Ralph Hasenhuttl

[ooh it's a corner]

It is clear that things are changing back-stage.

 

The Jaidi move and the apparent demotion of Davis and Watson from first team duties (has this been officially confirmed anywhere?), means that somebody, somewhere is recognising that the current setup isn't working.

 

Whether this is Ralph, setting his stall out to deliver his vision, or someone else clearing the decks prior to sacking Ralph, who knows.

 

I do like the fact that change is in motion though.

 

Whether it will be quick enough and make an impact remains to be seen.

[Badger]

It is clear that things are changing back-stage.

 

The Jaidi move and the apparent demotion of Davis and Watson from first team duties (has this been officially confirmed anywhere?), means that somebody, somewhere is recognising that the current setup isn't working.

 

Whether this is Ralph, setting his stall out to deliver his vision, or someone else clearing the decks prior to sacking Ralph, who knows.

 

I do like the fact that change is in motion though.

 

Whether it will be quick enough and make an impact remains to be seen.

 

First I've read of that, where does the suggestion come from ?

[ooh it's a corner]

First I've read of that, where does the suggestion come from ?

 

It was posted on here on another thread. Big club meeting last Wednesday and a reshuffle of coaching staff. But I haven't seen that formally announced anywhere, hence my question as to whether it was true or not

[Badger]

It was posted on here on another thread. Big club meeting last Wednesday and a reshuffle of coaching staff. But I haven't seen that formally announced anywhere' date=' hence my question as to whether it was true or not[/quote']

 

Thanks - I had read of the meeting and Jaidi's departure, but thought the Kelvin & Watson thing was speculation and wishful thinking.

 

Personally I'd expect a DoF announcement before the clear out but Saints management defies any logic or plan at times.

[Badger]

Duplicate ..

[davefizzy14]

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/11/10/report-steve-walsh-reunites-with-ex-everton-colleague-at-southam/

 

Interesting.

[The Odd Guy]

Interesting comments but I would like to know if the last line is actually true, I expect not but if it is can you

tell me how you know this

Thanks

 

Thanks, I don't pretend to be in the know or anything like that, it's just an observation and my own opinion which is pretty much how this forum works.

[captainchris]

This, basically:

 

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/tactical-analysis-of-southampton-under-hasenhuttl

 

A brief summary is in offence we look for quick, incisive high-risk high-reward passing and in defence we press high, recover the ball high up the field. Our ability to recover the ball in good positions mitigates the high risk of our attacking strategy.

 

Issue is we are 4 players or so short of playing it effectively:

 

We need a midfielder who can pass between the lines desperately, I think the hope was Hoj or JWP would fill that role but both have regressed massively.

 

We need a CB who can pass but also run and manage a defence, again we clearly wanted this in the summer and didn't manage to get it, we have Danso but he isn't looking up to the task. Also Bednarek looked like he could step up into that role but he has regressed a little too.

 

We need a rightback to match Bertrand in defensive quality while also being able to provide width, obviously we hoped Valery could step up but he has also massively regressed.

 

And we need a depth left back, as RH loves to rotate fullbacks, them working harder than anyone on the pitch, this is why it is surprising Targett went, although he was slow and couldn't defend super well.

 

From this, we can see how RH has a game plan, and sought the tools to implement it. And also how individual players are letting that game plan down. Credit where it is due, Danny Ings is doing well in the new system, scoring 5 goals in 10 starts, and Romeu has looked very good as a base to the midfield. I find it hard to blame Hasenhuttl for trusting players like JWP, Hoj and Valery to keep playing at a good level and them all letting him down tbh.

 

If we bring in a new manager, we will need to find a whole new system and way of playing and re-adapt the players in to that, and there is no guarantee those who are wildly underperforming compared to last season (JWP, Hoj, Valery) will do better in that one. Seems to me like the best option is to keep Ralph, hope some of those underperformers turn it around and fill the more important of those holes (RB, CB) in January with a bit of investment. We aren't adverse to spending in Jan after all, we bought our record signing Carrillo in Jan two seasons ago.

 

Obviously people love answers like "SACK THE MANAGER" because it's quick, easy, and satisfying to do. But the boring but correct move is to struggle on with Ralph, spend a little bit to scrape premier league survival, increase the squad a little bit next year, hopefully achieve survival a bit easier, and repeat. It will be a good two-three years of consistency and growth before we are looking like the top 8 challenging side of 3 years ago, people have to accept that. Slow and steady consistency is the way to go.

 

Ummmm resorting to ‘hopes’ and hopefully’s won’t solve this crisis. This the moment to be decisive.

By January this hole will be too deep to crawl out of.

Unfortunately the players are just getting worse and so is Ralph ....

Ralph is completely lost and needs saving for everyone’s sake including his own by the look of him.

[pimpin4rizeal]

For all those wanting to back Ralph, do you really want to persist with a manager whose first name on the team sheet is ward prouse.. a manager that was here for over half a season last season yet didn’t recognise or rectify the defence in the summer, what makes you think he will in the next window?

A manager who it seems really struggles to see obvious things like McCarthy being better then Gunn and dropping players who are a rare creative light like boufal.

 

The line ups are bizarre, there’s no signs of improvement or him rectifying the problems or even seeing what is wrong, I keep hearing people blaming it on how poor our players so nothing he can do.. but he was quick enough to freeze out the likes of gabbi and lemina, so in my opinion this is his team and he also finalised the deals for Danso etc

No more excuses

[captainchris]

For all those wanting to back Ralph, do you really want to persist with a manager whose first name on the team sheet is ward prouse.. a manager that was here for over half a season last season yet didn’t recognise or rectify the defence in the summer, what makes you think he will in the next window?

A manager who it seems really struggles to see obvious things like McCarthy being better then Gunn and dropping players who are a rare creative light like boufal.

 

The line ups are bizarre, there’s no signs of improvement or him rectifying the problems or even seeing what is wrong, I keep hearing people blaming it on how poor our players so nothing he can do.. but he was quick enough to freeze out the likes of gabbi and lemina, so in my opinion this is his team and he also finalised the deals for Danso etc

No more excuses

 

A lot of truth in this ....

[Batman]

has Ralph improved any players? really?

[Suhari]

has Ralph improved any players? really?

 

Have any of our managers after Koeman improved any of our useless players?

[LaptopSaint]

I just want Ralph to commit to playing Bouf and Djenepo out wide for the next three games. Ten days to practice it, nothing to lose really away at Arsenal (who have a crap defence), and then Watford and Norwich at home. We'd better not play three at the back at home for those two...

[Batman]

God knows what our best side is, which is partly his fault.

 

McCarthy

 

Cedric

Bednarek/Stephens

Vestergaard

Bertrand

 

Rom

Hoj

Armstrong

 

Boufal

Djenepo

 

Ings

 

god knows...anyway, does it matter?

[pimpin4rizeal]

God knows what our best side is, which is partly his fault.

 

McCarthy

 

Cedric

Bednarek/Stephens

Vestergaard

Bertrand

 

Rom

Hoj

Armstrong

 

Boufal

Djenepo

 

Ings

 

god knows...anyway, does it matter?

 

I like that side a lot .. but I think deep down we know there is pretty much zero chance of Ralph dropping prouse and redmond..

[Sheaf Saint]

has Ralph improved any players? really?

 

Yes, at least he did last season. Remember he even got JWP into a run of form that got him an England call up. Redmond too - didn't win POTS for his early season form did he. Even Hojbjerg looked good for a bit after Ralph had made his mark on the team.

 

I am at a loss though to understand why those players have regressed so badly this season.

 

Is it Ralph? Is it the coaches/fitness? Is there something deeper going on behind the scenes that is having a negative influence in the dressing room?

 

Given everything that has transpired at the club in recent times, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

[sadoldgit]

Ralph looks like he has lost faith in his ability to get through to the players. It doesn’t look good.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

Edited 10 November, 2019 by Fitzhugh Fella

[bangkoksaint]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation id highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

 

Absolutely this. I just keep asking, how have we managed to get ourselves into such a mess again? We learned nothing from the last time and we may well do a Sunderland.

[Baird of the land]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

 

100% agree.

[beatlesaint]

For all those wanting to back Ralph, do you really want to persist with a manager whose first name on the team sheet is ward prouse.. a manager that was here for over half a season last season yet didn’t recognise or rectify the defence in the summer, what makes you think he will in the next window?

A manager who it seems really struggles to see obvious things like McCarthy being better then Gunn and dropping players who are a rare creative light like boufal.

 

The line ups are bizarre, there’s no signs of improvement or him rectifying the problems or even seeing what is wrong, I keep hearing people blaming it on how poor our players so nothing he can do.. but he was quick enough to freeze out the likes of gabbi and lemina, so in my opinion this is his team and he also finalised the deals for Danso etc

No more excuses

 

I cant argue with any of this unfortunately

[Wade Garrett]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

 

Trouble is, we do this, it works and we find ourselves back in the Premier League and we still have the same parasites in charge.

 

It is a romantic proposition, but we really need to get rid of Kat and Gao to really move on.

[DT]

I think Hoj owes it to all of us to say what's going on, and to hell with the consequences

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Badger]

I think Hoj owes it to all of us to say what's going on, and to hell with the consequences

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Where did his "concussion" come from yesterday to rule him out ?

[Lighthouse]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

 

It all sounds nice but really it's just a bunch of football cliche's and easy answers which we're either doing already or just aren't feasible.

 

Accept relegation - In what way? Forfeit every game for the rest of the season?

Plan for the Championship - I'd be amazed if that hasn't been a contingency since the day we got promoted.

Get rid of who we can - Already done that. Nobody will want to cancel a big, juicy contract; most of them are out on loan.

Bring in experienced pros, with leadership - Easier said than done. We have no money for anyone good enough with those qualities.

Hungry, local youth - We've done that with JWP and like it or not he's the best we've got from around here.

Too many clipboards - I don't know what this actually means specifically. Sports science is a vital part of any squad.

We are just a commodity to generate income - So is everyone in the PL. Some owners are just better/richer than others. The owners of Liverpool and City didn't buy them because they love the cities.

Find an owner who knows the area - I think Rupert Lowe did that pretty well and look how all of that turned out.

[Dusic]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

In the real world:

 

Saints go down, can't shift the crap, overpaid players on long contracts, so can't really bring in anyone and end up playing a mixture of young Academy players and the overpaid, unmotivated crap who got relegated and whom nobody wants to buy.

 

Gao doesn't invest anything so the club rapidly lose money and have a disinterested, unmotivated squad and a disillusioned fanbase.

 

Saints drop into L1.

[pimpin4rizeal]

I mean personally what I think we really need from a manager right now is someone who can identify the problems within our squad and do something about it in the transfer market I mean even a blind man could see what a mess our defense was last season Ralph should of been screaming to the board to try and improve here, yet all we get is Danso who now Ralph seems to have little faith in. This is pretty crazy really.. I’m pretty sure someone like koeman would have recognised this and done something about it.

 

The other thing we need is someone who is again recognising the strengths and weaknesses in our squad and trying to find solutions with some kind of system that suits the players we have. For someone who is supposed to be so obsessed with video analysis as Ralph is you couldn’t tell from watching us play, half the time I’m not even sure what the game plan is supposed to be and can’t think of many times we have been left thinking how tactically brilliant Ralph has been in a certain game

[doddisalegend]

Trouble is, we do this, it works and we find ourselves back in the Premier League and we still have the same parasites in charge.

 

It is a romantic proposition, but we really need to get rid of Kat and Gao to really move on.

Pretty much we are are just going around in circles as a club now.

 

We buy crap players to add to the crap players we already have, start the season badly, fire the manager, get another manager survive by the skin of our teeth and then rinse and repeat. What's the ****ing point?

 

 

 

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[Kingsland Red]

I'll probably get shot down in flames by the "don't rock the boat" crowd but I stuck this on my Facebook page earlier today. Bear in mind I wrote this having just witnessed the three worst halves of football ever in the last fortnight.

 

Well what to do now? We are a mess, a shambles tactically, no confidence, no direction no leadership. Yes the players are to blame, yes the "Buy to Sell" driven Board appear useless (even after Reed has gone) and yes Gao's ownership is universally and quite rightly condemned. But he and the Board are going nowhere (unfortunately), we can't shift the dross players, so the axe must inevitably fall on the manager whose record is now worse than Hughes's. We should accept relegation is highly probable and plan for the future. Get in Adkins (that will at least lift the moral of the fanbase and he knows the Championship well). Then get rid of who we can, player-wise and bring in one or two experienced pros who can display leadership.Then fill up the remaining places with hungry youth, some local, some plucked from the lower leagues. Shake up our whole recruitment dept. Streamline it, we have far too many clipboards walking around the place. Get some people in behind the scenes who know about football and, even better, know about Southampton. No one up there has a clue about Southampton FC as a football club - we are just a commodity or a means to generate income and profit for the owner. It's frightening how unconnected it is at St Mary's when it comes to knowledge about the history and traditions of the club. We don't ask for an instant return to the PL - we need to completely restructure from top to bottom and, hopefully without the Premier League money, Gao will bail out and maybe we can find some genuine ownership who actually care about the football club. At the very least we need our pride and self respect back. We need to regroup under a manager who is respected by the players (that is not the case with the present incumbent - they all think him arrogant). Saints fans do not over demand or over expect, most are reasonable and accept the days with competing with with the Citys and Liverpools are long over. The playing field has never been so uneven. But the million dollar question now is who up there in the Britannia Rd district is brave enough to pick this awkward chalice?

 

Totally agree, Duncan.

Saints fans need some faith restored. We need to enjoy going to a football match with some chance of winning. Since Koeman left, matchdays have become a duty, almost a chore ( obviously excluding the two visits to Wembley in the cups).

I believe Adkins is still based in Compton and is obviously available. Win or lose we always had optimism with Our Nige.

[ally_uk]

Shoot me down I'd take Adkins or big Sam right now least they could set the team up properly.....

[ringwood]

whats Erwin Koeman upto these days? if we think Rohl was the brains , surely Erwin must be worth a shout ,

[derry]

whats Erwin Koeman upto these days? if we think Rohl was the brains , surely Erwin must be worth a shout ,

 

Ronald's right hand man with Holland.

[OVER THE HILL]

It all sounds nice but really it's just a bunch of football cliche's and easy answers which we're either doing already or just aren't feasible.

 

Accept relegation - In what way? Forfeit every game for the rest of the season?

Plan for the Championship - I'd be amazed if that hasn't been a contingency since the day we got promoted.

Get rid of who we can - Already done that. Nobody will want to cancel a big, juicy contract; most of them are out on loan.

Bring in experienced pros, with leadership - Easier said than done. We have no money for anyone good enough with those qualities.

Hungry, local youth - We've done that with JWP and like it or not he's the best we've got from around here.

Too many clipboards - I don't know what this actually means specifically. Sports science is a vital part of any squad.

We are just a commodity to generate income - So is everyone in the PL. Some owners are just better/richer than others. The owners of Liverpool and City didn't buy them because they love the cities.

Find an owner who knows the area - I think Rupert Lowe did that pretty well and look how all of that turned out.

 

Agree completely with this.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

It all sounds nice but really it's just a bunch of football cliche's and easy answers which we're either doing already or just aren't feasible.

 

Accept relegation - In what way? Forfeit every game for the rest of the season?

Plan for the Championship - I'd be amazed if that hasn't been a contingency since the day we got promoted.

Get rid of who we can - Already done that. Nobody will want to cancel a big, juicy contract; most of them are out on loan.

Bring in experienced pros, with leadership - Easier said than done. We have no money for anyone good enough with those qualities.

Hungry, local youth - We've done that with JWP and like it or not he's the best we've got from around here.

Too many clipboards - I don't know what this actually means specifically. Sports science is a vital part of any squad.

We are just a commodity to generate income - So is everyone in the PL. Some owners are just better/richer than others. The owners of Liverpool and City didn't buy them because they love the cities.

Find an owner who knows the area - I think Rupert Lowe did that pretty well and look how all of that turned out.

 

Ok fair comment. You have shot my suggestions down in flames without putting forward how you would navigate us out of this mess. It’s easy to criticise but I am all ears as to what you would do if you were in charge?

[CB Fry]

It all sounds nice but really it's just a bunch of football cliche's and easy answers which we're either doing already or just aren't feasible.

 

Accept relegation - In what way? Forfeit every game for the rest of the season?

Plan for the Championship - I'd be amazed if that hasn't been a contingency since the day we got promoted.

Get rid of who we can - Already done that. Nobody will want to cancel a big, juicy contract; most of them are out on loan.

Bring in experienced pros, with leadership - Easier said than done. We have no money for anyone good enough with those qualities.

Hungry, local youth - We've done that with JWP and like it or not he's the best we've got from around here.

Too many clipboards - I don't know what this actually means specifically. Sports science is a vital part of any squad.

We are just a commodity to generate income - So is everyone in the PL. Some owners are just better/richer than others. The owners of Liverpool and City didn't buy them because they love the cities.

Find an owner who knows the area - I think Rupert Lowe did that pretty well and look how all of that turned out.

I also think we need a manager that shows loads of passion, and players that want to play for the shirt and that we always play attractive exciting football. I mean, is that too much to ask etc.

[egg]

It all sounds nice but really it's just a bunch of football cliche's and easy answers which we're either doing already or just aren't feasible.

 

Accept relegation - In what way? Forfeit every game for the rest of the season?

Plan for the Championship - I'd be amazed if that hasn't been a contingency since the day we got promoted.

Get rid of who we can - Already done that. Nobody will want to cancel a big, juicy contract; most of them are out on loan.

Bring in experienced pros, with leadership - Easier said than done. We have no money for anyone good enough with those qualities.

Hungry, local youth - We've done that with JWP and like it or not he's the best we've got from around here.

Too many clipboards - I don't know what this actually means specifically. Sports science is a vital part of any squad.

We are just a commodity to generate income - So is everyone in the PL. Some owners are just better/richer than others. The owners of Liverpool and City didn't buy them because they love the cities.

Find an owner who knows the area - I think Rupert Lowe did that pretty well and look how all of that turned out.

Spot on.

[Lighthouse]

Ok fair comment. You have shot my suggestions down in flames without putting forward how you would navigate us out of this mess. It’s easy to criticise but I am all ears as to what you would do if you were in charge?

 

That depends on who you mean by me.

 

Me the average fan - Nothing I can do. It's a simple choice of pay your money and watch or don't. Personally, I choose not to at the moment as attending is such an utterly joyless waste of money. Neither choice will have any bearing on how the club is run as even a drop in attendance of a few of thousand is like a pea in a Vindaloo compared to the TV money.

 

Me if I was the manager - There are things we can do differently to Ralph but none of them will make us all that better. At 2pm every Saturday I look at the line-up and think 'Christ that's terrible'. Then I think for a second and there really isn't that much I'd change with what's available.

 

Me the DoF - I don't think there's much we can do short term and I wouldn't panic buy in January, wasting what money we might have in summer. The coaching team needs changing. Kelvin and Jaidi are the obvious scapegoats but it feels too much like jobs for the boys. We need to take our time and find the right people, even if it takes us until summer to find them. I don't care if they grew up in St Denys or St Petersburg, it's not relevant. Marcus, Adkins, Pelle, Tadic, Koeman (plural) ... all had no connection to the city and gave us some of our best years ever.

 

As for the players, there is no way out of that. We're stuck with them until such time that their contracts expire or they get an equal or better offer elsewhere. 'Having a clear out', 'clear the deadwood', 'trimming down the squad' etc. are just football forum buzzwords. The best we can do is try and loan them out so that someone else can temporarily pay a percentage of their wages. Summer will largely depend on who has relegation clauses in their contract and who is willing to take a pay cut to pay abroad because they don't want to play tier two football.

 

Me if I was Gao - Well, I can't invest if I haven't got a pot to p*ss in. The PL really shouldn't have sanctioned the takeover in the first place but I guess that horse has long bolted. I can either sell and probably make a significant loss but then maybe the money I do make will be away from China and free from state interference. Or I can hang on to the club, having to put what money I do have in to balance the books, or borrowing and running up debt, in the hope that I will again have a PL asset in a couple of years.

 

In short, there is neither a good nor fast way out of this, things are going to get worse before they get better. My post wasn't meant as a personal attack but your friends post is too much of a romantic fantasy about football. PL football is purely business now, like it or not.

Edited 10 November, 2019 by Lighthouse

[Webby]

I recall after we sacked puel didn’t we offer the job to someone but they declined because we wouldn’t let them bring in their own gk coach as we had Watson? Was it pellegrini?

 

Point being, jobs for the boys. Most managers have their own trusted assistants. Blocking that is cutting your nose off to spite your face. And how well is Watson really doing?

[Dark Munster]

In the real world:

 

Saints go down, can't shift the crap, overpaid players on long contracts, so can't really bring in anyone and end up playing a mixture of young Academy players and the overpaid, unmotivated crap who got relegated and whom nobody wants to buy.

 

Gao doesn't invest anything so the club rapidly lose money and have a disinterested, unmotivated squad and a disillusioned fanbase.

 

Saints drop into L1.

Exactly, although you missed the administration and minus 12 points that goes with it. Hopefully when that happens Gao doesn't do a Lowe and wait until after the cutoff date, making it carry over to the next season in L1/L2.

[doddisalegend]

I recall after we sacked puel didn’t we offer the job to someone but they declined because we wouldn’t let them bring in their own gk coach as we had Watson? Was it pellegrini?

 

Point being, jobs for the boys. Most managers have their own trusted assistants. Blocking that is cutting your nose off to spite your face. And how well is Watson really doing?

 

I believe it was Thomas Tuchel (the guy now managing PSG) and I don't think he turned us down because we wouldn't let him bring his own GK coach.

[doddisalegend]

Exactly, although you missed the administration and minus 12 points that goes with it. Hopefully when that happens Gao doesn't do a Lowe and wait until after the cutoff date, making it carry over to the next season in L1/L2.

 

Probably the only way we will get shot of Gao..

[way down south]

unless ralph says he's had enough and quits, we aren't about to sack him. for one thing, we can't afford to pay him off, then pay another to take charge as well. and for another, it wouldn't be the logical thing to do as despite his mind boggling decisions with lineups and subs, he's still the best manager we could hope for in our situation. and plus the players' inadequacy is more to blame for our circumstances than his tactical blunders, so whats more likely to happen is that we persist with ralph, we gather however little points we can until january and HOPEFULLY the board gathers whatever funds they can and give it to him to rectify as many problem positions as he can, namely RB, LB, CM and i don't think we'll sign an 8th cb so i guess we struggle on with the current lot. 40 - 50 mil would be needed, god knows where that kind of dosh will come from.

[egg]

That depends on who you mean by me.

 

Me the average fan - Nothing I can do. It's a simple choice of pay your money and watch or don't. Personally, I choose not to at the moment as attending is such an utterly joyless waste of money. Neither choice will have any bearing on how the club is run as even a drop in attendance of a few of thousand is like a pea in a Vindaloo compared to the TV money.

 

Me if I was the manager - There are things we can do differently to Ralph but none of them will make us all that better. At 2pm every Saturday I look at the line-up and think 'Christ that's terrible'. Then I think for a second and there really isn't that much I'd change with what's available.

 

Me the DoF - I don't think there's much we can do short term and I wouldn't panic buy in January, wasting what money we might have in summer. The coaching team needs changing. Kelvin and Jaidi are the obvious scapegoats but it feels too much like jobs for the boys. We need to take our time and find the right people, even if it takes us until summer to find them. I don't care if they grew up in St Denys or St Petersburg, it's not relevant. Marcus, Adkins, Pelle, Tadic, Koeman (plural) ... all had no connection to the city and gave us some of our best years ever.

 

As for the players, there is no way out of that. We're stuck with them until such time that their contracts expire or they get an equal or better offer elsewhere. 'Having a clear out', 'clear the deadwood', 'trimming down the squad' etc. are just football forum buzzwords. The best we can do is try and loan them out so that someone else can temporarily pay a percentage of their wages. Summer will largely depend on who has relegation clauses in their contract and who is willing to take a pay cut to pay abroad because they don't want to play tier two football.

 

Me if I was Gao - Well, I can't invest if I haven't got a pot to p*ss in. The PL really shouldn't have sanctioned the takeover in the first place but I guess that horse has long bolted. I can either sell and probably make a significant loss but then maybe the money I do make will be away from China and free from state interference. Or I can hang on to the club, having to put what money I do have in to balance the books, or borrowing and running up debt, in the hope that I will again have a PL asset in a couple of years.

 

In short, there is neither a good nor fast way out of this, things are going to get worse before they get better. My post wasn't meant as a personal attack but your friends post is too much of a romantic fantasy about football. PL football is purely business now, like it or not.

This. A much needed dose of reality.

[doddisalegend]

That depends on who you mean by me.

 

Me the average fan - Nothing I can do. It's a simple choice of pay your money and watch or don't. Personally, I choose not to at the moment as attending is such an utterly joyless waste of money. Neither choice will have any bearing on how the club is run as even a drop in attendance of a few of thousand is like a pea in a Vindaloo compared to the TV money.

 

Me if I was the manager - There are things we can do differently to Ralph but none of them will make us all that better. At 2pm every Saturday I look at the line-up and think 'Christ that's terrible'. Then I think for a second and there really isn't that much I'd change with what's available.

 

Me the DoF - I don't think there's much we can do short term and I wouldn't panic buy in January, wasting what money we might have in summer. The coaching team needs changing. Kelvin and Jaidi are the obvious scapegoats but it feels too much like jobs for the boys. We need to take our time and find the right people, even if it takes us until summer to find them. I don't care if they grew up in St Denys or St Petersburg, it's not relevant. Marcus, Adkins, Pelle, Tadic, Koeman (plural) ... all had no connection to the city and gave us some of our best years ever.

 

As for the players, there is no way out of that. We're stuck with them until such time that their contracts expire or they get an equal or better offer elsewhere. 'Having a clear out', 'clear the deadwood', 'trimming down the squad' etc. are just football forum buzzwords. The best we can do is try and loan them out so that someone else can temporarily pay a percentage of their wages. Summer will largely depend on who has relegation clauses in their contract and who is willing to take a pay cut to pay abroad because they don't want to play tier two football.

 

Me if I was Gao - Well, I can't invest if I haven't got a pot to p*ss in. The PL really shouldn't have sanctioned the takeover in the first place but I guess that horse has long bolted. I can either sell and probably make a significant loss but then maybe the money I do make will be away from China and free from state interference. Or I can hang on to the club, having to put what money I do have in to balance the books, or borrowing and running up debt, in the hope that I will again have a PL asset in a couple of years.

 

In short, there is neither a good nor fast way out of this, things are going to get worse before they get better. My post wasn't meant as a personal attack but your friends post is too much of a romantic fantasy about football. PL football is purely business now, like it or not.

 

Pretty much. We haven't got where we are, right now, as a club just through one issue it's been a cumulation of issues since the season we finished 6th slowly building into the almighty cluster **** we are now.

 

There isn't an easy fix for this. Sacking the manger or buying a new CB are the equivalent of taking a few paracetamol to treat your served leg. It might give you some brief pain relief but it isn't going to save your life.

 

It's going to take a lot of time, and money, and requires the club to be owned and run by people who have some sort of idea of what the **** they are doing.

 

 

 

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

Edited 11 November, 2019 by doddisalegend

[derry]

Personally, despite being a season ticket holder, I was fed up with the way we were playing and have been playing since Koeman left, After the Bournemouth game I took a break. I missed Leicester and Everton but watched both games live. Watching on TV gives less of a wide view but with replays gives a better view of what just happened.

 

When Ralph came he sounded like another Pochettino. That might be the case however we haven't seen any evidence yet. He can however sort this present squad out. It's slow buildup and it's obsession with possession leads all the way back to Puel he needs to sort that immediately. How, immediately leave out JWP because he is obsessed with possession, Saturday 35 passes 86% completion, No shots from play, NO TACKLES FFS, Poor corners, slow and no forward runs, I rest my case there. Play Valery and Bertrand with two center backs with Stephens as a holding midfielder with a brief to pass forward quickly. Armstrong maybe Hojbjerg (I'm really tempted by the hardworking Ings and make him Captain) in midfield then three from Ings, Djenepo, Redmond, Boufal, Adams, Long, Obefemi.

 

Why would I be tempted by Ings in midfield. He works his socks off, isn't the quickest up front but has a nose for goals and makes good runs and perceptive passes. He can tackle. Ideal for running in behind and breaking the defensive line from midfield. Armstrong likewise. Hoijbjerg runs and chases but his passing is woeful,

 

Again if Ings and Armstrong were breaking out of midfield with Adams up front and two of Djenepo, Boufal and Redmond it would give us pace and the ability to press the opposition.

 

The instruction has to be always pass the ball forward, or hit the corners for the forwards to chase it down if nothing obvious, play a high tempo and cut out the comfort zone passing. Lose the ball swarm to get it back. In a word fundamentally change the way we play and put in the players that buy into it.

 

It isn't beyond the wit of man to get it done, doing nothing isn't an option. Anybody who thinks it is needs to go.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

That depends on who you mean by me.

 

Me the average fan - Nothing I can do. It's a simple choice of pay your money and watch or don't. Personally, I choose not to at the moment as attending is such an utterly joyless waste of money. Neither choice will have any bearing on how the club is run as even a drop in attendance of a few of thousand is like a pea in a Vindaloo compared to the TV money.

 

Me if I was the manager - There are things we can do differently to Ralph but none of them will make us all that better. At 2pm every Saturday I look at the line-up and think 'Christ that's terrible'. Then I think for a second and there really isn't that much I'd change with what's available.

 

Me the DoF - I don't think there's much we can do short term and I wouldn't panic buy in January, wasting what money we might have in summer. The coaching team needs changing. Kelvin and Jaidi are the obvious scapegoats but it feels too much like jobs for the boys. We need to take our time and find the right people, even if it takes us until summer to find them. I don't care if they grew up in St Denys or St Petersburg, it's not relevant. Marcus, Adkins, Pelle, Tadic, Koeman (plural) ... all had no connection to the city and gave us some of our best years ever.

 

As for the players, there is no way out of that. We're stuck with them until such time that their contracts expire or they get an equal or better offer elsewhere. 'Having a clear out', 'clear the deadwood', 'trimming down the squad' etc. are just football forum buzzwords. The best we can do is try and loan them out so that someone else can temporarily pay a percentage of their wages. Summer will largely depend on who has relegation clauses in their contract and who is willing to take a pay cut to pay abroad because they don't want to play tier two football.

 

Me if I was Gao - Well, I can't invest if I haven't got a pot to p*ss in. The PL really shouldn't have sanctioned the takeover in the first place but I guess that horse has long bolted. I can either sell and probably make a significant loss but then maybe the money I do make will be away from China and free from state interference. Or I can hang on to the club, having to put what money I do have in to balance the books, or borrowing and running up debt, in the hope that I will again have a PL asset in a couple of years.

 

In short, there is neither a good nor fast way out of this, things are going to get worse before they get better. My post wasn't meant as a personal attack but your friends post is too much of a romantic fantasy about football. PL football is purely business now, like it or not.

 

Christ if things are going to get worse we are in for a helluva ****e 2020. Just think we need to get back to basics and somehow try and start again.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Personally, despite being a season ticket holder, I was fed up with the way we were playing and have been playing since Koeman left, After the Bournemouth game I took a break. I missed Leicester and Everton but watched both games live. Watching on TV gives less of a wide view but with replays gives a better view of what just happened.

 

When Ralph came he sounded like another Pochettino. That might be the case however we haven't seen any evidence yet. He can however sort this present squad out. It's slow buildup and it's obsession with possession leads all the way back to Puel he needs to sort that immediately. How, immediately leave out JWP because he is obsessed with possession, Saturday 35 passes 86% completion, No shots from play, NO TACKLES FFS, Poor corners, slow and no forward runs, I rest my case there. Play Valery and Bertrand with two center backs with Stephens as a holding midfielder with a brief to pass forward quickly. Armstrong maybe Hojbjerg (I'm really tempted by the hardworking Ings and make him Captain) in midfield then three from Ings, Djenepo, Redmond, Boufal, Adams, Long, Obefemi.

 

Why would I be tempted by Ings in midfield. He works his socks off, isn't the quickest up front but has a nose for goals and makes good runs and perceptive passes. He can tackle. Ideal for running in behind and breaking the defensive line from midfield. Armstrong likewise. Hoijbjerg runs and chases but his passing is woeful,

 

Again if Ings and Armstrong were breaking out of midfield with Adams up front and two of Djenepo, Boufal and Redmond it would give us pace and the ability to press the opposition.

 

The instruction has to be always pass the ball forward, or hit the corners for the forwards to chase it down if nothing obvious, play a high tempo and cut out the comfort zone passing. Lose the ball swarm to get it back. In a word fundamentally change the way we play and put in the players that buy into it.

 

It isn't beyond the wit of man to get it done, doing nothing isn't an option. Anybody who thinks it is needs to go.

 

But Hassenhutl needs to have a word with himself and accept his methods aren't working. Not sure he has the humility to do that.

[Lighthouse]

Christ if things are going to get worse we are in for a helluva ****e 2020. Just think we need to get back to basics and somehow try and start again.

 

It depends how you define worse. I doubt we'll be losing 1-5 at home every week in the Championship, like we are now but I'd imagine we'd be solidly in the bottom half. I wouldn't get your hopes up about signing anyone particularly exciting either.

 

Again with the buzzwords though. What does 'back to basics mean'? Play 4-4-2, with Big Sam in charge? What are you actually, specifically suggesting we should do, which is both feasible and affordable.

[thorpie the sinner]

Personally, despite being a season ticket holder, I was fed up with the way we were playing and have been playing since Koeman left, After the Bournemouth game I took a break. I missed Leicester and Everton but watched both games live. Watching on TV gives less of a wide view but with replays gives a better view of what just happened.

 

When Ralph came he sounded like another Pochettino. That might be the case however we haven't seen any evidence yet. He can however sort this present squad out. It's slow buildup and it's obsession with possession leads all the way back to Puel he needs to sort that immediately. How, immediately leave out JWP because he is obsessed with possession, Saturday 35 passes 86% completion, No shots from play, NO TACKLES FFS, Poor corners, slow and no forward runs, I rest my case there. Play Valery and Bertrand with two center backs with Stephens as a holding midfielder with a brief to pass forward quickly. Armstrong maybe Hojbjerg (I'm really tempted by the hardworking Ings and make him Captain) in midfield then three from Ings, Djenepo, Redmond, Boufal, Adams, Long, Obefemi.

 

Why would I be tempted by Ings in midfield. He works his socks off, isn't the quickest up front but has a nose for goals and makes good runs and perceptive passes. He can tackle. Ideal for running in behind and breaking the defensive line from midfield. Armstrong likewise. Hoijbjerg runs and chases but his passing is woeful,

 

Again if Ings and Armstrong were breaking out of midfield with Adams up front and two of Djenepo, Boufal and Redmond it would give us pace and the ability to press the opposition.

 

The instruction has to be always pass the ball forward, or hit the corners for the forwards to chase it down if nothing obvious, play a high tempo and cut out the comfort zone passing. Lose the ball swarm to get it back. In a word fundamentally change the way we play and put in the players that buy into it.

 

It isn't beyond the wit of man to get it done, doing nothing isn't an option. Anybody who thinks it is needs to go.

 

Have to agree with all of that

[OldNick]

But Hassenhutl needs to have a word with himself and accept his methods aren't working. Not sure he has the humility to do that.

Duncan, to be fair I cant recall a manager you have been supportive of.

I feel you went off Ralph bigtime as he sold your friend SG and so you turn on him.

Ralph is a big disappointment, but look what he has to work with!! Give a chef a tin of corned beef and see what he can make against a rival chef who has the finest cuts of beef.

We as fans have been let down by many people, Les Reed , Ross Wilson, Katrina and Gao. Ralph came and took a big risk by joining us and I think it must have dawned on him after the Cardiff game last season how little he has to work with.

I like Derrys idea of Ings in the midfield as at least he makes cutting passes,the rest of our midfield couldn't cut a sandwich.

I would ask you to be more supportive of the manager as Adam Leitch put it so well on the Total saints podcast, we cant keep binning the manager. Listen to it and Im sure as a reasonable man you will see the sense