hypochondriac Posted 5 October, 2022 Share Posted 5 October, 2022 I'm supportive of Ralph leaving, but I'm hating all these bullshit stories in the papers. Once it gets to this point a club never keeps a manager. They need to get rid now rather than letting this drag. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piran Posted 5 October, 2022 Share Posted 5 October, 2022 34 minutes ago, Chez said: I fucking hate all that `Pulis-style' shouting and gesturing all game. It's a load of old bollocks IMO. Clough didn't do it, nor did Wenger. Did you see Fergie standing up on the touchline all game telling Neville which inch of grass to be on the entire 90 minutes? Its just a load of shite for the cameras that has helped managers get back financial parity with the players. Sit down and your not showing passion? Fuck off. Football is everything to do these guys. Management is about creating a positive and productive atmosphere at the club, bringing in and selecting the right players and choosing the right tactics for those players and the match situations...waving arms and shouting non stop does fuck all. Well said. It doesn't make a ha'porth of difference what people say or shout. It's what is done and achieved that matters. Mind you, there are plenty who are taken in by it... just look at politics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 5 October, 2022 Share Posted 5 October, 2022 2 hours ago, sadoldgit said: Wrong thread Duckie. Surely you are talking about Boris Johnson? Give it a rest you boring cunt 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 5 October, 2022 Share Posted 5 October, 2022 52 minutes ago, Piran said: Well said. It doesn't make a ha'porth of difference what people say or shout. It's what is done and achieved that matters. Mind you, there are plenty who are taken in by it... just look at politics... not seen ha'p'orth used in a while. Nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Fan CaM Posted 5 October, 2022 Share Posted 5 October, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Chez said: If you are going to make statements like: " I more strongly believe that the manner in which we play (i.e, style) does not match the strengths of any of our forward line. " then I think its pretty reasonable for me to ask what our current style is (I'm genuinely interested) and what style you think would work better (I'm also genuinely interested). Yes, I watch all the games, but I don't know what style/tactic would work for Armstrong/Che. You were the one convinced a change was required, but maybe its not the style/tactic that is the problem. Maybe they are the problem? I think there is some doubt whether Adams and Armstrong are of the right quality to be classed as EPL standard strikers - neither have exactly lit up the league in the same way they did in the Championship. However, equally it’s clear that whoever gets to play in the front line (and in midfield) are hampered considerably by the style of football we play and this has to be directly attributable to Ralph (and his coaching staff). Whatever they’re preaching in training is in general just not working and I don’t think anyone who’s watched the last 20-30 games can argue with that. Further to this, wins we’ve had have been at least to some extent because the opposing team have had a bad day and the planets aligned in terms of us having a fully fit squad with our top players starting. Or in other words, a broken clock can still be correct twice a day. 😉 Edited 5 October, 2022 by Saint Fan CaM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Christ I have just read on Twitter under Tele article one Saints fan describe Ralph as a top coach! Do top coaches get 3 wins from 28? Can you name another coach who has 2 x 9 defeats a 6 nil at home and 12 points out of 60? He was let down by striker in summer but his tactics are not a top coach. Why haven’t the strikers we have improved if he is a top coach? At least MLG put him right 🙂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/10/05/ralph-hasenhuttl-brink-sack-southampton/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SambaMaverick Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 7 minutes ago, skintsaint said: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/10/05/ralph-hasenhuttl-brink-sack-southampton/ For anyone who wants to read: Ralph Hasenhuttl’s time at Southampton is coming to a close as the club consider the timing of the Austrian coach’s departure. Hasenhuttl, 55, has survived several setbacks since his appointment by the former Chinese-backed regime in December 2018 and has performed above expectations at times to keep Southampton in the Premier League. Nevertheless, a change of coach has been on the cards for some time at the club now under the management of Sport Republic, backed by the Serb telecommunications billionaire Dragan Solak. Southampton face champions Manchester City at the Etihad this weekend, an away fixture in which they secured a well-deserved draw last season. This time the pressure is much more acute with three successive defeats for Southampton and, with another likely, Hasenhuttl’s departure is drawing closer. Hasenhuttl has proved himself on many occasions to be an adept tactician and capable of pulling off occasional eye-catching victories over much stronger, wealthier opposition. There is a feeling that the club now needs change and requires a coach who can help develop a model of younger, developing talents. There is still no outright first choice to replace him, although alternatives have been discussed internally. Southampton have struggled at the start of the season, with just seven points from their first eight games, and while the objective, as ever, is survival there have been some concerning results – including Saturday’s home defeat to Everton. Their poor end to last season has also been taken into account, after 10 defeats in the final 13 matches. Hasenhuttl survived a summer review of the club's football operations, with the majority of his backroom staff leaving instead. Southampton are now run on the football side by the Sport Republic chief executive Rasmus Ankersen, formerly of Brentford, and Henrik Kraft, the chair of the same investment company. Ankersen was responsible for the negotiation of deals over the summer transfer window and Sport Republic recruited Joe Shields from Manchester City’s academy as head of their senior team recruitment programme. At the end of last season, the Sport Republic ownership sacked all three of Hasenhuttl’s key assistant coaches – Craig Fleming, Kelvin Davis and Dave Watson – and installed their own coaching team to work with the manager. There is an acceptance that Hasenhuttl has not always had the support around him that might have been expected for a Premier League manager because of the change at the club. He was appointed and supported by former sporting director Ross Wilson who later left for Rangers. He was then given the full backing of the chief executive Martin Semmens while the club was in the process of being sold by former Chinese owner Gao Jisheng. As a result of the changes Southampton have been through, many of those who backed Hasenhuttl originally are no longer in the key decision-making positions. Hasenhuttl has occasionally struggled to connect with players away from the training pitch, and that has been an issue – especially for those who have not been part of his plans. The club would also accept that he has had to contend with limited scope for recruitment. Managing relationships within the club with players and key staff will be vital for the new manager, who will have to work within the Southampton development system. The signing of young players, with scope to improve, such as Romeo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Joe Aribo has thus far been vindicated by individual performances, if not the results of the team. Southampton are unable to compete with wealthier rivals in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_SFC Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Does that article actually say anything new though? Seems like a rehash of the Athletic article posted earlier in the week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSFC Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 16 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said: Does that article actually say anything new though? Seems like a rehash of the Athletic article posted earlier in the week. Well to me sort of...as in SR recruited a new cosching team...subtly suggesting they were not RH choices but maybe splitting hairs. The fact this is in the Telegraph suggests to me its imminent. Phew!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdmickey3 Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Its just a matter of time now for his departure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sfcphilc Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 If Sam Wallace says he's leaving, then he's leaving pretty soon. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsaint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 I thought that they would wait until the world cup break, but it would be good to make the call now. RH is a dead man walking. He has kept us in the Premier League for four seasons but his time is surely up. Sooner we get a new manager in the better 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dman Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 10 hours ago, hypochondriac said: I'm supportive of Ralph leaving, but I'm hating all these bullshit stories in the papers. Once it gets to this point a club never keeps a manager. They need to get rid now rather than letting this drag. Agreed. I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for the bloke (I know he’s going to get a multi million £ pay off, so I shouldn’t), he clearly cares about the club and is clearly a decent enough bloke. Arguably had the hardest job of any of our managers in recent years and has done an ‘okay’ job, but the writing has been on the wall for a while. He had the added pressure of being massively overrated by many of our fans / cult following ‘ralphampton nonsense etc.’. I’m sure he’ll get another job and do well elsewhere but I’m not sure he’s the right fit for us at this moment in time. The second 9-0 was the turning point for him imo. Completely lost his way after that result and ultimately, will be known as the manager to lose 9-0 twice. I’ll Wish him luck for the future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 49 minutes ago, MarkSFC said: Well to me sort of...as in SR recruited a new cosching team...subtly suggesting they were not RH choices but maybe splitting hairs. I didn’t think the coach appointments could be other than SR or board choices. Seemed unlikely that Ralph would have scoured Europe to find a Spanish coach working in Copenhagen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 9:00 announcement? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Adam Blackmore is quiet. Usually when incorrect reports come out, he's the first to shoot them down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 12 minutes ago, Dman said: Agreed. I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for the bloke (I know he’s going to get a multi million £ pay off, so I shouldn’t), he clearly cares about the club and is clearly a decent enough bloke. Arguably had the hardest job of any of our managers in recent years and has done an ‘okay’ job, but the writing has been on the wall for a while. He had the added pressure of being massively overrated by many of our fans / cult following ‘ralphampton nonsense etc.’. I’m sure he’ll get another job and do well elsewhere but I’m not sure he’s the right fit for us at this moment in time. The second 9-0 was the turning point for him imo. Completely lost his way after that result and ultimately, will be known as the manager to lose 9-0 twice. I’ll Wish him luck for the future. TBF I don't think he'd get as much leeway with fans as we have given him. We've been a very understanding fan base overall considering the performances and the results over the last couple of years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 5 minutes ago, hypochondriac said: TBF I don't think he'd get as much leeway with fans as we have given him. We've been a very understanding fan base overall considering the performances and the results over the last couple of years. Is this satire? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitch Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 14 hours ago, EBS1980 said: Lose to city and it’s an easy time to sack him. If we managed to get a point then he gets the next game imo. I don’t think there’s any new news to the article really, sound out a replacement so when they do sack there is no period of no manager. I like him as a person and he did well with no money but I think we now need someone with fresh ideas to get the best from the squad. Someone the players will do anything for. Give 100% every game makes up for the lack of ability, that’s all we ask. We need someone to come in and give us what Ralph gave us when he first came in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Just now, kitch said: We need someone to come in and give us what Ralph gave us when he first came in. A free beer? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitch Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Just now, Bad Wolf said: A free beer? Forgot about that! Yeah, that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said: Is this satire? You think the likes of West Ham fans would have accepted the turgid pathetic football and absolutely horrendous results that we've endured for two years with just a murmur or two of discontent a few games a season? I've actually been surprised by how placid the fans in the stadium have been over a long period of time. Ralph is fortunate to have had as long as he has had. The fan base is a wholly different one than the one who existed under Branfoot but if you don't think the fan base have been understanding then you weren't around during that time. Edited 6 October, 2022 by hypochondriac 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Fan CaM Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 I can’t see them pulling the plug before Saturday now, so suspect that whatever the City result he’ll walk Sunday or Monday if he’s going. Personally I don’t think it would make any difference to the outcome of Saturdays game in any way as a caretaker wouldn’t be blamed for a City drubbing, so might as well get on with it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Just now, hypochondriac said: You think the likes of West Ham fans would have accepted the turgid pathetic football and absolutely horrendous results that we've endured for two years with just a murmur or two of discontent a few games a season? I've actually been surprised by how placid the fans in the stadium have been over a long period of time. Ralph is fortunate to have had as long as he has had. And what about all the good things Ralph has done? The wins over big teams, the heroic defensive performances at times, the win at Pompey, the genuine love and care for the club? No, you're probably right about West Ham but they're the most Karenish fanbase in the league. Newcastle a close second and unfortunately, we're third. Ralph has had a Championship standard squad to work with in recent years and though I can't get over the last three games, he's done, at worst - 'Alright' overall and been treated like crap from a fanbase that seem to demand entertaining football, to win every game, blood 11 youth players per game, stick with the same line up each game but also change it as well, to score from every single set piece we get. Since the Koeman years we've been extremely difficult to please and I'm not going use the obvious "go to" for this point. It's not exclusive to us, it's generally the PL that does this to fans. No matter how good things are or how well the team is playing, all it takes is one misplaced pass and it's suddenly moans and groans all over the place. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said: You think the likes of West Ham fans would have accepted the turgid pathetic football and absolutely horrendous results that we've endured for two years with just a murmur or two of discontent a few games a season? I've actually been surprised by how placid the fans in the stadium have been over a long period of time. Ralph is fortunate to have had as long as he has had. The fan base is a wholly different one than the one who existed under Branfoot but if you don't think the fan base have been understanding then you weren't around during that time. West Ham have spent an absolute fortune on their squad, enough that they should be competing for Europe, likewise Leicester and Everton. Branfoot left MLT on the bench and had the same group of players playing much worse than they did under Nicholl or Ball. Ralph has been far better than Hughes or MoPe and has pretty much got the best out of whatever he’s had available. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barsiem Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Lots of people claiming Ralph did brilliantly with the squads he has had but I am not sure I buy it. Great start and some great runs but so many poor performances. Even if the squad was poor (and I don't think at any point we've had one of the three worst squads in the league) a good manager should be able to instill some drive and bottle, and that's the biggest thing we've missed the last two seasons. I can take losing, I cannot take going down without a fight I guess we'll see in hindsight 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 50 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said: Adam Blackmore is quiet. Usually when incorrect reports come out, he's the first to shoot them down. isn't he on holiday? He tweeted from Copenhagen at the weekend and wasn't commentating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Louis Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 12 hours ago, Maggie May said: It’s a shame it hasn’t worked out with Ralph but we are going backwards. Was that not inevitable for a while? After letting lots of our senior players leave and rebuilding by bringing in inexperienced kids. I expected a big step back in the first half of the season, and then the team would gel and (hopefully) start to grow. Personally, I have no idea if Ralph is the best man for that or not. I know that I would be sad to see him go, I think he's been one of our more likeable managers for a while, and I also think he genuinely cares for the club and is trying to build a philosophy and identity, and even in the good times I didnt feel that he was looking to jump up the ladder. We have had several managers who felt to me like they were happy to just use the club as a stepping stone, and never really wanted to be here and build anything (Poch, Koeman, Hoddle, Souness, etc). Even sat at the Everton game I looked at the spine of the team that Lampard could bring in this summer... Tarkowski, Coady, Onana and Maupay. I'm sure Ralph would love that opportunity with us, to be able to compete on stature and wages and bring in some proven quality. I'm still so torn... I like Ralph and (for some reason) still have some faith in his philosophies, but I appreciate results have been dire. I just wonder if an alternative would have had worse results (given the lack of budget) and taken us down by now, so maybe Ralph isnt doing too bad with the hand he has... we will never know. Should we sack Ralph, I feel like it's a huge job to get the right replacement in, get it even slightly wrong this time and I think we could be in trouble this season. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 1 minute ago, Barsiem said: Lots of people claiming Ralph did brilliantly with the squads he has had but I am not sure I buy it. Great start and some great runs but so many poor performances. Even if the squad was poor (and I don't think at any point we've had one of the three worst squads in the league) a good manager should be able to instill some drive and bottle, and that's the biggest thing we've missed the last two seasons. I can take losing, I cannot take going down without a fight I guess we'll see in hindsight I don't think anyone's claiming he did brilliantly with the squad he had but over the last 3 years, I think he's done well. 6/10 at worst. It's this season that I've started to come over to the "Ralph out" camp (still only got one foot in there but that's closer than I ever have been) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dman Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 28 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said: And what about all the good things Ralph has done? The wins over big teams, the heroic defensive performances at times, the win at Pompey, the genuine love and care for the club? You’re surely joking? Our defence, other than maybe the Liverpool game a few years back has been absolutely appalling. And I’m sorry, but beating a Pretty average L1 side in a routine 4-0 win, isn’t really something to consider an achievement or shout home about… The bad, far outweighs the good imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Just now, Barsiem said: Lots of people claiming Ralph did brilliantly with the squads he has had but I am not sure I buy it. Great start and some great runs but so many poor performances. Even if the squad was poor (and I don't think at any point we've had one of the three worst squads in the league) a good manager should be able to instill some drive and bottle, and that's the biggest thing we've missed the last two seasons. I can take losing, I cannot take going down without a fight I guess we'll see in hindsight Agreed with that. When we were good we were very good, when we were bad, like now it's as bad if not worse than as anything under Pellegrino. Im kind of left with a feeling of what might have been, for us to be in a very good run we needed everyone playing at the maximum, fit and in form, when one of those pieces isn't at it everything falls apart. Had he had a better, deeper squad then maybe things might have been different. However as a very minimum you need to be hard to beat and score against, in his time here we've been awful at that, easy to score against, no character in the team, repeatedly losing or drawing when winning, terrible goals against record and when things go against us we fall apart and that's down to the manager. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barsiem Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 10 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said: I don't think anyone's claiming he did brilliantly with the squad he had but over the last 3 years, I think he's done well. 6/10 at worst. It's this season that I've started to come over to the "Ralph out" camp (still only got one foot in there but that's closer than I ever have been) Comment directly above mine says he's got the best out of the squad he's had available. Also Seen claims he's performed miracles keeping us in the PL. Both assertions completely wrong IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Wolf Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 16 minutes ago, Dman said: You’re surely joking? Our defence, other than maybe the Liverpool game a few years back has been absolutely appalling. And I’m sorry, but beating a Pretty average L1 side in a routine 4-0 win, isn’t really something to consider an achievement or shout home about… The bad, far outweighs the good imo. I disagree. IMO it is at worst 50/50 There have been far more defensive solidarity performances than that. The two against City last season, there's been at least one against Spurs, two against Leicester both times being down to 10 men, the one against City at home where Che scored his first goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toussaint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 The article reads like an "unofficial" press release from the club to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliemiller Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Against Everton in the first half we had a midfield and an attack completely lacking in structure and direction , the ball was passed backwards and forwards(sideways and sideways actually) between Calca, Ketchup and Jwp who dropped back to receive the ball. When we did break forward quickly the wing backs got into a good crossing position and rolled it backwards allowing the Everton defence to get sorted . In the second half after we went behind it became a gun ho attack and was actually better . I honestly believe our defence is no fine , with Lavia the midfield is ok but needs coaching to release forward quicker and we still need a big pelle, beattie type target striker . Ralph is not the man to sort this sadly nd if Sam Wallace now says he is toast his days are numbered. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berkshiresaint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 I don't necessarily agree with the " it's not a good time to replace the manager before the City game" yes it won't be great for a new guy to suffer the inevitable huge defeat in his first game, but let's face it, we're not going to get anything from this game but, it will give the new man a game to see how the players react then he can make changes in the following training sessions & move forward from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctoroncall Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 14 hours ago, SaintsLoyal said: What does the full telegraph article say ? Ralph Hasenhuttl’s time at Southampton is coming to a close as the club consider the timing of the Austrian coach’s departure. Hasenhuttl, 55, has survived several setbacks since his appointment by the former Chinese-backed regime in December 2018 and has performed above expectations at times to keep Southampton in the Premier League. Nevertheless, a change of coach has been on the cards for some time at the club, who are now under the management of Sport Republic, backed by the Serb telecommunications billionaire, Dragan Solak. Southampton face Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday, a fixture in which they secured a well-deserved draw last season. This time the pressure is much more acute after three successive defeats. With another likely, Hasenhuttl’s departure is drawing closer. Lack of support: Ralph Hasenhuttl has lost his coaching team and those who originally appointed him have also left the club Hasenhuttl has proved himself to be an adept tactician and capable of pulling off occasional eye-catching victories over much stronger, wealthier opposition. There is a feeling that the club now need change, and require a coach who can help develop a model of younger, developing talents. There is still no outright first choice to replace him, although alternatives have been discussed. Southampton have struggled this season, and have just seven points from their first eight games, and while the objective is survival, there have been some concerning results – including last Saturday’s home 2-1 defeat by Everton. Southampton had taken the lead on 49 minutes but its lasted only five minutes as Everton scored twice in quick succession’ leading to murmurings of discontent from the home supporters. Southampton’s poor end to last season has also been taken into account, after 10 defeats in the final 13 matches. Hasenhuttl survived a summer review, but the majority of his backroom staff left. Southampton are now run on the football side by the Sport Republic chief executive Rasmus Ankersen, formerly of Brentford, and Henrik Kraft, the chairman of the same investment company. Ankersen was responsible for the negotiation of deals over the summer and Sport Republic recruited Joe Shields from Manchester City’s academy as head of their senior team recruitment programme. At the end of last season, the Sport Republic ownership sacked all three of Hasenhuttl’s key assistant coaches – Craig Fleming, Kelvin Davis and Dave Watson – and installed their own coaching team. There is an acceptance that Hasenhuttl has not always had the support around him that might have been expected for a Premier League manager because of the change at the club. He was appointed and supported by former sporting director Ross Wilson, who later left for Rangers. He was then given the full backing of Martin Semmens, the chief executive, while the club were in the process of being sold by former Chinese owner Gao Jisheng. As a result of the changes Southampton have been through, many of those who backed Hasenhuttl originally are no longer in the key decision-making positions. Hasenhuttl has occasionally struggled to connect with players away from the training pitch, and that has been an issue – especially for those who have not been part of his plans. The club would also accept that he has had to contend with limited scope for recruitment. Managing relationships within the club with players and key staff will be vital for the new manager, who will have to work within the Southampton development system. The signing of young players, with scope to improve, such as Romeo Lavia, Gavin Bazunu, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Joe Aribo has thus far been vindicated by individual performances, if not the results of the team. Saints are unable to compete with wealthier rivals in the league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintant Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 1 hour ago, Bad Wolf said: And what about all the good things Ralph has done? The wins over big teams, the heroic defensive performances at times, the win at Pompey, the genuine love and care for the club? No, you're probably right about West Ham but they're the most Karenish fanbase in the league. Newcastle a close second and unfortunately, we're third. Ralph has had a Championship standard squad to work with in recent years and though I can't get over the last three games, he's done, at worst - 'Alright' overall and been treated like crap from a fanbase that seem to demand entertaining football, to win every game, blood 11 youth players per game, stick with the same line up each game but also change it as well, to score from every single set piece we get. Since the Koeman years we've been extremely difficult to please and I'm not going use the obvious "go to" for this point. It's not exclusive to us, it's generally the PL that does this to fans. No matter how good things are or how well the team is playing, all it takes is one misplaced pass and it's suddenly moans and groans all over the place. Fans of every team get on the players and manager's back when they are doing poorly or misplacing lots of passes - it's human nature and impossible to rank us 3rd worst with any certainty. I remember Man City fans chanting 'You don't know what you're doing' at their then manager before the big money extracted them from being a struggling side. It's the way of fans up and down the country - we are no worse or better than most others. Personally I think Ralph has gotten away quite lightly considering some of the crap he's presided over and I do get that he's never had the luxury of being able to spend big. I reckon the average Saints fan just wants to see some better football than we're getting and a few more wins especially against sides outside the top six. For whatever reasons, and many of us have speculated on what they might be, Ralph doesn't seem able to turn the ship around. He's had some good spells but more bad ones so, for me, we should be parting company with him and bringing in someone with fresh ideas. It would probably the best thing for Ralph because for a while now he hasn't looked like someone who is making a very good living from an exciting job due to the stress he's putting himself under. He talked recently about retiring so maybe the time has come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give it to Ron Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 2 hours ago, Bad Wolf said: Adam Blackmore is quiet. Usually when incorrect reports come out, he's the first to shoot them down. On holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Nimbus Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 If (and seemingly now when) RH does leave, I will look back on his time with mostly positive thoughts. Yes the results have been mediocre for the last few years, yes he makes baffling decisions (especially in game) However he has kept the team in the league, which to me is success for any club bar the top 6, he's had to make do with losing his best striker for 2 seasons now and had championship/teenage replacements. He just strikes me as someone who is just really sad. That Everton game was remarkable. He looked like someone who has been so scarred by defeat, he just cannot be himself. Once you start trying to be something you're not, you soon get found out. Indecision leads to contempt. I hope he rests up gets another job somewhere else and does a great job. For us, please can we have someone that can put some structure inplace on the pitch as we are sorely lacking it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom & Gerry Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 You can have a whole year of good results but people tend to only remember your most recent ones, added to that when you had your good year no one could actually watch the matches in person and get that live winning experience , and if you lose 2 matches 9-0 that's a lot of baggage on the negative side to overcome. So to an extent Ralf has been unlucky. Does that mean he should stay as our manager, no. You can have great ideas and bags of enthusiasm but in football it just doesn't always work and it isn't working now. Does that make Ralf a bad manager? Some of our best managers failed badly elsewhere - Lawrie, Ball, Strachan, Hoddle - were they bad managers? Thanks Ralf for beating City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs but we couldn't take the downside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Corbyn Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 I do think it's been a generally positive period as he inherited a side that was destined for relegation and kept up fairly comfortably in the premier league with next to no resources. It does feel like things have been generally declining since that second 9-0 though. The one thing that I wont understand about this era is the complete failure, at any point, to have more than one defensive midfielder. We found it when Romeu would get injured we'd be fucked, and now Lavia is injured we're fucked. Ralph ball is so dependant on having an out and out DM and yet we seem to have constantly walked the tight rope on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeBizzier69 Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 Seems a bit harsh to wheel the bloke out into a presser only to be quizzed about his (seemingly) inevitable sacking. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toussaint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 46 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said: On holiday Presumably with a job like his you would still be keeping abreast of things and chiming in with the odd tweet or something? You wouldn't want one of your colleagues beating you to the story? My cynical mind tells me he has to keep his powder dry until there are further developments. His hands are tied, he could quosh the speculation, then be made to look an idiot if RH goes, or he confirms it before its official, and Saints won't let him through the door again? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piran Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 2 hours ago, hypochondriac said: 2 hours ago, hypochondriac said: TBF I don't think he'd get as much leeway with fans as we have given him. We've been a very understanding fan base overall considering the performances and the results over the last couple of years. 2 hours ago, hypochondriac said: You think the likes of West Ham fans would have accepted the turgid pathetic football and absolutely horrendous results that we've endured for two years with just a murmur or two of discontent a few games a season? I've actually been surprised by how placid the fans in the stadium have been over a long period of time. Ralph is fortunate to have had as long as he has had. The fan base is a wholly different one than the one who existed under Branfoot but if you don't think the fan base have been understanding then you weren't around during that time. I know what you're saying, Hypo, but I just wonder how representative the Saintsweb Forum is of the whole range of Saints supporters? I know and speak with many long-term fans, both friends and family, and they are not as anti-Ralph as the consensus on here. A couple, in particular, are very supportive of the whole SR policy of recruiting and developing the youth players, and accept that there will be a hard road ahead with results, but prefer to look forward to the future and hope that this can be done in the PL I commend the comments of St Louis, above, and feel that his (her?) attitude is a bit more typical than may be considered from just reading this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 40 minutes ago, Piran said: That was sort of my point. I was surprised by the leeway many of the fans have given the team. I've attended a lot of games and I've seen a run of performances over a significant period of time that I've considered has gone beyond being acceptable. There's certainly an argument to be made about the lack of investment etc but the wild swings in our performances were what have eventually made me entirely fed up and I'm just surprised it's taken this long for it to be really vocal in the stadium. Partly I think it's because Ralph comes accross as a nice guy and seems quite easy to like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miserableoldgit Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 2 hours ago, Give it to Ron said: On holiday He is at the presser..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee On Solent Saint Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 4 minutes ago, miserableoldgit said: He is at the presser..... I don't think he is as well connected at the club as he likes to think he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 6 October, 2022 Share Posted 6 October, 2022 2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said: I don't think he is as well connected at the club as he likes to think he is. Why do you say that? I'd say he has some pretty decent connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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