Match Day Thread Brentford v Saints, Sat 7th May 3pm

For laughing at their ambition mostly.

 

I'm usually the happiest of clappers when it comes to our club, but **** me something is rotten here. What has happened to these players? So good earlier in the season, so **** now.

I hate clichés but is it possible that Ralph has lost the dressing room? Nobody is exactly decorating themselves for the transfer window playing like this so something is up.

**** it, let's have a drink and forget the whole thing.

 

We have lost both ends of the pitch. Salisu has been off it for weeks, bednarek worse and with Broja missing and no decent second striker to call on we’ve got bugger all chance of a win atm.

 

I love Ralph but he is starting to sound like a broken record.

 

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl to BBC Sport: "They were the better team in and around the boxes. If you do nice things in between the two boxes it's not interesting. They have been the far better team.

"We knew how we can create but it's up to us up front to take something from the chances. Otherwise all the effort we put in is for nothing. They’ve shown how you can win a game in the moment. We're far away from having the quality to win games. That's what we have to change.

"We are struggling to score goals. It’s not only on our strikers. We have defended really poorly today.

"Forty points might not be enough [to stay up]. Two games so we have to be absolutely focused."

 

Ralph is such an enigma. I can't think of any other team that flip flops between Champions League form and relegation fodder form as we have done throughout his tenure. We've played some of the most exciting football I've seen for years under him. We've also played as if we'd only just read the rules of the game and met up for the first time half an hour before kick off. That imbalance in performances is simply inexplicable at an elite level. I suspect that every aspect of the club, including his position, has been under scrutiny since the takeover and, my opinion aside, I do wonder whether he's done enough to convince the new owners that he's the right man to take us 'forward' - whatever that might mean.

 

I think that Danny Rohl is still missed and we definitely need someone to be kick ass on the pitch.

 

We’re very very very unlikely to be relegated, but we’re not safe until it’s mathematically impossible to be relegated.

 

I said that the other day & got my ass kicked!

 

How we do?

 

Love that you lot are still the same whiney bitchy bunch!

 

This thread needs no comment from me

 

It’s not all on Ralph, players need to take some responsibility.

 

Don't be silly this is 100% Ralph and Ralph only. Not the fact he's had no money, **** players etc. All Ralph. Get with it.

 

It is a good point as often managers shield players from any and all criticism, maybe now the criticism needs to be filtered through. All the clubs PR feels like the team is on the crest of a wave when in reality this is bordering on crisis mode now. They need to understand that what they are delivering is unacceptable, not be mollycoddled.

 

The only defence I can offer our defence, is that with our midfield and forward players not pressing, the opposition are being given too much time to move the ball forward at pace, and to pick out passes, which is exposing our CBs as not being good enough.
The most goals conceded by any club, in the period Ralph has been in charge, shows that we have been defensively poor throughout his tenure, with no signs that he knows how to correct it.
I think the first goal today was the 15th we have conceded from set pieces this season, another area where we have looked inept for ages.
Our GD is better than that of Leeds but currently equal to Everton and worse than Burnley and on current form, our GD could take one hell of a beating when we play Liverpool.
We need Arsenal and Leicester to turn up tomorrow.

 

I’m old enough to remember what happened to Clough and Taylor, neither of whom were that successful apart,

 

I would be quite happy to hear Ralph slate the team, as well as admitting he got it wrong.

 

I reckon he is having a hard time figuring things out at the moment because we are failing on both fronts and today's line up was an attempt to address the attack rather than the defence.

Unfortunately Salisu and Bednarek turned out the same kind of pathetic, weak, unprofessional performance that they have been churning out for about two months now, this time with no Romeu to shield them and the attempt to add fluency and pace with Broja, Adam Armstrong, Redmond and Diallo didnt do the trick up front either (in fairness we were creating, so maybe that one is more on Broja and A Armstrong's dire conversion rate)

Feels like Ralph and the players desperately need the summer to reset and hit the drawing board again, lets hope they did enough in the first 2/3 of the season to see it through.