Rut

That's what non-SFC fans said about The Dell. Especially after we'd just beaten them. What WOULD be a disgrace if the Prem was a closed shop based on ground size, ave attendance etc. Thankfully it ain't.

Every non-SFC forum was saying 'right - who is going down with Southampton & West Ham then' at this time last season. Don't blindly assume Palace will go down (West Ham) Don't assume Hull will go down with them (Saints) Don't think because Cardiff won the Championship they will stay up (Reading) Or have you really thought that every team we've played this season has looked world beating? We were totally out-classed once all season - and that was only for one half.

Chelsea v Man City had a 48,000 sell-out in St Louis last night. The tickets sold out in 15 mins. For some pointless friendly. Played at a baseball park in a Midwest city with no MLS team. I just know that the average 'bloke down the pub' has no interest in it - but obviously there are a lot of people out there who do. It really is a strange one....

You what? You need to take the word 'US' out of that for it to be true. No way did more people in the US watch 'some soccer game' than the Superbowl. Trust me - that didn't happen. http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/03/ratings-qualifier-records.html - 7.65 million for a record viewing of USA v Mexico WCQ (the majority watching on Spanish speaking TV - ie they were Mexican) http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/04/sports/la-sp-sn-super-bowl-ratings-20130204 - last years SB had 108 million watching. Soccer in the USA is like American Football in the UK. It has fans who are really into it but it is definitely a minority sport. The TV companies obviously feel there is some sort of market for it (ie next season they are showing every Prem game LIVE on US TV) but it will never become mainstream...

32,376 - my Hungarian just got rather good. That one was a killer. http://www.geoguessr.com?v=eyJ0b3RhbFBvaW50cyI6MzIzNzYsInZlcnNpb24iOjEsInJvdW5kcyI6W1sicm91bmQiLCJsYXQiLCJsbmciLCJnTGF0IiwiZ0xuZyIsInBvaW50cyJdLFsxLDYyLjQ3MTgxNiw2LjE1MzY0Nzk5OTk5OTk3Niw2Mi40NzE5MDIyMjgxODYzMiw2LjE1NDE4OTEwOTgwMjI0Niw2NDc3XSxbMiwyMy4wMjUwMTcsLTEwOS43MTYxMDkwMDAwMDAwMiwyMy4wMjYxODU2NzU0Mjc4MywtMTA5LjcxNTQ4MDgwNDQ0MzM2LDY0NjddLFszLC0yNy41ODc1MjYsLTQ4LjU1NzI1MywtMj****g3NzU3MzQzOTI4NTA1LC00OC41NTcyNjM2MTI3NDcxOSw2NDc3XSxbNCw1OC45ODE1NzEsLTIuOTYwNTk5MDAwMDAwMDAyLDU4Ljk4MTQ3MDAyMTc5OTYzLC0yLjk2MDY5NzQxMjQ5MDg0NDcsNjQ3OF0sWzUsNDcuNDI4NDA5LDIxLjE1ODk5NjAwMDAwMDAwMiw0Ny40MjgyNDY5NDIyODk2NCwyMS4xNTg3MjM4MzExNzY3NTgsNjQ3N11dfQ%3D%3D

Now Saints are safe then COME ON WIGAN. 1/ Would love Villa or Sland to go down instead 2/ Would double love Arsenal to not make the top 4. Been reading some stuff from their fans and they are all pssed off cos Man Utd 'bought the league'. Ask them how they managed to get Walcott and Chamberlain and they go a bit quiet. You basically stole them from Southampton by offering them big wages. Now the boot is on the other foot you don't like it - plus you chose the wrong team to be a glory supporter of. I hate Spurs as well but hope they get 4th. For anyone who blindly says 'Arsenal will beat Wigan on Tues' - I bet you also hilariously said something like 'I wonder how many Man City will win the FA Cup final by...' Saints staying up, Villa going down and Arsenal not making the top 4 will make for a very good season. Bring it on.

Great story. 'oh no there's a policeman at the door so I guess we just best neck all these beers cos there's no way we'll ever be allowed out, ever!'.

Good stuff. Also need to add that just because a team needs to win doesn't mean that they will. Remember the last day of the season in 2005? Fulham v Norwich. Fulham had nothing to play for. Norwich had to win to stay up. Norwich were backed into odds-on to win. They had 1000's of fans there ready to celebrate. Final score was 6-0 to Fulham. Teams down the bottom don't suddenly become world-beaters just because they have to.

After the poor start Saints went odds-on to be relegated (think we started the season at around 5/4 to go down anyway). So seeing us at (currently) 33/1 to be relegated with 2 games remaining is quite blissful. To go down 4 teams have to do better than us between now and the end of the season. There's no 'Huddersfield' in this lot. This is the bottom of the league.

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/relegation Into 80/1 now. Oh no. We're doomed.

They seem to be giving it a good shot at doing it right. Seem to be... I guess their angle on showing every game for (relatively) free is to try and get some viewers and therefore more ad revenue? We often forget how low the viewing figures for UK football are in the USA (timezone doesn't help). NBC Sports Network is available on Dish & Directv and most cable companies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Sports_Network All good at the moment...

From: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130416/english-premier-league-nbc-tv-coverage/ >[/font][/color] LV - I'm reading it that 'Premier League Extra Time' is going to be a new TV channel(s) - this means you can watch Saints LIVE every week - or tape it and watch it when you get up. They tend not to use 'press the red button' here so you should be ok to do this. They basically are saying that every game will be live on TV (via existing NBC channels & Premier League Extra Time) and live online (via NBC Live Extra Stream). All subject to availability via your provider etc. I can find no mention of them starting to charge a subscription for NBC Sports Network - so like I said - too good to be true at the moment!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130416/english-premier-league-nbc-tv-coverage/ >> The network said any game not designated for an NBCU channel will be available on Premier League Extra Time, which is similar to MLB's Extra Innings Package. (There is no charge to customers whose cable systems have NBC Sports Network.) I can't find a catch anywhere here. Basically NBC will be showing EVERY game live on TV at what appears to be no extra cost (if you already have NBC Sports as part of your package). We'll see 'ey?

Sat May 4. 3pm UK time. Spurs v Saints live on TV on ESPN2. Cool. **** NBC have been releasing more stuff about their coverage next year. All sounds VERY promising. Too promising? Info & discussion: http://epltalk.com/2013/04/16/nbc-announces-details-of-premier-league-coverage-plans-for-2013-14/ Main points. All games live on NBC Live Extra Stream (but only if you are with certain TV providers - currently this doesn't include Directv or Dish). Not good. However - and this seems too good to be true... http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nbc-networks-televise-epl-next-180415355--sow.html >> In addition, NBC is making available free to all carriers of NBC Sports Network a package of every EPL game played at 10 a.m. ET on Saturdays - the primary starting time in the Premier League. Called Premier League Extra Time, it is similar to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket I get the NBC sports network on Directv (part of the Sports package I think it is) so this means I get to choose any game live at no additional cost? ie can watch Saints live on TV each week? Am I missing something here?

Earlier on I knocked on my neighbour's door and said, 'Can you have my children? I promise I'll be no longer than a few minutes, guaranteed'. 'Sure' she replied. I said, 'Great, get your knickers off then'

A great pic of Saints top & Swansea 2nd. Looking at the teams/attendances etc it's funny how much has changed in 31 years. Even Pompey had a good chance of staying up in the 3rd division back then...

Oldham are actually slight favs to win. How much are you laying them not to? You could make a load money cos you know something the bookies don't... Link (I don't make this stuff up): http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-1/oldham-v-yeovil/winner

They weren't exactly acting like the most clued-up people in the world - but why blindly throw the 'racist' tag in there? In this pic I see a white bloke with a bloodied face, white blokes throwing punches at each other & a black bloke stood there without a care in the world. The media would have loved a pic of a black bloke covered in blood but sadly (for them) it didn't happen...

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/relegation Gone out to 125/1 now (and some bookies ain't pricing us). Don't worry boys 'n' girls. The 'other games' threads will still be going. After all - if all the teams below us manage to win all their games we are doomed... Has anyone actually watched Stoke lately? Still hoping it's Villa myself.

Didn't know they kept it going nowadays. The book was normally closed once the season started. 'NewYorkSaint' - if you user name matches your location you know it ain't that easy to lay this off. I had the bet put on in England by a mate who was visiting. I have the hard copy betting slip. We are 2 points ahead of Man Utd and they have a game in hand. They are rightly 1/2 favs. Mind you would I lay it off if I could? Naah - Saints to win out all 6 games and that would leave Man Utd needing to win all 7. We've got this - nailed on! Current odds of teams with a chance: Man Utd 1/2 Swansea 11/2 Saints 7/1 WBA 9/1 WHU 16/1 Everton 20/1 Norwich 80/1

Yeah the odds were varied this year by team. Saints were actually given the biggest handicap (but were only 14/1 with it). Here is the full list. The thing to remember with these H/C bets is that the H/C points for ALL teams are added to their real ones. Not just the team you back. You then get a table like the one I originally posted. Verbal Kint - good luck mate!

Had a bullseye @ 14/1 on Saints +44. Had written this off a while back but with Man Utd losing tonight this bet is just about alive. 2 points behind Swansea, 1 behind WBA and 2 above Man Utd & WHU. Here is the current table (Ladbrokes): HC Pt Total Team 42 41 83 Swansea City 38 44 82 West Bromwich Albion 44 37 81 Southampton 2 77 79 Manchester United 42 37 79 West Ham United 42 35 77 Norwich City 24 52 76 Everton 34 39 73 Fulham 15 58 73 Tottenham Hotspur 42 31 73 Wigan Athletic 37 34 71 Stoke City 12 56 68 Arsenal 17 49 66 Liverpool 0 65 65 Manchester City 30 33 63 Aston Villa 5 58 63 Chelsea 40 23 63 Reading 32 31 63 Sunderland 37 24 61 Queens Park Rangers 20 36 56 Newcastle United

Good thread. Currently between 2/1 & 3/1 for a top 10 finish (this is way more realistic than relegation): http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/premier-league/top-10-finish Saints to get between 10 & 18 points from the final 6 games. Nailed on.

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/relegation For all you doom 'n' gloom merchants I'm sure you will be lumping on. Easy money 'ey? Ladbrokes & Hills only have us at 50/1. Oh no. That late Wigan goal could be the final nail in our coffin.

Here is 11 mins of post-match analysis of the game from USA TV. Includes the goals etc & some good things said about Saints. I especially like when they look at the next 6 games for both teams. 'Southampton will be looking up the table now' [video=youtube;ruAL-XfBqto]