Sure. But it was also 17 points worse than our previous season, and you could see the seeds planted for our fate this year. Feeling like they were taking the club backward was not irrational, as they have taken the club backward.
But going backwards and not making any evident attempt to correct it will generally not endear one's self to the support. Therein lies the issue here: the club hasn't acted as if being 17th rather than 7th was much of a difference in their eyes, so long as the accounts remained healthy.
No.7 I think you are being a little down on fans. The atmosphere in some of those PL games under Poch and under Koeman was fantastic. When things seem bad (are bad) fans often paint a different memory. I agree that our fans don’t support the team as well as they could or should, however there have been some cracking atmospheres since our return.
I did a full PL results calculator last night and put both Newcastle and West Ham as draws (for devilment). With these two draws, we went down on 34 points. This means with two wins, we finish on 38 points. It is going to be tight. Strap yourselves in!!
I'm sure that is not the case. Of course they want us to be financially sound, but the board must be very concerned about our current position as they are Saints fans of a sort (perhaps not as manic as us because they can move on, but still caring because they are heavily involved with the club). And they are aware of plan B (which involves laying off staff*) and no one would look forward to that. I will judge them next season whether we are relegated or safe. Do they try and sort out the problems on the playing and managerial side if we stay up....to stop a repeat of this season? Do they remain positive and invest next season if we are relegated to try and get straight back up? Or do they go overboard with financial restrictions to conserve the coffers. As we are reasonably financially sound, they should be bullish next season if relegated....rather not see, but the boards attitude could be telling. If relegated, I would be telling those highly paid players that they can forget any moves....you got us here and you will get us out. A second season in the Championship would mean selling players, but I think the board need to bite the bullet the first season in a genuine hope of promotion. *Sadly, it will be the little guys who go first.....don't need so many of them and easy to get rid of.
Everton v Brighton next. Realistically both sides are safe, but that's the chance for one of them to nail the lid down. Tough looking fixtures for Palace (away to Chelsea; off the back of home to Utd tomorrow), Stoke (home to City) and Bmouth (home to Spurs). A straight forward looking fixture for West Ham, at home to Burnley. And a couple of juicy double-headers; our trip to Newcastle, and Huddersfield v Swansea. Potential therefore for up to three sides to really open up a gap on the bottom three (clearly only a maximum of three of those final five teams can win). Indeed, when you throw in the fact that there's also still Huddersfield v Palace, Bmouth v WBA, Newcastle v Huddersfield, and West Ham v Saints to come this month, we could well be ending March with only four sides left in the race to avoid 18th and 19th. (God knows who they'd be though.)
I agree. I’ve always thought our home support, while not amazing, was always good. We always seemed to have a lot of the Northam singing throughout the whole first half and then from 60mins onwards we used to start up again and sing the majority of the game. Obviously it was a constant, but on the whole we sang loudly as well as a bit more reserved for much of our games. That completely went when Puel came in, due mostly to the boring football and I suppose also the lack of identity in the team. Everyone we cared about had gone. But yes, I agree many people are overplaying how long our support has been poor. It’s been awful the past two seasons at home but was fine before that.
I think I'd rather Swansea beat Hudders as I believe Hudders, Palace and Stoke should be the main ones now.
On the one hand, I'm absolutely inclined to agree with you. I certainly rate Swansea more. On the other hand, we still have Swansea to play. So if they were still around us, we could (in theory) directly damage them; we have a tiny bit of control over their destiny. Whereas what Huddersfield do is entirely out of our hands. And I would argue that between now and the final two rounds of matches, Huddersfield certainly have the easier fixture list of the two teams. (If Huddersfield messed it up against Swansea, well they still follow it up with Palace, Newcastle, Brighton and Watford all in a row)
Indeed. It's why I've said that come the end of March, the numbers of sides entrenched right in the relegation battle could be a lot less. Huddersfield, us, Newcastle and West Ham all have the fixtures to put decent points on the board this month (but especially Huddersfield, given that they do play on QF weekend). Naturally, all four of us can't, because of the matches between ourselves. But potentially two of us four (and Huddersfield in particular) could be sitting quite pretty come the evening of 31 March. Or we just have another month of to-me-to-you to-me-to-you, and nothing happening. (Which probably damages us and West Ham the most, given what we'd both have to come.)
Don't tell 'em that, Beef. You'll get accused of working for the club Trying to be positive on here attracts some strange comments/ views; but, hey, glass still half full. Yesterday was a disappointment, yes, but it was another point, another unbeaten stat along the way and Saints goal difference still looks to be worth a point if it all boils down to that come the final knockings.
Here's a thought then - name any Saints match in the last decade (!) where they were booed and jeered; then went on to win that match. When things ain't great, do you really think that the atmosphere created at St. Marys generates an up & at 'em vibe in a player or team. Or do you think that that sort of atmosphere would tend to make players jittry , frightened to make a mistake or shrink into their shells. Somebody posted previously about the great support that Palace got during their abysmal start to the season. Others on here have recounted tales of the spirit & backing given at the Dell. That got Saints out of many relegation scrapes. So, over to you, name that game.......
I think the lack of enthusiasm for the team especially from the Northam End surely reflects the type of football we have been playing for the last two seasons?
I don't think there are many on here that advocate booing at a game and most comments I see are posters urging fans to support and back the team through these difficult times, BUT there is no point in ignoring the fact that there is something seriously wrong with the football side of the club (mostly self inflicted) atm and fans are just voicing their concerns and proposing their remedies for the current situation.
