SNSUN

Recall him, and the first XI could be: Forster Cedric Stephens Hoedt McQueen Elyounoussi Clasie Reed Hesketh Carillo Gallagher Europe here we come.

We could've fed it to Freddie Starr who doesn't mind rodent cuisine, but we're a few days too late for that...

Do we get a trophy for that?

I hope Ledong is big, I hear bigger is better. Sounds like money coming into the club to me, in a summer we need investment in the playing staff, that's surely a good thing...?

Okkkkkkk, end of the season. Phew. So now we look to the summer activity. A 25 man squad needed and some of the youth like Sims will now qualify as part of the 25 man squad if we want to keep them in there. So this is my squad for next season, including transfers in and out. Obviously Ralph's will be different and of course it is dependent on finances but this is what I'd like to see. OUTS would be loans if we can't sell. I think I have the youth ages right. GK: Gunn, McCarthy, (Lewis - youth) OUTS - Forster/Rose RB: New RB (Valery, Ramsey - youth) OUTS - Cedric LB: Bertrand, Targett. OUTS: McQueen CB: New CB, Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard, (Alfie Jones - youth) OUTS: Hoedt, Stephens DM: New DM, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Romeu, (Slattery - youth) OUTS: Reed, Clasie AM: New AM, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Armstrong, Sims (Johnson - youth) OUTS: Boufal, Elyounoussi, Hesketh, Davis STR: New STR, Ings, Long, (Obafemi - youth) OUTS: Barnes, Austin, Gallagher, Carillo That's 21 senior players backed up by youth, with 5 incoming signings as part of that 21 as I doubt we'd sign more than that. Which leaves four spots for players we can't get rid of! So we refer to the OUTS: As I figure we will probably be stuck with Stephens and Elyounoussi, then they can pick up 2 spots, and I would give Boufal a go under Ralph's guidance too, which takes us to 24. The 25th spot I would either give to Reed or Hesketh, and because of his versatility, I'd go for Reed. So the final 25 senior players are: Gunn, McCarthy, New RB, Bertrand, Targett, New CB, Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Stephens, New DM, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Reed, New AM, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Armstrong, Sims, Elyounoussi, Boufal, New STR, Ings, Long. That should at least provide us a stepping stone for a better placed finish next season, with a view of completely getting rid of the deadwood/rot next summer. Of course I've not factored in players that could be wanted by other clubs - Redmond, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse and possibly Lemina will probably have their admirers, with either of the goalkeepers, Hojbjerg or Bednarek possibly left field transfers too. But I feel it should be more about adding to the group this summer, not dismantling it and starting again. However those 5 incoming players would need to be of better quality than what we have already... RB - Needs to be of first choice quality, or very near potential first choice quality, irrespective of Valery's promise. He needs competition and it will only be good for us in the long term. (Especially if Valery becomes our most sought after player next summer. (Like Wan Bissaka at Palace.) CB - No brainer we need a first choice, someone that is equally comfortable in the back 3 or in a back 4, and dominant. (In a similar vein to VVD, Alderweireld et al if possible) DM - A mobile tank - more Wanyama than Schneiderlin. Someone that can shield the defence but get forwards if needed. AM - A playmaker with goalscoring capabilities. Someone that can change a game. (Even though I've included Boufal, who could still prove a disappointment, I still feel a signing here, even a younger player, would adequately equip us for a full season.) STR - Someone that can frigging score more than he misses! A target man with mobility. (We can't rely solely on Ings, Long and Obafemi for goals all season!!!) So there we are - that's my 25. I'm sure it's wildly inaccurate as to what will actually happen but we shall see...

So oddly I’m supporting a fifth of the Premier League teams today, Us and Arsenal to see us jump a place above Burnley, and City and Wolves to stop the dippers winning the title. Ultimately just seeing us finish on 40+ Points would be a nice end to the season.

Gazzaniga Alderweireld Van Dijk Lovren Clyne Oxlade-Chamberlain Wanyama Lallana Mané Lambert (umm) Ings! manager: Pochettino. OK couldn't think of an eleventh defector but that's quite some list since we've been back in the Prem. 3 or 4 in the final I reckon too. Oh how I'd love a Wanyama 30 yard winner after a mistake by Lovren. ABL - anyone but Liverpool. Sadly it'll be Liverpool.

Wikipedia has his height at 5’11’’...

RIP Toomer.

Gunn Bednarek Jones Bertrand Valery Lemina Romeu Targett JWP Redmond Long subs: McCarthy, Ramsay, Vokins, Hojbjerg, Armstrong, Ings, Austin. Forster, Stephens and Moi blasted into space in a rocket. Hojbjerg given a break to see how Romeu and Lemina get on together. Long over Ings only over recent form. Must win really as 15th is on offer with the extra dosh that comes with it. (Helps pay off some of the wages.)

I keep thinking back to the Wolves 6-0 when Saganowski scored a hat trick away from home when we were all expecting us to get tonked as the big players were out injured. Let's hope Ings and Long can bang in a few like that because we certainly aren't keeping a clean sheet with Stephens and Forster keeping the goals out. Is this Elyounoussi's last shot? Annoyingly, for Premier Fantasy Football purposes, I put Rice in defence and he's out. The player that will come off the bench to replace him? Redmond, who's on the bloody bench for us. I knew I should have put Ryan Fraser as first choice sub. It's not a terrible line up but there are 3 glaring weaknesses. I look forward to a stronger squad next year.

I was in a bar in Paphos when he scored the Reading equaliser with some other Saints fans. Memories.

It’ll be interesting to see if we get enough points from the Ralph tenure to show we could have stayed up even without the Hughes 9 Points. 29 points so far and Cardiff are on 31, I think one win would do it. We’d have stayed up in a 23 game Ralph season. That is some going. Man’s a genius.

There's millions of pounds still at stake and that'd at least cover some of the wages for crap players we're still paying. Ergo the teams we put out against West Ham and Huddersfield still need to be fairly strong. Maybe bring in Jones, Ramsey, Slattery or Johnson but do it against Huddersfield if anything. A stronger team for West Ham please. Diop got highlighted against Spurs as having a good game, so keep Long and Ings in with Redmond for a bit of pace, maybe have Lemina next to Hojbjerg and Romeu in midfield giving JWP a rest, Valery and Targett wing backs with Bertrand in a back 3 with Bednarek and hopefully Yoshida, and maybe bring in McCarthy for a change. West Ham are weird, crap at times, decent at times. Along with Everton they get the "most inconsistent team of the season" award. They're beatable but I'd take a point. Then a home win against Hudds should see us finish above Burnley.

Goalscoring machine! Sell Austin and Gallagher, keep Shane next year as he offers something different and seems to be fairly nonplussed at not being first choice. Ings, Long, Obafemi plus a new striker should give us enough next season up top.

Safety and still Huddersfield at home to come. Shame we didn't win, i still feel looking at the goal differences that we could finish above Burnley. If you'd offered me 15th after the Hughes regime, I'd have torn your arm off for it. Summer rebuild starts now, the sooner the better but most importantly... ...FFS KEEP RALPH HASENHUTTL!

Respect the point!

Elyounoussi Armstrong Sims Yoshida Vestergaard Ings (mc)Carthy Targett Obafemi Ramsey Yan Valery Those players initials spell out my thoughts on the game! Seriously though Bournemouth are a strange team in that they have some very good players interspersed with some not so good ones! Ake, Wilson, King, Brooks and Fraser are all weapons for them, and most would probably slot straight into our side. Still a victory would mathematically see us safe and would definitely put us on a platform to finish higher up in the table than we expected at the end of the Hughes reign! Do we have enough about us? Tough one to call but I think we can win this.

2 correct results and a correct scoreline so far! I could rival Lawrenson with predos like these! 7 points in the next 3 would be tasty though - 4-6 would perhaps be my revised prediction as the season draws to a close...

As a cup half full (normally) person I hate to get to half time and concentrate on the negatives, but "we will regret not taking those chances" is fresh on my mind. Still, if you'd have offered 1-0 at half time, I'd have torn your arm off. Respect the point, if that's what it comes to - and we could use Spurs winning too!

I had this game down as a 1-1 with Watford potentially wanting to avoid injuries before their big day - but after seeing the line up I'm not so sure. If we want to get anything out of tonight's game we need to see the best of JWP which we haven't of late. Doucoure and Capoue will be key for them, Capoue has a history of scoring against us. A loss is no great shakes, although we'll have gone from looking at the teams above us at who we can catch, back to who is approaching us from behind! Still I'm confident in safety, with Bournemouth and Huddersfield at home still to play and really only a couple of points needed, we'll find them from somewhere, even if not tonight. A point would be massive though - respect the point!

Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Yoshida, Bertrand, Romeu, Hojbjerg, JWP, Armstrong, Redmond, Ings. Subs: McCarthy, Stephens, Targett, Slattery, Sims, Austin, Long. If Vestergaard is out. Tempting as it is to start Long after his incredible recent scoring extravaganza, I hope we leave him as an impact sub. Lemina on the bench or too soon? This is a bit of a weird game really, as we're both still in a relegation battle, but barring a strange set of results, we're both safe. I have us down for losing this game, which is no great shakes, but we could just as easily turn up and win it, looking at our recent form. It's possible one goal either way will nick it. I can't see a goalfest.

Saints - 43 Points - 14th Relegated - Brighton - 34 Points Champions - Liverpool (Now I need a shower! But City don’t have Championship League to worry about, so I’m on the fence a bit.) Other two CL spots - Arsenal and Spurs Promoted - Norwich and Leeds Playoff winner - WBA unless Boro sneak in, then watch a Pulis borefest. FA Cup - Man City but not underestimating Watford Champions League Final - Barcelona Pompey - Lose playoff semis Eurovision - Australia

Did Sven Mislintat ever end up anywhere or was that just a pipe dream?

“This is not just Saints, this is Hasenhuttl’s Saints.” ...said in sexy M&S voice. Not in ages have I been so confident of us getting the job done, if, of course, there’s even a job that needs doing. And I think 36 points will be enough for survival, not that we'll finish on that.