Southampton

The Sunderland vs Southampton Guess the Score after Hull pile on pressure

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Jake's caption says it all
Jake’s caption says it all


Who approached Tuesday night thinking “we can rely on old Brucie to mess it up and do us a favour?”,Elmo will have the sort of stinker he played for us and Jordan Henderson will lead Liverpool to victory for our sake as well as theirs?

I thought my phone screen was frozen when it kept saying 1-0 every time I looked. Bruce had got his result, Elmo providing the cross from which Dawson scored the winner, and Hendo could do no more than huff and puff with the rest of a misfiring Liverpool side.

So the night ended with Hull a lot closer to safety than us. Heaven knows what Leicester will do to Chelsea tonight to make us even glummer.

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Dodgy numbers raise the question: ‘Can we dodge the bullet?’

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John McCormick:
John McCormick:
reading between the lines

Before the season started I used some dodgy stats and history to predict this season’s relegated candidates, including a couple of wildcards. From 20th place upwards they were:

QPR – Purely because a promoted team is almost certain to go down and most often it has been the playoff winner. I had to go with this, whatever the bookies said about Burnley.

Hull, on the basis that second season syndrome’s due and as two London teams have never been relegated in the same season QPR’s demise must mean Palace are safe.

Villa, on the grounds of their being the only club to have been in the bottom three for each of the last three seasons without being relegated. That’s scary stuff for a fan.

Southampton were the first wildcard, chosen because of the personnel changes and turbulence the club has experienced this year.

West Brom, because of last season’s iffy form and the way they appointed their manager, were the second.

You can read the whole post here: https://safc.blog/2014/08/good-news-for-burnley-and-leicester-our-stats-man-has-qpr-hull-city-and-aston-villa/

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Keir’s Ghostly Player Ratings: Sunderland’s men of the match at Southampton

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From Len Shackleton's autobiography (with David Jack), Clown Prince of Soccer?
From Len Shackleton’s autobiography (with David Jack), Clown Prince of Soccer?


What would Keir Bradwell, our marks-out-of-10 columnist, make of it? One reader, Bill, said Seb Larsson was the only player whose head failed to drop: ‘I would say he was [our] Man of the Match and give him a 5, so Keir will probably give him -5.’ One newspaper had Santiago Vergini on 1.5/10, Vito Mannone on 2/10 and other team members on three or four, a shamefully low set of ratings for a top-flight side.

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After West Ham (1968), Watford (1982) and Southampton (2014): a dozen questions

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Jake: 'Gus didn't feel it right to show his face here!'
Jake: ‘Gus didn’t feel it right to show his face here!’

Still on the national news, still getting ribbed mercilessly if someone spots the SAFCSA membership card in my wallet, still feeling numb …

So 12 questions. A mug for the best answers posted below, as judged by Monsieur Salut (who drove 1,200km to be at this debacle). You can answer one or more or all of them. You can be a supporter of any club you choose (or that chose you) but you must have a UK delivery address to qualify for the life-altering prize …

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Sixer’s Southampton Soapbox: ‘my ultimate humiliation’ following Sunderland

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Jake: 'hh dear, oh dear oh dear oh dear....'
Jake: ‘oh dear, oh dear oh dear oh dear….’

Colin Randall writes: What more is there to say? Vito Mannone suggests the players should club together and refund the travelling support. Hmmmm. I will just repeat what I have said elsewhere: ‘The day started well. Smooth train journey from Waterloo, pints with friends at a terrific pub opposite the Isle of Wight ferry terminal, £14 off my ticket for being an old git, leisurely stroll to the ground, even a bright start from Sunderland. If I had left at 3.11pm I’d have vaguely expected to hear later that we’d got a draw or maybe even sneaked a win.’

Let Pete Sixsmith take up the sorrier story that unfolded ….

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Poyetry without rhyme from Southampton: where were the positives? Bravo the fans

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Jake: 'Gus didn't feel it right to show his face here!'
Jake: ‘Gus didn’t feel it right to show his face here!’

Colin Randall writes: there should be no surprise that non one among Salut! Sunderland‘s hardy band of helpers found the enthusiasm to publish Gus Poyet’s post-match e-mail last night. What could the man possibly say to alleviate the gloom, soothe the embarrassment, kiss the wounds better? For me, it was a grim way to resume UK life after my return from France, twice as grim as last season, when I came home to a 4-0 thumping at Swansea on Poyet’s debut as head coach. At least the QPR game, caught on a fleeting visit, was close-fought. Yesterday, as I said at Facebook, seemed to have the makings of a decent day out: easy train journey from Waterloo, pints with Sixer and others at the excellent Platform Tavern opposite the IoW ferry terminal and leisurely stroll to the ground. What could go wrong? ..

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Sixer’s Sevens: Southampton 8 – Sunderland 0. Saints go one better than Sixsmith

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Pete Sixsmith: Needs a pint today
Pete Sixsmith: Needs a pint today

John McCormick writes: On Thursday my ticket for the Arsenal game arrived, then my rail tickets and my railcard followed in short order. So I went out last night in a good mood.

And it lasted until about ten past three this afternoon.

Here, in seven words, no more, no less, Pete Sixsmith tells you why (he actually offered about eight versions of the verdict but none makes for pleasant reading – Ed) …

 

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