When we beat Norwich on Saturday, everyone will be booking hotels in European cities again for 18 months time! It's madness I tell you, madness!! I think we should rename St Mary's "The Pendulum" due to the massive swing in mood of the Saints fans after each game there.
Yeah, I look forward to next season and the yawning boredom of... will we, won't we, get in the Europa League. Catch me in a better mood and I might change the European competition. Deja Vu
I still call it a "Pity Party"... one person starts a concern and then 15 minutes later, there is a crowd of people with even worse stories and scenarios
I don't view myself as either a doomsayer or wildly fluctuating emotional guy. It's just that no one asked me after Man City, and why not enjoy the victory. Take it one game at a time. I tend to be a wait-and-see type of person, so I've thought and been prepared for a to-the-wire situation from the start. I've also said all season that I don't view relegation as anything more than a temporary setback, and one that Saints might be able to use to their advantage by getting some more playing time for the youth and maybe consolidating the infrastructure and finances as we are moving pretty fast. Of course I'll also be chuffed it we stay up. And I think we have the talent to do it, just that there's a bit more luck involved than I'd like. We could go down due to some unfortunate injuries or a couple bad bounces or referee decisions. I'm still very positive about the future regardless of what happens the remainder of the year.
From day one I said 17th or 18th. It was always going to be a roller coaster and when we win we think are players are invincible and when we lose we think they are league one players. A happy clapper once said, "'Dont be too high when we're up or too low when we're down" or something similar �� There could still be a spanking to come our way and one to give out; that's Saints.
IF we win against Norwich, we will leapfrog them and there will be an additional team that becomes a contender for relegation. If we ever needed an incentive to put in a stonking (and winning) performance the Norwich game provides it. COYS
Norwich V Southampton Draw Southampton V Liverpool Draw Southampton V Chelsea Loss Reading V Southampton Draw Southampton V West Ham Win Swansea V Southampton Loss Southampton V West Brom Win Tottenham V Southampton Loss Sunderland V Southampton Loss Southampton V Stoke Win I predict 12 points - invariably my predictions are about as reliable Mark Lawrenson - my comment is prretty much meaningless
Not sure I want to go into the Stoke game having to win but your predictions give us 39 points which should be enough!
If the teams around us are playing, that can only be good? Atleast guarentees one team wont get maximum points. I don't think we have the hardest run in, not by a long shot.
So which games don't you expect anything from? I don't expect much change out Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. All the others are winnable, thouhg some are easier than others. Despite having three away games, our run-in isn't too bad: I can't see Swansea, Sunderland, Stoke or West Brom having much more than pride to play for by that stage of the season. Reading away looks like a key match. A win there would pretty much sink them and help a lot in the relegation battle.
Losing a home game will always be a disappointment, no matter who it's against. There's no reason we can't get something from the Liverpool and Chelsea games.
The mid table teams' games could be easier than the games against fellow relegation rivals, Stoke and Sunderland last year both finished poorly, and West Brom, despite being 9th, are a shadow of the team they were at the start of the season. Swansea could be added to the list too, they're already in Europe via the League Cup so they won't be fighting for a European spot.
I have always struggled with the disagreements on these boards between the "glass half-empty" and"half-full" comments on here. For what it's worth, I think that it's simply the difference, between those who expect the worst and hope, and those who expect the best and fear the worst. What are we talking about in terms of difference between the two sides? Nobody is predicting we will finish last, or twelfth for that matter. Two sides of the same coin. To nail my sandals firmly to the mast, and with all due respect to the analysis of possible points total, my optimism is based on a simple gut feel. Will two of the teams below us get at least 4 points more than Saints during the remaining games? I believe not, but if you prefer to fret about these things, then that is a perfectly ok thing to do. But let's not fight over it. I mean, what would Nigel say?
Whatever their relative merits as managers, I need Nigel to tell me eveything will be all right (even though I am usually one of the more positive people). I haven't listened to Mauricio's post-match interview...I would never have missed Nigel's. Perhaps I need a compilation tape