3 points clear and 2 games in hand

[Simster]

GNLF is right. What has happened is that the table has bunched directly below us. Unless we start winning, we might find ourselves knocked off the top in a couple of games times, but also find ourselves 9th or 10th a couple of games after that.

However on a positive note, I think TRHK is also right when he says he's not sure about our lack of form. We've missed too many pens and not had much luck in recent games. I think we're over it. One win (tonight) and more will follow and that lead will start to look very healthy again.

 

[Biscuit]

Probably Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and David Villa I'd imagine. Who wouldn't want to play at St Mary's and be part of the Southampton Style?

:lolol I don't think I'll ever stop laughing at the 'Southampton style' and the fact their fans don't think they are the laughing stock of the football league!

 

[Thimble Keegan]

This is a concern.

I heard unsubstantiated rumours somewhere that the Liebherr family were not keen to continue to fund SCC. Anyone heard anything similar?

Interestingly, a Saints fan at my work said something similar to me last week so maybe there is something in it...But he did go onto say that there appears to be another rich buyer lined up already.

Albion & England forever

Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA

 

[Lord Bracknell]

In Italy, they sometimes print the league tables in a format that makes allowances for the fact that not all teams have played the same number of games. Rather strangely, it's called the Sistema Inglese - as if it was something that we had invented. It's based on the theory that the par score for a home team is 3 points (on the basis that a good home team should win every home game) and the par score for an away team is 1 point (a good away team should achieve at least a draw when playing away). Points are recorded as how far off par each team has achieved so far.

Using this system, League One currently looks like this:-

Brighton	-1
Hartlepool	-6
Charlton	-7
Oldham Ath	-7
Brentford	-9
Exeter City 	-9
Bournemouth	-10
Sheff Wed	-10
Peterborough	-10
Huddersfield	-11
Colchester	-11
Milton Keynes	-11
Leyton Orient	-11
Southampton	-13
Bristol Rovers	-13
Carlisle	-14
Rochdale	-15
Notts County	-16
Swindon Town	-17
Tranmere	-17
Dag & Red	-17
Plymouth	-18
Yeovil .......	-19
Walsall .....	-20

There are some surprising differences between this table and the one that we appear to be worried about.

 

[Napper]

I think too many of us are focusing too much on the team that's second. We're not even half way through the season (in terms of games played) it's too early to be so fixated on the title and top spot. I will be amazed if we stay top for every game from now until the end of the season. It's almost inevitable that we will drop down to second or lower at some stage but going on our obsession with how many points clear of second we are I can't help but think that too many of us are going to treat it as a disaster. It won't be. At this stage of the season we should be looking to achieve our minimum target first and then move on to the next targets. For me, that means securing a play-off spot first, then automatic and then, hopefully, the title. As it stands we're three points clear of second with two games in hand but only six clear of third with no games in hand. Yes, no-ones caught us in first yet, but the whole pack has got closer. That's what we've got to keep an eye on at the moment, not the points between first and second.

Some of this I agree with but I think any team that has been top for 3 months should be thinking about the championship and not the play offs.

I don't think it does us any harm to focus on 2nd and the gap , we don't want to get involved in that pack where everyone does everyone. Once you are in that lot , it's hard to put daylight between them.

The way we played at Charlton and Peterborough , we should fear nothing providing we can get back on a run.

The pack is a concern but I don't really think we should shit it over teams like Exeter / Hartlepool / Oldham. They are not in our class up to now . Tonight we can again prove we are top dogs !

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Lord B - very interesting and that supports my assertion on the previous page that our form hasn't plunged, but it has dipped. How far? We'll see in the next few days. I suppose the one thing missing from you Inglese analysis is movement (ie recent form). I suspect our form prior to Nov disguises our dip a bit.

Dougal "Tonight we can again prove we are top dogs". Hope you're right. It's beeen a long break. Could have really helped us - given Gus time to work on his plan B - or could have given us time to become nervous about our form before the ice and snow. We'll see. Would have preferred to have had D&R played before this one.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Lord B - very interesting and that supports my assertion on the previous page that our form hasn't plunged, but it has dipped. How far? We'll see in the next few days. I suppose the one thing missing from you Inglese analysis is movement (ie recent form). I suspect our form prior to Nov disguises our dip a bit.

After our last league win (against Exeter City on 2 November), our par score was +3. So we've dropped 4 points in 4 games, since then. That's not good. If we lose tonight it would be -7 in 5 games - relegation form, in fact.