Ralph sacked as Saints manager

I think so. It does feel like today has lead to a big shift.

Last week I said that I could see Ralph gone before the World Cup at the end of the year. But, as I said on the match thread, I'm now struggling to see him still being here after the Leicester game.

Today was the first time in weeks that we weren't in a position to completely write it off. We actually needed to turn up today, just in case all three below us were to all to continue their recent form (which I don't think they all will btw). And yet we've come away with...that.

Whether it's through Ralph deciding he's reached the end of the road, or the owners deciding they want their own man (maybe the man in the opposition dugout today?), it does feel like a parting of the ways is in the cards.

 

The players need to take a lot of the responsibility for this as well. Ralph is the easy target and although he's far from blameless I'm still not prepared to lay all the blame at his door.

 

100% agree with that as well.

 

This is true, but the squad are capable of playing much better than they have in the last couple of months, and the complete lack of attacking threat isn’t just down to the strikers all being out of form.

 

Im pretty sure people on here moaning about Ralph are also not too happy with the players. But tactics and all that **** is on Ralph. And yes we drew with City etc, but this is the exception of the norm, i just dont think we can play the way Ralph wants us to, which is a big Ralph shaped issue.

 

Completely agree, that great patch was an exception to the rule. I think he should stay until the end of the season as nothing can change now, but I don’t agree with the argument that there’s nobody else. There are plenty of managers that could get us scraping safety, they might even do better!

 

I've changed my vote to out. I've had enough of watching us get turned over too easily. I like Ralph but I think we need a new set of ideas. We get bullied and teams have worked us out.

 

I'm not sure that great patch was an exception. Every season we seem to go through a great patch. It's not uncommon, and as such I did expect it to happen at some point during the season.

But absolutely, it is not representative of our true level. Which is significantly lower.

 

How does a manager perform when he knows he’s leaving at the end of next season?

Everyone’s different I guess but he doesn’t need to impress anyone.

 

So after todays result we have gone from 15 out to 21 out…

 

The decision to bring romeu on is still baffling me!

 

Same. This long period of ‘end of season’ performances and results have been abysmal, there’s no defending it and there are no excuses unlike last season.

The only thing going for Ralph imo is that if you take a step back from the frustration and emotion and compare our spending to those around us then staying up is probably our only realistic aim. So do you give him a summer in which we actually spend some money (if we do indeed intend to do that)? Maybe, but also maybe we need changes in playing squad as well as management. He is supposedly a very good manager, and his own salary relative to other managers in the league reflects that claim, but overall our performances, results and position in the league don’t reflect that.

I don’t know, it’s a tough one. Saints are exhausting to support at the moment, and real life is the escape from football not the other way around.

 

Which is, essentially, the question: is Ralph responsible for that good patch, which is generally the only reason we avoid relegation? That's been where I stand; I don't think this is a very good team, outside a handful of players, and with a not-very-good team I'd rather that they be wildly inconsistent than consistently mediocre.

I do increasingly think that he'll be gone at the end of the year, however. Whether we can improve upon him is a real question.

 

It's a shame, But good bye Ralph.

 

Not just you.

 

We are as crap as the bottom 8 teams in the league. But have a dead ball specialist.
No Money has been spent wisely for many a year. We have purchased championship players that are championship quality and haven’t improved.
The midfielders are average for the prem at best, centre backs same. Decent full backs. Absolutely shocking premier league quality strike force.
We are where we are.
However, I don’t think Ralph has improved and we will always feel like someone can nobble us by 9 or we can go on a 10 game losing streak with him at the helm.
I don’t think he’s rubbish but he certainly isn’t great. He could be really good if we had much better players, but the guy has absolutely no plan b and can’t change a game. It’s either we are decent on the day from the off or we are terrible.
I believe he gets about the amount of points that we deserve with the quality we have in the squad. But I really don’t care if he stays or goes, if we have the same squad next year it will be the same result with the level of manager we can attract. Unless a load of the kids can suddenly step up to senior football we are relying on 3 teams being worse than us each season.
I’d be worried that Bournemouth and Fulham could be better than us next year.

 

It’s a bit of a club.

 

I have changed to Ralph out. He has done well for Saints, qhich I am entirely grateful, put his time has run its course.
Go all in for Thomas Frank. Offer him a deal he can't turn down, and back him.

 

Depressingly accurate.

 

I'd never join a club that would have me as a member