| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... 20:12 - Feb 4 with 6506 views | eddiespearitt03 |
The big question will be if we can beat Southampton at home on April Fools Day.
We have to keep Kieffer Moore injury free. |  | | |  |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 19:38 - Feb 5 with 1403 views | _clive_baker_ |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 17:54 - Feb 5 by Herbivore |
Nah, we're still well in this. We've had a tough time lately, lots of factors contributing to that, but we're still always in games and if we can get a couple of wins back to back soon I fancy us to go on a decent run again. Saints and Leeds will drop points, Leeds look capable of dropping points most away games to be fair and Saints have a tough run in. I also can't see West Brom overturning an 11 point deficit for us to drop down to 5th. |
I can’t see it myself. Don’t get me wrong I think we’re a very, very good side, and McKenna has done a remarkable job with this squad of players, but I do think we’re a level below those 3 based on what I’ve seen of them.
I would love to be wrong, and I do think we’ll probably end the season somewhere around 90 points which is a fantastic return, I just can’t see it being enough for top 2 or even 3.
I do concede 5th is probably pessimistic from here, but I make 4th about right. I think we’ll have a real chance in the playoffs though. |  | | |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 19:54 - Feb 5 with 1378 views | jayessess |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 19:38 - Feb 5 by _clive_baker_ |
I can’t see it myself. Don’t get me wrong I think we’re a very, very good side, and McKenna has done a remarkable job with this squad of players, but I do think we’re a level below those 3 based on what I’ve seen of them.
I would love to be wrong, and I do think we’ll probably end the season somewhere around 90 points which is a fantastic return, I just can’t see it being enough for top 2 or even 3.
I do concede 5th is probably pessimistic from here, but I make 4th about right. I think we’ll have a real chance in the playoffs though. |
You look at our next 10 fixtures:
Home
West Brom (5th)
Rotherham (24th)
Birmingham (19th)
Bristol City (14th)
Sheff Wed (23rd)
Away
Millwall (16th)
Swansea (17th)
Plymouth (15th)
Cardiff (13th)
Blackburn (18th)
That's one game against a top half team and that's at home and it's this Saturday, Beat West Brom and I can see a scenario when we do well enough in our next 9 games to keep in touch with 2nd by the end of that.
Then it's all bets off in the run-in. |  |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:13 - Feb 6 with 1247 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 19:54 - Feb 5 by jayessess |
You look at our next 10 fixtures:
Home
West Brom (5th)
Rotherham (24th)
Birmingham (19th)
Bristol City (14th)
Sheff Wed (23rd)
Away
Millwall (16th)
Swansea (17th)
Plymouth (15th)
Cardiff (13th)
Blackburn (18th)
That's one game against a top half team and that's at home and it's this Saturday, Beat West Brom and I can see a scenario when we do well enough in our next 9 games to keep in touch with 2nd by the end of that.
Then it's all bets off in the run-in. |
In the return fixtures we picked up 23 points from those 10. If we get 20+ from these 10 with an improved squad then we are going to be right in the mix for the top 2 at the end of it.
It's our defensive record that is going to be the determining factor for me. We have so much firepower and we are always going to score plenty of goals, but we cannot afford to be needing 3 goals to win a game. | | | |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:24 - Feb 6 with 1237 views | Herbivore |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:13 - Feb 6 by tractorboy1978 |
In the return fixtures we picked up 23 points from those 10. If we get 20+ from these 10 with an improved squad then we are going to be right in the mix for the top 2 at the end of it.
It's our defensive record that is going to be the determining factor for me. We have so much firepower and we are always going to score plenty of goals, but we cannot afford to be needing 3 goals to win a game. |
We could also do with a bit of luck. The third goal at the weekend was a car crash but the first two are decisions that 19 times out of 20 you would expect the officials to get right, and even after the poor decisions both goals involved a slice of luck. It does feel like we're being punished a lot at the moment and we've had spells like this before. Focus on what we can control of course but at some point you'd hope we're due a bit of fortune as well. |  |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:40 - Feb 6 with 1213 views | GlasgowBlue |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:24 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
We could also do with a bit of luck. The third goal at the weekend was a car crash but the first two are decisions that 19 times out of 20 you would expect the officials to get right, and even after the poor decisions both goals involved a slice of luck. It does feel like we're being punished a lot at the moment and we've had spells like this before. Focus on what we can control of course but at some point you'd hope we're due a bit of fortune as well. |
“ but the first two are decisions that 19 times out of 20 you would expect the officials to get right”
From what I’ve seen from officials this season I think you are being overly generous. I’m beginning to get nostalgic for league one officials. |  |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:43 - Feb 6 with 1208 views | Herbivore |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:40 - Feb 6 by GlasgowBlue |
“ but the first two are decisions that 19 times out of 20 you would expect the officials to get right”
From what I’ve seen from officials this season I think you are being overly generous. I’m beginning to get nostalgic for league one officials. |
Ha! I know what you mean. At least in League 1 they occasionally guessed right. | |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:49 - Feb 6 with 1200 views | BseaBlue |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:43 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
Ha! I know what you mean. At least in League 1 they occasionally guessed right. |
It is astonishing to think that time and time again, these poor decisions are being made at the second highest level of English football. I get that it isnt easy but how many times can these big decisions keep going against us?
I've lost count of the amount of penalties we should have had, let alone the goals conceeded from poor officiating. |  | | |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:57 - Feb 6 with 1180 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:24 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
We could also do with a bit of luck. The third goal at the weekend was a car crash but the first two are decisions that 19 times out of 20 you would expect the officials to get right, and even after the poor decisions both goals involved a slice of luck. It does feel like we're being punished a lot at the moment and we've had spells like this before. Focus on what we can control of course but at some point you'd hope we're due a bit of fortune as well. |
Definitely an element of that but we've also got to be more resolute early on in games and stop making it hard for ourselves. We've gone behind in 6 of the last 9 and only taken the lead in one of them. [Post edited 6 Feb 2024 10:58]
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:05 - Feb 6 with 1162 views | jayessess |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 10:43 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
Ha! I know what you mean. At least in League 1 they occasionally guessed right. |
On the first one, I think referees have been noticeably more lenient on tackles from behind in midfield this season. | |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:15 - Feb 6 with 1139 views | Herbivore |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:05 - Feb 6 by jayessess |
On the first one, I think referees have been noticeably more lenient on tackles from behind in midfield this season. |
That wasn't even a tackle though. He just goes through the back of him, shoves him, and isn't anywhere close to getting a touch on the ball. | |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:57 - Feb 6 with 1091 views | jayessess |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:15 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
That wasn't even a tackle though. He just goes through the back of him, shoves him, and isn't anywhere close to getting a touch on the ball. |
I think it's affected refereeing those sorts of fouls too. Every game I watch now I just see referees giving this enormous leeway to teams when they press. | |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 16:56 - Feb 6 with 1002 views | Herbivore |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 11:57 - Feb 6 by jayessess |
I think it's affected refereeing those sorts of fouls too. Every game I watch now I just see referees giving this enormous leeway to teams when they press. |
But it shouldn't be THAT hard for professional refs to distinguish between a bit of jockeying and tight marking when the ball is legitimately being contested and a clear shove with the player nowhere near the ball. | |
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| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 17:42 - Feb 6 with 969 views | jayessess |
| Southampton have to play Leeds & Leicester away... on 16:56 - Feb 6 by Herbivore |
But it shouldn't be THAT hard for professional refs to distinguish between a bit of jockeying and tight marking when the ball is legitimately being contested and a clear shove with the player nowhere near the ball. |
Last couple of seasons they've instructed referees that they need to be certain that contact is sufficient to send a player to the ground. That's basically made that distinction incredibly subjective to the point where referees aren't actually in a position to make the decision at all.
Sure, he shoved him, but how certain can you be about the level of force used? You didn't experienced the force itself, just saw its effects on the player.
The result of this is that basically if a pressing player fouls you, it's a total dice roll whether the ref decides its a foul or not. Not necessarily because the referee is incompetent, but because they've been given instructions that are borderline impossible to follow. | |
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