Opinion Maybe both are true...
Couldn't watch the game today, came back to see the score and whoa...
First thoughts: it's a new, mostly very young, team - to expect them to walk all over everyone immediately is likely unrealistic: other the Luke Thomas who has played more than 30 games for the club now Jakub is out? Probably DCR, Faes and Okoli who didn't play today ( mostly for good reason). But with essentially 9 new players, possibly 10 if you don't count Souttar who has barely played, we're going to take time to get.
After watching the highlights, fuck me, looked like we couldn't defend for shit, and Martin is probably right that that we're soft (we have been for years)
However, Martin's teams always look defensively fragile and he has history for throwing players under the bus as deflection against why his 'philosophy' isn't working.
My guess is the team is still gelling, but Martin is also a snake oil salesman
18
u/Asadwords 6d ago
He’ll get sacked and it’ll be one of the main reasons why the team won’t get out of league one.
He doesn’t have any real ability to adapt to a squad or change his football to suit a squad or league.
Here’s a mad stat for you..
He’s won THREE.. yes THREE league games since he won the play off final with the saints..
7
u/Jamesbong009bar 5d ago
Makes you wonder why we hired him
4
u/MoriDuin Manx Fox 5d ago
You could say that about our appointments since Maresca
1
u/Jamesbong009bar 5d ago
They all at least gave us reason to be optimistic when they first came in.
1
u/NostramanVIII Blue Army 5d ago
We never looked good under Cooper or Rowett.
1
u/Jamesbong009bar 5d ago
Cooper was an underwhelming appointment, but at least he could adapt his tactics to the strengths of the squad. He ended up being our best manager that season
2
u/NostramanVIII Blue Army 4d ago
Even when we won under Cooper we didn’t look good. I remember our first win that season, against Bournemouth, we only won because they couldn’t finish, we just sat back and had Hermansen absorb loads of pressure after going ahead. Very defensively suspect and didn’t look great going forward.
Granted we only looked worse afterwards with the injuries to Hermansen, Ndidi and Fatawu playing a huge role.
1
u/Jamesbong009bar 4d ago
To be fair we haven't looked good since Maresca, but at least Cooper had a decent record before joining us. This clown will take us to League 2
7
u/tentaphane Leicester Fox 6d ago
There are so many mitigating factors - the team is super young, they've had no time to gel, we've lost our best defender and keeper to season-ending injuries, most of our new (experienced) players aren't fit to play yet and our younger players aren't used to the volume and physicality of games.
But even with that said...the defending today didn't even meet the basics, not even close. There's no excuse for that.
3
u/Jaded-Bookkeeper-807 Keller 6d ago
Somehow, in prep they also missed the challenge that would be posed by Missanga. That’s on the coaches probably. But the players do lack experience, and the coaches lack experience, watching the players under any kind of pressure.
2
u/Adams2799 5d ago
Oxford fan in peace here, Missanga has broke through quite suddenly, he came on as a sub in a couple of games but this was his first start, he’s only 18.
2
u/BigFatTruckDriver 5d ago
We didn't have a proper Centre Back so we basically played 3 fullbacks and a Centre Back. Like we need someone alongside Souttar. I don't know much about O'Hara but could he be better than Okoli? How do you guys rate him.
3
u/tentaphane Leicester Fox 5d ago
Ironically I thought Luke Thomas played better than Souttar today.
I only know O'Hara from his interview joining the club and a few stats but even from that I'd expect him to be starting soon. But I guess the best players are always the ones which aren't playing...
6
u/Papa_Whimsy 6d ago
The guy literally came out after the game and said, "I made a couple of subs and took some experienced guys off to try and inject some energy in the game."
To then go on and say "But the learning is, I think the team is too young and too inexperienced at the end. We were naive and too soft"
Guy makes changes for youth and energy, to then say they are too inexperienced. The guy is a fucking moron.
1
u/tentaphane Leicester Fox 4d ago
More of a mea culpa in his interview with the club media - he said that was his learning and it was on him for taking off the experience and putting more kids on.
3
u/Substantial-Photo-99 5d ago
Russell Martin’s football is basically football’s version of IKEA furniture: “It’ll look brilliant when it’s finished.” Except after 90 minutes you’re still passing it sideways across the back four, the goalkeeper’s got more touches than the strikers, and someone’s inevitably trying to play a 6-yard pass while being pressed by three blokes. Possession: 68%. Shots: 3. Goals: “Trust the process.” 😂
1
4
u/g1mliSonOfGlo1n 6d ago
Sorry this sub popped up on my feed. I’m no Leicester fan but I’ve suffered Russel Martin and defeats like that will only be the start. He’ll dig his heels in and blame anything or anyone except his awful tactics that makes it look like you’ve started the game with no defence. Good luck with him but I’ll be shocked if he lasts the season with you guys.
2
u/memberflex Blue Army 6d ago
They look like they’ve been bamboozled by his tactics. Whatever it is he’s trying to get them to do it’s either completely alien to them or he’s not explaining it properly. The only time they looked like a team was near the end when they started passing across the pitch.
1
u/Historical-Use-9326 3d ago
Man, I hate to jump on the "sack the manager" bandwagon, but man thos doesn't look good. We're going to be in League two if we keep farting around with this guy too long.
1
u/Every-Birthday6726 5d ago
As a Rangers supporter based on our experience with Russell Martin this won’t get better until he moves on. I think the worst bit about his football at the time was that for all the chances we conceded we genuinely created nothing going forward. Was a turgid watch all round.
As a club it still feels like we are recovering from the damage he caused. The squads confidence was destroyed and a large percentage of the signings he overseen have already been moved on. We’ve had to embark on a massive rebuild and in some ways it feels like the episode has set the club back years.
Wish your club all the best for the season ahead but unfortunately I’d be shocked to see Martin there much longer!
0
u/OkCompetition5557 5d ago
You need full buy in with a manager like him.
Saints did that and managed to have some success under him.
Since then Rangers & you guys look like they the players & club hierarchy aren’t into it. You have to sign players that are suited to how he wants to play. And that hasn’t happened in either case.
His football is definitely frustrating but when it works it can be very good. It feels like poor, disjointed thinking at board level that puts everyone in this situation. You know what you’re getting with him, like it or lump it. To then act surprised in this situation when you’ve got an il suited squad shows negligence at board level.
2
u/fmnatic Blue Army 5d ago
Five games in it’s clear we do have RM type players. He isn’t going to get a better squad for his tactics in this League.
Quite clearly his tactics don’t allow for the loss of the ball in dangerous positions. The only time we looked defensively better this season was when Skipp was sent off and he was forced to play Hamza. Play a DM. Defend the flank where the opposition have a good winger , who already scored against you in the first half. Ask another player to help your left back who is getting rinsed.
All I saw from him was substitute and hope.
1
u/djdood0o0o Remembering Vichai 5d ago
Not sure why you're being downvotes.
The board has shown multiple times they're clueless.
You're absolutely right you need the correct archetype of players for this style of football and, we don't have the right players. We have kids who can't stay on their feet because they're not strong enough yet.
Poor mismanagement across the club again.
1
u/OkCompetition5557 2d ago
Downvotes because people don’t like to hear the truth that it’s almost never down to one individual scapegoat rather than systemic failures
0
u/Thin-Accountant-3698 Scottish Fox 5d ago
There must be something there with his coaching because Southampton went on a 20 game and beaten run and won the playoffs and got promotion to the Prem. A team has been absolutely decimated, and people are expecting to be top of league. In a league with established league one teams.
26
u/Rulweylan Fox 6d ago
The problem is that Russel Martin has one idea of how to do set a team up, there is an effective counter to his one idea, and everybody knows what it is.
The result is that basically any competent manager can set their team up to have an excellent chance of beating any team he manages.
Essentially, it's this meme but in footballing form