Relegation

[benali-shorts]

Really not implausible 

[LGTL]

It’s probably the only way rid of these absolute cunts that own us. 

[S-Clarke]

I wouldn't say so for this season, but next season - absolutely. I reckon we'll be right down there.

[benali-shorts]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

I wouldn't say so for this season, but next season - absolutely. I reckon we'll be right down there.

9 points off relegation, no win in 7, rookie coach with loser back room staff? Ideal recipe for a collapse? 

[Matthew Le God]

4 minutes ago, LGTL said:

It’s probably the only way rid of these absolute cunts that own us. 

Why would that mean they leave?

[die Mannyschaft]

Saints are so bad at defending its unbelievable. Add to that the negative side to side we play instead of getting ball in final third and you have a relegation recipe. With no out and out goal scorer or tactics to get ball into forward how are going to get points.

We need points quickly and players in window. Are we capable of getting 50 points? All other teams are getting better, players back will buy in window but Saints doing nothing just going backwards like our football. 

[benjii]

2 hours ago, LGTL said:

It’s probably the only way rid of these absolute cunts that own us. 

Would take administration, I think.

[badgerx16]

On a rolling 6 game form table, only Sheff Weds are worse than us. We have 3 points, they have 2.

Edited January 4 by badgerx16

[Osvaldorama]

Pretty crazy to even mention it, but yeah it’s fair to ask the question now. 
 

Genuinely don’t see 3 worse teams than us.  Sheffield U and Norwich changed manager and look better.
 

Oxford beat us, we didn’t perform against the skates… Without the new manager bounce that we had for a few games, we’d already be down there. 

So yeah, the whole club is toxic and broken. It could happen unless we sign some good players that give a shit in Jan. 

[Saint86]

5 hours ago, die Mannyschaft said:

Saints are so bad at defending its unbelievable. Add to that the negative side to side we play instead of getting ball in final third and you have a relegation recipe. With no out and out goal scorer or tactics to get ball into forward how are going to get points.

We need points quickly and players in window. Are we capable of getting 50 points? All other teams are getting better, players back will buy in window but Saints doing nothing just going backwards like our football. 

We've been outplayed by most of the teams we've faced under Eckert, with the exception of Wednesday (who are a car crash), and injury ravaged Charlton (former league 1 side), and Leicester (who i suspect would have been right in that game without 10men). So yes, as it stands, we are bad enough to be looking over our shoulder.

At his worst, this guy is another Southgate - his tactics are to hit it to a couple of dribblers / fast players to try and run at the opposition side on the counter, and then to try and park the bus and try to sit deep and defend whatever he's got. Originally i was saying he failed his only real challenge (Millwall) and wasn't convincing vs the likes of Brum and WBA etc... but actually its so bad now that you can look at it objectively and say the likes of Oxford and Norwich were relatively untroubled by us. If we keep him much longer and something doesn't radically change, we could certainly slide right back into the mire. We're lucky perhaps that Sheffield Wednesday are taking one of the three spots for certain this year.

Form wise, we are comfortably a bottom 3 side at the moment - and that includes losses to Norwich and oxford - and we're certainly a long way off promotion contention playing like this.

Worth noting, that our lucky stint of wins under eckert included WBA, and then before he got the job we also lost to Blackburn and failed to beat portsmouth or swansea (3 of those were home games vs sides below us - will we get better results away? or worse?).

Next 3 matches are Hull (h), Sheffield Utd (h), skates (a) and stoke (a)... a promotion side would be looking at those targeting no losses and a minimum of 2 wins... who is confident we'll get more than 3-4 points playing as we are?

As bad as we are, you'd still think we should be fine.... but....

Edited January 5 by Saint86

[Pamplemousse]

Our home form will make sure we'll be fine. Mid table at least.

[Gloucester Saint]

22 minutes ago, Pamplemousse said:

Our home form will make sure we'll be fine. Mid table at least.

On paper it should do but we said this in 07/08 and the home form suddenly dried up as well until Pearson came in. God, can you imagine what Nigel would make of Rasmus and SR?!

On balance I think you are right with keeper and ST upgrades on loan plus change of manager. 14th-17th finish.

[sadoldgit]

We are exactly where we deserve to be and without an inspired transfer window this January I can’t see that changing very much.

[benali-shorts]

45 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

 

On balance I think you are right with keeper and ST upgrades on loan plus change of manager. 14th-17th finish.

Living the SR dream.....

[Forester]

Nobody, including anyone being paid to play or manage, should be dismissing relegation as a possibility.  That isn’t to say it is the most likely outcome, but a summary of reasons why this needs to be seen as a credible risk.  Warning, read through the gaps in your fingers:

- As has been pointed out, we have no wins in the last six, including defeats against two of the bottom three.  And the lack of character on display especially at Oxford and Middlesbrough is a huge concern.  So poor form and getting worse.

- Having played 26 games, we have just eight wins.  Additionally, four of those came in a five game spell when we had an “interim manager”, when elevated levels of energy are often a feature (numerous examples to cite, a recent one being O’Neill at Celtic).  And so under a permanent manager, it is four wins in 21.  We have 20 remaining fixture.

- history suggests that 50 points is needed to avoid relegation.  However this year Sheff Wednesday (even ignoring the deduction) look set to accumulate an unusually low total.  And equally, it looks like the top six will accumulate less points than recent seasons.  And so, therefore, it’s a mathematical likelihood that a higher total than 50 may be needed as points are more evenly distributed.

- Ignoring Sheff Wed who are down, every one of the eight clubs trying to catch us are yet to play us a second time. You can spin that as “easier fixture list”, but given we aren’t currently on the drop zone the onus is on others to take points off us.  The opportunity for that exists.  Two of the sides (Sheff Utd and Norwich) are greatly improved since changing managers and coukd be argued to be in a false position based on table since October.

- Most fans would say, and data backs this up, that Saints’ most effective players this season in terms of actual results gained are Armstrong, Azaz and Scienza.  That isn’t to say they are in form now, but that when points have been picked up it’s often been down to them.  Not one of them has been injured for more than a week.  What if that changes?  If one or two of them pick up hamstring injuries at some point they will probably miss eight of the 20 games.

- the club have said that we should expect a quiet window.  And so there is no communicated plan to strengthen the outfield squad.  Others will spend and gamble.

So we may need to win five and draw four or five of the remaining 20 games just to finish fourth bottom.  None of this is scaremongering, it’s just being dispassionate and looking at the situation.

 

Edited January 5 by Forester

[Football Special]

21 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

On a rolling 6 game form table, only Sheff Weds are worse than us. We have 3 points, they have 2.

Need to stick that on the Tifo for Northam stand to display next home game 

[swannymere]

11 points off third.

[kitch]

We are not going to get relegated this season, that's just nuts.

Next season? Who knows, but this season it's nailed-on mid/lower half mediocrity.

[kitch]

7 hours ago, sadoldgit said:

We are exactly where we deserve to be and without an inspired transfer window this January I can’t see that changing very much.

I used to think this, but aside from goalie and possibly a left back, I think that squad is good enough. It's proved it recently.

It's the brains, the tactics and the people at the wheel that seem to be the problem.

[badgerx16]

51 minutes ago, swannymere said:

11 points off third.

11 points off 23rd.

[bugenhagen]

55 minutes ago, swannymere said:

11 points off third.

Well, we are not picking up points anymore, are we?

The gap up is increasing, but the gap down is slowly creeping up on us...

[Dr Who?]

We won’t go down, but we could quite easily finish with nothing to play for. We will pick up enough points at home to the other tosh sides over the rest of the season. 

I have changed my mind, we are not that far off a dogfight and we do not have the mentality or physical side to scrap! 

Edited 23 hours ago by Dr Who?

[IFHP]

We ain’t going down this season, we will get enough points to stay up . Obviously helped by the fact there are only 2 relegation places this season . But that’s the same for small clubs like Portsmouth and Oxford- 1 of them may also stay up. 

[Hussar Saint]

I don't think we'll go down this season, we'll scrape enough results to stay out of any real trouble. But of course that won't be acceptable and if these incompetent b'stards Sport Republic don't take that as a HUGE kick up the arris and go all out to invest in a proper manager with playing AND managerial experience and give him access to a proper serious squad with talent, height, strength and bollocks, then relegation will absolutely be a possibility next time. 

I won't hold my breath.

[die Mannyschaft]

My predictions for rest of season 

Unless there is a massive change in tactics and or transfer window can't see more than 46 points.

13 Points total 46 Points 20th
Doncaster Rovers (a) 3-1 L FA Cup
Hull City (h) 1-1 D
Sheffield United (h) 0-0 D
Portsmouth (a) 4-1 L
Stoke City (a) 0-2 L
Watford (h) 0-0 D
Leicester City (a) 3-0 L
Charlton Athletic (h) 2-2 D
QPR (h) 1-2 L
Sheffield Wednesday (a) 0-1 L
Norwich City (h) 1-1 D
West Brom (a) 0-3 L
Coventry City (a) 1-4 L
Oxford United (h) 1-0 W
Ipswich Town (h) 2-3 L
Wrexham (a) 0-2 L
Derby County (h) 1-1 D
Swansea City (a) 2-2 D
Bristol City (h) 1-2 L
Blackburn Rovers (h) 2-1 W
Preston North End (a) 0-3 L

[Baird of the land]

It’s unlikely, just as it’s unlikely we’ll make the playoffs.(both similar points apart).

[Dr Who?]

3 hours ago, die Mannyschaft said:

My predictions for rest of season 

Unless there is a massive change in tactics and or transfer window can't see more than 46 points.

13 Points total 46 Points 20th
Doncaster Rovers (a) 3-1 L FA Cup
Hull City (h) 1-1 D
Sheffield United (h) 0-0 D
Portsmouth (a) 4-1 L
Stoke City (a) 0-2 L
Watford (h) 0-0 D
Leicester City (a) 3-0 L
Charlton Athletic (h) 2-2 D
QPR (h) 1-2 L
Sheffield Wednesday (a) 0-1 L
Norwich City (h) 1-1 D
West Brom (a) 0-3 L
Coventry City (a) 1-4 L
Oxford United (h) 1-0 W
Ipswich Town (h) 2-3 L
Wrexham (a) 0-2 L
Derby County (h) 1-1 D
Swansea City (a) 2-2 D
Bristol City (h) 1-2 L
Blackburn Rovers (h) 2-1 W
Preston North End (a) 0-3 L

Ok I will bite. This is bollox. You think we are not going to win another game for 14 games? Come on you know that is not going to happen. Yes we are a little bit crap, but every team wins every now and then. Not much point predicting every game in the championship, as it is so random. We will win a few, but not enough I fear for anything but mid table. Like Oxford will not win enough to stay up! I do agree that we will lose at FP though. They will be so up for it, and our lot will not be able to handle it mentally! 

[CB Fry]

3 hours ago, die Mannyschaft said:

My predictions for rest of season 

Unless there is a massive change in tactics and or transfer window can't see more than 46 points.

13 Points total 46 Points 20th
Doncaster Rovers (a) 3-1 L FA Cup
Hull City (h) 1-1 D
Sheffield United (h) 0-0 D
Portsmouth (a) 4-1 L
Stoke City (a) 0-2 L
Watford (h) 0-0 D
Leicester City (a) 3-0 L
Charlton Athletic (h) 2-2 D
QPR (h) 1-2 L
Sheffield Wednesday (a) 0-1 L
Norwich City (h) 1-1 D
West Brom (a) 0-3 L
Coventry City (a) 1-4 L
Oxford United (h) 1-0 W
Ipswich Town (h) 2-3 L
Wrexham (a) 0-2 L
Derby County (h) 1-1 D
Swansea City (a) 2-2 D
Bristol City (h) 1-2 L
Blackburn Rovers (h) 2-1 W
Preston North End (a) 0-3 L

Obvious troll is obvious.

[Pamplemousse]

We'll beat Sheff Wed

We'll beat Blackburn, Charlton, Oxford, Norwich, QPR at home.

And once we've signed a new keeper we'll pick up a few jammy wins just like Leicester did tonight.

[benali-shorts]

6 points now. Feeling ever more possible. This window needs players who can help us stay up. 

[Dr Who?]

We are in serious trouble. 7 without a win, we are in a downward spiral and they can be massively difficult to get out of! We are 2nd bottom in the form guide to Sheffield Wednesday, so that tells you just how bad we are. Do not under estimate how much we are seriously in the poop 💩 

IF we get dragged into a dogfight, we will not win. We are not physically or mentally strong enough, as we will find out next Sunday when that blue lot come at us. I would not want to be in that away end next week, for this reason. I was there for the 1-0 and I was there for the 4-1, it a horrible place to be at the best of times, but when you are playing like we are, no thanks, not for me this time. Also the travelling 6 hours each way. it’s going to be horrible, I think I might cycle for the day instead! 

Edited 23 hours ago by Dr Who?

[Mboto Gorge]

Rasmus has had a look at the table and is very relaxed and calm about the situation . We will only sign players if they can improve the squad. 

[Osvaldorama]

We are in trouble. 
 

No midfield, no defence, can’t score goals. 
 

Novice manager and team, no football experience, players that don’t give a shit. 
 

[Gloucester Saint]

Nailed on for 21st or 22nd unless Solak intervenes over Rasmus and Spors to get a Mowbray or a Pulis to get the basics in place to avoid the successive drop and a few days to get some steel in at CB,MC and ST.

[die Mannyschaft]

Firmly cemented in relegation in 3 games. I really cant see where 3 point will come from. We have an absolutely shit defence,  apologies midfield and cant score enough goals. Add in a very weak and unfit team plus no manager and its not looking good. Today v Hull is as bad as it gets. No one wants promotion at the club just sideways relegation.  

[coalman]

Just make Lallana/Garner interim manager, wait until he wins his first five and give him the job full time. By which time we'll be safe.

[die Mannyschaft]

1 minute ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Nailed on for 21st or 22nd unless Solak intervenes over Rasmus and Spors to get a Mowbray or a Pulis to get the basics in place to avoid the successive drop and a few days to get some steel in at CB,MC and ST.

I'm preparing for relegation these idiots at the club won't do anything. Just buy some players for £45m who will be as useless as the ones got in today.

[AlexLaw76]

I now believe we are in a relegation fight. The only thing that will save us is we have far better players (hideously coached) than the likes of Oxford, and we will have enough to be safe with a few games to spare 

 

[S-Clarke]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

I now believe we are in a relegation fight. The only thing that will save us is we have far better players (hideously coached) than the likes of Oxford, and we will have enough to be safe with a few games to spare 

 

Don't be too confident...Oxford beat us...  

[saintant]

3 hours ago, Mboto Gorge said:

Rasmus has had a look at the table and is very relaxed and calm about the situation . We will only sign players if they can improve the squad. 

That's a massive pool to pick from then.

[saintant]

3 hours ago, Osvaldorama said:

We are in trouble. 
 

No midfield, no defence, can’t score goals. 
 

Novice manager and team, no football experience, players that don’t give a shit. 
 

When you put it like that....SHIT!!!!!!!!

[saintant]

3 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

I now believe we are in a relegation fight. The only thing that will save us is we have far better players (hideously coached) than the likes of Oxford, and we will have enough to be safe with a few games to spare 

 

But those far better players become less fit as each week passes. The two biggest things dragging this team down are lack of fitness and lack of physicality. When you have a weak set of players mentally and physically and their fitness is being eroded week on week don't expect them to put up the fight needed to win a relegation battle. They're rolling over in front of our eyes.

[Forester]

On 05/01/2026 at 15:48, Forester said:

Nobody, including anyone being paid to play or manage, should be dismissing relegation as a possibility.  That isn’t to say it is the most likely outcome, but a summary of reasons why this needs to be seen as a credible risk.  Warning, read through the gaps in your fingers:

- As has been pointed out, we have no wins in the last six, including defeats against two of the bottom three.  And the lack of character on display especially at Oxford and Middlesbrough is a huge concern.  So poor form and getting worse.

- Having played 26 games, we have just eight wins.  Additionally, four of those came in a five game spell when we had an “interim manager”, when elevated levels of energy are often a feature (numerous examples to cite, a recent one being O’Neill at Celtic).  And so under a permanent manager, it is four wins in 21.  We have 20 remaining fixture.

- history suggests that 50 points is needed to avoid relegation.  However this year Sheff Wednesday (even ignoring the deduction) look set to accumulate an unusually low total.  And equally, it looks like the top six will accumulate less points than recent seasons.  And so, therefore, it’s a mathematical likelihood that a higher total than 50 may be needed as points are more evenly distributed.

- Ignoring Sheff Wed who are down, every one of the eight clubs trying to catch us are yet to play us a second time. You can spin that as “easier fixture list”, but given we aren’t currently on the drop zone the onus is on others to take points off us.  The opportunity for that exists.  Two of the sides (Sheff Utd and Norwich) are greatly improved since changing managers and coukd be argued to be in a false position based on table since October.

- Most fans would say, and data backs this up, that Saints’ most effective players this season in terms of actual results gained are Armstrong, Azaz and Scienza.  That isn’t to say they are in form now, but that when points have been picked up it’s often been down to them.  Not one of them has been injured for more than a week.  What if that changes?  If one or two of them pick up hamstring injuries at some point they will probably miss eight of the 20 games.

- the club have said that we should expect a quiet window.  And so there is no communicated plan to strengthen the outfield squad.  Others will spend and gamble.

So we may need to win five and draw four or five of the remaining 20 games just to finish fourth bottom.  None of this is scaremongering, it’s just being dispassionate and looking at the situation.

 

I’m just rebouncing this….

Edited 18 hours ago by Forester

[Osvaldorama]

Sadly that’s a great post. 
 

Who will we beat playing like we did today? Or against Boro/Oxford/Millwall? 
 

Next 2 games are huge. Skate is massive anyway, but if we get beaten by Sheffield at home as well then we’re in big trouble. 

[Doctoroncall]

It’s got to the stage of which three sides can save us from relegation as it seems the players can’t go out and not make fundamental mistakes which leads to losing the game. 

[BARCELONASAINT]

I said to my son yesterday at half time that we were in a relegation battle. I can't remember the last time i just wanted to walk out of the ground at half time. There was nothing to be positive about. It was an utterly disgraceful performance by the most gutless bunch of Saints players i have ever had the misfortune to watch in over 50 years of watching Saints. I'm sorry i keep banging on about it but i keep saying "we have no leaders on the pitch, absolutely no one." When we conceded the first goal the entire team were heads down apart from the goalkeeper who came running out of his box trying to get the players to fight. WTF was that all about, our newest player the only one trying to raise the other players.

We are absolutely gutless, no leaders on the pitch and devoid of any idea how to break teams down. The jeering from the stands every time they played this sideways, sideways backwards football was as bad as i've seen it. Anyone that doesn't think we are in a relegation fight is deluded!

Edited 12 hours ago by BARCELONASAINT

[Sheaf Saint]

58 minutes ago, BARCELONASAINT said:

Anyone that doesn't think we are in a relegation fight is deluded!

I don't think we are in a relegation fight, because there's not a single one of the useless pricks in our squad that even knows what the word means.

[Toussaint]

Current form table

[Toussaint]

I can  easily see us going down, for my money the only thing that could save us that the pair of arrogant know all pricks, Rasmus and Spors, are bypassed, Dragan consults somebody who knows the game and we appoint a seasoned manager who does things his way, and hopefully brings in a couple of players who have what it takes.

[die Mannyschaft]

1 hour ago, BARCELONASAINT said:

I said to my son yesterday at half time that we were in a relegation battle. I can't remember the last time i just wanted to walk out of the ground at half time. There was nothing to be positive about. It was an utterly disgraceful performance by the most gutless bunch of Saints players i have ever had the misfortune to watch in over 50 years of watching Saints. I'm sorry i keep banging on about it but i keep saying "we have no leaders on the pitch, absolutely no one." When we conceded the first goal the entire team were heads down apart from the goalkeeper who came running out of his box trying to get the players to fight. WTF was that all about, our newest player the only one trying to raise the other players.

We are absolutely gutless, no leaders on the pitch and devoid of any idea how to break teams down. The jeering from the stands every time they played this sideways, sideways backwards football was as bad as i've seen it. Anyone that doesn't think we are in a relegation fight is deluded!

Same here after 50 years the football played by Saints is by far the most useless and boring to watch. OK last season was terrible results by we played team with best players. This season we are supposed to have tge best squard and new players but Hull Sheffield,  Millwall,  Doncaster,  Stoke, Blackburn etc all have higher quality players plus better managers.