Topcat

We need to be realistic about our chances of relegation. The best news is that one team, Norwich, look certain to be relegated. So are there 2 or more teams that will finish below us? Today there are 3 other teams below our 8 points. Leeds 7, Burnley 4 and Newcastle 4. The bookies have all of these on shorter odds than us to be relegated. So anyone really pessimistic should consider the 5/1 available on Saints! That said, looking at these 3, the common expectation is that Newcastle will have many millions to strengthen in the transfer window and therefore we should expect Newcastle to spend their way out of relegation. Leeds have recently been missing 5 starters and key amongst them is Kalvin Phillips. He was on the bench yesterday and if he does play consistently he can be expected to pull Leeds up the table as his win ratio as a starter is high at almost 50% in the Prem. Burnley however could suffer from player departures to teams such as Newcastle and could therefore be weaker after the transfer window. So we have 2 teams probably below us Burnley and Norwich and we will need to see teams currently above us drop below us. Any one of Palace, Watford and Villa?

Look on the bright side. After this weekend we will not be bottom. Arsenal will be beneath us....

My rough calculation has us winning just 4 Prem games in 2021, drawing 2 and losing 16. So why the pessimism? Two of the 4 wins were against sides that were relegated....

Bournemouth just not battling to stay up. At home vs Watford and only 1 shot on target whereas Watford have 6. Bournemouth have 3 fouls and Watford 13! No heart.

How about Moyes and Pearce coming in to save the season? They would frighten the life out of the half hearted players we currently have.

Match stats Everton 24 shots, 5 on target. Saints 4 shots, 3 on target. Why should anyone expect a win?

After spending the last two seasons in relegation battles, today the team we started with had just ONE new player (Djenepo) from those that played in the previous season. The Squad needed a major overhaul and by now almost half the starters should have been players that did not play last season. If we go down, I hope that Gao is personally responsible for all the debt required to but us, since his lack of investment in the team is the main cause of the problems aligned with Reed's inadequate scouting system and inadequate Academy (in recent years).

Good point.

Last season we conceded 1.7 goals per game. We start off by conceding 3 in one game. I judge it as worse. Let us see what Liverpool bring. Miracles happen.

A good point and the sight of Bertrand jogging along watching the opposition score was the usual state of our defence.

Sadly true.

A good question. What we do have is an awful defense, this season and last season. Danny Röhl was a defender in his brief playing career. In the coaching team after he left we have 3 former goal keepers....

The defence let in 65 goals last season. It was clearly an area that had to be improved. Yesterday the 5 starting defenders were the 5 defensive players that had the most Prem appearances last season. Nothing had changed. The Club had not brought in one player able to start the season ahead of our woeful 2018-19 defence. It needed to have brought in or promoted from the youth at least 2 starters better than 2018-19. We let in 3 goals to a team that finished just one point above us. On that basis the Summer 2019 transfer window was a dud.

Bertrand should be substituted for jogging back and letting their second goal in. Time for messages to be sent and drop the lazy sod.

Excellent points.

This shortage of cash, is the best explanation for the behaviour of the Club. Having an owner that has borrowed £200m and has to pay it back in sizable lumps could easily require a net outflow of £20m+ cash a year, possibly much higher. This season's business plan would not have factored in 3 large redundancy payments and clearly not much cash set aside for the January transfer window.

Q: Is Gao worse than Lowe? A: May be becoming as bad. Under Gao we are repeating the Lowe mistake of under investing in a team that is trying to avoid relegation. Save a few million and risk losing hundreds of millions.

If the folk running the Club had any financial nous, they would have seen an opportunity to both:- 1) avoid relegation and the financial meltdown in most of Gao's £200m investment/loan and 2) the opportunity to have lifted the team by a further £10m to £15m in the Merit (league position) revenues. It just needed them to buy a solid reliable inform striker, of which £15m would have been a bargain for Che.

In our Premiership relegation season under the excrable Lowe, we made a £4m+ profit in that January window. History repeating?

Very true.

Looking back to when Hughes was fired, our results have been better than we could have expected with 4 points from Arsenal and Chelsea. Yet the fact that we now sit in the bottom 3 indicates just how dire our position was then. Having taken these points off top6 sides we should have the confidence to beat the relegation rivals and mid table clubs. Interesting that Betfair's odds on our survival, show at least 5 teams with a better chance of relegation than us, even though we are 3rd from bottom. Hopefully the owners have the sense to provide enough funds to RalphH.

A remarkable change. Saved the season.

Two wins in a row, unbelievable (fingers crossed).

Class, fingers crossed that he is over the bad injuries.

A great win. Could have saved the season.