Dusic

Exactly. The players have proven over a long tome that they are the issue. Lets not make a big mistake. We must back Ralph.

In the real world: Saints go down, can't shift the crap, overpaid players on long contracts, so can't really bring in anyone and end up playing a mixture of young Academy players and the overpaid, unmotivated crap who got relegated and whom nobody wants to buy. Gao doesn't invest anything so the club rapidly lose money and have a disinterested, unmotivated squad and a disillusioned fanbase. Saints drop into L1.

Looking bleak and not picked a good season to be truely terrible as few other sides are, which is different to previous years. Its looking hard to even mention anyone else apart from Saints, Norwich and Watford. Sheff Utd, Burnley, Palace, Newcastle and Brighton all have at least 7 points more than us. Of the sides below them: Spurs, Everton, Man Utd, Wolves, West Ham and Villa its only really possible to see Villa go down but they look fairly decent to me and could have more points by the end of the day. West Ham an outside shot but surely too much quality. We are going to need to micraculously improve as well as hope one or two others implode. It looks the most likely we have been for relegation since probably the day of the Swansea game under Hughes.

Its not the Manager, its the players. More specifically, its the players not being good enough and the fault of those who signed him.

Obviously rubbish but its very clear to me that on the pitch the biggest problem by a million miles is our CBs. They are all crap and all dreadful on the ball. I felt for the attackers because the defence just doesn't give us a foothold in any game at the moment. Failure to sign a proper CB in the summer will relegate us.

Under Gao we are on a near certsin path to relegation. Should have been two seasons ago. Would have been last season if not for Ralph, could be this season. If its not, it will be the season after or the one after that. The club is directionless from the top, lacks good decision makers with experience in football, has syrong downward momentum and doesn't invest in the squad. A recipe for failure. Gao out.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/southampton-fc-latest-news-joe-savage-preston-sporting-director-a9188791.html An actual link.

If they have made a change the key question for me is who is driving it? Aside from RH the two most senior football people at yhe club are probably Matt Hale the Academy Director and Martyn Glover the Chief Scout. Not really either of their roles to appoint key coaching roles.

Gao lets us invest all the money we make selling our players back into the squad. Awfully nice of the lad.

Coventry picked a second string side, as have the other two sides we have lost to pretty easily. Obviously a pointless competition but not a lot of promising signs that there is anything to come from the current crop of U23s.

As per the Wallace article post Leicester: "A new senior recruitment figure who will occupy a similar position to the departed director of football operations, Ross Wilson, will also arrive before the next international break. The new director of football has been identified and will be expected to work with the scouting network in finding a profile of quick, high-energy players that suit the Hasenhuttl style. The partnership with Hasenhuttlis expected to be along the lines of that between Graham Potter and his technical director at Brighton and Hove Albion, Dan Ashworth, formerly of the Football Association https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/26/ralph-hasenhuttl-given-southampton-backing-board-decide-players/amp/ The next Intl break begins after the Everton game....

He had a good game but really it was poor goalkeeping rather than luck. If you come off your line you have to get a good connection on it.

The refs in the EFL are just as poor. Its just that its not talked about as the PL understandably dominates the media.

We will have to fairly soon as he won't sign a new contract. Will be in the summer I imagine, when he just has one year left.

Pride partially restored. Now lets win some games with a more attacking lineup.

Who on the bench would people have started? Danso has made countless mistakes. Yoshida put in one of the worst CB performances I have ever seen last week. Djenepo is not fully fit. Boufal not better than Redmond for this game. Long is Long. Adams not going to start ahead of Ings. Our squad is poor in certain positions so the Manager is hamstrung because of that. We can't drop JWP as don't have any other CMs.

I think JWP has been excellent this season. Ludicrous that he has been overlooked by Southgate!

Should give Obafemi a game. That lad seems to hardly play matches.

This is an obvious, but very valid point. Wilson and Semmens spoke about it during the last fans forum as well, with the added point that being in a relegation battle (as we are again) also means that planning becomes more short term.

Is Chungy worth a loan in January? Bossed it at Urawa Red Diamonds when he left Saints, dropping into the #10 position but also having the intelligence of movement to trouble defences in behind. His finishing is still top drawer. This could be the boost the fans need, even if just a bench option and would probably be cheap which will surely appeal to the Club. Still follows Saints by the looks of his social media and I believe was a mentor of an emerging JWP when he was here before.

Womder if Cedric and Djenepo will feature in this? Would be good if Cedric could start. The key is do we go back 4 or back 5? Obviously CB is our weakest position, so surely only needing to pick two rather than 3 is sensible? Also gives more of a chance to press further forward, with an extra body further up. If we sit back and have no threat it makes it easier for them.

And when he comes on he looks miles out of his depth.

N'Lundulu is injured. Not for the first time in his career.

Good article although I feel it overlooks the fact that it has been a decline since the summer Koeman, Mane, Pelle left (2016 I think) - a decline which saw the demise of Reed ultimately. Not a decline that has just happened this year. But otherwise many pieces that are likely true. Ultimately the lack of people with knowledge of football (be that on or off field) running a football club plus a clueless owner without money to invest, is not a successful combination.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7623619/Southampton-players-remain-stunned-assistant-manager-Danny-Rohls-departure.html