Madison is the spoiler for Ranieri
Ralph gives us ‘fresh start’
SOUTHAMPTON chairman Ralph Krueger took a thinly-veiled swipe at Mark Hughes after naming Ralph Hasenhuttl as the club’s new manager yesterday.
Former RB Leipzig coach Hasenhuttl, 51, has signed a contract at St Mary’s until the summer of 2021, taking over after Hughes was sacked on Monday having won only three of his 22 league games in charge.
Krueger said: “The urgency to find a path back to our potential and to the results that we expect cannot be underestimated. We are extremely pleased Ralph has agreed to become our new manager and do all he can to help guide us back on that path. This manager change offers us a fresh start and, very quickly, Ralph emerged as our ideal candidate.”
Krueger said Hasenhuttl had been on the Saints’ radar for more than two years, since he led tiny Ingolstadt to promotion to the German Bundesliga. The former Austria striker then spent two seasons in charge at Leipzig, leading them to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Krueger said: “As soon as we met, Ralph’s enthusiasm for football was contagious and his hunger to take on a new and challenging job in the Premier League was evident.
“Southampton’s past success was built on a clear identity. The foundation of this identity was a focus on developing players. Ralph’s ability to teach the game and to develop talent is evident in his past, and is a centrepiece of why he is the perfect choice.” CLAUDIO RANIERI, the manager who led Leicester to the Premier League title, could not conjure another miracle last night as his Fulham side again failed to keep a clean sheet to stay bottom of the table.
The Cottagers remain the only team in English football not to have gone 90 league minutes without conceding this season.
Last term’s Championship play-off winners seemed poised to snap that streak after taking a first-half lead through Aboubakar Kamara then deploying some Italian-style defending to frustrate the Foxes until the 74th minute.
But current Leicester boss Claude Puel showed he also knows how to tinker by making three secondhalf changes. Two of his substitutes – Shinji Okazaki and Demarai Gray – combined to set up James Madison’s
FULHAM LEICESTER
By charges – Marc Albrighton and Wes Morgan – had chances to open the scoring.
The winger scooped a shot over while the club captain sent a first header over before his second effort was saved by Rico. But as the half wore on, Ranieri’s new team gained possession and confidence.
Kasper Schmeichel made a spectacular full-length save from a Calum Chambers volley after Denis Odoi nodded back a Jean Michael Seri free-kick. Wilfred Ndidi made a superb block on another Chambers shot and Ben Chilwell got in the way of a Luciano Vietto drive.
A Fulham goal was coming and it arrived after 42 minutes. A flick from Aleksandar