The Ralph Hassenhutl issue

Ralph Hassenhutl has been in charge of the saints since December 2018, in that time he has: lost 9-0 twice in 2 consecutive seasons, lost 67 and won 47 times. Now, Saints fans are questioning his ability as a manager after a lacklustre start to the 22/23 season and, most importantly, questioning his position at the club.

After only winning two in eight games at the start of the season, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s position of manager at Southampton is unstable with many fans calling for his sacking. The Premier leagues 4th longest serving current manager has been in hot water in recent weeks with reports of him ‘losing the dressing room’. However, When asked if he feared for his job after the 4-0 loss to Manchester City, he replied: "I am not thinking in this direction to be honest - never, since I was a manager.’’

There has been a divide over Ralph for around a year now between Saints fans with a large split with some wanting him to leave whereas some would like him to stay. Looking at it now, a large majority of Saints fans are asking for his head after the decline in positive results. Some may argue that a lack of change from Ralph himself in terms of tactics and others may argue that there has been a lack of backing from the board. However, after the change behind the scenes with the new majority shareholder Dragan Šolak there has been a large investment with around £64.26 million spend in the summer transfer window with signings such as Europa League final goalscorer Joe Aribo as well as young talents such as Gavin Bazunu, Romeo Lavia and Armel Bella-Kotchap. Ralph’s squad looks as if it may be one of the stronger sides he has had so it is clear that there is an issue somewhere.

In recent weeks form has picked up with a 1-1 draw against league leaders Arsenal as well as 1-0 win at south coast rivals courtesy of a Che Adams header. Things looked more positive going into the most recent fixture against Crystal Palace but a toothless performance meant that they lost 1-0. This leaves them 1 spot and one point above the relegation zone. There are 2 games left to play before the Qatar World Cup, with the Saints first playing Newcastle on Sunday the 6th and the final game before the break being a trip to Anfield on the 12th. Newcastle sit 4th in the league unbeaten in 5 so the Saints will face a difficult challenge. Liverpool on the other hand have been uncharacteristically inconsistent this year, in their last 3 games they have beaten Manchester City before losing to both Nottingham Forest however in the Champions League they have topped their group. Overall the fixtures running into the World Cup will undoubtedly cause issues for Ralph Hassenhutl and two losses could result in his demise. If results don't go his way he may be unemployed for christmas or if luck is on his side he may be back for boxing day and the new year.

Written by Raul Mendez