x

Everton Game Now Massive !

The visit of Everton is now a massive game for Saints, put bluntly a defeat would start to see us lose touch with the rest of the bottom half of the Premier League.

Make no bones about it this is a must win game for Saints after a disastrous run of only a single point in the last 6 games has seen us drop into the bottom three making a solid enough start in the first five games turn into a relegation clash.

Every Saints fan seems to have a theory about what is going wrong, but on Saturday against Everton is not the time to moan but to remember exactly what we want from our team and that is a win and three points and to keep in touch with the sides above us.

After a tough run, Everton is the first of three home games against the clubs directly above us or below us and we need to make sure we win them.

Some will mutter about happy clapping etc , but this is more important than that, it is about supporting your club when the chips are down, that s what we did back in the 1990's when there was plenty to protest about, we had a fine line between protesting up to the first whistle and not starting again till the last.

That meant that although there were plenty of things that did need protesting about, the supporters definitely won some points for the team at times and these points counted come the final week of the season.

That is the situation this week for the visit of Everton, put the problems to one side for a day and make St Mary's a tough atmosphere for Everton to play in not Saints.

The result at Manchester City was disappointing for the fact it yielded no points but great in the fact that it showed the team had spirit and hopefully we can spur it on again on Saturday.

Everton fans are just as up in arms as we are, the problem is for them though should be a warning for us, they have spent massively in the last 4 1/2 years since the stole Ronald Koeman from us, but they have fared no better than us in that time and are still just as worse off despite all that cash, a warning we should take heed of, it is not about how much cash you have but how you spend it.

Everton fans though are not voting with their feet, they are staying behind their team as is shown by the fact that they have sold all their tickets for this game and indeed hve already sold out their fixture against Norwich City at Goodison in two weeks time, highlighting that although they have much to complain about, they are staying behind the team.

In contrast the home sections for Saturday are far from sold out at the moment and there is likely to be the smallest crowd of the season if we are not careful and given the magnitude of the game that is wrong on all accounts.

It is easy to follow a team when things are going well, but when things are going badly wrong that is when we find out how good we are as supporters, when we can put our gripes to one side and concentrate on doing the best thing for the club.

I understand that many are disillusioned after the Leicester debacle, but that result can't be changed and has to be consigned to history , we have got exactly the same number of points from the last two games as we got from the corresponding fixtures last season, indeed even the number of goals was not that much different, we conceded 8 and scored 2 last term and this have conceded 11 and scored 1.

So it is the time for action, let's get behind the team and get three points then we can worry about things.

What to read next:

Drawing, drawing, drawing towards freedom - Opposition Profile
The only team that's drawn more than QPR in the Championship this season is our opponent this Saturday, Preston North End, as they come to terms with the predictable departure of Ryan Lowe and steadying influence of Paul Heckingbottom - @Josh_McLoughlin is our oppo fan.
Blackstock's wonder goal seals crucial PNE victory - History
Ahead of Preston’s visit to Loftus Road on Saturday we’re looking back to a crucial victory for John Gregory’s side in their fight for survival back in 2007.
Donohue in charge of Preston visit - Referee
Manchester official Matt Donohue is in the middle for QPR's Saturday afternoon shithouse-a-thon with Preston North End.
Smyth’s smash and grab stuns City – Report
QPR continued their recent unbeaten run, despite another poor performance, away at Bristol City on Saturday, thanks to an extraordinary goal from Paul Smyth.
Bristol City 1 - 1 Queens Park Rangers - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Old foes, familiar faces and new trends collide at Ashton Gate - Preview
QPR, picking up points and keeping clean sheets, head to Ashton Gate on Saturday, where they've beaten Bristol City four times in a row but have a trio of former charges lying in wait.
The Championship's most mid-table team - Oppo Profile
Bristol City spent a deal of money this summer trying to push Liam Manning's side on towards the play-offs, but the remain steadfastly stuck in midtable as doubts persist about the manager's style - we spoke to @fevsfootball.
QPR's late, late show on Ashton Gate opening day - History
We're back to 2007 for today's memorable match as QPR get ready to head back to Ashton Gate, scene of some high intensity clashes between the teams in the Ian Holloway days.
Smith takes QPR’s trip to Bristol – Referee
Wigan’s Lewis Smith, recently promoted to the Premier League, is the referee in charge of Saturday’s trip to Bristol City.
Field the world, lets them know it’s Rangers’ time – Report
A Sam Field double banished memories of a frightful first half, and continued QPR’s steady recovery run of wins and clean sheets, with a 2-0 home win against Oxford on Wednesday.