Badger

Not sure Boufal will warm to the work ethic that Hasenhuttl is reported to demand.

With the right manager motivating him and getting his fitness back MS would be a great acquisition.

Plenty to put the cones out but looks like a need for a Fitness Coach in there as well.

Don't be daft. We have to give him until Christmas.

Welcome aboard, Ralph. Exciting times ahead hopefully. Good work in getting him on board, Ralph. Blessed are the Ralphs !

I read that they've fallen a bit in recent years, now in the equivalent of L1. Maybe that's the back up option if it all goes 'Pellegrino' for him at Saints.

Just to add, this may give a clue to where he may want his next destination to be if all goes well with us.

Interesting but I read somewhere he still lived near Munich.

Will increase his value hopefully

They are now CL regulars have ambitions at that level,and are backed financially. We've no chance of taking their key players, other than maybe a squad player who is surplus to requirements.

**** draw.

In agreement with this, I've never been a great fan of Hughes from his time playing for us, and wasn't excited by his track record as a manager, but credit where it's due, he did what we wanted last season and kept us up. He should also be credited with motivating and unlocking Tadic's ability to perform when needed, something which ahd been beyond his two predecessors, and even Koeman had hit a buffer with Tadic towards the end of his time here. This season though has been poor, and Hughes has to take his sahre of the blame, along with Reed, the board, and the players.

Hope this is correct. Until announced I remain concerned that he'll be subject to a late tap up, from Bayern Munich to take over there or wait until the summer, and we'll be left with one of the journeymen mentioned earlier ( Sousa or QSF).

I would have hoped all the 'sounding out' and preliminary discussions had taken place already , over the last two weeks or so when things were going off the rails. This appears a typical Saints way of doing it, sack manager, start the search with a fanfare (Pelligrini, Tuchel, Hasenhuttl), followed by a silence, then a week or so later an announcement ( Puel, Pellegrino .. BFS/Moyes) etc. Just hope Ralph Mk1 can get this sorted and bring Ralph II "into the building" (to use an Adkins phrase)..

Yes .... whoops !

Await some pedant in The Northam ... "give us an "H" ..., give us an "A" ....... "u" with an umlaut ...",

But I think he was in charge when they finished 2nd. I wouldn't read too much into his Leipzig success though as he had Ralf Rangnick as a DoF and worked with a nucleus of squad that Rangnick had been part of selecting, and spent £40m once he took over. All a bit different to what the Legacy of Les & the Lesbians have left him with here.

My concern is that Saints never complete the obvious deal, there's often a media smokescreen and we end up with something else*. *inferior

Bank account looks healthy on the strength of it though.

No, but Ralph is keen to interview Keith Blunkett as he knows how to hang on to a lead... (probably 10 years out of date..).

Three even ? Although the Rangnick is a Ralf, does that count?

Exactly, think we've been here before "... need a replacement whoever he is, can't be worse than Puel, Pellegrino (in that case he probably wasn't, short term anyway)... and more emabarrasingly when Chris Nicholl was deposed.. and we know how that turned ou.. Misheard - was it Saudihampton ?

I expect Lineker and the luvvies at BBC are preparing for another Jose-Pogba-Rashford w^nkfest on MOTD.

Not much will be recouped from the sale of that lot though.

Frying pan into the fire ... or from down the toilet and trying to retrieve things from around a 'U' bend...