A THREAD- Every game in Southampton’s dreadful run since January (not including the FA Cup Semi Final run) and my analysis of Ralph’s and the teams’ performances. This thread is aimed to make people look at the bigger picture #SaintsFC

Game 1: Leicester City 2-0 Southampton
Not really anyone particularly at fault for this one. Weighing in with a whopping seven 1st team injuries to their one, it was always going to be a tough task. Performance was somewhat flat but we were beaten by a better team

Game 2: Southampton 1-3 Arsenal
After a very good outing against the same opposition in the cup, we started very well in this one, but struggled as the game went on with Valery and Vokins at full back. McCarthy made a howler, and Arsenal had something to prove in this one...

...following their pitiful exit from the FA Cup being the holders. Could argue we didn’t battle against adversity, but there’s not a lot Ralph could do when we had NINE players out and nothing to call upon from the bench

Game 3: Southampton 0-1 Aston Villa
The only thing we were guilty of in this game was not being clinical enough. With Ward-Prowse at right back, we took the game to Villa and dominated them, only to be shafted by 2/3 atrocious VAR decisions...

We deserved AT LEAST a point from that game, and scored a perfectly good goal and were denied one of the most blatant penalties in history.

Game 4: Manchester United 9-0 Southampton
Nine players out injured. Nine goals conceded...again. This was, undoubtedly, a low point. Ralph was forced to start Kayne Ramsay and Alexandre Jankewitz in this game. The latter getting himself sent off after two minutes...

...following a rash challenge. Of course, no one, not least Ralph, could have seen that coming. So on the most part he really can’t be blamed for us losing. Similarly he can’t be blamed for having no resources to call upon. However, I think what Ralph was guilty of...

...was poor game management, and floundering at times, resulting in us receiving another record drubbing. It’s worth noting there were some dreadful refereeing decisions in this game also, and it’s hard not to feel sorry for Ralph to an extent given the cards he was being dealt..

...but the way he handled the situation was poor on this occasion and he looked lost. The players that were on the pitch were a disgrace, and they gave up very early on. We were torn apart by a hungry pack of wolves.

Game 5: Newcastle United 3-2 Southampton
Arguably equally if not more disappointing than the 9-0. This was our chance to bounce back from that performance against a woeful looking Newcastle side. Ralph made an error in my books by playing Stephens at right back over Ramsay...

...having just given Kayne a new contract. Stephens was constantly exploited and exposed and was involved in the build up to all of the goals. We scored a couple of very good goals, but with a strong team , we just had absolutely no ideas to even test their defence...

This, for me, highlighted our inability to break teams down, and how easy it is for teams to sit back and shut us out. Credit to Newcastle who played very well, but this one was on Ralph largely but the players also.

Game 6: Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Strong lineup again, with a few injuries to players who add squad depth. Strange one really, because we certainly didn’t play badly. We started well and scored an excellent goal through Ings and Armstrong...

...but were pegged back following a penalty decision against Bertrand that was harsh but in this day and age it’s probably a handball. The defending was very poor for their second goal, but we should have had a penalty of our own. A draw would have definitely been a fair result..

...and I don’t think there is anyone in particular to blame for this one other than one defensive lapse. I certainly don’t think this one was down to Ralph.

Game 7: Southampton 1-1 Chelsea
With no KWP and Bednarek at right back, as well as Salisu making his first start in the Premier League, it would have easy for this game to go badly wrong...

...particularly with Chelsea enjoying five wins from six since his arrival heading into this. However I thought we played really well, absorbed the pressure brilliantly and scored a very good goal too. It’s frustrating that we dropped the lead, but that was down to one rash...

...decision from Ings in the box. Other than that they never looked like scoring. I thought Ralph got it spot on that day and special praise for Moussa Djenepo who was simply magnificent.

Game 8: Leeds United 3-0 Southampton
From one end of the spectrum to the other really here. Bednarek at right back again here, but otherwise a strong team. Both sides carrying injuries a plenty, so no excuses there.

...We had a very good first half, before having a perfectly good goal disallowed in what was a shambles from top to bottom. However, we once again showed our inability to battle adversity as we utterly crumbled second half. Ralph played the right team and made the right subs...

...but the players looked devoid of ideas after going behind. That of course, does come somewhat from the manager, but I actually think most of what Ralph did that night was spot on, the players just simply didn’t know how to cope with what happened.

Game 9: Everton 1-0 Southampton
Still no KWP, and we had nothing on our bench for this game. We started slowly, and conceded a poor goal after less than ten minutes. We were lucky to not go two down after they had a second ruled out. Very poor 1st half...

...We were better 2nd half, but never looked like troubling Everton, despite the slender deficit. They coasted to three points and we looked out of ideas. Again, it’s difficult to blame Ralph in some ways because we had absolutely nothing to call upon to change the game...

...However, I do feel as though Ralph could have done more tactically to shake it up and trouble Everton, as we seemingly strolled to defeat without much urgency.

Game 10: Sheffield United 0-2 Southampton
Due to the nature of our demise, there was a lot of pressure on this game for us. Coming up against a team who are by far the worst in the league...

...and were near enough already sunk by the time we played them, we simply had to win this. Not to mention our not so desirable run in. We had a very strong team out for this one, with KWP back and Minamino in the side...

...I thought overall we were very professional and our victory was comfortable to say the least. It was great to see Che score such a wonderful goal, and I think the lions share of the credit for this one has to go to the players for stepping up...

and executing the perofrmance they did considering the pressure that was on them.

Game 11: Manchester City 5-2 Southampton
No Ings, Bertrand at right back and Salisu at left back, as well as Stephens in midfield. The lineup itself for this one was strange, but I thought there were positives to take from this...

...Some individual errors combined with some classy play from City led to their goals, but I thought we competed well in large parts and actually looked threatening going forward against them...

...As for Ralph, I was slightly Bemused at the lineup, but despite conceding five I actually think it worked for the most part. Salisu did a good job at nullifying the threat of Mahrez and De Bruyne, and Stephens being in midfield worked well at times...

...because it naturally allowed us to drop into a back five when under pressure. I think Bertrand got caught out a couple of times, but overall the inverted full backs worked pretty well. Unfortunately, the individual errors caught up with us.

Game 12: Southampton 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
Us and Brighton matched up with five injuries a piece, which highlighted that they have better squad depth than us when you look at the benches. I thought we uncharacteristically started slowly, and conceded a goal from a ...

Set piece early on. But we hit back with a good goal from Che. It was an overall very even game, but I think we lost this game tactically. We fell back into bad habits we had shown at the very beginning of the season, playing an overly high line and getting caught out...

...We were let off a few times, but it was this high line that was exposed for the second goal for Brighton as well as a couple individual errors. It’s difficult to say whether this was a deliberate instruction from Ralph or a miscommunication on field...

...I think Ralph and the players were equally at fault here.

Game 13: Southampton 3-2 Burnley
Off the back of an impressive showing at Bournemouth in the FA Cup Quarter Final, this was a game we looked at that we needed to win to ease worries of relegation. A slightly unlucky but probably correct penalty was awarded against us...

...after 12 minutes, and Chris Wood slotted it home. We were once again being caught out by long balls over the top which were exposing our high line and lack of pace. It was a collective error from Ward-Prowse and Vestergaard that led to their 2nd...

...We managed to do something we hadn’t seen for a very long time, and that’s come from behind to win. Previously, we may have capitulated having gone 2-0 down, but a lot of credit has to go to Ralph and the players for showing excellent character.

Game 14: West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Southampton
With an FA Cup Semi Final looming, we had an opportunity against West Brom to make doubly sure of our safety. I personally, wanted to rotate the squad and rest our best players for the Cup, but this notion was not shared...

...by many fans, nor Ralph. As a result, I suppose it’s down to the individual to decide on whether playing full strength for this game was the right move. However what was clear was that in playing full strength we needed to make sure we got the win. What ensued was painful...

We were defensively shambolic, and the players looked lethargic and disinterested out there. Anyone who knows me knows I rarely question the effort of players because I know that’s an easy finger to point for fans and is sometimes done so wrongly...

...However, even I was baffled by how our players just went through the motions, and after going 1-0, 2-0 and then 3-0 down, never looked like they wanted to get back into the game. I don’t think Ralph did anything wrong this game...

...He played the team that the majority of fans wanted, but the players were entirely looking towards the Semi Final. Of course, you can argue this is something that needs to be addressed by a manager, but from Ralph’s comments about...

...earning your place in the Semi Final team, it seemed as if he did just that. It’s not like he has endless resources to choose from either. This one goes entirely down to poor attitude from the players.

Game 15: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton
We played very well in the 1st half and got a deserved lead. Bale scored an exquisite goal before they won it with a contentious late penalty. I think the way Ralph set up was fine...

...and it was obvious that a team with Tottenham’s quality were gonna have their say. Fans need to be reminded we were far from outplayed, and in fact deserved a point were it not for the penalty decision.

Game 16: Southampton 1-1 Leicester City
Leicester at home on a Friday night...and to make things worse, we had an early red card too. The red card was a shambolic decision, and how it wasn’t even checked I’ll never know. However, it was impressive how we stepped up following...

...that and defended excellently as a unit reducing a dangerous Leicester side to very little. We showed a threat when we did venture forward and grabbed the lead with a penalty. It was disappointing the manor in which we conceded...

...but was an excellent performance given the circumstances. I think the team was good, and to be fair to Stephens he played well at left back. I thought Ralph brought Diallo on to break up the game at the right time.

Game 17: Liverpool 2-0 Southampton
Strange one this, because I thought we played pretty well and looked good in spells. Maybe could have done better defensively on the first goal but all in all we were beaten by a better team.

All in all, it’s been an extremely difficult 2021 so far for Southampton. Whilst it looks like we will be safe, it doesn’t change the fact that we have been nowhere near good enough this year. The point of this thread was to highlight that...

...there were many different contributing factors to this run. It can be very easy to simply look at results or a bad performance and lump it on the manager. Whilst I agree the manager takes responsibility to an extent, that doesn’t mean to say it’s always his fault.

For me, I still fully stand by Ralph, and I think in the first half of 2019 and the entirety of 2020, he had us playing some of the best football we’ve seen in a while. That cannot be underestimated.

Ralph has been far from perfect on this difficult run, and has been at fault on a number of occasions, however, there were also many occasions were there was nothing more he could have done and you have to look at the players.

There were times where you have to say that injuries totally crippled us and our sheer lack of squad depth due to no investment was exposed for all to see. Not to mention the fact we were on the end of some horrific refereeing decisions in that run.

Whilst people will undoubtedly claim that I, amongst others, are merely making excuses for Ralph, I see it more as some fans are looking at our results with a very one dimensional point of view.

It doesn’t matter who we are playing against, what players we have and what occurrs in the game, it seems as if everything is Ralph’s fault these days according to some. I say this from a perspective of witnessing a decent manager in Puel being...

...hounded out of the club because we didn’t like the style, and we nearly paid the price by going down the season after. Of course, the situations are different, but you have to look at the situation the club is in.

I think we would have gone down under many managers in 2018/2019. The situation in terms of finances and investment at the club is a grave one, and we should be very careful who we hound out of the club.

It’s going to be a very difficult summer considering the fact that we’ll have absolutely no investment, but I’m more confident that we will be fine in the Premier League under Ralph than most managers we could realistically get.

For as long as we keep Ralph, we may be one step closer to new owners. Should we get that investment, then I have every belief in the fact that he’ll repay that faith by doing very good things with the club. #SaintsFC