We are playing some champagne football at the moment - passing teams off the park - and we're all lovin it. Question is: when can we start to believe we can get promoted automatically? Surely it's too early, especially when you remember Cardiff being in our position but messing it up (on more than one occasion).
I haven't been to every game this season, but, honestly, have we been hopelessly outplayed by any team? I bet the answer is no. The team is full of good players, playing to a plan devised by Nigel and his team, beautiful to watch and impossible to beat if we score first (according to stats). As we are top, the teams behind have to not only do as well as us, but better. I doubt that we will lose many games consecutively this season. I reckon we will get auto this season.
A friend of mine that supports a Prem team said we had the backing and spirit to come in top 2 this season! I would've been happy with top half but we are doing excellently. My brother also made a point: The top 6 are normally in the top 8 come the end of the season! Will my believe it until February!
I believed that we would finish between 5th and 10th at the start of the season, but after we totally outplayed the two other best teams in the league, West Ham and Boro, then I started to believe that automatic promotion is very likely. Not only that, it is very possible that we could smash all the scoring and points records too, we are not just beating teams, we are hammering them!
The question again is: When can we start to believe we CAN get promoted automatically? As we are already a third of the way into the season, and at this stage have more points than did the runaway winners of the Championship in both of the last two years, we pretty obviously CAN, but do we believe we WILL??? After all, this is Saints we are talking about! If we get to the halfway point at Christmas with 53-55 points in the bag then I will believe (that we might!).
Have to be honset I predicted 7th - 12th , now fairly confident of a play off place , but I dare not think anything better WILL happen because if I do it WON'T ........
What's that got to do with anything? Does supporting a premiership team give you a special postion in the heirarchy of wisdom?
Look at the points difference between us and third! And us and seventh! Saints 39 West Ham 34 ---- Middlesbrough 31 Cardiff 30 Leeds 28 Hull 27 ---- Blackpool 26 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/default.stm The gap is opening up! But in the mid table there is only about 7 points separating 6th - 17tg!
We are top and so it is therefore fair to see us as favourite's to go up. I think it's unwise to start thinking we're going to go up though until it's mathematically impossible not to. Positivity and believe have got us this far though, so I've got nothing against being optimistic. Some of us are in the gutter (Portsmouth) but some of us are looking up at the stars! (Southampton)
Come Feb 1st and we have still have our team and we're still up there then i will start believing. However it only takes Lallana or Lambert getting injured and having a lengthy spell on the sidelines for it all to go pear-shaped. Still pinching myself as to where we are!!
I just don't think we should get to big for our boots. Look what's happened to Cardiff for the last few years... Fair enough, enjoy the moment. But it won't be easy to stay where we are!
This saints team is playing like no other saints team i have known in the last 20 years. we have the top goalscorer in the league with Guly and Connolly providing great back up We surely have one of the best midfields in the league again with spiderman and de ridder able to come on and provide strength in depth. The defence must be up there -Richardson is consistent and good going forward providing crosses, fox is getting better, fonte is fonte and Jos has been the biggest suprise and been excellent. In goal we again must have one of the best in the league we have a bunch of youngsters looking to break into the team we have money to spend in january if we need to to strengthen/cover injuries - not many of the top of the table clubs have this. our manager and coaches have been superb -show me better in the league and the fans, well we have been brilliant too - especially away support. we can get points in each of our next 7 games -bristol city x 2, hull (h) doncaster (a), blackpool (h) pompey (a), palace (h). That could see us top at xmas january is difficult -brighton and forest away, leicester and cardiff at home. if we are still top at the end of jan then we are in for a nervy run in. as for believing - i am believing right now -COYS
