supersonic

Head in the sand job

Absolutely nothing from the past 19 games gives me your confidence things will change

Madness that you can still get odds-against Leicester to win in this game. Very hard to see anything but a convincing win for the Foxes to help cement a well deserved CL spot. We're absolute Pony and will, almost certainly, play the same way we did against them in the SF just a few weeks ago. Scouting us as an opposition must be the easiest job in the world.

JWP, Diallo, Jankewitz, Armstrong. Even Stephens could do a job playing as the holding midfielder

There is an alternative, we can go 3 in midfield or 3 at the back, it's just Ralph is so intent on playing his same 442 that he won't try anything else. We can also stop the constant high press which clearly leaves us totally knackered and ineffective in the last 20 mins, it's just Ralph won't try anything else. In fact, with the position we're in, there's never been a better time to try something new. We can't really get any worse than 7 points out of a possible 45 so what do we have to lose? We may even find some of the fringe players are decent, or a change of shape might suit us more.

So the alternative is to carry on with the same formation, players and style of play which currently leaves us with 12 defeats in 15 and absolutely rock bottom of the form table, conceding more goals than any other side, can't score after 65 minutes and given up more points from winning positions than any other team in the hope that we suddenly turn a corner and beat 3 of the CL contenders, a side fighting for survival and Leeds in our last 5 games?

Leeds away, Brighton home spring to mind

This, 100% The situation isn't ideal for any manager, but there are things Ralph can control and things he can't. He's fully in control of the system we play and the players he picks (from those available), which haven't worked for at least half a season. He's also fully in control of the in-game management, which has also been the worst from any manager I can remember for a long time. No manager would keep us top of the league, but I'm also almost certain other managers wouldn't have us playing and performing anywhere near as bad as we have been, and it's far more than a blip

Because Ralph was good with us once so that means he could be good again, despite all the evidence suggesting that won't happen. Using the same logic, we should immediately recall Shane Long and give him a new contract as we all know he can score goals, even though he hasn't scored a league goal for us in over a year.

Valery is better than Ramsay and Djenepo at RB. It was a total farce letting both of them go without a replacement lined up, but Ralph knew what he was doing, apparently. Armstrong plays well in CM, but it totally stifles our play further forwards, but again, that can't possibly be the managers faults can it? The same as us conceding the most goals in 2021 isn't his fault, fewest points picked up: not his fault, most points dropped from winning position: not his fault, no goal scored later than 65 mins in 19 games: not his fault, sticking rigidly to the same tactics and expecting something different to happen: not his fault....

I doubt it, I can't see it ever happening over here in reality

Who decided to let our two back up full backs go out on loan? And who also refuses to play any other CM other than JWP and Diallo, regardless of how they play?

Nothing will change because he won't change the style of play. He's literally offering nothing apart from hoping the same system will work and we'll come up against a team having an off day. It was fine when the style worked, but that's the easy part, now it's not working he's been exposed for how tactically inept he really is, but people want to give him a bit more time because he jumps up and down when we score. He's out of his depth and has run out of ideas, you're pretty deluded if you honestly think otherwise.

What if, what if. That's all you offer and it's boring. We've been the worst team in the league at pretty much every statistic for the past 6 months and you seem to think somehow things are going to change when the manager sticks to the same style of play. 😴

To put things into perspective, Villa, who have nothing to play for, have had more shots on target in the 4 mins stoppage time in today's game v WBA (2) than we managed to muster in the last 20 mins v WBA, the whole of the Semi Final and the last 25 mins v Spurs combined (1). And yet the manager continues to play the same style of football that clearly isn't working and people think he isn't the problem....

We also rarely win and also rarely have shots at goal.

There's no way on this earth our style of play can be described as "all out attack". It's more: run around so much trying to get the ball back that we're all knackered once we regain possession

With us being all but safe, now's the time to give the fringe Ayers a run out and see what they are like with some decent PL game time. Tella will get games, which is great. But let's play the likes of Salisu, Jankewitz, Chauke, Ferry, N'Lundulu more often, they aren't going to get any better sitting on the bench. But then again, we have a manager who simply refuses to change anything so no chance of that happening

Almost like we've seen that film before, like in every game for the past 5 months

Subs change games, we made the wrong sub when Ings came off, instantly going to a defensive mode and it backfired. Week after week, Ralph makes the wrong changes and hinders us and week after week, we were totally ineffective in the last 30 minutes. Our poor form has been like this for well over half a season and Ralph hasn't changed anything, not sure why you think he will now. He's a one-trick pony that's been sussed out, the sooner we, as a club, and him move on, the better.

Who have we looked like beating recently? We looked better under Pellegrino than we currently do with Ralph, who has ZERO clue how to change anything. He's lost the plot and clearly has run out of ideas. Tactically outclassed by Allardyce and a 29 year old rookie, prove that.

Where are the new players coming from? If we can't afford to pay off a manager, we aren't going to be refurbishing the side. Why does he need to wait until next year to try new things, try them now and perhaps we wouldn't be on the worst run of any PL team in the past 6 months. It's funny you mention England failing, I'd take GS when he becomes available in the summer, but not sure he'd jump back into management that quickly

I'm torn on acting now or waiting until the end of the season (by acting now I mean getting rid of Ralph and potentially replacing at the end of the season when we know who else is/not available). I'd also brace ourselves for Ralph walking in the summer, he looks a broken man totally devoid of any ideas. He may choose to walk away and of he gets sniff of a job back in Germany I think he'd jump straight away. The tactics that work were great, but that's the problem, Ralph has become a one-trick pony and you have to be more than that nowadays, hence why Tony Pulis no longer manages at the top level.

How much more time do we give him? When we click, we play well, but that really is the exception rather than the norm. We're in our worst run of form by a long way since we came back to the PL and he's showing no sign of changing anything. He's messed around with the Keepers and now seems to have two keepers totally lacking confidence, key players are underperforming yet he picks them every week, regardless of how they play (Bertrand, Bednarek, Diallo to name but a few). And he continues with the same formation and tactics that clearly aren't working, we look knackered by the time we get to the 70th minute, you can't play football for only an hour and expect to be successful. It'll take a minor miracle for us to get relegated, so he essentially has 6 "free" games to try new stuff, perhaps play 3 in midfield to stop us getting overloaded and give us more energy towards the end of the game. Or drop to 3 at the back and play with wing-backs. I'd have no complaints over a manager trying to change things and it not working, but when they try the same thing, with the same players every week and expect things to change, that's enough for me to lose hope and it signals a time to change.

Benitez, Howe, Jardim, AVB I'd all take. I'd also have Potter from Brighton, but we only employ managers out of work and can't see that changing. We have been good under Ralph, but it's quite clear things are utterly dreadful and he hasn't got the ideas (nor desire) to change it.