Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
super dave

Russell Martin

Recommended Posts

Guest
While I don''t think we should create a job for him as we don''t have the finance for that, I''m sure he will find a suitable job at the club eventually.

I agree he about his treatment. When he joined us from Peterborough he got terrible stick as he replaced crowd favourite Spillane. But he added to the team solidity in League 1 immediately.

And he has been the scapegoat on many other occasions as well. And of course he has been found out sometimes. But we were playing in the Prem for four of his years here so he wasn''t the only to go missing sometimes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Good luck to him if he does go. When I watched him in the pre-season game v Brighton, I thought how uncomfortable he looked with the new ''passing it around at the back'' style of play.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="kingsway"]I personally disagree with Farkes treatment of Russell Martin since the Millwall debacle cause he was far from being our worst player that day.

That said, though if Martins not going to feature now then for the sake of relieving the club of most or all of the surely highest earner Martins wages will beneficial!

When Martin does go we will need another rightback cause that leaves Pinto as our only player in that position![/quote]Hence why we are in for young Ebuehi from Den Haag, only 22 and a Nigerian international. Nick Mashiter seemed certain we were after him and Nick is prolly the only journo reliable enough with his info that makes me think theres solidity behind it.With Russ seemingly resigned to leaving and with Wes likely to end his days at end of season, with the likes of Godfrey, Thomson, Adams etc. hopefully making their mark with us next season, is not just the change of personnel but the change in the average age of the squad that is so noticeable now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Latest on Martin to Rangers...it appears they have to offload duds first (so may have some influence on getting Naismith too).http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/rangers-step-up-russell-martin-11818857Apples

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Martin the replacement for a Portuguese international......I reckon Rangers fans might be a bit disappointed.

Despite the obvious appeal, I don''t think Russ is doing himself any favours with this move. I think he might get some stick.

A drop to league one or two, playing only as a centre back, is his best chance of prolonging his playing career, IMO.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Alves is 36, injury prone, a high earner and part of the old regime. They''ll probably be delighted as he could do a solid and decent job for them.Apples

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Mr Apples"]Alves is 36, injury prone, a high earner and part of the old regime. They''ll probably be delighted as he could do a solid and decent job for them.Apples [/quote]

But he can''t do a solid and decent job for us.. why do you think he will for Rangers? And being the size of club as Rangers are, there will be huge pressure on him to do well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest
Yeah, we''ve looked much more solid, and got better results overall when Martin hasn''t been in the team.

Look at our league position; heady heights of 13th now!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
Remind me when we were last lower or equal to 13th in the Championship, in January, during any of the seasons Martin was a mainstay in our defence?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"But he can''t do a solid and decent job for us.. why do you think he will

for Rangers? And being the size of club as Rangers are, there will be

huge pressure on him to do well."He''ll be absolutely fine at Rangers and fine with any pressure. It''s funny how the quality of Scottish football varies with the argument being made?Apples

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ian"]Remind me when we were last lower or equal to 13th in the Championship, in January, during any of the seasons Martin was a mainstay in our defence?[/quote]

Pointless fact.

Firstly, lots of different variables.

Secondly, players age and their ability deteriorates. So comparing Martin now with Martin of the past is not comparing apples with apples.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Mr Apples"]"But he can''t do a solid and decent job for us.. why do you think he will

for Rangers? And being the size of club as Rangers are, there will be

huge pressure on him to do well."He''ll be absolutely fine at Rangers and fine with any pressure. It''s funny how the quality of Scottish football varies with the argument being made?Apples

[/quote]

We''ll see Apples. But I predict Rangers supporters being extremely underwhelmed with his signing, and even more so when he plays.

Despite their recent issues, Rangers are a huge club and their fans, rightly or wrongly, are very expectant.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
"So comparing Martin now with Martin of the past is not comparing apples with apples."And neither is comparing playing in the back four in the Championship vs. the Scottish Premiership (in one of the 3 strongest teams).Apples

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
@Ian

But we have looked much more solid without him in the team this season...

He started 4 league games in which we conceded 12 goals (Millwall, Villa, Sunderland, Fulham).

In the other 22 game we''ve conceded 19 goals in total.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest
So, basically, you''re saying that Russell Martin of a few years ago was a better defender than Pinto is currently?

Perhaps I''m doing you a disservice and you were more nuanced than that, but would you agree that a lot of people held Martin responsible for the vast majority of our defensive failings last season/beginning of this - and that actually the back four chosen has made little difference to our defensive frailties.

He is still good enough to do a decent job in Scottish football.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Mr Apples"]"So comparing Martin now with Martin of the past is not comparing apples with apples."And neither is comparing playing in the back four in the Championship vs. the Scottish Premiership (in one of the 3 strongest teams).Apples[/quote]

More so than you think.

Many SPL players come and do well in the Championship. There are lots of examples to support this. But they don''t do so well in the EPL.

Therefore it seems reasonable to assume the standard in the Championship is similar to that of the SPL.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
That''s a fair point king canary, but I would argue it''s far more to do with the midfield screening that any individuals in the back four.

Would be interested to know if Tettey/Trybull started in those 4 league games? And/or how the stats change if those two aren''t in the team...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ian"]So, basically, you''re saying that Russell Martin of a few years ago was a better defender than Pinto is currently?

Perhaps I''m doing you a disservice and you were more nuanced than that, but would you agree that a lot of people held Martin responsible for the vast majority of our defensive failings last season/beginning of this - and that actually the back four chosen has made little difference to our defensive frailties.

He is still good enough to do a decent job in Scottish football.[/quote]

No Ian, that''s not what I''m saying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
You think Pinto is a better defender than Russell Martin at his peak?!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Ian"]That''s a fair point king canary, but I would argue it''s far more to do with the midfield screening that any individuals in the back four.

Would be interested to know if Tettey/Trybull started in those 4 league games? And/or how the stats change if those two aren''t in the team...[/quote]

Tettey and Trybull are the decisive factor. We''ve only conceded three goals and kept seven clean sheets in the ten games they''ve started together. Having said that, Pinto is much better than Martin.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
@Ian

By that same argument, us being 13th probably is more to do with our lack of goals scored than not having Russell Martin in the team.

IMO he''s not been great for the last couple of seasons and I thought he should have been dropped long before he was. He can probably still do a job at Rangers though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

"He is still good enough to do a decent job in Scottish football."Completely agree with that. Just look at Christophe Berra (for direct comparison), Lafferty, Mulumbu...Apples

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
Well, I don''t think there''s any doubt he''s had his best years for the club now (from a playing perspective anyway), and I imagine his illness has been a significant factor.

My main argument is that I don''t believe he has been anyway near as big a factor in our decline as some "fans" like to make out - certainly, a lot of our back four make poor individual mistakes (look at Klose repeatedly when dealing with any sort of physical player), but seem to be absolved from responsibility by those same fans.

Anyway, I think he will be a decent player in the Scottish Prem, and I very much hope he comes back to the club in a coaching/managerial role.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
That''s interesting; I could see the argument for Pinto being a more suitable wingback than Martin; excellent going forward, and a lot of good physical attributes. As a full-back I think Martin was superior defensively.

I also think Martin was actually pretty decent going forward, and contributed fairly well in terms of goals for a defensive player.

Anyway, football is all about opinions isn''t it?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I agree Ian, from memory we went to two holding midfielders after the Millwall game and I think you may find the reason RM was dropped, and has not featured at all since, has nothing to do with his ability, more to do with our Coach''s inability to handle certain situations, both he and Naismith disappeared at the same time and besides both playing for Scotland they have other similar traits. Both are good leaders, both are of a certain age and both are well respected and looked up to by the other players, just my opinion of course.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
''Both are good leaders, both are of a certain age and both are well respected and looked up to by the other players...''

Both not played very well in a while...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
I think there may well be something in that Ray, with the recent rumours floating about.

I also find it really strange that he was commentating with Chris Goreham on the cup match; I can''t remember any active squad member doing that in the past?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...