Saint86

Don't say that. Billy will take offense!

Diallo the weakest player so far, couple of very shaky passes. I would also bring salisu on for Valery (if he had made the squad 😅) Che Adams on for one of our 2 strikers.

Have I mentioned that I love perraud? 😍

Well... We aren't losing yet... (touches wood).

Lol, I like your attitude... I don't know how long you'll be in a good mood for though.

Tottenham's problem starts with L and ends with Y.

Mariner named as the referee? What's he been like for us over the years?

Not if we get 8th - Then I'm claiming it 😇 (would be a push but if current form continues....!) To be honest, I would love to see us go all out for the cup! The way we are playing (and with favourable draws) assuming we get past west ham, it could be a special end to the season - too much to hope for?

Agreed. He is a class manager. The progress the squad has made under him is very telling, let alone doing it playing enjoyable football. We're lucky to (still 👀) have him.

I'd have bitten someone's arm off for Weghorst at £12m generally, but i think Che does a very good job for us.

Burnley shouldn't be considered as favourites to go down imo. Anyone who still thinks they are has not been paying attention. Everton, leeds, and brentford are all in free fall. Will come down to whether Watford/norwich have enough to get out of it. Newcastle is anyone's guess. Should stay up given the backing they've had and the fact that they can score goals and are now on form... but tripper is out and they've had winnable games recently.

Lets see what happens, we've got a lot of exciting talent and the backroom staff and recruitment has been very good the past few windows. If we sell a key player then i look forward to a couple of class new editions. Only players i'd be gutted to see us sell are JWP and Romeu as I think they are effectively perfect for our playstyle and it would be difficult to get like for like replacements (might get lynched for saying that). But reality is, that as good as Perraud, KWP, livramento, Salisu are etc, we can always go out and find more of them. There aren't many battling CDMs like Rom with his control, and JWP is turning into the perfect all round CM for us. Stu as well would be hard to replace, we've signed so many CAMs over the years, and none have had the impact he has.

Following back to back wins Burnley need 4more wins and a couple of draws from 15 remaining now (i.e. 14 from 45) they look good (as expected) wtih 2wins, 2 draws, and a narrow 1-0 loss vs Liverpool. Plus Weghorst is a class signing for them. Injuries could be key but they are weathing the catch up fixtures well. Newcastle are 3 wins and 2 draws from their last 5. They need 12 points from the remaining 42. I certainly wouldn't bet against either of those teams managing to hit 33/34 points. What i don't think anyone counted on, was just how appalling leeds, everton, and (to a lesser degree brentford) were going to be. Certainly looks like an entertaining end of season relegation scrap. And the last game being the Chris Woods derby as well - burnley will never have so many neutral fans! As above though, i certainly think the margin is going to be above 28 points.

Not in Portishead but I am based in Bristol, occasionally head down that way to let the kids out along the front. Somewhat partial to a pub lunch in the Windmill. Not a bad part of the world.

Sheldon's articles rarely add anything, but in this case he's probably damaged the team's chances... An odd move for someone whose job is to write material for saints fans... Ah well, i suppose he's got his name out there and garnered some attention for himself, who cares about saints.

Yes, but Burnley are a much better outfit than Norwich, have been playing well lately, and also have signed themselves a very good centre forward. Norwich are going down no questions asked and our loss at carrow Road was a proper cock up 😅

I think we can all just be greatful we had semmens in charge as opposed to the boo boys. It's probably the biggest example of humble pie eating you'll see on this forum - that or the JWP boo boys going silent 😋). What Ralph has done with the team is extremely impressive given the financial constraints he's operated with. He's changed out so much dross from the playing staff, got us playing great football, and instilled a very determined winning mentality. I think the sings were always there, but it just took the final shipping out of slow plauers like bertie and vest to really unlock our attack. Future looks good atm. Could see us challenging for top 8 over the coming fixtures, and maybe an cup run again?

Its designed to stop clubs breaking the glass ceiling? surely?!

I mean, thats a two solution question and you've opted for the higher than 50% chance option i'd say - given our losing mentality as a national side (always harder to win the first one) and propensity for second rate managers.

Leicester had an easy win, but more worryingly for Madison managed 15min second half before going off with heart issues!

Everything is shutting down where I am in Bristol. Should be entertaining tomorrow (provided the fences stay up and the roof stays on)...

No one is a match for man city when they turn up. I'd also argue the same for Liverpool. But we can have the other 17teams if we play at our best. I'd personally love to see this side (playing like we have done recently) in a cup final - would be a great final as a minimum.

I mean, we should have won the league cup final and probably would have done with VAR.

Agreed. 76 was a long time ago. But with solid investment and stability, we can expect to get get back to the levels seen under Koeman and Poch - it seems harsh to then categorically rule out winning a cup in the next 5-10 years - especially given our European qualification and cup performances in recent years. Leicester won it last season and they're shite and were on their standard end of season capitulation 😄. Since then, we've traded them two of the shittest defenders in the league. I bet west ham (a champions league chasing team) are absolutely delighted to have drawn saints away...

Scrolled through 6 pages on GrandOldTeam, only 1 poster thought we would win. They weren't disrespectful, but they do think they have a better team and that they'll win if they play like they did against Leeds. Whereas nearly all of us probably think we're better than Leeds and if we put in a United/Spurs level performance we'll have too much for Everton ^_^. A few of their fans predict a score draw - and given they're a bogey side for saints, and have quality like Richarlson and DCL, that isn't that unrealistic. Overall though, i think we'll win. Once we get at their slow (pace/backline) central midfield and defence, i think we'll have plenty of chances. And as a squad, they must have low confidence, even with Lampard newly coming in a couple of wins against prem teams lately. As always with us at the moment, it should be a good game. Saints to win, 3-1 or 2-1. And even if Everton take the lead, we'll just double down and go after them more. There is no mercy from this saints side at the present, and i think opposition teams find us relentless. Also fitness will play a part, and I am yet to see a team this season fitter than saints. In addition, we really are due to give someone an utter battering soon the way we are playing - i'd rather hoped that would be Newcastle, but they've turned a corner / signed a new team. But its going to be someone...