Southampton

Relegation watch: still looking at Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich, with Leicester hanging on

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John McCormick:
John McCormick: getting ready, only a month to go

What a website! On 15th June, in response to my “who went down, who’s going down?”  Dave left a comment which included:

“… I think Pearson will, at some point, have a big row with a player or a fan, and the team’s spirit that kept them up will dissipate…”

Two weeks later Leicester City’s website contained the following:

“…it has become clear to the Club that fundamental differences in perspective exist between us. Regrettably, the Club believes that the working relationship between Nigel and the Board is no longer viable…”

The effect on team spirit remains to be seen but as I said at the start, what a website!

A week ago I left you with a poll whose results were suggesting the targets of my dodgy numbers “relegation watch” would be the three promoted clubs and Leicester. Since then another couple of thousand votes have been cast but they didn’t make much difference, despite the turmoil  at the Kingpower . Here are last Friday’s and this Friday’s results:

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Relegation: it’s still Bournemouth and Watford. Can Leicester and Norwich relax?

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John McCormick:
John McCormick: I’m biased. Are you?

Strange, isn’t it? I spend Monday evening idly browsing the MLS (aka Major League Soccer) website trying to work out how it (the league, not the website) operates and then along comes David Millward with a piece about a football convention in the USA. I wonder if the fans he mixed with can get their heads around relegation and promotion better than I can handle the subtleties of the MLS.

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Who went down, who’s going down? Do dodgy numbers have the answer?

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John McCormick:
John McCormick: 1×1 is 1, 1×2 is four, 1×38 is 38 and that’s enough for safety.

At the start of last season I chose three relegation candidates  (QPR, Hull and Aston Villa) and two reserves (Southampton and West Brom) on the basis of PL history and some iffy statistics.

As you might expect, I got some stick from fans who didn’t like my forecast:

Mr QPR said “What a rubbish article, how can a Sunderland fan have any view on relegation when they will be one of the teams themselves”

Germany Tiger said Hull had improved significantly as well as: “You are the only one (and I’ve read a lot) who have Hull in a relegation spot, which suggests to me that there is still a bit of disappointment at being put to the sword 3 times last season by the Tigers and I predict a few more this season also….. oh if we could only play Sunderland every week… deep joy!!”

 Bald ugly bloke  was a bit more restrained, and perhaps a bit more optimistic: “Laughable that you have Hull City in the 3! The Tigers will be pushing top half.”

 Having been around for a few seasons, Swallavc was much more measured: “Aston Villa have been relegated in 0% of premier league seasons and therefore will be safe!”

I could go on, but what I’d prefer to say is that many of the readers, SAFC fans and others, were prepared to give their opinions on relegation candidates, as well as of my words . I’ll come back to this at the end.

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One-word SAFC ratings vs Southampton: hang on there, fat lady

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Rob: ' no longer wishing I was stuck in a desert'
Rob: ‘no longer wishing I was stuck in a desert’

 

John McCormick writes: As I’m doing Rob Hutchison’s post, Radio 5 has cut from the footie to some southern hospital where the heir’s spare has produced a spare heir. Apparently there are some 80 year olds waiting outside for something good to happen. Yeah, I’ve got that T shirt, I’m thinking.

But the reporter goes on and on, trying to build mountains into molehills. Not that it matters to Rob, who not only has something good of his own to report for a change but can also give Radio 5 lessons in brevity:

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Sixer’s Sevens: Sunderland 2 Southampton 1. ‘Massive’ Gomez double to worry Newcastle

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Jake pins Sixer to the wall
Jake pins Sixer to the wall

Monsieur Salut writes: What a difference two key decisions going in Sunderland’s favour can make. After a season of desperately bad calls against us, we were awarded two penalties – the first ‘soft’, according to Pete Sixsmith; the second ‘harsh’, said the BBC – and Jordi Gomez stepped forward to convert both with aplomb to win the game. It was the only result possible to keep Sunderland hopes alive and is one that has John Carver’s wretched Newcastle looking over their shoulders. And bravo Pantilimon: after gifting the equaliser, he pulled off the vital save in the last seconds that kept our survival bid on course. Come back in due course for Sixer’s full account; below you find his seven-word verdict …

Jake hails Gomez from his native land" 'Jordi is Señor Cool'
Jake hails Gomez from his native land” ‘Jordi is Señor Cool’

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Ahead of Southampton, figures that add up so badly for Sunderland

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At least Monsieur Salut wavered between no points and one from the Emirates
At least Monsieur Salut wavered between no points and one from the Emirates

My guesswork is uncomplimentary to Sunderland and our chances of avoiding relegation. Why not carry out the same exercise yourselves and see how you place us and our relegation co-strugglers. I hope – the hope we cannot stand – to be proved alarmist and plain wrong. Here are extracts from my preview of SAFC vs Saints at ESPN (see full article at http://www.espnfc.com/club/sunderland/366/blog/post/2426131/sunderland-premier-league-options-running-out …

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Sixer’s non-league Soapbox: Shildon’s celebrations cancelled by dogged Terriers

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Malcolm Dawson writes….the day started off OK for Pete Sixsmith. He sat and shivered at the Riverside whilst the rain stayed away long enough for Durham to win their second County Championship match against a Sussex side who probably hold out title hopes of their own. He then made his tortuous way up the A1 into Northumberland in the hope of seeing a title winning performance from the other SAFC. It wasn’t to be. A healthy crowd which included most of the Northern League Irregulars turned up to see if The Railwaymen would clinch the title. I’m not sure whose nerves would have suffered more – the Shildon supporters or the Officials and followers of Marske United who could only stand back and watch heart in mouth, knowing any sort of result for Bedlington would see them crowned Champions. It wasn’t a classic game. Shildon had chances but ultimately a sloppy piece of defending and an understandable nervousness in front of goal sent the title across the Tees to North Yorkshire. What follows is Pete’s take on the proceedings with the added bits in italics my own.

With thanks to @mtscally
With thanks to @mtscally

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SAFC vs Southampton Who are You?: ‘it was always an 8-0 game’

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Jake: '8-0 to us?'
Jake: ‘8-0 to us?’

You’d expect any Southampton supporter to be pretty cocky going into this weekend’s game at the Stadium of Light, with only woefully misfiring relegation fodder standing in the way of another good result for slick southerners. Southampton’s season has defied all logic, after the turmoil of last summer, and shocked the supposed Premier League elite. So perhaps we should respect Paul Stewart*, a Saints nut and pal from Paris days and emphatically not the Paul Stewart who missed a sitter for SAFC when we had to win at Wimbledon on the last game of the 1996-97 season, for exercising a degree of restraint in his short and to-the-point ‘Who are You?’ interview. But for once, I was relieved not to see a scoreline prediction …

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