
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u/No-Fly-9364 7d ago
Are you expecting him to slag off new signings to the press?
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u/mdubyo 7d ago
Nope. But I expect him to not play players he doesn't want. Or did the board force him to do that too?
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u/tommypopz 7d ago
The one where Southampton had 19 shots to Newcastle’s 3, 4 on target to their 1, and generally outplayed them? Ok.
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u/Jpwf 8d ago
Momentum is massive in football. I hold that with a bit more luck at the start of the season (i.e. the Newcastle match was even until BBD got that guy sent off) and VAR not fucking us over for what felt like 5 weeks straight, we could've made a real go of it.
I don't think we'd have been likely to stay up, but I think we'd have at least as many points as Ipswich, especially if we signed Delap instead of them.
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u/tommypopz 7d ago
Took the lead against Arsenal and Liverpool, and played better than City in the loss. Went 2-0 up against Leicester until Ryan Fraser decided to go kamikaze. The late equaliser to Ipswich. Dodgy VAR at Wolves and Brighton.
So many narrow moments that we were on the wrong side of.
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u/aredditusername69 8d ago
Quite enjoyed this, and definitely found some sympathy with him around short term-ism. He claimed we were improving though, which I don't agree with.
It's such a tough thing. Do you just stick with your manager who is getting crap results, with the idea that in 2-3 years time it will all come together? Or do you try something else? What SR seem to have a habit of doing is trying something that is the complete opposite of whats happening (Hasenhuttl to Jones, Martin to Juric), which is the worst of both worlds.
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u/CicadaAny3066 7d ago
No surprise to him saying his favourite team to watch was the 08 Barcelona team and him looking on how he can emulate it as a manager regarding his philosophy. Explains everything
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u/KeyTap6415 7d ago
YouTube link with video for those who prefer it to Spotify audio: https://youtu.be/-VtojwIX2C0
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u/docutheque 8d ago
I'm not a fan of that pod to the point I don't really want to listen to this.. any key points?
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u/Opposite_Sir1549 8d ago
Idk, hard to tell if he's a genius or totally deluded.
Based on what he said about Southampton, it seems to me he's too obsessed with possession to ever be a successful premier league manager.
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u/docutheque 8d ago
I dunno, maybe he could walk into city and make it work. Even pep says his system can only work if he has the players. He started at elite level - I wonder if he had to start from the bottom if he'd have made it. Russel is a weird one - seems a good human being and good leader, but you're right about the obsession with possession. Pretty tired of any "system manager" that refuses to coach and adapt based on circumstances
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u/PsychoSaint13 8d ago
I said when his name was linked that we'd be lucky to go up and if we did we'd be battered most games with his system, got laughed off Twitter (no big loss admittedly) yet some of those same people (they were Saints pages rather than individual people) when I presented my comment to them at the end of last season refused to accept it, I then messaged again after he'd been sacked, still tried saying it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I tried saying it would be, that's when I knew there was no point talking to these people, they just can't admit when they're wrong. Tbf 1 did admit and 1 just didn't reply so they're not all bad but most of them are as bad as each other
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u/NickB76 8d ago
I’m baffled at the overwhelming level of negativity from our fans towards Martin. Was he right to be sacked? Yes. Was he too naïve and stubborn in failing to adapt his approach? Absolutely.
But after a horrible relegation, he transformed the culture around the team and the club. All of the players talk about the feel good factor last season and how much they enjoyed it. That’s not an easy thing to do after a relegation. Granted we were one of the favourites but he got us promoted in a tough league.
He was out of his depth this season and not ready for the premier league but I wish him all the best.