SaintJackoInHurworth

There seem to be a lot of doom and gloom merchants around at the moment, so, let me humour you a moment... what if we lost every single game that remains this season... where would we finish? Let's think about the other teams below us... 1. Wigan - do you think they could get the eight points they would need to finish above us with their fixtures? WBA (A), Swansea (H), Arsenal (A), Aston Villa (H) - where are they going to get 8 points from those games?!! I would say they could get six or seven points at most - and that would depend on beating Villa. 2. Newcastle - they would only need 3 points to finish above us. Easy? Let's see: W.Ham (A), QPR (A) and Arsenal (H). OK, they might get them against QPR - but then again the way the Toon are playing at the moment, maybe not! 3. Villa - after tonight surely they will go on a big run to safety? Or will they...? They also need 3 points to finish above us: Norwich (A), Chelsea (H), Wigan (A). Well, ok, they might beat Norwich, but they might draw or might go complacent after tonight and get beaten. Norwich will want to prove something to Lambert. Chelsea - no chance! Wigan? Well, if they win that one, I refer you to my comments about Wigan above. 4. Sunderland - demoralising defeat tonight and no Sessegnon for the rest of the season: Stoke (H), Saints (H), Spurs (A) - They might pick themselves up and beat Stoke, but I can't see them getting anything at Spurs. So, to finish above us they must at least get a draw against us. If they don't beat Stoke they must beat us. So, despite tonight, it is certainly still possible for them to get clear of relegation - but I bet you won't find many Sunderland fans declaring that confidence tonight! In other words.. even if we lose every game (and I don't for a moment think we will!) there are a whole load of ifs and buts for other teams to finish above us and for us therefore to get relegated. SO, take it easy guys.. we are not in danger of getting relegated! Sit back, enjoy the rest of the season - enjoy the possibility that we could surprise everyone and beat the Spuds (I doubt it, but who knows?!); enjoy the possibility of getting a win or draw at Sunderland and leaving them looking anxiously over their shoulders!... and hopefully we can then complete the season with a nice home win for the fans against Stokehampton - and leave them with no doubts that for all the ex-Saints players they have had on their books over the past few seasons they have only ever been a pale imitation of what the Saints are set to become!

It was shame that we sent him out on loan and kept seaborne last season. There was one time in the season when we were defensively short and Martin would have been able to do a job for us, but wasn't there to be able to take his chance. He was definitely a quality League 1 player and could some day, with more experience, become a decent Championship defender. He could potentially even make it one day in the EPL.

I agree with you there and I am surprised that no-one else has said it. It was nevertheless petulant and possibly worth a card. Put that together with him pushing one of the West Brom players just afterwards and I would concede there remains a strong argument to say that the ref was right to send him off. Of the three red cards given in the match, it was the one that was most debatable. Incidentally, no-one has also pointed out that the West Brom player's challenge for the ball when he was fouled by Fox also had a hint of being two-footed. His foot was certainly off the ground. I suspect if Fox had come in with a one-footed challenge then the West Brom player could have ended up being booked! It doesn't justify Fox's awful challenge though.

Gary Neville has just answered all the pessimists on here... he reckons we have the potential to do really well next season and to emulate Swansea's rise, finishing in the top half of the table (with the caveat of continued improvement through purchases in the summer). 'nuff said!!!

I switched off my laptop before MOTD, but just gone and got it so I could come on here to make exactly the same point!! Such a shame we didn't sign him! He looks a real class act.

Here's one I submitted last summer: I would possibly add a bit more black trim and would definitely combine it with black shorts. It may also need a bit more red and a bit less white. Nevertheless, hopefully you get the idea! (PS I appreciate that clubs aren't as free as this to create their own designs and have to go with variations based upon manufacturers designs, but that's a shame in my opinion!)

We are not Forest, we are not Liverpool, WE ARE SOUTHAMPTON!!!! Red and White STRIPES all the way - I will NOT buy a Southampton kit again until it is Red and White Stripes. If they abandon stripes I will continue to wear the numerous red and white kits that I have already got - I will save myself some money and the club will lose out on it. Simple as that! As for shorts - No to Red shorts, Yes to black shorts. Also I continue to be a fan of maintaining some black trim. Both of these factors are what makes us distinct from Sunderland and Stoke. Red and whites stripes with black and white trim (and possibly some extra red trim too like in the 70s kit) is a distinct Southampton look.

I accept all of that - in my original post I did point out that I had maybe been a bit optimistic in terms of Saints results (mainly in terms of us beating Swansea on Saturday) and that I had been a bit pessimistic about the results for some other teams. My point was that it was not beyond the bounds of possibility - and I don't think those predictions are wholly unlikely. I certainly think that Saints will finish between 8th and 12th. As for who will be relegated with Reading and QPR, I think it is too close to call - it could be anyone out of Stoke, Aston Villa, Wigan, Sunderland, Norwich or Newcastle (although I would expect Norwich and Newcastle to be ok).

er... not sure how to resize it!!!

I had a go at the prediction league on BBC and I think there is a possibility that we could end up finishing as high as eight and then we could relegate Stoke on the last day. This is partly based on us maintaining very good form and Swansea, West Brom and Fulham finishing with indifferent form, so I am not for a moment suggesting is what will happen - just that it is not beyond the bounds of realistic possibility! You will see my predictions first and then the final table: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us What do you think?

Surely our priority has got to be to strengthen the defence rather than the midfield??!!

I'd like to think we will be aiming for a top ten finish!! We are only two points behind Fulham and four behind Swansea. Fulham's form has been on-off and Swansea have not won a match for a few weeks now. Above them West Brom's form has also been less than consistent, though they are seven points ahead of us so probably a bit too much of a gap for us to catch them. Let's see how high we can go!!

So... anyone care to tell me how on earth there is ANY mathematical way Pompey could escape some form of relegation? Or are you just going to ignore my question?

Errr... I haven't been following this and not about to try and catch up.... BUT... isn't that impossible now?? I was under the impression there were now three possible scenarios: 1. The Portsmouth takeover fails to materialise and the club are ejected from the football league. 2. Portsmouth win enough games to get out of relegation (i.e. winning just about every one of their remaining games), the takeover is completed and they come out of administration, but they are deducted 10 points as they do, thus throwing them back into the relegation mire (NB If they win every game including today's they will be at most 8 points above the relegation zone). 3. Portsmouth get out of administration, but fail to escape the relegation zone. They are thus relegated to League 2, where they will start the season on minus ten points.

My question was more concerned with the list that must be submitted of players that are part of the official squad - excluding the younger players. Having sent Seabourne and De Ridder out on loan and brought in Forren that I assume leaves us with one spare outfield place and one goalkeeping place? Or have we got another older player that may now get an official squad number?

OK - getting ahead of myself here seeing as the transfer window has not yet closed, but... ...when do we have to submit our new squad numbers and list to the Premier League? And what happens to new players in the meantime? So, for example, some people were surprised that Forren wasn't in the squad against Man Utd, but could that have been because he hadn't been allocated a place in our official squad? Also taking into account the players that have been loaned out, where does that leave us in terms of spaces in the squad for the rest of the season? Lastly, if we have surplus places in the squad would we be able to take players on loan after tonight?

However little Ramirez and Puncheon have done in this game I can't understand those substitutions. They are the players with the flair to unlock United's defence - all they need is that one opportunity to do something and we get a goal. Davis can certainly link up play and Lallana also has the ability to do the unexpected, but would have preferred us to push Ramirez forwards and bring off Rodriguez for Lallana to come on.

Shame for him he's coming back - from what I have seen of him, he isn't good enough to play for us in the Premiership. Come to think of it, from what I've seen of him he wouldn't be good enough to play for us in the Championship if we were to get relegated! So, maybe it's a shame for us he is coming back too! That having been said, I hope that having had some game time out there maybe he can come back and prove me wrong!

Which Davis were you referring to? Steven Davis has been much improved lately - he was certainly one of our best players against Arsenal.

According to his pre-Man Utd interview, Pochettino is suggesting it is unlikely we will bring in any further transfers unless there are "any developments" in the transfer market: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/manager-seeks-old-trafford-inspiration-624917.aspx So what do people think about that? * Is that suggesting that Coutinho was our only real target and so our only chance of signing a player is if the Liverpool transfer falls through? * Is that going to leave us short against Man Utd (and Wigan?) if Lallana is not yet fully match fit and Guly is also out injured? * Are people happy that we have enough cover in every position? * Is this good news because it means we are also not going to be selling any key players like Lambert?

I may have missed it, but I can't see anywhere that this report from Metro has been posted: http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/23/southampton-ready-to-hijack-liverpools-move-for-phillipe-coutinho-3363519/ Not sure it adds much to what we already know, but it does suggest that Saints are going to match Inter's asking price.

Boruc's performance against Everton was solid and by far his best performance in a Saints shirt so far. I genuinely hope he can keep it up. However, I am not about to get as carried away about this as some others on here. The sad facts of the matter are that in previous performances he has looked decidedly jittery at times and nothing like a world class keeper. Against Arsenal he also did really well (and probably had a little more to do than he had against Everton), but at the start of that match he made several clownish handling errors that could have been costly. It even got a comment on the MoTD coverage that evening. Confidence, however, is a funny thing and I hope that having gained some from a couple of clean sheets and the removal of the handling errors he will now go on to live up to the billing which you are giving him. At the same time, I hope too that Gazzanigga will grow in confidence and ability over the next few years to live up to the promise that he showed at Gillingham. Finally, though, I also hope that if Kelvin Davis (a keeper who has remained incredibly loyal to the club despite some awful treatment by the boo-boys) should be called on again this season, he will be given more of a chance than some on here have given him. Don't forget that it was he who performed so well for us in goal over the Christmas period and beforehand, earning a sustained spell back in the side for his consistency. It was only when we came up against Arsenal on New Year's Day that he lost his place to Boruc - for whatever reason that Adkins decided to make that change (or was it Cortese's decision?!) So, in summary: lets not get carried away, but let's also stop berating our keepers for the slightest wayward kick and get behind whoever is in goal - whether it be Boruc, Gazzanigga, Davis, Cropper or some other new keeper that we might happen to sign in the next couple of weeks!

I can't believe there are some people suggesting that we were nearly beaten and fortunate to get a draw. We completely dominated the first half (all of the TV highlights were Saints chances!) and should have been 2-0 up at least by half time - credit to Everton's defence and keeper for keeping them in it. Yes, there were 2 chances that Everton should have scored - but apart from that they barely had a shot on goal. They had a period of about 20 minutes at the start of the second half where they crowded the midfield and stifled our attempts to get forward - the result of a great tactical shift by Moyes rather than Saints getting tired (though the half time break had also possibly broken our momentum). During that period they grew in confidence and got the aforementioned chances. However, as the 2nd half wore on, we came back into the game and had as much of the ball as them if not a little more. Indeed, I would venture to suggest that we ended the game the stronger side. The game highlighted what we already knew - that without Lallana we lack options down the left hand side - with the exception of Shaw (who was again excellent!). It would be good to bring in someone who can play on either flank and can provide a better option than Guly. However, at the same time, I am wary of us doing anything that might undermine the confidence of Lallana who is a vital player for us. As for those who suggest that Ramirez is not doing the business, you clearly need to watch more of the game and note who it is that is combining with the other players to create many of our chances! Similarly, those who want to criticise Puncheon really are living in the past - this season (including tonight) he has been brilliant for us. All round it was a great performance. I hope that Ramirez's injury is not too serious and I also hope that Lallana and Forren will both soon be match fit.

I wonder whether, if the new manager fails and we end up getting relegated, the Liebherr family might actually decide to sack Cortese? I personally want to acknowledge that Cortese has achieved some good stuff for the club. However, that gives him no excuses for the arrogant, stupid decision made in sacking Adkins. Just as many managers who have achieved success have later been sacked when they have failed to continue the success (e.g. Benitez at Liverpool) I hope that Cortese himself will face the wrath of the club's owners if and when this ludicrous decision is shown up as the biggest mistake made at our club since the days of Rupert Lowe. I want to see Saints successful - and I believe I can honestly say that I want that MORE than Cortese wants it. However, I do not believe that this is the way to achieve that success. I fear that not only is it a decision devoid of any common morality, but it is doomed to failure. This is a sad, sad time in the life of our club.

I'm driving to this match from Darlington if anyone wants to car-share - even for just part of the journey. I've put more details here: http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?41411-Travel-to-Liverpool-for-those-in-the-North This may apply to this traveling from the East Midlands or Sheffield and not just those going down from the North East or West Yorkshire (though if you are travelling from either of those, get in touch!) Thanks!