SNSUN

Sure I think we'd all agree... the sad fact is those are the players we won't have and our team will be made up of the rest of the chaff, and signings will likely be a CB whose knees have gone, a midfielder journeyman and a few youngsters from Man City's academy. We're in a state. Our next managerial appointment is a whopper.

Goodbye Prem. Been on the cards for weeks. Shit decisions all season. I'm interested in the rebuild in the summer but please God don't let it be with Selles. We need an experienced head to give us a shot. Someone that can play players in their best positions. Even the 05 side had a bit of fight.

We're not going to make 30 points are we. Been following this on SSN (whilst trying to entertain my 4 year old "teenager") and that starting line up was awful. Still, the sooner we are mathematically down the sooner we can start the prep for the Championship.

I'd quite like to get to (if not past) 30 points this season to not look completely crap. This is one of those games we have to win to do that.

Please not Selles. Gray... Wigley... we're not exactly successful appointing coaches as managers. I wish Selles the best for the future but we won't be in a position to wait to see if he'll be a good manager. We will want instant promotion which means very swiftly bringing in a new manager that knows what's what. Who? God knows. Someone that has had success getting teams promoted in recent history. What's Daniel Farke up to these days...

Our best XI (on paper and of course up for debate) of Bazunu, Livramento, ABK, Salisu, KWP, Lavia, JWP, Alcaraz, Sulemana, Armstrong, Adams would wipe the floor of the 2005 team, and arguably only Niemi and Crouch would find themselves walking into the current team. HOWEVER the problem we've had is either many of our current players have been (in some cases quite badly) injured, or in the case of Charly and Sulemana only been around for 5 minutes, and of course have been mismanaged over the course of the season. Also a few of our squad players aren't great. I've said it before, and I hate to say it because I don't think it's going to happen, but IF we did stay up then next season we actually have the makings of a very good team.... we would really only need to strengthen a couple more positions and try to improve the squad. Sadly next season I do think we'll be in the Championship and will see that first team dismantled.

Thought I posted on here, but I'll say it again. Must win of all must wins. To be out of the bottom 3 by the end of Sunday would be huge psychologically. And no, a draw is not good enough now. Will we? No i think theyll be too strong. I think West Ham are in a false position because they've had their European exploits and they still have good players. Draw at best.

Block 524, Row 12, Seat 316. One of my favourite days. My only gripe was that a mate offered me a lift to and from Wembley for my spare ticket so I never really got to drink in the pre- and post-match atmosphere in the local pubs. Still a cracking result even if it was "only" Carlisle and we were the big spenders of League One. We also had Harding at right back (who did a great job) and Morgan suspended. I said at the time I wished we could have kept Antonio (Happy Birthday to him) but if I remember rightly Reading wanted too much money.

It was Wolves, who along with Palace, Everton and Forest have actually scored fewer goals than us. An article I found states this: "Beyond West Brom in 2005, only two other sides have escaped after being bottom at Christmas. Sunderland achieved this n the 2013/14 season as they rallied late on and actually ended up 14th. Leicester City did the same in 2014/15 as they avoided the drop and then won the title in the next season." I'd quite like to do a Leicester!

Question - if we stay up would it rank as our greatest ever escape from relegation from the Premier League? Boy we've had a few in the last 30 years. I'd say that if Selles can keep us up then this would be the greatest of great escapes, eclipsing the Merrington season and probably the Hughes/Swansea survival for me personally, based on how shit we've been all season. Have there been any great escapes I'm not aware of pre-'90 when I started supporting Saints? (One for our more mature fans!) Also, where does our Championship season in 2007-08 rank in the grand scheme of things under Pearson?

Was just trying to work this out. I know the cards are in our hands when a player has a contract but this is just IMO. Also it looks as if we're culling our double-barrelled name quota. JWP - I know some people think he'll be loyal but he's just too good and I can see Spurs or someone from London wanting him. KWP - same reason, too good for the Championship and he'll have his suitors. DCC - Croatian International, 26 so still young, pretty decent. Someone will want him and he seems out of favour here ALTHOUGH personally I'd like to keep him for the Championship as I think ABK and Salisu are gonners too and he could be our new Hooiveld. Only probably better. ABK - Too good for the Championship. Does have injury issues though so this could go either way but I think someone will take a punt on him as he was also good at Bochum and is now a German International. Salisu - Ghanaian International at the World Cup, potential, not perfect but still only 23, contract running out, he's gone. Lavia - No brainer this one. Much as I'd love to see him in the Championship keeping up his playing time (which would be our only chance to keep him - him deciding to stay to keep playing first team football, or possibly sell him with a loan back for a season) he's gone. Sulemana - I'm not sure why anyone would really want anybody from our attacking department but I do think Kamaldeen with his International experience, WC pedigree, speed and youth would want to look for football higher up somewhere else. Adams - Again hardly prolific but a Scottish International that gets a few goals and is a good passer of the ball will tickle someone's fancy lower down the Premier League echelons. But again, like DCC he's one I'd like to see us keep hold of as I think he'd lead our ascent back up to the Prem. AMN - End of loan, I can't see a world in which we'd sign him permanently although it is not completely beyond the realms of possibility. Depends if someone in the Prem wants him or whether we could even afford him. I can't see it. WALCOTT/CABALLERO - retirement. That's about it - there are players that are possibles, like Edozie or Bazunu if someone sees the potential we did but I think they'll stay for more regular football. Of course you also have those players that will want to leave because they don't want to play Championship football - maybe Orsic, Onuachu? But at 30 and nearly 29 I reckon they'll stay. Alcaraz (as I posted on another thread) I just have a good feeling he'll stay. Not sure why. Walcott and Caballero will retire. Ergo the squad would look something like (pre-signings): GK: Bazunu, McCarthy, Lis RB: Tino, Bree LB: Perraud, Larios CB: Lyanco, Bednarek, Stephens CM: Alcaraz, Diallo, Smallbone AM: Edozie, Moi, Stu, Aribo, Orsic, Djenepo, STR: AdamA, Tella, Mara, Onuachu. ...And a handful of youth. I really don't think that looks too bad if I'm anywhere near accurate. Of course you could have other players that I've had staying as leaving and vice versa but this is all IMO. Some parts need strengthening, RB if Tino isn't fit, CB for definite, CM for definite but the rest should have enough quality to put in a good season.

I'd like to see him stay and I agree with everything you say, I think he has potential, the key word though is the one I've highlighted, I just hope he stays for a season and helps us back up - Sheffield United kept Berge so it's not impossible. I do think we have more chance of keeping Charly than we do of keeping Sulemana. Charly most likely wasn't too well known outside of Argentina unless scouted whereas Sulemana is a Ghanaian International, shone at the WC (fastest player) and came from France. Obviously I'd like, to keep both but some of our players will be eyed up by the vultures left in the Prem.

We have, IMO, if we play our absolute best in them, 5 more winnable games. That's West Ham, Palace, Bompey, Forest and Fulham. Again if we play our best we could possibly take Newcastle and Brighton for a draw. Massively surprised if we get anything from City, Arsenal or Liverpool. So our absolute best points total we could achieve is 17 putting us on 40 and IMO guaranteed safety. 'Tis the dream! The problem is for every good performance we have another 3 or 4 crap ones like Leeds/Brentford in us waiting to haunt us AND we're down a couple of centre backs. So if I'm trying to be realistic I think we could get another 10 or 11 points which, I still don't think, will be enough. If we do survive I'll get a tattoo of Selles on my butt.* *Not legally binding.

Please God..... won't make a difference re relegation but fuck Spurs... 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Pleeeeeaseee....

Just stuck a fiver on a Saints win. Those poor bookies need all the help they can get. Wibble.

Yep a bit of a surprise, which is a weird thing to say when they haven't won this calendar year and just broke the record for having no shots on goal in 3 games. I think Palace will be fine. Its us, Bournemouth and either Leeds or Forest for the drop IMO. Candidate for manager for our inaugural Championship campaign next season?

I'm sure the players and manager still believe in survival but I've thought it's een too late since the limp Leeds performance. The fact that a win against Spurs STILL doesn't rule us out of survival means the manager and players are probably right to believe safety can be achieved but it's very hard to believe that right now. 7 points from 4 games seemed decent and then we put in a shitty performance against Brentford. Is it any wonder why the fans feel defeated this season. It's like getting some punches in against Mike Tyson and dreaming we're going to smash his face in only for one punch to drop us to the canvas. Still, let us be the fart in the lift and linger a bit longer. Saints win. (Where's my white coat...) Put the strongest side out every game for the rest of the season (not Diallo, Bree, Moi, Adam) and at least we can try to go out on a high. Saints 1-0 Spuds just to wind us up and get us dreaming of survival again.

Test of Selles' managerial credentials if he can give the hairdryer treatment and stick a rocket up the players for the second half. I'm watching Huddersfield vs Norwich which is excruciating.

Well that's not good.

Must win IMO. We have 12 games left and we are bottom of the Premier League with a crappy goal difference. We are running out of time and draws are not going to keep us up. This is every bit a must win game if we even want a chance of staying up. Brentford have been very good this season but they're beatable as long as we can put the ball in the back of the net. They'll come at us but as long as we can keep the defence tight (which we seem to be getting the grasp of of late) then we can hopefully nick a goal. I already think we're down despite our recent upturn in form under Selles BUT a win would go a long way to getting me to think otherwise. At least it would offer us the chance to dream of an escape.

7 points from 4 matches ain't bad. Keep that ratio up for the last 12 games and we'll be laughing. Brentford, Spurs, West Ham, City in the next 4. 7 is doable but we'd need to learn how to attack. Much better from the defence though.

Been lurking today as didn't realise my sub was up. Anyway... ...thoughts so far - I actually quite liked the starting line up today, not perfect but getting there, and the Casemiro red has put us in a good position. I would totally take a draw now but heck if this isn't the best shot we've had of an Old Trafford win since Charlie headed in the winner on his debut... Come on somebody, be the hero...

Everton - can't hardly score but they're solid enough and in Dyche they have the perfect manager to carve out ugly 1-0 wins. I really want them to come down with us but it's very possible they'll escape again. I still think it will be Bournemouth and Forest that come down with us - Bournemouth's win today was an aberration. Leeds and West Ham will be too strong. It's possible it could be Leeds but I think they have some decent players in their ranks.