Ralph Hasenhuttl

[Lord Duckhunter]

I had the misfortune to hear Blackmore interviewing KWP on way home yesterday. He’s still sucking off Ralph. “Oh one person who’ll be hurting tonight is Ralph” and some comment about he’d probably have kept us up. What’s clear from the article, but also the atrocious start to the season, is the problems started under him.
 

He should have been out out of his misery last summer or given full reign to bring in his own coaches and staff. This bizarre notion that you can sack the coaching staff , give the manager a stay of execution and he’ll maintain his authority is plain wrong. He was on borrowed time, everybody could see that, and I’ve no doubt that would have contributed to standards slipping. I’ve been very critical of Ralph, but he did appear to have high standards and control, but once SR undermined him without removing him, that all went. 

[East Kent Saint]

Ralph still had best points stats for this season ! He looked totally knackered before he went , I don't think he would have lasted the season anyway .

Looking forward to having a settled team with a half decent manager in the championship 🤞

[hypochondriac]

31 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I had the misfortune to hear Blackmore interviewing KWP on way home yesterday. He’s still sucking off Ralph. “Oh one person who’ll be hurting tonight is Ralph” and some comment about he’d probably have kept us up. What’s clear from the article, but also the atrocious start to the season, is the problems started under him.
 

He should have been out out of his misery last summer or given full reign to bring in his own coaches and staff. This bizarre notion that you can sack the coaching staff , give the manager a stay of execution and he’ll maintain his authority is plain wrong. He was on borrowed time, everybody could see that, and I’ve no doubt that would have contributed to standards slipping. I’ve been very critical of Ralph, but he did appear to have high standards and control, but once SR undermined him without removing him, that all went. 

TBF that isn't really reaph's fault. 

Edited 14 May, 2023 by hypochondriac

[Barsiem]

1 hour ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

Ah fair enough. I thought I read he was pretty hard on players when he took over, perhaps things slipped under him too.

Pretty sure I read a story on here about Cedric getting bollocked for looking at his phone in the treatment room instead of talking to the physio

I'm sure early days Ralph wouldn't have tolerated it, but he was pretty much broken by the end of his time here imo... As was the club

[Ex Lion Tamer]

35 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I had the misfortune to hear Blackmore interviewing KWP on way home yesterday. He’s still sucking off Ralph. “Oh one person who’ll be hurting tonight is Ralph” and some comment about he’d probably have kept us up. What’s clear from the article, but also the atrocious start to the season, is the problems started under him.
 

He should have been out out of his misery last summer or given full reign to bring in his own coaches and staff. This bizarre notion that you can sack the coaching staff , give the manager a stay of execution and he’ll maintain his authority is plain wrong. He was on borrowed time, everybody could see that, and I’ve no doubt that would have contributed to standards slipping. I’ve been very critical of Ralph, but he did appear to have high standards and control, but once SR undermined him without removing him, that all went. 

Ralph definitely should have been let go in the summer but we probably would have just appointed Nathan Jones earlier 😂

[Lighthouse]

If he’d stayed, we’d have stayed up. It wouldn’t have been pretty, we wouldn’t have been World beaters but given that he scored half our points this season in 12 games, I’m pretty certain that we’d have been in Bournemouth and West Ham territory. Don’t forget he was without our two best players this season in Lavia and Alcaraz for most of that time, too.

[FarehamSaintJames]

Ralph would’ve kept us up, albeit we wouldn’t have been amazing, he would’ve kept us up.

Ralph was failed by the recruitment in the summer. No wingers and no striker brought in. (Before anyone jumps down my throat, Edozie had a couple of sparkly moments, but nothing that screamed he was a first team ready player).

Several years of consistency under Ralph, Semmens and Gao, again not flushed with cash but living within our means.

SR, one year it’s taken them to relegate us.

[Barsiem]

I don't think RH would have kept us up, though I think we would have put up more of a fight than we have.  I don't think he was enjoying the job for some time, and I think he was waiting to be pushed tbh for the payoff he was due, which we should have done in the summer. 

Let's not forget that RHs record as manager for the whole of 2022 was absolutely abysmal.  We needed a new manager at the helm, but got two appointments hopelessly wrong.

[The Kraken]

5 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

I don't think RH would have kept us up, though I think we would have put up more of a fight than we have.  I don't think he was enjoying the job for some time, and I think he was waiting to be pushed tbh for the payoff he was due, which we should have done in the summer. 

Let's not forget that RHs record as manager for the whole of 2022 was absolutely abysmal.  We needed a new manager at the helm, but got two appointments hopelessly wrong.

Agreed. We’d have been closer to safety I think, but I think all the signs were there that all was not well behind the scenes. A win at Bournemouth and draws against West Ham and Arsenal had papered over the cracks of what had been a very poor start to the season. We had 12 points from 14 games under Ralph and were just about to play Liverpool away, so all likelihood under him we’d have been 12 from 15 and on a run that had seen us lose 7 of our last 10 games. We looked on course to replicate the end to season 2021-22, which was an absolute disaster and should’ve seen the end of Ralph way before he eventually went.

Theres far more to blame than just Ralph, but I don’t buy into this romantic notion that he’d have turned it round and kept us up. I do think we’d be going into the run in with a shot at staying up, but all signs I could see were that it was an under motivated squad who had run out of ideas.

Anyway it’s moot, it’s all spilt milk under the bridge now.

[trousers]

The fact of the matter is, we'll never know what would've happened if Ralph had stayed on. 

[Lighthouse]

2 minutes ago, The Kraken said:

We had 12 points from 14 games under Ralph and were just about to play Liverpool away, so all likelihood under him we’d have been 12 from 15 and on a run that had seen us lose 7 of our last 10 games

But you can’t just cherry pick that and ignore the run of winnable games following Liverpool which Jones contrived to get three bloody points from.

[Saint Matty 76]

4 minutes ago, trousers said:

The fact of the matter is, we'll never know what would've happened if Ralph had stayed on. 

Completely agree.

I'm certain we'd have put up more of a fight than this though. 

[The Kraken]

Just now, Lighthouse said:

But you can’t just cherry pick that and ignore the run of winnable games following Liverpool which Jones contrived to get three bloody points from.

It’s not cherry picking at all. It’s demonstrating the run that we were on with Ralph before he was dispensed with. And I’ve already said I think Ralph would have had us closer to safety than we are now, which kind of gives it away that I think Ralph would’ve got more points than Jones. Not really sure what you’re arguing against other than two or three points here or there.

[saint michael]

2 hours ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Completely agree.

I'm certain we'd have put up more of a fight than this though. 

I’m not sure we would have. I think the lunatics (players) started to run the asylum with him in charge. All those rumours of them telling board to change him out. Also think we had started to see the lazy couldn’t care less performances on the pitch which he couldn’t arrest. Add in to that the youngsters and two bad manager choices coming in and the dye was cast. 

[Sheaf Saint]

3 hours ago, trousers said:

The fact of the matter is, we'll never know what would've happened if Ralph had stayed on. 

You're right, of course, but I'm certain we wouldn't have been as bad as we turned out to be, and would still be in with a shout of staying up today.

I'm well aware that things had gone wrong, he was struggling and the overall form for 2022 was abysmal, but I thought after we ditched the disastrous 3/5 at the back system that we opened the season with, we actually looked OK. That short period, when we got the wins against Chelsea and Leicester, and drew with Man U, we looked like a competitive, fairly well organised team, capable of grinding out results even despite our lack of firepower. Much better than the likes of Bournemouth or Notts Forest were at the time anyway.

Then Lavia got injured and we had to play Diallo in DM for a while, and our form, shape and general competence completely fell apart. I genuinely believe that if Lavia had stayed fit, or if we still had Romeu around to stand in for him, we'd have been in a much better position than we were by the end of October, and perhaps might have even gone on to build on it with the January signings.

At no point since the WC have we ever looked even close to the level of performance we were showing during that early spell. There's no guarantees that we would have found it again if Ralph had stayed, of course, but I have no doubt we wouldn't have been so utter dogshit as we went on to become. That debacle at home to Forest would never have happened, we would have at least a couple more wins right now than we do, and we'd still be right in the mix with a chance of survival.

All IMHO, of course.

[Lighthouse]

3 hours ago, The Kraken said:

It’s not cherry picking at all. It’s demonstrating the run that we were on with Ralph before he was dispensed with. And I’ve already said I think Ralph would have had us closer to safety than we are now, which kind of gives it away that I think Ralph would’ve got more points than Jones. Not really sure what you’re arguing against other than two or three points here or there.

If we do assume that Ralph gets spanked by Liverpool and there’s no improvement in results even in the much more winnable games which immediately followed AND we assume that Lavia and Alcaraz make absolutely zero difference to how we play; 12 points in 15 is still 31 over a full season. Clearly better than the 24 we’ve managed and hovering around where the cut off is likely to be for the two above us.

Im not saying he’d have turned it around either. I’m saying that we wouldn’t have had the absolute nose dive in results we had after he was sacked.

[trousers]

9 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

You're right, of course, but I'm certain we wouldn't have been as bad as we turned out to be

If some of the reports are to believed (both at the time and now) then Ralph had effectively lost the dressing room (well, at least some key players) and/or had burnt himself out, so there's every chance it could have been equally as bad if he'd clung on...

(P.s. conscious I'm in danger of entering devils advocate territory here so I'll gracefully leave the 'what if?' debate there )

Edited 14 May, 2023 by trousers

[The Kraken]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

If we do assume that Ralph gets spanked by Liverpool and there’s no improvement in results even in the much more winnable games which immediately followed AND we assume that Lavia and Alcaraz make absolutely zero difference to how we play; 12 points in 15 is still 31 over a full season. Clearly better than the 24 we’ve managed and hovering around where the cut off is likely to be for the two above us.

Im not saying he’d have turned it around either. I’m saying that we wouldn’t have had the absolute nose dive in results we had after he was sacked.

Again, I’m not sure what you’re disagreeing with, that’s basically what I said.

[Lighthouse]

Just now, The Kraken said:

Again, I’m not sure what you’re disagreeing with, that’s basically what I said.

Fair enough.

[Convict Colony]

Not aimed any any above post cos I've not read them but Ralph should be considered an awesome manager for what he brought to our club after hughes and how he kept us in the premier league with 0 money.

No one on here walks away from 6mil a year no matter how exhausted they are, I think managing a shit team is way more stressful that a great one and has a higher burn out rate.

The marathon runners who can complete the course in 2.5hrs arent the savages its the dudes that are running the 5hr ones who are.

Ralph is up there with Poch in recent history for his impact and style he brought to our club, everything else is hindsight expertise.

We would be lucky to get another ralph for this next appointment.

 

[stknowle]

Would’ve gone down under Ralph but not with quite as few points as we’ve ended up with. May well have been different if we’d got the striker in (remember him being all  smily and confident in press conferences at start of season talking like one was in the bag) but not getting one I think finished him.

He did a fucking good job keeping us up as long as he did imho and without ever really being in danger, all on a relative shoestring, can readily think of at least 2 managers that would’ve taken us down long before now if dealt the same hand.

Edited 14 May, 2023 by stknowle

[Ralph Fastenbüttl]

I don't think there's really any evidence to suggest Ralph would have kept this squad up.

I've got huge respect for the guy and all he accomplished with us. And I think he did well to keep us up last season - me may well have gone down under a lot of managers. But he was spent. Results and performances were both in the gutter and, by his own admission, he'd run out of ideas. He should have gone in the summer. This would have given whoever his replacement was more time to try and instill some sort of identity before the ticking relegation bomb robs you of that luxury.

[MAY-Z]

Ralph ended up with 17 points from his last 27 games, which when you play that out for a full season gets you how many points???

 

 

drumroll……24! Exactly what we will end up with

[Saint86]

6 minutes ago, MAY-Z said:

Ralph ended up with 17 points from his last 27 games, which when you play that out for a full season gets you how many points???

 

 

drumroll……24! Exactly what we will end up with

In reality that run is utterly meaningless and looks a bit like cherry picking... Did you arbitrarily pick a 27 game run? Or go looking for one that gets 24 points?

In reality - Ralph got 12pts from 14 games this season with this squad - a squad which had had a radical overhaul in the summer. That is a squad that was extremely young and inexperienced at this level, but which was bedding in and learning. A squad which had critical injuries in central midfield and defence (Tino, Lavia, KWP, and ABK), and one which was critically under strength in attack. Ralph had also played the tougher fixtures over those 14 games - with the likes of fulham, forest, and everton still to come.

If you average that out its 32.5points over 38 games, a far more relevant extrapolation, and a total which might end up being enough as it is.... However i think it is also evident that after a winter pre season, strengthening in January, a return of the injury stricken players, and the ongoing development/improvement of the youngsters over that period - that we would have improved upon that total to be clear of relegation. The reality is his last 2 games with a full strength squad he beat Chelsea and outplayed (and was unlucky to lose to) United.

It was a huge error to sack him when we did and is the most inarguable reason as to why we are going down.
 

[CB Fry]

30 minutes ago, MAY-Z said:

Ralph ended up with 17 points from his last 27 games, which when you play that out for a full season gets you how many points???

 

 

drumroll……24! Exactly what we will end up with

Why have you picked 27 games?

drumroll......pointless cherry picking!

[MAY-Z]

1 hour ago, Saint86 said:

In reality that run is utterly meaningless and looks a bit like cherry picking... Did you arbitrarily pick a 27 game run? Or go looking for one that gets 24 points?

In reality - Ralph got 12pts from 14 games this season with this squad - a squad which had had a radical overhaul in the summer. That is a squad that was extremely young and inexperienced at this level, but which was bedding in and learning. A squad which had critical injuries in central midfield and defence (Tino, Lavia, KWP, and ABK), and one which was critically under strength in attack. Ralph had also played the tougher fixtures over those 14 games - with the likes of fulham, forest, and everton still to come.

If you average that out its 32.5points over 38 games, a far more relevant extrapolation, and a total which might end up being enough as it is.... However i think it is also evident that after a winter pre season, strengthening in January, a return of the injury stricken players, and the ongoing development/improvement of the youngsters over that period - that we would have improved upon that total to be clear of relegation. The reality is his last 2 games with a full strength squad he beat Chelsea and outplayed (and was unlucky to lose to) United.

It was a huge error to sack him when we did and is the most inarguable reason as to why we are going down.
 

Lol. 
 

I have picked that amount of games for a very obvious reason, that was the Aston Villa game, where there has to be a genuine breakdown of something behind the scenes, the team went from playing fantastic stuff up to that to becoming one of the worst teams we have ever seen for now a full season and a half. 
 

if you don’t think that is relevant then that says a lot about you and your ability to process pretty basic things

 

and what evidence do have to suggest  that Ralph would develop and improve youngsters? 
 

And maybe the biggest flaw in your argument is upping Ralph beating chelsea, and being unlucky against United. Well Selles also beat Chelsea (away) and was unlucky against United (away).

 

 

Edited 14 May, 2023 by MAY-Z

[Convict Colony]

6 hours ago, Ralph Fastenbüttl said:

I don't think there's really any evidence to suggest Ralph would have kept this squad up.

I've got huge respect for the guy and all he accomplished with us. And I think he did well to keep us up last season - me may well have gone down under a lot of managers. But he was spent. Results and performances were both in the gutter and, by his own admission, he'd run out of ideas. He should have gone in the summer. This would have given whoever his replacement was more time to try and instill some sort of identity before the ticking relegation bomb robs you of that luxury.

Nathan we've got 6 weeks break now so i'll give you all 2 weeks off in November then change my tactics 5 time in the first game back Jones say hi.

[SotonianWill]

8 hours ago, MAY-Z said:

Ralph ended up with 17 points from his last 27 games, which when you play that out for a full season gets you how many points???

 

 

drumroll……24! Exactly what we will end up with

I’m not here to say we should have kept Ralph, but he almost certainly would have got us more points than 24. 

[obelisk]

We'll never know what might have happened if Ralph had stayed but his record during 2022 was dreadful. I wonder how close he'd have got to having another 9-0 on his record.

[trousers]

8 hours ago, Saint86 said:

In reality that run is utterly meaningless and looks a bit like cherry picking... Did you arbitrarily pick a 27 game run? Or go looking for one that gets 24 points?

In reality - Ralph got 12pts from 14 games this season with this squad - a squad which had had a radical overhaul in the summer. That is a squad that was extremely young and inexperienced at this level, but which was bedding in and learning. A squad which had critical injuries in central midfield and defence (Tino, Lavia, KWP, and ABK), and one which was critically under strength in attack. Ralph had also played the tougher fixtures over those 14 games - with the likes of fulham, forest, and everton still to come.

If you average that out its 32.5points over 38 games, a far more relevant extrapolation, and a total which might end up being enough as it is.... However i think it is also evident that after a winter pre season, strengthening in January, a return of the injury stricken players, and the ongoing development/improvement of the youngsters over that period - that we would have improved upon that total to be clear of relegation. The reality is his last 2 games with a full strength squad he beat Chelsea and outplayed (and was unlucky to lose to) United.

It was a huge error to sack him when we did and is the most inarguable reason as to why we are going down.
 

It's all very well picking out certain stats to justify a certain point of view (textbook 'bias confirmation' territory), but you've conveniently ignored the factors that you can't measure or predict, e.g. his reported loss of the dressing room, disagreements with the board, etc. 

For the umpteenth time: it wasn't sacking Ralph that got us relegated, it was not replacing him with someone better than the two that we did. 

Edited 15 May, 2023 by trousers

[Smirking_Saint]

My honest assessment is that without Ralph we would have got relegated sooner, we are/were a pretty terrible team that somehow managed to punch above our weight enough, at times, to stave off relegation for the previous two years… added to the fact that we were lucky previously that there were enough terrible teams below us… this year we were the worst of the bunch

IF he was given a viable striker and Lavia stayed fit long enough then I think our fortunes would have been different but equally I think if we had sacked and replaced effectively early enough then we’d been ok too

Our faults weren’t sacking Ralph, they were the constant club upheaval at all levels of the club from players to senior positions

[southamptonfc]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

It's all very well picking out certain stats to justify a certain point of view (textbook 'bias confirmation' territory), but you've conveniently ignored the factors that you can't measure or predict, e.g. his reported loss of the dressing room, disagreements with the board, etc. 

For the umpteenth time: it wasn't sacking Ralph that got us relegated, it was not replacing him with someone better than the two that we did. 

Nope. Sacking Ralph played a big part in getting us relegated along with not getting a striker in Summer.

Who exactly did you think would replace Ralph? Poch? Pep? Klopp? You're living in a grass is greener dream world my friend. Ralph was the best manager we've had in a long time and will be the best manager we've had for a long time to come.

Ralph would be awsome in the Championship.

 

Edited 15 May, 2023 by southamptonfc

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, southamptonfc said:

Nope. Sacking Ralph played a big part in getting us relegated along with not getting a striker in Summer.

Who exactly did you think would replace Ralph? Poch? Pep? Klopp? You're living in a grass is greener dream world my friend. Ralph was the best manager we've had in a long time and will be the best manager we've had for a long time to come.

 

Emry, Lopertegi, De Zerbi?

[southamptonfc]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

Emry, Lopertegi, De Zerbi?

And you think they could get 15 goals out of Adams and Armstrong?

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, southamptonfc said:

And you think they could get 15 goals out of Adams and Armstrong?

I think they would have got more than 24 points

[southamptonfc]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

I think they would have got more than 24 points

And so would Ralph.

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, southamptonfc said:

And so would Ralph.

But we sacked him, and rightly so

[Smirking_Saint]

6 minutes ago, southamptonfc said:

And you think they could get 15 goals out of Adams and Armstrong?

Any of those three mentioned would have probably realised Armstrong was fucking useless tbf

[Francis1947]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

 

For the umpteenth time: it wasn't sacking Ralph that got us relegated, it was not replacing him with someone better than the two that we did. 

An interesting but superfluous argument going on here and in some sports sections ofthe Sundays about ....what if , regarding retaining Ralph.

I do a agree with Trousers here that it wasnt the sacking of Ralph that got us in this mess but the selaction of his replacement.

I always liked and had a lot of regard for him. I think he was a principled and hardworking man and a talented coach. A complete opposite to the clown who followed him regarding principles and to Selles who has been utterly inept in my mind with selection and tactics and stratergy.

However, like many here , I did think his time was up. In the last couple of months of his reign he looked tired and I think had run out of steam.

Also there were rumours that he had " lost the dressing room " Whatever that actualy means. In my own experience, in my time in the Navy, I worked for and alongside a few blokes who were a superior rank to me and were my immediate Bosses. But I dont think my dislike or lack of regard for them had any influence on how I did my job. I just got on with it as I suspect many blokes on this website did in their respective careers.

So, we are relegated with an abysmal and shameful number of points gained in the season. 24 points ! It's hard for that to sink in isnt it ! Also I doubt that we will add to our total in the last 2 matches.

So, the argument is.....what if Ralph had stayed. Where would we be if he had had the additions of Alcarez and Lavia for more of his matches ?

My opinion now is ....probably yes. We needed maybe 7/ 8 more points. 2 wins and 2 draws eh. If only !

And this is just wimsy and it aint going to happen. But we are playing ...what if...here. What if they asked Ralph to return in the Championship. Would we welcome him back after an extended rest ? They say never go back but I'm not so sure. Woud his style and man management cope with Championship football and be a success ?

I must admit I would have him back. And I know that it isn' t goingto happen but in the depressed mood all us Saints fans are in now, it makes you think eh    

[OldNick]

2 hours ago, Smirking_Saint said:

My honest assessment is that without Ralph we would have got relegated sooner, we are/were a pretty terrible team that somehow managed to punch above our weight enough, at times, to stave off relegation for the previous two years… added to the fact that we were lucky previously that there were enough terrible teams below us… this year we were the worst of the bunch

IF he was given a viable striker and Lavia stayed fit long enough then I think our fortunes would have been different but equally I think if we had sacked and replaced effectively early enough then we’d been ok too

Our faults weren’t sacking Ralph, they were the constant club upheaval at all levels of the club from players to senior positions

I dont get the part where you say he did well keeping us up. That was his job, he should have demanded a forward. Telling the club and squad that he was retiring was stupid as well. As happened with Strachan as soon as he stated that there was a falloff by the players. If Jones had stayed I think we would have had more points, but that means nothing as well. One thing is for certain Selles had 15 games and his negative and stubborn managing the team selection cost us dearly

[Daft Kerplunk]

Ralph was averaging less than a point a game before he was sacked. That’s more than flirting with relegation. Ralph’s last 38 games with us saw us get 37 points, but that includes a spell that effectively ended after 12 games on 25th February with a win against Norwich. After that, 26 matches with 4 wins and 5 draws. Ralph was good for us for awhile and our pathetic board didn’t help him but something had gone wrong and at the point he was rightfully let go, the trajectory of Ralph’s tenure was going in one direction only. What happened after was a continuation of a club that was befuddled yet arrogant. 

[davefizzy14]

I do genuinely believe had Ralph still been our manager we would be in a way lot better position than we currently are. Not backing him with a top quality striker last summer was a big issue. 

Edited 15 May, 2023 by davefizzy14

[FarehamSaintJames]

4 minutes ago, davefizzy14 said:

I do genuinely believe had Ralph still been our manager we would be in a way lot better position than we currently are. Not backing him with a top quality striker last summer was a big issue. 

A striker and a winger were two things we desperately needed. He got neither.

I’m not counting Edozie, he obviously wasn’t planned to be thrust into the starting team as early as he was.

The board let him down.

[Smirking_Saint]

26 minutes ago, OldNick said:

I dont get the part where you say he did well keeping us up. That was his job, he should have demanded a forward. Telling the club and squad that he was retiring was stupid as well. As happened with Strachan as soon as he stated that there was a falloff by the players. If Jones had stayed I think we would have had more points, but that means nothing as well. One thing is for certain Selles had 15 games and his negative and stubborn managing the team selection cost us dearly

I say that because he did it, it was Selles and Jones job too but how did that go ? Thats a bit of an odd comment really.

As per a forward request, clearly he had requested one, we just did a spectacularly terrible job of getting him one.

TBH I always took the retirement comments with the pinch of salt they were intended, fairly sure they were said in jest and they were backed up by saying ‘if Saints are on good footing by then’

Reality is its all cost us dearly, change is destructive and we did it too much

[OldNick]

5 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

I say that because he did it, it was Selles and Jones job too but how did that go ? Thats a bit of an odd comment really.

As per a forward request, clearly he had requested one, we just did a spectacularly terrible job of getting him one.

TBH I always took the retirement comments with the pinch of salt they were intended, fairly sure they were said in jest and they were backed up by saying ‘if Saints are on good footing by then’

Reality is its all cost us dearly, change is destructive and we did it too much

I dont think Jones was the right choice but he may have got more fight. At the end of the day Ralph had run his course. I saw on Twitter someone had put a chart of the last half of last season and this seasons results, it was incredible the amount of L's. It was hopeless and Ings goals the season before may well have been the reason we arent where we are now sooner.

[tommi]

3 hours ago, SotonianWill said:

I’m not here to say we should have kept Ralph, but he almost certainly would have got us more points than 24. 

I run an U13s team and would have got us more than 24 points.

[OldNick]

22 minutes ago, davefizzy14 said:

I do genuinely believe had Ralph still been our manager we would be in a way lot better position than we currently are. Not backing him with a top quality striker last summer was a big issue. 

If we kept Puel we'd still be competing for Europe, I still believe that sacking was the start of where we are. We followed him with a couple of appalling appointments before Ralph came in. I used to go to games thinking we will win today, in the last 2-3 seasons when do we go to games with the confidence we will win??? It is a long gone feeling.

[Smirking_Saint]

6 minutes ago, OldNick said:

If we kept Puel we'd still be competing for Europe, I still believe that sacking was the start of where we are. We followed him with a couple of appalling appointments before Ralph came in. I used to go to games thinking we will win today, in the last 2-3 seasons when do we go to games with the confidence we will win??? It is a long gone feeling.

Nah… the start of where we are was the Gao takeover, Reed removal and the installation of a boardroom that didn’t really have the ambition required.

Puel was in my opinion removed prematurely, but his football was dire, its not like he went on to prove the sacking wrong either.. failing both at Leicester and St Ettiene.

We’ve been in decline for years, as a club we’ve gone backwards and were lucky not to be relegated before SR who were unable to stop us/cupable in our eventual relegation

[the saint in winchester]

So, if Ralph had to leave because he was tired and he didn't have the resources at his disposal, whereas now he is refreshed and we will likely have up to £200M (sale proceeds), then is Ralph a candidate for manager 2023-24?

[Chez]

he couldn't have done much worse than Jones and Selles.  I don't blame the board for sacking him though, as we were shite for a long time under him. Just wish they'd appointed a better replacement.