Play Off Chase

[OttawaSaint]

Millwall 2-0 Birmingham

Norwich 1-0 Sheff Wed

Edited Wednesday at 20:20 by OttawaSaint

[Jack]

Doubt it’ll be a big points total for 6th this season. The top 2 aren’t even going at 2 ppg, nobody else in the league has been putting together long strings of results before the next wobble, ourselves included. We’ve been making up ground on everyone since Tonda took over even with that shit run over Xmas and dropping silly points like on Saturday. 
 

Not saying we’re going to definitely going to do it but if we consistently play at the levels we can and should be at, we should be involved. 

[Willo of Whiteley]

The league is absolutely shite this season in terms of quality.

A big missed opportunity. Imagine had we actually turned up for the first three months of the season. 😂

[IFHP]

20 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

The league is absolutely shite this season in terms of quality.

A big missed opportunity. Imagine had we actually turned up for the first three months of the season. 😂

You can blame that on Dragan and the clowns for appointing that dud Will Still.

[CB Fry]

OXFORD HAVE SCORED

How does that change things??????

[Colinjb]

6 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

OXFORD HAVE SCORED

How does that change things??????

For us. Not much.

[OttawaSaint]

Latest scores:

 

Sheff Utd 1-0 Coventry

Norwich 2-0 Sheff Weds

Millwall 3-0 Birmingham C

Stoke 1-1 Oxford Utd

[Sheaf Saint]

8 minutes ago, OttawaSaint said:

Latest scores:

 

Sheff Utd 1-0 Coventry

1-2 now. Cov turned that round within 10 mins.

[OttawaSaint]

23 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

1-2 now. Cov turned that round within 10 mins.

And Stoke now ahead 2-1

[SNSUN]

That's probably Sheffield United out of the play off hunt then, 9 adrift with a worse goal difference than Wrexham. So that's good, even if it means Coventry win.

Birmingham just did not turn up tonight. Shame on one hand as it means Millwall are now 9 ahead of us - I was hoping to rein them in (could still happen I guess but less likely now). On the plus side it keeps a direct promotion rival behind us by a point and with a worse goal difference.

The Stoke win puts them 3 points behind us. Miraculously, they're still in the play-off hunt. 

Norwich? They don't affect us but my missus will be happy. Only 2 goals though, Wednesday won't just roll over at the weekend.

[goodymatt]

Hull have been massively outperforming their metrics all season, I wonder if it can continue or if they will dip at the wrong time. Their game in hand is Ipswich I think. 7 points ahead of us as things stand.

Wrexham beating Ipswich was a huge result for them but they do still have a lot of the chasers and the top 2 to play, as well as welcoming us to the Racecourse. That game is going to be massive if we both carry on in the same vein. 

Nice to hop above the rest of the chasing pack with the most winnable of games next up. Really starting to believe we can make the playoffs.

Edited Wednesday at 22:08 by goodymatt

[Willo of Whiteley]

I’ve been waiting for the likes of Millwall and Hull to stutter like Stoke, and they didn’t, fair play.

There are some embarrassments around the league this season.
Birmingham, for all the waffle and money and American bullshit haven’t been that great this season. I expected much better of West Brom and expected them to be real challengers. Obviously you’ve got us and Ipswich who you could argue have underperformed.

The wankfest for Wrexham was already huge, it’ll be even bigger if they make the play offs.

[Sunnyside Saint]

If we were sitting in 4th or 5th place like Ipswich and Hull on 57 points probably most of us would be fairly confident of not being overtaken by the team sitting in 7th on 50 points.

Probably our only realistic chance is to overhaul Wrexham and nick 6th place.

Not sure we have the consistency, certainly it will be an  interesting run-in.

[benjii]

There's not really any point worrying about other results too much yet. It's basically in our hands, given we still have to play Wrexham. If we can average 2 points per match, maybe even slightly less, for the rest of the season, we will make play offs.

[SNSUN]

3 hours ago, Sunnyside Saint said:

If we were sitting in 4th or 5th place like Ipswich and Hull on 57 points probably most of us would be fairly confident of not being overtaken by the team sitting in 7th on 50 points.

Probably our only realistic chance is to overhaul Wrexham and nick 6th place.

Not sure we have the consistency, certainly it will be an  interesting run-in.

We have the best form in the League since Tonda took over, just spanked a promotion rival 5 nil and probably have the best squad on paper in the League. Our next two fixtures are Wednesday and WBA. If we were Hull we'd absolutely be looking over my shoulder at that with some concern. 

We can only do what we can do, if the teams above us keep winning and we finish outside the play-offs, well done them. We rebuild in the summer and hopefully take our good form into next season. But I'm quietly positive we'll get in there. Whether we win them or not, who knows. Be we do have recently history of it. 

[AlexLaw76]

1 hour ago, SNSUN said:

We have the best form in the League since Tonda took over, just spanked a promotion rival 5 nil and probably have the best squad on paper in the League. Our next two fixtures are Wednesday and WBA. If we were Hull we'd absolutely be looking over my shoulder at that with some concern. 

We can only do what we can do, if the teams above us keep winning and we finish outside the play-offs, well done them. We rebuild in the summer and hopefully take our good form into next season. But I'm quietly positive we'll get in there. Whether we win them or not, who knows. Be we do have recently history of it. 

We have also not beaten any of the promotion challengers above us under Tonda. that will have to change to go up.

being top of the form table at this point since he took over is a good thing, but also suggests we are flat track bullies when you look a little deeper.

we have Wrexham and Cov away soon, with Ipswich and Hull  home

we are going to have to win 2 of those at least.

Edited Thursday at 05:51 by AlexLaw76

[Jack]

26 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We have also not beaten any of the promotion challengers above us under Tonda. that will have to change to go up.

being top of the form table at this point since he took over is a good thing, but also suggests we are flat track bullies when you look a little deeper.

we have Wrexham and Cov away soon, with Ipswich and Hull  home

we are going to have to win 2 of those at least.

Yeah, we’ve only won 3 games all season against sides currently in the top half, all at home (Wrexham, Birmingham, Watford). Going to have to start beating some decent sides on the road as well 

[Football Special]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

We have also not beaten any of the promotion challengers above us under Tonda. that will have to change to go up.

being top of the form table at this point since he took over is a good thing, but also suggests we are flat track bullies when you look a little deeper.

we have Wrexham and Cov away soon, with Ipswich and Hull  home

we are going to have to win 2 of those at least.

We've already played Hull at home, but agree February has been kind to us now we face a tougher run of fixtures end of March and into April, having Coventry, Ipswich, Wrexham, Derby, Swansea , need to win at least 3 of those. 

[sfc4prem]

March will really show what we're made of.

[Charlie Wayman]

22 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

March will really show what we're made of.

Is that March as in "We March On!" or March as in "The Ides of March"?

[Charlie Wayman]

This will cheer you up. I've been chatting to ChatGTP about the possible outcome of this season in the EFL Championship 

Here's the chatbot's take on it:-

 

Here’s a projected finish for the EFL Championship 2025–26 season, including estimated points totals based on current form trends, squad depth, and typical Championship run-in patterns.

---

🏆 Predicted Final Table (with Points)

Pos	Team	Predicted Points
1	Coventry City	92
2	Middlesbrough F.C.	88
3	Ipswich Town F.C.	84
4	Millwall F.C.	81
5	Southampton F.C.	79
6	Hull City A.F.C.	74
7	Wrexham A.F.C.	72
8	Bristol City F.C.	68

Edited Thursday at 13:16 by Charlie Wayman

[goodymatt]

9 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

This will cheer you up. I've been chatting to ChatGTP about the possible outcome of this season in the EFL Championship 

Here's the chatbot's take on it:-

 

Here’s a projected finish for the EFL Championship 2025–26 season, including estimated points totals based on current form trends, squad depth, and typical Championship run-in patterns.

---

🏆 Predicted Final Table (with Points)

Pos	Team	Predicted Points
1	Coventry City	92
2	Middlesbrough F.C.	88
3	Ipswich Town F.C.	84
4	Millwall F.C.	81
5	Southampton F.C.	79
6	Hull City A.F.C.	74
7	Wrexham A.F.C.	72
8	Bristol City F.C.	68

Where do we sign?

[EssEffCee]

Wouldn't fancy a second leg at the Den midweek. Reckon they'd arguably be the worst team to face.

[Patches O Houlihan]

8 hours ago, Jack said:

Yeah, we’ve only won 3 games all season against sides currently in the top half, all at home (Wrexham, Birmingham, Watford). Going to have to start beating some decent sides on the road as well 

I take your point. But Charlton were two points above us in mid table when we thrashed them 0-5 at their place back in November.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, EssEffCee said:

Wouldn't fancy a second leg at the Den midweek. Reckon they'd arguably be the worst team to face.

Think I'd rather that than play them at Wembley though 

[qwertyell]

14 hours ago, SNSUN said:

We have the best form in the League since Tonda took over

And if the "since Tonda took over" trend continued, the table would end up pretty much like this:

1. Coventry: 91pts
2. Middlesbrough: 85
3. Ipswich: 84
4. Hull: 80
5. Millwall: 80
6. Wrexham: 75
7. Saints: 72
8. Birmingham: 67
9. Bristol City: 66
10. Derby: 66
11. Watford: 65
12. Preston: 64

So we probably need to be sensational over the final 12 or so games - 9 wins, perhaps - or someone has to absolutely collapse down the home straight. That someone could be us, of course...

Edited Thursday at 18:23 by qwertyell

[macca155]

19 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

The wankfest for Wrexham was already huge, it’ll be even bigger if they make the play offs.

Oh God I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Imagine facing them in the play off final. What a nightmare, they'd be cameras everywhere. 

It's in the stars isn't it, first and last game of the season.

Anyway this is like publishing the league table at half time, when Saints are 1 0 up, fatal speculation.

Probably best left until after the Coventry and Wrexham game.

[BarberSaint]

5 minutes ago, macca155 said:

Oh God I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Imagine facing them in the play off final. What a nightmare, they'd be cameras everywhere. 

It's in the stars isn't it, first and last game of the season.

Anyway this is like publishing the league table at half time, when Saints are 1 0 up, fatal speculation.

Probably best left until after the Coventry and Wrexham game.

I quite fancy a visit to Hollywood.




After we thrash them at Wember lee. They're Welsh. Shouldn't be allowed to play there so we win by default

[SNSUN]

Bristol City vs Watford tonight  

Draw please I guess. Watford win would better than a City win.

[SuperSAINT]

10 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Bristol City vs Watford tonight  

Draw please I guess. Watford win would better than a City win.

Watford 1-0 up

[macca155]

51 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Bristol City vs Watford tonight  

Draw please I guess. Watford win would better than a City win.

1 - 1 now that will do

[RedArmy]

Let’s be honest. 
 

If we are worried about Watford and Bristol City…forget the playoffs.

[macca155]

2 - 1 to Watford now, probably the best result. Means a win tomorrow gives us 7th place on our own.

This is the game gradually shake off any contenders, and deal with those above us.

[SNSUN]

Yep, a win tomorrow and other results will make things a bit clearer as to who our players off rivals are.  West Brom will probably be a different kettle of fish after the FA Cup weekend with perhaps a new manager in place and renewed belief in survival without Ramsey but from current form, you have to, on paper at least, see 6 points from those two fixtures. If that happens we should be well in the mix with perhaps a few of the other play off contenders dropping off a bit. 

That's if we win the next 2. But we are Saints and we do Saintsy things. 

[Patches O Houlihan]

Nothing has gone for us in the other games today 😕

[stknowle]

21 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Nothing has gone for us in the other games today 😕

It hasn’t but at least we’ve kept pace. I had a look at Wrexham’s remaining  fixtures earlier and fuck me they have a tough run in. We can catch them.

[qwertyell]

30 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Nothing has gone for us in the other games today 😕

All we can do is take care of our own business. We've got 33 more points available - that takes us to 86.

No-one's missing out on the play offs with 80 points. 

[Britannia]

On 26/02/2026 at 18:24, macca155 said:

Oh God I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Imagine facing them in the play off final. What a nightmare, they'd be cameras everywhere. 

It's in the stars isn't it, first and last game of the season.

Anyway this is like publishing the league table at half time, when Saints are 1 0 up, fatal speculation.

Probably best left until after the Coventry and Wrexham game.

I’d rather they got 2nd.

[coalman]

18 minutes ago, stknowle said:

It hasn’t but at least we’ve kept pace. I had a look at Wrexham’s remaining  fixtures earlier and fuck me they have a tough run in. We can catch them.

I would not be unhappy if Saints were the reason that Wrexham did not make the playoffs.

[Baird of the land]

22 minutes ago, stknowle said:

It hasn’t but at least we’ve kept pace. I had a look at Wrexham’s remaining  fixtures earlier and fuck me they have a tough run in. We can catch them.

Their last 2 games are Coventry and Middlesbrough, better hope the automatic race goes to the wire, otherwise those games become easier.

[Harry_SFC]

38 minutes ago, stknowle said:

It hasn’t but at least we’ve kept pace. I had a look at Wrexham’s remaining  fixtures earlier and fuck me they have a tough run in. We can catch them.

I thought they'd be nailed on to drop points at Ipswich but they beat them 5-3.

The game at their place in April will be huge. 

[Nordic Saint]

On 26/02/2026 at 18:24, macca155 said:

Oh God I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Imagine facing them in the play off final. What a nightmare, they'd be cameras everywhere. 

It's in the stars isn't it, first and last game of the season.

Anyway this is like publishing the league table at half time, when Saints are 1 0 up, fatal speculation.

Probably best left until after the Coventry and Wrexham game.

We'll end up getting Millwall at Wembley. Wrexham would be preferable. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Nordic Saint

[Football Special]

Considering the run of form we've just had its a shame to still be 4 points adrift of the play offs, fair play to Wrexham, Hull and Millwall they have stepped up and kept going. I've still got a feeling Ipswich will get 2nd 

[pingpong]

Those 3 points that bazunu got us on day 1 could prove to be more important than we ever realised... Key to the city if we get promoted?

[Saintsfan79]

End of the day yes we want to get promoted as it keeps the money rolling in but in all seriousness we'd just get battered every week with this squad. 

 

Until they risk spending the 200 million to compete in the Premier League (which they won't) it's better to build something like Coventry. 

[CB Fry]

6 minutes ago, Saintsfan79 said:

End of the day yes we want to get promoted as it keeps the money rolling in but in all seriousness we'd just get battered every week with this squad. 

 

Until they risk spending the 200 million to compete in the Premier League (which they won't) it's better to build something like Coventry. 

Coventry are quite likely to get battered every week in the Prem as well.

[trousers]

52 minutes ago, pingpong said:

Those 3 points that bazunu got us on day 1 could prove to be more important than we ever realised... Key to the city if we get promoted?

2/10

[SNSUN]

11 minutes ago, Saintsfan79 said:

End of the day yes we want to get promoted as it keeps the money rolling in but in all seriousness we'd just get battered every week with this squad. 

 

Until they risk spending the 200 million to compete in the Premier League (which they won't) it's better to build something like Coventry. 

There's also potentially the loss of players we have now if we don't go up. Scienza, Jander, THB, Charles possibly, all will have admirers over the summer and we'd be back to trying to replace them. Maybe even one two others. I wouldn't bet against SR cashing in, we know what they're like. 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

S-Clarke mentioned in one of his posts months ago when we were really struggling that we all know how this will pan out. We'll go on a run. The heat will be taken off SR. We'll all get our hopes up and then we will fall just short of a play off place. This is getting ominously accurate.

I do hope that final prediction doesn't pan out but we shouldn't be in this place. Millwall, Wrexham, Hull FFS. We've royally buggered up this season and we are playing catch up on some very ordinary sides. At least we are now starting to pull away from the rest of the chasing pack but we have some difficult fixtures on the horizon.