Cabrone

Quite a bit of arrogance breaking out into obnoxiousness going on here. You can quote me all the stats you want but the stats do not take into account human emotions and teams fighting for their lives. The arrogant dismissal of Wigan is pretty stupid, they aren't a bad team and they know how to get out of this situation. They will be turning up at a couple of holiday clubs in the next 2 weeks brimming with intent. WBA(a) is the pivotal game for me because if they win I can see them picking up 3 points against Swansea. I just hope WBA play against Wigan like they played against us as I'm Pretty sure that Wigan won't produce the kind of inept\complacent\lazy performance that we did on Saturday. Another big point is that they have 5 games in 2 weeks so you'd think that physical performance would drop towards the last 2 games. Villa will also be burning with determination and if they win tonight will have the wind in their sails and a very good chance of catching us going into that last game. Sunderland would overtake us if they beat us, they will be up for it esp if Villa beat them. Norwich have Villa and West Brom at home next, knowing that they need a couple more points I can see them fighting for at least a couple of draws which puts them above us. Newcastle are in the stickiest situation outside of Villa\Wigan but their saving grace may be the game at a dejected QPR with nothing to play for. They also have some decent talent that should still be able to get them out of it IMO. I'm not stressed about the situation and I think the odds are that we would probably survive on 39 points but it could well be a very squeaky bum scenario if we do. Of course the best way to instantly dispel all of this speculation is for Saints to go into their next 3 games fighting like Terriers. If they do then I'm pretty confident that we'd get at least 1 point and quite possibly 3 and all this talk will be instantly made null and void. 3 points at Spurs please.

Are we safe? Probably but it may be very, very close. Just had a go on the predictor: We lose at Spurs and Sunderland Wigan beat WBA (a) and Swansea(h) (two teams that have nothing much to play for) and lose to Arsenal(a) Villa beat Sunderland(h), draw at Norwich and lose against Chelsea(h) Stoke lose at Sunderland, lose against Spurs(h) That leaves a final day scenario of Wigan and Villa both on 38 points, Saints on 39 and Stoke on 40. If we lost to Stoke our goal difference would probably save us. Stoke would probably have to give us a serious beating for us to go down. Despite all the 'we'll be fine' comments the game against WBA was a real screw up and could keep us right in it to the death. Come on Sunderland tomorrow.

Unbelievably bad performance considering we could have all but sewn up safety this afternoon. It really makes me question the player's mentality. We had everything to play for against a decent mid prem side with nothing to play for yet they were still far too good for us. We were dire all round, the tempo was dismal and we looked like a team that had swallowed the hype and were safe already. Defence made way too many mistakes, midfield was laboured and JRod + Ricky were totally starved. Lallana was crap. Many stray passes but the biggest problem was the lazy attitude. The 2 reds that I saw were totally justified, no complaints from me. The fools need to wake up quickly - we are not safe yet, if we lose to Spurs (probable) and Sunderland (quite possible) we could still go into that last game against Stoke with nerves jangling. Wigan are playing well and Villa have picked up some form recently. Some of the nutters on here were commenting on us relegating Stoke a few weeks ago - could be the other way round if results conspire against us. That 2nd half was the worst half of football I've seen us play this season. Champions league?

I'd want both. Could we win the world cup too?

Come on Saints, come on Spurs. 3 points each please.

Great to have the ambition and every club should have it but we'd need some serious money spent in the transfer market. At least 1 top class CB, a pacey goal hungry striker and a top class midfield general would be a start. I hope fans don't read this stuff and instantly expect top 4 next season, they could be in for disappointment if they do. Mid table and a good cup run with a season of decent football would be fine by me.

Good for them, the Bundesliga is the way we should go. Bigger stadiums, cheaper prices and more atmosphere. Glad to see a more fan centric approach paying dividends.

Nothing wrong with a bit of ambition, you've got to at leat believe in something to to strive to get there and NC is nothing but fiercely ambitious. If this is the aim then our transfer activity this summer should be v.interesting. I won't be putting any money on it myself though.

Get a win in this game and Wigan + Villa lose then we are mathematically safe. Could be guaranteed prem football as early as next Monday.

Villa and Wigan will go down to the last game and Villa will go down on goal difference. Don't really see any other team getting sucked in.

I saw both and you couldn't fit a cigarette paper between them in terms of ability. I'd give Niemi the edge on pure shot stopping, Shilts was brilliant but Niemi was unbelievable at times. However i'd give Shilts the vote over command of area, he was always barking at the defence telling them where to be whereas Niemi was quieter. TBH I'd have either, they were both awesome keepers.

We'd be in the relegation zone if Boruc was still sitting on the sidelines. A good outfield team is completely undermined if your keeper isn't up to the job. Boruc has been the key player of the season IMO.

Decent point and almost there now. One more win will absolutely put it to bed. Looks like a real scrap between Villa and Wigan and looking at their fixtures I can see it going right down to their game on the last weekend.

Fantastic news, for me Boruc has been our most important player this season. As soon as he got in the team the defence solidified and we moved forward. As good as Niemi? Maybe but needs more time to show what he's got, Niemi was utter class but Boruc isn't far off IMO. Certainly one of the best keepers in the prem.

The way they are going they'll be playing our youth team in a few years.

If we could get a pacy striker to start replacing Ricky and a quality CB + we keep our key players + we continue on our current trajectory then IMO 6th would be the best we could achieve (and that would be a superb achievement). More realistically some decent football, a mid table finish and a cup run (like Swansea) would be just fine for me.

Inigo Martinez

It's all looking a bit close for comfort down the bottom but our saving grace should be that a lot of the bottom teams need to play each other so there will be a fair bit of cancelling of points amongst them. Fixtures yet to play amongst the teams still in contention at the bottom (Norwich -> Wigan) are: Villa v Sunderland Norwich v Villa Wigan v Villa Stoke v Norwich Sunderland v Stoke Plus we have: Saints v Stoke Sunderland v Saints Win any one of these games and we are all but safe. Plus: Wigan have Man City(h) and Arsenal(a) Villa have Man Utd(a) and Chelsea(h) Norwich have Man City(a) So: - Plenty of points to be dropped by Norwich\Stoke\Sunderland\Villa\Wigan yet - Some tough games left for Wigan\Villa\Norwich - Stoke\Villa\Sunderland also have to gain 4 points to draw level with us. I'd say we have a fair chance of surviving on 38 but one more win should absolutely do it. All this assumes that QPR and Reading are already down. Looks like Villa are going to have an immense month ahead. If they get out of this situation then this will have been their great escape.

The two that stand out are Coventry (even before the last game last season) and Norwich. Whenever I've been to those grounds I've never met an unfriendly fan from those clubs. I guess I have a soft spot for both of them. Also a decent Wimbledon fan got me a ticket (face value) into Sellhurst park when Saints took it over so a special mention for them too. At the other end of the spectrum would be Leeds and Millwall. High tosser content in those crowds.

If we play at our best and they play at their best we should win. Hopefully a good spanking at SMS, an equally big spanking against Man Utd, a streaky loss against Wigan and a pummeling at City will get their nerves jangling. Hugely unlikely but it's a nice thought.

Saints did alright under Thatcher, 2nd place, KK signing and a few Euro years. Good times when Maggie was PM. I had my disagreements with her but the country was in such a better state when she left compared to the bankrupt mess it is now. That said I don't think we should have a minutes silence, let the politicians mourn her - this is a football club and should only acknowledge only those that had a strong SFC\general football link.

A decent goal scorer but I'm not sure of he has much else. Would suit a lower prem team - just not us. What we need is a pacy CF that could work alongside JRod when Ricky hangs up his boots.

The whole MOTD setup is unimaginative, old and tired now. They were OK in their day but Hansen, Lawrenson and Lineker should now be put out to grass. Probably earning a packet too. It really is time for some new blood in there.

Would be a big shame if he left over the summer seeing as he needed a season to get used to the prem and the fact that this season was always going to be about securing premier status. I think Ramirez and the club will come good next season and we should be able to hit the ground running unlike this season. If he wants ambition then he's at the right place. Trouble is Inter are a big name with champions league pull so if they are serious then he'll be off. Inter are a much bigger fish than us.

Was decent for us but I lost a lot of respect for him after he left us and became a player that was only in it for money. Could and should have gone on to much better things than he ever did. Yes, he has the money but now his time has gone I wonder if he questions how his career went.