Will Still In Pole Position For Southampton Job Thursday, 22nd May 2025 10:22 Saints supporters are starting to crank up the moaning on social media as it seems inevitable that Will Still who resigned from French club Lens, is about to be announced as the new first team manager of Southampton FC. It has long been assumed that Danny Rohl was going to be the man for the hot seat at St Mary's, but it seems his ongoing feud with the Sheffield Wednesday owner is making Saints chances of securing Rohl slimmer by the day. The problem is the level of compensation needed to persuade Wednesday to let Rohl leave, the issue seems to be that like Russell Martin two years ago, whether we are classed as a Premier League club or Championship. There are those who will say that we should just pay the money and get Rohl in now, but the reality is that due to the fact that next week after the Arsenal game all the playing and coaching staff will take a 5 week break for a holiday, would mean that all Rohl would be managing would be an empty training ground. So that being the case what is the point of paying The Owls twice the compensation and Rohl's salary, just for him to go on holiday himself.
But he could start the planning now I hear the cry, yes that is right, but truth is this is the modern age, planning meetings don't last for 7 hours a day everyday, with modern technology they can be held by zoom or phone etc and all behind closed doors. That also pus another stumbling block in front of the deal, Wednesday are likely to launch a challenge that Rohl was tapped up illegally by Saints and that this has impacted upon their season. That means with Wednesday refusing to release him from his contract, Saints have had to look elsewhere and that has lead Will Still to be the new favourite to take over at St Mary's and some sources have claimed that over the past few weeks he has now had 3 interviews with Johann Spors and his team. With SFC themselves being quoted as saying that they are hoping to unveil a new man at the weekend, the rumour mill is turning and suggesting that Will Still is the man and that Rohl is now out of the picture. Still at just 32 is being spoken of by Saints fans as a rookie manager, but in truth he has a lot more experience than he is being credited with, his critics ridicule him with the claim that he bases his style on the Football Manager and Championship Manager video game series and accuse him of managing by computer. That is a little harsh and is based on the fact that Still himself stated that what inspired him to give up playing and taking up coaching, for some it's a stick to beat him with, but everyone has something that inspires them to take up football, it used to be playing on the park with your mates, Cristiano Renaldo may well have played Football manager on a computer, it is an inspiration, not where you have honed your skills.
Still's experience has been gained by working his way up the coaching ladder, a harder route to take if you haven't been a professional player, but quite often the best managers haven't played at the highest level or even any great level , Lawrie McMenemy at Saints is a prime example and Jose Mourinho. Still has worked his way up over the last dozen years or so after firstly joining Sint Truiden as a match analyst in the Belgium league, he was part of the management team that won the Belgian Cup for Standard Liege in 2015/16 before becoming assistant manager of Lierse in April 2017. In 2017/18 he was promoted to Head coach at Liers, but left at the end of the season with the club declared bankrupt. Still then went to Beerschot as assistant manager becoming caretaker manager in January 2020/21, he guided them to 9th, but at the end of the season he was overlooked for a more experienced man. He then went to Stade Reims in France as assistant, but returned to Standard Leige In October 2021 as assistant manager for the remainder of the 2021/22 season as he needed to complete his coaching badges in Belgium. But in the summer of 2022 he was back at Stade Reims in Ligue 1 in France, firstly as assistant and then as manager in October 2022,he started his tenure as head coach at Reims with a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. Reims would finish in 11th place and would also achieve that placing a year later but Still would leave by mutual consent in the summer of 2024. He was not out of work for long and fellow French Ligue 1 club Lens appointed him Head coach, he would guide them to 9th place in the French League, and would resign on 18th May 2025. So whatever we may think of Will Still, he has paid his dues, he has been head coach in a Top European League for 2 1/2 seasons, that is more than Russell Martin had managed and for that matter Danny Rohl, he also has involved as an assistant coach for much of the 5 years before joining Stade Reims. So to dismiss Will Still as a manager who manages by Championship Manager or other video games, is not looking at the full picture. Before anyone accuses me of sticking up for Sport Republic etc, I am not overwhelmed by the potential appointment of Still, but I am not just dismissing him with a cheap jibe about his video gaming. All Photos Via Reuters Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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