That is understandable paranoia, happens to us all, one of the penalties for being a Saints supporter, it's very nebulous, we win we are on a high, we draw well it's not so good but better than losing, we lose and it's the end of the world, we are all doomed and someone must take the blame, that's what you get, you chose Southampton FC? Well you are now stuck with it, you could consider the alternatives, Manure, win everything and plastic, or Portsmouth FC (say no more), what do you think you really want, no pressure, it's a free choice.
I agree and when you look at the quality of the players in the opposing teams from ManCity through to Wigan they are technically and tactically superb and any single point earned will be through blood ,sweat ,tears and God willing a few hefty slices of luck along the way.I am not sure we will survive but have always maintained we can given some of the quality in our own camp.A couple of back to back wins if possible or a small sequence of positive results would give everyone a big shot in the arm but of course this is not easy as we all know
Did Fulham look like a team that is 9th in the Premier League? I didn't think so but check out the League Table.
In the first half I thought we could have been three up, but unfortunately Rickie left his scoring boots at home, but in the second Fulham changed gear and looked the good side they are. People are forgetting that they already had the same number of points as Arsenal and just look at their team, they have some very experienced players in their team. I would have liked to have won but a point is a point
They have not been bad at all so far, two defeats to Utd and City, a bad loss at West Ham, a draw to us and they have won the other three. They were missing Berbatov as well which may have made a difference as they didn't seem to get a lot out of their attacking players today.
The way I see the Premier League is that there's a top 8 (Man C, Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle) and there's the rest. Fulham are top of the rest.
To my mind, it is pointless to even contemplate relegation until at least Christmas with so many points to play for. It is the same as last season, when NA said that we "just want to be in the race for promotion in January". In my opinion there are 5 teams that I feel we are better than, QPR, Norwich, Reading, Swansea and Villa and our season will be determined by how we perform against these sides mainly (as well as our home games). At this point we have only played Villa and we beat them comfortably, so that is 3 out of 3 points against our immediate rivals. A point against Fulham at home is by no means a bad result at this stage of the season as I think they will be aiming for the top ten this season. There is no excuse for casual sexism just because "a woman" criticises your opinion, yes, Jenny could've worded her response better but Jasper's reaction was unacceptable in my opinion.
I think we will well and truly be in a relegation battle until January when we spend some cash on the defense then i think we will be fine, but i can see us being in the bottom three at Christmas, Our Attack is mid table and our midfield is too, but our defense is bottom of the table stuff, that is dragging us down at the moment
I am somewhat pessimistic by nature. I've been worried from the start, and remain worried. Maybe nervous is a better word as opposed to "worried. Saints should have closed out the game today. On the plus side, it was good to see that we could play somewhat well with a bit of a makeshift squad. But given how the first half went and Saints going up early, these are games we need to win. They could have taken three today, could have taken at least a point against Man C or Man U, should have done better against Wigan. Overall given the level of play I have seen Saints should have at least three more points. Inability to read the game and adjust and the points leaked as a result worries me more than getting tonked by Arsenal, or losing on some quality goals by Everton. I personally am not at all comfortable saying that if we'd had everyone healthy we would have won, because the nature of football is that you almost never have everyone healthy. It is also not a given that just because Saints get better they will gain points. At the same time Saints are learning how to play in the league, other sides are studying film and learning our weaknesses and how to play us. Saints have to improve quite a bit in my mind, or they will get relegated. But it's still early going, and plenty of time to learn and still in a position to easily move up the table. And hopefully there will be reinforcements come January. We are about where I expected us to be though the way we have achieved this position is not what I'd hoped. I am not panicking or calling for Adkins to be sacked. This whole thing with the clappers vs the doomsayers has gotten a bit out of hand. I would suggest there is a difference between saying the glass is half empty vs. half full vs insisting the glass is completely empty or filled to the brim despite the evidence to the contrary.
For what it is worth I fully expected this season to be a relegation battle for the whole season. But the last two months of the season we have a run of games in which an awful lot are winnable and should see us safe. I was one of the guys who would have snapped your had off for 17th place at the start of the season. We need to grow into this league. However I said it at the start of the season and I will say it now those boys need a old head in the middle of the park to help them out. They need a seasoned grizzled old premiership pro in his mid thirties who has seen and done it all. Someone who knows when to put his foot on the ball or hoof it out or play the 40 yard hollywood pass. The Saint's team's of old with a Jimmy Case / Chris Marsden in the side would have won that game yesterday. Dare I say it but Danny Murphy left Fulham in the summer to go to Blackburn ,he would have a done shift for us yesterday or someone like that or who has been around for years. We have a young side and they need an old head out there to put the arm around the shoulders and give him a lift or in turn give tham a bollocking when it is needed. I wonder just how far Morgan can go in this game with an old head around him to teach the tricks of the trade in midfield as he was awesome again yesterday but an old pro would teach him when to dive in or not as the case maybe , he still picks up far too many reckless bookings. Buy an old pro and a outstanding centre half in the transfer window and we will be safe. Now lets just enjoy the rollercoaster ride!!!
They rarely do on their travels, it's at the Cottage where they normally pick up the vast majority of their points
I thought we would have started better than we have after a the last couple of seasons...you get used to winning. However, the fixture computer gave us no favours and revealed to us early on just how tough the PL is. What we do with this information will decide how the season pans out. Adkins is a person who learns all the time...he has to make sure the team learn as well. We'll be better able to judge after we've played the teams around us. I think we have enough class to get to safety and stay there. It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get up.
Spot on Fran! You can argue his subs yesterday cost us the game but you can see wht he did it and he will learn from it! Fulham are a good team and we should have won. We will be fine come next May!
I thought that would be Davis but he's a different type of player. Problem is there aren't too many old heads arround.
I had already decided that the only advice I would give is: Get rid of it (in panicky voice every time the opposition got in our half) and Take your shirt off, Jose.