This is not the time for settling for anything. Even if this game could be played, I wouldn't want to play it. Our set up is financially sound. I am happy with wherever we finish provided we keep to our guiding principles, on and off the pitch- The Southampton Way.
I think top four is unrealistic (though I am happy to be proved wrong). If we get a few injuries to key players (e.g. Lovren or Lambert) we will struggle as we do not have the depth of some of our competitors. It is great we will not be in the relegation scrap and real contenders for a top eight finish.
According to Motty, on this week's Monday Night Club, he loves David Salas because he knows what MP is thinking. No, I am not making it up. However, I am talking out of context, but have a listen if you don't believe me.
IMO top four is realistic given we are already 1/4 through the season and 2 points ! off top spot. Everyone forgets we have already played 2 of the big 5 (Liverpool and Man Utd) in which we took 4 points. We beat City and Chelsea last season, came close to beating Arsenal and it is unlikely that Spurs (who are goal shy) are gonna score against us, so that 2 points from them at worst. Just a glimpse at the table and the results show that the top teams have all been beaten by teams that we would, at the start of the season, have considered to be our rivals. Surely, the DNA of the club now is Belief, so you can be your house that MP is installing this in our players, and if he says we can do it that's good enough for me. 1st is a stretch too far, but I reckon we'll be 3rd... though we could be taking it to the wire...
Was hoping for top 10 at start of season and think I would stick with that. As mentioned by a few already,we don't have the strength in depth. We have a cracking first 11 but early next year I think we will fall away a bit as injuries and suspensions start to kick in. We may bring in a player or two in January but it will take until next season for them to bed in. Still see top 10 as progress on last season, there is a long way to go yet!
I have had a feeling for a long time that it will " come down to the wire " ie we get into the champions league IF we beat M U on the final day of the season. If we lose will still be top 6. Just think that this team is a bit special. They don't bottle like the old saints and the ethos and belief is such that I just cannot see them dropping away this season. If we have a few injuries the fringe players will rise to the occasion and surprise a few people. The belief runs through the whole squad and I think they can all do the job if needed. We shall see? If top 4 on January 2nd 2014 champions league is a reel possibility!
This but we need a result next time out Wow how good is it to be a Saints fan now. (plus the bet I put on pre-season is getting ever closer
Sometimes David does a little smile when a question is asked....he should just cut out the middle man and answer directly. He does sometimes get it wrong though, as Mauricio (who as we all know doesn't speak a word of English) has corrected him.
I've often said as an interpretor, David is way off. The answers that MoPo gives are rarely what Savid actually says. But then David is essentially our Manager, Chairman and general shining light so he knows best.
So, a couple weeks ago I did a little write-up about the 'surprise packages' in years past that had started as well as we have, to get a sense of where they typically finish. Decided to go back and do something similar using the upstarts who had posted a goal differential near to our +10 at this point, because it often has predictive value...if a team is sitting on a high points total but a poor goal differential, it often means that they are winning all the close ones while eating a few thrashings, and regression can often catch up as the season progresses. There's only one problem: I can't find any in this millennium. Leeds is the closest (23 points in 11 during '01/'02, +10 GD, finished in the UEFA Cup) but as that was at the tail end of their run as European power, a surprise package they were not. The only club that I could find that fit was fourteen years ago, when Sunderland in '99/'00 started with 24 points in 12 and a +11 GD, before tailing off to eighth (58 points) at the end of the year. Most of that goal differential owed to thrashings of Bradford and Derby, 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. Wigan in '05/'06 had a GD of +8 through eleven, on 25 points (they finished 10th) but with eight wins in that span the close ones were breaking their way...they had six one-goal wins versus two losses and one draw, and eventually it caught up to them. By contrast, four of our wins have been by 2+ goals, with at least a couple draws mixed in which we likely should have done better. So, we're in uncharted waters here. Doesn't mean that we're nailed on for Europe by any means, but we don't have the hallmarks of a flash-in-the-pan side, either. Of course, that could change pretty dramatically by the end of this month, for good or ill.
After our good start, I'd accept 8th, which would represent steady progress from last season. That doesn't mean I'm not hoping for better of course. With most of the most difficult fixtures still to come, it's still possible for the wheels to come off.
Anyone who sees us as a flash in the pan has either never seen us play or they support Pompey (one hopeful Pompey fan said recently that we would be in a relegation battle). We have a talented side who virtually never play badly and can give any team a game. Our only problem will be if crucial players become unavailable for several games.
7th would be dandy. My primary focus at this point in time is merely to finish above Everton, although if we conduct a miraculous run through these upcoming hellish fixtures I may move the goalposts.
What about Newcastle 2002? Norwich in 93, Forest in 94? There used to be loads of 'one hit wonders' so to speak who had a good season and then back to middling. Even Everton 2005 is sort of what we are looking albeit they are a side only just outside the top 4 every year rather than 'an outsider' to the normal elite 7
What would be hilarious is a really close finish to the end of the season! All those years of any of 5 teams could get relegated. Well this time its going to be at the top of the table with everyone cancelling everyone out. While no one is looking, we sneak into the top 4 on the last day of the season
Only went back so far for that reason: the early days of the PL, before the money increased and the top of the table became entrenched, were much less settled. As for Everton, they didn't come into play because I was looking at goal differential (they featured in the points-based version I did previous), and that team was an all-world outlier. They finished fourth despite a negative differential, which spoke to the otherworldly dominance of Chelsea/Arsenal/Man U that season, and the relative flatness of the rest of the league. Newcastle also missed the cutoff...we're above their pace in points and GD at this point, with the surge to the top of the table happening shortly thereafter.
Depends how you do the maths but Sky have done something similar at the bottom of this article: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12038/9023822/the-same-scoreline Every team with >22 points from 11 games and their final position.
