SaintDonkey

Dare I say that Lowe and Wilde are being fairer to those buying season tickets than Crouch was last year? runs for cover before the hail of abuse

Whilst it would be lovely to win every game on the merit of our performance alone it doesn't hurt to have a slice of luck - especially against one of the best teams in the division. In an ideal world the injured 'form' players get picked any way and clearly struggle and have to be subbed. The subs will be demoralized by the feeling that they can't even get into the starting 11 past an injured player and play half heartedly. Now all we need is a guaranteed goal scorer against Dave Jones managed sides. Claus strap your boots on for one last game would you?

Win all of them and we'd be on 70 points which is play off territory. I think realistically we need to set our sights a little lower

A few people have said that Cardiff is a 'must win' game. With them riding high in the table and third placed on current form I don't think that's a realistic expectation. However it's got me thinking - what are the 'must win' games? For me they are the home games against Charlton, Palace and Burnley plus the away games at Watford and Forest and one of Derby or QPR at home. I think they're all 'realistic' although I though Derby and QPR will both be tough. Problem that would only get us to 49 points, not enough to avoid relegation last year, although it was enough for Hull the year before and QPR the year before (they actually had 50 but were 4 points clear). 51 was needed the year before or rather 50 with a decent goal difference and 51 with a decent goal difference the year before. So I make the survival target 52 which will need another win or avoiding defeat against QPR/Derby at home, plus Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday away. Or of course Cardiff at home Bugger me it's really scary looking at it like that, hopefully other teams will slip up and give us a hand!

Damn we need Championship sides to enter administration not League 2 sides. If Charlton, Plymouth and Norwich all did the decent thing and went bust I reckon we'd be safe, safe from relegation anyway!

Hopefully Lowe and Wilde will accept it on face value. Although given the tales told of Crouch's actions at the EGM I worry that it's an empty gesture and I guess that Lowe and Wilde will fear the same.

I'd welcome back all but Redknapp as a visitor. I'd welcome back Strachan as a manager (Nicholl's a bit too old now).

I don't know what they're like this year but I thought Scunny were a decent footballing side last season. Played attractive passing football - just the players weren't good enough for the Championship. Could be a very good place for Fish to go.

Well done for entirely missing the point! Let me say it again slowly: Pearson NEARLY took us down. If he had done a fair proportion of fans would have wanted him out. His contract was up at the end of the season. Therefore it's not entirely unreasonable to have been looking at alternatives. I personally think it was a mistake not to have retained him, but that's not the point I was making.

Hate to bring it back to the thread subject, but I wouldn't mind having Thomson back in the first team squad. He does offer natural width down that right hand side something we didn't really have anywhere in the match day squad on saturday. I think he looks to have potential and would offer something different from the bench.

Good point - need to throw Coventry's last day suicide bid at Charlton into the mix Fact is if Leicester had beaten Stoke and Coventry had drawn at Charlton we would have been relegated on the last day. Pearson was that close to sending us down.

As ever I love the people getting all indignent about Lowe having someone lined up to replace Pearson. Let's face it if not for Leicester self destructing at home against Wednesday and then limpy drawing at an already promoted Stoke, Pearson would be reviled as the manager who took us down to the third tier rather than hailed as some sort of footballing god. Of course Lowe was looking at possible replacements before the end of the season!

The quotes about JP and Wotte not knowing each other before they came here - and not getting on when they did - didn't come from the OS, they came from JP after he departed. For all you might want to dress it up as propaganda can you just concede that whatever the plan might have been the actuality was that Wotte was not directly involved in first team affairs?

Yep you're right. Apologies. The point was that he plays best with a partner like Saga.

I'm guessing the choice initially was between Stern John and Saga. John was out top scorer last season so JP went with him, without noticing that John functioned best when he had Saga to do his running for him over half his goals coming whenh Saga was in the side. Result, partnered with McGoldrick John scores just one in ten games for Saints and becomes an expensive liability and gets shipped off on loan. I don't think Saga all season would have changed things that much. He's a very good player, and on his day a cut above most in this league, but his form is very streaky.

If Wotte keeps us up he'll have more than earned the right to expect to be retained for next season. Personally I don't tar him with the brush of fsailure from the first half of the season. The idea may have bee that he would work closely with Poortvliet but it's clear from the interviews Jan gave after he left that the pair barely spoke. Problem is if Lowe doesn't go then I can see Wotte leaving because of the divisions at the club - there's only so long anyone can want to stay in the job when because of the association with Lowe half the fans want you out. And if Lowe does go (please god make it so) he'll probably get brushed out by the new broom.

I'd be very happy with a draw. Cardiff are a very good side and would have beaten the league leaders away yesterday if not for a freak error by the keeper. I look forwards to all the doomsayers who'll state that it's a must win game and if we don't beat them then we're surely relegated (and of course Wotte will *have* to go). And then I'll point out that the game after Nigel 'the messiah' Pearson got his first win we were thrashed 5-0, drew the next game and then were beaten by Cardiff.

175 mile round trip. Only made the trip a half dozen times this season. Yes I am a crap fan.

I like this thread it's "so dinky. Neat!"

I like this thread it's "so dinky. Neat!"

I think he'll be tempted to bring Schneiderlin back, but I'm not sure where. The straight swap would be for Gillett but I thought he was outstanding of Saturday so should definitely play against Cardiff. Lallanna was perhaps the weakest link in midfield against Bristol - which isn't to say he didn't have a good game, just not as good at the rest of the quartet, but Morgan is such a different player that would mean a change of system and we don't want that. He could maybe play in the forward role in place of McGoldrick, but the lad just had one of his best games of the season and finally looks like he's found a position where his talents might just shine. So I think what I'm saying is please don't change anything Mr Wotte!

I think he'll be tempted to bring Schneiderlin back, but I'm not sure where. The straight swap would be for Gillett but I thought he was outstanding of Saturday so should definitely play against Cardiff. Lallanna was perhaps the weakest link in midfield against Bristol - which isn't to say he didn't have a good game, just not as good at the rest of the quartet, but Morgan is such a different player that would mean a change of system and we don't want that. He could maybe play in the forward role in place of McGoldrick, but the lad just had one of his best games of the season and finally looks like he's found a position where his talents might just shine. So I think what I'm saying is please don't change anything Mr Wotte!

Why the hell should he love the club? How many managers have we had since Ted Bates who actually loved the club? I love the pair of them but Lawrie ****ed off to manage his true love Sunderland and Bally went running to Man City when they called. Dave Merrington at least talks passionately about Saints now and I don't know about Nicholl. But Branfoot, Souness, Jones, Hoddle, Gray, Strachan, Sturroc, Wigley, Redknapp, Basset, Wise, Burley, Pearson and Poortvliet where just professionals come to do a job with varying degrees of success. None of them 'loved' the club. Step forward the one man how's managed Saints in recent years who genuinely loved the club - Jason Dodd. How long did it take the 'fans' to turn on him? About 2 games wasn't it? To be honest he sounds like he's read some of the vitriol spewed on here: "are they really supportive or are they waiting for us to go down?" Some people in here have been advocating Saints going into administration, and hence be relegated, as the only way to go. The same damn 'fans' who are now getting all indignant about Wotte calling them up on it. I think his words were poorly chosen - and I wish that some PR firm was involved to stop him saying stuff like that - but they we're untrue. As to the 'young kids doing a protest march' it's being organized on facebook FFS, have you looked at the list of confirmed attendees? Most of them do look like 'young kids'. For the record I think Wotte is wrong and protesting in this manner is part of being a 'true fan'. But people should get off their high horses for a minute and consider the situation rationally for a minute.

Can we have a "Rupert Lowe is the devil incarnate and anyone who disagrees with anything I say is a Lowe Luvvie" sticky? That does seem to be the cut and thrust of 90% of the new threads on here these days

Yes Yes - at first, if Best hadn't scored that own goal at Pride park we'd have been in a relegation fight in the Prem last year rather than in the championship! No - for all those saying yes look at the state of the table when he took over and at the end of the season! Not his fault but you can't say it was an improvement. No