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Episode 433: REACTING TO OUR PREDICTIONS!
113 Plays10 days ago
Southampton – The regular season is over and it gives us a welcome break from the nerves to look back and see how much we actually know about football, reacting to our predictions from the start of the season!
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Transcript
00:00:13
DailySaintsPod
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Saints pod episode number 433. My name is Greg and once again today joined by my good friend and wonderful co-host Zach.
00:00:21
Zak
Bang.
00:00:27
DailySaintsPod
Mate, how are you doing?
00:00:29
Zak
I'm looking forward to this episode to the start of the season. However, going through my predictions, I don't know if I do. If you don't know what we're doing today guys, it'll probably be in the in the title. But we're going through our predictions we made at the beginning of the season and seeing how much they line up with reality.
00:00:44
Zak
And luckily, I was smart enough to put some notes into why I made those predictions so I can look less dumb when some of them do not pay off even slightly.
00:00:45
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:00:53
DailySaintsPod
i That's great. yeah You're right. Look, the the regular season has come to an end, and so we're going to be doing some of this like reflective content. And let's let's be fully honest, i my nerves cannot take three days of build-up to the Middlesbrough playoff. I need this distraction to to get through it. It's going to be good. and Yeah, you're right. I'm excited. to say Look, as as always with my ordering system, mate, no reverse chronological today, but we are going to go bottom to top.
00:01:26
DailySaintsPod
a So starting off in twenty fourth place, of course, Sheffield Wednesday. You put chef for wednesday and i Sheffield Wednesday Wednesday.
00:01:36
Zak
Hey,
00:01:39
DailySaintsPod
Okay.
00:01:41
Zak
that's That's kind of upsetting because it's like the the notes that I put down as to why was add owner turmoil and everything. And I think that the good thing is that they've you know had their points deduction reduced for next season.
00:01:55
Zak
They have a new owner that looks likely and excited to own them if the guy, Chansaro, whoever his name is, actually agrees to it.
00:01:55
DailySaintsPod
yeah.
00:02:01
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:02:05
Zak
And they basically put it down to the fact that he had lots of opportunities to sell and kind of refused to because... You know, so it's it's nice that they finished the season on zero points, right?
00:02:15
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, they the they wrapped it up in the perfect way.
00:02:16
Zak
LAUGHTER
00:02:20
DailySaintsPod
They got their first win at home of the season. They, yeah, like you say, they brought it back to zero points and they had it confirmed that they will start next season.
00:02:31
DailySaintsPod
on the level of everyone else with zero points. and And that was the best outcome they could have hoped for, especially when you look at the start of the season. And think that even at the time when we recorded our predictions, they only had 12 senior players in the squad, right?
00:02:49
Zak
Oh, yeah, that was bad, wasn't it?
00:02:49
DailySaintsPod
So...
00:02:52
DailySaintsPod
so the Hopefully times get better now for Sheffield Wednesday fans because that's not the type of downfall that we like to see in that manner.
00:03:07
DailySaintsPod
It's funny when it goes wrong because of the football. It's not when it's off the field, bad decisions and more ownership.
00:03:14
Zak
Yeah, it's just poor poor financial financial decision decisions, poor ownership, the result of you know that that their squad then having to be picked clean much to the...
00:03:26
Zak
you know advantage of other teams around them, right? Like Windass going to Wrexham is one of the things I i think of.
00:03:30
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:03:34
Zak
So yeah, it's it's sad, but hopefully a brighter future for them when they get to you know go down and have you know a fighting chance next season now to come back up straight away.
00:03:46
Zak
And if not, then at least they're not in the situation that they were.
00:03:47
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:03:49
Zak
But yeah, fair play to their supporters that went out and
00:03:49
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:03:53
Zak
watched all of that you know we we had we had losses due to bad football uh which made but you know they they had the potential that their club might not exist so hey ho uh kind of a sad reluctant 24 from both of us but unfortunately the reality of that situation did come into being right
00:04:23
Zak
Close.
00:04:26
DailySaintsPod
Who did you put, mate?
00:04:29
Zak
You're making me read out, is that why?
00:04:30
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:04:31
Zak
do you put Hull City? Because they scraped by last season. And I don't know if that's just because they had our former manager, Ruben Sellis, or what, before he was poached to go to Charlton, right?
00:04:46
Zak
He was there to save them. And this was after all of their, you know, messing about. And I'm pretty sure they Liam Rossini, right, and fired him because they didn't quite make playoffs.
00:04:56
Zak
And I will eat my words and say that the expectations that i had for Hull have been completely smashed.
00:04:56
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:05:03
Zak
And instead we have Leicester City where
00:05:07
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:05:08
Zak
it is like what we feared would happen. if we carried on the run under Will still, except also slightly helped by the fact that they spent a little bit too much money, right?
00:05:13
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:05:19
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, so of course, Leicester with a six-point point deduction, which... maybe controversially. i don't know how other people feel about it. If they had not have had that, would have put them safe in 20th place. So... bit of an odd one. But yeah, not not the end of the season. Leicester wanted. They ended up with a horrid run of form.
00:05:45
DailySaintsPod
Did close out the season with a meaningless win. But yeah...
00:05:49
Zak
Yeah, you like, where was that? A couple... Well, by the sounds of it, it was more so that, you know, the other team at that point is probably going on holiday. But it's it's one of those things where all I can think of is, like, Maldivi being like, yeah, we're going to have fun this season.
00:06:04
Zak
And then the prospect that they would bounce straight back up.
00:06:04
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:06:06
Zak
And I think, you know, he was almost... unfathomable for some people that a team that won the Premier League 10 years ago would then, you know, manage to drop down into League One.
00:06:18
Zak
But also, if everyone paid attention to that season straight after, nearly all of that that team were stripped, right? Like N'Golo Kante, as I can think about, you know.
00:06:26
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:06:29
Zak
And then they lost their talisman in Vardy, who, by the looks of things, could have carried on scoring goals for them. But again, all the finances. I think that part of it has also been... Like due to factors outside, right?
00:06:42
Zak
of Especially when it comes to like, you know, when when your owner passed away in a tragic accident and then his son has to take the wheels.
00:06:43
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:06:49
Zak
And, you know, we've we've kind of seen it with us, right? With Leiby's daughter taking control. And she's actually now what, back back on the board now? We discussed that of the other week. But like if someone isn't as invested into the thing that you've invested into,
00:07:00
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:07:04
Zak
there is always going to be a slight amount of disconnect, but I think just the world's economic problems have unfortunately come home to roost in Leicester City.
00:07:06
DailySaintsPod
yes
00:07:13
Zak
And it's like, you know, when you talk about Blackburn back in the day winning the Premier League and where they are now, it's a very sort of similar position. And, you know, they will be picked clean. I've already seen a vast majority of their players wish Leicester farewell or wish Leicester good luck in the next season before even having a move secured, which is nuts.
00:07:33
Zak
But, Yeah, it's just crazy.
00:07:34
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, well, I mean, look, you've got to think about it both ways, right? Obviously, those players are going want what's best for their career, but also dropping down to League One is going to come with a huge financial strain.
00:07:46
DailySaintsPod
And you there's no way that any Leicester contract has any sort of relegation contract, like taking that into account or into consideration.
00:07:53
Zak
Absolutely not.
00:07:55
DailySaintsPod
I mean, as it was, they had the highest wage bill in the championship. So it's going to be pretty nuts for them. And, you know, they narrowly dodged a points deduction last season, I remember.
00:08:06
DailySaintsPod
And it was, if I recall, it was on like a loophole and a technicality that has since been closed. Yeah. So, you know, maybe we should have seen it coming. I mean, we both predicted them to finish much higher up the table.
00:08:20
DailySaintsPod
In fact, I think we both predicted them to finish in the playoffs. But, yeah.
00:08:23
Zak
Yeah. I put sixth and somehow still in the playoffs because I didn't know how to say how they would find a way to do it, but I assume they would.
00:08:26
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:08:30
Zak
And, you know.
00:08:30
DailySaintsPod
but But yeah, nobody expected this. But back-to-back seasons where a team that got relegated to the championship then gets relegated to League One.
00:08:43
DailySaintsPod
So...
00:08:44
Zak
Yeah.
00:08:45
DailySaintsPod
Interesting, isn't it? It's kind of the weird financial position the championship has where it's sort of so far behind the Premier League, right?
00:08:50
Zak
Well, not only that, they got like a training...
00:08:56
DailySaintsPod
But also so far ahead of League 1-2. It's kind of weird, right?
00:09:01
Zak
Yeah, I think there has already been reports that they're going to have a transfer budget of like 20 million for League One, which is insane because that will blow everybody out of the water.
00:09:02
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:08
Zak
But also on top of that, you've got like their training facility that's worth supposedly like 18, 19 million. That did the rounds immediately after their relegation because they're going to have a training facility that's probably worth more than half the clubs in League One.
00:09:17
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:09:22
Zak
it's It's a crazy story and a wild story.
00:09:22
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:09:24
Zak
And yeah, unfortunately, it's the case that if you do not pay attention, to how tough the league is that can happen. And I don't know what happened quite with Leicester this season.
00:09:35
Zak
I don't know if it just didn't click. I feel like pulling in our Joe Aribo as one of their, I think if not their only transfer in January showed you what level of dire strengths they were in due to the financial you know mismanagement.
00:09:47
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. and
00:09:50
Zak
And obviously when you've got a lot of players that aren't necessarily playing as a team and have already got their eye on the exit, weve we've seen what happens with that, right? Like we've we've seen that this season where some of the players who had their eye on the exit got their exit.
00:09:57
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:01
Zak
And for some, well, they're right. For a lot of them, not as much. You know, Yannick B helping win Porto, win their like first Portuguese title in forever.
00:10:05
DailySaintsPod
Not so well.
00:10:10
Zak
Probably good move. You know, Silvana playing for Atalanta and not really even making the bench. Probably not. Swings and roundabouts. Either way, Leicester 23rd, whereas I had whole city.
00:10:21
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:23
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:24
Zak
yeah
00:10:24
DailySaintsPod
a And then next up, 22nd, we both put Charlton Athletic, expecting them to be the team rounding out relegation.
00:10:30
Zak
yeah
00:10:32
DailySaintsPod
and They, of course, exceeded our expectations and presumably theirs. And...
00:10:38
Zak
But it's sort of a really good run early on, right? Like, they were the playoff positions really early on.
00:10:40
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:10:43
Zak
And that early early run has basically stopped all the nonsense that would have been the end of the season. Didn't stop Nathan Jones from having his own little, like, documentary style. Come on, guys, we need to get it over the line.
00:10:55
Zak
It's like, mate, you need to pick up a draw in, like, the next four games. You don't need to you don't need to do this.
00:10:59
DailySaintsPod
but actually finishing in 22nd, Oxford United. Well, perhaps not hugely surprising. I mean, I have them, as mentioned previously, as one of the teams going down.
00:11:12
Zak
yeah
00:11:12
DailySaintsPod
So two out of three of the relegation for me, you had them slightly above the relegation zone, but not a million miles off.
00:11:18
Zak
I did. I just had them not as bad as the bottom three. Now, bear in mind, this was a Ruben Sellis just about scraped by Hull City.
00:11:22
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:11:26
Zak
And I thought Charlton Athletic would struggle more coming up. So I thought they would just manage to edge out. And I think I had them above who we'll talk about next. But yeah, it it was just it's unfortunate for them.
00:11:41
Zak
It's not hugely surprising, but it will be what it will be. They they beat us this season. We were one of their 11 wins, so fair play.
00:11:49
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:11:52
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, and I mean, that's one of the kind of crazy parts about it, right? It's because 11 wins is actually like a a quite a respectable run, right? 47 points feels like a lot of points to be going down on. So just goes to show really how tight the entire league was this year.
00:12:10
Zak
Bear in mind, like if Leicester hadn't had their six points deducted, they would be you know be a different conversation. And it probably would have been a different...
00:12:18
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:12:19
Zak
you know From a morale perspective, could have been different. However, i think that it still probably would have resulted in Oxford United going down.
00:12:27
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it was, yeah, it's a chain for them, but that they narrowly survived last season after coming up the year before. So we'll see how it goes for them in League One. Moving up then the table again in 22nd place.
00:12:45
DailySaintsPod
second place
00:12:49
Zak
21st place
00:12:51
DailySaintsPod
21st place. right I can't count. it's It's already too late. There's been so much maths. I did so many permutations of maths coming in before the last day of this season.
00:12:59
Zak
wait
00:13:01
DailySaintsPod
I'm fully like mathed out for the year.
00:13:02
Zak
all this is is clicking the count of the positions of the on the table it's not even bad
00:13:08
DailySaintsPod
So 21st place, I put Hull, also not expecting them to do particularly well. Devon not as well as they did. You put Darby, who obviously we'll talk about, you know, exceeding that expectation later on.
00:13:20
Zak
Amen.
00:13:24
DailySaintsPod
But actually, West Bromwich Albion, who I think they really surprised all of us with their season and their form this year, to be honest, didn't they?
00:13:35
Zak
Imagine capitulating that bad.
00:13:36
DailySaintsPod
They...
00:13:38
Zak
I actually had my notes for them were, baggies will go again so close yet so far. Because, you know, they managed to get the playoffs. They managed to get around or in the playoffs a vast majority of seasons, right?
00:13:49
Zak
And I don't know what it was about this season, and then they just kind of collapsed. And... Ever since Carlos, when they've kind of, of you know, they they brought in this, halfway through the season, they brought in this American guy who everyone was like, yeah, it's going go to great.
00:14:02
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it just didn't work out.
00:14:04
Zak
And that was like absolutely, that was a, an us Nathan Jones signing if I've ever seen one, right? Absolute disaster class.
00:14:11
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, it wasn't great. They didn't get helped early on in the season by one of their key strikers going out injured. Yeah.
00:14:19
Zak
No. No.
00:14:20
DailySaintsPod
for a period of time, but yeah, they just, done with their, their American manager, they really struggled. It just didn't hit the ground run at all. was As, as demonstrated by their form to become one of the like most informed teams in the league since getting rid of him by bringing in James Morrison. Right.
00:14:37
Zak
Yeah, and on on top of that, like i've I've got a retrospective at some point coming up about our low knees, and going through that was Charlie Taylor, and you can kind of almost see, just going through and having a look at the games he played, the sort of state of their season and how the ebbs and flows. and Yeah, I just don't think anybody expected it, especially Baggies fans.
00:14:58
DailySaintsPod
No, no. But most importantly, kept themselves in the championship, ready to build themselves back up and go again next season.
00:14:58
Zak
Mm-hmm.
00:15:10
DailySaintsPod
and And, you know, i think there was some hope that they they had new owners, I think, last year, who sort of came in partway through the year, that this season they'd be able to invest and do some some stuff for them.
00:15:24
DailySaintsPod
But actually, actuallyley they were really close to to the to the line. In fact, got a deduction at the end of the season, right? Two points.
00:15:34
Zak
Yeah, I remember rightly, it was something really, really silly though, right? It was like something to do with the
00:15:38
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, so it was, according to the club statement that they released, it was, they were not told how much the breach was, but it was, they were told that it was less than £2 million. pound And it was because the panel that calculated, previously calculated it in a certain way, but decided two years after the accounts were submitted, bearing in mind that but they were no longer calculating it that way. They were calculating it a different way.
00:16:05
DailySaintsPod
and it was actually to do with players' wages that they were able to write off towards charitable charitable donations.
00:16:14
DailySaintsPod
So, like, appearances for things like charity matches and stuff like that.
00:16:20
Zak
Retrospective, like, like for it sounds like a weird analogy, Greg, but just roll with me here.
00:16:20
DailySaintsPod
So...
00:16:25
Zak
it's It's like when YouTube do this, right, with with their rules, is they retrospectively, they'll change something and they'll retrospectively apply it.
00:16:34
DailySaintsPod
Thank
00:16:34
Zak
to just cross the board. And that means that occasionally creators will have, you know, videos that are fine and then all of a sudden their monetization will be hit because they've randomly decided to change the rules later on. And I think the most infuriating thing is that one, that makes no sense. But when you apply it to like football and on the scale that this is this has taken place, we know for a fact that you're looking at like the Chelsea's and the Man City's, the Man City's that have their charges that are still unresolved. The Chelsea's who are like selling hotels and stuff themselves. It doesn't sound like this was like a active...
00:17:04
Zak
like malicious breach. It sounds like it was a bit of an accident. It's not like the owners have done anything hugely wrong.
00:17:07
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Not only was it an accident, they knew they were skirting the line, basically.
00:17:10
Zak
i find it...
00:17:14
DailySaintsPod
they They were basically on the line and them changing the rules of the way they calculate this particular thing pushed them over the line by a minuscule amount. And had that resulted in them being relegated, I feel like there would be more than just Basic criticism, right?
00:17:34
DailySaintsPod
I feel like at that point, legal proceedings start. And rightfully so. But at the end of the day it's kind of inconsequential in the scheme of things. They did enough to keep themselves up.
00:17:44
Zak
That sort of matters.
00:17:45
DailySaintsPod
And that was really important. So i think their big loss that they... that That sort of was pushing them close to that line for the PSR rules now, like, falls back out of the window that it gets judged against. So in the summer, hopefully they'll...
00:18:00
DailySaintsPod
sort of have the chance to rebuild properly and give it a proper go next year. But I guess we'll wait and see on that one. Right, moving up the table even further in 20th place. i had Derby.
00:18:17
DailySaintsPod
not far away from where you put them, to be honest, mate. You had Oxford, so, you know, slightly outperforming where they did finish, and actually finished there were Blackburn.
00:18:26
Zak
Yep.
00:18:29
DailySaintsPod
So, i mean...
00:18:31
Zak
Which is weird. i had I had Blackburn as a solid mid-team in 10th.
00:18:37
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:18:38
Zak
So it's kind of baffling. you know I just think they really struggled probably more than they should have, in my opinion. But...
00:18:47
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, they were kind of far enough away that they were pretty much out of just about above like the the danger zone for a period of time, but also close enough that they really could have been dragged back in at any point. Managed to...
00:19:05
DailySaintsPod
Pulled together a few draws and a win right at the end. But yeah, I think probably a pretty disappointing season for Blackburn, who you're right, you would normally assume to be at least like that middle of the pack table, even if towards the lower end of it, like solidly in that that group of teams who always seem to just exist in the championship, right? Yeah.
00:19:30
Zak
Yeah, it's I think that a lot of people are happy with their turnaround. And obviously, Michael O'Neill, I'm pretty sure he's the one that's also sharing management of Northern Ireland as well, right? Because I remember there being a lot of controversy about him like not playing or calling up certain players so they couldn't play, which seems a lot of nonsense. That seems like some football manager of BS that I've ever seen beforehand.
00:19:49
Zak
So, yeah, I think that, you know, they probably had a a rougher season, they've turned it around and maybe they'll have a better season the next time around. But as I said, solid sort of mid-table championship team usually.
00:20:03
Zak
But it's going to, I think it'll be while before they try and push for playoffs. It's just, you know, bit a struggle for them this season, you know?
00:20:09
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Right, moving up the table even more into 19th place.
00:20:20
DailySaintsPod
I put Blackburn, so only one position wrong for me there. Not bad. Too close. You put Portsmouth, so also just the one position off for you. Happy days.
00:20:31
DailySaintsPod
And actually, Charlton. Yeah.
00:20:36
DailySaintsPod
No, like it said about Charlton, they started off the season on a tremendous run of form, far exceeding anybody's expectations. And it kind of petered out.
00:20:47
DailySaintsPod
And that was kind of a combination of they were quite injury-laden, kind of just run
00:20:52
Zak
We took back one of the best players.
00:20:55
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, that. They just kind of ran out of steam, to be honest, right? And to be honest, based on their their expectations of whether they are finished in the league, I'm sure at some point, probably not too much after sort of March, probably just coasting on the beach, right?
00:21:13
DailySaintsPod
Not a huge amount to... Once you get high enough up the table that you're not likely to get dragged back into that relegation battle, doesn't really matter anymore, does it?
00:21:23
DailySaintsPod
They were always... always
00:21:24
Zak
I don't know. they They struggled a little bit towards the end. And I think that considering there was, what, like six points in it between that and i don't think they necessarily coasted as such.
00:21:29
DailySaintsPod
And
00:21:34
Zak
And again, like Nathan Jones putting out his big sort of, you know, come on, everybody rally together to try and make sure they got enough points. But it was an expectation for, I think, what both of us that we thought they would struggle and probably go down. And they didn't. They proved everybody wrong. Fair play to them. They get another season in the championship. They can do a little bit more to try and solidify their place, whether or not that'll work out. Who knows? But don't worry, they've got the best pound-for-pound manager in Europe. So, you know, swings and roundabouts, mate.
00:22:06
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Look, more Nathan Jones antics in the championship next season. Is it what the championship wants? Who knows? But, you know, it's what they'll get anyway, whether you like it or not. it's I suppose it's entertainment in it, and that's all you can really ask for.
00:22:22
DailySaintsPod
Right, moving on up the table we even further into 18th. I predicted Portsmouth, and I was bang on. You predicted Stoke, and you were not far off, right?
00:22:38
Zak
Wasn't far to be fair, like considering that that's usually a good place to pick.
00:22:39
DailySaintsPod
No. i
00:22:44
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Portsmouth. Look, they were, for a period of time, looking like one of the more likely teams to go down, but managed to put it together and and get out of it and and push themselves as far up at the table as eighteenth And...
00:22:54
Zak
Yeah.
00:23:05
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:23:08
Zak
Fair play to John Massilio, whether or not he stays, who knows, especially where there seems to be a lot of grumbles in the fan base about their ownership now, right? It turns out that the Disney bucks are not flowing for Portsmouth.
00:23:20
Zak
So...
00:23:21
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. And look, whether they build up again and go again next season or get relegated, honestly, who cares? Yeah.
00:23:30
Zak
Look, I don't know. Hang on. If we stay in the championship, it'll be good because we get another two South Coast derbies. Much to the disappointment of everybody at Hampshire Constabulary who have to deal with that again.
00:23:44
DailySaintsPod
Indeed. Right. Next up. 17th, I put QPR. You put Swansea. It was, in fact, Stoke. What can you say about Stoke?
00:23:58
DailySaintsPod
Well, you were
00:23:58
Zak
My notes
00:24:01
DailySaintsPod
the you were one place wrong. i was three places wrong. in the championship. Yeah, I mean...
00:24:09
Zak
They were having such a good season, man, and then it just, like, fell apart completely at the end.
00:24:12
DailySaintsPod
were They were up in the playoffs. They were looking...
00:24:16
Zak
who i
00:24:18
DailySaintsPod
I don't...
00:24:18
Zak
ups absolute capitulation. You know, and now they've finished basically where they would usually finish every other season. And yeah, at the end of Matchday 14, Stoke was second the championship with eight wins and 27 points.
00:24:28
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:24:34
Zak
And yeah, it's a complicated... issue by the sounds of it. And then, yeah, it's just, it's difficult for a club like that. If they start doing well, you know, you start to get all of your individual assets pilfered, right? Like we've, we've done it.
00:24:51
Zak
We've come down to the championship and we've done that to teams like West Brom and, you know, teams like Middlesbrough, et cetera.
00:24:55
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:24:57
Zak
You know, we, we took Finnaz from there and we took Tom Fellows from, from West Brom. For some reason, we gave Armstrong to Wolves. That's it's a story for another day. But yeah, i just I think it's a real... It doesn't seem to matter what they do. They always kind of finish around the same position, right? I think it's like near enough that spot they finished for like the last five seasons in a row, something like that.
00:25:21
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Again, just like perpetually existing in the championship.
00:25:27
Zak
Yeah, as as I said, my only note for the prediction was Stoke.
00:25:27
DailySaintsPod
Uh,
00:25:31
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, nothing nothing more, nothing less. Right, mate, moving further up the table in 16th place, I put Preston North End, you put Bristol City, and actually it was Watford.
00:25:45
DailySaintsPod
Watford, a team that we both predicted to be doing slightly better, mate. We both thought they would be...
00:25:52
Zak
I think they probably expected them to be doing better, to be honest. And that's one of the reasons that they'll now be on their fourth manager. I want to say like 500th manager in I think it's something like 21 managers in like five years or something though.
00:26:06
Zak
And like,
00:26:06
DailySaintsPod
It is an insane amount of managers.
00:26:09
Zak
Like Garcia came back and then and then he went after being like, yeah, I'm so glad to be back in my office.
00:26:14
Zak
I'm like, it's only going for two weeks. And then Will Stills' brother took charge.
00:26:18
DailySaintsPod
Since 2012, they have had 22 different managers.
00:26:23
Zak
Okay, not not quite over five years, but you know, that's that's still quite a...
00:26:27
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:26:28
Zak
quality It still feels like it's more...
00:26:28
DailySaintsPod
I mean, 22 managers in 14 years is... i mean, it's more than ideal, isn't it?
00:26:34
Zak
like Slightly more than us, but it just feels like they fire their managers more.
00:26:37
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:26:38
Zak
But yeah, obviously, Will Still's brother took over and had, by the looks of it, very, very similar results to when Will was in charge of us, right? Ed Still. And by the looks of it, he's going at the end of the season.
00:26:48
Zak
And I just think they've got a like a loss. They wanted to try and hit playoffs. They're like, well, you can't necessarily do that if you're going to switch manager, switch manager, switch manager, switch manager. And they seem to think it's working for them, but I would argue that 16th place finish in the championship after being a...
00:26:57
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:27:04
Zak
like Premier League outlet isn't real or outfit isn't really working for them. But at the same time, I guess as long as that ownership owned them, they will keep doing that.
00:27:11
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:27:15
Zak
You know, if the results drop, they will just fire you.
00:27:15
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:18
Zak
You know, the end of their season was five losses in the row.
00:27:18
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:27:22
Zak
So yeah, difficult for Watford. We both expected better of them, but alas, that is just how it be.
00:27:30
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Next up, 15th place, I put Bristol City. You put QPR. And you were dead right. QPR finished 15th.
00:27:40
DailySaintsPod
So, good job.
00:27:40
Zak
yeah i I expected as much. They lost their manager, obviously, and originally went to Leicester in a what was, for some people, quite a confusing move and ultimately ended up not being a great one, as you know less as we now know for Leicester and for QPR.
00:27:52
DailySaintsPod
Good
00:27:56
Zak
But I thought they could still do okay, and I do consider that to be doing okay. They got their fan favourite, Ronnie Edwards, back. We did batter them at one point that was quite a nice game.
00:28:08
Zak
But, you know, perpetual mid-table championship side is unfortunately like that, right? And they're going to struggle. But I don't have any real affinity towards QPR.
00:28:20
Zak
I just guessed right because of previous seasons and, you know, the fact that I thought they'd probably do a little bit worse after losing their manager. So, yeah, QPR.
00:28:28
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Fair play.
00:28:29
Zak
Yeah.
00:28:31
DailySaintsPod
Good pick. Next up, 14th, I picked Stoke, who, of course, we already had. And once again, mate, you were bang on. You picked Preston.
00:28:40
Zak
Yeah, that almost was wrong considering the start to their season.
00:28:40
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:28:44
Zak
that They beat us 2-0 at one point, right? And yeah, I obviously...
00:28:46
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, they did. They were flying. They were another one of these teams that started off absolutely flying and then just kind of faded off.
00:28:54
Zak
I put underestimated but lots of championship experience is my note for them.
00:28:58
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:28:59
Zak
So I kind of expected expected them to sit in mid-table and in mid-table is where they sit.
00:29:03
DailySaintsPod
Well, if you exclude the i mean the game, the final day of the season where we obviously comfortably beat them, but they really had nothing to play for and we needed to win. If you exclude that from the list, they had 15 wins, 15 draws, 15 losses. made They were like textbook bang average. Like...
00:29:24
Zak
Yeah.
00:29:27
DailySaintsPod
But like it's enough in this league to keep you up.
00:29:27
Zak
They do right.
00:29:30
DailySaintsPod
I guess that...
00:29:31
Zak
I know more about their sponsor than I do about them, and that's on me.
00:29:35
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:29:36
Zak
Yeah.
00:29:36
DailySaintsPod
Who doesn't love a bit tram sauce, mate? Right. Next up, 13th place, I picked Swansea. You picked Middlesbrough.
00:29:48
DailySaintsPod
And it was actually Sheffield United, mate, who...
00:29:48
Zak
yeah
00:29:52
DailySaintsPod
are
00:29:54
Zak
Yeah!
00:29:55
DailySaintsPod
Well, they didn't quite... I mean, Optus guaranteed Lock-On to win the league, weren't they?
00:30:02
Zak
They were.
00:30:02
DailySaintsPod
The Optus superfineer?
00:30:04
Zak
They were. And then if you remember rightly, they decided to take get rid of Chris Wilder after playoff loss, which was an insane decision.
00:30:10
DailySaintsPod
Yep.
00:30:12
Zak
and They then decided to bring in former Southampton mastermind Ruben Sellis. And that was terrible. Like, you know, the whole, like, i they just kept getting battered. And then they had like, at one point he made him stay on the pitch and get shouted at by the fans.
00:30:21
DailySaintsPod
Hmm.
00:30:25
Zak
And he obviously quickly lost the dressing room. And if I remember rightly, he's had like double relegations. Not relegations, but he had a He's been fired twice. So he went off again to like a relegation, struggling team in like the second league of Spain. I think he struggled there as well. But it just seemed like a disaster move. And they brought Chris Wilder back, massively bolstered themselves with you know Patrick Bamford, who that was a bit of a joke signing, right? With the fact that you know, Bamford had the whole, like, chant about Chris Wilder, which I'm sure they laugh about now, but, you know, then it was like, Calvin Phillips on loan from Man City, which I had completely forgotten about entirely until you reminded me of it the other day.
00:31:03
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:05
Zak
And I'm pretty sure, like, it was like, Oh, yeah, no, everyone knows his famous moment from this season. It was just like his red card. It's like, oh, man. But, you know, they seem to have...
00:31:15
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:31:15
Zak
i don't know why. They seem to have a... Every time they played, they seem to have a squad about three times the size that i remember them having. And obviously, we have a couple of players that were, you know, when we brought in Bereton Diaz, he he was from Sheffield United.
00:31:28
Zak
Cam Archer was previously... at Sheffield United. I don't know if it was all loans and stuff, but yeah we kind of stripped them for parts when we came up. Didn't really work out for us. And I was very, very surprised at them because I genuinely thought that they're going to be a dark horse. They're still quite strong. They'll be mad after last year. And then they just hit their own self-destruct button by bringing in a manager that I just don't think was ready to deal with a club of that stature and deal with players that probably by the sounds of it were annoyed while they went.
00:31:56
Zak
just Bizarre decisions all around.
00:31:56
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:31:58
Zak
I'm sure they'll do better next season now they've had a chance to look sort of, you know, settle. Again, I guess that they probably just wanted to avoid relegation.
00:32:09
Zak
And they managed to avoid that.
00:32:10
DailySaintsPod
I mean, especially after after the way they started, I mean, that i would have been the aim.
00:32:13
Zak
Yeah.
00:32:14
DailySaintsPod
Yeah. Probably not their target at the start of the season, to be fair, but...
00:32:19
Zak
No.
00:32:21
DailySaintsPod
Look, as as we demonstrated this season, when you get off to a start that bad, there's only so much you can recover. And, you know, not all of the runs are going to be as impressive as our run was. But yeah. And then last up today, mate, going split this into two-part episode and cover the top half tomorrow place.
00:32:43
DailySaintsPod
in twelve
00:32:44
Zak
Sorry guys, we just don't have an hour in the day. Carry on, mate.
00:32:49
DailySaintsPod
In 12th place, I picked Wrexham, you picked Millwall, and actually it was Bristol who outperformed both of our predictions and had a pretty good run this season.
00:32:58
Zak
Yeah.
00:33:01
Zak
Correct.
00:33:03
DailySaintsPod
And I mean, held us to a draw. Honestly, one of the the more impressive teams to come to Mary's this season for me.
00:33:09
Zak
Yeah.
00:33:12
Zak
I thought they'd struggle after they lost Liam Manning. So, obviously, Liam Manning went to Norwich and then what he did was almost destroy Norwich. So, you know, finishing their season with Roy Hodgson wasn't in my idea book, but I guess that wasn't in most of their fans either.
00:33:27
DailySaintsPod
Good night.
00:33:29
Zak
But yeah, like ultimately they were a bogey team for us that we managed to just about break that callous. But as we've been discussing, it's going to be something that always sits in the back of most Saints fans' heads because they, you know, we struggled against them.
00:33:42
Zak
They were our unbeaten run last time around. And this time around as well, you've obviously got the fact that if we'd beaten them, and then gone on to ride that momentum into beating Ipswich, we would have got automatics.
00:33:52
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:33:53
Zak
So fair play to them. They did better than I think both of us expected.
00:33:55
DailySaintsPod
yeah
00:33:57
Zak
They'll probably, you know, they had a run into playoffs last time around. Didn't quite manage that this season. But yeah, fair play to Bristol City. Unexpected good championship side.
00:34:11
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, absolutely. Well done then. And look, like I say, that brings us to the halfway point. So we will be back to cover the the top half, the the money section of the league tomorrow. Until then, let us know in the comments in with the socials.
00:34:30
DailySaintsPod
What do you think of our predictions so far? so Some reasonably good stuff in there and some absolute howlers. A real solid mix, I've got to be honest, mate.
00:34:39
Zak
Pole City, 23rd.
00:34:42
DailySaintsPod
Yeah, I mean, look...
00:34:44
Zak
I'll eat my words, the Tigers won us both times, mate. Like, what can you say?
00:34:47
DailySaintsPod
Indeed, mate. Look, I mean, as you... I don't know if I told you this at the start a season not. I've got a mathematical formula that that calculates a score based off of our predictions.
00:34:58
DailySaintsPod
So help be
00:34:59
Zak
I'm so glad, mate.
00:35:01
DailySaintsPod
there'll be some analysis in tomorrow's episode as well about how well we really did.
00:35:04
Zak
fact so
00:35:05
DailySaintsPod
So look forward to that.
00:35:06
Zak
i'd be so glad ma
00:35:09
DailySaintsPod
Mate, it shouldn't surprise you in the slightest or or any of our regular listeners.
00:35:13
Zak
No, you're right. It shouldn't. It still has, but I look forward to it.
00:35:14
DailySaintsPod
Yeah.
00:35:16
Zak
It's fine.
00:35:17
DailySaintsPod
But that's it. But look, that's all we've got time for today. So thank you so much for listening, Zach. Thank you for joining me and exposing your predictions too. We will be back tomorrow. But until then, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful day and we will see you then.