Ok with the christmas period upon us it marks the half season. After what was a bit of an embarrasing start to our life back in the top flight Nigel managed to steady the ship and turn results and performances around. We currently sit on 15 points having played 16 games which is bloody wonderful considering the way it was looking. I am going to assume we will get 4 points from the remaining 3 games this year to give us a point a game total. Just a couple of points the 4 points we dropped at home against Swansea and Norwich could well be our undoing i know its been discussed in the past but i really do feel we could live to regret this. Now to the new year and the second half of the season, what do you think is a realistic points total from our final 19 games, you need to bear in mind the fact we still have to play chelsea twice and also the fact that our the majority of our most winnable fixtures are going to be played away from St Mary's. My prediction 17 points. 4 wins and 5 draws. So a total of 36 points. Here's to a very productive and jolly season.
Of course you could just as easily say that we've got a bit of experience now, bedded in some new players and seem to have learned how to hold on to a lead. That would make the second half of the season easier in theory. However, as with all things football, the matches have to be played in order to establish a result. Conjecture on performances over such a long period is exactly that. As always though, I am more than happy to provide a bit and predict that we will pick up more than 27 points from here on in.
It will be tougher but you could say that about a lot of teams. Our run in looks good and I think that 4 points before the new year would put us in a good position to stay up.
Like you said, we have played a lot of our easier fixtures at home. It's time to address our woeful away form, and hopefully cause a few upsets at home!
I think we will be in a better position to get points from the top sides after some experience of the PL. I have confidence in the team and Nigel to grind out sufficient points....as long as we hang on to safety or be only the odd point adrift going into the last 2-3 games.
Well, we've got a few easy away games coming up, like, er, Man U, and Chelsea, and Tottenham... Seriously though, we simply have to get the occasional point from some of the more impossible-looking away fixtures, and try and make St. Mary's a fortress once again.
Was thinking about this the other day. A lot of your home games have been against what would would call "easier", and not having got as many points as you perhaps should have will make the second half of the season very difficult. Just had a quick look at the fixtures between now and the end of the season, the following are games where I think you can pick up points Sunderland (H) - 3 Fulham (A) - 1 Stoke (A) - 1 Everton (H) - 1 Wigan (A) - 1 QPR (H) - 3 Reading (A) - 1 West Ham (H) - 3 WBA (H) - 1 Sunderland (A) - 1 Stoke (H) - 3 That's 19 points. That's with me possibly being a bit kind with the predictions. You've got Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea to come at home, and Man Utd, Newcastle, Swansea, and Villa away. All incredibly tough games. But football's not played on paper, which is why we love it. And with a half season behind you, one where you've come out with your head above the relegation zone, a couple of new players and defensively looking a lot more solid who knows
Hopefully we can beat Arsenal on New Year's day, to get 2013 off to a flyer. Maybe not 6-1, but I see this as a winnable game.
We're certainly due some luck against the big teams and they're not in great form. Need good results against Sunderland and Fulham first though!
Yes if we can get some momentum going they are nothing to be scared of. Stop their playmaker and they are beatable as Swansea showed!
Tbh, I'm only interested in looking at the points come the end of the season. Every game, for every club, bar the top 4, looks like a toughie. I'm not interested in how tough things may become. I'm interested in how Saints will deal with the next game. However, will they buy in the New Year or will they simply improve on their good form for the remaining part of the season..? It's all speculation. I'd rather stick to what I know, which is, after an understandably shaky start, the Lads are getting their act together.
WHY?? We have improved as the season has gone on, hopefully there will be additions to the squad in January and we can kick on again. And the fact we play the same 19 teams again I'm not seeing the problem.
Of the bottom 7 teams we have only QPR and Sunderland left to play at home. Those are certainly 6 points we need. We are going to need to beat at least 3 of the bottom 7 teams away. Add a couple of home wins against the mid table and some draws and I think we will be fine. Certainly our first half was easier (more bottom teams at home) than the second half will be but we are also playing better now. We are the Saints so we know we will leave it late in the season but I am hopeful we have enough to stay up.
I'm sure as usual we will lose games we should win and win ones we should lose. That's why we love it!
The good news for us is that the improvements are there for all to see. Nigel said every week that we would have to learn fast and the players, the coaches, even the supporters have done that. It will take some big performances and we will have to do better against the top ten teams in round II, but I am confident we can do it. Another thing in our favour is that our squad is only really in need of minor tinkering rather than the major surgery that some bottom teams will be planning. Our first eleven is practically irreplaceable but we just need a bit more depth to cover for injuries or to help us change a game from the bench. Hopefully we can keep up those great results and pull ourselves into the middle of the pack over the next few weeks.
A point a game will keep us up, I think! I agree 3-4 points is what we need from our next three and think we will achieve.
