Ralph sacked as Saints manager

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True, my apologies. I thought he played in the Bundesliga.

Must say I’m quite surprised how well the Jones appointment is going down on here.

I’m properly gutted. Letting Ralph go is such a tough one to take, I was hoping for a big appointment and a big lift for the club.

I have watched Luton a few times and not once have I ever thought that they look like a team we should be poaching the manager from. I seriously don’t get it at all.

He is just a plucky lower league manager. If we were going to go for one of those, why not go for Sean Dyche? At least he’s done it in the PL before

Who did you want though? I appreciate its not your job to know all managers and that’s the clubs area, but if people were expecting someone much better/more noteworthy than someone like Jones then I’m just interested if you have a name.

Looking at the bookie odds there isn’t anyone there that seems much more exciting to me than someone like Jones, apart from the ones we obviously would get like Poch

Jones
Dyche
Gallardo
Tedesco
Poch
Gerrard
Espirito Santo
Kompany
Knutsen
Fonseca
Henry
Benitez
Bielsa
Martinez
Pedro Martins
 
Yeah, it's gone down the swanny a bit recently. It's quite immature reporting, to be blunt. I think he can write well (as could Sheldon), but this isn't proper journalism now. I don't know if that's a directive from above, to make it more sensationalist, but it's not for me. It would also be a poor directive, because it'll drive fans away from subscription, not encourage them.

It’s funny because when I talk to my friends about rumours etc and they ask where I heard it from they are all dismissive of the Athletic where as they seemed pretty spot on when it came to Saints. Guess it just depends on the journo who is covering the team as they all said it’s usually click bait for their teams
 
Or in the case of people like Hoddle and Keane - be unable to get their message across because it all came naturally to them. Hoddle was apparently bad for this. He had more skill even after retirement than most players he managed and he couldn't understand it. And Keane just couldn't get why people weren't as into it as him.

Who are notably successful ex-players? Especially in the PL? Guardiola is one. Daglish. I am sure there are a few others.

Clough ?
 
My take, is that Nathan Jones isn't a replacement for Ralph anymore than Mara was a replacement for Ings. He's an unproven talent, unknown at this level. I cant possibly predict how we would perform with him in the role but the leadership group should if they are taking that chance. Logically we should be skeptical about his chances given what he's done to date.

I would not be surprised if he turned us down, if he's smart he will be thinking long and hard about it. If Adams, Elyonousi and Adarma had put away the chances they've spurned this season Ralph would probably be quite comfortable in his office and the team would be well in upper mid table. The challenge he faces is the same one Ralph had. Defenders who are freaked out knowing that if we concede we lose, Strikers who can't beat the keeper one on one and miss 5yd sitters, midfielders who cant find a forward pass and fail to anticipate any positive movement. Its a tough ask and he will not get much of a grace period, that's been used up and if survival is the goal the clock is well on its way to midnight. If he's taking that on he's either full of belief or happy to fail. Or both.

In Jones' favor he has a short pre-season and players on the bench who will be wanting to step up. Against him is the mentailty and mindset of this team. Would anyone in the dressing room be inspired by the appointment? I suspect not, so turning that around and getting them onboard with his tenure will be a big challenge.
 
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Who did you want though? I appreciate its not your job to know all managers and that’s the clubs area, but if people were expecting someone much better/more noteworthy than someone like Jones then I’m just interested if you have a name.

Looking at the bookie odds there isn’t anyone there that seems much more exciting to me than someone like Jones, apart from the ones we obviously would get like Poch

Jones
Dyche
Gallardo
Tedesco
Poch
Gerrard
Espirito Santo
Kompany
Knutsen
Fonseca
Henry
Benitez
Bielsa
Martinez
Pedro Martins
The likes of Knutsen and Gallardo would be just as big a gamble I’d say
 
Ralph is sacked. Isn't that the positive you've been harping for? Not having a pop but its reality check time. Vote for man eating tigers by all means but don't bleat about getting mauled.

Yeah I made the mistake of believing the constant tripe on here about how our awesome board would have "well scouted" managers lined up if we were ever unfortunate enough to sack Ralph. I assumed that meant not going to Luton Town for a manager who couldn't manage Stoke

Ridiculous eh?
 
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My take, is that Nathan Jones isn't a replacement for Ralph anymore than Mara was a replacement for Ings. He's an unproven talent, unknown at this level. I cant possibly predict how we would perform with him in the role but the leadership group should if they are taking that chance. Logically we should be skeptical about his chances given what he's done to date.

I would not be surprised if he turned us down, if he's smart he will be thinking long and hard about it. If Adams, Elyonousi and Adarma had put away the chances they've spurned this season Ralph would probably be quite comfortable in his office and the team would be well in upper mid table. The challenge he faces is the same one Ralph had. Defenders who are freaked out knowing that if we concede we lose, Strikers who can't beat the keeper one on one and miss 5yd sitters, midfielders who cant find a forward pass and fail to anticipate any positive movement. Its a tough ask and he will not get much of a grace period, that's been used up and if survival is the goal the clock is well on its way to midnight. If he's taking that on he's either full of belief or happy to fail. Or both.

In Jones' favor he has a short pre-season and players on the bench who will be wanting to step up. Against him is the mentailty and mindset of this team. Would anyone in the dressing room be inspired by the appointment? I suspect not, so turning that around and getting them onboard with his tenure will be a big challenge.

The funny thing is, Wolves went the same route trying to get Michael Beale before Lopetgui. But apparently we're mad for doing this. We may well be, and he certainly wouldn't have been my first choice, but then what the hell do I know.
 
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Yeah I made the mistake of believing the constant tripe on here about how our awesome board would have "well scouted" managers lined up if we were ever unfortunate enough to sack Ralph. I assumed that meant not going to Luton Town for a manager who couldn't manage Stoke

Ridiculous eh?
You seem to have assumed that he hasn’t been well scouted. Why would you assume this?
 
Yeah I made the mistake of believing the constant tripe on here about how our awesome board would have "well scouted" managers lined up if we were ever unfortunate enough to sack Ralph. I assumed that meant not going to Luton Town for a manager who couldn't manage Stoke

Ridiculous eh?

Why do you make the odd presumption that the board haven't scouted the range of managers? Pretty sure they have, and feel that Jones is the best fit. It's a surprise, but they haven't just made this one up out of the pot. The likes of Tedesco, Gallardo, Dyche etc would have actually been cheaper options, as there was no compensation to pay. Jones only last year signed a five year contract.

EDIT - Snap, Greg!
 
Had a goalscoring record as good as Jimmy Greaves but was unfortunately injured and had his career cruelly cut short.

Of the players who have scored over 200 goals in the English leagues, Clough has the highest goals-per-game ratio of 0.916
He only ever played 3 first division games. All the rest and his goal record came in the second division
 
Why do you make the odd presumption that the board haven't scouted the range of managers? Pretty sure they have, and feel that Jones is the best fit. It's a surprise, but they haven't just made this one up out of the pot. The likes of Tedesco, Gallardo, Dyche etc would have actually been cheaper options, as there was no compensation to pay. Jones only last year signed a five year contract.

EDIT - Snap, Greg!
But that doesn’t fit the cheap, bargain basement suggestion that is out there. To be honest it is kind of a surprise we are going for a currently employed manager
 
It’s funny because when I talk to my friends about rumours etc and they ask where I heard it from they are all dismissive of the Athletic where as they seemed pretty spot on when it came to Saints. Guess it just depends on the journo who is covering the team as they all said it’s usually click bait for their teams
First Saints reporter for The Athletic was Carl Anka, who just seems to be a very good writer, and since then their approach looks to have been to be to hire whoever covers Saints for the Daily Echo (Dan Sheldon then Jacob Tanswell). Tanswell is a Saints fan I believe so may be less objective than the other two, who weren't.
 
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I don't think it's going down well. I just don't think people are willing to dismiss it as a poor choice out of hand. Big difference.

This. It's not that it won't work, just that it's a serious risk. But if there is one thing that is becoming clear, it's that our current management has a considerable appetite for risk: they have a long-term plan and aren't afraid if we take a trip down a division along the way.

We aren't looking at Jones because we can't get a better manager. We're looking at Jones because we think he fits our plan better than the more reputable options. Whether we're right or not remains to be seen.
 
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Yeah I made the mistake of believing the constant tripe on here about how our awesome board would have "well scouted" managers lined up if we were ever unfortunate enough to sack Ralph. I assumed that meant not going to Luton Town for a manager who couldn't manage Stoke

Ridiculous eh?

Who would be your actual dream pick?

Personally, Jaissle for me. Very young and progressive for a youthful team, experienced and plays the style of football we want to see. The problem isn't identifying them though, its getting them to move to Saints. Like it or not we are now a development club for players and - it seems - managers.
 
Why do you make the odd presumption that the board haven't scouted the range of managers? Pretty sure they have, and feel that Jones is the best fit. It's a surprise, but they haven't just made this one up out of the pot. The likes of Tedesco, Gallardo, Dyche etc would have actually been cheaper options, as there was no compensation to pay. Jones only last year signed a five year contract.

EDIT - Snap, Greg!


Because there's no way the Luton Town manager is the best we could get. We're a **** PL team but still a PL team (until April anyway)

It's either we're actively planning on playing in the Championship next season or he's the only one we've managed to sell whatever "plan" the club has. Either way it shows a complete lack of ambition from the club.