The form table sure looks pretty good right now... please log in to view this image Are we playing above ourselves against 'lesser' sides, or have we genuinely settled down now? We had that absolute horror start, and just a few weeks ago sat with 4 points, but we've racked them up recently. 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the last 6 - and that was Liverpool (not as great as previously, but expected still?)! Wins against: Newcastle (14th) Reading (19th) QPR (20th) Draws against: Swansea (8th) Norwich (11th) Defeat against: Liverpool (12th) Also, what are you expecting in the run until January now? Our ability against those around us (QPR, Reading, Villa) has been reassuring, shame we couldn't finish off Wigan at the time, I think we could do now. If we keep it up with a win against Sunderland it will be another step nearer. Good also to see the GD coming in. If we beat Sunderland and sit on 18pts in New Year I'd be happy enough, double that and you have 36 points, usually enough. Plus, I'm sure we will also strengthen where necessary too. Hopefully many good times ahead. So, thoughts? Top form or settled? DTLW
Honestly, I'll be a little disappointed if we go into the new year on 18 points. We've settled I reckon, but we can do better. I don't think we're seeing the best of Rodriguez and Ramirez yet.
Fair comment. I see no reason why we can't take something at Craven Cottage - but to take points from both them and Stoke, or even Stoke alone - I'd be surprised!
Considering Fulham are bottom of that form table, I do hope so. As for Stoke, that's a tough one. I won't be too upset with a defeat there.
I prefer this table to that other ****ty table people always harp on about. Let's stick with this one.
We have hit our true form. Early results were harsh on us as we had so many top sides whilst still trying to get used to the PL. We are a good side let down and punished by errors. Eliminate some of those and we will get the results we deserve. Yesterday we could easily have lost points because we couldn't finish our chances despite dominating, but this time we got what we deserved. Home games will be the key.
I think both the players and management have been on a steep learning curve and have now "got it"! Hats off to them. With Cork and Gaston being injured early season didn't help, the difference that Cork has made is massive. I believe we will get to the New Year with 18 or 19 points which if mimicked in the second half will keep us safely in the Prem and give everyone confidence in a bit of a spending spree in January to strengthen where required.
Agree a win and a draw from our next 3 should keep us out of the bottom 3 then push on in the new year. Onwards and upwards!
Hard teams at the start of the season disguised our true potential. Cork being out hurt us too. We're 15th now and if we're still 15th by Christmas, I'd settle for that. You need three seasons in the Prem before you can bed in and start thinking about pushing onto the next level.
If we beat Sunderland we'll be on 18 points from 17 games, which is just ahead of the point-per-game target we had at the start of the season for survival. If we hadn't had such a crap set of fixtures early on, combined with the absence of key people like Ramirez, and more importantly Cork, we would be well ahead of that target already, I believe. The signs are good from the last 6 games that we have turned the corner, and we shouldn't be looking at huge spending in the window. We just need to strengthen our backup for those positions we are a bit thin on, LB, CB, and possibly a keeper.
Tbh, I don't we are playing significantly better than on the first day against Man City. There are two factors that have seen an improvement in results. 1] the defence has settled in, and have become progressively tighter. The FBs, Clyne and Shaw have been revelations, and Fonte and Yoshida are becoming a half-decent pairing. The defensive midfield has been tightened by the return of Jack Cork. He and Schneiderlin have been protecting the centre well. Overall, fewer mistakes are occurring, and the team is learning. 2] there is the simple fact that we are playing teams that are less capable, at the moment. Yes, Wigan at home was a bad result. Saints underestimated them. They are a flawed team, but can rip anyone apart, as shown from late last season. The rest of the results were entirely understandable. Saints cleared them out of the way, and the horror start [the OP's words] was over. As such, there has been a building of momentum and Saints have been beating those teams around them. At some point, the league positions would change, and they have dramatically this weekend. It's been coming.
We've improved massively due to Punch finding form, Shaw playing and Cork playing. I actually think we were at our peak against Newcastle and the last few games we haven't been quite soo good. We've still managed to pick up points and after a two week rest hopefully we can find that form again and push on.
TSS speaks sense. We'll only know if we've really improved when we play all the good teams again; those who are certain we've turned a corner now are falling into the same trap as those who said we were definitely down after the first few games.
Agree with that, but I think few are now thinking that Saints will be cut adrift at the bottom come Christmas. Plenty saw that a real possibility a few weeks ago. Our target was always going to be 17th this season and our recent improvement in form makes us look unlikely to be one of the three worst teams.
If we hadn't had to play last season's top three in our first four games, we would have encountered these sides by now coming up to the halfway point. But I agree that we would have been better equipped to play them now with morale and confidence flowing throughout the team. The surprise element and the fact that the giants hadn't warmed up yet were advantages to playing the top three so early on however. For me our tough start wasn't helped by the fact that we then played in-form lower top of the table teams such as Everton and West Brom. This meant that it took us even longer to get a footing in the league and the patience of a number of our fans was clearly tested after an extended period of low point accumulation past the expected difficult start. Our last six is a better gauge of how we are performing and I agree with TSS that a useful yardstick will prove to be how we fair against the likes of Arsenal and Man City at home later in the season. Completely agree that we only need a few select additions to the squad namely another CB.
I was thinking that. Pretty dire isn't it. The only away game I went to, we won. So don't worry lads, I'm going to Fulham as well. That'll be another win.
Though I would be disappointed if we were to lose our remaining matches this year I am confident that we would still be close enough to safety to be able to strengthen where necessary without the need to panic buy. We always knew that we would find it easier once the initial games were played and so it has appeared. I am much more confident now than before the Newcastle game.
I think Saints fans have been very good. They have been supportive where other fans would have got restless. This was helped by the fear of losing Adkins (which I don't think was ever imminent).
