SNSUN

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.

Well this is poops.

Fucking Liverpool. Smash a team we couldn't give 2 shits about 7-0 last week and get beaten 1-0 by the League's worst team. (Well according to the table this morning that was accurate) Yes we should be concentrating on our own results but a few results going for us amongst our relegation rivals would help. That result didn't help. And I know I keep saying I already think we're down, I do, the signs have been there all season IMO not least today, but it's nice to be able to dream of a miracle recovery that propels us to 17th on the last day or something.

Juanmi with the assist for the Betis equaliser I believe. Is it wrong to hope Rashford gets a little teeny knock tonight? Maybe a week out...

I wouldn't use the word "comfortable" of our finish last season. Hypothetically IMO had the season been, say, 2 matches longer we would have dropped. Our last 12 games' results last season was 1 win, 2 draws and 9 defeats. 5 points from 12 games. Granted that followed a reasonably decent spell of form (which probably saved us from the drop) but it's like the players just gave up or something. Still I'd take that over this season...

"I Know What We Should Have Done Last Summer"... the new sequel to the hit movies. But yeah IMO Ralph should have gone last summer. His tactics were all over the place, his line-ups and subs were weird, his end of season results were awful and the players seem to have been surprised we kept him. I actually liked Ralph as a person and you could see he cared for us but we had a chance to bring somebody fresh in and start the season off with a clean slate. Then perhaps we wouldn't have almost panicked and thought Jones was up to the task. Ironically had we kept Ralph this season instead of sacking him I do think we'd be in a better position now (especially with January signings) but... who was to think Sports Republic would bring in a Championship manager who had already failed at Stoke. We've wasted so much time with the Jones appointment I think we've left Selles too little time to do much. The appointment of Jones was a worse decision than holding on to Ralph though. Would I have Ralph back for the Championship? Nope, move on.

This will be the most annoying thing about relegation this season - that we finally seem to be signing decent players after the dross of the last few years, and yet it seems to little to late. If we WERE to stay in the Prem next season we'd have Sulemana, Charly, ABK, Lavia, Salisu, Big Paul, Tino, KWP, JWP all in the same team together and then we can work around the edges. We'd actually have a good looking first team. Sadly I don't think that will come to pass and we'll probably see half of them shipped off in the summer.

Man Utd, Brentford, Spuds. 5 or more points from these and I'd say we are well back in the race for survival. 3 or 4 would be borderline acceptable. 0-2 and we may as well start checking out our Championship opposition. A point this weekend would be a very nice start but I refuse to get my hopes up. United will be wanting to prove a point and, well, we still stink.

Liverpool in transition without Mané and with Firmino leaving but they are right to have stuck by Klopp as it shows. They still make good signings. Just need to strengthen their defence and sort out their midfield once and for all and they'll be challengers next season.

Annoyingly I'd rather be facing United after a 5 nil win for them than a loss but it shows they're flawed despite recent good form. At least we don't have to face Liverpool until... ah. Last day. Need to be safe by then.