Ralph Hasenhuttl

[aintforever]

13 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

Hughes managed 8 points in our final 8 games of that season. In the previous 8 games we also amassed 8 points so I'd hardly describe that as 'doing a great job.' He basically maintained the status quo at the time of his appointment.

To be fair, losing away to West Ham was really the only bad result he had - or is he supposed to be able to get us to beat Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal?

[Colwinston Saints]

As a football man, that's involved in a decent level of football i can say with certainty that the comments on this thread are embarrasing. 

Ralph is a tremendous football manager, he's delivered far and away more than any manager since Koeman and without the riches of talent that Koeman or others have had. 

Lets analyse the team that plays for Ralph and then to deliver mid-table last season and hopefully again this is miraculous. 

Keeper - They are both prem quality and hasn't improved much about them, minus their ability to play football. 

KWP - Arrived a poor player that couldn't buy a minute in a problem position for Spurs, Aurier and Docherty are their RB's. Ralph has improved him drmataically. 

Bertrand - Great player, aging but wants to be here again after a shambles few years

Bednarek - Improved him dramatically - Most interceptions in Premier League - In and out under previous managers

Vestergaard - Written of by the fan base, now look at him, ralph improved him again. 

JWP - Couldn't buy a minute under Hughes, now playing easily his best ever football

Armstrong - Actually realised he was a wide player, convinced him of this, now unreal. 

Redmond - Gone backwards this season under Ralph

Adams - Improving him, confidence up and down but a Championship player if we're being honest

Ings - Best form of his Career, we'll get good money for him, wasn't even in Hughes team 

Talla - First young player to actually come through in years

Walcott - Bets football he's played in years

Diallo - Looks a find 

Romeu - Legs were shot and he's now playinga style of football i never thought possible. 

 

Since Ralphs been in charge hes actually only had KWP/Adams purchased for a fee that plays regularly.  Everyone else he's improved. 

 

FANTASTIC MANAGER - IN TWO SEASONS, FIND ANOTHER TEAM DOING AS WELL AS US WITH JUST TWO 10-12MILLION POUND SIGNINGS.... I'll wait.  

You won't find one, we are massively over achieving. 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Colwinston Saints

[Lord Duckhunter]

Last season 15th highest spenders in England and finished......11th, miraculous....

 

Claude Puel season, 13th highest spend. Finished 8th, and got to a final.....Fucking useless, Claude out....

 

[TWar]

6 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Last season 15th highest spenders in England and finished......11th, miraculous....

 

Claude Puel season, 13th highest spend. Finished 8th, and got to a final.....Fucking useless, Claude out....

 

Puel inherited a quality squad that just finished top 8 three seasons in a row built and refined by two top class managers (who are now the managers of PSG and Barca), Ralph inherited a team fighting for relegation for the previous two seasons built and refined by Pellegrino and Mark Hughes. Only comparing the money spent when they took over is unfair and doesn't account for the fact one inherited. 

[Saints foreva]

19 minutes ago, TWar said:

Puel inherited a quality squad that just finished top 8 three seasons in a row built

Minus Mane, Pelle and Wanyama. Three key players from the season before. There was a clear downgrade on the players who came into the starting lineup over those 3. 

[Whitey Grandad]

35 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Last season 15th highest spenders in England and finished......11th, miraculous....

 

Claude Puel season, 13th highest spend. Finished 8th, and got to a final.....Fucking useless, Claude out....

 

You were warned about mentioning this again. Any more and you will be in danger of extreme rectal rearrangement 

[TWar]

5 minutes ago, Saints foreva said:

Minus Mane, Pelle and Wanyama. Three key players from the season before. There was a clear downgrade on the players who came into the starting lineup over those 3. 

There was, no doubt, but even without those three Puel inherited a team markedly better than Ralph did including players like Tadic, VvD, Davis, Fonte ect. 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by TWar

[Colwinston Saints]

Puel inherited a good Koeman team that finished 6th. 

Ralph took on a team that survived on the lowest points tally the club has ever had in the prem. 

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Colwinston Saints said:

Puel inherited a good Koeman team that finished 6th. 

Ralph took on a team that survived on the lowest points tally the club has ever had in the prem. 

No he didn't. He took over a team that finished 6th that had it's two leading goalscorers and best defensive midfielder sold. He also had the team captain wanting to leave and did half way through the season, then lost the other centre back a couple of weeks later. He took over a team that had to play half a season without 5 of the best players from Koemans season

[Give it to Ron]

10 minutes ago, Turkish said:

No he didn't. He took over a team that finished 6th that had it's two leading goalscorers and best defensive midfielder sold. He also had the team captain wanting to leave and did half way through the season, then lost the other centre back a couple of weeks later. He took over a team that had to play half a season without 5 of the best players from Koemans season

......and played home to Be’er Sheba for a 0-0 draw! Bored everyone senseless with his tactics.

He should never have been appointed in first place was never a good fit for us. 
Same as Pellegrino poor choice by the board.

[Turkish]

16 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

......and played home to Be’er Sheba for a 0-0 draw! Bored everyone senseless with his tactics.

He should never have been appointed in first place was never a good fit for us. 
Same as Pellegrino poor choice by the board.

Ah well if we're going down that route what about Koemans performance in Europe? Utter shit in two games against Midtylland, especially away where we went long ball, never really looked like scoring. Didn't even make the group stages. That was as bad if not worse than Puels European performances.

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Turkish

[John B]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Last season 15th highest spenders in England and finished......11th, miraculous....

 

Claude Puel season, 13th highest spend. Finished 8th, and got to a final.....Fucking useless, Claude out....

Puel had VVD the best defender in Europe Ralph had Stephens

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

Puel didn’t have VvD after Jan, he had Stephens & Yoshida.

 

The point I’m making isn’t about the merits of either manager, it’s the absolute state of the Ralphettes and the “miraculous “ job he’s doing, and the double standards they use to promote their bizarre claims of greatness. If you’re judging Ralph’s tenure as such a magnificent sucsess, then Puel deserves similar praise. 
 

11th is par. No more, no less. What he does second season rests on the cup game. Losing to both Brentford & Boscombe, combined with another 9-0 and a record breaking run of defeats, is unacceptable imo. 11th & that, we’re in Hughes territory. 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 hour ago, Colwinston Saints said:

Puel inherited a good Koeman team that finished 6th. 

Ralph took on a team that survived on the lowest points tally the club has ever had in the prem. 

not last season he didn’t. He was manager for half the previous one. Last season was his, and his alone. 11th, ain’t great. 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[Colwinston Saints]

59 minutes ago, Turkish said:

No he didn't. He took over a team that finished 6th that had it's two leading goalscorers and best defensive midfielder sold. He also had the team captain wanting to leave and did half way through the season, then lost the other centre back a couple of weeks later. He took over a team that had to play half a season without 5 of the best players from Koemans season

Puels Team 

It was another record-breaking season for Southampton, as Ronald Koeman’s men recorded the club’s highest Premier League finish ever.

Hassenhutls team 

Southampton's current 14-game winless run (W0 D7 L7) is their longest such run in all competitions since March 1989 (20 games).

[Lord Duckhunter]

Last season was his, he didn’t take over from anyone. 

[Turkish]

6 minutes ago, Colwinston Saints said:

Puels Team 

It was another record-breaking season for Southampton, as Ronald Koeman’s men recorded the club’s highest Premier League finish ever.

Hassenhutls team 

Southampton's current 14-game winless run (W0 D7 L7) is their longest such run in all competitions since March 1989 (20 games).

Koemans team finished 6th, Puels team had half a season without 5 of its best players, a full season without 3 of them. 

[CB Fry]

16 minutes ago, Colwinston Saints said:

Puels Team 

It was another record-breaking season for Southampton, as Ronald Koeman’s men recorded the club’s highest Premier League finish ever.

Hassenhutls team 

Southampton's current 14-game winless run (W0 D7 L7) is their longest such run in all competitions since March 1989 (20 games).

Is this supposed to be a defence of Hasenhuttl?

Isn't the worst run without a win for thirty years supposed to be, like, a bad thing? At this point this is Ralph's team, no inheritance from anyone.

Also slightly confused how a quote about Ronald Koeman's achievements is relevant to Puel who inherited a different team and huge injuries and a giant fixtures obligation, or how it reflects well on Hasenhuttl who has got nowhere near that standard?

Edited 8 March, 2021 by CB Fry

[John B]

14 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Puel didn’t have VvD after Jan, he had Stephens & Yoshida.

 

The point I’m making isn’t about the merits of either manager, it’s the absolute state of the Ralphettes and the “miraculous “ job he’s doing, and the double standards they use to promote their bizarre claims of greatness. If you’re judging Ralph’s tenure as such a magnificent sucsess, then Puel deserves similar praise. 
 

11th is par. No more, no less. What he does second season rests on the cup game. Losing to both Brentford & Boscombe, combined with another 9-0 and a record breaking run of defeats, is unacceptable imo. 11th & that, we’re in Hughes territory. 

I think both Claude and Ralph have done reasonable jobs dont you

[Lord Duckhunter]

39 minutes ago, John B said:

I think both Claude and Ralph have done reasonable jobs dont you

Given the players and situations. 

I think Claude did a very good job.

I think Ralph has done a pretty good job so far. Ask me again at the end of the season. 

 

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[Dark Munster]

6 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Given the players and situations. 

I think Claude did a very good job.

I think Ralph has done a pretty good job so far. Ask me again at the end of the season. 

 

That sums it up for me too.

[The Cat]

So what we're basically saying is that we put in some shit performances under all 3 managers, all of whom had a few different players and others injured at some point. 

We could easily pick 3 completely abject performances under Koeman, Puel and Hassenhuttl and on the flip side also 3 amazing wins to suit whatever argument is being made. None of them could be considered failures because that would mean relegation and plenty of other clubs our size have had that since we came back to the top flight. 

[Turkish]

14 minutes ago, The Cat said:

So what we're basically saying is that we put in some shit performances under all 3 managers, all of whom had a few different players and others injured at some point. 

We could easily pick 3 completely abject performances under Koeman, Puel and Hassenhuttl and on the flip side also 3 amazing wins to suit whatever argument is being made. None of them could be considered failures because that would mean relegation and plenty of other clubs our size have had that since we came back to the top flight. 

Yep, but some people have got their head so far up their own arses with their own agendas they can’t bare to give anyone any credit that doesnt suit them.

[Give it to Ron]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

Ah well if we're going down that route what about Koemans performance in Europe? Utter shit in two games against Midtylland, especially away where we went long ball, never really looked like scoring. Didn't even make the group stages. That was as bad if not worse than Puels European performances.

Bloody hell yeah I never understood that performance it was just lump it when we hadn’t played that ever baffling as though wanted out

[Fan The Flames]

Midtjylland at home was so disappointing, it was my sons second game and I was expecting a comfortable win and to create the illusion of regular great European nights to the boy. It was a frustrating flat game followed a worse away leg. Never thought Stekelenburg was good enough.

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Fan The Flames

[Streaky]

8 hours ago, Colwinston Saints said:

As a football man, that's involved in a decent level of football i can say with certainty that the comments on this thread are embarrasing. 

Ralph is a tremendous football manager, he's delivered far and away more than any manager since Koeman and without the riches of talent that Koeman or others have had. 

Lets analyse the team that plays for Ralph and then to deliver mid-table last season and hopefully again this is miraculous. 

Keeper - They are both prem quality and hasn't improved much about them, minus their ability to play football. 

KWP - Arrived a poor player that couldn't buy a minute in a problem position for Spurs, Aurier and Docherty are their RB's. Ralph has improved him drmataically. 

Bertrand - Great player, aging but wants to be here again after a shambles few years

Bednarek - Improved him dramatically - Most interceptions in Premier League - In and out under previous managers

Vestergaard - Written of by the fan base, now look at him, ralph improved him again. 

JWP - Couldn't buy a minute under Hughes, now playing easily his best ever football

Armstrong - Actually realised he was a wide player, convinced him of this, now unreal. 

Redmond - Gone backwards this season under Ralph

Adams - Improving him, confidence up and down but a Championship player if we're being honest

Ings - Best form of his Career, we'll get good money for him, wasn't even in Hughes team 

Talla - First young player to actually come through in years

Walcott - Bets football he's played in years

Diallo - Looks a find 

Romeu - Legs were shot and he's now playinga style of football i never thought possible. 

 

Since Ralphs been in charge hes actually only had KWP/Adams purchased for a fee that plays regularly.  Everyone else he's improved. 

 

FANTASTIC MANAGER - IN TWO SEASONS, FIND ANOTHER TEAM DOING AS WELL AS US WITH JUST TWO 10-12MILLION POUND SIGNINGS.... I'll wait.  

You won't find one, we are massively over achieving. 

Hassenhuttl spent 50m

[Dusic]

The biggest difference between Ralph Hasenhuttl and Claude Puel is that one has brought fans with him during his tenure whilst the other pushed them away, because he could not communicate.

That is leadership in evidence, and shows why results clearly matter but also how you get them and frame them is equally as important, especially in this age of social media and wall to wall coverage of the PL.

In the tough moments, fans will ask themselves whether they can identify with the Manager and understand (if not agree with) his decisions and overall approach.

For Hasenhuttl you can, you can feel his joy during the highs and his pain during the lows and feel like you know him a little because he is honest and explains himself well.

Puel was distant, joyless and decisions like never playing Fonte in the Europa League just showed he didn't get it, or at least couldn't explain himself enough to persuade otherwise.

Edited 8 March, 2021 by Dusic

[Turkish]

9 hours ago, Dusic said:

The biggest difference between Ralph Hasenhuttl and Claude Puel is that one has brought fans with him during his tenure whilst the other pushed them away, because he could not communicate.

That is leadership in evidence, and shows why results clearly matter but also how you get them and frame them is equally as important, especially in this age of social media and wall to wall coverage of the PL.

In the tough moments, fans will ask themselves whether they can identify with the Manager and understand (if not agree with) his decisions and overall approach.

For Hasenhuttl you can, you can feel his joy during the highs and his pain during the lows and feel like you know him a little because he is honest and explains himself well.

Puel was distant, joyless and decisions like never playing Fonte in the Europa League just showed he didn't get it, or at least couldn't explain himself enough to persuade otherwise.

Puels English wasn't great, yet that didn't stop the morons taking what he said and changing it into something else, for example the endless banging on about how Redmond was the new Thierry Henry, that's not what he said but it hasn't stopped the prats using it to beat him with even now. People didn't like Puel from day one because the fans wanted a bigger name and secondly from his first interview they didn't like them saying he was boring. It was always going to be impossible for any manager to replicate Koemans success when the best players had been sold off or wanted out, a massive fixture list and a significantly weaker squad but again the dopey ones just look at the table and repeat verbatim "well Koeman finished 6th" without bothering to take into account any of the other factors. They drag up the Ber Sheeva game, but  ignore Koemans worse performance v Mitjylland with better players. They go on about the boring games back end of the season when we had nothing to play for, ignoring the good games. Then of course when anyone dares to point out that despite all that Puel presided over on paper one of our most successful seasons ever, the latest fashionable thing to claim is that Puels 8th wasn't a good 8th, that is ridiculous no matter how many times you say it. It's quite pathetic that some people are so entrenched in their view they cant even give him an ounce of credit.

[stevy777_x]

33 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Puels English wasn't great, yet that didn't stop the morons taking what he said and changing it into something else, for example the endless banging on about how Redmond was the new Thierry Henry, that's not what he said but it hasn't stopped the prats using it to beat him with even now. People didn't like Puel from day one because the fans wanted a bigger name and secondly from his first interview they didn't like them saying he was boring. It was always going to be impossible for any manager to replicate Koemans success when the best players had been sold off or wanted out, a massive fixture list and a significantly weaker squad but again the dopey ones just look at the table and repeat verbatim "well Koeman finished 6th" without bothering to take into account any of the other factors. They drag up the Ber Sheeva game, but  ignore Koemans worse performance v Mitjylland with better players. They go on about the boring games back end of the season when we had nothing to play for, ignoring the good games. Then of course when anyone dares to point out that despite all that Puel presided over on paper one of our most successful seasons ever, the latest fashionable thing to claim is that Puels 8th wasn't a good 8th, that is ridiculous no matter how many times you say it. It's quite pathetic that some people are so entrenched in their view they cant even give him an ounce of credit.

This 100%, and he got us to a cup final where we beat Arsenal, Liverpool twice and had Var been in place would have stood a big chance of beating Man U in the final.

 

[Give it to Ron]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

Puels English wasn't great, yet that didn't stop the morons taking what he said and changing it into something else, for example the endless banging on about how Redmond was the new Thierry Henry, that's not what he said but it hasn't stopped the prats using it to beat him with even now. People didn't like Puel from day one because the fans wanted a bigger name and secondly from his first interview they didn't like them saying he was boring. It was always going to be impossible for any manager to replicate Koemans success when the best players had been sold off or wanted out, a massive fixture list and a significantly weaker squad but again the dopey ones just look at the table and repeat verbatim "well Koeman finished 6th" without bothering to take into account any of the other factors. They drag up the Ber Sheeva game, but  ignore Koemans worse performance v Mitjylland with better players. They go on about the boring games back end of the season when we had nothing to play for, ignoring the good games. Then of course when anyone dares to point out that despite all that Puel presided over on paper one of our most successful seasons ever, the latest fashionable thing to claim is that Puels 8th wasn't a good 8th, that is ridiculous no matter how many times you say it. It's quite pathetic that some people are so entrenched in their view they cant even give him an ounce of credit.

After all that hyperbole the issue was and certainly for me we were terrible to watch.

Boring games back end is rubbish for majority we were abysmal to watch at home. When you are paying shed load to watch then that comes into whether I like him or not.

Tactically defensively he was good there is some praise for you.

I wanted him gone not because of his press conferences or language issues but because it was durge football at home.

Away we had some good results but he couldn’t change the tactics at home and lost the crowd not because of language because the football just wasn’t good same at Leicester.

[WALK DMC]

10 hours ago, Dusic said:

The biggest difference between Ralph Hasenhuttl and Claude Puel is that one has brought fans with him during his tenure whilst the other pushed them away, because he could not communicate.

That is leadership in evidence, and shows why results clearly matter but also how you get them and frame them is equally as important, especially in this age of social media and wall to wall coverage of the PL.

In the tough moments, fans will ask themselves whether they can identify with the Manager and understand (if not agree with) his decisions and overall approach.

For Hasenhuttl you can, you can feel his joy during the highs and his pain during the lows and feel like you know him a little because he is honest and explains himself well.

Puel was distant, joyless and decisions like never playing Fonte in the Europa League just showed he didn't get it, or at least couldn't explain himself enough to persuade otherwise.

This is an outstanding insightful summary raising the discussion beyond the usual 8th place, 46 points & a cup final debate. It encapsulates the differences between why the two Managers do/don't resonate with the fans. I have a decent amount of respect for Puel who is an ok Manager but to me Ralph demonstrates real leadership skills that offer greater opportunities to take us to a different long term level (although financial constraints may reduce this potential). 

Good communication isn't just about speaking the language; it is setting a clear strategy, a style and belief in those values which can be easily understood by its target audience. Look at Bielsa - can't speak a bloody word of English, but those Leeds players really understand and buy in to his approach. 

Ralph may fail through a lack of investment and squad depth, but I hope that this story isn't over yet - he has outstanding leadership skills which may yet make Saints a top 10 contender in the years to come.  Even through the awful recent run, I remain glad Ralph is our Manager.  Keep the faith. 

[Charlie Wayman]

20 hours ago, Colwinston Saints said:

As a football man, that's involved in a decent level of football i can say with certainty that the comments on this thread are embarrasing. 

Ralph is a tremendous football manager, he's delivered far and away more than any manager since Koeman and without the riches of talent that Koeman or others have had. 

Lets analyse the team that plays for Ralph and then to deliver mid-table last season and hopefully again this is miraculous. 

Keeper - They are both prem quality and hasn't improved much about them, minus their ability to play football. 

KWP - Arrived a poor player that couldn't buy a minute in a problem position for Spurs, Aurier and Docherty are their RB's. Ralph has improved him drmataically. 

Bertrand - Great player, aging but wants to be here again after a shambles few years

Bednarek - Improved him dramatically - Most interceptions in Premier League - In and out under previous managers

Vestergaard - Written of by the fan base, now look at him, ralph improved him again. 

JWP - Couldn't buy a minute under Hughes, now playing easily his best ever football

Armstrong - Actually realised he was a wide player, convinced him of this, now unreal. 

Redmond - Gone backwards this season under Ralph

Adams - Improving him, confidence up and down but a Championship player if we're being honest

Ings - Best form of his Career, we'll get good money for him, wasn't even in Hughes team 

Talla - First young player to actually come through in years

Walcott - Bets football he's played in years

Diallo - Looks a find 

Romeu - Legs were shot and he's now playinga style of football i never thought possible. 

 

Since Ralphs been in charge hes actually only had KWP/Adams purchased for a fee that plays regularly.  Everyone else he's improved. 

 

FANTASTIC MANAGER - IN TWO SEASONS, FIND ANOTHER TEAM DOING AS WELL AS US WITH JUST TWO 10-12MILLION POUND SIGNINGS.... I'll wait.  

You won't find one, we are massively over achieving. 

None of this adds up to a row of beans.

Effectiveness and success are measured by results and points on the board.

 

[Charlie Wayman]

11 hours ago, Dusic said:

The biggest difference between Ralph Hasenhuttl and Claude Puel is that one has brought fans with him during his tenure whilst the other pushed them away, because he could not communicate.

That is leadership in evidence, and shows why results clearly matter but also how you get them and frame them is equally as important, especially in this age of social media and wall to wall coverage of the PL.

In the tough moments, fans will ask themselves whether they can identify with the Manager and understand (if not agree with) his decisions and overall approach.

For Hasenhuttl you can, you can feel his joy during the highs and his pain during the lows and feel like you know him a little because he is honest and explains himself well.

Puel was distant, joyless and decisions like never playing Fonte in the Europa League just showed he didn't get it, or at least couldn't explain himself enough to persuade otherwise.

Popularity has little to do with management ability.  Bielsa is about as lovable and communicative as a grizzly bear in a bad mood yet Leeds fans adore him. 

[tajjuk]

On 07/03/2021 at 20:34, kwsaint said:

What we are all forgetting is that Saints are a very young side.  Had to look these up: KWP (23), Tella (21), Bednarek (24), Dialla (21), Adams (24).  Minamino and JWP are 26.  Salisu didnt play yesterday but is also 21.  The approach has been to replace the deadwood by either progressing academy players or bringing in good young players from abroad or UK - because that is all that we can afford to do.

We all know that we need to get cover at full back in the summer, but hopefully the players that we have will continue to develop.  This season has been very up and down, but I think that we will continue to progress next season.  But I think that we need to keep RH to do this.

This is a very good point and I think it showed a little in the losing run, we lack experienced leaders, JWP is one of those 'lead by example' type players rather than a shouter I think and he's tactically very sound so can convey the managers messages onto the pitch, but he's not the most vocal or organising from what I can see.  Vestergaard I think is another that is a bit of a natural leader and organiser at the back, he was missing for most of that poor form.  

And we've also seen that Forster, with his confidence up, is seemingly more of a leading/organising presence than McCarthy.  

I think that bad run showed that we lacked some leaders and on pitch 'nous' to maybe get out of that bad run earlier and pick up some more points.

But it should also be highlighted that the bad run coincided with a terrible run with injuries and same bad decisions going against us.

Had we had more luck with injuries then I feel we would still be challenging for European slots not mid table, not many clubs could deal with what periods with 4-5-6+ key first teamers being out injured and then successive poor refereeing performances adding on top of that.  Just look at Liverpool, injuries to key players, some tiredness, a few results don't go their way and form and confidences tumbles. 

Ralph can't do much about squad depth or the financial mess we are in. Could he do some things better? Totally yes and I am sure he is learning himself, but has he done a good job? IMO unquestionably.  

With our full first 11 we have massively overachieved, had we more squad depth or better luck with injuries we'd IMO be 6/7/8 th right now. 

And that is the key for the board for next season, give Ralph the tools to deliver his football, without needing to rely on the barebones and kids, find a couple of players to add quality and improve the first 11, and add some decent depth in a couple of other positions, added with the continued improvement of some players that Ralph seems to manage and we could have a really great season next year IMO. 

I think the board know how good a manager he is and how much of an asset he is, two 9-0 defeats, some terrible form, but not really a whiff of sacking. Because they know the circumstances around the club. 

We are honestly a bit like Burnley really (who have also had some terrible runs under Dyche) a PL club working with not much money, who have a manager they know generally makes the team over perform above it's resources and thus will show patience and loyalty to that person. 

[LuckyNumber7]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

Puels English wasn't great, yet that didn't stop the morons taking what he said and changing it into something else, for example the endless banging on about how Redmond was the new Thierry Henry, that's not what he said but it hasn't stopped the prats using it to beat him with even now. People didn't like Puel from day one because the fans wanted a bigger name and secondly from his first interview they didn't like them saying he was boring. It was always going to be impossible for any manager to replicate Koemans success when the best players had been sold off or wanted out, a massive fixture list and a significantly weaker squad but again the dopey ones just look at the table and repeat verbatim "well Koeman finished 6th" without bothering to take into account any of the other factors. They drag up the Ber Sheeva game, but  ignore Koemans worse performance v Mitjylland with better players. They go on about the boring games back end of the season when we had nothing to play for, ignoring the good games. Then of course when anyone dares to point out that despite all that Puel presided over on paper one of our most successful seasons ever, the latest fashionable thing to claim is that Puels 8th wasn't a good 8th, that is ridiculous no matter how many times you say it. It's quite pathetic that some people are so entrenched in their view they cant even give him an ounce of credit.

All very fair points, and I don't think most are against giving Puel credit where it was deserved. The cup run of course was memorable, and scoring four at Sunderland and Watford either side of the final. Beating Inter too, which unfortunately I had to miss as I was in America.

However the vast majority of the season we were absolute dirge to watch, especially at home. In only three home games in the league did we score more than one goal, and there were countless 0-0 draws or 1-0 wins or losses, and worst of all we actually looked like we were playing for 0-0 in many games. Yes 8th place on paper is a good finish but there was very little enjoyment in getting there, it was so dull that I dreaded going to games and clearly many felt the same.

If I was offered finishing 8th every season but playing like that, I'd gladly give it a miss personally. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

Puels English wasn't great, yet that didn't stop the morons taking what he said and changing it into something else, for example the endless banging on about how Redmond was the new Thierry Henry, that's not what he said but it hasn't stopped the prats using it to beat him with even now. People didn't like Puel from day one because the fans wanted a bigger name and secondly from his first interview they didn't like them saying he was boring. It was always going to be impossible for any manager to replicate Koemans success when the best players had been sold off or wanted out, a massive fixture list and a significantly weaker squad but again the dopey ones just look at the table and repeat verbatim "well Koeman finished 6th" without bothering to take into account any of the other factors. They drag up the Ber Sheeva game, but  ignore Koemans worse performance v Mitjylland with better players. They go on about the boring games back end of the season when we had nothing to play for, ignoring the good games. Then of course when anyone dares to point out that despite all that Puel presided over on paper one of our most successful seasons ever, the latest fashionable thing to claim is that Puels 8th wasn't a good 8th, that is ridiculous no matter how many times you say it. It's quite pathetic that some people are so entrenched in their view they cant even give him an ounce of credit.

There’s no doubt that Claude suffered because of what went before him, had he followed Pelligrino & Hughes, he’d be lauded and his achievements given the respect they deserve. Equally had Ralph followed Koeman I’d imagine his record wouldn’t be give quite the fawning it receives from some. 

There’s no doubt his personality is a factor in his popularity, just as Puel’s lack of one is a factor on the trashing of his record. Some of the posts on here are truly bizarre, making excuses left, right, and centre, as well as praising the miraculous job he’s done. Talk about over egging the pudding. 
 

People have a blind spot about his record. Two absolutely embarrassing thrashing aside, he’s produced some woeful performances and some weird selections. The home game against Tottenham was one of the most tactility inept defensive performances I’ve seen in nearly 50 years of watching and lately his rabbit in the headlights look during a number of games, needs questioning. There’s a fine line between a consistent tactical approach and a coaching by numbers look, at times he looks incredibly inflexible and incapable of wrong footing his opposite number. On the other side of the ledger, he oversaw a fantastic run at the end of last season and the beginning of this, as well as some stand out performances sprinkled along the way. The players seem to genuinely like him and want to play for him and he does seem interested in the club and its development. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than for him to still be in charge in 5 years time, but until he earns it, I’ll keep my hero worship under wraps a little bit longer. 

 

[Christophenburg]

I think part of Ralph's popularity comes from the fact that he's followed Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes, all of which were underwhelming at best, and outright terrible at worst (each for different reasons). Ralph has character, charm, a clear ethos and vision, and is getting the team to overperform at times. Had Ralph come in when Puel or Pellegrino did, I don't think he'd be as popular or be given so much slack.

That all said, I like Ralph, and I really hope he's able to turn things around.

[Lord Duckhunter]

5 hours ago, Christophenburg said:

I think part of Ralph's popularity comes from the fact that he's followed Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes, all of which were underwhelming at best, and outright terrible at worst (each for different reasons). 

I found finishing 11th pretty underwhelming myself. 

[Toadhall Saint]

6 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

There’s no doubt that Claude suffered because of what went before him, had he followed Pelligrino & Hughes, he’d be lauded and his achievements given the respect they deserve. Equally had Ralph followed Koeman I’d imagine his record wouldn’t be give quite the fawning it receives from some. 

There’s no doubt his personality is a factor in his popularity, just as Puel’s lack of one is a factor on the trashing of his record. Some of the posts on here are truly bizarre, making excuses left, right, and centre, as well as praising the miraculous job he’s done. Talk about over egging the pudding. 
 

People have a blind spot about his record. Two absolutely embarrassing thrashing aside, he’s produced some woeful performances and some weird selections. The home game against Tottenham was one of the most tactility inept defensive performances I’ve seen in nearly 50 years of watching and lately his rabbit in the headlights look during a number of games, needs questioning. There’s a fine line between a consistent tactical approach and a coaching by numbers look, at times he looks incredibly inflexible and incapable of wrong footing his opposite number. On the other side of the ledger, he oversaw a fantastic run at the end of last season and the beginning of this, as well as some stand out performances sprinkled along the way. The players seem to genuinely like him and want to play for him and he does seem interested in the club and its development. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than for him to still be in charge in 5 years time, but until he earns it, I’ll keep my hero worship under wraps a little bit longer. 

 

In your eyes how would he earn it?

[Turkish]

49 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I found finishing 11th pretty underwhelming myself. 

Has it been confirmed by our forum elite if Ralph’s 11th was a good or bad 11th? 

[cloggy saint]

In 45 years of supporting Saints our average top flight finishing position is 12th, so 11th is not bad at all. Yes, I have too much time on my hands.

[Whitey Grandad]

1 hour ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I found finishing 11th pretty underwhelming myself. 

No different from finishing 8th really

[Dark Munster]

20 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

No different from finishing 8th really

£6 million difference. 

[saintwbu]

Personally, I enjoyed the season under Puel. When I sit and watch old Saints highlights, the 1-0 away to Liverpool in the semi final and the final of the league cup itself are always high on my list. Arsenal away in the same cup was also one of my favourite nights as a Saints fan. Appreciate i’m in the minority, but he gave me some great memories, so I can’t complain about that. 

[Lets B Avenue]

On 05/03/2021 at 19:31, trousers said:

I know me posting this will attract the wrath of me ol' mucker Fitzhugh Fella, but has anyone worked out AlexLaw76's previous forum name yet? 

 

No. Do tell.

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, saintwbu said:

Personally, I enjoyed the season under Puel. When I sit and watch old Saints highlights, the 1-0 away to Liverpool in the semi final and the final of the league cup itself are always high on my list. Arsenal away in the same cup was also one of my favourite nights as a Saints fan. Appreciate i’m in the minority, but he gave me some great memories, so I can’t complain about that. 

Thing is, it was OK for a while, and there were undoubtedly some highlights, but after the LC Final he turned us into a turgid nightmare of a team. It was awful. First half of the season he was living on what Ronald had done for us. Disliked the way people took the piss out of him for his speaking, but in the end he had to go, we may have survived with his football, but there was no fun to be had. Still it was better than what followed.

[SaveloyMush]

1 hour ago, saintwbu said:

Personally, I enjoyed the season under Puel. When I sit and watch old Saints highlights, the 1-0 away to Liverpool in the semi final and the final of the league cup itself are always high on my list. Arsenal away in the same cup was also one of my favourite nights as a Saints fan. Appreciate i’m in the minority, but he gave me some great memories, so I can’t complain about that. 

Masochist! And I say that as someone who respected Puel for what he tried to achieve (and who went all the way to Israel for that turgid performance).

[Badger]

23 hours ago, Fan The Flames said:

Midtjylland at home was so disappointing, it was my sons second game and I was expecting a comfortable win and to create the illusion of regular great European nights to the boy. It was a frustrating flat game followed a worse away leg. Never thought Stekelenburg was good enough.

Looked "good enough" for a while after he joined Everton.

[Dusic]

12 hours ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Popularity has little to do with management ability.  Bielsa is about as lovable and communicative as a grizzly bear in a bad mood yet Leeds fans adore him. 

Bielsa uses a translator, like Pochettino did at Saints and maybe that helps as both could still get their ideas across.

Puel couldn't explain anything to supporters because he chose, or was told, to speak limited English instead. Eventually when things start going badly, that becomes a problem.

You have to be a special leader to take people on a journey when you cannot effectively communicate anything to those you are trying to influence.

Personality and communication are a massive aspect of being a PL manager.

Regardless, I don't see the value of comparisons between Ralph and Puel. Most Saints fans are happy with the job Ralph is doing and liking him probably helps with that - is there anything wrong with that? I don't see many suggesting he is some sort of genius - just recognising that he has been dealt some tough cards during his time here and there have been some big lows, but that we are better off with him rather than without.

Edited 9 March, 2021 by Dusic

[Greenridge]

He went on to do a cracking job at Leicester and more of the same at St.Etienne. Wrong end of the tables and no goals.