Will Southampton face RELEGATION this season?

A few weeks ago, we here at the Soton Tab were concerned with the exodus of “possibly Southampton’s best ever team”, which has now escalated into growing speculation that The Saints may be surprise candidates for relegation this season. However, at risk of looking like a major idiot when Liverpool inevitably roll Southampton over today, there is evidence that things may not be so bad…

Our local ground, St Mary’s

New Signings

First things first, the new signings don’t actually look too bad. Fraser Forster is an immediate improvement on Boruc as his hands have wrists, Dušan Tadic looks pretty tidy, and Ryan Bertrand is technically a Champions League winner. To all those worried about the prestige of Lambert’s replacement, I ask you this; has Graziano Pellè even stepped foot in a beetroot factory? I think not.

Speaking of prestige, was Lallana even that good? He’s twice as old (26) as he looks, and has no pace. I can appreciate the “local lad, one club man” factor, but with Luke Shaw and Dejan Lovren exchanging tweets like this upon leaving the nest, can we all start to accept that the idea of modern footballers being “loyal” to anyone but the highest bidder is dead?

@DejanLovren05 congratulations mate , you deserve it! All the best. I will see you soon ????

— Luke Shaw (@LukeShaw3) July 27, 2014

The Competition

Most importantly, how can anyone even contemplate relegation from a league containing giants like Burnley, West Brom, and Crystal Palace? You’d have a decent chance of qualifying for Europe just fielding Gaston Ramirez and an iPhone looping this vine of Luke Shaw looking like the despicable puppy he is. Once again this is a clear case of the media overhyping anything to do with the Barclays Premier League.

Generous Fixture List

As reported by the Soton Tab back in June, The Saints “only face two of last season’s top seven in their opening twelve fixtures, with the first few of their home matches being against West Brom, Newcastle, QPR, Sunderland and Stoke”. Even without some of their famed English talent, a team with an existing foundation of the likes of Fonte, Wanyama, Cork, Schneiderlin and Rodriguez is undoubtedly too good to be relegated, especially with such an easy start.

Irrefutable Evidence

And if the squad depth, kind fixtures, and poor quality of opposition aren’t enough to satisfy your concerns, just take a look at my current Football Manager save.

I don’t have Lallana or Lambert and I’m doing just fine, so there really is no excuse for anything short of mid-table this season.

What do you think? Relegation fodder or surprise European candidates? Have the board spent enough? Let us know in the comments!