Do you want RM as manager come August '23?

[Bluenile]

Sorry but big no from me. I said a few weeks back that he'd wedge "Lats" back in once fit, and that he did. I see nothing in the boy to warrant his selection, and add to that his belief that he's some kind of hard nut who gets involved in every scrap that occurs, even if it's nothing to do with him. Martin has "favourites" and others that he'd never pick if possible. Will never make a great manager.

 

[MrSwerve]

I’m not sure how the manager of Portugal has anything to do with this thread.

RM…

Never mind, lol.

 

[MrSwerve]

Regarding the OP…

I’m still saying no. Obviously during an excellent run of 5 or 6 games it’s going to sway people a bit, even I am starting to think ‘hmm…’, but we’ve seen these mini runs of good results many times before…then we have 10-15 awful games to follow. Is this is a turning point? Who knows, but on previous evidence, it’s not likely.

Some of the football has been entertaining, but the vast majority has been a bore fest. I hate the suicide football at the back. Would I trust Martin and his team with more budget? No.

I was expecting him to leave at the end of the season, but this recent run may have changed things behind the scenes. As mentioned, I’m unsure whether we’d actually pay him off anyway.

We’ll float along in the mid-table/bottom half again next year if he stays, unless he changes his stubborn ways and adapts to the squad, but he’s had two years to do this now and I haven’t seen much improvement, if any. Maybe that’s just where we’re at, but I just can’t help but feel if we played more conventional football and used our squad properly, we’d be in the playoffs right now.

 

[sainthelens]

It would be an act of great self harm if we lost our minds and sacked him.
It’s more likely that we get off to a barnstorming start to next season and he’s snapped up by a bigger club.

That last comment suits me fine. It's what happened at the start of this, and if we'd just got someone in who organised the defence we'd have been in the play offs.

 

[Cooperman]

The other half of the problem is that he’s a s**t goalkeeper.

One contributing factor breeds the other. Removing the suicidal defending will help the entire back line, not just Fisher.

 

[SgorioFruit]

its like this...

The yanks are not going to back our managers and invest in the team, which is short sighted and rather stupid of them, a bit of investment and bolstering here and there and we would have been in play offs pushing for the premier league. They are meant to be business men, do they know that they're investments will increase tenfold if they get promoted? Or they just sitting over there in the states absolutely clueless?

Either way. we're not going anywhere, sooner everyone realises this and accepts it then the better.

So Russell Martin stays for me, because we beat Cardiff home and away every time with RM as manager. Is this the best we can hope for? A simple defeat over your neighbouring rivals to keep everyone happy for the season? No? Well that is what's happening now, that is the level we are at. We are not going anywhere else.

on a side note, two games stick in my mind, Birmingham, we were winning 3-2 on the 90th min, then decide to go lose the game 3-4.
Millwall, we were winning 2-0 until the 90th min, then score two own goals to draw 2-2. The second own goal our player literally got down and made an effort to put it into his own net. Mental.

5 points dropped from them games, would have seen us in the play offs. And there has been numerous others.
Is this managers fault, or the yanks?

Have a good weekend everyone.

Fe Godwn Ni Eto

SgorioFruit out!!!

 

[JustJack]

No.

Keep in mind some 10 days into the new season he will go above Steve Cooper in the length of time as manager and will probably overtake Roberto Martinez not long after

 

[JackSomething]

Mediocrity. What do you expect a club with a bottom third budget to achieve?

Where do you think our budget stood amongst other clubs when we got promoted last? We spent a big chunk (£500k) on Sinclair, our other signings that summer were freebies. Not long before that, we were spending pennies on Scotland, Bodde, Rangel et al and were the best team in the division.

I accept it's unlikely to happen again, but that's what we should be aiming for. We certainly should look for more than 2 likely bottom half finishes from a manager who has been well backed financially.

 

[Muteswan]

Regarding the OP…

I’m still saying no. Obviously during an excellent run of 5 or 6 games it’s going to sway people a bit, even I am starting to think ‘hmm…’, but we’ve seen these mini runs of good results many times before…then we have 10-15 awful games to follow. Is this is a turning point? Who knows, but on previous evidence, it’s not likely.

Some of the football has been entertaining, but the vast majority has been a bore fest. I hate the suicide football at the back. Would I trust Martin and his team with more budget? No.

I was expecting him to leave at the end of the season, but this recent run may have changed things behind the scenes. As mentioned, I’m unsure whether we’d actually pay him off anyway.

We’ll float along in the mid-table/bottom half again next year if he stays, unless he changes his stubborn ways and adapts to the squad, but he’s had two years to do this now and I haven’t seen much improvement, if any. Maybe that’s just where we’re at, but I just can’t help but feel if we played more conventional football and used our squad properly, we’d be in the playoffs right now.

My thoughts are very similar, but hope he goes.
With regards to Fisher, he may be having a better time recently but surely the whole point of a goalkeeper is to stop the ball going into the net. Even in the last few games he’s let the ball go straight through his hands at least twice and helped it go in to the side of him another time. Also, his non ability to come for crosses and stay rooted to the line is world renowned and is a basic tactic for anyone who plays us.

 

[Captain_Sham]

Who is managing is almost irrelevant at this stage. Our squad will continue to dwindle in quality. Continued existence in the Championship would be a bonus but my view is firmly fixed on our continued existence FULL STOP.

 

[Cooperman]

its like this...

The yanks are not going to back our managers and invest in the team.

Aside from the fact that we are one of the biggest net spenders in the league (not considering clubs with parachute payments), then that statement is completely true.

Have you forgotten that we have spent on Darling, Fisher, Obafemi, Downes, Joseph, Piroe, and others?

 

[jasper_T]

Aside from the fact that we are one of the biggest net spenders in the league (not considering clubs with parachute payments), then that statement is completely true.

Have you forgotten that we have spent on Darling, Fisher, Obafemi, Downes, Joseph, Piroe, and others?

People will absolutely "forget" all the signings we make (when a third of Championship teams have been operating on loans and frees only), and that we paid the 8th/9th most agent fees in the division this season, the £16/17m in ownership loans etc. so they can still insist no support has been given to the squad and we need just a little bit of investment. Julian Winter claimed in that fans event that we're "probably" operating on a bottom third budget but I don't really believe that, or consider it a particularly meaningful excuse given Luton have finished in the top 6 two seasons in a row (plus Barnsley before). Most clubs have been cutting back substantially in the covid aftermath so it will be interesting to see how we actually compare when our accounts for last season are published.

 

[Allergic2Hoof]

We will likely need to replace manning and piroe this summer along with a couple of others. Do we trust this coaching staff to do that given the history?

 

[Cooperman]

People will absolutely "forget" all the signings we make (when a third of Championship teams have been operating on loans and frees only), and that we paid the 8th/9th most agent fees in the division this season, the £16/17m in ownership loans etc. so they can still insist no support has been given to the squad and we need just a little bit of investment. Julian Winter claimed in that fans event that we're "probably" operating on a bottom third budget but I don't really believe that, or consider it a particularly meaningful excuse given Luton have finished in the top 6 two seasons in a row (plus Barnsley before). Most clubs have been cutting back substantially in the covid aftermath so it will be interesting to see how we actually compare when our accounts for last season are published.

Add into the mix that many don’t understand the word ‘budget’ and things get misconstrued quite easily. Budget is very different to revenue.

I also mentioned Luton earlier in the thread. A shining example of what can be achieved for relative peanuts and where a group of coaches is fully tuned in to the strengths of the playing squad.

 

[Baron Goblet]

Get shot.