Marti Cifuentes appointed new manager

[The Guvnor]

 From what I’ve read a decent appointment.

 

[Noahfence]

Cifuentes is a very nice name to say isn’t it. Just sounds nice 

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

From my Sandjeford supporting mate:

 

"I don't know how you got this number, please stop messaging me"

 

"I won't tell you again, this has to stop"

 

"I'm calling the police"

[FoxOnWheels]

Be licking his lips to work with a squad like ours in this league, wait till he realises how shit and uninterested they actually are

[Spudulike]

42 minutes ago, Ricey said:

It sounds quite similar to Enzo. Did well, but the style started to grate towards the end.

 

I’m hopeful that a couple of seasons with QPR will have knocked some of the total football idealism out of him.

Not just the style but dramatic collapse surrendering a 17pt lead with appalling displays against Plymouth, Millwall and Bristol City amongst others. Didn't stop Chelsea from wanting him though.

[Corky]

3 minutes ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

From my Sandjeford supporting mate:

 

"I don't know how you got this number, please stop messaging me"

 

"I won't tell you again, this has to stop"

 

"I'm calling the police"

Always found that lot to be rude and dismissive. Was similar when I asked them about Dean Smith.

[worthosoriginals]

1 hour ago, Phenom said:

Still better looking than Cooper

So is my ball bag

[Golden Fox]

1 hour ago, Ricey said:

From my Hammarby supporting mate:

 

“Hope you enjoy endless passing the ball back and forth without progressing up the pitch.”

 

”…sorry to say flexible would be the last word I would use to describe him.”

 

”Towards the end people were losing their shit in the stands as we were once again not even getting into the final third the moment an opponent decided not to press high.”

 

😬

Managers can adapt and change... just last year, we were saying this about Enzo, and one season later, he's taking apart the best team in world football by getting his goalkeeper to hoof it as far forward as possible!

[Stadt]

Fairly optimistic about this.

 

Doesn’t seem dogmatically wedded to short passing but prefers it which is sensible. Sort of a poor man’s Corberan.

 

Lets hope he can manage upwards to get some transfer dealings in motion.

[worthosoriginals]

1 hour ago, Aleksz said:

Some on here would say the same about Enzo Tbf and look how that’s ended up.

Yep a few days ago, outplaying the champions league winners.

But like one or two experts here said he will be sacked by last Christmas 

[sm1]

He's got his work cut out with our chuckle brothers set up, but still quite positive. Looking forward to the new season.

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

2 minutes ago, sm1 said:

He's got his work cut out with our chuckle brothers set up, but still quite positive. Looking forward to the new season.

A mí, a ti

[ramboacdc]

This appointment won't stop @AjcW and his investigation into KBet. I hear he is currently booking his flights to Vietnam to check out the head office. 

All a smokescreen...

Edited 15 July 2025 by ramboacdc

[Uncle Monty]

2 hours ago, Ricey said:

From my Hammarby supporting mate:

 

“Hope you enjoy endless passing the ball back and forth without progressing up the pitch.”

 

”…sorry to say flexible would be the last word I would use to describe him.”

 

”Towards the end people were losing their shit in the stands as we were once again not even getting into the final third the moment an opponent decided not to press high.”

 

😬

It's called "modern, progressive football" according to the official statement.

 

 

[Foxin_Mad]

How do you say his name in Lestoh?!

[Big_Nige]

2 minutes ago, Foxin_Mad said:

How do you say his name in Lestoh?!

Marteh Sea-Fwen-Tez

Edited 15 July 2025 by Big_Nige

[Vacamion]

1 minute ago, Foxin_Mad said:

How do you say his name in Lestoh?!

 

Bleddeh Mahr-tea Siff-wenn-tiss, me duck  

[AjcW]

39 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

This appointment won't stop @AjcW and his investigation into KBet. I hear he is currently booking his flights to Vietnam to check out the head office. 

All a smokescreen...

Booking a flight? I’m on the ****er already mate, lovely bit of WiFi. Stay tuned…

[Chrysalis]

He is another barca/man city manager from what I can tell from his interview, so the club is still obsessed with that.

 

However he does speak a good talk and I will give him a chance as I have all previous managers, he says he wants to be an aggressive attacking team, so I am hoping that doesnt mean ping ponging it in front of our keeper and instead playing in the opponents half, will see.

[Deeg67]

XAVI SIGNS WITH LEICESTER

[J. James]

Pronunciation sweepstake coming, how will we fcuk up this one!

I'm guessing he will quickly become siffer - enters! 🤣🤣

 

 

 

[J. James]

23 minutes ago, Chrysalis said:

He is another barca/man city manager from what I can tell from his interview, so the club is still obsessed with that.

 

However he does speak a good talk and I will give him a chance as I have all previous managers, he says he wants to be an aggressive attacking team, so I am hoping that doesnt mean ping ponging it in front of our keeper and instead playing in the opponents half, will see.

The only negative l have read are the six words that make me shudder - " likes to play out of defence"! 

[southfox66]

Ok someone explain to me what the logic is of appointing someone who was sacked by a team middle of the table, surely you should be poaching a manager who got their team to the playoff at least last season.

 

Does anyone know how much we are going to pay him compared to Enzo and Ruud I assume its a fraction of what the other two got, if it the same amount then someone in the club has clearly lost the plot.

[Guppys Love Child]

3 hours ago, Ricey said:

From my Hammarby supporting mate:

 

“Hope you enjoy endless passing the ball back and forth without progressing up the pitch.”

 

”…sorry to say flexible would be the last word I would use to describe him.”

 

”Towards the end people were losing their shit in the stands as we were once again not even getting into the final third the moment an opponent decided not to press high.”

 

😬

God I hope this isn't the case... 

 

If he turns out to be a Enzo clone  with 3619 aimless passes outside our own 18yd box, then a single pass to a winger, who runs 20 yards, turns around, passes back to start the process again I'll very quickly loose my sh1t.

 

Teams started last year to nullify this brand of "football" and I can't go through another reincarnation of Enzoball next season.

 

The two pre-season games have shown we have a talented group youth players with great attacking attributes, who want to go forward and impose themselves on the opposition, Playing a version "Martiball" would just be waste of this talent, along with stunting their individual developments as it would be polar opposite to their natural instincts.

 

I don't want to go back to passing borefests again.

 

I await his first few games with interest before spitting any dummys out.....

 

 

[inckley fox]

3 hours ago, murphy said:

How would finishing 7th with a squad at least as good, if not better than Matesca's be an equal achievement to his winning the league? 

In a way, you asking that question is proof of the point I was trying to make about expectations. It all depends on what happens next. If that consists of a huge deduction, followed down the line by the threat of another, the sale of numerous key players without replacement, further widespread unrest... then that might be the sort of scenario in which a club could easily implode.

 

When Enzo came in, we were the clearest favourites there had ever been to win the division. That's not the case this time. As you imply, it could be that the pundits and bookies are wrong - only a few may leave, we could make a shrewd signing or two and the kids could step up. But are you sure that the squad will be as good, or better than it was two years ago? The addition of promising young talent (and the better 2024 signings) is counterbalanced easily by the losses of KDH and Vardy, likely to be followed by the losses of Ndidi / Bilal / Mads etc. You can't guarantee it being such a 'done deal' on this occasion, and fans who expect it to be - and get unhappy when it isn't - could pose a problem for the boss.

 

I see a lot of people confidently stating that, even without replacing those players, we'll be fine. Maybe we will, but there's little question that, if that did happen, we'd be a lot weaker than we were two years ago. In the coming weeks and months that may well change for the better. But it wouldn't be a huge shock if it changed for the worse.

 

When we finished 4th in this division under Little, or 5th under Pearson, these were far greater managerial achievements than - in spite of all the praise he deserves - Enzo delivering a widely-anticipated title. It's not unthinkable that a set of circumstances unfolds from hereon in which makes a mere play-off push in 2026 an achievement which is comparable with finishing first in 2024. In that case, it's important that people appreciate that managers can't always be judged by how high they finish in the end-of-season table. My suspicion is that a great many won't.