Ralph sacked as Saints manager

Sorry, just coming back to the thread now. To answer a few questions around the odds being slashed + the source of information + what I know/don’t know.

I believe the odds fall earlier today was largely driven by a certain red-top newspaper’s sports desk chucking some money on + telling their mates to. It amounted to nothing today.

That wasn’t the supposed original source, for what it’s worth - they were just acting on what they believed was a reliable tip-off. I heard the same information, albeit via a third party.

I don’t work in football anymore either as of last month, so it wasn’t whispers on the football circuit from anyone I trust personally, I just became aware of the supposed incoming news on Ralph’s future and the fact there was some tipping going on in certain circles to get money down before the price could fall too far.

 

Doesn’t do much to help stability.

 

When have tabloids ever cared about that?

 

I may have been slightly exaggerating but let's not pretend Ralph was working with a good squad. For most of his tenure he's been working with an average to poor squad, with a few good players (JWP, KWP, Ings for example). I think a lot of people underestimate how tough the PL is. All you've got to be is off the pace by 5-10% and you've had it. If you look at each season Ralph has been in charge, he's done his job. Like it or not, the priority under the Gao ownership was simply to survive in the PL. Despite our really bad end to last season, we haven't come that close to relegation under his management. He's achieved what was required of him during the times where we couldn't invest more than we sold. Which is why I said the other night to forget what happened last season. The summer should have been a time for fans to wipe away last season and the last crumbs of the Gao era. Yes the takeover happened in December 2021, but the benefits of the takeover have only really started in the summer.

A new era under Sports Republic started at Spurs. But what happened? We lost 4-1 to a very good team and lo and behold the knives came out again. Fans can be so fickle - and I include myself in that. Only a few weeks ago we beat Chelsea and it was all smiles, 7 points after 5 games - everyone was pretty happy with that. And then 2 1-0 away losses and this forum becomes more venomous than a bloody cobra! It's a miracle I have hair left. Yes, the Villa game was awful but players and managers are human. We have a young squad. 7 points from 7 games with the amount of signings we've made - the changes we have made over the summer is not bad at all and I wish people would give this squad a chance to bond, a chance to gel. Ralph may have been here for some time, but a lot of the players haven't.

 

So kindly explain the following results we've had under Ralph:

Saints 1-0 Man City
Saints 1-0 Liverpool
Man City 0-0 Saints
Man City 1-1 Saints
Saints 1-0 Spurs
Saints 1-1 Spurs
Spurs 2-3 Saints
Saints 1-0 Arsenal
Man United 1-1 Saints
Saints 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea 0-2 Saints
Chelsea 0-0 Saints


But apparently two 9-0's completely override those results.

 

Your are misreading the point being made. It refers to others not doing “an awful lot better”. That is not the same as saying no one could do “any better”. It may seem like a nitpick but it is actually a significant difference

Could another manager have done better? Maybe. Depends on who. Some could have done a bit better, others the same, others worse. But it is outlandish to think we would have been comfortably 10-11th ever season (let alone challenging for European places) with the investment being what it was

And yes - even with Guardiola. The man has managed Barca with a golden generation, Bayern and Man City with close to infinite resources. There is absolutely no evidence he could manage a struggling team on limited resources to do substantially better than Ralph or any other manager of a struggling team. For avoidance of doubt - I think he probably would have done *better*. But not to a significant degree. Which is telling given it is a purely academic question as he would never manage a club like ours (doesn’t need to but wouldn’t risk it).

 

Not necessarily - people can be skeptical of Pep without it necessarily meaning they are in some kind of pro-Ralph cult

 

At least it still isn’t as venomous as the other forum. They conspicuously timed a new Ralph out poll for after the horror show against Villa. Surprise surprise it is over 50% that want him out instantly. Funny how such a poll wasn’t started there after the chelsea match…

 

I’d guess people will say there aren’t enough matches on this list. And maybe come up with an equal or longer list of absolutely awful performances not least Brentford away, last week’s Villa match and the 9-0s

I think criticism of the second 9-0 is slightly harsh since Mike Dean was clearly after the headlines on that one. Early red card was always going to make it tough but he so so desperately wanted his name in the record books as the ref for the biggest win in PL history with some of those decisions. Not to mention the horrendous injury crisis. But that is re-litigating old stuff too much

 

TBF to Mike Dean, Jankewitz left him with absolutely no choice!

 

I wasn’t referring to that one. More the stuff at the end of the match. If I remember rightly a penalty and red card was given to bednarek when neither should have been. And weren’t there 2 or 3 more goals after that. To me that was clearly a “it’s all about me and my smug face being all over the camera” moment from Dean

 

Yes agreed on that.

 

There was something very wrong that day, clearly intentional. I wonder how he trained all week and got selected without someone knowing his state of mind.

 

Absolutely the 9-0's override those results.

Seven wins, and five wins you mentioned. That's 26 points. For two 9-0's? Think about that. You'd be willing to take a 9-0 humiliation for every 13 points earned?

I don't care who the opposition is, because what's the point of drawing against Man City, if you then lose at home to Watford?

I know a lot of people say, "9-0 is only three points", but they are deluding themselves. Those thrashings (particularly the Leicester one), have made our club a laughing stock to this day. There's far more to football than just the points being earned and lost.

 

To have the opinion that the manager has done well to keep us up and is better than mediocre doesn't make me or others members of a cult. If there's an in cult then there's an out cult.

 

No they haven't. If anything it's the opposite - respect from being able to bounce back from those defeats. When I meet up with mates who support bigger clubs they've always been impressed in how we bounced back.

 

Isn’t this a quote from Ted Lasso ?

 

An example being the people who got rather animated yesterday purely based on the bookies slashing odds on Ralph being the next manager. No stories. No real rumours.

Usual caveat at of it being on a sliding scale of Twitter - Saintsweb - Not606 (with the former seemingly almost turning into an ecstatic frenzy of Ralph out calls coupled with the delusion of “Poch in”)

Something that definitely does make our club (due to association with the fans) look like a laughing stock it is our fans online calling for Ralph to be sacked and musing on Poch returning. But even then that is mostly Twitter which isn’t the real world

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And then of course the false narrative that Ralph out people have that they are “not allowed” to have that opinion. Notably when the discussion involves mods on this board who are Ralph in. As discussed at the time - no evidence of posts being removed or suppressed.

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Having said all that - he really would be on the brink if we lose at home to Everton. Even the most pro-Ralph people would seriously waiver. Knowing our luck we’ll be solid and undone by a Gordon worldly and then it will be knives out in force

 

Ralph crying on the touch line after winning a league game was the most embarrassing thing in his tenure, by a mile

I’m very much in the “meh” category with him. If he is given more time I’m ok with it, but if he were to leave today I would’nt be fussed

 

Ralph crying on the touch line after winning a league game was not at all embarrassing as far as I'm concerned, not worth dwelling on.