Russell Martin - Confirmed as First Team Manager

[FoxinNotts]

2 minutes ago, whoareyaaa said:

Did we sign aribo or was he on loan ?

On loan to us last season

[slymunn]

4 minutes ago, whoareyaaa said:

Did we sign aribo or was he on loan ?

Loan.

[Pliskin]

Speaking to my mate today, who’s spent a few days at Leicester sorting moves out and what not. 
 

He said the atmosphere is 100% better, he said Russell has already lifted to mood, taken time to engage will all members of staff, and has time for anyone, he even had a chat with my mate, about his philosophy and the way he wants to approach things. 
 

He said there’s a determination about the bloke, not star struck like Cooper, but like a man with a point to prove. All the lads like him apparently and so far are buying into his ways. 
 

 

Im going to go to Burton, just to see how things are progressing, but he certainly gave a glowing report……

[boosmanana]

1 minute ago, Pliskin said:

Speaking to my mate today, who’s spent a few days at Leicester sorting moves out and what not. 
 

He said the atmosphere is 100% better, he said Russell has already lifted to mood, taken time to engage will all members of staff, and has time for anyone, he even had a chat with my mate, about his philosophy and the way he wants to approach things. 
 

He said there’s a determination about the bloke, not star struck like Cooper, but like a man with a point to prove. All the lads like him apparently and so far are buying into his ways. 
 

 

Im going to go to Burton, just to see how things are progressing, but he certainly gave a glowing report……

Nah come on Pliskin, he's Pep light that plays boring football and he'll take us down to League Two, did you not get the over reactionary Foxestalk memo? 😂 

[Pliskin]

1 minute ago, boosmanana said:

Nah come on Pliskin, he's Pep light that plays boring football and he'll take us down to League Two, did you not get the over reactionary Foxestalk memo? 😂 

I was part of that gang 😂 but, I keep hearing only positive things about him and the group at the moment….. 

[LCFCCKEANO]

11 hours ago, 21st Century Fox said:

He lives rent free on SaintsWeb.

Makes for some interesting reading, especially as they’re lurking here for quotes.

Wow I’m famous

[Langston]

7 hours ago, Pliskin said:

Speaking to my mate today, who’s spent a few days at Leicester sorting moves out and what not. 
 

He said the atmosphere is 100% better, he said Russell has already lifted to mood, taken time to engage will all members of staff, and has time for anyone, he even had a chat with my mate, about his philosophy and the way he wants to approach things. 
 

He said there’s a determination about the bloke, not star struck like Cooper, but like a man with a point to prove. All the lads like him apparently and so far are buying into his ways. 
 

 

Im going to go to Burton, just to see how things are progressing, but he certainly gave a glowing report……

 

Yep.. I play five a side with a member of first team staff and he can't speak highly enough of RM, staff all love him apparently.. huge mood shift day to day..

[CrazyKopCorner]

He's definitely been less annoying than I was expecting and some of the things I've heard are reasonably positive. 

 

I'm at the point of giving him a go after thinking he was a complete and utter tosspot. 

 

Reasonable or misplaced? 

[brookfox]

There’s two big things he needs to give us; Fitness and Fight. One of them is physical the other mental. We went down last year as we lacked both in bucket loads. You’d hope on paper our squad will be good enough it’ll be adding these two ingredients on the training ground that will determine our season.

Edited yesterday at 08:04 by brookfox

[Ted Maul]

1 hour ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

He's definitely been less annoying than I was expecting and some of the things I've heard are reasonably positive. 

 

I'm at the point of giving him a go after thinking he was a complete and utter tosspot. 

 

Reasonable or misplaced? 

That's pretty much where I'm at.

 

Everything from behind the scenes that I've seen and heard has been positive (I'll forgive the odd Brentism in the initial vidoes), and it's been a while since that was the case.

 

My main worry was always his playing style and that still might be an issue, but he seems to understand that we needed a major culture shift and I get the feeling he'll sort that.

[Lesta2014]

After failing At Rangers and coming down to league 1 he simply has to get it right for his own managerial career/reputation. Hopefully that bodes well for us. Pleased with the bits people have shared from inside how he is liked. Don’t remember hearing any of that from the last few managers we’ve had. 

[AjcW]

I mean in the simplest terms possible this really is his last chance to get back to where he (and a lot of other managers and pundits) believe he should be. So we may well have got him at the perfect time.

 

It's a mix though isn't it, he needs the club to support him with the right players too otherwise we'll soon get the frustrated post match interviews and throwing people (and fans) under the bus.

 

Apologies @Lesta2014 i've basically lead on from what you've said there  

Edited yesterday at 08:15 by AjcW

[stevostadium]

2 hours ago, Langston said:

 

Yep.. I play five a side with a member of first team staff and he can't speak highly enough of RM, staff all love him apparently.. huge mood shift day to day..

Exactly same as i am hearing.

 

Less of the positivity though else you will be labeled as a KPFC Supporter like myself

[Swarles Barkley]

Would be good to know if there were similar themes coming out of Southampton and Rangers when he first joined them or has Martin become more down to earth now

[Lesta2014]

11 minutes ago, AjcW said:

I mean in the simplest terms possible this really is his last chance to get back to where he (and a lot of other managers and pundits) believe he should be. So we may well have got him at the perfect time.

 

It's a mix though isn't it, he needs the club to support him with the right players too otherwise we'll soon get the frustrated post match interviews and throwing people (and fans) under the bus.

 

Apologies @Lesta2014 i've basically lead on from what you've said there  

Can I claim an assist for the stats  

[James_lcfc]

I wasn't happy when he was first appointed, but I'm pretty much over that now - Just desperate for a bit of positivity around the club.

 

We're doing pretty well at chopping out some of the rot, but there's still a way to go. 

 

If we can keep doing it though and bring in some hungry players at the same time, he may have a chance this season. 

[Dan]

I am very reluctant to cave in before we've even played a game but he does seem to have made a decent start behind the scenes. We'll see though.

Edited yesterday at 09:18 by Dan

[Rubbersoul]

I think a good thing to do is to basically pay no attention to his interviews if you think what he’s going to say will annoy you. 
 

Something I wish I’d done with previous managers.

Edited yesterday at 09:58 by Rubbersoul

[whoareyaaa]

Wasn't a fan but he does seem to be quite likeable and he is the manager so will support him, postive signs with the current deals as well so hopefully we are moving in the right direction now.

[Chelmofox]

Seems to have good man management skills that were clearly missing from Cooper and Ruud.  It's really encouraging to hear feedback from FT users who have contacts around the club as well.

 

Proof point will be when things don't go well, which will inevitably happen.  

[Saints Fan In Peace]

5 hours ago, Swarles Barkley said:

Would be good to know if there were similar themes coming out of Southampton and Rangers when he first joined them or has Martin become more down to earth now

As there seems to be a bit of a feelgood factor starting to develop I was going to keep quiet as I don't want to annoy anyone or piss on anyone's bonfire. 

 

But since you asked - being liked internally isn't the problem. By all accounts he was very popular with the players and staff at Saints too, they thought he was great - or they certainly seemed to at first. That's partly down to the fact that he is unusually touchy feely for a manager (gushes a lot about loving his players, everything being so beautiful and so on), but also that he properly loves being one of the boys (the extended interview he gave on Lineker's podcast just before he took the Rangers job gives a good insight into that) and he treats everyone like his best mate, and there were also a fair number of rumours that he didn't work them particularly hard (lots of days off training etc). He's a 'call me Russ' guy, and little things like having your fit glamour model girlfriend walk into the players lounge probably don't hurt either when you're trying to impress footballers. 

 

That's not the issue. The problems in the past have always come because he only has one way of playing and coaching, and when it fails, on the surface he pretends to take responsibility but in reality he is just blaming everyone else. That's when his stubbornness and the way he talks can rub people up the wrong way. In those situations he can come across as smug, dismissive and patronising, which can get very grating, especially when you can see with your eyes that it isn't working but he insists it is, or he keeps saying that success is always just around the corner and it would all be fine if people just did what he told them to do. Quoting possession stats as a benchmark of success (we once had 79% possession in a game against Sunderland which we lost 5-0) and coming out with stuff like 'I'd rather lose playing beautifully than win ugly' don't go down particularly well when you're getting humiliated every week either (like we were under him in the Prem). 

 

Basically, if you're winning games, you'll like him like you would any manager who is getting results. But if you're not, he's probably going to annoy people more than the average joe because of his tendency to gaslight and deflect rather than ever admit his 'philosophy' may be anything less than perfect. He is unquestionably a smooth talker, but that can start to sound like snake oil when it's not being backed up by results. 

 

So enjoy the honeymoon period, give him a chance, and everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip IMO. The proof of the pudding will come when the season starts and the pressure is on, and then you'll be able to judge for yourselves whether what he insists is happening actually bears any resemblance to what you see with your own eyes taking place on the pitch. 

 

Edit: Just saw that Chelmofox put it much more succinctly 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Saints Fan In Peace

[FoxCal]

5 hours ago, brookfox said:

There’s two big things he needs to give us; Fitness and Fight. One of them is physical the other mental. We went down last year as we lacked both in bucket loads. You’d hope on paper our squad will be good enough it’ll be adding these two ingredients on the training ground that will determine our season.

Actually think we’ll be quite good in terms of fitness come start of the season. Has annoyed me no end seeing us absolutely blowing after an hour and the opposition having a lot more to give in the early season the last few years.

 

The videos the club have put out of pre-season training have made it look pretty gruelling, though they do have the ability to look however they want it to look, I concede.

 

That said, I was at Seagrave for last week’s Northampton friendly and half time was a few minutes of team talk and the rest was spent having the players run the width of the pitch back and forth. Was pleased to see it.

[Long Eaton Fox]

the thing is that practically every manager in the entire football league has been sacked at least once. Sometimes its just finding that club that fits your beliefs and blending the right players into it. 

[Dan]

1 hour ago, Saints Fan In Peace said:

As there seems to be a bit of a feelgood factor starting to develop I was going to keep quiet as I don't want to annoy anyone or piss on anyone's bonfire. 

 

But since you asked - being liked internally isn't the problem. By all accounts he was very popular with the players and staff at Saints too, they thought he was great - or they certainly seemed to at first. That's partly down to the fact that he is unusually touchy feely for a manager (gushes a lot about loving his players, everything being so beautiful and so on), but also that he properly loves being one of the boys (the extended interview he gave on Lineker's podcast just before he took the Rangers job gives a good insight into that) and he treats everyone like his best mate, and there were also a fair number of rumours that he didn't work them particularly hard (lots of days off training etc). He's a 'call me Russ' guy, and little things like having your fit glamour model girlfriend walk into the players lounge probably don't hurt either when you're trying to impress footballers. 

 

That's not the issue. The problems in the past have always come because he only has one way of playing and coaching, and when it fails, on the surface he pretends to take responsibility but in reality he is just blaming everyone else. That's when his stubbornness and the way he talks can rub people up the wrong way. In those situations he can come across as smug, dismissive and patronising, which can get very grating, especially when you can see with your eyes that it isn't working but he insists it is, or he keeps saying that success is always just around the corner and it would all be fine if people just did what he told them to do. Quoting possession stats as a benchmark of success (we once had 79% possession in a game against Sunderland which we lost 5-0) and coming out with stuff like 'I'd rather lose playing beautifully than win ugly' don't go down particularly well when you're getting humiliated every week either (like we were under him in the Prem). 

 

Basically, if you're winning games, you'll like him like you would any manager who is getting results. But if you're not, he's probably going to annoy people more than the average joe because of his tendency to gaslight and deflect rather than ever admit his 'philosophy' may be anything less than perfect.

 

So enjoy the honeymoon period, give him a chance, and everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip IMO. The proof of the pudding will come when the season starts and the pressure is on, and then you'll be able to judge for yourselves whether what he insists is happening actually bears any resemblance to what you see with your own eyes taking place on the pitch. 

 

Edit: Just saw that Chelmofox put it much more succinctly 

 

This is sort of why I've always had an aversion to Martin. People say Poundshop Pep but I think he's nearer Poundshop Rodgers. I still think it will end in tears even though there will be quite a lot of overcompensating praise for him because people were very anti appointing him in the first place. Is why for me, I will say fair play he seems to have had a positive impact, but I'm still very much braced for the downturn.

 

What does go in his favour is it takes the most absolute basics to improve on what has been served up in the last two years. Like it was literally close to impossible for us to have done any worse.

Edited 22 hours ago by Dan

[Joe90]

6 hours ago, brookfox said:

There’s two big things he needs to give us; Fitness and Fight. One of them is physical the other mental. We went down last year as we lacked both in bucket loads. You’d hope on paper our squad will be good enough it’ll be adding these two ingredients on the training ground that will determine our season.

Yea your bang on, when we rebuilt under Pearson he certainly went to town with our fitness, we need to be doing all we can to get this teams  fitness the best in the league, I think that was one of Pearsons biggest demand