Don't be ridiculous, Hooiveld would need to be in the middle because he's the tallest. Also, can we swap Corky for Gazza or SKD and try and get away with 2 keepers? Still leaves us with Schneiderlin and Rickie in DM in case we force them back a bit.
I think at the very least we'll get 11 points in the remaining games...Im worried things will get worse before they get better though
I'm certain that they will. But it is for that reason that I'm worried. No need to worry if you're prepared. I've accepted that in three games time, the table probably wont make for pretty reading. But so long as everyone remains positive, in particular the players, it wont be a problem.
We've got 5 more home games. We'll win at least 3 of those, plus one away from home, and that'll take us to 39 points. Throw in just the one draw, and we're across the line with 40 points. I really don't see what all the spineless wobbling is all about. So we lost to the bottom team, so what? Did anyone think that couldn't happen? Give it a couple more weeks and we'll probably have beaten either Liverpool or Chelsea, then the same people who are despairing now will be convinced we're world beaters again - and they'll be wrong on both counts.
Although slightly weirdly, even though there is every chance that the table wont make for pretty reading after the Chelsea game, we could still find ourselves outside of the bottom three. That is roughly what I'm predicting any way - a very, very tightly bunched bottom five, but with us maybe still just outside. Certainly, over the next two games it is actually almost impossible for us to drop into the bottom three - if we did, it could only be on goal difference. (This assumes Villa lose tomorrow) QPR are seven points behind, so clearly couldn't catch us. Wigan don't play this coming weekend (FA Cup) so could only overtake on GD. Unlikely. Reading and Villa play each other this coming weekend. If Reading lose, it would be impossible for them to overtake us. If it's a draw, Reading could only overtake us on GD. Unlikely. If Villa lose, they could only overtake us on GD. Unlikely. It's only really in three games times, after the Chelsea game, that we could possibly drop into the bottom three - and by that time, we're ready to face our nice set of final seven fixtures.
The number of points needed to stay up could be very low this season as everyone at the bottom will take points off eachother. One team going on a run will mean beating the others below them so in that respect we are in an ok position. QPR was a slip up and Man City was unexpected. We would have ear marked for 3 points from those two games and that is what we have. Reading, Villa and Wigan keep getting battered so their confidence is shot. 2 out of those three would have to make up essentially 4 points whilst taking points off eachother. I dont think they will and we will be safe with time to spare.
The only team I am pretty confident of going down is Villa. The next two could be any from us, Wigan, Reading and QPR.
Wow I thought I was being negative about us not bring clinical enough, but I still believe we will stay up.
Liverpool, Chelsea, West Brom, West Ham, Stoke. I think it's possible we could win 3, can't say I possess anywhere near your kind of confidence. Although if we do win 3, we'll stay up. I get a little depressed whenever I look at how many points/wins/victories I think Saints need to get to 38 or 40. Saints are obviously not very good so it's hard to ever put points in the bag... especially after yesterday which I considered by far our most winnable match. I feel like we will more likely get around 36 points. But then I look at the teams around us, and I feel a little better. I don't think they are very good or will get to 38, either. We just have match what they do, and I think we are capable of that. I've never felt like we were safe at any point this season, but then I never expected us to be safe so overall I feel okay. I'm less confident today than I have been in a month, but still more confident than after Wigan, which was probably the low point. I think we have maybe slightly better than a 50/50 chance right now of staying up.
As said above, switch the QPR game for Man C and we have the same point total I was expecting other than the draw I thought we'd get at NU. I still think 40 is not way off the mark. I'd prefer to be safe before the last game but that would take some help. With a lot of the bottom teams paying each other draws there will really reduce their point total and help us.
I got slated last year for saying he would cost us the title..............and he did with his hollywood balls and awful positioning...Reading at home was the final straw for me As for the OP question....I am worried too. Been here before. One thing I must say though is that whilst we have been here before many many times, we only failed to stay up one of them I think we will stay up.........but I'm still worried
We're around 4.2 (3/1) for the drop on Betfair. Put another way, we have a 75/25 chance of staying up. Trust me, in a mature market the betting exchanges are never very far out.
Look all we were all thinking like this before our run of games around xmas. Remember the GMI thread. We have 10 games left and we probably need to win three and draw a couple to be safe. Don't panic and have faith.
Indeed - a classic example of why I rarely post here now. We beat Man City at a canter, and are apparently the best team to have played at Old Trafford this year. With just a small bit of luck, we could have taken 12 points off the top two teams. Yet one bad result and out come the moaning minnies again.... Let me turn it around - which of the bottom six do you suppose the rest of the league don't want to play? Why do you suppose that is? (and if you can't answer the first question - it's us).
Even Alan Hansen was more positive than most on here - he says it will be out of the current bottom four. The main worry with the QPR loss is if it gives them a massive impetus to starts a winning run. We're relying on their next opponents to make sure that doesn't happen. Hopefully Spurs will have pulled away from fifth even more by the time we play them, and their traditional end of season blip well underway.
And we just lost to the worst team in the league at home, and have also lost to Wigan. Everyone who says that because we beat Man City we can beat anyone has to also acknowledge we can lose to anyone.
Are people not allowed to worry? I think it's a perfectly rational reaction. And I certainly wouldn't call it being negative. Aside from possibly one person, I've not seen any way now state that we're certain to go down etc. Threads like this are threads of worry and concern for me, not negativity. I do believe that there is a difference.
