Top four

The good news from down the road is that Sunderland look set for a top 20 finish.

I'd suggest it's almost certain.

 

You certainly need some points before Xmas. Aside from Norwich it is difficult to see where they are coming from. That said you always raise your game for the big home games and Chelsea/Spurs have looked vulnerable like the rest.

 

Congrats on your modship fella.

 

Before Christmas, after Christmas, in a stocking on the fireplace. We'll take them from ****ing anywhere at the moment!

The good news is that Palace look dire. Fulham seem to be in meltdown (new manager could possibly change this) and the pack just above them look fairly poor. Hate to say it but I think Bruce is doing well at Hull and they could scrape by. Think Big Sam has signed well at West Ham and things will start to go their way. Stoke are a bit **** as is Hughes so it could be their year this year. Not really too sure about Cardiff.

Regardless of what happens I'm far happier with Diego than I was with Paolo and would like to see him with us for a few years.

Thanks mate. Not confirmed yet so a tad premature but thank you all the same. No idea what it entails mind...

 

24 hour round the clock vigil.

 

I reckon Sunderland's ability to pick up points against bigger teams is going to be underestimated this year, very compact team. If they can make sure they're not cut adrift by Jan they can still save themselves. I think you need a nippy striker/winger personally. I rate poyet to pick up the right men for his system too

As for us, top 10 remains my aim/target and you'd have to ask me 2/3 of the way through the season for that to change. I've got this awful feeling of impending doom round January. I'm expecting us to lose a cabaye/ben arfa and them not to be replaced and that's all it takes for our relatively strong team to look wafer-thin again. I do actually think Ameobi's gunna be abit of a non-scoring revelation this season, purely for his desire to be at the world cup. Expect naff all from him next season though!

 

That could be a promise/threat that comes back to haunt you ACS. I think you're right that top 8 is realistic, but it could well be that anyone being in the top 8 will still be right in the mix for top four too as the season draws to a close. So many teams are taking points off each other and I can see this being a very close season with more clubs challenging than for a very long time. Its unlikely, but not as big a longshot as most people will think.

I reckon you'll be ok but just. You'll get enough points at home to scrape to safety. Would love to see Palace, West ham and Fulham go down, and QPR not to come up, just to make the league less London-centric.

 

I guess what I was trying to get at was this - if we remain in our current position come January, will fat Mike think there's a chance of champions league football and gamble on investing in the team to try to achieve it?

It will be interesting to see what he does as he didn't bother investing in the summer and he does seem to be a fan of picking up players in January.

 

Did he invest when we ended up 5th? Not really. He invested more with the threat of relegation. That tells you all you need to know.

 

Stay where the money is and invest as little as possible.

 

I think he is more likely to go the other way to be honest. No doubt he likes January. I think the bargains to be had by contract situations are the draw for him. Prey on the weak and all that.

 

So with that in mind, who will be available in the Summer (and subsequently on the cheap January)? Here's some (under-28 and not all that bad):

Kaboul, Long, Colback, Pilkington, Mame Diouf, Seb Rode, Jeremy Menez, Blaise Matuidi, Gomis, Raul Garcia, Martin Montoya, Marc Bartra, Jucilei, McGeady, Manuel Fernandes, Fernando.

 

They have a years option on Long

 

Definitely not top 4. Top 8 should be our aim, top 10 should be minimum requirement.

 

Why shouldn't we get a bit carried away. We are in the poo most of the time these days so a little respite is welcome.

 

Top 4?

No chance.

I think we could end up in the Europa League again though... of course, no lessons will have been learnt and we'll struggle the following season.

<herewegoagain>

 

Your fan club is missing you Tash, you'll have to tell Girlzilla you need a bit of time off to post on the board more often.

 

I like getting carried away.... It's not often we can do it

 

Get plastered in the Shark Bar and they'll carry you away.

 

My theory is that's it's so close up near the top of the league that if we're still in the top 6-8 of the league come the new year that we'll have a slim fighting chance of being in the top four.

Tonight's game is a good oppportunity to put pressure on teams like Spurs & Everton who both have away fixtures themselves.

I'll be there tonight and I think if Pardew plays it right it's a good opportunity to get some form of points on the board.