End of Season Hurt!
So we had a season with no promotion, relegation or silverware, but we flirted with all three. We started and finished with the League’s youngest manager – but not the same person. Anything but dull, then!
Actually Will Still was sacked not for serious fear of relegation but for not getting results from a squad that we can now say was well assembled by Johannes Spors. All looked to be going well for Still’s successor with four straight wins, including 5-1 at Charlton, before choosing to restore Bazunu to the starting XI came back to bite Herr Eckert, with late defeats at Millwall and Oxford. The latter was part of a run of seven league games without a victory, including a heavy defeat at Middlesbrough and interrupted only by an unconvincing cup win at Doncaster. Even at Donny and certainly as we lost at home to Hull, there were shouts of ‘Sports Republic, get out of our club,’ while Eckert’s position wasn’t looking too secure either.
But there were critical arrivals in January: Ben Garner, as assistant manager, Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin. Heaven knows how managers from Hasenhũttl to Eckert (but not Still) couldn’t see what a liability Bazunu had been, but we now had someone in goal who at least gave the impression he knew what he was doing, while Larin allowed Stewart’s game time to be managed so well that he’s earned a trip to the World Cup. Maybe the most important acquisition, though, was Garner; someone must have been behind a change to an orthodox back four to try to stave off a defeat at the hands of Hull, and since half time on 17th Jan, we never changed that system, and never looked back either- on the pitch at least. Unlike in Russell Martin’s unbeaten run, we were rarely only drawing games, with notable wins at Leicester (after being three down), in the cup against Leicester (with a very young midfield), at Wrexham (scoring five) and ending Arsenal’s hopes of what was by then a triple, until only late goals denied us a win against Manchester City.
If only, if only… if only Ben Garner had told Tonda Eckert how stupid it was to send out our man with the iPhone. Herr Eckert says he didn’t know there were rules against spying on opponents, rather than scouting, but surely some things don’t have to be spelled out? Why did he think they had those high fences anyway? (Actually Middlesbrough didn’t have a fence, and I believe Ipswich were training pre Saints match at Eastleigh when spotted.)
Well we are where we are, and that’s bottom of the Championship for at least two games. Plus probably looking for a manager: Eckert could well think that his immediate future is better in the Bundesliga, while Garner and Spors might also see their position as untenable. At least Middlesbrough are also in the Championship after their naked opportunism won them few friends either.
It’s never smooth sailing, following the Saints, is it?
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