Ex Lion Tamer

Maybe we wouldn't be good enough to do that. It's easy to assume the alternative would be better

The thing you have to factor in is if we'd pressed less hard in the first half, would we have scored the one goal we did get. It's gutting to drop points like that but you also have to take the rough with the smooth. The fact is we should have scored more in the first half but we lack cutting edge

It must have been a tactical instruction for JWP to do that. I see the logic of getting an extra body in the line but it has cost us big time. Edit: maybe he was covering McCarthy as mentioned

Once again we've made the opposition look terrible with our organisation and work rate, but not been able to sustain it for the full 100 minutes

Maybe it happened seconds before the goal?

We'd definitely be renamed RB Southampton I think? I like the cut off Red Bull's jib in general but if we were lower than Leipzig in the hierarchy and had to sell our best players to them then that would be annoying

Meanwhile Puel's St Etienne are bottom of the table and he had to be escorted home by police because fans are so furious over their performances. Before that he was sacked by Leicester for his terrible dull performances. With us the team scored one goal in their last six games and only 17 goals in 19 home games all season. Attendances were dropping and it was hard to see him turning it around, the team had lost all attacking confidence. Class manager though

I think it comes down to the fact that under Ralph we've not ever been in serious danger of relegation. We could try a new manager to see if they do better, but the downside of them doing worse (relegation) is so much worse than the upside (gaining a few extra places in the league). If things go badly in the next couple of months and it seriously looks like we'll be relegated then it will absolutely be time for a change

I didn't say it was a high level of ability!

So with our offering we could attract a manager as good as Ralph, who isn't very good?

Our entire model is to sign players who will come good eventually but not necessarily straight away. The only player I can think of in our current team who has hit their peak ability straight away is McCarthy. Some been thrown into the team at first but only Tino and KWP have actually made a spot their own and avoided dropping to the bench for a while

I agree that Che is no world beater but he's an established premier League player now. My point really was that it's silly to write off Armstrong when we've seen how a player coming up from the championship can improve in their second/third season

A reminder of our net spend this summer. And yet people expect Ralph to have us 10th-13th?

Would you still take Nuno here out of interest?

People were saying the same about Che in his first season, but he's now justifying his £15m, which isn't a huge amount these days

Is it just our club that finds it impossible to serve pints efficiently at half time or is it just really difficult?

If Ball was unable to motivate his players then he either had a bad group or he wasn't saying the right things. I don't see that it has anything to do with their or his wealth. As Mystic Forces said, players still like winning and they must have had some motivation to get to that level

If it comes to it then Bruce until the end of the season wouldn't be the worst move. Hughes less so

I have huge respect for what Bally did for us but he's talking nonsense there. Do Guardiola or Klopp struggle to motivate their players? Those players work their arses off

IMO it's because football is so much more competitive now, everything has to be operating at 110%. And the reality is that if you've lost faith in your manager and their plan, it's very hard to give absolutely everything for it even if you're telling yourself you should. Players can try running around a lot but they'll find themselves chasing shadows because the system isn't working. Pressing has to be done as a team these days and Ole simply didn't have them organised

I think Tella is better than Sims but I see comparisons in the way he is overrated on here

With the exception of Liverpool, all of those games are tough but winnable. A win and some draws sounds about right

I've been haunted by the this type of game since we drew with bottom-of-the-table Villa under Koeman. It's disappointing but it doesn't necessarily define our season

Walcott is well down in the pecking order now then

Souness lived in Shawford http://www.plrobinsondesign.co.uk/projects/apple-tree-house.php