LuckyNumber7

Which is why I said most of the time and clearly the crowded schedule and ridiculous injury list have played a big part in that run. Either way he took over a side that had been battling relegation for a couple of years and has steered us well clear since, even with that run.

But that's kind of the point surely? Puel, Pellegrino and arguably Hughes made us worse than we were before, we were a mess when Ralph arrived but he steadied the ship and has made us better, albeit with some bumps along the way. No one is saying he's the next Pep but he is a good fit for a club like Saints and I'd rather we didn't keep jumping on the managerial merry-go-round every time we have a bad run of results. I think most of us can agree with that, which is why it's strange some think we should be doing so much better than we are. Ralph has a limited squad with very little financial backing to improve it, thus on the whole he is doing a decent enough job. We have an identity and a way of playing which works pretty well for us most of the time, but without better players will only get us so far. The bigger picture is that without better ownership, mid table finishes are probably the best we can hope for or with a poor managerial appointment could quite easily be relegated.

I cannot believe some of the whinging on here. For months people have been moaning that Ralph has no plan B, only ever changes like for like, never reacts to situations in the game etc. Yesterday while Burnley are throwing loads of long balls into our area and looking increasingly dangerous, Ralph changes formation and puts on an extra CB to deal with that threat, we win the game and still people bitch and moan. If we had kept playing as we were and conceded, you can guarantee the same people would have moaned that he didn't react to the pressure and shore things up at the back. If our forward players hadn't been so clumsy on the counter attack we would have ran out far more comfortable winners in the end. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

If we signed Davies or Skipp there would be plenty of moaning on here, and rightly so as neither are better than what we already have. We don't owe Jankewitz anything. He is an employee nothing more nothing less, and when given his big break he completely blew it. Not saying he shouldn't get a second chance but Ralph sees far more of him up close than anyone on here and if he doesn't trust him or think he's ready then I back his judgement. It's not just about ability. Temperament and attitude are just as important if a young player is to make it and the evidence on that front so far isn't great. I'm sure he will get some game time before the end of the season with Romeu's injury and it's up to him to seize his chance. Right now if he left in the summer I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

It was more recent than that. https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/08/22/report-southampton-close-to-signing-nicolae-stanciu-for-7-millio/ Signed Boufal instead I think.

I don't think you will be disappointed... "I think for us, for the players, for the staff, the fans and for everyone in the club, maybe, this is the most important game of the year." Ralph taking it very seriously 😇 https://www.hampshirelive.news/sport/football/football-news/ralph-hasenhuttl-southampton-serious-bournemouth-5200583

The way some one here are talking, we may as well do away with the league system as it's completely irrelevant and just play in the cups! Like it or not, staying in the Premier League IS a measure of success and the fact that Southampton is one of only a handful of cities in the country that hosts a Premier League club is something to be proud of. And as mentioned, we stand a far better chance of winning a cup by being a PL team rather than languishing in the Championship or L1. I'm sure every Saints fan would love to win the cup, but being realistic even if we were to beat Bournemouth, our chances of winning it are very small. Plus there's the fact most of us wouldn't even be able to go if we got to the final which takes the shine off it for me. Of course winning the cup/staying up aren't mutually exclusive but if offered one or the other I would choose survival as it is crucial to the long term health of the club. For the record I do think we will survive and also fancy us to just scrape past Boscombe, but then lose in the semis.

Congrats to Che, hopefully playing international football will aid his development.

Agree about Jordan, he's a good listen on Talksport and I generally like the cut of his jib. Have previously thought I wouldn't mind him being involved with Saints as he comes across as very intelligent and doesn't stand for any bull. Interesting stuff.

Agree about the stuff on social media being a bit stupid, but think it's harsh to write him off based on a few last minute cameos here and there. I thought he did ok when he started against Shrewsbury and took his goal well, but in the Premier League games he's barely had a sniff. Will he make it as a PL player? Probably not but he offers us a physical presence at least and we really have no alternative atm. I think we are missing Obafemi more than some realise, for all his failings he did at least chip in with some goals.

I've always been fully behind Ralph but for the first time I'm starting to have serious doubts about whether he can turn things around. We look so devoid of confidence and any idea of how to create chances, not to mention how shambolic we are in defence. Worrying times. I really like Ralph but it's getting harder to defend these type of performances. We cannot go on like this. Desperate for him to turn it around but if he were to go, Howe would be my choice also.

That second half was completely unacceptable. Looked like we had settled for a 2-1 defeat. This squad really needs a major overhaul but we all know that's not going to happen.

I had forgotten what a bunch of weirdos the Brighton fans were. Stains, bless.

You talk as if Bednarek has been brilliant up until he played at rb and that has destroyed his confidence, last night was a typical Jan performance really, he is average at best. Does have some good games but makes too many mistakes and quite frankly when the going gets tough he looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights and really lacks composure. I don't agree that Stephens has been ok at right back, he equally looks like a fish out of water and all over the place positionally. Personally I would give Ramsay another try but I can understand Ralph's reluctance given he was part of the 9-0 and in all likelihood just isn't good enough, but we've not seen enough of him to properly judge. Where I do agree with you is that we shouldn't even be in this position of only having one viable right back and Ralph must be partly responsible for that. If we couldn't bring anyone in then fair enough but we should never have let Valery go in that case. Whilst not brilliant he would still have been a far better option than what we have been left with.

Overall a pretty decent performance, let down by some really weak defending and individual mistakes. Stephens and Salisu particularly bad, McCarthy made a couple of good saves but generally looked quite wobbly, hope FF is restored for Brighton. Plenty of positives despite the scoreline.

All very fair points, and I don't think most are against giving Puel credit where it was deserved. The cup run of course was memorable, and scoring four at Sunderland and Watford either side of the final. Beating Inter too, which unfortunately I had to miss as I was in America. However the vast majority of the season we were absolute dirge to watch, especially at home. In only three home games in the league did we score more than one goal, and there were countless 0-0 draws or 1-0 wins or losses, and worst of all we actually looked like we were playing for 0-0 in many games. Yes 8th place on paper is a good finish but there was very little enjoyment in getting there, it was so dull that I dreaded going to games and clearly many felt the same. If I was offered finishing 8th every season but playing like that, I'd gladly give it a miss personally.

Hughes absolutely deserves credit for keeping us up, we were a mess when he turned up after the disaster that was Pellegrino. Yes Swansea's implosion contributed but as said above, we went to their place and won in nerve shredding circumstances. Let's not forget the way he marched them off the team bus and walked to the stadium when they were trying to delay us and play mind games. We won the day and subsequently deserved to stay up. Unfortunately for Hughes he was unable to progress us from there and signs were that he may have taken us down the next season. Ralph has improved us overall, albeit with plenty of bumps along the way and we are better now than when he arrived as evidenced by finishing mid table last season and likely similar this season. He is a good manager for a club like ours and with a bit more help in the transfer market would have us challenging the top 8 imo.

Minamino up front makes me happy. Strongest looking match day squad for a long time.

I think Che is a decent squad player but not really good enough to be a regular starter at this level. He does offer good hold up play and has contributed some good assists this season such as Theo's goal at Arsenal. But ultimately strikers will always be judged on their ability to score goals and I don't think Che will ever be prolific. A good player to have in the squad but ideally an upgrade needed. Unfortunately we don't have the money for that.

Well for starters we were clearly over achieving, but also at full strength our starting eleven is pretty decent. We have collapsed because we have a small squad that cannot cope with the number of injuries we've suffered, combined with a lot of players either losing form or simply burning out and needing a rest, which we can't give them.

Three senior central midfielders is not enough for a long season, you should have two players for each position on the pitch. We are lucky JWP is such a machine but even he clearly could do with a rest. You will always get injuries, loss of form etc which is why you need options. In mdifield, with one injury we are then relying on the remaining two to play every minute of every game. As we have seen, that's not sufficient.

It's a sad indictment of the lack of depth in the squad that we are probably left with no choice but to play a 19 year old who doesn't want to be here and has already shown he can't be trusted. Not to mention the problems at right back. Yet according to some we have a quality squad and Ralph should have us finishing top half! That and our awful record at Goodison Park, it's very hard to see anything other than a comfortable defeat.

Ultimately final position is what matters, but it certainly needs to be looked at in the context of points accrued as well. More points = more wins regardless of how the table shapes up around you. The 8th place under Puel was an anomoly and more to do with other teams being so poor rather than Saints being good.

S-Clarke has already answered and I echo his thoughts, Ralph has not had the financial backing the previous three did yet has done a much better job than them (Puel debatable). He is largely still working with the misfits they brought in.

Yes, five permanent signings in five transfer windows since he arrived is pathetic really. With a squad that is in desperate need of freshening up, If we keep that up there is only one direction we are headed, with Ralph or without. It's a fair point but I really don't know who realistically would be doing better with the restraints that Ralph is working under. I suspect if he goes we will soon be crying out for 'bang average'.