SaintBobby

It is true that we could play anything from just two games to about a dozen or so matches in the Europa League. But, we could also play anywhere from 2 to about a dozen games in the domestic cups, so I don't think the level of uncertainty is enormously greater this season. We're likely to play 6 or 7 additional games this season. It could be a bit more than this, or a bit less. Obviously, as the season unfolds, we will prioritise or deprioritise different competitions. If we're are knocked out of the Europa League at the group stage with two games to go, we aren't likely to field strong teams in those last two games. In contrast, if we have made it to the Europa League quarter finals and are clearly going to finish between 9th and 12th in the premier league, we may rest key players rather than field them in increasingly less important league matches. Overall, I think we have greater opportunities to bleed through some youth players as a result as qualifying for Europe. Not necessarily in European matches themselves, but in other matches (3rd or 4th round of the Capital One Cup) as part of a squad rotation strategy.

Paul Wotton. Legend.

Dell-sized mentality.

Me neither

I think Google covered the story. That's where I got my info from, anyway....

Having weighed it all up, I don't think this match is going to happen. It's just more internet rumours and mongs, sadly.

Bang on the money. Again. Thanks

Hoping to see something of Gallagher and Seagar.

Thanks for the poll. We know for sure the truth now.

amazing you learn something every day well, someone does....

That's your lot on goalkeepers....well, meaningful signings. We might replace Cody Cropper.

I also agree. Great thread.

Jokes and witticisms aside, I have also heard this kid is some kind of genius. Hope we snag him.

Utterly dire. This England team must be the worst in decades.

Brilliant insight. Saints are some considerable way from being good enough to win the Champions League and probably would have lost to Barcelona if we'd been in the final yesterday evening. It's incisive, original, counter-intuitive analysis such as this that gets me returning to this forum over and over again.

If we get into Europa, I wouldn't mind keeping him.

Interesting that injuries seem to have gone up and up. I guess this is due to the increased speed of the game.

Doesn't it make financial sense for them to play at SMS (for both clubs)? how much wld it cost them to upgrade to 18,000? And would they anticipate getting 20K+ for some games?

Relieved rather than positive. I thought Yoshida was very good, but no one else seems to have mentioned. 5th or 6th definitely within our grasp.

My head hurts. Are we now saying that if the FA Cup winners qualify for the Europa League in virtue of their league position, then the additional Europa League slot goes to the Cup runners-up rather than to the next based Premier League team? That's a bind. I assumed either Arsenal or Liverpool winning meant 7th place was good enough to qualify.

Err, isn't three losses a drop of 9 points....2 losses and 3 draws is a drop of 12 points, no?

I still think it will be impossible for us to finish above a really big club like Everton, to be honest.

This is a common assertion, but takes no real account of the huge diversity in family/household circumstances. If you're the only breadwinner in a family of four, seems impossible to provide on that income. If you're a youngster living rent free with Mum and Dad...... or your partner works and is quite well paid, then things are enormously different. The idea that benefits are subsidising what companies pay in wages is also rather misguided in my view. If your labour is worth only £7 per hour to a company, they aren't going to pay you more than £7 an hour. The government might think these people need a top-up - say £3 - from welfare benefits to help them get by. And they might be right. But that's not the company's fault. A company isn't going to pay £10ph for labour it values at no more than £7ph.

I don't really see why a cleaner or a caterer who happens to work for a football club should be paid more than a cleaner or caterer who works for any other company.

If we finish 7th, we will qualify for Europa League if the FA Cup is won by a team in the top 6 (Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd being the only candidates) If we finish 6th, we qualify for Europa League as long as Chelsea - as League Cup winners - finish above us (racing certainty). If by some utterly weird quirk of fate, Chelsea drop to 7th or lower, we still qualify if the FA Cup is won by one of the top 5. If we finish 5th, we qualify for Europa League for certain. As far as I can work out, if we finish 8th or worse, we definitely do not qualify for Europe.