Sheaf Saint

It's not really betting against your team though, is it.

Any chance you could merge these threads BTW?

Oh well, if there are no decent options available by the time we've sacked him then we can always hire an up and coming manager from the Championship. What could possibly go wrong?

And yet we were playing some good stuff early in the season, got a couple of very well deserved wins (from behind against Chelsea and Leicester), and generally looked OK for the most part. He even had Che scoring fairly regularly. It just all went to shit when Lavia got injured and we had literally nobody capable of playing what is probably the most important role in Ralph's system. It's no coincidence that our collapses in form in the previous two seasons also happened when Romeu got injured. Given what we know now, if I had been asked to make a binary choice in November between keeping Ralph or replacing him with Jones, it's a no-brainer.

They wouldn't need to resolve the legal stuff first. I know PL football isn't the real world, but in any other industry the first thing to do if you suspect someone of gross misconduct is to suspend them pending a disciplinary hearing. In this case, all we would need to do is relieve him of his duties and let Selles take charge while we figured out the legal ramifications. If we have grounds for dismissal due to gross misconduct then we could avoid having to pay up his contract, but if no then so be it. Either way, he needs to be removed before he tarnishes the reputation of the club/board even further, because he absolutely will if he stays.

That's exactly how the club media team announcement video should be... Prowsey walking into the changing rooms at Staplewood and finding Ralph in the shower 🤣

Honestly - and I know I'm going to take some flak for this - I would approach Ralph and see if he wants to come back. He's had some time off to get some much-needed R&R, he knows the club and the squad, and has shown that he is capable of getting streaks of good form out of them in the past. I know things had started to go wrong, but a break can do wonders for a person and I genuinely don't believe we would currently be bottom of the league if we hadn't sacked him.

FWIW, I don't think there has been non-stop hate bullying and insults. There have been a few snide comments online questioning his pedigree, his ethnicity and religious beliefs, but aside from a couple of chants about the quality of the football, the fans at games have been very patient so far, despite the pathetic performances he has served up. Unfortunately there is always a degree of malignancy online, mostly on Twitter, but also on here to a much lesser extent. It's disappointing, of course, but that's the world we live in now and if a premier League manager isn't thick-skinned enough to tune that out then he has no business being a premier league manager. What I do see here in this post, though, is yet another example of refusal to accept responsibility. To blame 'the fans' (as if we are all just one homogenous entity) when the vast majority of us are paying customers who are entitled to voice our opinions and criticisms, is typical of the NJ mentality of blaming everyone but himself. We haven't broken and destroyed him. As soon as he set foot in the door it was obvious he was a prickly, disturbed man with a nervous disposition who claims to thrive on that kind of adrenaline, but who clearly can't control his emotions. He blatantly needs to get some help with that, and I hope he recognises that and seeks out the right support, but this is a situation entirely of his own making IMO. Blaming the fans is a cop out.

In any other circumstances, I would never believe that anyone who has climbed the ranks to become a PL manager could be capable of such childish pettiness. Not even Ian Holloway, as much of an abrasive prick as he could be. But it genuinely would not surprise me with Mad Nate. The guy is unhinged and not on this planet. If SR genuinely cannot see that he needs to be removed immediately before he causes any more damage to this club, then any hope I still had that they might actually be able to take us forward will finally evaporate.

Welcome back Bearsy. Your profound wisdom in these matters is always welcome 🙏

I would be interested to hear the reasoning from the 10 people who have so far voted no, although I can perhaps understand their reluctance to discuss it openly. Seriously, what can you possibly see in him that convinces you things will improve and he's worth keeping around?

Was hoping to wake up to news that he has been relieved of his duties, but alas not. Being a Saints fan these days is just a constant cycle of disappointment isn't it.

I mean, he did win Celebrity Mastermind tonight, so it's not that far fetched! 😉

I think most people didn't want you believe what you were saying about him at the time and hoped it was just excessive hyperbole, hence the pushback you got. However, I sincerely believe you are owed a humble apology by a good many posters because everything you said has been vindicated. The guy is a clueless, arrogant prick with no fucking idea what he is doing, and I don't think I can even bring myself to watch any more games while he's still in charge. It's too depressing.

Can't wait to hear NJ tell us afterwards how we we're still competitive, hard to beat and were the better team in the second half, or some other deluded bollocks. I actually despise the guy. He's a fraud who should be nowhere fucking near our club. I think I actually dislike him more than Saggy chops, and I never thought it would be possible to ever be so opposed to another Saints manager as I was with him.

Deary me. Been out with the fam and not following. Quickly look on Bet365 and see 3-0 to Brentford and zero shots on target from Saints. We're so fucked aren't we.

As @Convict Colony would say... Username to post content CHECKS OUT!

Shell are without doubt one of the very worst, most unethical companies in the entire world. So I am not the slightest bit surprised by this news. I can't wait to hear Rishi come out and tell us that windfall taxes are a bad idea because they inevitably lead to firms divesting from their UK operations, or something.

Edit: wrong thread

The difference being that Orsic and Alcaraz were signed for decent (ish) fees and expected to be an upgrade on what we already have and improve our starting 11. Bree was signed for £750k, and purely as backup while Tino recovers. As such he should only really be used in the case of injuries to other FBs, so the decision to start him despite both KWP and Perraud being fit was curious to say the least. Doesn't send a good message to the rest of the squad does it.

Yet for all his good work, he gave the ball away extremely cheaply with an under-hit pass in the lead up to their first goal. It's something he does an awful lot. If he could just practice getting his weight of pass right and improve it, he would instantly become a much better player.

He certainly wasn't like that on the pitch. Ask John Fashanu! 🤣