So now we know... 35 points would have kept you up ...

[Fulham Tup North]

... must be one of the lowest totals for quite a while...
 

[Willham]

I think you've jumped the gun there, Everton are on 33 points, so if they win their last game they'll have 36, meaning anyone with 35 would finish below them and be relegated.

Atm 37 is the mathematically safe number, if leicester and leeds lose, then you would of been safe with 32, or even 31 and a better goal difference then both.

Everton may have found the extra gear they needed but they've still looked as poor as the other 3 all season

[Ludlow Richard]

I think you've jumped the gun there, Everton are on 33 points, so if they win their last game they'll have 36, meaning anyone with 35 would finish below them and be relegated.

Atm 37 is the mathematically safe number, if leicester and leeds lose, then you would of been safe with 32, or even 31 and a better goal difference then both.

Everton may have found the extra gear they needed but they've still looked as poor as the other 3 all season

The most Leeds and Leicester can get is 34, if they each win their final game. Anyone with 35 points would therefore be safe.

[Palhinha Colada]

Last season, 35 would have kept someone up (with GD). The season before, when we finished 18th, you only needed 29 (!!) to survive. In 2019-20, it was also 35 points (with GD). In 2018-19, it was 35 to be clear of 18th.

The actual total required for 17th place is often a lot lower than what 17th actually finishes with.

[Chi_FFC]

We reached 35 points on February 11th after beating Forest in our 23rd match of the season. 

[toshes mate]

It is a strangely human condition to be wiser and more accurate in predicting outcomes the closer you get to the finishing line. If none of the bottom three get anymore points then the bottom line will be 32 points to have survived. And all those clubs in peril will be having their 'if only' moments.

Strangely for FFC and my thinking this has been a season about how well we could do and high we could finish.  With a full squad and better officials I think we could have done very well indeed. But it is what it is and top half PL is no bad thing however it is judged.

It is wise to have harmony before going into battle.  Thanks Marco and company.

[filham]

None of this should alter our thinking for next season. Our first target should remain the 40 points needed for safety and we should take the field for the first match with the attitude that it is a six pointer relegation battle.

[Rupert]

None of this should alter our thinking for next season. Our first target should remain the 40 points needed for safety and we should take the field for the first match with the attitude that it is a six pointer relegation battle.

Especially if it is against Chelsea and agent Lampard is still in charge. Hopefully for them it would be.

[Somerset Fulham]

None of this should alter our thinking for next season. Our first target should remain the 40 points needed for safety and we should take the field for the first match with the attitude that it is a six pointer relegation battle.

I have light heartedly (at least that was my aim) disagreed with your mild to deep pessimism pretty much all season filham but with this I absolutely could not agree with you any more. We aren't good enough or established enough to think any different way. Yet.

[filham]

None of this should alter our thinking for next season. Our first target should remain the 40 points needed for safety and we should take the field for the first match with the attitude that it is a six pointer relegation battle.

I have light heartedly (at least that was my aim) disagreed with your mild to deep pessimism pretty much all season filham but with this I absolutely could not agree with you any more. We aren't good enough or established enough to think any different way. Yet.

I am not a deep pessimist but have to admit that I always believe in planning for the worst while hoping for the best.
This end of season position that Fulham find themselves in is almost as good as anyone dared hoped for, I assure this situation now makes me so happy and I am beginning to believe that perhaps we can hope for something similar, or even better again next season.
The first step of course is the next few months, we have to plan for a good transfer window, there is always a risk that TK could be ripped off.

[Somerset Fulham]

Yep, you're right mate. Its a critical juncture that we find ourselves at but one that we also never, ever expected to be at really.

If we were 17th and stayed up by the skin of our teeth then none of us would be sitting easily but as things stand we have breathing space and that space needs to be used well in order that we push on.

[toshes mate]

The time is the same every season - you end one set of round robins and await the next. The planning for next season has been going on all the time as have the discussions about who stays and who doesn't. As for next season's games I do hope we use the same one game at a time system which delivered what it delivered for us last and this year.

No need for trepidation especially from those who tell the rest of us to 'calm down'. We were not being given much of a hope early last August.  I don't mind hearing exactly the same again but I will hold to my own opinion thank you very much. 

[Palhinha Colada]

I would counter some of the pessimism by noting that we have achieved 52+ points while Mitro was ailing/suspended for more than half a season and a number of officiating decisions went against us. Bring in a few new guys to freshen things up this summer, and I feel pretty good about how we'll end up next season with normal luck.

[Jim©]

The 40 points is a complete and utter urban myth though perpetuated by almost everyone around.
Only once since 2010 has 40 points been required to stay up (2011/12).
The average is 35.8 which is a big difference when you look at ave points per game required to stay up (it's 5 games at that average points tally).

[btffc]

The 40 points is a complete and utter urban myth though perpetuated by almost everyone around.
Only once since 2010 has 40 points been required to stay up (2011/12).
The average is 35.8 which is a big difference when you look at ave points per game required to stay up (it's 5 games at that average points tally).

You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. When people cite the 40 point mark they aren't looking at the minimum needed to stay up but the maximum needed to stay up so when you hit 40 you no longer need to worry about anything crazy happening.

[filham]

The 40 points is a complete and utter urban myth though perpetuated by almost everyone around.
Only once since 2010 has 40 points been required to stay up (2011/12).
The average is 35.8 which is a big difference when you look at ave points per game required to stay up (it's 5 games at that average points tally).

You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. When people cite the 40 point mark they aren't looking at the minimum needed to stay up but the maximum needed to stay up so when you hit 40 you no longer need to worry about anything crazy happening.

That is right, you are in with a chance of staying up with 35 points but to be safe you need those 40 precious points, 40 has to be the target from day 1.

[toshes mate]

You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. When people cite the 40 point mark they aren't looking at the minimum needed to stay up but the maximum needed to stay up so when you hit 40 you no longer need to worry about anything crazy happening.

Absolutely true.

One of the reasons coaches talk about starting seasons well is that five wins by autumn is form which will see you in the upper echelons of the table.  The alternative bad start is always chasing a points per game amount that keeps maintaining its distance with reality. It is always best to keep up with the leaders and not get caught up in the race not to be last.

[Carborundum]

We reached 35 points on February 11th after beating Forest in our 23rd match of the season. 

Great stat that thanks. Technically it would have been at the final whistle, but there's something nice about the idea that the moment Willian's screamer threaded its way through was when we got to safety.

Could all change on Sunday, with final whistle after a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge a candidate for the magic moment we were, in hindsight, safe.   

Also means that in a parallel universe we could have lost the last 14 league games and be equally sure of premier league football next season.  Probably a little bit more apprehensive about how it would go though.

[hovewhite]

Harrison reed said the 1st target was 42 pionts.