Yes if the league season had gone a bit differently (ie we hadn't had such a top heavy first half of the season picking up points, and it was more evenly spread in terms of when we won games) I think people would be happier, and something like 14th would be seen as a decent season. Before the season started though weren't Saints fans one of the more optimistic? I know because of how we performed in the restart last season there were quite a few saying we should be targeting "best of the rest" and maybe a European push. So for those fans 14th should be a disappointment. Yes it has been a weird season, but we are not alone in that. I don't think it is really an excuse for how poor we have been in the second half of the season. As I've mentioned a few times look at someone like Leeds who to my knowledge have a similar sized squad to us and play a more intense style and they have been able to do it all season. Ultimately we have survived, we aren't sacking Ralph, so we should just get behind the team and see what happens in the summer regarding recruitment and see how we are doing in say November time.
Yep agreed. Nobody is saying the second half hasn't been a horror show, much as the first half was some of the most exciting times to be a Saints fan that we've had in many years. Just people tend to remember the most recent part!
I don't know that I agree, honestly. A situation where the points were more uniform is one where we'd likely have needed to sweat relegation for some portion of it, so the reaction might not necessarily be more positive if we'd be hanging around 16th/17th for three months, rather than finding ourselves in that position when survival was all but a certainty.
I think I predicted a top ten finish based on the good form at the end of last season and we only lost PEH from the previous one and it looked like Ralph was happy with his options at full-back at the time. It is frustrating that we appear to have regressed but there are valid reasons as to why the second half of the season never matched the pre Xmas form. Injuries to virtually all of the first team, some of them multiple (key players like Danny and KWP in particular), Covid affecting recovery, some awful officiating and a relentless fixture list. 11th to 14th is par for us and add a S/F to that and it is a passable season so these last few games are important for morale and momentum going into the summer. As I've previously posted getting round pegs in round holes is important and the results of the past two seasons show that filling in players into unnatural positions has cost us dearly (start of last season and the second half of this one). The recent fan forum has shown that Ralph recognises this and we should be starting next season with adequate cover in all positions. Add to this a full pre-season and a normal fixture list and i'm optimistic that the results will be better.
I would suggest Burnley as an equivalent. They have done the exact opposite: started really poorly and lots of injuries picking up few points before picking up some momentum. Saints just did it the other way around!
I would say that no one above 13th has a comparably thin squad and no reason to expect us to finish above them.
That's one of those where I'd have liked Taylor to stick with his on field decision. Bailly got the ball but his follow through was reckless.
It seems remarkably similar to a recent situation involving vardy and vesty no? Yet there’s a clear and obvious error in this case but not in the other. VAR used when it suits. I’ve really had my fill of officiating this season, the inconsistency is so sickening, seen it so many times now.
The onfield referee didn't see the touch on the ball tonight. Once that was brought to his attention, he overturned it. Rightly so in my view. Whereas with Vestergaard, the onfield referee did see the touch on the ball. And yet still thought it was a foul/red!!
I'm not sure what you mean. I think you're agreeing with me? Still the fact that the ref went to the monitor and reviewed a penalty but didn't for our sending off boils my beans. Identical scenarios except if anything Bailly was lucky to connect with the ball, vesty was much better timed.
What I'm really mad at is ManU handing the win over so weakly and letting Pool have a sniff of Champs League again. Dicks.
