I know that you will probably say, all the results are a key. You would be right of course they are. However getting in the Automatic spot is the target. Making just the playoffs, while not a total disaster, is a bit of a lottery. However you look at it beggars can't be choosers, and any chance is much better than no chance. I see two particular matches which will turn the key for Saints a long way. Strangely I believe it is the key that opens the door to the two teams as well. I am of course talking about Bournemouth and Brighton. For me a win for them when playing Saints will open there particular gateway up automatically. For Saints it is just another result they must achieve to stand any chance of the auto's. This will make both games very interesting as a draw while not disastrous is not any good for any team concerned. Therefore I think these to be the key fixtures for all and should make for some great games of football. Do you agree? Are you of the opinion that other games are really the key to our season? Come on what's your view?
I suppose the glib answer would be that the next game is always the key one! I do agree with you Beddy, that the Bournemouth and Brighton games are pretty important, in that they are both "6 pointers". But just look at some of the others we have to come: the two against Charlton are crucial, as are all the away games, even if we win most of the remaining home games. It really is getting close to squeaky bum time!
I think when people earmark fixtures as being key, people become slack against the 'easy' games E.G. Walsall, Yeovil, Hartlepool, Notts Co, Brentford
They're all 3 point available. Bournemouth is important as we want to take points off them, brighton have pretty much run away with it so points there is no more or less important than any of the others.
This is no wind up. If you look at the fixtures for the first and last games of the season, i notcie that Saints, Sheff Wed, Peterborough and Charlton all started with home games, and all will end with a home game on the last day of the season! For me, that is one hell of a fix, and then you look at Dagenham, who in theory are the weakest team at the start of the season as they came up via the play offs, start AND end with away games..
thats the luck off the draw^ biggest game for me is versus bournemouth, if we dont beat them then we are destined for the play offs, in my opinon. Colchester away is important as well as if we lose 2 in a row then the players heads will be down
Do you really see all those games as easy? Notts County by the way?....... I thought we had played them twice...Didn't we win there and then drew with them at home?
I think all the games are important. Obviously, Bournemouth, Brighton and Charlton will be considered bigger as it gives us a chance to take points off our rivals and should be tougher. However, we usually do better in those sorts of games. I think we will struggle more in the games against teams like Brentford and Plymouth who we should beat
The truth is that over the remaining games, we have to win 2 more than Bournemouth, and we have 2 games in hand on them. The match against Bournemouth is important in the sense that it could be one of them, but actually a draw wouldn't change that situation at all. There are 15 games left. If we lost we would need to win 3 more than them, with one game in hand. It sure would a lot easier if we can repeat the results from our last two encounters!
We have to beat either Brighton or Bournemouth and get at least a draw in the other imo. Wouldn't surprise me if we did it you know , that's the sort of team we are.
Sorry Channonfodder but whether we won or lost at Bournemouth it would still be the same number of games left in hand. Would be harder though I agree.We need to win tomorrow and to beat MK Dons and Charlton at home first and foremost. Avoid defeat at the other three away and we have a good chance. Win one or more of them and we will be in pole position.
How true is that, for some reason we seem to find this difficult. Especially if they park a bus across the 18 yard line. We do not have a play maker to break this kind of play down.
Lallana and Chamberlain will do that if we get the ball to them in the right areas. If the playmaker you refer to is someone who can pick passes to find them in good positions, I'd be inclined to agree with you with Morgan out. Colchester won't park the bus, but against teams that do, I really like Dan Seaborne. When he's got time on the ball, he plays some amazing passes from the back. Jaidi doesn't do it even though he is more sound defensively.
Cant argue with that Matt-SFC......Was a superb result to pick out of the crowd. I'll bet all the others involved in the chase thought with their results that they had created a nice little gap to put the pressure on us even more. However it has been put well and truly back onto the them. Well done the Saints. Wouldn't it be good right now to really string a few wins together, wouldn't that really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Then you would see some of the top two finding the real pressure, and maybe dropping those points we need them to.
If we put a string of wins together Bournemouth being the second team at present will feel us getting ever closer as we play them next week. That really would be a dream result but the Cherries are on fire at the moment and this could well be our hardest game of the month.
