SNSUN

We could actually finish only 10 points behind Everton. (Not sure what my point is but factually correct.) Just had a tenner bet with a Bournemouth fan at work that we finish above them. Easy money.

Put into perspective 8th in the Premier League makes us the 8th best team in the country. And with the Premier League widely acknowledged as the best, most competitive in the whole world, that's pretty amazing stuff. Not to mention doing it with a club of our size in the same league as 6 huge financial hitters. (7 if you include the Everton wannabes.) Granted the football may have at times been dreary, and we haven't done as well as last season, but with a weaker first XI than last season, I think we've done well.

In an ideal world, we'd keep Gabbiadini, Austin and Sam as our strikers, bring one more top striker in, and sell Jay and Shane. But it won't happen like that. I think we'll start the season having only allowed Jay to leave, and will either use Sam as an extra striker or if we're lucky maybe sign another, and let Sam back out on loan. I think Shane will still be here next season. On paper, Gabbiadini-Austin-Long-Gallagher/new Str Looks OK seeing as Gabbi will be the main striker through the season. As long as Redmond is not played in the striker role and we can keep Austin fit for longer (perhaps easier said than done) then I think we will do better with goals next season, assuming we can get the midfield sorted out too.

Good to try the team without the future summer sales playing... Shows how we might fare next season without them. #joking

This is the game that decides whether we finish closer to 8th or 15th. We still have a great shot at 8th and apart from Leicester (who can potentially get 52 points to our potential 51) it's in our hands. (As it stands, if we win all 3 games (!) it's in our hands to finish 9th.) We should be able to beat Boro, they can barely score goals and we have a host of better players. However we've hardly been setting the world alight recently in that department. Nevertheless I think today will be the day we step it up and pick up a win. Win today, and by my calculations based on other team's fixtures, the worst we can finish is 10th.

Funnily enough of all the "jewels" we could potentially sell, Cedric is the one I can see staying. Just a hunch, but he seems happy to be here. I think it's Bertrand and Virgil we'll lose this summer, and the jury (in my head) is out on Tadic. Really hope we keep Romeu too.

Didn't realise MOTD 2 had been renamed the Jurgen Klopp show..... bias as usual. I'm surprised they even bothered with a post match interview with Puel - you hardly saw him in the highlights in comparison. Mignolet handled outside the box, we should have been playing against ten men. A good point. Should give us confidence against Arsenal. As for Fraser, well done. 2 good saves. Always good to annoy my Pool supporting friends.

It's still congested in the middle of the table, five points separating 8th and 15th. We have games in hand on all, and a better goal difference on all but WBA, although we have some toughies still to play. So a simple thread, where do you think we'll finish and on how many points? I have us as finishing 10th on 45 points, goal difference ahead of Bournemouth. (Leicester 8th over WBA)

I had a dream of 4-1 to Saints today. That'd be lovely.

Agree, but with the Liebherrs, we've pretty much hit, and will continue to hover around, the ceiling of what we can achieve. I'm happy with that, and the financially security it brings, and my guess is that over half the fan base would agree, but I can see why some fans would want a big bucks owner to come in and push for the stars. To me though, that seems like a risky strategy. We've seen clubs push for glory over he years and ultimately fail - Leeds and Blackburn are two that spring to mind, and I wonder if Everton will succeed....

I was going to write this but you've done it for me! Huddersfield and Brighton up would mean our major League One rivals back in the day (and us and Bournemouth) are now in the Prem! Personally I want to see Fulham up.

For us I'd keep Puel for consistency and let him have next season to show us what he can do without extra games. No brainer.

Meh, rather Chelsea than Spurs for the title and played OK from the bits I saw too. Moving on.

Actually if we finish 8th and one of the teams above that get a 20 point deduction for financial irregularities, we can get in. :-)

We're not going down even if mathematically we still can. Hull and Swansea will be fighting for that right, but there is a chance of slipping down the table and finishing in the bottom half. Palace are flying, Leicester were until recently, Bournemouth and West Ham can still pick up points and you can never rule out Watford or Stoke. However we still have Hull and Boro to play, as well as a very winnable home dead rubber against Stoke, so there's potentially 9 points for us. Then we just have to hope of picking up a point or 3 against the big sides (I'd love to beat Liverpool and see them slip out the top 4) and we should be finishing 8th-10th. I have us finishing on 48 points, where ever that has us finishing. (10th-12th would be my prediction.)

Top 8 if we finish there and he decides to stay. Can't see it though, amazing as it'd be. (On both counts)

We've sold key players every summer we've been back in the Premier League, and that appears to be our model for financial security (not that that's necessarily a bad thing) so I really can't see us keeping VVD this summer, as our key 'jewel'. I'm preparing myself for the worst, so that if we don't sell him I'll be pleasantly surprised. The fee we'll get for him though should mean we don't need to sell any other 'jewels', but then I guess it depends on who (if anyone) kicks up a fuss and wants to leave. The media are already linking other clubs to Tadic, Cedric (not that I think Barcelona will go for him - Bellerin if anyone), Bertrand, and even Gabbiadini, not to mention the likes of Romeu, Redmond and JWP will have admirers. Then there's the question of selling squad players like JRod and Clasie. Keeping the team together as much as possible will be key to knowing how well we do next season. At the start of this season I said that this will be a transition season - and it feels as if that has been the case. If, and I say if in hope, we keep everyone together, and strengthen the backbone with a centre back and defensive midfielder, then I really think the sky is the limit next season with no extra games to play in Europe. I'm talking even fighting for top 4. However the realist in me thinks we'll be rebuilding again following the sales of a couple of key players (albeit in a stronger position than this season as we have youngsters come through and the likes of Yoshida much improved) and we'll achieve similar to this season, perhaps with a better points total due to more rest between games. Our summers are never boring, that's for sure!

I don't know who this Fred Ayre bloke is on the BBC feed but he sounds very biased digging at Saints a lot! Before my time I guess. I'm stuck at work so that and this is all I have!

Think this will be a high scoring defeat. (I don't mean we'll get whipped big style, I mean both sides will score a few but it'll be close. I'm going for 5-3 to Man City, our goals from Manolo, JWP and Bertrand. :-) Of course I hope for much more...

There's not one Arsenal player I'd have in the Saints starting eleven. Not one.

So Pompey have won Community club of the year in the EFL. Outstanding achievement. They should get bonus points for that.

I'll take a point tonight. Against Palace. At home. There I said it. Let's get to Dalek's famed 40 point mark and then reassess in the summer.

For me, it boils down to the future summer transfer dealings of 2017. On one hand, we're a bad transfer window away from a relegation battle (seeing the assets like VVD, Romeu, Bertrand, Cedric, Gabbiadini, Tadic, Redmond et al sold with crap bought in to replace them), on the other hand we have the makings of a really good team and with a couple/a few decent transfers and we could really push up the table for a top 6 spot. I think the powers that be will show Puel faith and we'll still see him here next season, and personally that wouldn't bother me as long as we show early season signs of progression, however IF the right manager became available this summer, a really decent coach and motivator, we should be looking to bring him in and let Puel go.

The songs write themselves. Previously linked with Norwich and Reading. Unusual for Arsenal to get rid of their youth - they usually want to nurture it. Preparing for life without Wenger?