I don't really know how to answer this. My biggest concern is that Ralph doesn't seem to be able to organise a consistently solid defensive unit. Instead his tactics are like an F1 engine - when everything is working and in the right place the performance is incredible, but if one part of the team isn't quite right the whole thing blows up. In contrast the likes of Allardyce, Pulis and Dyche (before anyone suggests it, no I wouldn't want to hire any of them) can organise a defence but create teams like an ancient Volvo - everything functions and, sure, the engine may rattle or misfire and you're never going to get high performance but it all basically keeps running. It's been a dreadful end to the season but having said that, last summer I thought selling Danny Ings was a huge gamble and at the start of the season I would gladly have taken 15th if it had been offered. Ralph has always been a streaky manager. I think every full season he's been here has included both a fairly long poor run of form and a fairly long great run of form, so the fact we've been awful for 10 or 12 games doesn't mean we won't start next season well. I get that a lot of his time here has been limited by the squad and our finances but after 3 and half years that excuse is wearing thin. Ralph's signings have been pretty good while Forster and Long will come off the wage bill this summer so if there's a little bit more money around now I'd be inclined to give him the summer to improve the squad. If the takeover doesn't actually make much difference on that front then I'd be more tempted to get someone else in.
Ralph - A big personality who really cares and is loyal and passionate and has had some outstanding moments at the club but is very limited in what he can offer and not very good at winning games. Earned a lot of fan loyalty with the former and a lot of ire with the latter.
I was fully Ralph in a month or so ago, but I honestly believe the players need to hear a new voice. He has taken them as far as he can.
Libby I agree, it's an excellent post. It's difficult to argue for him but something is niggling me that he can get it right and, admittedly I'm too Saintsy but I want him to start again next season. Clearly if the current form extends into next season he'll have to be moved on.
Ralph has had his hands tied financially. Sure he may have got the type of player he wants in but when you're working with a limited budget there's more chance of signings being a bust. It takes good scouting and the right circumstances to sign the right players who are good enough (Tino, KWP, Salisu). Tino had a year left on his deal so got him cheap, the KWP deal was aided by the Hojbjerg deal and Salisu had a release clause at his old club. Now we've been taken over we can buy without selling our best players. I think Armstrong was something of a panic buy after selling Ings. This summer, we can thoroughly scout our targets which should help to improve the squad.
To her fair Tom, virtually every manager will say their hands are tied financially. How do you then factor in JWP being worth £70m or whatever, Salisu being worth £40m or whatever - these numbers dont hit net spend. Ralph rarely achieved playing to the strength of the players, he tried to insist they play his way. Tino deal being cheap is irrelevant, not sure what point you are making - he is quality and even he started to fall in performance - now i get he is young, so can give Ralph a pass on that one, but there is a worrying trend players are declining under Ralph. KWP deal had nothing to do with PEH. They brough PEH for £x and we brought JWP for £x. AA wasnt a panic buy, we’d been linked with hi all summer and had to wait until Ings actually left, which again was likely known by the player and Saints all summer. Ings just didnt get a better club to come in for him and had to take Villa at the end of the window. AA was Ralphs choice, as was Adams, Moussa, new contract for Long, Walcott etc. He has failed more than he succeeded in the transfer market, limited funds or not, they are they facts. I agree we can move quickly, and think we are in a far better situation now than before, but I still dont think Ralph is the one to take us forward.
So are you saying Spurs would have sold us KWP for what they did if we hadn't agreed to sell them Hojbjerg? I don't think so. They would have demanded a fee way beyond what we could have offered. To say the 2 deals are completely irrelevant to each other is a bit naïve IMO.
The Tino decline was strange, not sure whether it was burnout, being found out more or coaching to play differently. Ultimately, if a manager is at a club where he can’t buy the players he wants due to a small budget and has to settle for less, who then are unable to play the style he wants, then that’s a sign the manager is the wrong fit for the club.
Ralph is far from fault free. That is clear to see. He waits too long to use his bench is my main criticism of him. I also think he's a stubborn bugger - which can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. BUT he cannot take the blame for everything that has gone wrong at the club. I feel for him because he puts in a hell of a lot of work into the club and it hasn't really shown lately and some of the comments I've seen from Saints fans on social media are an absolute disgrace TBH. I understand why people feel a change is necessary but comments like (this is on Twitter mainly so don't think I'm having a go at people on here): "I hate Ralph more than Puel" and "**** off Ralph" are bang out of order. The man at least deserves respect for what he's done here. I honestly think if he had an Assistant Manager to bounce ideas off things would improve straight away. I don't think we'd have had such a terrible end of the season. He certainly deserves a shot next season IMO.
But maybe his stubbornness is the main reason why he doesn’t have a good / strong, assistant manager?
I don’t see how you can say we haven’t had a terrible end to the season. 5 points in 12 games extrapolated is like 16 points over the course of a whole season, it has been abysmal. I don’t think the season overall has been as bad as some are making out though
I have said we had a terrible end. I said if we had an assistant manager I don't think we would have such a bad end.
Ralph is responsible for his coaching team probably more than specific transfer targets. That he might be stubborn or obdurate in his management of the team may also be true but hardly shows him in a positive light. He has done his best, but frankly, there is too much sitting on his doorstep which he has direct responsibility for. We need a new manager with an integrated coaching setup like every other team in the league and Ralph does not seem capable, or possibly willing, to lead such a process.
I agree with this as a whole. My concern is whether it’s now too far gone, and for our sake (and frankly, for his) we’re not better off with a change. As I’ve said, if someone like Marco Rose is a possibility, I’d rather we switched now. If not, then back Ralph and see if we can turn it around. I think right now, the former is my preference, but I won’t be too upset if it is the latter.
If we’re saying let’s give him 7 games at the start of the season then we may as well get rid now. You can’t back a manager with that caveat.
I don’t think anyone has said that. What some, including myself, have suggested is that we give him until the break for the World Cup, which starts after the weekend of 12/13 November, which would mean he has something like 12 to 15 games to turn things around. That would give the board time to assess Ralph’s interaction with the (hopefully) new squad and (hopefully) new coaching staff, before making the decision, based on current form, league position, and so on. A new manager coming in at that point would have time to integrate his own coaching team and then a few games up until the January window to see what other transfer business was required.
I am still very much in the Ralph in camp. It might have been a close thing but we avoided relegation. He has kept us up with probably the smallest budget in the Premiership. He missed out on players he wanted to sign because we could not get the money together in time and dispite the challenging circumstances the guy still wanted to be here. I admit the last couple of months were shocking but I still believe in Ralph. I do believe he needs an assistant though.
