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"you can't deny that after 11 games of the season, we are firmly in the title race"


CWD

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We have had a great start and boy it has been enjoyable to see us up there but don't forget we have played the bottom 8 and only 3 in the top half. If we are still up there after the next run of games (Arsenal a, Chelsea a, City h, Spurs a) then we are can argue we are in the mix. The strange thing for me though is that having seen us at Anfield and Old Trafford I do think we may be able to get something from these games.

 

If we are near the top after that run of games, then we will really be in the mix

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Like it or not, we are in a title race. To be sat in third, three points off first, after 11 games means we are involved. I agree that we are lacking depth outside of the first team squad, highlighted at Sunderland in the cup. BUT we don't have to play twice a week against Europe's finest as the other top teams do. Arsenal have Marseille just a few days after us, Man City have Bayern Munich a few days after us, Chelsea have Basel just before us. They will need to rotate their teams too for all theses games.

I can understand why some fans are struggling to get their head around what is going on here. I have followed Saints since my first match in the early 80's and experienced games being given away and endless disappointments but I cant recall a Saints team with such a positive mentality or amount of ability. The days of chucking away three goal leads and gifting 90th minute winners are gone. This new team believes and so should we. I remember the headlines on the back page of The Express in 84 after we beat Notts County 3-1 with Steve Moran getting two. The headline read.. SAINTS ARE IN THE ELITE ! We are back there now, lets enjoy it!

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Try telling that to the nutcases that think we could still get relegated this season.

Funnily enough there were nut cases who thought we could make the. CL as well. It must be great in your world where everything is so sure, nothing can be ruled out mathematically at this time. Yes the probability is that we will not be relegated, but also probable we won't make the CL but let people have their beliefs or opinions

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... always contentious. If it was as simple as first 11 being able to maintain this standard throughout 38 games, I would say we have a chance of top 4/5. The reality is that at the moment, come Dec-Mar, the depth of squad of the traditionally dominating top 4 or 5 will have a huge advantage as injuries, burn out or simply the odd player going off form kicks in.

 

Havbing said that, I would NOW not be satisfied with anything less that a top 8 spot - 9th/10th would seem scant reward for the progress we have demonstrated, even if progress from last season. Seems odd to be unsatisfied by a that, but at teh same time, we have already shown what we are capable of, and in purist terms, the style we play, the attitude and the homegrown effect deserves to see those current slightly patronizing platitudes converted into a genuine success story.

 

I hate the cliched 'this years Swansea', if we are genuinely a progressive club with a strategy that is a 'model' - then that needs to be backed up by a decent finish (top 6/7) followed by another place or 2 next season - otherwise we are just another one season wonder....

 

I would NOT take 6th now. As MP says, the only limit to where we can go is the players themselves, if they believe in the 'pundit portrayed' glass ceiling, or whether the confidence installed as a result of clear coached improvement results in real belief. Due to squad size and back up quality, we will need a HUGE amount of luck, but to suggest we should 'know our place' is the defeatist crap that pleases the traditionally dominant.

 

I like the fact that the clubs approach is belief in POSSIBILITY - not dwelling on PROBABILITY - the curse of the 'mid-table mediocrity' - Sport should always be about going for top. Giving it a go with style - we will get more enjoyment from that as we are doing now, than from accepting and settling for second best.

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We have no chance of winning the league do we? So therefore we are not in the title race.

 

We are at the moment. If Man Utd are in the title race then we are.

 

I don't doubt we'll fall out of it at some point but at the moment we are firmly in it. If we were in 18th right now people would say we're relegation candidates so why can't it work the other way round!?

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I'm just totally enjoying the ride while it lasts. It does remind me alot of WBA last season and i fully expect us to go off the boil at some point. The big plus for us is the World cup looming.....we genuinely have a number of players that are all in with a shout of going to the World Cup finals and i would expect them to be giving everything and more to be on that plane.One of the main differences about this set of players under Poch is the mental strength and belief....it is evident out there every Saturday that they fully believe they deserve to be where they are and are as good as anyone in this league.....go onto the pitch with that attitude and you are in with a shout......much better than teams of old that went out knowing they were inferior and fully expected to get beat!Have massively enjoyed watching the brand of football we are producing.

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Like it or not, we are in a title race. To be sat in third, three points off first, after 11 games means we are involved. I agree that we are lacking depth outside of the first team squad, highlighted at Sunderland in the cup. BUT we don't have to play twice a week against Europe's finest as the other top teams do. Arsenal have Marseille just a few days after us, Man City have Bayern Munich a few days after us, Chelsea have Basel just before us. They will need to rotate their teams too for all theses games.

I can understand why some fans are struggling to get their head around what is going on here. I have followed Saints since my first match in the early 80's and experienced games being given away and endless disappointments but I cant recall a Saints team with such a positive mentality or amount of ability. The days of chucking away three goal leads and gifting 90th minute winners are gone. This new team believes and so should we. I remember the headlines on the back page of The Express in 84 after we beat Notts County 3-1 with Steve Moran getting two. The headline read.. SAINTS ARE IN THE ELITE ! We are back there now, lets enjoy it!

I was thinking earlier how the club now have a strong mental belief and the last few years have given them a winning mentality. Somehow the fan base (especially the fans who have been going decades) need to find a confidence in the team.I remember in the 80s where I'd go to a match expecting to win, slowly that feeling is returning. It will take a lot more than flirting with the top 4 for a few weeks for me to get into the airy fairy we are unbeatable like the CB Frys of the world
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Beer and cocktails talking here but picture this .... 23rd Nov Liverpool either lose or draw at Everton (not improbable with Everton doing well) and we win 2-0 at Arsenal, wishful thinking, but who knows it could happen .... regardless of results else where we are Top of The Feckin League FFS.

 

I think I need to go and lie down!!

 

Yeah you take it easy mate you've got a bloody important job at 12:35pm Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, actually we probably ARE in the Title Race.

 

Mainly as the team that takes the most points off us will win the title so we're a definite factor.

 

I'll be happy with 2nd.

 

BUT, what I am LOVING about us at the moment is that not ONE Saints Interview talks about anything other than focusing on the next game.

We stated our Aims (people laughed) but since then it is ONLY about the next game, nobody is talking top 10, Top 4 or Title, just the next game.

 

God how many interviews would Lowe/Wilde/Crouch/Execs have given by now with this run

 

Oh and still in touch with the Top 4 at the turn of the year? Well how about US being linked with top players from the smaller clubs around us? instead of the other way round for a change

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I was thinking earlier how the club now have a strong mental belief and the last few years have given them a winning mentality. Somehow the fan base (especially the fans who have been going decades) need to find a confidence in the team.I remember in the 80s where I'd go to a match expecting to win, slowly that feeling is returning. It will take a lot more than flirting with the top 4 for a few weeks for me to get into the airy fairy we are unbeatable like the CB Frys of the world

 

Think you & I share the same views Oldnick. I kind of feel I want to be walking round wearing a T-Shirt that says

 

I'm a Saints fan

WTF is going on?

 

It'll take a long while to make me want that to be a wash twice cheapie from Primark instead of a Fred Perry

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Funnily enough there were nut cases who thought we could make the. CL as well. It must be great in your world where everything is so sure, nothing can be ruled out mathematically at this time. Yes the probability is that we will not be relegated, but also probable we won't make the CL but let people have their beliefs or opinions

 

I will, but it gets tiresome when people put mathmatical store in something that simply won't happen. We won't get relegated this season.

 

Feel free to chastise me for my assured, concrete opinion. In fact I encourage it. Fill your boots.

 

I won't care because I'm right. We are safe safe safe safe safe safe.

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I will, but it gets tiresome when people put mathmatical store in something that simply won't happen. We won't get relegated this season.

 

Feel free to chastise me for my assured, concrete opinion. In fact I encourage it. Fill your boots.

 

I won't care because I'm right. We are safe safe safe safe safe safe.

 

We've got as much chance of being relegated as Manchester United.

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I will, but it gets tiresome when people put mathmatical store in something that simply won't happen. We won't get relegated this season.

 

Feel free to chastise me for my assured, concrete opinion. In fact I encourage it. Fill your boots.

 

I won't care because I'm right. We are safe safe safe safe safe safe.

CB for the first time. I have seen humility and humour in your posts, it made me smile. You are not a robot lol I will accept that you are right and we won't be relegated, now are you sure sure sure we will qualify for the CL ?
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Beer and cocktails talking here but picture this .... 23rd Nov Liverpool either lose or draw at Everton (not improbable with Everton doing well) and we win 2-0 at Arsenal, wishful thinking, but who knows it could happen .... regardless of results else where we are Top of The Feckin League FFS.

 

I think I need to go and lie down!!

 

You see this is my thinking and it is taking one game at a time. I would love to hit the sumit, just the once! How would that feel, even if it was just for one week, after 12 games of the season!

 

I cannot help but think, we should have done much better against West Ham and Sunderland at home, and even Stoke and Norwich away. We could have been top now.

 

I for one am enjoying the moment as the likelihood is that we will be moving down the table, but top 7 is defiantly possible.

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Anyone else think that our supposed "lack of depth" is actually working to our advantage at the moment? In other words, we have a more settled starting 11 than other teams 'in the mix' who feel they have to rotate their squad more than we do to keep their 'superstar' players happy. Take Spurs today for example. Many Spurs fans phoning up radio stations after the game saying that AVB needs to stop tinkering and decide what his best starting 11 is.

 

Yes, I know the 'advantage' of a strong/fixed starting 11 coupled with a weaker 'reserve' 11, could/will catch up with us eventually as injuries, suspensions, etc, start to kick in but, for now, I'm thinking our perceived "lack of depth" is working in our favour.

Edited by trousers
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Yes, certainly in the mix as it currently stands after 11 games, but long shots for the top four with another 27 games left and possible injuries to our small squad. relying on Fox and Jos for cover will cost us points. Other factors also helping us with challenging at the top are managerial changes at teams expected to be up there in City, Utd and Chelsea, with their players finding it hard going under the new regimes. All those teams are below us.

 

2 points a game is unbelievable. Certainly loving it at the moment with dreaming anything is possible but dreading a Lovren injury!

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After 14 games last season WBA were joint 3rd and 3 points clear of 5th

 

They finished the season 24 points behind 4th place (Arsenal)

 

A great example of where we are. I'm usually glass-half-full but with such elation on this board I'm keeping a realistic, slightly pessimistic, view on our situation. We're not even a third of the way through the season at the moment, it's not even halfway through November, there's a fricking LONG way to go yet! Our start has been amazing, and I'm loving every second, but I'm not getting carried away. I do, however, think we'll end up closer to 4th than WBA got. They just disappeared after the new year after such a good start to the season. We hope it doesn't happen to us like that.

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11 games is over ¼ of the season.

 

Even if we drop to relegation form, of a point per game for the rest of the season, giving another 27 points, we end up with 49 points - same as WBA finishing 8th last season.

 

This is not just a good start now.

 

After this weekend we are now TOP of the current form table - so getting better and making progress. More than anyone else over last 6.

 

We have the longest current undefeated sequence in the division, clear of anyone else.

 

Paddy power have us 10/1 for top four. Probably about right - not likely but wouldn't now be big shock.

 

I bet if we were 10/1 for relegation and with worst current form people wouldn't be relaxed.

 

Who knows what will happen, but people need to stop assuming we won't make the top four and mocking the suggestion, I think someone said anyone suggesting we would get 4 against Hull was deluded!

 

Enjoy it while it lasts, and it may just last all season!

 

 

The Man U forum has a post saying how its years since Southampton have been in the title race!!

 

Only Chelsea, Man C and Man U had more that 22 points last season after 11. (24,25 and 27).

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%9309_Hull_City_A.F.C._season#Results_by_round

 

Had one more point than us after 10 games. Had two fewer points after 11, so pretty similar.

 

That's quite a sobering set of results there. Hull only had 2 more victories after that flying start. I can't see us having quite such a bad run of results though (famous last words...)

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Would you not be disappointed with 10th? Take out the top 7 from last season and who is better than us? Catching one or two of those 7 isn't completely out of the question, particularly Everton.

 

At full strength? Not many. Second string? Pretty much all of them. We will get injuries and it will result in a drop in performance.

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ever since KD joined the club he has a section of fans who have waited in the shadows waiting to pounce on any mistake he made. His plaudits by his peers and player of the season awards are swept aside at his first error, and the told you he was no good posts came on here at any perceived mistake. Iam not saying he is a first choice PL keeper but he is a superb stand in. Yes he was shaky a at the start of last season but so was the whole defence, some would argue it was down to him, others could counter it was due to those in front not dominating etc etc etc. if he had let in the goal aka stoke and his distribution to Wanyama had cost a goal he would have been slaughtered on here.

The man is loyal to our club and so should be given a little slack by people who always can't what to get their knives out for him

 

Kelvin has been a great servant for us but he isn't a superb stand-in in the Prem. Friedel is a superb stand-in.

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At full strength? Not many. Second string? Pretty much all of them. We will get injuries and it will result in a drop in performance.

 

Injuries to whom? Boruc, yes; Shaw, yes; 3 or 4 other first teamers, yes. We do have cover in most positions.

 

You may have noticed we have a very good fitness and injury record. These things are only partially down to luck and we seem to treat problems quite well. I can only remember one long-term absentee from the first team last year (Lallana)

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fwiw I think we are in the title race and our squad is not at "thin" as some are suggesting, given most of the teams we might be competing with will also have Champions League games too. As long as the key player steer clear of injury, who knows?? Then again, who remembers this:

 

12 November 1988 - 3rd

 

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one-old/1988-1989/table/1988-11-12

 

28 March 1989 - 18th

 

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one-old/1988-1989/table/1989-03-29

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I will genuinely think we are in the title race if we are up there after 19 games when we have played everyone once. In our next 8 games we play 6 of the top 9. Only then I think we can really judge whether we are in the title race. 10 points from the next 8 and we'll certainly be in contention for top 4 at the half way stage.

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fwiw I think we are in the title race and our squad is not at "thin" as some are suggesting, given most of the teams we might be competing with will also have Champions League games too. As long as the key player steer clear of injury, who knows?? Then again, who remembers this:

 

12 November 1988 - 3rd

 

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one-old/1988-1989/table/1988-11-12

 

28 March 1989 - 18th

 

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one-old/1988-1989/table/1989-03-29

 

19 games without a win wasn't it? we finally got the win courtesy of a last minute penalty at home to Newcastle.

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It ain't unprecedented for a smaller club to have a strong start and be in the mix, even maybe up to Christmas. I've seen it before & they always fall away.

 

What's strange though, what I don't really remember seeing before, is we haven't been particularly flukey. In pretty much every game I've seen we've been markedly the better team, even the ones we didn't win. Kind of makes you think like something unusual is happening here. Maybe.

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It ain't unprecedented for a smaller club to have a strong start and be in the mix, even maybe up to Christmas. I've seen it before & they always fall away.

 

What's strange though, what I don't really remember seeing before, is we haven't been particularly flukey. In pretty much every game I've seen we've been markedly the better team, even the ones we didn't win. Kind of makes you think like something unusual is happening here. Maybe.

 

-10 rep points for your 6000th post being too sensible. With no humour, and not a hintage of Yo. :-)

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We are clearly different to the WBA and Hull sides that flattered to deceive in recent seasons. Did they get 3 England call-ups per team in the Autumn? Did they totally dominate possession by unreal statistics of 60:40 or more? Did they have the one of the tightest defences in the whole of Europe?

 

What is looking ominously good is the fact that our attack is now on song, we are not just relying on a tight defence and sneaking a winning goal from set-pieces.

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It's still fun to suggest we are, I'm enjoying winding up all the United/Chelsea/City fans right now. Let's just enjoy it, it'll be nearly impossible to finish above 7th, 10th and above will be acceptable. We will certainly lose a few over the next couple of months so we just need to prepare ourselves for our drop down the table

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I watched Arsenal and City today and saw nothing at all that suggests we cant get a good result against both of them .We still have the best defence in the league,we look the fittest team in the league .Our goals are being spread around the team ,unlike say Man Utd who are relying on Rooney and RVP (take those 2 out the equation and they look very ordinary) .Our success this season is going to come down to injuries .If we get lucky in that area then i see no reason why we cant sustain our current form.

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Injuries to whom? Boruc, yes; Shaw, yes; 3 or 4 other first teamers, yes. We do have cover in most positions.

 

You may have noticed we have a very good fitness and injury record. These things are only partially down to luck and we seem to treat problems quite well. I can only remember one long-term absentee from the first team last year (Lallana)

 

If we lose any of the following it will have a significant detrimental impact on our season: Boruc, Lovren, Shaw, Schneiderlin. Pretty much all the other players we have decent cover for and would need a couple of injuries for it to be a problem. We've got a bit of depth in wide midfield/attackers, but these 4 are key.

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If we lose any of the following it will have a significant detrimental impact on our season: Boruc, Lovren, Shaw, Schneiderlin. Pretty much all the other players we have decent cover for and would need a couple of injuries for it to be a problem. We've got a bit of depth in wide midfield/attackers, but these 4 are key.

 

The only position out of the one you've mentioned that I wouldn't be too worried about is Schneiderlin's. He's immense, but if he was out for 3, 4 or 5 games for whatever reason I don't see why Jack Cork couldn't step in and make a decent fist of things - same goes for Wanyama if that happened.

 

However, yes, GK, CB and LB injuries could impact us pretty horribly if they happened.

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