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My Ralph appreciation thread: from 18th to 5th in two years.
Sorry, this is long.
Sorry, this is long.
1/ Ralph came to Saints after a successful stint at Red Bull helping them get into the Bundesliga and rise all the way up to second in the table and their first Champions League appearance ever. He was let go by Leipzig after a 6th place finish in 2018.
2/After the back to back disasters of Pelligrini and Mark Hughes Saints sat at 18th in the table primed for relegation with no energy or direction.
3/ He takes over for our match against Cardiff but even in the loss, he connects with fans gesturing to them that he'd turn it around. With no incoming transfers in January Ralph takes the same team out of the relegation zone with 31 points in 23 games.
4/ In the summer Ralph has little to work with spending only 30 million dollars on four players in Che Adams, Moussa Djenpo, a loan for Kyle Walker-Peters, and Kevin Danso. All except Danso are still important pieces in today's team.
5/ Saints struggle to pick up the pressing system in 2019. Vestergaard is absolutely awful, Che Adams can't score and the team looks lost and the Saints are back in the relegation zone after a beating given by Leicester.
6/ Saints hit their lowest point against Everton where the team is lifeless and had looked like they quit on Ralph. Even in the worst of situations where he could have easily been sacked, he pulls the team together.
7/ In January Leeds offer Southampton 20 million for Che Adams a striker who hasn't recorded his first Premier League goal and Saints are ready to take it, but Ralph refuses because he believes in Che, even without scoring a single goal.
8/ PEH refuses to sign a new contract with Saints and has his heart set on Spurs. Because of this Ralph gives the armband to JWP a player who didn't have a position till he came in. Ralph developed JWP into one of the best cms in the game and not just a freekick merchant.
9/ After Covid Saints rise up the table with the emergence of Che Adams scoring a banger against Man City. And going up to 11th in the table.
10/ This year Ralphs's starting 11 has 7 players who were here prior to him, which speaks to his ability to develop what he already has since Saints can't afford to drop more than 20 million on a player. His belief in players like Che, JWP, and Vestergaard has elevated their game
11/ His fun pressing possession-based style can compete with any team in the league. With proper financial backing, he could probably take this team into a top-four spot.
12/ But he loves the challenge of working with little and likes to develop young players who run through a wall for him. He's a perfect fit for Saints and seems committed for a long time.
13/ If you're a big club and want him as your manager he needs time to shape the squad into what he wants, like Klopp at Liverpool. Most big clubs don't have the patients for a manager like him so I don't think he gets poached soon. Maybe a German team or Liverpool.
14/It's incredible what he's done with so little. Every manager since Koeman has had more financial backing than him. But he gets the most of out his squad. He's my manager. 
I'm sure there's a lot I missed but thanks for reading.
You're goated if you made it this far.
You're goated if you made it this far.
