gjphilsaint

Game 28 No matter what sort of spin you put on it... no matter how well we passed the ball or played in general (if we did at all) todays result was a disaster... it isnt even possible to weigh up the last win at Barnsley and a loss today because Donny picked up the ppints at our expense. So.... Doncaster gain 3 pts (& 4 goals on GD) Norwich gain 3 pts (& 6 goals on GD) No loss from watford/charlton/derby who all lost... But today was all about being UNABLE to start a string of results, which if had happened would have left us in a stronger position. STILL only 1 victory at home and even more importantly losses to virtually all of our relegation rivals that have made it to SMS so far. saints now 2ND FROM BOTTOM donny have A GAME IN HAND and a point ahead AND with superior GD (and they are 3rd from bottom!!!) All of the teams above us look like they may be able to put together a set of victories somewhere.. but Saints.... will they be due another fluke win that gives us all yet "another false dawn" that sparks inexplicable bouts of optimism only to (In true SFC fashion) let us down when it really matters.? If they manage it , the majority of us, are no longer expecting us to supplement that with the rarest of animals "a Saints home win". So fighting in the ranks, the LOWE out chants now being registered in the press, despondancy everywhere you look... the mini league is still going strong and we are slap bang in the middle of it.

most likely option is a bore draw... and because we are half expecting to get beaten we would all be secretly.... happy.

Saturday, 17 January 2009 The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Southampton v Doncaster, 15:00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, 27 January 2009 The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Norwich v Southampton, 19:45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, 31 January 2009 The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Southampton v Swansea, 15:00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, 03 February 2009 The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Southampton v Sheff Utd, 19:45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, 07 February 2009 The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Watford v Southampton, 15:00 games against relegation rivals plus 2 other HOME games if the rivals ARE rich pickings... then it also shows just how important winning home games are... but Saints this year... a rarely see off close rivals (we win unexpected games/ we lose to those we think we should win) b struggle to win at home so any points at all on this premise Clearly something needs to change... otherwise another gap will open

if taking points off of our nearest rivals means a must win game... look at fixtures in the next few weeks donny norwich watford all within a calendar month none of which we can afford to lose

well it has to be at least 7 in total now... even if we had lost today Donny and Naaarwich were must win games.... no positive results and both open gaps and donny with a game in hand!!!

Game 27 3pts (against all the odds) gives us a gain on Norwich, Watford & Charlton (also include Donny who didnt play 2pts ahead with a game in hand)... we keep in touch with Forest who also won. But we are still in the bottom 3... yet despite the position, tonight it doesnt feel desperate... why is that? Importantly... the win was huge.. obviously... not just because it was 3 pts nicked (classic smash & grab), but because it now puts us right in amongst our rivals... if we had lost (or even drawn) the situation really would be dire. We are matching Forest (who are enjoying a burst from gaining a new manager) , clearly the form team down at the bottom... it stops us losing the pace and allowing a gap to form. But as so many have said on other threads, we must build on this result...improve our results at home and see off Doncaster in the net game , open up a gap between us and the bottom 2 and get a decent run going. Will the 2 recent transfers bolster our defence sufficiently to make us stronger... will JP employ a striker who can net a fair return (is Saga the man to do it??) Despite being bottom 3 there appears hope... away from SMS at least!!

should we all hold hands.. do you think it might help?

mind you i can see a saints player grabbing another Red... (James?)

now a real test of our "defensive capabilities"....

oh ................................... my............................... goood.............................................................................................................................................................................................................

sfc 1-0

bloke on sky says we havent got in their half yet we have hit the target 5 to their one on bbc site???/

A nice "in game" summation... of course for a long term picture keep an eye open for the "4 team mini relegation lottery" thread started in September...

reckon 2 bust playing tetris

still going...? anyone have the MLT cd (i have 2) anyone there when lead singer was thrown out whilst singing as he hurled abuse at Leeds fans from the centre circle...THOSE WERE THE DAYS

"Not going anywhere..." hmm sums our whole team up.

ask Luton Town..

Ferguson's words post match on Setanta "We didnt want to humiliate them..... I have a lot of time for teams that have to play youngsters... and Southampton have a good system for that..." So Manure went easy on us by all accounts... seems that way... utd played well within their means, with a weaker side than usual. Saints.... didnt have a striker.... did we have a serious shot on target?

we might lose this one..

probably 3 from the following... 17 Blackpool 25 -7 30 18 Derby 26 -9 29 19 Watford 26 -6 27 20 Norwich 26 -10 26 21 Nottm Forest 26 -12 24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 Doncaster 26 -14 24 23 Southampton 26 -18 23 24 Charlton 26 -17 19 If Charlton are experiencing what has been happening to us then they may not be able to get out of this mess. I truly believe at least 2 from Forest, Donny and saints will go down... the question is which 2? Obviously my feelings/despondancy for saints clouds my judgement (one week I feel the power of survival, the next we will never win another game) BUT the "Barnsley factor" is important, they seemed sure fire relegation contenders and now it appears to me that they could be out of the equation... There are tooo many ex prem teams that are in financial do-do down here to make any of this easily predictable... quite honestly which of the teams involved have the resources too survive. My conclusion is that despite the fact that we are not getting the results, there are plenty of other teams in similar predicaments suggesting that it will not be over by easter, there are too many poorly managed sides involved (both tactically & financially)...

nothing short of 9 will do!

Oh dear... I know I have neglected this thread, to be honest I just cant face the reality of it all. Somehow I expected to be able to chronicle the rise of a team away from this so called "lottery". Sadly it seems our chances of "Escaping the lottery of relegation" are lessening almost every game. So to sum it up... since my last post we have lost at home to Forest... been taken over by both Donny and Forest and now lie 2nd from bottom with the worst goal difference of all those around us. To add to this we have not won at SMS in the 6 weeks since my last post. oh dear....

... before we make a informed judgement.." Thus spoke many in the early weeks as Saints spluttered and flayed... I know these threads have long since deleted... but I would really like those who insisted on waiting until... well..... NOW.... before giving their prognosis about gelling... etc etc... So as Saints stand SECOND FROM BOTTOM of the CCC with THE WORST GOAL DIFFERENCE OF ANY TEAM IN THE DIVISION, having only WON 1 LEAGUE GAME AT HOME ALL SEASON... May I ask these people who needed time... just how do you think we are doing and what do you think is going to happen. Or should we all just wait until Easter (with our heads in the sand, like many have since August)?

i would take that!!

... and both apparently going to... Reading!!!!!