SNSUN

Deflating to know that after 95 minutes of today's game we were probably safe as we'd have been above Huddersfield, but we can't hold grudges and we go again against Swansea. Simply a must win now as we can't rely on us to get anything against City. The team will be weaker though with no Yoshida or Romeu, and possibly Lemina so we need each player to be at their best. Midfield looks weak though. McCarthy Cedric Stephens Bednarek Hoedt Bertrand Hojbjerg Lemina/JWP Redmond Tadic Long

That is ****ing cruel. 3 points and we’d have gone above Huddersfield and virtually been safe. Now we’re back under pressure against Swansea. All or nothing. I’d have been happy with a point before the game too, but not like that...

We would have been down weeks ago if not for the crapness of the other teams at the bottom. If you'd have offered me our current position in the dark days of Pellegrino's reign in March I'd have bitten your hand off. It's because of the crapness of the other teams that we are still in with a shot, and so let's hope they continue to be crap and we can take advantage.

3 wins from 3 (extremely unlikely I know, just hypothetical) and 41 points could see us finish 11th. 11th! That is INSANE bearing how **** poor our season has been. That just shows the utter guff everyone has been in the bottom half of the table this season. If you offered me 4 points from the last 3, I'd take it, because I think that would be enough to overhaul Huddersfield. (Assuming they get a plucky draw from their remaining fixtures.) However, I also don't think Brighton will pick up another point, so 5 points for us would see us overhaul them on goal difference. Until this weekend I've thought relegation was a cert, but Hughes has changed things for the better and we have a glimmer of hope, even at this late stage in the season. I still think relegation is more likely than survival, but the players know what they have to do to stay up, and results of other teams seem to be going our way. An unlikely win (or plucky draw) at Everton next week would make for an exciting final week. (Annoying to think had we beaten Stoke, Newcastle or West Ham in recent weeks we'd be well clear of all this. ****ing Pellegrino.)

Huddersfield clearly the team we need to pass to stay up, and it's possible they won't get another point. West Ham also in catching distance as they have tough games. We need to beat Swansea but their fixtures (bar Chelsea which could go either way) are winnable. A Chelsea win today and it's been a cracking day of football. It has at least given us hope.

Definitely looking to hold onto the 2-1. Unbearable nerves!

Watching SSN. Whenever I hear MLT cheer in the background, I know it's good news! Really hope we can hang on to this, it's at least give us hope...

Playing the most expensive players in each position looks something like this... --------------------Forster-------------------- Cedric--------Bednarek---Hoedt----Bertrand ---------Hojbjerg--------Lemina------------- ---Redmond------Boufal------Tadic---------- ----------------Gabbiadini-------------------- (ignoring the ridiculous fact that Gardos, despite being on loan, is our second most expensive centre back at the club, and that only playing one striker means Long at £12million or whatever it was misses out. And yes, I've deliberately overlooked our record signing from January which should never have been allowed (as Pellegrino should have been long gone).) If you'd showed me that team on paper at the start of this season I'd have said we were a CB light but easily good enough for top ten. Crazy how mis-management changes things. For Bompey I'd reckon: McCarthy, Bednarek, Yoshida, Hoedt, Cedric, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Bertrand, Tadic, JWP, Long.

Have fun to the fans going today, I’m stuck at a family wedding in the Norfolk countryside and will be following it on an iPad with questionable connectivity. Good luck Saints whatever the result, just put in a performance to make us proud. 4-2 Chelsea is my prediction but a masterclass performance from JWP.

Except technically it's not in our hands? We're now relying on other teams to drop points. We can only do what we can, and try to win all our games, but Swansea only need 10 of their 15 points to be totally safe and even Palace who we have a game in hand on only need 9 from 12. 43 points is our maximum return now, even Palace's, who have played an extra game than us, can reach 46. Points will be dropped by others but they will also be dropped by us, we just have to hope for other teams to slip up and try to not slip up much more ourselves. I still think if we can catch anyone (and it's a big IF as I think we will run out of games) it will be Huddersfield, but we need to beat Leicester for that to happen, or mentally we will be broken.

5 wins all season, and we're now hoping to win 3 in 5. Although I still think if results go our way, we could stay up with 7 points (it is possible Huddersfield won't pick up another point) , but even though we're fighting more I can't see it happening now. We don't have the quality in defence and psychologically that gap in the League is huge now. Utter mis-management by Reed/Krueger et al to keep the utter mis-management of Pellegrino as long as we did. If we'd have brought in a new manager before the transfer window, (even though it wouldn't have been Hughes), I still reckon we'd be out the relegation zone by now, if not higher. If we stay up now I'll be amazed and delighted but it's easy to be deflated after throwing away a 2-0 lead.

The top 6 are now so strong (Leicester's doing) that I can't see any club sustaining a long term challenge to break into the top 6. Burnley are close this season but I doubt they will be there next season. The minute any club looks like they might be a threat to the top 6, they buy their best players. Leicester should have capitalised, and although they only sold Kante, they had a poor summer spend. Unless someone ploughs in billions and "does a City" over the next few years, Everton might I suppose, I feel the future of the Premier League will be the top 6 and everyone else fighting for 7th. I am interested to see how Wolves do next season though, they seem to be on a mission to achieve things.

That Chelsea team is full of quality. They may be in poor form but I reckon they'll have too much for us today. I correct my earlier predo of 1-1 to 1-3 to Chelsea but stranger things have happened. A point would be massive, as it puts us within 3 points of Swansea and Huddersfield.

Just like Stokes, a Player approaching their mid 20's born in Portsmouth? That'll be JWP!

Get there early and get a decent fry up... https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/best-restaurant-london-wembley-cafe-the-lounge-tripadvisor-ranking-vote-a8301066.html

Agree, I'd rather do a Newcastle, sign decent players, keep as many of the current squad as we can, appoint a decent manager, push straight back up. But we need Reed and co gone to do this, or we'll end up with crap signings and struggle. Building a team over a couple of seasons is risky, although I think Norwich will be stronger in their second season under Farke after he changed most of the team from the previous regime. I'd like to sit the whole squad down at the start of summer, and anyone who doesn't want to be here next season puts their hand up, and gets shipped off at the earliest opportunity. We need players up for the fight, not passengers earning their salary and contributing nothing. Sunderland still regret the Rodwell saga. I don't know who I want as manager yet though. Last summer I said Rodgers would be the perfect fit, no chance if (when) we go down.

While I could barely give a monkey's toss about the top 6 and their European exploits, I would however find City turning around a 3-0 deficit very funny. City are just the team that could do it too - especially with the fallibility of the Liverpool defence.

Back to a back 4 I guess. ----------------------McCarthy----------------------- Cedric--------Yoshida-----Hoedt-----------Bertrand ------------JWP-------Romeu-----Hojbjerg---------- ---------Long----------Austin-----Tadic-------------- SUBS: Forster, Bednarek, Pied/McQueen, Lemina/Davis, Boufal/Sims, Redmond/Carrillo, Gabbiadini Squeezy. Spirited point to get our hopes up... 1-1.

Going for a point by the look of it. Potentially sensible. Nick a One Nil and we'll be on cloud nine!

Let's say, hypothetically, we do stay up this season. Would it be a bigger Great Escape than the seasons where we had Merrington, Jones et al as our managers in the 90's? IMO yes, as we currently lack fight, don't have a player that can win games on his own, have tough fixtures remaining and are already looking cut adrift!

This will be interesting. Granted there's still time for someone to be a hero (I so want it to be Boufal), but who deserves the Saints player of the season award? Slim pickings I realise. Wasn't there a team that gave it to the fans? That'd probably be the best outcome after the shower of shyte that our season has been. Otherwise I'd guess it's between JWP, Hojbjerg, McCarthy or Austin. I'd give it to Hojbjerg for breaking through this season and not being as turd as the rest. Now, on to the Manager of the Season award...

Wow, this should be fun. Tomorrow Stoke play Arsenal, which is not going to help us either way - either Stoke miraculously pick up a point or 3 or Arsenal will gain more confidence by beating them, before hosting poor wounded Saints that have been battered 3-0 twice in successive Premier League games by relegation opposition. I don't think this will be pretty, but I hope for a more solid performance than today's first half. Starts for Long, Yoshida, JWP, Boufal, Romeu, and maybe even Davis? Desperate times call for desperate measures. I certainly want to see Yoshida in there, JWP too.

Absolutely embarrassing. I'm not following the second half. A grand coming my way courtesy of Ladbrokes then. Not a bad consolation prize as consolation prizes go but I'd still trade it all for Saints survival...

Utter ********. Must win game and we're getting creamed. I guess this is going to kill whatever hope the Hughes appointment gave us. Thanks very ****ing much Pellegrino. And Reed for appointing the charlatan in the first place.

If we go down, which I still think we are destined to do though I very much hope Hughes can work some kind of miracle, the players we want to ship out in the summer will become the ones we are left with after the better talent has been snapped up. If we stay up somehow, we need pretty major surgery. Certainly we would need a new spine of the team - GK, CB, AM, STR, and then look at upgrading the players we have. Whether we keep Bertrand and Lemina would be another situation that could arise, meaning they too would need to be replaced.