We also finished fourth and went down once. chin up we should (not might) survive.

Enjoying getting up later and not having someone who knows better than me (apart from the missus of course).

I cannot construct a case for Sheff Utd and WBA to finish above us,however it is feasible that all the others below us could attain more points than us.

When one looks at the table and the points gained we look comfortable but the last two performances, without Zaha of course, has set the alarm bells ringing.

I have just been in conversation with a couple of pundits and their view is that I have taken leave of my senses by asserting that we could be relegated.

I informed the pair that they just look at the league table but myself and supporters have witnessed our team game-on-game, have been horrified by our last two unacceptable displays and that the 'Direction of travel' is 'South'.

We agreed to disagree.

doing leg work in the gym doesn't replicate the load put on them in a match. Gym is more part of rehab. I hope he's playing but if he's not tearing about with the others in training in the next day or so then he's not recovered enough to play Monday.

I have said on another thread that 34 points would keep us up, I believe this is still the case.

Fulham's current points to games is .79, they will need to up this to 1.07 points per game for their remaining fixtures to get to 34 points.

Southampton are in freefall. Their problem is they are playing quite well, but still can't buy a draw let alone a win.
We are playing sh*t a the moment, but we could just up this and pick up points.

Newcastle seem to have the same problems as us, but have less points.

I can, unfortunately, see both Brighton and Burnley finishing above us.

I think we will just about limp over the line this year. Must admit, at the moment this is just about all we can hope for.

As much as I am fed up with Hodgson, over a third of our first-team squad is out injured, including key players like Wilf, Tomkins and McArthur. If we got just those three players back we would probably find a way to pick up two or three more wins and some draws. As bad as we've been Roy has been unable to select the same back four for more than two games at a time this season and for a manager who is all about preparation and organisation that has been killer as Roy seemingly struggles to adapt to change.

Wilf is the one player who is obviously the most important beyond all others. Yes it is frustrating how much we rely on him, but psychologically it seems to affect not just our team when he plays but also the opposition. He can spend 89 minutes flapping his arms and pulling faces, but it is what he does in that one or two other minutes that is often the difference. If he comes back soon and stays fit we'll be fine. He must be desperate to be fit for Brighton as he seemingly is the one player who truly rises to the rivalry.

This season Newcastle seemingly don't win without Wilson, so they must be even more concerned given he's out until April and they are four points worse off than us. Burnley have lost Mee which is a huge blow as before they got the Tarkowski/Mee partnership back this season they hadn't won a single game. Brighton have a good squad and I imagine (as much as I hate to say it) will finish above us, although they still don't seem to be scoring many.

Personally, despite Fulham's mini revival, I think the current bottom three will go down. Fulham have only won one game since November, so for all the plaudits they are getting they just aren't getting the results, and Everton basically rolled over for them in that one win. I think they'll lose to Sheffield at the weekend too, who despite results will see this as a cup final - lose and they are almost certainly down. Fulham have failed to turn draws into wins against relegation rivals and if they don't get wins against Sheffield or us then their remaining fixtures look really tough. I'd be happy to take a point from them, but if Wilf is fit I think we'll take three.

So concludes this morning's essay!