Back, sack and crack - should Ralph stay in post

Bang on. If the club continues to be ran like it has been over the past 4(give or take) years then we will indeed go down - regardless of who is in charge.

 

Being a positive person, I remember everyone screaming for Koeman's head around this time of year. The rest is history.

 

Thanks for the response and pretty much how I feel. I thought the press at the start of the season was going to lead to us getting some kind of counter attacking going on, but it has all become a bit of a horrid mess and lack of understanding as to what the players are supposed to be doing. I do recall you saying that about last seasons results, and the issue now is we are playing worse than last season, on the whole. It just doesnt look to promising just now, and I dont really see Ralph changing tactics.

I understand the people who say Ralph didnt lose at Newcastle, and they could be correct, but by and large all the results are.

Im not saying I want Ralph replaced, I am not in that place today but by the next two week I suspect I will be.

I also think Sam may surprise a few people. It wasnt that long ago we kick started a previous England managers career ( let;s not count it was only one game for the sake of the point im making)

 

Didnt we have a few more points on the board and better players. Now I know Im likely to get shot down as people will rightly point out what Ralph has to work with, but he is setting the team out and how they should play.

I still wonder how many his points per game ratio compares last season to this.

 

My positive vibe is lost on this board

 

Nah not lost, you just misplaced it

 

Why would any manager come in if he had no funds to improve the squad ?

If funds are available , I trust Ralph to get us out of this difficult moment .

 

Love it. You an an ace diplomat.

 

I've lost time and patience with him because of the 9-0. That's simply unforgivable

 

That wasn't actually intended

 

“Should Ralph stay or go?”
Answer;
Yes or No.

Love it!

 

You werent able to pass pubs. Is that your point?

 

Daily Mail reporting that the club are supporting Ralph. Interesting to read that some of the dressing room don't have faith (if you believe what they write). I doubt I would be surprised by who those players are. I'd be very surprised if they aren't among the longer serving members of the team, the ones who have played us into relegation danger for thee seasons in a row.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...outhampton-boss-gets-singing-endorsement.html

 

I agree with a lot of this post. It is a strange one because when Ralph gets it right, Saints play well. We are much better when we press and play at tempo. Some of the results last season were fortunate but whatever was being achieved in the training sessions seems to be falling short this season. I agree that the club needs to be making 2-3 signings and an overhaul of the defence should have taken place 18 months ago at the latest. But when you consider the team has players like McCarthy, Bertrand, JWP, Redmond, Romeu, Djenepo, Long, Ings and PEH in the squad with promising youngsters like Obafemi and Valery on the side lines, I would have thought we would have done much better than we have. I still think Che Adams will come good and Armstrong has been far too under utilized for my liking. With the academy not really being explored this season, there is room for potential albeit the position of the under 23s this season does make you wonder if there is not a more deep rooted problem at the club.

We certainly need to overhaul the defence and maybe recruit someone who is more of a leader in this team. However, I do not think the team is quite as bad as people think. I am on the fence with Ralph. I do not think he was 100% backed in he transfer market in the summer but I also feel he was seriously over-rated by may people posting on this board. However, at the moment I feel the club should stand by him and I hope that the new appointment will allow the issues behind the scene to be addressed.

 

Or you could look at the title - Should Ralph stay in charge

 

About as well as Stan Bowles could pass a betting shop (I couldn’t pass a football as well as him though).

 

Something ain’t right at the moment. I have to admit I not sure if this is the manager or some players or a combination.

 

Perfect timing for this article. http://sportwitness.co.uk/wanted-go...ly-mad-player-picking-southampton-red-devils/

As I said in the match thread, nobody comes to play for southampton because of the club and its history, they are coming to play for the manager. In Tadic's case Koeman. We can attract decent players if we have a manager with a good reputation and we can win games if we let them build a decent squad and get rid of the baggage we have been carrying all these years.

 

Man for man they might not be that bad on paper but that isn't how this works. They've proven for season after season under four managers that they are not going to be any better than relegation candidates.

All it takes is 2-3 bad apples in a side of 11 players and Ralph can't even drop half the players even if he wanted to. See Bertrand at the start of the season for evidence.

Come january we might be able to see what the real problems are. Ralph needs the opportunity to build a team not just try and squeeze something out of this lot. That means significant change, particularly at the back and in midfield.

 

Interesting that you chose to mention Bertie as a possible "bad apple" as i've thought for a while that he believes that he is too good for our club and as a senior player may undermine the team management. There is no doubt that he is an international quality player but it is telling that he has not played consistantly well enough to even be considered for England for quite a while now.