PUSHING FOR THE PLAY-OFFS

Number of points Saints are short of a play-off position....

DATE	POINTS BEHIND 6TH PLACE
AUGUST 31ST	16
SEPTEMBER 30TH	16
OCTOBER 31ST	12
DECEMBER 31ST	10

SaintMike wrote:Number of points Saints are short of a play-off position....

DATE	POINTS BEHIND 6TH PLACE
AUGUST 31ST	16
SEPTEMBER 30TH	16
OCTOBER 31ST	12

Have to go some to achieve a play off place this season. If the unbeaten run continues though who knows? Fingers crossed!

Lots of teams in front which mean we have to gain on all of them but way we are playing, plus we do have quality players now have the application to go with, that so who knows. Coming home from Charlton game mate said how nice to walk home celebrating another win after last few years when wins were as rare as virgins in portsmouth

Brighton game was a kick in the proverbials just as we were beginning to believe again in our team.

Hope Norwich are better prepared to roll over for us. I still think it possible but it is extremeley unlikely. Mid table and above will prepare us for a real walk through everything season next year.

Today was an improvement but defance has gone backwards over last couple of weeks. Maybe wotton needs to play again as he seemed a regular when we were winning.

Think AP has to do something we need some wins and I will settle for scrappy lucky 1 nil victories rather than end to end thrilling draws! Murty as RB will be an improvement and think wotton deserves a chance to start after 3 league games no win.

I think we will just miss out in the end but with 4 very winnable games coming up before a trip to Leeds we have a good chance to move up to lower mid table, hopefully gaing at least 8 points

I don't think we can make the play offs this year. We need to treat this season as one of consolidation - AP can assess our strengths and weaknesses and change personnel accordingly - some in Jan and then in the summer to give us what should be a promotion winning team next season.

Agree with you there Clint, but I think we will get close to the play-offs presuming that we are trying to win every game. Based on what I have seen of League 1 so far I just think that the quality of so many teams is quite poor and that we can win most of our games.

GREAT RESULT LAST NIGHT. SHOWS THAT WE CAN DO IT BUT THAT WE CAN STILL LEAK GOALS. HYSTERICAL LAST GOAL TO EASE OUR FEARS OF A POOL FIGHTBACK.

Edging slowly nearer and an awful lot to do. But, the next three League games are against the teams in 5th, 6th and 7th positions. Three wins could make the position look a hell of a lot better!! Three defeats and we could be left thinking about next season............

Agree next 3 games will be major decider for us plus suspect most will be before any new players arrive so down to current squad, all show the desire that is needed. While making Play Offs was always a bit of a dream this season my worry is if we dont make we lose Lallana in the summer. Just get the defence tightened and get some ugly 1 nil victories

With Huddersfield game postponed we now have a little bit longer to find the 2/3 players that we need to push us ever closer to the wembley double.
God how great would that be if it were to happen. Especially after the last 3/4 years.

Would be good for wembley double and does give chance to AP to focus on team reinforcements in next couple of days

We can forget about the playoffs this season. AP has lost a section of the fanbase with some strange team selections and substitutions.

At last we may now see a regularly selected team of players starting for us. AP said before Norwich that he would pick his strongest team for every game now. Makes you wonder why he hasn't before but hey ho.
Norwich 0 Saints 2 was a tremendous result for us reds. We fully deserved to win and could have done so by much more. Whilst the playoffs may now be gone can we fashion a late charge up the table? On yesterdays performance we would expect so. We will have more of an idea come Tuesday night after playing Wycombe at theirs.

We are fast running out of games to make the playoffs. Just 10 matches left and a 13 point gap. Still, for some reason I now have a weird feeling that we could do it!!!

If Saints win 4 of their next 5 league games (which must be a realistic possibility) and if EITHER Millwall OR Colchester can only win 2 of their next 5 games (surely thats quite possible?) then things will be very tight indeed for the last 5 games!!!

And 6 of our 10 games are at home.

For me only hope is 9 wins out of last 10, team are capable but have proved to inconsistent to think we can deliever that level. Win JPT next Sunday might trigger a gung ho approach for remaining games.

I have this horrible premonition that we win all ten and still don't get there. Colchester only need 6 wins out of their remaining games to guarantee finishing above us.

If we win all 10 then think we will make it. Problem is we are just not consistent so dont see it happening even though only have Charlton out of top teams to play and we should beat them. At least if we keep winning keeps the season alive

Probably too much of a simplification, but looking at it as a possible fight between Colchester and Saints for the last play-off place we would need 13 points more than Colchester from the last 10 games.

After 1 game.....

Colchester 1 point (1 draw)
Saints 3 points (1 win)

Gap now 11 points.

Beat Brighton on Thursday and gap will be down to 8 points.

SFC Forever wrote:Beat Brighton on Thursday and gap will be down to 8 points.

No the gap is 12 because of Colchester's draw on Saturday. Saints with a game in hand.


Over Easter the fixtures....

Thursday
Brighton v Saints

Friday
Exeter v Colchester

Monday
Colchester v Millwall
Saints v Leyton Orient


Best possible scenario.......Saints to be 6 points adrift still with a game in hand.

Got a feeling Huddersfield will be in 6th place after Easter, they have Wycombe away and Oldham at home.

i reckon itll be down to the southend game at the end of the season between us and huddersfield for sixth place, we also have a game in hand so fingers crossed we win all our game and go back to wembley!

saints4ever wrote:i reckon itll be down to the southend game at the end of the season between us and huddersfield for sixth place, we also have a game in hand so fingers crossed we win all our game and go back to wembley!

Wish I could share your optimism mate!!