SaintBobby

Is possibly playing a south London team in the FA Cup 4th round now considered an international break? Ok, then.....

Huh? 57? At the start of the season, 57 is basically enough to guarantee safety. 57 points is W 19 D 0 L 19. For that to end up with you relegated would require all 20 teams to end up with exactly 57 points and for you to go down on GD. A bit far fetched...

Really good article. thanks.

Yes. Pretty much.

6th Behind Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Spurs (in that order). But only a few points behind 3rd/4th/5th. Ahead of Liverpool. Way ahead of Everton (both of whom were considered to be clubs we couldn't realistically "overhaul" not so long ago).

I rather like the "loan, with option to buy" deals we have done for Bertrand and Toby. Although, I'd like have our right-to-buy inked in not pencilled in. Taking a CB and a CF on this basis might make sense. I'm a little less worried about a GK, just cos I imagine the odds are that FF can play every game. But maybe taking someone stronger than Kelvin on loan would be prudent.

What we really want is for City to have nothing to play for on the last match of the season (1st or 2nd place being a certainty), plus them to be in the Champions League final (I assume that's a few days later), plus us to be level with Man Utd heading into that game. They'd roll over, surely?

I've never trusted that site. They seem to treat all individual match results as equally likely (I think they start the season giving every team a 5% chance of becoming champions).

As explained elsewhere, he isn't eligible. Apparently, you can't play in a replay if you weren't registered for the first fixture

I'd go for a few changes. I'd probably start with Targett, Isgrove and Long. Damn shame that Jay's return date has slipped. Biggest worry for me is lack of cover at centre back. If one of Fonte or Gardos gets injured or sent off, we have a massive problem.

That would be a recent change then?

I still think Europa League is the realistic shot and that Champions League is going to be too much of a stretch. We've adapted well to injuries so far, but I still think, sadly, that two of Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs (and possibly, just possibly, even Liverpool) will end up above us. So, if you're a (mild) pessimist like me and want to chew over how we make it into the Europa League, these are the outcomes you want to maximise our chances: 1. Chelsea to win the Capital One Cup. Alternatively, if Liverpool or Spurs win it, we'd like them to finish in the top 6. That would keep open the chance of Saints only needing to finish 7th to secure European football. We don't want a Sheff Utd win, even if most "neutrals" do. 2. If we don't win the FA Cup ourselves (or end up as runners-up to a top 6 team), we want the final to be between two top six sides. If the final is, say, Stoke v Everton or even Chelsea v Ipswich, this means a Europa League slot going to a team outside of the top six and so seventh in the PL won't secure a Europa League place. 3. Subject to the rider* below, we want an English club to win the Champions League but to finish outside of the top 4. Arsenal are the only credible candidates for this, unless you think Chelsea or Man City might win the CL but collapse so badly in the league that they finish out of the top four. (* I assume that if 5 English teams qualify for the Champions League, that we still get 3 Europa League slots rather than this being cut back to just two?)

The game is def on Weds, right? Surely it's more interesting than f-ing Spurs....

Toby for me.

Paul Telfer

It did use to be very moderately funny. Those days have long since gone. Credit to you though, you do still get the very occasional bite.

It's brilliant trolling by RK. Love it.

Great 41 minute advert. Loved it. For the main audience (presumably Americans with some interest in "soccer"), I particularly liked Ralph's suggestion that Southampton FC are basically the same as the Green Bay Packers...

Sorry, maybe behind the curve. I bought mine yesterday.

You can still get into corporate hospitality for £25 a ticket

I hear it's the top-rated movie of the year. Oscars are certain. Even mean-spirited delusional Saints fans queued round the block to watch that film.

It's surely a much more exciting story than Swansea. Because the trajectory of our ascent is so much greater/faster. They steadily worked their way up. Good for them. But they weren't days from liquidation or at the bottom of the third division with a ten point penalty 5 years ago. They also didn't have the summer of Armageddon. And then the incredible, pundit-defying rebuild. Nor do they have the academy success. If CB Fry thinks an hour-long documentary entitled "How Swansea City beat Bradford City 5-0 and thereby won more silverware than Southampton in recent years, assuming you don't count the Johnstone Paint Trophy" would make more gripping viewing, then I'd advise against a career as a commissioning editor in television....

Good question, Vectis. I think the corporate areas have been less full, bizarrely (prices gone up too much?)

Gary Neville made a good point. The authorities can only take action if the officials confess they didn't see the incident. Would you want to confess to that in your report, if you were that linesman?

Charlie Austin Stewart Downing