Wouldnt go that far As my mate who loves Saints said to me yesterday “As soon as you’re safe from relegation you will lose every game, pointless club” It’s an improvement as he said we were definitely going down a few weeks ago.
Lower midtable for me. We really lack firepower and we're bound to have runs of games when we're hardly scoring at all. Throw in inevitable injuries and I think we'll end up roughly where we are. Need to make sure we capitalise on this mini run by beating Norwich before a free hit in a trip to Anfield. Really hope Norwich win today. After that it's 7 matches during December which will be a big test. We've done pretty well there though in that 4 of those are at home and all the aways are in London.
I don't think so. I don't think we will finish top 6 but I do think it's more likely than getting relegated.
My only concern with yesterday’s game is that at 12.48 on Saturday, I still keep thinking it is Sunday today.
Actually we were the better team first half offensively and we were the better team in the second half defensively.
What did Smith change? Villa were so anonymous 1st half I couldn't identify what had changed in the 2nd except they had more energy and we just kept making silly mistakes On my pet soapbox subject of set pieces, I was pleased to see Bedders beyond the far post for our dead balls into the area, but we relly need to leve Adam A up the field when we are defending them. Every time we cleared them they just came straight back before we got out
1st half so much more enjoyable Nothing worked offensively 2nd, but at least subs helped defend the lead After we changed to wing backs we never got them into any decent positions, Mo kept ignoring KWP From the Chapel you miss the detail at the far end when we're defending and it felt like they were going to score from every attack They actually didn't make any reallly good chances and we defended really well, but it was stressful
Swapped Bailey and Buendia. By taking Bailey off the right flank, there was less opportunity for KWP and Ely to overrun Cash. (It didn't lead to any improvement from Bailey in an attacking sense. Just removed him as a total defensive liability.)
Libby called it last night. Second half they were quicker to close down Romeu (and I would add JWP) which disrupted our movement of the ball, with them being denied the space they had in the first half to dictate the game. The closing down led to blocked passes with Villa winning more second balls and stopped KWP and Tino from being as attacking as in the first half.
That's all I saw, interesting to hear St Brendy say the Buendia / Bailey swap changed things too I was too busy trying to work out why we couldn't get round their press in the middle Our decision making and our execution suffered under pressure Worth noting though that every team in the EPL can be shut down at times with the right press applied well
So said everyone 12 months ago. But I bet no one wants a repeat of last season. Things can go from good to bad very quickly at this level. Better to just talk about the current performances rather than getting out the crystal ball after every game.
Wow, his love runs deep! If we get a run and are flying (relatively speaking) I don't see a Ralph side then throwing the towel in. I don't think the players or club necessarily see themselves as relegation candidates anyhow.
Totally agree about leaving AA upfront for corners, I would add another small speedster with him which forces the attacking team to leave three back. That takes the congestion out of the box to allow the keeper the opportunity to come out and catch the corner let alone the fast counter attack
I want Brentford to stay up, so really hope they beat Norwich. In fact, bollocks to Norwich, don't care if they don't win another game all season tbh. They'll win the Championship next season anyway, before going straight back down again. They seem happy with that.
Yeah, things can change, true. But we are a well coached side, playing well, still struggling to score. Last season we were a well coached side trying to play well, but a bit lopsided and guaranteed at least one costly defensive blunder per game. Now we are better balanced, and have cut our blunder ratio significantly. I'd put my mortgage on two things happening in the PL at the end of this season; Chelsea will win it, and we'll still be in it
Loved the early goal. Even more so because it came from a blunder by Matty Cash, who robbed us with his goal keeper dive. Yet again dodgy refereeing stopped AV players getting sent off.
Yeah he doesn’t like us much, might be because he knows me. In fact it definitely is because he knows me as he also likes to tell me that he has never met another Saints fan in his life