If we are into the blame game then the manager always takes a lot of the fan's ire. The fact that Ralph is being cut a bit of slack by a lot of the support is that we recognise the problems and constrictions he is working with, where we were before he took on the job and that we have seen how his team can perform when most things are equal. That is not to say that he doesn't make mistakes and I'm not always happy with his experimentations especially in defence but he has earned a bit of credit for the very good form that we showed throughout 2020 which was one of the best calendar years in the club's history. On a personal level, I haven't been as entertained by a team as much since the days of Poch and Ron and they had a much deeper well to draw from and I would hate to return to the boring and uninspired football that we experienced after they left.
I'm not sure that this forum is a good barometer for the opinions of the wider Saints supporting community? I feel like the tides may be shifting and while there is still support for Ralph, we may now be becoming the minority. I'm getting the feeling that last night was one too many poor performances, collapses and losses for many. I just had a heated debate with my parents who both want Ralph gone now. It's difficult to judge where the wider community stands on Ralph now. I imagine if we ran a poll on here the vast majority would still be in support of Ralph, but elsewhere I'm not so sure.
Again ask them, bearing in mind we are skint. The only possible name I can think of is Howe....and I think he is waiting for someone bigger than us.
Yeah they know we are skint, and said we probably won't sack him because we just put him on a new deal. They were hoping he would resign after last nights loss. They're not going to give me a list of potential names that they would like to see and I doubt many would. It's more the focus on Ralph out which is probably a growing movement. I'm just interested how common that sort of feeling is now. This forum gives the impression that it's probably 85/15 in support of Ralph. But I think the wider Saints supporting community might be much closer to 50/50 at this stage.
Ah the good old days. There was some quality piss taking back then. If I remember rightly mainly against Huddersfield fans
I am firmly in the give Ralph a chance group......bad luck with injuries,Var, recruitment ,**** refs and just **** out of luck. He has earnt his chance to redeem himself IMO.
Great banter with the Hudders lot back then. Remember them turning up en masse after a 0-0 draw with Oldham ended our slim play off hopes and us returning the favour when they lost to Millwall in the semi. It was BBC so threads were getting pulled left right and centre that night
The problem is, the only other public barometer is social media, and the people on FB and Twitter are clueless. There’s a good article on The Athletic today about the rationale of playing Redmond up top currently, and why most people on social media are berks (in a subtle way).
Also, on social media you often see more negative opinions because people are more likely be pissed off and use it to vent, rather than suddenly feel as if they need to shout their support for Ralph.
Not sure a Hurlock, Case or Dennis would get alot of game time any more as they would banned most of the season!!!!
Certainly wouldn’t be allowed to tackle that’s for sure, but I think you know what I mean. You imagine someone like Stuart Pearce in that team against Leeds, do you think that 2nd goal would have happened,me I don’t think so. The players to me just seem so accepting of it all.
I can't say I've picked up 50/50 amongst my local mates, more the former 85/15. There's always a few who'll never accept whatever manager is appointed. Our problem is not the manager, it is the ridiculously fragile mindset of a group of players who, at present, seem to crack without warning, yet as we saw v Liverpool, vChelsea, they can cut it. Second half collapses ought to be creating a serious sense of questioning amongst themselves, Ralph with all his presence, passion etc on the touchline cannot play the game. The players need to change their mindset quickly,!
There are always managers available and a majority would jump at a premier league team, even with little or no money. Managers at the moment like Jardim, Garcia, AVB, Howe, even Valverde. You’d then get the ones like Viera, Henry, and who knows but then have Rangnick, Allegri (dreaming now, I know). I think Gerrard is ready for a job like Southampton, but would leave after 2 seasons to take over at Liverpool. Me, I’d stick with Ralph for now. But the club cannot but probably have to a certain degree, made him almost un sackable. I still have the belief that we’ll have new owners in for next season and then he will be given better tools than he has now. That’s when he should truly be judged.
Evening all. Seems only a few months back that Ralph was being touted as the next Chelsea manager and you might lose him that way. Now I've no idea what goes on down in Southampton but the view from up here in Leeds is that that you've been playing some decent stuff since that dreadful result last season. Watched you against Everton (h) earlier this season and you absolutely played them off the park and the ref should have stopped it as they'd completely thrown the towel in. Seems you were doing well but injuries have played their part and led to a downturn in results...you just need to tough it out as the performances are still acceptable, as proven last night when you were the better team first half. Good luck for the rest of the season and hopefully it's another good match when we come down to yours