Richmondfox

38 minutes ago, MrLuke said:

Hmm, not sure I agree with the comparison 😆

 

I think what you've said is totally subjective. You can look at him, his record (prior to the premier League season) and personality and like him. The problem is many people have, like cooper, already made their minds up that it's a poor choice and to assassinate his character.  It may well be a poor appointment. But considing the negative rut we are in it seems counter productive to constantly be on a downer when we aren't able to do anything about the appointment. 

 

To clarify, I'm in no way a pro-Martin person, but I will personally support him.

A known failure, known for negative football and stubborn tactics managing know failures playing negative stubborn football. 
 

11 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Nothing on the backroom staff so far.

 

Least it's done early, he has all summer to get shit in gear before players return. He can be reaching out to those he's adamant to keep etc 

We either keep our shit coaches or sack them and employ his shit coaches and then pay them off when he gets binned off. 

21 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

The ones we don't want to keep

This is it and the biggest concern for me.  The same players playing the same way that they couldn’t do in the Prem, champ and hardly looked convincing in the cup against L1 opposition. 
 

Another season of FC back pass, players too scared to attempt a forward pass unless sanctioned by JV and forwards unwilling to do the basics near the goal, yet comfy with overplaying from deep. 

12 minutes ago, fazzyfox said:

I remember his Southampton side in the PL, where the GK and CB or full back gifted at least a goal a game through the playing it out in tight spaces stuff. Martin refused to change his philosophy and it continued week in week out, literally setting up to fail and c*** up, if this was Italy you’d be asking serious questions. 

I was hoping we could at least have some fun next season becoming a swashbuckling dynamic side not yet more chuckle brothers stuff with Hamza spinning to face his own goal before he even receives the ball and inevitably playing it backwards and conceding 15-20 yards. Put the kids in and let them play not as robotic cogs but with instinct and passion.

Not forgetting the golden retriever puppy that is Skipp. Chasing where the ball left the foot not the direction of travel.  We can’t have another season of him on the edge of the box passing backwards at every opportunity. 
 

At least we have a manager that will play to the players strengths. To me, to you defence and midfield along with wingers that for some reason are allergic to running into space, passing forwards and crossing quickly. 

35 minutes ago, jv1 said:

Yep I’m having that - iv never seen hatred like it for a bloke that hasn’t even been appointed and I’m still not sure after reading a lot of posts what exactly he’s done wrong to us 

 

I think unfortunately he is the scapegoat for all the frustration of the last few years 

 

I personally hope he does well

you call it scapegoat, we call it foreshadowing. 

2 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

Was half looking forward to fresh start down there. Stupidly why did I think that would happen.

Guess we haven't hit rock bottom.  Our fault for having some faith left. 

6 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

Surely even Martin must look at his failure at Rangers and the collapse at Saints and think better look at tactics and if players are suitable. 

His hubris will match the likes of JV, Mavadidi and Winks. Keep doing the same thing that they are unable to do, but do it slower and more often.

Incoming RSI for Aluko’s hips from all the sideways passing. JV and Thomas having the most completed passes, errors and chances conceded. 

24 minutes ago, Craig said:

 

Hopefully Aluko has been watching back the tapes so he can perfect the Thomas/Ricardo backpass before you have even bothered to look forwards. 

9 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

It absolutely gets misused, Martin trying to do it against us in the Championship was suicidal let alone trying to do it against Premier League teams. It was also unnecessary. 

 

It's a method of drawing out teams who are stubbornly sitting in a modern mid or low block not engaging as these teams are extremely hard to play through. 

 

You obviously bait them out and back yourself to beat the press.

 

Clearly you look very stupid when you lose the ball but it's something of a necessity when the vast majority of the teams in the league are going to park the bus against you.

 

It's far easier to defend with mediocre players than attack and score with mediocre players in today's game and most defences in the top two flights are extremely well drilled and organised. 

 

Not everyone has the luxury of being Man City or PSG and having amazing attacking talent that can find the gaps. So you trick the opponent to come forward and you make those gaps. That's why Hermansen and Winks were the first players Enzo asked for because beating the press was 90% of what they were in the team for. 

 

We never had the manager to come up with the tactics, the coaching staff to implement it, the players with the ability and most of the time they were sharing a brain cell. Passing backwards to the keeper who would boot it out of play when the whole team is waiting for a cross into the box. 

We spent the past season watching these clowns make the pass backwards for the sake of it at the expense of a quick forwards pass to an unmarked player. We also constantly got undone by a simple 1-2, another move that was alien to our fullbacks and wingers. 
 

23 minutes ago, STEVIE B said:

We never do anything quickly..............other than the demise from where we were 10 years ago. 

The walking football and passing around the back until we concede is the football equivalent of every area of the club.  Fail, repeat, reward. 

11 hours ago, Chelmofox said:

Yeah. Russell martin gonna be all in with JV, especially in L1. Expect another year of him standing on the ball inviting the press.

I can't stand seeing the fake pass, roll back, inviting pressure of a forward in full momentum and then passing the chaos onto your teammate.

Along with the windows restart music every time Okoli has to pass the ball and Nelson doing his best JV junior impression, we are in for another stink out season unless things change quickly.  We have our great coaching staff that will ignore and make excuses for the same mistakes.  

Everything will stay the same because of the players, manager and coaching staff's hubris, too good for the league but their ability got us in this situation. 

4 minutes ago, GrobyLCFC31 said:

Every game will be intriguing in a ‘where will it go wrong today’ way 

 

Can we go to Wycombe away and play 25 passes in our own half? 
 

How good will the adrenaline filled full time Russ Martin fist pumps be away at MK Dons in front of 4500 fans? 
 

How long will it take for the first groan when the ball goes back to the goalkeeper at home to Stevenage? 
 

I’m sort of excited, in a really pessimistic, sceptical way. 

And at the end of those 25 passes is Mavadidi who will once again be too scared to cross first time unmarked and wait till he is marked so he can pass back.

40 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

obviously not going to be this squad next season though? good chunk out of contract,  others are no reasonable bids refused, and yet more looking to force their way out. style meshing with squad isn't really a concern when we're going to have to do a full rebuild this summer 

Hopefully someone will want to buy JV from us.  We can’t have another season of him stinking out the games with his walking football, shit pass and get countered. 
 

I think he has too much say over the style of play and control.  

27 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

Love how we are still trying to play 'pep ball' despite the fact our players are getting shitter and shitter as we go lower and lower down the leagues  

 

And they keep getting managers that will just enable the clowns.  I could get behind it if the mistakes were corrected and the players made an effort all over the pitch.  Nothing is addressed by the players and staff. 
 

JV to Winks to Skipp to JV to Thomas to Mavadidi, step over and pass back. Then we get done by a basic 1-2 cross into the box. 
 

This is an obvious foreshadowing of the upcoming season. 

2 hours ago, 5waller5 said:

It’s both terrible and entirely predictable.

 

This should have it’s own thread and the numbers be updated daily, we’ve got new depths to plumb yet

Just when you think we have hit rock bottom and maybe will learn some lessons. 
 

At this point to expect anything different would just be a cope.  
 

Rudkin, the coaching staff, recruitment team, social media clowns, JV at CB, Winks in midfield and Mavadidi as an attacker. Nothing changes. 

4 minutes ago, Kitchandro said:

Possession football has never really been about the amount of possession though, it’s the intention. The intention is to have possession, rather than it being a byproduct of other factors as you are suggesting.

 

The thing that really characterises Russell  Martin’s style is a lack of intensity and movement off the ball. The aim is to keep the ball, not to score goals.

 

When we were a good side, the aim was to win the ball back and look for the most efficient way to score a goal. That’s the very basis of a good English football team. So it doesn’t matter how much possession we actually have, you can still play with a good tempo and be creative. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) play at walking pace because you have more of the ball.

So it will be perfect for JV, Thomas and Mavadidi and nothing will change as it will just validate their useless style of play and lack of footballing intelligence. The lack of urgency is what killed our attacks all season and the egos from players who couldn’t back it up.  Slow first pass and no movement. 
 

I can’t see Martin drilling Thomas to pass forwards quickly, Mavadidi to hold the ball and slot Thomas in who has moved into space. 

24 minutes ago, Iwebema said:

I guarantee hes going to gaslight us into thinking it when we are 10th at christmas

And all we need to do is give him time, trust his tactics and the same players that will be playing exactly the same way and making the same mistakes as they have been for two years.

2 hours ago, whoareyaaa said:

It's probably the only reason we have got him to keep Winks happy and Vesterguard.

 

Because that's the type of shit decsion those two idiots make.

Another season of this poor style and pace being dictated by JV and Winks, maybe now they have dropped down two leagues they might figure it out.

16 minutes ago, Danizen said:

I can't wait to constantly be told he's the best midfielder in the league despite all evidence to the contrary. 

More copes on the way from supporters and local radio.  He has prem experience, too good for this league, England international. 
 

We see him pass sideways, backwards and not track the player next to him. 

First job should be asking the remaining staff what the cause of the relegation was.  What were the issues with the training, players and tactics?  
 

If they don’t know get rid.  If they do know, get rid for not fixing it or finding solutions. 
 

Then start trying to move on those players. 
 

Everyone needs to back in early to work on fitness or **** off and get their agent working. No wasting time giving toxic, lazy, ‘experienced’ players a chance at the expenses of others. 
 

Have we got any coaching staff that know what they are doing? 

1 hour ago, Jacob7839 said:

Your not wrong send him to Millwall haha 

Once he learns to beat a man with positioning and tactics, he can then add 

Too many times our wingers would do the step over challenge, not beat a man, send it backwards and stand still.  All they had to do was run into the space ahead and Thomas or whoever knock the ball ahead. Unfortunately the more Monga was exposed to these clowns, he turned into Mongadidi with a few Ayew dives added.  
 

I think he needs a season learning how to play football in a team, then go out on loan and put what he has learnt to good use. 

28 minutes ago, MPH said:

I actually disagree with this. I think he’s going to be exactly what we need in division1. It’s different gravy down there.. teams are going to try and kick us off the park and out muscle us, and we are going to need people who can give it back. Forget about skill and technical ability, the forwards are big lumps, the defenders have more teeth than IQ and if we think we are going to be able to play our way out of the division, we are going to be mistaken. We will have to out muscle, out work and out tackle the opposition. Those might be his only skills, but that’s exactly what we need in division1

This is the same cope that we all repeated last season.  Do you think he will play any differently? Slow at the back, passing sideways and backwards at every opportunity? At least there will be no VAR again so he might get lucky with his fouls and pull backs, like Thomas.

These clowns won’t play any differently than they did last season. 

People say he works hard because they can’t say he’s a nice guy. 

On 04/06/2026 at 14:33, Jacob7839 said:

Shame him going to arsenal but if we get a loan back I’ll be happy. Wish nothing but the best for him 

I think Monga needs to spend time with actual coaches to learn how to play football as a team member and pass the ball, rather than show off trying to skin everyone. We would be a terrible choice for his development. 
 

He should turn into a quality player once he learns how to play in a team with discipline, tactics and leadership.