Southampton fans have received a strange statement made for Will Still, where his Ligue 1 heroics have been underrated in favour of his Championship counterpart.
The home leg of Southampton's preseason is over, and everything retired defender Curtis Davies said 24 hours before the opening game has rung true. Collectively, the Saints are finally starting to click and nobody can argue the importance of fresh playing ideas from day one of Still's tenure.
In short, Davies figured the lack of on-field identity and concluded that Southampton's world-class addition had to be a coach, not necessarily player signings. Agreed, Still himself is a vocal advocate that nobody can sweep through the Championship, but this uniqueness can be Southampton's secret factor in overperforming what they look capable of on paper.
But not everyone sits on the same page about the Saints outshining the division as there are chants made in QPR's favour too. Until two months ago, Ronnie Edwards used to play for them, and he was deemed a standout star whose individual abilities were pegged back in a struggling team.
Hence, hearing them in the same conversation as Southampton is puzzling, but there's a strange Will Still claim also made on top of that.
Will Still labelled more predictable tactician than Julien Stephan
Speaking on the Second Tier podcast, guest Ryan Dilks downplayed Still in front of QPR gaffer Julien Stephan. In his own words, EFL Analysis quoted Ryan saying: "I'm not counting Will Still now, because he's not completely unknown, but for those who don't know, Stephan's been managing in France for the past seven years."
Yes, Stephan can be a future Best Championship manager winner but singling out his Ligue 1 stint can't rank him a step above Still. As the latter uplifted Reims and Lens' reputation during his respective coaching timeframe, more than what they had before him.
Further, it won't be baffling if Lens also went downhill for some future campaigns just like how Reims lost their momentum after parting ways with Still. Coming to Southampton and QPR, they will soon find out how much of their domestic success hinges on their manager's profile.