Ralph Hasenhuttl

[Noodles34]

2 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

cheers Ralph

[Lord Duckhunter]

45 minutes ago, stevy777_x said:

One thing I would add is that the whole club is structured around Ralph s philosophy so unless we are relegated, he will stay in the job as we have invested in him long term. He knows this and the club knows this.

Plus he was dealt a very bad hand when we pretty much went from semi capable back up full backs to no back up full backs in january.

Will be nice to get Ings and walcott back after the international break.

It is certainly no time to panic or to change manager.

The Ralph cult want it both ways. The whole club is structured around  him, according to articles his hand prints are on everything, including how all sides connected to the club play. Yet when it comes to shit decisions he’s “dealt a very bad hand”. Here’s a thought. Ralph having previously stated he wanted a small squad,  was perfectly happy with the 2 back up  full backs going out on loan. That he thought he could get his “smaller squad”, to  cover players he didn’t really rate.
 

The alternative is the powers that be decided it, and Ralph was too weak to stop them. Both scenarios don’t show him in a good light. 

Edited 15 March, 2021 by Lord Duckhunter

[stevy777_x]

6 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

The Ralph cult want it both ways. The whole club is structured around  him, according to articles his hand prints are on everything, including how all sides connected to the club play. Yet when it comes to shit decisions he’s “dealt a very bad hand”. Here’s a thought. Ralph having previously stated he wanted a small squad,  was perfectly happy with the 2 back up  full backs going out on loan. That he thought he could get his “smaller squad”, to  cover players he didn’t really rate.
 

The alternative is the powers that be decided it, and Ralph was too weak to stop them. Both scenarios don’t show him in a good light. 

Does that warrant him to be sacked?

Ultimately  he is not alone in taking transfer decisions that s been hugely documented.

Would he have done it differently had he known our injury list in advance? Probably but we don t have a crystal ball.

And he has said time and time again that he is not immune to making mistakes so i m sure he ll learn from it.

Plus I can understand trimming down the squad when you had shit players like Hoedt Carillo, Austin etc...

Like it or not he is still in a confortable position and we ll only get rid if we are relegated or if new owners want their own man.

[Chapel End]

3 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

That's a good balanced read mate, thanks and well done

[austsaint]

4 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

That's probably the best 11th post anyone has contributed.   Where have you been all these seasons gone?

[egg]

4 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

That’s a well thought out post, but it overlooks that when the opposition make tactical changes, Ralph hasn’t/doesn’t/cannot. That’s not the fault of the club.

[Turkish]

4 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

Good post Martin. Welcome to the forum.

[austsaint]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

That’s a well thought out post, but it overlooks that when the opposition make tactical changes, Ralph hasn’t/doesn’t/cannot. That’s not the fault of the club.

That has been the most glaring weakness with Ralph's management.  Responding to or initiating tactical changes - and the timing and best use of substitutions.   Fair to say even Sparky Hughes did that bit better!

[egg]

Just now, austsaint said:

That has been the most glaring weakness with Ralph's management.  Responding to or initiating tactical changes - and the timing and best use of substitutions.   Fair to say even Sparky Hughes did that bit better!

Yep. In every game the commentators talk about the many points we’ve lost from winning positions. The main reason for that is that the opposition make changes and turn the game around. Ralph just sits down and throws Djenepo/Redmond on, followed by AN Other, and then N’Lundulu in the 85th minute.

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Yep. In every game the commentators talk about the many points we’ve lost from winning positions. The main reason for that is that the opposition make changes and turn the game around. Ralph just sits down and throws Djenepo/Redmond on, followed by AN Other, and then N’Lundulu in the 85th minute.

Found his on Sunday comments a bit odd that we got worse after the subs were made, there been the case for most of the season

[Hayling Saint]

5 hours ago, Rivers said:

Long read alert! Only bother if your mind is still open.

I understand the emotion at play in this thread. Really, I do. It is no fun to watch the club you love thrill you with the temporary illusion of a potentially truly memorable campaign at the top end of the table, chasing those elusive European places, only to see it all fall apart like thawing ice. Until a few months ago, Ralph's star was in the ascendency, we were "lucky to have him", and worried he would soon be poached away by the bigger clubs, enviously eyeing up the delectable football we were serving up.

Following a football club, and particularly loving one like ours the way we do, it is understandably an emotional experience. A rollercoaster ride of changing fortunes, as our hopes and dreams are put through the wringer. In Ralph we thought we'd found our knight in shining armour, who'd valiantly come to whisk us off our feet in a fairytale footballing romance; only to be left heartbroken to discover that he may not have been all that he first appeared to be.

But try to take the emotion out of the equation for a moment. 

Ralph is the first to admit that he is far from the finished article. There have been at least two occasions in some form of dealings with the press, where he has himself stated that he is here to learn as much as he hopes to teach, that he's not perfect, and knows he will make many mistakes. He also said that he was happy about this, as without making mistakes, he will learn nothing, and has a firm desire to grow and improve as a coach.

I'm not the sort to spend ages looking up facts and quotes to "prove I am right" - as it is really not that important to me. I just remember words to that effect being spoken by him. I also understand that in light of our current dismal form, you have every right to question Ralph and his levels of performance as our manager. I'm not here to change your mind, or argue with anyone, simply to speak up for someone I have a lot of time and respect for. I come here to mainly read all your thoughts on the fortunes of our wonderful football club, and every now and then I feel like adding my own. I have no need to be seen as "right", I simply sometimes like to offer an alternative perspective for you to consider. You're perfectly free to consider me an idiot, and I'm equally free not to care if you do.  

Ralph's style of play, as we well know, is necessarily a very energetic one. He demands extreme levels of work rate, and by association, equally extreme levels of fitness to facilitate it. We (as a Club) were fully aware of what we were buying into when we brought him in, and it is up to us as a Club to give him the tools he needs to work with, to implement this style that we brought him in to instill. The last three managers after Pochetino all signed on to deliver this same philosophy,  and none came close to anything like achieving it. Ralph most definitely has.

But now he is struggling. Not because he has suddenly become a shit manager, he has already more than shown us what he is capable of with a fit and fully comitted squad, but because of the abysmal set of curcumstances he is currently having to operate under. 

Yes, he makes mistakes. Yes, he is again also the first to admit that he is very stubborn. He has a way of playing he is utterly dedicated to perfecting, and he would probably even be willing to die trying, such is his comittment to it. But it is also not fair to say he is unadaptable.  You only have to think back as far as our very creditable performance in our recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, to see that he is capable of mixing up the game plan where he feels it necessary. Also think back to the way he had us playing a while after his initial arrival. We were happy to not have the ball, aiming to win it back high, and loved slinging it down the channels to pressure the ball. We rarely wanted long spells of posession. This current (some might say excruciating) development of overplaying with the ball  initially came about in response to other sides finding ways to nullify our early style, and is in itself evidence of Ralph's ability to utilise more than one game plan. He actually has three or four strings to his bow in that regard. 

But the main point I wanted to make, was simply a reminder of how good we have been under Ralph before, when he has the time he needs to implement his methods. He is very much a training ground coach, often speaking of his need for quality time at Staplewood to prepare in depth for the nuances of each opponent, and firmly drill his players in the "automatisms" necessary to play the way he demands.

We've had no pre-season to get the proper levels of fitness up to standard, a ridiculously condensed season with relentless runs of fixtures, leading to insane bouts of extended injuries to key players, and back ups that are simply not up to the standards we require to perform competently at this level. There is hardly any time to train at the intensity Ralph needs, and hardly any recovery time between games to rest tired minds and bodies. Sure it is the same for everyone,  but not everyone plays with our necessary intensity that we need to compete against often vastly superior squads at this level. With the state of the squad we have, most of it simply not good enough,  and those that are, physically and mentally burnt out - Ralph is  pretty much working with his hands tied behind his back. All he is trying to do right now, is enough to get them over the line.

Yes, you are absolutely right, results have been utterly shite for about a third of the season, for some very obvious reasons, but for the previous third, were very impressive indeed. 

Ralph may not be "the messiah" - but neither is he a "very naughty boy'.  He is a very good coach and manager, currently operating under extremely difficult conditions, where it is not possible to get anything like the best out of what he has. But even this shall pass.

Fortunately, despite the current outcry for his head, I'm quietly confident that he has enough credit at the Club to make it through the rest of the season intact. And after a sorely needed summer rest for everyone at the club (including us!) a proper pre-season, and an opportunity to fill some glaringly obvious holes in the squad, I firmly believe that many who are now slating him and wishing him gone, will be very glad that those who pull the strings behind the scenes, had the requisite longsightedness to keep faith with the man who is determined to bring us a very bright future. 

 Thanks, if you bothered to read through all that. No worries if you didn't. Just felt it needed to be said.

 

Great post and totally agree with all of that?

[egg]

11 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Found his on Sunday comments a bit odd that we got worse after the subs were made, there been the case for most of the season

It’s not just the subs for me, but the lack of tactical changes. Yesterday he pushed Bertrand up to give width, with Minanmino coming inside. Brighton made a change to peg him back. Ralph did nothing. Premier league managers to be able to roll with the punches. Potter showed himself to be much more astute yesterday.

[Rivers]

Thanks for the comments.

 

18 hours ago, austsaint said:

That's probably the best 11th post anyone has contributed.   Where have you been all these seasons gone?

I  was "one of the good posters who don't post anymore and you can see why". 

Been around since the old S4E days, and posted in every incarnation since. Just got tired of wading through so much of the dross posted on most forums to find anything worth reading, and took a break for a few years. Been reading again for a while, and felt like replying to one of the topics recently,  when I realised it had been so long since I last logged in that I couldn"t even remember my username, let alone password. So had to start again from scratch. 

 

18 hours ago, egg said:

That’s a well thought out post, but it overlooks that when the opposition make tactical changes, Ralph hasn’t/doesn’t/cannot. That’s not the fault of the club.

It's a fair comment egg. I have wondered the same sometimes. But then, when you think about it, it's great if you can turn to your bench looking to change a game, and see Sergio Aguero, KDB, Mahrez etc sat there. Gives you some genuine options. When all you have is Nathan Redmond, Ralph probably takes one look, and thinks "what's the fucking point, I might as well throw on a traffic cone!"

 

18 hours ago, Turkish said:

Good post Martin. Welcome to the forum.

Dammit Les, you told me that you wouldn't blow my cover if I didn't blow yours! Some friend.

[Far que]

Lose against Bournemouth it’s time RALPH

[egg]

13 hours ago, Rivers said:

It's a fair comment egg. I have wondered the same sometimes. But then, when you think about it, it's great if you can turn to your bench looking to change a game, and see Sergio Aguero, KDB, Mahrez etc sat there. Gives you some genuine options. When all you have is Nathan Redmond, Ralph probably takes one look, and thinks "what's the fucking point, I might as well throw on a traffic cone!"

Different point. My issue is tactics. Potter didn't have a City type bench on Saturday but he made a change at half time to peg Bertrand back and get a grip on the middle of the park. Ralph did nothing tactically to change it.

There was not much between the squads on Sunday, but a tactical gulf between the managers. 

[East Kent Saint]

I seem to remember when Poch and Koeman were in charge during a losing run they were said to have no plan B as well !

[Charlie Wayman]

3 minutes ago, East Kent Saint said:

I seem to remember when Poch and Koeman were in charge during a losing run they were said to have no plan B as well !

I don't remember anybody saying that, when was that?

[Saint Garrett]

3 minutes ago, East Kent Saint said:

I seem to remember when Poch and Koeman were in charge during a losing run they were said to have no plan B as well !

I'm yet to see a manager not criticised for not having a plan B, City fans say the same about Guardiola, Spurs fans said the same about Pochettino etc...

It's just one of the standard things football fans say.

[Smirking_Saint]

7 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

I'm yet to see a manager not criticised for not having a plan B, City fans say the same about Guardiola, Spurs fans said the same about Pochettino etc...

It's just one of the standard things football fans say.

I don't have a huge problem with the fact that his has no plan B

Most tactical set ups these days, and this is very much the case for us, have to be coached so as that the players act automatically to certain situations and this is something that our 'press' is set up to do. Our tactical rigidity has always been both the cause of our success and failure at times (Previously I found this very much to be the reason that we were effective away but not at home)

The issue I have with Ralph right now is how stubborn he is with this rigidity. Going back to my previous point, where the fans were scapegoated into being the 'issue' for our home form, the actual reasoning was our insistence to attempt to play our open gagenpress even against opposition that decided that set up to play defensive, obstructive football and counter on the wings.... still we persisted with our gameplan.

He also, is quite poor at his in game management, often applying substitutions and tactical tweaks either too late or not at all, unfortunately we don't have the reinforcements that say Ole does at Utd, that can change games despite Ole's lack of tactical nous. We need a manager able to effectively think on his feet when required, and Ralph, unfortunately does not.

Our lack of reinforcements, especially through our injury ravaged period, is of course not solely Ralphs fault, one can obviously question the decisions to send out certain players on loan. Another issue I have is again.... his tactical rigidity despite the fact that the players he had available were just not up to the task of carrying out his gameplan (and unfortunately, a gameplan such as ours needs players with the correct tactical and technical ability) he isn't the only manager of this failing of course, Klopp again is another that has failed to adequately adapt his tactics to the playing staff available.

Do I think we should part ways with Ralph ? Not at all, I think from a coaching perspective he is as good a coach as we have had since Poch, but I think it is right that he is questioned and it is only right that he takes the bulk of responsibility for a season that has faltered.

Perhaps we need to bring in an assistant able to think better on his feet, and bounce ideas to Ralph when required, Im still not convinced about what are extended managerial staff actually bring to the table.

We do lack leaders, and probably have done since Fonte/VVD, this is something that I've been banging on about on twitter for months. Plenty of posts on here about the issue so I don't have to embellish further, but to be frank, a lack of characters on the pitch doesn't help our mental fragility.

Reinforcements, yes, Ralph is working with an arm tied behind his back, I get that, a lot of the issues we have encountered have been out of his control, however, I still think he needs to accept the bulk of the responsibility for; Yet another 9-0 loss, a disastrous collapse in form, players abject and unmotivated performances

In conclusion, his tenure has been a rollercoaster of high highs and low lows, but he is going to need to find a level of consistency if he is going to be here for the long term, part of that is on Ralph, and part will be down to reinforcement. I don't agree with us parting ways yet, partly because I'm not sure who we will be able to attract that has the ability to do a better job in the long term. But I do think he deserves the bulk of the critique going his way.

Sorry for the long winded waffle guys



 

[pimpin4rizeal]

Something changed this season. Last season we did not do this patient ball recycling so much..

i remember reading a article on how he had tweaked our play to now do this earlier in on the season when it was working well with jannik playing nice passes out of defence.

this is imo our biggest problem atm keep the ball pass back recycle it create jack shit,, only Armstrong looks like he wants to try drive forward with the ball or has the intelligence to create..

why is Ralph persisting with this stupid patient football especially when we are behind, last kick of the game the other day a Redmond pass back says it all.. if it isn’t working for 15-20 games why keep doing it.. try be more direct or something surely?

i thought the rh plan was to win the ball and transition fast on the break we are seeing none of that anymore!

[captainchris]

30 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Something changed this season. Last season we did not do this patient ball recycling so much..

i remember reading a article on how he had tweaked our play to now do this earlier in on the season when it was working well with jannik playing nice passes out of defence.

this is imo our biggest problem atm keep the ball pass back recycle it create jack shit,, only Armstrong looks like he wants to try drive forward with the ball or has the intelligence to create..

why is Ralph persisting with this stupid patient football especially when we are behind, last kick of the game the other day a Redmond pass back says it all.. if it isn’t working for 15-20 games why keep doing it.. try be more direct or something surely?

i thought the rh plan was to win the ball and transition fast on the break we are seeing none of that anymore!

100% At last someone else has recognised there has been a change in style/tactics.

Ralph even said himself our method was to

play the ball forward early when we were getting results and now it is not our ‘method’ any more? Odd....

We often have too many players either hiding or playing too advanced for playing out from the back with not enough options. 
Either way the ball has to go forwards more often and far quicker as it was....

No I don’t mean long ball either !!!!! 
Though it has its place at times for any team. 
Ralph actually has admitted to changing the tactic to more ball retention and I expect the stats bear that out and certainly we often had games with a very low possession percentage when we were winning particularly last season ...

Ralph does seem so stubborn about his various philosophies which come and go and is often guilty of changing things that work, or, is he slow picking up on how matches progress and what is not working? 
 

Edited 17 March, 2021 by captainchris

[pimpin4rizeal]

1 hour ago, captainchris said:

100% At last someone else has recognised there has been a change in style/tactics.

Ralph even said himself our method was to

play the ball forward early when we were getting results and now it is not our ‘method’ any more? Odd....

We often have too many players either hiding or playing too advanced for playing out from the back with not enough options. 
Either way the ball has to go forwards more often and far quicker as it was....

No I don’t mean long ball either !!!!! 
Though it has its place at times for any team. 
Ralph actually has admitted to changing the tactic to more ball retention and I expect the stats bear that out and certainly we often had games with a very low possession percentage when we were winning particularly last season ...

Ralph does seem so stubborn about his various philosophies which come and go and is often guilty of changing things that work, or, is he slow picking up on how matches progress and what is not working? 
 

Absolutely.. this ball recycling slow patient approach is driving me absolutely mad when we are behind., it’s clear to a blind man it’s not working we are not creating anything through the patient play it hasn’t worked all season so why are we still doing it..

Everyone keeps making excuses for Ralph and it’s not him, he’s amazing but the players are not good enough etc.

but Ralph has to take responsibility for this slow ball recycling play we are doing that isn’t working. If for example Redmond kept doing this and Ralph didn’t like it he would be told not to keep doing it or dropped. And it’s not just him it’s a tactic used by the majority of the team. 

This is completely on Ralph not the standard of the players you get them doing what you want them to do..

if your tactics are not working when behind with pass back round the defence try be direct, take long shots,1-2s, long balls anything.. would just be nice to see he’s actually recognising when something’s not working.

[Mr X]

Interesting our great owner remains silent, content for us to slide to possible relegation as no money to either invest or pay anyone off, kat made a big mistake selling to Somone with so much borrowed money 

[nta786]

4 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

I'm yet to see a manager not criticised for not having a plan B, City fans say the same about Guardiola, Spurs fans said the same about Pochettino etc...

It's just one of the standard things football fans say.

Agreed - this quote below I found quite interesting:

“This talk of a plan B, I don’t understand what people mean. What they mean is, put a big guy up front, that’s a typical British… it’s not happening. It’s not the style of play. The style of play scores us a record goal last Tuesday night (after 55 passes).

“I feel strongly about this. It’s a myth that that’s the problem; it’s not. The style of play gets us to the box three times more than the opposition, double the amount of touches in the opposition box. It (a plan B) just gets thrown at us all the time.

“Ultimately, I believe fundamentally in how the game should be played. We won eight in 11 playing the same way, and then no one throws anything at you about the style of play. And then all of a sudden it’s, ‘You need a plan B’. No. No. We need to get better at what we do. We need to solve more problems being us, with the identity we want to have as a football club.

“Otherwise, you’re just completely outcome-based and every single result changes how you feel about players, changes how you feel about the club, changes how you feel about the process. And I’m not going to do that, because my job is to be consistent with what we’re doing, because fundamentally I believe in it and I believe in the players.”

That was Russell Martin, the MK Dons manager last week.

Edited 17 March, 2021 by nta786

[East Kent Saint]

24 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Interesting our great owner remains silent, content for us to slide to possible relegation as no money to either invest or pay anyone off, kat made a big mistake selling to Somone with so much borrowed money 

I thought he was prevented from using money by Xi who decided that Chinese business couldn’t export money to buy football clubs etc after all . GAO then had to borrow money outside of China to finance the deal .

[East Kent Saint]

44 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Absolutely.. this ball recycling slow patient approach is driving me absolutely mad when we are behind., it’s clear to a blind man it’s not working we are not creating anything through the patient play it hasn’t worked all season so why are we still doing it..

Everyone keeps making excuses for Ralph and it’s not him, he’s amazing but the players are not good enough etc.

but Ralph has to take responsibility for this slow ball recycling play we are doing that isn’t working. If for example Redmond kept doing this and Ralph didn’t like it he would be told not to keep doing it or dropped. And it’s not just him it’s a tactic used by the majority of the team. 

This is completely on Ralph not the standard of the players you get them doing what you want them to do..

if your tactics are not working when behind with pass back round the defence try be direct, take long shots,1-2s, long balls anything.. would just be nice to see he’s actually recognising when something’s not working.

I thought he said the 2nd half plan wasn’t executed by the players ! In fact Brighton prevented our plan imho !

[Lord Duckhunter]

I’m not particularly worried about his plan B. It’s his plan A I’m worried about 

[Doctoroncall]

1 hour ago, nta786 said:

Agreed - this quote below I found quite interesting:

“This talk of a plan B, I don’t understand what people mean. What they mean is, put a big guy up front, that’s a typical British… it’s not happening. It’s not the style of play. The style of play scores us a record goal last Tuesday night (after 55 passes).

“I feel strongly about this. It’s a myth that that’s the problem; it’s not. The style of play gets us to the box three times more than the opposition, double the amount of touches in the opposition box. It (a plan B) just gets thrown at us all the time.

“Ultimately, I believe fundamentally in how the game should be played. We won eight in 11 playing the same way, and then no one throws anything at you about the style of play. And then all of a sudden it’s, ‘You need a plan B’. No. No. We need to get better at what we do. We need to solve more problems being us, with the identity we want to have as a football club.

“Otherwise, you’re just completely outcome-based and every single result changes how you feel about players, changes how you feel about the club, changes how you feel about the process. And I’m not going to do that, because my job is to be consistent with what we’re doing, because fundamentally I believe in it and I believe in the players.”

That was Russell Martin, the MK Dons manager last week.

It's one thing having a style of play which is drilled in to the players pre-season onwards, but when it is countered by a team not willing to play the game so that Saints can play to their strengths, there is no point doing the same thing and expecting something different!  It may not be plan B, but the need to expand the original style of play to include variations of play is required.  Defensive teams are not going to chase the ball back when Saints recycle the ball, they stick to their plan (of two or three defensive lines).

[SaveloyMush]

1 hour ago, nta786 said:

“Otherwise, you’re just completely outcome-based..."

Outcome-based = winning a fucking football match! That quote is almost Pellegrino-esque in its fuckwittery.

Well, der...

[Mr X]

4 hours ago, East Kent Saint said:

I thought he was prevented from using money by Xi who decided that Chinese business couldn’t export money to buy football clubs etc after all . GAO then had to borrow money outside of China to finance the deal .

I believe you are right, either way Gao was never our millionaire saviour, I would much rather ML (rip) who at least had a heart for the club and good intentions within our means.  Gao bought us purely as a portfolio asset nothing more 

Edited 17 March, 2021 by Mr X

[East Kent Saint]

Agreed !

[Rivers]

Sorry egg, ran out of posts til now.

Yes, I only saw your post directly above my last one to you after I'd replied. I understand your issue is a tactical one.

Although you say that when Potter made changes to peg Bertrand back, that Ralph did nothing. But that's not what I saw myself. Of course, I could be wrong (it happens from time to time ), but it looked to me that when he brought Minamino off, Tella very briefly switched to the left with Redmond moving up top (at least as far up as he ever gets) until Djenepo came on shortly after, and that change was used to switch to a back three, with Bertrand occupying the left sided roll of the 3. Djenepo then operating as a wing back, and KWP being pushed much further on, on the other side.

Granted, it did absolutely fuck all to change our fortunes, but it was at least an attempt to respond to Ryan being "pegged back." Albeit essentially conceding that space, but looking to use the right side more instead. Indeed, in my eyes as well I am sure as yours, that change was about twenty minutes overdue (and ultimately ineffective), but it was still a tactical change nevertheless.

That switch did indeed lead to us getting the ball into the spaces between the lines, but whereas earlier in the season we could open teams up that way with some success, this time everything we tried in that regard was simply breaking down off of Redmond's complete inability to play football. Earlier in the season with Ingsy and Theo in those front rolls, the attacking play was fluid. We would use the possession to draw teams out as intended, pass and move, get runners in behind, and turn teams around.

Partly through the extreme physical and mental fatigue and shot confidence of the squad, and partly due to the current dross available though, it is simply not working. I'm sure Ralph is as infuriated as we are that the current crop of stand ins aren't up to the task, and he often looks utterly exasperated on the sidelines that the automatisms he's drilled them in have broken down. But at the end of the day, he cannot polish turds, or cure jadedness without the option of giving substantial periods of rest, and there is simply nothing else left in the squad of sufficient quality to replace them with.

Anyway, long enough post already. I do agree with you that Ralph certainly seems to have his limitations in these areas at present though. I just feel that his positives far outweigh the negatives, and until we can get some proper time on the training ground to work on these things as he's so recently said he needs, he cannot start trying to improve upon them.

I do believe that given time though,  he'll get it right.

 

[Give it to Ron]

I am baffled why so many want Howe, he failed miserably at Burnley.

At  Bournemouth he spent shed loads of the Russians money and got them relegated after some awful signings.

If he is a great coach can someone explain why their defence was abysmal ? You think he can address our failings when he couldn’t at Bournemouth? Why?

As we all know we don’t have a pot to piss in  unless we borrow more and sell more players to pay off Ralph but then again we are stuck with Watson, Davis etc none seem able to help tactics.

Our only hope of survival is Ings who has been rubbish having a rush of goals and Theo staying fit enough taking them on rather than every attack around the box ending up with Bednarek and Fraser passing between them.

[Cartman]

Isn't it an odd coincidence that both our and Liverpool's form have fallen off a cliff at the same time? Boxing day to be exact, we drew with Fulham (we got 1 point from the previous 2 games before but they were Arsenal away and Man City) and Liverpool drew with West Brom after beating Palace 7-0 in the previous game. We have both been diabolical ever since.

[Graffito]

Read this. I see parallels with Saints. He thinks they’ve got problems? Try doing it with our squad. https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/europe-news/have-jurgen-klopps-gegenpresse-tactics-broken-liverpool-7828452

[Smirking_Saint]

1 hour ago, Graffito said:

Read this. I see parallels with Saints. He thinks they’ve got problems? Try doing it with our squad. https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/europe-news/have-jurgen-klopps-gegenpresse-tactics-broken-liverpool-7828452

I think its quite lazily written to be honest, that Gagenpress of which we use a derivative of is effectively a press triggered and carried out mainly in the last third of the pitch, and both us and Liverpool use a long ball (or used to) from the defence into a 'weak' area of the opposition in order to trap them

What I am saying is that overall the biggest taxation to the squad would be in the attacking quartet and midfielders, but their injuries don't really follow that trend. In fact, the overall majority of Liverpools injuries have been contact related. Of course, you could argue that playing this way with injury prone players such as Ings and Walcott has accelerated their time off the pitch, and one 'could' argue this is exaggerated by the schedules and the fact that we are unable to use a lot of our rehab facilities due to covid restrictions, but ultimately moving away from this philosophy isn't easy for a coach such as Ralph or Klopp

That being said, I do still carry an issue with the overall footballing decisions to release the players we did out on loan when it was evident that this season will be incredibly taxing for us, both because of the way we play and because of the compressed schedule.

I'm still not convinced the overall injuries are systemic of tactics though, and us and Liverpool are not isolated cases. Crystal Palace for instance have one of the longest injury lists and they play in with a much more compact and mechanical game-plan, so realistically the injury crisis' we see across the whole of the Premier league is largely due to the strain of attempting to play the number of games we have had to in such a small space of time

It's only going to get worse, not only do we have a compact schedule this year, but we are squeezing in a Euros at the end of it, and then 2022 has a world cup effectively early season as well

[Whitey Grandad]

That decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar in November/December is getting to look more ridiculous all the time.

[Toussaint]

3 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

That decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar in November/December is getting to look more ridiculous all the time.

pls explain?

[Whitey Grandad]

4 hours ago, Toussaint said:

pls explain?

It was in response to Smirk’s post

”It's only going to get worse, not only do we have a compact schedule this year, but we are squeezing in a Euros at the end of it, and then 2022 has a world cup effectively early season as well”

This year will see the Euros in June/July and then next year the World Cup in Qatar starting in November. That must mean an early start to the 2022/2023 season and we don’t even know yet what will happen this autumn.

It’s the disruption to the normal pattern that I was thinking about.

[nta786]

 

From the Athletic yesterday - thought it was somewhat interesting. I am presuming this shows that 81% of people would be happy with Ralph next season?

I think that seems about right, what surprised me initially though was how far bottom of the table we are but then when you look closely I'd say it probably is fair - only Arsenal and Brighton were I'd have anticipated to have lower percentages but the rest make sense.

If this survey was in December though I have no doubt Ralph would have been around the 95%+ region.

Other metrics below: 

[Badger]

Surprised as many as 59% think we're well run.

[Toadhall Saint]

53 minutes ago, Badger said:

Surprised as many as 59% think we're well run.

I think we are in the last couple of years all things considered, be nice to have more to spend every now and again but hey ho that’s a whole other debate.

[JustinSFC]

I'm just about done with him.

This is a full strength team against fucking Burnley at home.

[SKD]

Just now, JustinSFC said:

I'm just about done with him.

This is a full strength team against fucking Burnley at home.

Absolutely battered by them as well. Not even a smash and grab. 

[SKD]

[S-Clarke]

25 minutes ago, SKD said:

Absolutely battered by them as well. Not even a smash and grab. 

Define battered?

[Mr X]

Wow not our day! How close 

[Toadhall Saint]

Some hilarious comments by the normal suspects

[TWar]

Showed character to turn it around after two mistakes. Clever substitution to bring on Salisu who won a few important headers. Significantly better side and are now safe. Wonder how long this will shut up the "Ralph out" mugs for. Give it maybe a couple of hours.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, JustinSFC said:

I'm just about done with him.

This is a full strength team against fucking Burnley at home.

 

1 hour ago, SKD said:

Absolutely battered by them as well. Not even a smash and grab. 

 

1 hour ago, SKD said:

Perhaps try waiting until a game has finished before posting in this thread! 🙄