Rayvin

I reckon Everton get 9 points if they're really in gear, from their remaining games. Some easier ones in there, Brentford, Palace and Watford albeit away. Burnley have Watford, Villa home and away, and us of the "winnable" variety. I include us mostly because we might want them to beat us I reckon they get 3, 3, 1 from the first 3 which puts them level with Everton going into the final game. Could well come down to our game.

86% possession to Liverpool??? Are Everton doing a 90 min bus parking exercise

Watch Everton get their first win at Anfield in about half a century and send CT fully over the edge

I do think charging up local councils from time to time is a good idea but ffs, there are other options. You don't need to drop your knickers to the Tories every time anything remotely annoying happens with Labour.

I actually wondered if we might be if all games played out with teams beneath us playing each other but no, even then it's just possible for Burnley to slither past us if literally every result went their way for the rest of the season

For all this bluster about how we aren't very good, how they have outperformed us against Cambridge this season (a universal metric for success as we all know)... imagine if we proposed a 'put your money where you mouth is' friendly against them over the summer. They'd be shitting bricks man. They'd resist it in every possible way, try to weasel out of it being meaningful, complain and bitch about how it doesn't count because it's not in the league, etc. Then the day would come, we'd stick 5 past them without getting out of second gear, and it would officially become 'the worst day in the history of their club' up until a few weeks later when they lose 3-0 at home to Fleetwood in their 5th season in League One.

God, I hate the mail.

Good spread of opinions there tbh.

Awesome. I love how connected the club is to itself again. Just goes to show how sincere and genuine the feeling about the team is. Ashley managed to smother it for a decade and a half but thank fuck even he wasn't able to kill it.

So the guardian reported that they were done but i went and had a look at Oldham's forum (about 5 members total) and it looks like the fans staged a pitch invasion when the inevitable became clear and had the game abandoned. They may have temporarily prevented relegation Seems a bit uncertain as to exactly what the position on it is officially, but obviously they're down either way now. Points deduction or the game declared as a loss.

Oldham have been relegated to the 5th tier.. first team to have ever played in both the PL and the conference.

This has been fucking awesome man Apparently we can still finish above Man Utd..!

Fucking hell Renton. I dunno what to even say anymore other than to just keep going. You'll get through it mate, you will. Keep talking to people, and don't give up. I really admire you being so open about it. Everyone here is right behind you mate. I've been in therapy for two years - finding the right one is vital. Let me know if you want a recommendation.

It's not even really about the same thing. Pickford hasnt lost any limbs ffs, he's just a short arse. Worse than that, he's a mackem. The two attributes combined make him objectively hilarious. This is probably the weirdest topic for a while. I'm struggling to imagine that this was posted with sincerity which means that it's actually just using this apparently real issue as part of a joke. I feel we have a tendency to assume people are mackems a bit too readily sometimes but I think I agree with Craig here. The brexity politics also seals it for me.

I can't get away with it yet but I feel like it's more because I just don't have any affinity or emotional investment in any if the teams compared to men's football - as opposed to the quality. I.e. I don't watch it for the same reason I don't want any of Aston villas games. The guardian definitely wants us all to care, mind. I've picked that up over the years.

I agree. I was checking the youtube channel out for some British pro-Kremlin loser who is apparently out there interviewing captured British soldiers and a concerning number of the Russians commenting sounded like they were spoiling for a fight with the rest of the world.

Is this guy their version of Katy Hopkins though?

Not used to a full stadium and the sound of something other than booing, poor soul.

Sounds like you failed to harness the full power of the narrative. Delivery, as we know in this day and age, is nine tenths of the truth.

You're welcome.

Yeah fair you were right on surviving but midtable and 45 points you ruled out so it's not a perfect game if you know what I mean.

Tbh there's not as many clear cut relegation comments as I thought, at least in this thread. Maybe there were more elsewhere, but this is all from end of December after we wobbled through our games against other relegation candidates. I didn't get everyone, got bored, but enough. Wykiki didn't have a clear post stating one thing or the other but was nuanced across both positions fwiw. And we all know Gemmill's position. I would say overall forum mood was between 'Relegated' and 'Relegated unless...'. With Gemmill as the outlier (honourable mention to Renton who also seemed pretty positive).

I've seen more whimsical things published I suppose. Next season we'll have to have a predictions thread, maybe a two parter - games to January, games to end of season. Overall too. Depends how invested people are in being right. Or knowing this place, more accurately, telling other people they were wrong

I saw an attendance chart for this season on a Norwich forum earlier and we have 98% full for the season (I suspect it'd be a different picture if you considered post takeover numbers only) but it was interesting that Arsenal -prawn sandwich central- were 3rd or 4th in that table. 99% or something. Leicester were top but that will be down to the fact they're still playing in a matchbox.

Something a bit self indulgent maybe that I think we're overlooking, is the atmosphere amongst the fans. Some of the earlier wins SJP roared the team on to victory, enfeebled the likes of Everton, and genuinely lifted the club. So yeah the owners have done well, Howe has done well and the players are really giving it their all - but let's also appreciate our contribution in creating a positive energy. This club is unrecognisable from the Ashley era at fan level, but recognisable from the SBR/Keegan days. I hope we keep that. I mean compare this with Sunderland, a fanbase of serial malcontents who hound out managers who have them in 3rd for a single heavy loss and boo their team to consecutive relegations. I daresay it won't last forever and that once expectations aren't being met in some form we'll change to become more of a traditional top 6 fanbase.. but even so, for now at least I really think it has been vital to our performances.