You make an excellent point re the defensive qualities of his reign so far. I actually feel that if this defending mess could be improved even by half, our league position would be unquestionably better.
The reason we are so bad at defending is because we are so bad at attacking. Our only outlet going forwards is the full backs so they have to bomb on and leave us massively exposed at the back. If some of the 2 behind Ings and Adams/Redmond could actually do anything of note then maybe the full backs wouldn’t be basically playing as wingers. We also miss Romeu hugely from a defensive point of view as he covers the full backs well when they go forward
Half the forum were saying this with Mark Hughes. I don't want him gone, but the average fan doesn't have the insight to managers across the continent the club does, so think that question is a bit silly really.
Why is it "unforgivable"? I don't get that. We dropped a grand total of three points because of those defeats. As @Ian Thumwood rightly said, it's wrong to judge Ralph over what has been a bonkers season and a half, due to the way things are at the moment. We've had one year of overperforming spectacularly, and so far this year we've underperformed (I don't think spectacularly, but yes, we've certainly underperformed). As I said to Lincoln, I think this squad of 'decent premier league players' are probably around the 14/15th best squad in the league (though I might put Newcastle as a better one). That's where we are right now. And that's where we'll be next season without investment. Tops. So yes, Ralph isn't perfect, and (despite 2020) he's not a miracle worker either. What he is, and has proven over his managerial career, is that he's a very good coach. What this squad are, and have proven over the past few years, is that they're really not terribly good. If we invested over the summer into players that Ralph wanted, and we were still in this position, well I'd be surprised, and we'd be right to wonder if he's the right man. I think it's way too early, and with completely the wrong parameters, to do so now.
Really hard to get overly worked up about this. I think the mentality drummed into the players during Puel, Pellegrino and Hughes is still there and is one of fear. Also, everything we do is soooo predictable. That includes , sad to say, JWP free kicks and corners. What is missing is a touch of genius and for the life of me I cannot see where that will come from.
Stick or twist? Well we were dealt a four with the current squad and then we turned over a king with Ralph, but that puts us on fourteen. The dealer is sitting on an ace and looking down the line all the sixes and sevens are sitting out on the table. It looks bad. I mean we might get lucky and pick up a five, but right now I think it is best not to throw any more money at this hand. New owner and a fresh deal is all I am after.
Best manager we have had in years, why the hell would anyone want him gone? yeah it’s a bad patch, but every single player has improved under him
Ralph uses his LB/RB as wingers in his system. It's not because of those in front of them, it's just how he likes to use his players.
Stick. The players love playing for him and seem to be able to follow his instructions. It's their flexibility during games that worries me. You can hear him shouting instructions but I think they are less effective than the pre match brief. The trouble is we have, in the main, average players with average intelligence. We said before Ralph came in the squad was simply not good enough. I think maybe we got carried away when Ralph actually managed to get them playing football but that only last so long without decent signings. He's made good signings so far - Diallo, Djenepo, Salisu and Adams - but all with one eye on the future. It's still largely the same team of average players with limited ability to change during the game. This summers transfer window is critical.
Oh ok so now if we want a manager to be sacked etc then we are to advise of a suitable replacement. Sorry but i don't have access to the fabled Black Box or an indepth knowledge of which managers be them foreign or domestic & what their availability is. Even if i did mention a few names, you would no doubt shout me down as none of them would be better than the Godlike Ralph.
You really think that those 2 9-0 defeats were only 3 points dropped? We were a laughing stock & rightly so. What level of defeat do you think we need before it no longer becomes "just 3 points lost"? 10-0?, 12-0?
Agreed. There are possibly a number of options out there, who I and many others have never heard of before. I prefer to make the call purely on my view/feelings of Ralph. And the answer to that is I'm still completely fine with him. No part of me wants him gone. Puel infuriated me. The guy who replaced Puel (I can't even be bothered to say his name) managed to even trump that, so incompetent was he. But Ralph, he comes nowhere near that. It's not Ralph, it's the players. Maybe this summer will finally be different, but with Gao in charge I very much doubt that. (And I bet you, if this summer goes as I presume it will, there will still be some Saints fans who will say that they're confident for a good season, 2020-21 is now behind us, and if we can keep so and so fit etc etc. The usual stuff that comes out after every summer, after we've once again failed miserably in the window.)
Nobody is saying that it's okay to lose 9-0. Of course it was embarrassing. They were awful performances. But ultimately, it was only three points lost. But why focus on those two outlier results, and not being the 5th best team over the course of a whole year. Of course this year so far has been poor. We all know that. But the obsession over two results is weird.
I think that this is an intelligent post with some points being well made. Despite that, I disagree with a lot of the content. The two 9-0 defeats were shocking but i feel that Ralph was only really culpable for the first one. It is really difficult to judge any team on the basis of this season. I would concede that we have been terrible in 2021 and am shocked that what seemed like genuine progress since "Project Restart" was squandered. There have been too many "non-performances" since the Fulham away game and the fact that a number of players had Covid will have manifested itself in how Ralph could have prepared the team for the game. All told, I am sure that if you went through the results of all the teams throughout the four top tiers of English football, there would be a high proportion which were "unlikely" at best and wildly against expectations. Who would have thought that Sheffield Utd would have been so woeful this season or that Liverpool would be so off the pace in their title challenge. I do not see that it is possible to make any judgement this season because Covid has effectively made the unexpected normal, I could be criticised in taking this stance as Man City look likely to reclaim the title in their usual, imperious form yet they started the season really poorly. Did anyone genuinely anticipate them losing to Chelsea on Saturday? It is strange to read some of the negative comments on here about Ralph when as recently as December people were genuinely worried he would be poached by a larger club. Everyone was purring about our style of football and how Ralph had managed to coax the quality within JWP which had eluded previous coaches. I also agree that Romeu has been a massive miss over the last few months. Ralph's better performances have been quite stunning and I genuinely feel that he knows what he is doing. It is a high intensity style of play yet I wonder just how many of the players are able to understand what is required of them. When it comes to criticism, it is always our defence which seems problematic. This is one area which does concern me. However, Salisu has been injured for most of 20/21 when, had he been fit and ready, I think he would have made more of a contribution. Bednarek seems to have gone off the boil and I think Vestergaard is probably going through a purple patch at the moment. I would like to see the defence tightened up and think that the problems which stem from the departure of players like VVD and Fonte have not been properly addressed. The criticism regarding letting Valery go out on loan is justified as I think we missed him after the transfer window and he would have been a far better option than the solutions we ended up with. I will probably be opening myself for criticism in making this comment but I genuinely feel that we have not seen the full potential of Ralph. It still seems like early days with him for me. I concede that he is not in the calibre of Poch or Koeman but the club is going in the right direction. We are starting to see some younger players make an impact. At the moment, we have a manager who inherited a poor and dispirited side and players he had largely inherited. I still think that we are a handful of players short of achieving our potential but the squad is not as poor as has been made out. For twelve months he has had to inspire a team that has been bereft of support from the terraces and similarly coach them throughout the week in a fashion dictated by social distancing. I appreciate that this is the same for every manager yet I am staggered that some people on here are calling for his head. The board have never properly backed him in the transfer market and, in the circumstances, the signings that have been made genuinely look like they will be an improvement albeit the may not bear fruit until next season. I appreciate that the lows have been spectacularly bad during his tenure yet it is surprising to find any team fully motivated and not mentally drained at the end of what most be a dispiriting season for footballers playing at all levels.
Difficult position...i did vote to twist but in hindsight what will we replace him with? Our issue of course is the owner and no investment. I will be astonished if we improve our squad in the summer. I will be astonished if we start the season with Vesty and Ings still in it. Unfortunately, i will be astonished if we get more than 20 points next year (assuming we are still PL)
I want to keep Ralph but it is just as valid to say we are the worst team in 2021 as it is to say we were the fifth best in 2020. Yes there is time to improve. I hope the 2021 stat does not last. However, over four months we are not the fifth worst team but the worst one.
No Romeu, Ings out for a long while, Redmond & Armstrong had Covid, Walcott and KWP injured, , etc, etc. Forgot the number of players out injured in January but believe it was something like 13 first team players. Maybe the results need to be put in perspective of the injury list ?
I thought this was an excuse we always mocked in other clubs? You could equally argue how lucky we were with injuries in 2020. I don't think we will get a better manager, but this one needs to improve as well.
