I would argue the reason why Saints are doing so well, have such a fighting spirit and are playing for each other with such passion, is because of this guy. When have we ever had this level of quality leadership and unbridled passion in a manager .....
The difference between now and the start of the season is that you can patently see that all of the players are on board now and he has a clear identity for the team.
Some credit to the board....according to Matt, Ralph was stunned after the 9-0 loss (as were we all), but he was clearly told that the board had faith in him and his job was safe.
The biggest compliment you can give to Ralph is that nobody is mentioning Gao any longer. I agree with you about the board btw Fran.
And to think many on here and general saints fans wanted him gone! God knows who we would have now if the board had listened! He's lost the dressing room, the players aren't playing for him anymore, they are too crap to understand what is asked of him!! We heard it all, now look at us with the same manager and same players!! I'm genuinely looking up the table now and it's great, loving this season!! Maybe this was Ralph's plan, lull everyone into a false sense of security and then BAMM, fly up the table and clinch 5th!! Best finish ever!!
To be fair, the poll we had showed only 5 wanting him sacked, with another 13 wanting the decision deferred until the end of January. The vast majority (56) wanted him to stay.
I truly believe though he has got to find the key to better home performances. What is about playing at home....same team same players but not the same game? Wish I knew..........?
The Wolves game apart (which we could've easily won) our home form is vastly improved since the start of December and hopefully will show on Saturday with progression in the cup at the expense of Spuds!.