Ralph - Stick or Twist..?

The "who would you recruit" argument is pretty **** tbf. I assume that Franny's Tache isn't involved at a football clubs recruitment team so wouldn't know all managers across the world and who is available etc

I would expect that our recruitment department keep track of players/managers (as what else would they be doing?) on pretty much a daily basis so should have a lot of knowledge of who could replace the manager/players at any given moment

 

Many words for no answer then.
By the way I'm reliably informed by Franny that he'd appreciate it if you removed the 'r' from your user name.

 

Why is that period where we were the fifth best team OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR irrelevant?

That's why I'm questioning you. It's not irrelevant, and it's certainly no less relevant than the current poor stretch, which is over a far shorter period of time. That's where I just don't get your point.

The terrible 'pro Ralph' brigade that you're railing against are just trying to balance the two out against one another. There is nobody that thinks that if this run of form continues deeper into next season that a change might not have to be made. But on the flip side, you seem to be willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and ignore any of the incredibly positive play that happened previously. It's what Tottenham did with Pochettino, and how did that work out for them?

When I say you're meant to be a fan, I'm sure (of course) you are. But your arguments aren't those of someone supporting, they're those of someone who is blinkering themselves off to the broader facts of the matter in order to bolster their own position. That's my issue with it.

 

Because he's the best man available to move the club forward with new investment when/if arrives. His record in the Bundesliga shows that, who else is there to take over?

 

Agreed, but as was asked before, once this hypothetical ideal manager was in post, how long would you give them to get results out of a squad largely assembled by previous, failed managers, without the opportunity to buy players of his own choice because the owner has no money?

 

Ralph still has a better win % than Gordon Strachan and only 1% behind Mo Po, we are in a poor run for sure and he needs to turn things around but it is far too early to pull the trigger on him.
We are Saints and not one of the big 6 and mid-table is our par and a cup run is a bonus and I personally put the majority of this current run down to the fact that we don't have adequate cover for an injury crisis and have got into a rut due to poor confidence I suspect.
We will start afresh in August with hopefully the squad cracks papered over which is fully fit and ready, If the team is still struggling in the autumn then there should be questions asked about the direction we are going in for sure.

 

Exactly this.

 

If anybody needs any help with it, here's a list of odds on the great and the good (!) that could replace Ralph. Yay, Pards!

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/football-specials/southampton/next-permanent-manager

 

The return of Pardiola would go down well

 

Provided those cracks really are filled in rather than just papered over I completely agree. In reality though, we all know that the lack of depth in the squad won’t really be addressed until we get shot of Gao, and the new ownership is prepared to invest significantly.

 

Yep, I used the wrong analogy....

 

I've said it before but I think that good cover for KWP and Bertie would make a massive difference, we were playing ok before Ralph had to mess about with the back four.

 

No one on that list strikes me as an upgrade capable of taking Saints to the 'next level' whatever that might be.

 

What about Hughes!.......I'm suprised that Pellegrino isn't there.

 

Well quite. I mean, I realise it's hardly an exhaustive list, but it's a salutary tale of be careful what you wish for...

 

I can't speak for Franny, but it's irrelevant because what's important is what's happening here and now. What's happening here and now is the worst run of results in our history and the lowest points total in the league since Jan. 10 points in that many games is worse than awful. He consistently sets club/PL records in failure.

Now, if last season had resulted in a great league finish, or some silverware, I'd completely agree that he needs to be given more time/put it down as a blip, but he hasn't. I'd understand that we owe him some loyalty for the good times, and he'd be owed respect for whatever achievement he'd managed. All he's done is put together a strong set of results over a calendar year. (And I note we're using calendar year rather than season in an attempt to skew his accomplishments further)

He hasn't actually achieved anything. He hasn't achieved more than Hughes or Puel. It all depends how you want to set your scales.

 

No one is going to take us to the next level without some decent investment in the club. I'm sure those who have voted to twist do not believe we're a great team who are being held back tactically. What I am suggesting is that he's not even getting average results with what we've got. What I would like from a manager is to just have a reasonable chance of winning the occasional football match. He's not even doing that.

The team isn't great. In its current form it's never going to win a trophy/get into Europe, but are we really suggesting that no other manager could get more than 10 points out of the 40 odd that were available with this team?

 

So who is your pick from the bookies list?

 

Just a few Options (Not sure if we would be able to get them though)
Peter Bosz (Leverkusen)
Bruno Labadia
Steven Gerrard
Florian Kohfeldt (probably spelt wrong)
David Artwell (With a DoF)
Brian Barry-Murphy (with a DoF)

 

From that list?

I'd be happy with Benitez