Billy the Kidd

This is what you said. The below is my reply: So, no i am not misinterpreting your posts @qwertyell - i responded to something you wrote, no one else!

Serious, go play with yourself fella. I’m really not interested if that is your attitude.

Yeah the manager thing at Spurs made mine wonder, but Levy pulls most of the strings so if he wanted him due to being cheap, I’d imagine that is who the new manager will have to use. A bit like Bale, I didnt think Jose wanted him, but levy did the deal. Bale wasnt used anywhere near enough.

Well, we also dont know there is no pressure. The club, and Semmens in particular are not stupid. I imagine there is pressure, but maybe they are taking a longer term view to see what happens early next season. I dont believe if we lose for example our first 5 games or similar, he may be asked to leave. For all we know, it may be we are getting taken over, and part of the deal is to keep Ralph, or to let him go but the settlement coming out of the account prior, loads of scenarios. I agree the run of points is truly abysmal - and whilst I want him to stay for now, a shit show on a Friday night at home to Leicester could be the final straw - does anyone know if it is due to rain on Fri? Maybe they have someone lined up and want that fixture out the way first? I certainly feel he appears like he is under more pressure just now.

I thought this season we have slightly dropped the high press for a more possession based approach. We still set traps, but there is a definite difference of how we play, and perhaps it hasn’t transitioned well enough on the pitch.

Yeah thanks, i figured that may be the case. I wonder who people thought I was - i bet he was handsome, wise, hilarious and sorely missed 😉

Ok, defo new. I used to read on here occasionally and posted a lot on the other place. I got fed up of threads going way off topic, about cheese puns and the Politics thread should just have been banned due to the arguments it caused. It tipped it too much for me, and now ive engaged here a little more, the debates are pretty interesting. I’m not so much saying Ralphs coaching getting worse results from the same players. I’m saying the players have consistently performed pretty shit for many years, because they aren’t great players. I thought Ralph got the players over performing during 2020, but you can’t keep those levels of playing at that level with players consistently playing above their levels - they are not machines, and they have reverted to form. I also think Ralph does need to shoulder a large slice of the blame, as at times he has got things wrong and made strange decisions - which points to stubbornness. If you want evidence - look at Liverpool - even they couldn’t sustain those levels forever - players go out of form, things can go stale as they have for them. Not sure what you mean about the net spend - it proves we sell our better players and have cheaper, less good players in return. As I said many times on here, I’m all for keeping Ralph in his job right now, but I’m moving the other way quicker each week on him. If we remain winless until the end of the season, i think I would find it hard to say why he should stay. I also think it all depends on how much the club know we are doing in the summer - if it is largely keeping what we have - he either needs to work out how to get a tune out of this lot or he needs to leave. If they back him and we have a good summer window, I will be happy to see what happens over the first 2 months next season.

The spending is slightly relevant, if Ralph got them initially punching above their weight, that isn’t sustainable over the long term. And wtf is it with the paranoia on this forum with previous members? I posted since 2011 on Not606, and started recently here - what is the problem with that?

I'm sure they will, they have underperformed even for Arsenal. My mate supports them, and cant stand the manager or the keeper. I think its just a reflection of football now, they have been left behind. More worryingly for them was not learning about paying Ozil £300k per week and not being worth it, they've done the same for Aubameyang and his form fell off the same cliff as Ozil.

But what you've just written wasnt at all what you said. You stated our team should finish no lower than 9th as our manager is the ninth highest paid manager in the league. That in isolation is crazy. What you've now written has more substance, but clearly life, and football doesn't always work out in a logical manner. Yes we lost to WBA and Newcastle. We also beat those two teams earlier in the season. They way you describe football,we may aswell not kick a ball all season and just produce a league table based in some weird metrics made up in your head, where the final league positions are based on how much the manager earns 😂

Sorry, just to be clear, are you saying we have the 8th or 9th highest paid manager so we should finish no lower than 9th? I thought I’d heard it all from Charlie, but you may have just scooped 1st prize. Are you aware of the net spend table. We have a vastly inferior squad to most of the league, one that is proved by how much we spent. I’m not in the Ralph “cult”, that would just be “pony”, but he has got a better tune out of this team that could be expected. You are a tough crowd...

I must have missed the home defeat to WBA, and the home defeat to Newcastle.

Jeez I've read some bollocks on here over the years, this is up there with the best of them Charlie... Danny Ings has so been worth £20m, to doubt it is just embarrassing. Given that if we sell him, he is likely to go for a min of £20m with only a year left on his deal, does that not sound like his value had risen since joining us? If it rose during that time, how were we conned. I'm confused.

Spurs - that could have gone either way. Sorry, but I cant accept we looked better under MP2 - to me that is total bollocks. I do worry he now cant out of this mess were in, and could be part of the problem, but I stand by my view to see what we are going to do in the summer window. And again, how was he outclassed by a 29 yo rookie - you just say that as you think it backs up your point - it really doesn’t, Spurs have world class players, and in Bale stil one of the best in the world. We turned to Moussa Djennepo - says it al really. I’d be interested in your analysis of what specifically the 29 yo rookie did, tactically, to turn the game. Other than say “Play better lads”.

Yeah I do agree, and I’m not far from totally losing faith in Ralph. You are clearly an intelligent guy, can you see anything in Ralph that could work out? I just think see the season out, the powers that be know now how much we will spend, if it isn’t going to be enough to support Ralphs needs, he should go and get someone who can work better with what we have. If they back him, i think he could be really good. Re Spuds game, i think that was less a 29 yo debutant manager being better, rather spurs had better players who upped their game. Football is a game of fine margins (not the 9-0’s), and Spurs could have gone either way. I get it didnt go our way, but it could have. Maybe the one thing we do agree is Ralphs stubbornness, particularly around subs. I was quietly boiling in the Leicester game, same v spurs, they came too late and v spurs weren’t the right call. And if he keeps persevering with Nathan and Moussa, he may need taking out back and putting out of his misery.

and with those two we barely looked like, or were capable of beating anyone. With Ralph, sure we have had a horrendous run, but we are also capable of, and have, beaten mot and played outstanding football.

Fair enough, I was only replying to your response to my comment, where it wasnt said we were top. Although not sure if you feel elevated above other posters by constantly referring this ‘cult’ thing. t really makes you appear pious and quite ridiculous. Now, i expect you wouldn’t give a fuck about some random fuckwit saying this on a forum, but it really doesn’t make sense to me, just because people see things differently to you.

I meant to say are not! Teach me not to check what I write!

The 2 things can co-exist. People, definitely me, see that Ralph could be more adapting to the players he has, but also recognise that he has some outstanding qualities that could benefit us longer term. What is clear is that no one has a de facto position on what will happen, and yes other coaches may have done better this season. But this season for obvious reasons is a bit of a strange one. Lots of teams have under performed or over performed. My main concern with Ralph is that is he the right manager at the wrong time, in so much as if a takeover doesn’t happen quickly, I’m not convinced, as you say about stubborn, i dont think he will want to change. I dont believe he is naive, more stubborn and believe his tactics can work, with slightly different players.

I'm amazed people are not calling for Arteta's head considering the season they've had. Pony.

Sure you are correct. Just as my glass is half full, someone else's glass may be half empty. Do you seriously think we are going down?

You literally just said what suited your rhetoric without looking and answering what I wrote. We were top for a very short period, but we were top, but to be top, we must have showed outstanding form for an extended period. Chapel Road said it better than I could...

To be honest, you have your view and I'm not trying to change it. Next season for me is a new start, if you want to wallow on what went on before be my guest. I'm not sure we've been sussed out as such, we just had a perfect shit storm. And who knows, you could be right and were fucked next season, but I'll wait to see what happens in he summer. Of course I see the plummet from Jan this year, and of course it is concerning, very much so. Our form is nailed on relegation, and if we do nothing much this summer I'll be calling for his head along with you, as he needs to adjust the way we play to suit what he has. But, so you not recognise Ralph has the potential to raise the team next year if we get the summer window right? I do which is why I prefer to wait until what is done over summer. If fuck all is done on transfers we may be better changing, and then if we do and results are still shit the first 19 games, he has to go, but I'd be willing to try it out.

Sure, but a season is 38 games, not 15 or whatever our run is. Now, I’m also not suggesting we may win the next 6 games, but the season is roughly what we are, just a bit average over a season.

But we are safe, not sure of the relevance.