SNSUN

On a personal level, is null and void for the season our best outcome? What happens to the goals Ings has scored for instance? Would they count against his career tally or be wiped? Besides stats, I can’t see a bad side for Saints, it’s not like we were that close to relegation. Are we screwed financially? Leeds not going up would be very funny, but my mate is a Fulham fan and he’d be ****ed off if they missed their chance for promotion. Personally my guess is the Leagues will be finished, just much later in the year. Then maybe skip next season and reset everything ready for the 2021-2022 season.

Relying on youth it is then - Valery and Ramsey as right backs, Vokins at left back, Jones and Klarer coming in to Centre Back, Reed back with Smallbone in central midfield, Tyreke Johnson, Sims and Tella in attacking midfield, and N'Lundulu and Obafemi in attack. What could go wrong! Seriously with the uncertainty over the Premier League, I hope the delays find us time to find a buyer, or we really will be in big trouble. I can only see us selling the big assets like JWP and Ings, and maybe Redmond, Bertrand and Hojbjerg and rebuilding from the funds with cheap players. What do we reckon we'd get? JWP and Ings should fetch around £60-70 million I reckon in today's market, and the other three maybe £50 million combined IMO. I can see us shopping in the £5 to £10 million market if we don't get investment.

I’ve just bought a black market ticket for this game, paid £1000. Looking forward to it tomorrow. Just broke up with the wife so she can’t object. Anyone fancy meeting me before the game? All alcohol is on me. Wait, what’s that? Postponed? ****.

Must win. Probably won’t but need Armstrong back to give us a chance. Ings really needs to start finding the net again or his England spot is in jeopardy. At the moment it looks like DCL and Greenwood could be ahead of him, as Southgate likes the younger player. I still think we are one win from safety though we appear to be limping over the line.

McCarthy having a Kelvin-Davis-against-Leeds kind of day. A 1-0 win beckons?

Going to take a miracle to win now. Shane Long really needs to run for everything.

^should proof read my posts. TheN, BeSt, Are

He has talent though, I’m secretly hoping he signs a new contract in the summer and stays, the tears the league up next season. He still has his bets years in front of him. However I do think, with one year of contract left and him largely been a bench player this season, he’ll be sold. Still, we might get a good performance or two out of him before then, maybe today. Redmond and Armstrong and safer hands in the wide positions but Djenepo and Boufal are the X Factors. Should certainly make exciting viewing for the spectators.

Yep, more optimistic about this line up than I was for last week’s against West Ham. Valery over KWP we can only think he’s impressed in training but again better to develop one of our own. Ings to score today, I can feel it.

I still give him a chance. It takes a while to get the Harry Redknapp stink out of things.

They’ll be set up defensively but have attacking weapons which is why it’s puzzling they struggle to score goals in the league. I’d like to get one over on a Bruce team. McCarthy, KWP, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, JWP, Hojbjerg, Djenepo, Boufal, Long, Ings. JWP back in midfield please. I’ll take any kind of victory.

The Skate goalkeeper has a very apt name...

This season was always about surviving, while trying to improve on last season. We look set to do that, anything extra is a bonus. We’ll have had a mixed season with extreme lows (spanked first day, 9-0) and comparable highs (run of form, victories over top six clubs, Skates demolished) but signs are there that bit by bit Ralph is learning his players, learning his trade better (ditching a formation that wasn’t working and having faith in his own system) and could quite possibly keep building the team for the better. We just need to keep offloading the poor signings and hope that incoming transfers are better than previous summers. West Ham are fighting for their lives, and the minute I saw the line ups yesterday I thought we were done for. On paper they have a decent team, just mismanaged. Watford likewise, it’s likely both those two will escape relegation. (Norwich, Villa and Brighton for me.) Newcastle and Norwich to come, 3/4 points from those should see us over the line. Few pluses from yesterday, but Obafemi scoring continues his development at least in terms of confidence. At one point it seemed like we could have got spanked more, so keeping the score line down was also important.

Need the first goal today to un-nerve them. Don’t get that and we’re in trouble.

Their team looks decent on paper today. Absolutely would take a point if offered now.

Resting Ings? Odd decision. Need a performance from Obafemi then.

7 of Brighton’s next 8 games are against top 8 opposition. They need to win today. Would also do us a favour keeping Palace at bay.

Stat of the day as I blindly search through Transfermrkt: Shane Long has played against West Ham 8 times and Danny Ings 7 times, and neither has yet scored against them. Good time to break a duck. I can only assume the line up with be: McCarthy, KWP, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, JWP, Hojbjerg, Armstrong, Boufal, Ings, Long. (Subs: Gunn, Valery, Vestergaard, Romeu, Smallbone, Adams, Obafemi.) West Ham fans on KUMB oddly confident about this game, saying we have nothing to play for. We’re 7 points off 5th. We have everything to play for, especially if City go tits up. Thankfully even in games we’ve lost this year, we’ve played well, so I expect Hasenhüttl to keep the team focussed. Redmond and Djenepo are losses (if Djenepo is out) but in Armstrong and Boufal we still have creativity. I’d take a draw but this team post-9nil is good enough to win.

If hypothetically Boufal, Djenepo and Redmond were all out, we’d still have a couple of options besides Armstrong to play in attacking midfield, excluding youngsters. There’s JWP, who used to play further forward on occasion in Pochettino’s system (assuming he’s not needed at right back), and Che Adams can also play as a winger as he did on occasion for Brum. But Boufal is fit so expect him to start.

The site keeps telling all my devices to reset the clock! And that it wants to steal my financial information. Well I have a piggy bank with £32 in if it really wants to know.

Just seen the Adams pass to Armstrong again on Facebook. Cracking pass, weighted perfectly and into a great area of space. I really hope he gets his first goal soon, but the problem he has is that Ings is our top scorer and prefers playing with Long, so he is reduced to bit part appearances. I can see him getting a chance though towards the end of the season, especially after safety is mathematically guaranteed, so I hope he takes it. I'd have him as third choice over Obafemi, even if the latter has more goals this season. He's the sort of player that could start next season with a bang and go on to be a 20 goal striker, it just needs to click for him.

It's one of those games that if we play well, we can win, especially with our form this season away from home. West Ham will no doubt be buoyed by their performance against the invincibles, but I wonder how much they'll have in the tank after a ball-busting effort. I actually think a draw would be a decent result here, another point for us in the right direction, and it keeps West Ham down there in fear of relegation. Moyes effectively said that the winnable games start now - that makes me want to beat them more than anything, but I still think a draw would be a decent result. We haven't had many draws this season, and from here on out this season, if we can turn the defeats into draws, we can creep up the table.

Never thought I’d cheer a Liverpool goal like that...

Get in. Fabianski double screw up tonight, usually such a good keeper.

****s sake Liverpool ****s just ****ing win you incompetent ****s, you’re ****ing up my ****ing Fantasy team and giving West Ham ****ing hope that they can survive ****s. And relax... Of course, West Ham busting a bollock tonight hopefully means they’re knackered for our game...