Ralph Krueger was maligned by some as an "Ice Hockey coach" and he has now gone back to his roots and accepted a job back in the sport.
Ralph Krueger has been appointed head coach of America's NHL team Buffalo Sabres, with reports stating that the "once proud franchise are hoping he can end an eight year play off drought"
Krueger has been hired only in a coaching capacity where he is reported as being known for being an innovator in hockey strategies as well as developing young talent.
Krueger was much maligned by some Saints supporters for being an Ice Hockey Coach, but this was very short sighted, Krueger was not at St Mary's in a coaching capacity but for his business abilities in sport.
Although some preferred to use this as a term of abuse, it actually possibly made Krueger one of the most qualified Premier League Chairmen in that as well as business acumen he had a sporting background so understood all aspects of running a professional sports team unlike most club Chairman who are recruited out of industry and have little understanding of the way that football and it's fans operate.
Krueger's five years at the club were at times challenging and you can only really judge a man when he has ended his time in a job, for Krueger he oversaw a difficult time but in his tenure he saw the team achieve four straight top 8 finishes, a major cup final and two European qualifications and although his last two seasons were ones of struggle he played a big part in starting the latest overhaul under new owner Gao Jisheng.
That saw him make several big decisions, the first being to relieve Les Reed of his duties and the second being instrumental in the appointment of Ralph Hasenhuttl, a masterstroke in saving Saints from relegation and perhaps a catalyst for the revival of the club's fortunes on the pitch.
Ironically comparisons with the way Krueger was viewed by Saints fans could be drawn with the appointment of Clive Woodward almost 15 years ago, back then some supporters could not draw distinctions between what Woodward's job actually was and seperate it from his previous appointments.
At the time Woodward was probably one of the most successful team coaches in England if not the World having won the World Cup for the England Rugby team, but he was not brought in to coach players but to oversee the building of Staplewood as a top quality training facility as well as to introduce the sports science methods he had introduced to Rugby.
These methods were derided by then manager Harry Redknapp who intimated a bacon sandwich around a table in a cafe next to Upton Park didn't do Bobby Moore any harm and all these new fangled ways weren't up to much.
Some Saints supporters agreed, however within a few years of Woodward's departure all of the methods he was brought in to introduce were now seen as standard in all sporting teams not just football, however Saints had to waste a few years of potential progress until the arrival of Les Reed who effectively took on the mantle of Woodward's foundations and revamped the training ground and introduced sports science methods etc.
So good luck to Ralph Krueger, some might not agree, but he did a good job and left the club as he found it in the Premier League so did us no wrong.