Southampton FC Sack Russell Martin - Southampton News
Southampton FC Parts Ways with Russell Martin Monday, December 16, 2024, 07:22
Following what might have been the most disappointing 45 minutes in Southampton FC's history at St Mary's, the club's management acted quickly after the awful performance and dismissed Russell Martin from his position.
Southampton FC has taken its time over the past few months, allowing Russell Martin ample opportunity to adjust his strategies and focus on the team's strengths rather than its weaknesses. Some might argue that they waited too long for this change. However, following the dreadful display against Tottenham Hotspur, they moved swiftly to make a decision.
The declaration goes like this.
We can officially announce that we've made the tough choice to end our partnership with Russell Martin, the manager of our Men's First Team.
As the season began, we were all aware of the obstacles ahead as we got used to competing at the highest level in the most demanding league globally.
The situation we're facing is straightforward. The board has backed Russell and his team while being clear about our expectations. We all understand the necessity for quick results to drive improvement.
We want to express our gratitude to Russell and his team for their hard work and commitment to the club both on and off the field over the past 18 months. Everyone associated with Southampton FC will cherish the wonderful memories from last season, particularly the victory in the Play-Off Final in May.
Simon Rusk, who is currently managing the Under-21s, will lead the team on a temporary basis until we find a permanent replacement.
Behind the scenes, we are excited about the ongoing progress of the talent emerging from our Academy. We take great pride in the impact our young players are having, and we believe this will continue to be a key source of strength and pride for everyone connected to the club.
We truly appreciate the ongoing encouragement and positive energy from our fans. It's clear to us just how wide the divide is between the Championship and the Premier League. However, your understanding and enthusiasm, even during times when the outcomes haven't met our expectations, inspire us to stay dedicated to the club in the long run.
Many fans of Southampton are likely to be happy, yet there’s a sense of sadness as well, especially since Russell Martin was instrumental in getting the team promoted. However, it’s unlikely that many will have sympathy for Martin; he brought this situation upon himself by refusing to adapt his strategies, even when it was evident to everyone else that they weren’t effective.
U21 coach Simon Rusk will now step in temporarily. One can only hope that the board has already pinpointed and reached out to possible candidates for the position, as this situation shouldn't have taken us entirely off guard.
All images credited to Reuters.
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Can we rely on SR to make the correct choices, considering their history hasn't been great?
As many of us have been expressing for quite some time, it's unfortunate that this change has come a bit late—at least a month, if not three. However, it’s a relief that it has finally occurred. Now, the question arises about who will be approached next, which brings to mind the saying about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. If Rasmus (W)Ankersen is involved in the hiring process, it’s likely we’ll end up with yet another “rising star” manager from the sixth largest league globally, meaning yet another low-cost candidate from the Championship. Based on past occurrences, it seems that the Board doesn’t understand that if you want to compete at the highest level, you need to at least attempt to play like the top teams do.
Besides Russell Martin's inflexible attitude, the most alarming aspect of last night's events was the performance of the individual players that Martin selected to secure victories in the Premier League. If those were truly our top eleven on the field, then any new manager will have a tough job ahead. It was truly disappointing and utterly disgraceful.
PS: "We're seeing for ourselves the large divide between the Championship and the Premier League." This is intriguing... it might suggest that they genuinely need to pursue a top-tier manager, whether from the Premier League or a similar level.
It's clear that RM used Sulemana as a scapegoat for his own poor tactical decisions, and his handling of Wood only made things worse. Leaving before halftime was inexcusable and should be grounds for dismissal on its own. His arrogance has really come to light. However, I find it baffling that SR didn't fire RM before the City match. A new manager would have had two weeks to get familiar with the team! Now, Danny Röhl's name is being thrown around, and it feels like we're repeating the mistakes from the Nathan Jones era. While Röhl is a promising talent and has done well at Sheffield Wednesday, he lacks the necessary experience to manage in the Premier League. Sure, he was an assistant manager under Ralph for a short time, but that doesn't equate to being a head coach. This club is turning into quite the circus at the moment!
Who’s the next candidate? It’s unlikely we’ll attract someone like Potter or Moyes or any manager who considers themselves at the Premier League level. We really need an experienced professional—someone who’s not too concerned about their resume and whose name carries weight beyond this particular position. Perhaps a manager like Benitez?
The big question now is whether SR will want a manager who is honest about the team's situation. While we may not have a bad squad for the Championship, we are definitely lacking in strength for the Premier League. Just look at someone like Adam Armstrong; he excels in the Championship but has struggled to make an impact as a striker in the Premier League on two occasions. It would be quite a surprise to see a well-known name take over, but here's to hoping!
It would be great if Sports Republic could be the next to leave. They have made a lot of poor choices in football since they joined, such as failing to provide Ralph with a replacement for Ings, not acquiring an experienced center-back, and bringing in a bunch of average players at the start of the relegation season. They also kept Ralph in charge for too long, hired Nathan Jones, and when we were relegated, they followed the same pattern of signing mediocre players and hiring another underwhelming manager. To top it off, they even fought with Swansea over a mere £1 million in compensation for him.
Sports representatives often operate at a lower league level and can be quite opportunistic in various respects.
The only negative from last night is that we were humiliated by the potatoes. I would have rather seen Fulham fire the football manager, but that's not happening. Now we need to get rid of the other problem at the club.
I don’t have any sympathy for Russell Martin at all. His approach to football has been really disappointing, and it was unrealistic to expect players who aren’t at a premier league level to perform well. We all agree that Sports Republic waited too long to make changes—after the Bournemouth match would have been the right moment. Now, we can only hope that someone new can come in and help restore some pride over the next 22 games. People keep talking about last year, but I believe that any manager with our squad would have achieved promotion. We were warned by supporters of his former teams about what to expect, and they weren’t incorrect. It’s disheartening to see my one and only club in this position.
Finally. While it didn’t impact the outcome, the referee and VAR displayed noticeable bias once more, overlooking an obvious handball just outside the Spurs' penalty area and neglecting to call back their goal even though there was a clear foul on KWP.
The performances were disappointing. It was puzzling to see Downes allow a player to go by him so easily, and Manning’s failure to keep an eye on Maddison during the first goal was inexcusable. After that, the team struggled to put up any real fight. Martin's choice to take Sulemana off was baffling; at least Sulemana has speed, unlike Armstrong, who didn’t perform well at all. Our set-piece deliveries were repeatedly subpar. It was clear that Fernandes and Dibling were getting frustrated with the situation. We urgently need to bring in a skilled manager and convince Tyler to extend his contract.
It’s tough to figure out what happens next. Initially, I believed that replacing the manager at this point would be more harmful than beneficial in the long run. However, after witnessing two disappointing performances at home, the club would have appeared foolish if they hadn't let him go.
The real issue is whether they will take a chance on another inexperienced young manager in the Premier League or hire a seasoned coach like Big Sam for a short-term deal aimed at ensuring survival. Such a move would likely be expensive, futile, and could leave the team in chaos once the season concludes. At this moment, it's tough to identify many other credible choices, unless the owners have a brilliant plan in mind, which I seriously doubt.
Preparing myself for a rough journey ahead.
P.S. I’ve heard from my sources that the delay in giving RM the boot can be traced back to a recent Board Meeting. Dragan Solak, who was keen on getting rid of RM, found himself outvoted by Ankersen, Kraft, and others. This highlights some of the challenges that come with owning a business rather than just managing it.
Let's try to stay positive, shall we? The silver lining is that he's out of the picture now. I have a feeling that in a few weeks, Wayne Rooney will be on the hunt for a new position, especially when he takes a look at the Championship standings. Oh... hold on!
My time as a Saints supporter has shown me that fans need to be cautious about what they hope for.
I genuinely hope I’m mistaken, but I believe that swapping out the manager won't really change much. As others have pointed out, we have a lot of players who are only suited for the Championship and are prone to making mistakes in such a demanding environment, no matter what game plan they are given.
I genuinely hope we choose Danny Rohl. He appeared to be a key figure in Ralph H's success and has done remarkable things at Sheffield Wednesday. Most importantly, he's familiar with the championship. I get the worries regarding his limited experience, but as they say, sometimes you have to take what you can get!
It's frustrating to think that these decisions come a few months too late. We definitely need a manager with experience in the Championship. I would be quite bold in my approach. Who will be our Championship manager next year? We should try to sell players this transfer window, like KWP, H-B, Fernandes, Downes, Ramsdale, and, with a heavy heart, Dibling. If we can't sell them, then we should loan out players like Stephens, Sulemane, Archer, Aribo, and BDD, and wrap up the loans of Cornet and Ugo. Let's bring back Charles. We need to invest in building a squad that can win the Championship. We should give chances to players like Amo-Ameyaw and O'Brien-Whitmarsh. I believe we should hold on to Onuachu and keep Fraser and Lallana since they aren’t worth much anyway! I'm uncertain if Stewart and Larios will be able to play again. In the meantime, let’s play McC until Bazunu is fit. The disappointing thing about Martin is that his approach may lead us to lose both Dibling and Fernandes. We also have to hold SR accountable; he won’t invest unless he sees potential for a resale value. This mindset has cost us opportunities to bring in players like Wood. With a few smart acquisitions in key areas, we could have been sitting mid-table instead. Not to mention, we haven’t made effective use of Onuachu, who is a solid player, but Martin seems to prefer a different style than traditional strikers. He aims for a style similar to Manchester City, yet he’s overlooking the fact that they have a powerful striker like Haaland. They don’t rely on ‘false 9s’ like he did with Sulemane last night. Now that we are facing relegation, our focus must shift to getting back up and ensuring we stay up next time.
