brummie

Double agent *nods*

Come on, Routledge, two of your former teams to help out here.

That's what we need to remember. Despite the Wigan survival record thing, they're in the relegation zone and on 35 points for a reason.

"Shaun Maloney - big weight on those young shoulders" He's 30.

Where the fuck is Luke Moore?

Except Swansea.

The really horrible thing about fighting relegation is that, as if shitting your entire body weight out every 90 minutes while you own team is playing, you also get to have evenings like this, where a meeting between two teams you have no particular attachment to, or liking for, leaves you gibbering like a wreck. Basically, the shitting yourself over your own team is bad enough. Finding yourself having to do it over other teams is just sadistic. Sunderland, Stoke, Wigan, Swansea. Meh, fuck them all.

Yes, it's terrible. If Swansea win, Wigan will have to beat Arsenal away even if we just get a draw on Sunday. I can't see that happening. Thats my (from our point of view) take on it. Well, actually, it isn't, but it's not too dissimilar. If Swansea get a draw tonight, Wigan need to win at Arsenal to be able to topple us. Which they won't. Unfortunately, I don't think Swansea will get a draw tonight.

Perfect analogy. Exactly how I feel and partly why I'm seething at the whole situation which, imo, was all too obvious for those watching the team week-in, week-out, to see. It was all so avoidable if Pardew had woken the fuck up / had been ditched a lot sooner. Terrified we're on our way. As an outsider, your drive into the relegation fight has been a gigantic surprise. If you look at the other clubs down there - us with a team full of kids, we were always going to struggle this year, Norwich with no proven goalscorer and a weak squad, Sunderland having been taken back to the 1980s by MON and then handed over to a league one fascist nutjob, Southampton the newly promoted side, Wigan the perennial strugglers - all of those clubs you can say it is no massive surprise to see them in the relegation battle, but you lot? A look at where you finished last year, and the sort of season you had, then another look at your squad, and it is utterly inexplicable. Actually, it isn't inexplicable, there's really only one possible reason for that - the manager. I bet you if you did a straw poll of the rest of the country, though, they'd all think Pardew was doing a decent job. That's largely how we felt last year when told we weren't giving McLeish a chance, or that he too was doing a decent job.

Oh, FFS

I have just had a horrible thought. This match isn't on Sky is it? Please say no, otherwise I'll end up watching it.

It is remarkable that sides like Norwich, Fulham and Southampton, teams who people labelled safe weeks and weeks ago, are now not safe. Even you're not safe. If as expected you lose to Chelsea, Wigan beat Swansea but lose to Arsenal and some how we beat QPR and Norwich beat West Brom at home then you could go down if you lose to Wigan. Far from safe, you're right there. But it's about probabilities. I just looked at RTG and they're talking about how they're safe. They're not, there are lots of teams who are not safe, so you look at what they need to do to make themselves safe, and you need to go to QPR and win. No matter how shit your manager is, or how poor you've been for months now, that does not change the fact that you've got a really excellent chance to pick up three points. Look at us, a little over seven days ago, we were looking the most likely to challenge Wigan to go down. A couple of wins and we've drifted to about 28-30 / 1 with the bookies. There is next to nothing in it for lots of clubs, and three points make a huge, huge difference. Of all the teams playing this weekend, who have an - on paper - easier chance to pick up three points than you?

It is remarkable that sides like Norwich, Fulham and Southampton, teams who people labelled safe weeks and weeks ago, are now not safe. Our manager said we were safe in March. I thought you were safe as soon as the January window closed. I compared it to our near total lack of activity and felt suicidal.

It is remarkable that sides like Norwich, Fulham and Southampton, teams who people labelled safe weeks and weeks ago, are now not safe.

Wigan need to win the match first. You're three points ahead of them. You have the points, they don't. I don't see how they're in a better position than you. Cos they look like winning every game they play atm, whilst we look completely incapable. They don't, though, that's the thing - they were lucky against Albion. People look at Wigan and just assume they're going to do it again. If you then look wider, there are far more teams in the mix now than there were a few weeks ago.

Wigan need to win the match first. You're three points ahead of them. You have the points, they don't. I don't see how they're in a better position than you.

I see us 24 hours away from 18th place, with only 2 games to go. And your next fixture is as easy as it gets. You'll win at QPR and this'll seem like a distant time of panic. You've really not watched us this season, have you? No, but I have paid close attention to every other team in the relegation fight. It always looks worse when you are talking about your own team, but there are teams in worse positions than you, and it is in your own hands. Beat QPR and you're fine. Maybe if you can't win there, you deserve to get relegated, but honestly, both Wigan and Norwich are in worse positions, clearly, and I believe Sunderland are as well.

I hope this wonderful man is right. I totally agree with him too. Win at QPR and we are safe, it's simple, Pardew needs to recognise that though and set us up for a victory. I didn' see their game this weekend but my friend send they were playing like a bunch of gutless mercenaries with no team spirit, we should really win. You have easily enough quality. Sunderland, on the other hand, have had their easiest remaining game tonight, only taken a point, had another player sent off, and have to play Southampton, who have as much to play as they do, and Spurs away. Sunderland need to be very, very worried.

I see us 24 hours away from 18th place, with only 2 games to go. And your next fixture is as easy as it gets. You'll win at QPR and this'll seem like a distant time of panic.

Win at QPR and there's no way you're going down. You will win at QPR. I see you much safer than you see yourselves.

Where's the creativity in that Sunderland line up? Maybe Larsson from set pieces, but that's about it.

Stoke win Too right. Best result for everyone in the relegation fight. Lose that one after last week's drubbing and Sunderland's morale will be on the floor.

To be entirely honest, we have been playing well for longer than our results suggest. I think we've won 5, drawn 1 and lost 2 of our last eight games, which is good, but the decent performances go a fair way further back than that. We've also been massively, massively helped by the return to form of Agbonlahor. I read yesterday that we have started with a front three of Agbonlahor, Benteke and Weimann in 10 matches, in which the three of them scored 20 goals. Basically, what is happening now is we are scoring goals ok, but we are still defending with massive fragility. It's almost "have to go for it because we'll concede, we just need to score more than we concede". I am pretty sure that our last clean sheet was something nuts like 19 league matches ago. We are still not safe, though, and that clean sheet problem is the major reason why. The current table is utterly nuts if you look at how many teams are not safe yet, and plenty of them are playing badly. I honestly think you have got to take three points from this game. If you do that, then you're absolutely safe. Maybe being away rather than home will also help you, in the sense of nerves being less of a problem.

Of course, if Wigan lose against Swansea in mid week, they look more and more adrift. My Albion supporting mate was telling me that Wigan totally, totally fluked it yesterday. I also think Albion will do Norwich next week (yesterday, Norwich were utterly awful), which leaves them with a trip away to Man City on the last day of the season to salvage something.

And often hundreds of pounds. Indeed.