Minsk

I'm with you guys. I really don't think Wigan will catch us no matter what, and I could NEVER hope for a QPR win under Henry. It still hurts that we lost to them/him at St Mary's. So I will be hoping for wins for: Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Wigan. In the other match either a win for Newcastle or a draw (although I think I would prefer the former, as we could then go 10th next Saturday).

Whilst I am pretty certain we will be fine wins for Wigan (possible) and Sunderland (highly unlikely) today could see us in 11th on 37 points and still only 4 points away from the drop zone. It is crazily tight this year. Saggy chops got very upset with a reporter last week when the 40 points safety margin was mentioned, stating no where near that much would be required. I'm not so sure. I have been saying since the start of the year that I thought Reading, QPR and Villa would go down. However, that was a huge win yesterday for Villa. And I now think they might well finish above not only Wigan but Sunderland and Stoke as well. So, my current prediction is: Reading, QPR and Sunderland (although I would find it highly amusing if Stoke were to go).

I strongly disagree, he really wasn't!!

I agree

Rode our luck a bit in the first 20 mins. Jos was lucky with the penalty decision, it would have been a different game had it been given. Took control more and more as the game went on. Should have scored at least 4 or 5, not just the 2 we put away. We really do need to sign Boruc up long term. The more I see of him the more I like him. Great game today. Loved his juggling. Steve Davis also had a very good game today, but my MoM goes to J-Rod. He just gets better and better.

Why did we bother buying J-Rod? That's why!!!!!!!! You beauty!!!!!!!

Great save from Boruc

Jos was lucky to get away with that.

Looking at that, it should be Moyes. It should not be Jol based on only 1 win and 1 draw It should not be SAF because even I could manage Utd to beat Norwich, Reading and Sunderland It should not be Poch because losing at home to a bottom place QPR is completely unforgivable (and is the only defeat for any of the nominations)

So, let's see which omens we have: Our former manager, harshly dismissed a few months ago, now in charge of the opposition = we will lose Playing a team with a new manager = (certainly historically) we will lose Team we are playing have lost their last 6 matches = we will be the team to change that, and will lose We have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea in our last games and now face the bottom team = (typical Saints) we will lose We have never won and Reading have never lost when the respective teams have been officiated by Saturday's ref = we will lose The last match I thought we would win comfortably (and desperately hoped we would) was QPR, and we all know how that ended = we will lose However: Reading have to win, a draw is no good for them; NA cannot set a team up to defend and hit on the break (see Liverpool away as an example); therefore they will need to attack us - and NA has not had anywhere near enough time there to get them playing the type of flowing football they would need to cause us sufficient problems. As we know, Saints play best in an open match. We have the better players; better form and need to change these ref stats. Therefore - ​we will win!!

Out of the three attacking positions wide left-central striker-wide right - options which position do you think J-Rod plays now?

I must have imagined Utd selling Beckham and Ronaldo to Real Madrid (because they offered stupid money in fees and wages). It is the same for every player, there is a fee which is deemed acceptable - especially if the player wants the move (i.e. Walcott and Chamberlain). Most certainly historically (under Lowe, for example) those fees were set quite low; whilst now they are much higher (as in we refused 10m for Shaw in January). The acid test, though, is if Cortese is serious in his wanting us to push for Europe in the next few years is whether he simply refuses to let any of our promising youngsters leave.

But he didn't say they would be fighting it out for 6th place. He said they should TARGET 6th-8th, while realistically expecting no lower than 12th. Therefore, if there is one position you should be focusing on from his post it is 12th.

For anybody saying about Chelsea playing a weakened team: of the 14 used against us 10 played a part in beating ManUre today, with another 3 being unused subs. Only Marin didn't appear in their squad today.

So he did, my mistake; for some reason had it in my head that he was central with Guly in the AM role. Anyway, my second point still stands. We are not playing 4-4-2 and nor is Rickie being picked as the wide left player.

He started the first game of the season up-front. Rickie is still being picked as the central striker - with J-Rod left and AL right; it's just that they all seem to inter-change more under MP than they did under NA.

So, in your opinion, the better manager is one who took three years to achieve promotion as opposed to the one who did it in his first year?

As shocking as this may be to you, BS has only been on this forum for a mere 4 months - or so he would have us believe. I know, I know, it does seem like a lifetime!!!! N.B. Yes, I am obviously dismissing any rumours re his previous entities such as Cheese on Toast, Dune and Stanley. 'They' were all banned for life and there is no way the admins would let 'them' back just to pocket another fiver. No siree!!!!

(Provided we stay up) I think many of our fringe players (not PL standard) will leave in the summer. As others have mentioned: Sharpe, Chaplow, Richardson, Fox, Martin, Butterfield, De Ridder; possibly even the likes of Hoiveld or Fonte if we bring in better CBs? I would think going to Reading would be good moves for any of them. Then, he may even look to loan some of our promising youngsters like Reeves, Stephenson or Chambers. Who knows? But I wish him well; just not at our expense!

Arguably, West Ham and Leicester had far more resources last season - yet we finished above both! As you say, time will tell.

Yes, 2 promotions and 15th place in the PL.

Let me guess, started by a poster calling himself Royal Lard?

Maybe, when giving his interview in Poland in Polish, Artur said xenophobic but whoever translated it for the Echo replaced it (or mistranslated it) with the word racist? Feck me, so much crud on this thread about the wrong use of a single word, when in actual fact it might not have been the actual word he used anyway. The real point here is that any so called fans should not be abusing our own players; racially or otherwise. The whole idea of being a supporter is to support. I might have had an odd ffs when one of our players has missed a sitter or given a stupid goal/ball away - but I would never abuse any player in a Saints shirt. I understand others feel differently and have had a few debates with such people during matches in the past.

He was the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the premier league.

So, you would have missed these two gems: 1. A new Portsmyth that they have surpassed others at something: With the exception of Rangers Football Club, the phenomenal descent from being a respected member of the Premier League club to our now lowly League 1 and “penniless” position, has undoubtedly surpassed anything that has happened to a British league club before. I am sure that we worked out on here weeks ago that others have plummeted from top flight to bottom quicker than they will have done. If memory serves me correctly, didn't Luton and Swansea drop from top flight to bottom in consecutive seasons? Whereas the phew has 2 seasons in the champ. 2. I think this is the closest I have seen from any Skate that the cup win was the cause of their downfall: Yes, there were ownership issues, starting with Gaydamak who run up a large debt after the money ran out. This was then compounded by the debacle of having transparent or unfit owners. However, I believe the period from early 2008 to December 2009 as key in contributing most to our current situation. Not a full confession, not even half a confession, but a slight hint towards it as early 2008 was prior to the cup win. However, as I say, this is the closest I have seen to any Skate linking that cup win with their current predicament.