CB Fry

I assume Göztepe are starting all their fixtures without naming a recognised striker in their first teams? Must be some kind of multi club Sports Republic thing?

Villa showing just how atrocious a manager Steven Gerrard is.

Sorry the forum experts have already stated that this game is absolutely not a must win. So as this is not a must win then a plucky draw or even a noble defeat is all absolutely fine because we'd still be on course for Premier League safety anyway 👍👍👍👍👍

...yep he won one of those two games. I think probably something wasn't quite right, and he has never even succeeded in the second tier subsequently. He wasn’t an elite level manager. But great in the bottom 2 divisions no question. Clear he wasn't going to be a long term solution for us. But his record in his short time with us was fine and miles above Nathan Jones, as you say. He can hardly be blamed for the relegation that season.

So now Leeds are getting 4 points in 8 games instead. Genius.

I think your issue is not your optimism with Saints but ridiculous pessimistic view of other clubs. Why are Bournemouth only getting 4 points from their last 8 games? If we were in Bournemouth's position today there's no way you'd be predicting that, more likely you'd be doing predictors that put us in 11th on the last day. I think Forest probably will drop but they'll get more than just 5 more points from 8 games. Again, if that was Saints in that position you would run the numbers and oh-would-you-believe-it we're safe. Other clubs are not going to lose their way to our safety.

"Every decision we are taking us focused on staying in this division" was the mantra. That seem to involve spending more than fifty million quid in January on a players that at best occasionally start games and at worst don't even make the squad, but mainly just sit on the bench down the pecking order to players that were signed by Mark Hughes.

Very, very clearly. Clue: it does not mean just the game we happen to play in May when we're 20th and not winning that specific game means we are mathmatically down. It has never meant just that and never will just mean that. It's fine you didn't realise, I'm here to help x x x If we'd won some of those must win games earlier in the season then maybe we wouldn't be 20th now and clearly relegated. That's kinda how it works.

You've answered it - you clearly don't understand what it means.

If your definition of a "must-win" is exclusively a handful of games in May where it becomes mathmatically impossible to stay up then I would suggest that you are the person who "doesn't understand what it means". We won't be relegated because we lost some singular game in May that makes it a mathmatical fact. We will be relegated because of our shit run in January and February, and our losses to the likes of West Ham last week. Honestly if you think we can not win vs Palace and still stay up then God help you.

Lavia will leave. Forget buy back clauses and all that shite. No over thinking required. He's breaking into his national side in a season with Euro 24 at the end of it. He will not be playing in the Championship. Either City buy him back and loan him to Fulham/Palace/whoever or someone big (Arse/Spurs) comes in a splams £40m on him and City let him go. There is a scenario that City sign him for their own squad but feels unlikely. Either way the only unknown is where he will go, not if he will go.

The Athletic write up of it makes it a bit more complicated than that. I don't think many managers want to risk being associated with two relegations in the same season.

I missed the early days of Jones tenure when you were absolutely salivating about how wonderful and aggressive the team were now and what an improvement he had made. Absolutely revelling in how right you were being proved. Oh the hubris of the pub expert. Unfortunately both he and you fucking shat the bed. Hilarious you are now backing nothing more than a Spanish son-in-law merchant for no other reason than the fact that he isn't Ralph Hasenhuttl. That's it, that's the only reason you are backing him. Son in law, moisturising foreign ponce but Duckhunter seal of approval through who he happens to not be. One day you might be able to get over it x x x

I missed the early days of Jones tenure when you were absolutely salivating about how wonderful and aggressive the team were now and what an improvement he had made. Absolutely revelling in how right you were being proved. Oh the hubris of the pub expert. Unfortunately both he and you fucking shat the bed. One day you might be able to get over it x x x

I refuse to believe someone who wears nice suit jackets and has excellent hair could possibly be a downgrade.

Maybe he will if he has fallen out that badly with his Burnley team mates, on last night of all nights.

The dictionary definition of "Saints-tinted spectacles". Jesus wept.

All the great performances were because of Erwin Koeman and all the terrible ones were down to Ronald.

He doesn't need a release clause to leave. We will get an offer and he will say he wants to play in the Premier League in a season with Euro 24 at the end of it. Potentially Man City buying him back and loaning him to Palace or something.

Sensible from Forest.

Make no mistake I would be delighted if we got him. Genuinely feels like a perfect fit, I don't think he will get another Prem job, he will need to get himself promoted into it, again. But yes as Turkish says too obvious an appointment for the out-of-the-box geniuses that have transformed our club.

I think that started way before Semmens rocked up. Mane, Van Dyke, Hojberg, Gunn, etc etc etc - good or bad we have always signed younger players with an expectation to sell onward. Sports Republic are the ones that took on an nice idea (that was demonstrated quite well with Livramento) and turned into the fundamental strategy of the whole club and lets make this the main thing we do and spunk all the money on it. Too clever by half. I can remember this time last year there were plenty of folk here who were enthusiastic about building a team of Livramentos but that was always pie in the sky for the reasons you say. You never win anything with kids.

Difficult to see a new manager turning things around at Forest, especially with the size of their bloody squad. Where do you start if the all those players gets a clean slate with the new boss with 7 or 8 games to go. Ooof. I think they'd deserve to go doen if they bin him. Cooper could be a great appointment for us next year, although always the risk of Adkins-at-Reading vibes.

Right, so there are plenty of teams who can have utterly shit form for the rest of the season and still get 35 points. We need top 10 form to get 35.

Leicester and Forest down and Derby promoted is my personal dream scenario so there is that.