Relegation?

[pauliewalnuts]

I appreciate your point, Des, but the no points thing is based on recent history which suggests that that is the sort of form we are in.

We've anticipated home defeats all season, and it is mostly because - statistically - more often than not, that is what we have got.

The thing that keeps buzzing away at the back of my mind isn't so much the on-pitch stuff, and God knows, that is bad enough, it is all the off pitch shit swirling around the club - the absent chairman who says nothing to the fans for eight years then issues a press release which makes him sound a bit deranged, the coaching team sacked for "bullying" who were apparently coaching the squad long ball tactics which the manager either knew about or didn't (can't decide which scenario is worst), the manager who is a dead man walking and really looks like someone about to undergo a significant nervous breakdown, the rumours about a takeover which the owner very unhelpfully said he will address at the end of the season.

All this shit, this is the important shit, and the reason for that is that it is precisely this sort of shit which surrounds big clubs who get relegated.

That's what Newcastle stank of when they went down. That is what we now stink of, too.

The entire club smells of death just now. It is not surprising people are picking up on it.

[Legion]

If not this season, simply by luck and the skin of our teeth, relying on others to do worse than us then most probably next unless there are serious changes made at managerial, boardroom and playing level.

[PeterWithesShin]

I'm still hoping we'll put on a late surge for a CL spot.

[damon loves JT]

It's at times like this I wonder what SeattleVillain is up to.

[mr woo]

Yep, I take it all on board, we will need a horrendous and unlikely sequence of results to relegate us now, three of which are still in our control.

I will say this though.

 Because of the freakish nature of last day scorelines, where (warning - cliche alert) you can throw the form guide out of the window, if we are not safe by this time next week, I no longer expect us to be capable of controlling our own destiny, and would not be at all surprised to be relegated by some bizarre twist in injury time on the last day.

Cup final indeed.

Fuck Howard Hodgson and his bitter squabble. Let's get behind the chairman, the manager, the players and each other. Show absolute confidence. Cheer every touch of ours and boo, jeer and whistle every time Hull get possession. Fill every every seat, sing your hearts out and inspire anyone with the slightest hint of self doubt to lift their heads high.

Above all, let's not forget who's side we're supposed to be on.

[MONCABA]

I'm still hoping we'll put on a late surge for a CL spot.

Is that a Championship League spot by any chance? 

[pauliewalnuts]

If not this season, simply by luck and the skin of our teeth, relying on others to do worse than us then most probably next unless there are serious changes made at managerial, boardroom and playing level.

If the money situation doesn't change significantly, then we are doomed to go down sooner rather than later.

Exactly like in 2006 when Lerner arrived.

He's put the money in, but that is some terribly stupid management, that, to have managed to waste it to that extent.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I can see us possibly scraping another point, but I can't see a win, and that's what we need to be certain.

I think Norwich and Cardiff have too much to do, but Sunderland should get another win, and Fulham are in form, and have two opponents with nothing to play for.

[Yossarian]

It's at times like this I wonder what SeattleVillain is up to.

Hold onto your Premier League place.

[damon loves JT]

He might as well not have invested anything. I finally understand what that Cleveland Browns fan was thinking when he described his club as 'a factory of sadness'

[PeterWithe]

It's at times like this I wonder what SeattleVillain is up to.

Probably telling followers of General Krulak's Alabama college football team how rosy the future is looking.

[Legion]

They have plenty to play for. Pride and a financial incentive for finishing as high as they can. We'll be lucky to get 16th.

[silhillvilla]

I think I'd rather have Benteke on crutches and Kozak in a wheelchair upfront than Gabby and Weimann next week.

[Chris Smith]

I can see us possibly scraping another point, but I can't see a win, and that's what we need to be certain.

I think Norwich and Cardiff have too much to do, but Sunderland should get another win, and Fulham are in form, and have two opponents with nothing to play for.

Stoke are not a lie down and die sort of team though. They have a good home record, if Fulham win there then it will be a big achievement.

[silhillvilla]

Stoke are beachside, Trent Stylee.