Play-offs are well within reach, autos IF Tommy puts JJ/JE in the hot seat and he gets his cheque book out in January and gets a good old pro defender, and keen young midfielder, and someone to cover for Stockers. So come on Tommy.... all down to YOU.
i think we have a chance and i think there will be some transfer action in the window that will bolster our chances - will be an announcement of an outgoing within the week which won't affect us immediately but will bolster our kitty / promotion chances - a very good deal done by the club apparently
Let’s hope two teams at the top Rotherham an Wigan go flying away and beat everybody except us of course. That would massively enhance our prospects of hitting 6th. Even three clubs at top going really strong would be good. Then everybody else between them and us gets a draw every week, unless playing us or the top three. SIMPLES
When we started on this good run, I figured if we could get to the new year within 9 points of the playoffs, we’d be in with a shout. Reducing that gap by 3 points a month gets you in thick of it by March. I’m still hopeful but they will have to keep this form up.
i think we have a chance and i think there will be some transfer action in the window that will bolster our chances - will be an announcement of an outgoing within the week which won't affect us immediately but will bolster our kitty / promotion chances - a very good deal done by the club apparently
i think we have a chance and i think there will be some transfer action in the window that will bolster our chances - will be an announcement of an outgoing within the week which won't affect us immediately but will bolster our kitty / promotion chances - a very good deal done by the club apparently
Let’s hope two teams at the top Rotherham an Wigan go flying away and beat everybody except us of course. That would massively enhance our prospects of hitting 6th.
It's really all about what we do, of course. If we get the points on the board, we stay in the game.
i think we have a chance and i think there will be some transfer action in the window that will bolster our chances - will be an announcement of an outgoing within the week which won't affect us immediately but will bolster our kitty / promotion chances - a very good deal done by the club apparently
Hmmm. You know the Beadle family. James Beadle not played for the youth recently. Rumours of PL interest. Won't affect us immediately. 2+2=
The start we had to the season was just too bad and when you look at it , it’s left us in a position where we needed top two form for two thirds of the season. I think to do it we would need at some point to hit a 6/7 match winning run and then have 2 points a game form around it
Got rid of Adkins 3-4 games too late to make it now I think, but it’s certainly not impossible for this lot to do something amazing, with the spirit they showed recently.
i think we have a chance and i think there will be some transfer action in the window that will bolster our chances - will be an announcement of an outgoing within the week which won't affect us immediately but will bolster our kitty / promotion chances - a very good deal done by the club apparently
Arter back to Forest would be my bet. His wages there are sky high, and I’d imagine he’s not cheap even on loan.
Let's see where we are in the new year. I suppose a big factor is the question 'How good are we compared to the others?'. I think personally our midfield is top, our defence top three and likewise our attack. We have good cover but not in every position so injuries to Pearce and the suspension of Stockley really exposed us. We can't afford that to be repeated although we do have a window, I can't see how we can easily cover Stockley and he is key.
Of the three midfielders, I think Lee is probably the easiest to cover but I'm not sure who can do the job he does within the current squad. Maybe JFC would not weaken the midfield but how far away is he from being 100%? That may be the case all of this season. Gilbey and Dobson are incredibly difficult to cover. So it is precarious but if these key players stay fit, I can see us going on an even better run than we have done.
We also should analyse what Morecombe and Shrewsbury did to us. I think they played like an away team getting bodies behind the ball which would not have worked with Stockley on the pitch IMO. Morecombe benefitted from Pearce not being there too and some slack defending. Shrewsbury benefitted from a terrible miss by the ref, with that clear push on Dobson but it was clear how much these players were missed. We have about five or six that we simply can't replace, and whilst you can get away with it for one or two games, you can't for a sustained period, especially when opponents curb their ambition.
So it does boil down to keeping key players fit. Removing Pearce and Stockley took 20% off us in key areas. If we keep Stockley fit and Pearce can be covered with a fit centre half, and likewise our midfield three, a run that will get us into the play offs is, I would say, Likely rather than just possible.
Our start does require an 'IF' though. Thanks Adkins.
If we play the rest of the season like Tuesday yes. if we return to the form at the start of the season no.
Rotherham are the best team in this division in my view and will finish top, Wigan are riding their luck at the moment and we have too many tough away games to come to gain points from the top teams. But it can be done, look at Blackpool and Oxford last year.
If we play the rest of the season like Tuesday yes. if we return to the form at the start of the season no.
Rotherham are the best team in this division in my view and will finish top, Wigan are riding their luck at the moment and we have too many tough away games to come to gain points from the top teams. But it can be done, look at Blackpool and Oxford last year.
Agree with that but the key will therefore be to continue winning our home games.
If you look at the top sides so far, Rotherham have dropped 10 points at home, Oxford 9, Wycombe 6, Sunderland 5. We've dropped 18 thanks to Adkins.
If we could take say 27-28 points from 36 at home it'd put less pressure on us to go away to the likes of Rotherham and Wigan needing to get a result. And realistically i think it's that kind of form we would need to give us any chance.
Playoffs are eight points away now, it seems we can chip away a point or two with every win. Like I said before we need a good 10 match (and beyond) unbeaten run from here, winning most of them to become serious play off contenders.
We also need to keep the Shrewsbury away type results to just an occasional blip between now and the end of the season.
Unfortunately I can’t see us making the play offs. If we hadn’t dropped 4 points at the Morecombe & Shrewsbury games then believe we would have made it
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So come on Tommy.... all down to YOU.
or is it a sell-on clause coming to fruition?
Nothing else truly matters.
You know the Beadle family. James Beadle not played for the youth recently. Rumours of PL interest. Won't affect us immediately. 2+2=
His wages there are sky high, and I’d imagine he’s not cheap even on loan.
6/1 about right...but I believe!
Of the three midfielders, I think Lee is probably the easiest to cover but I'm not sure who can do the job he does within the current squad. Maybe JFC would not weaken the midfield but how far away is he from being 100%? That may be the case all of this season. Gilbey and Dobson are incredibly difficult to cover. So it is precarious but if these key players stay fit, I can see us going on an even better run than we have done.
We also should analyse what Morecombe and Shrewsbury did to us. I think they played like an away team getting bodies behind the ball which would not have worked with Stockley on the pitch IMO. Morecombe benefitted from Pearce not being there too and some slack defending. Shrewsbury benefitted from a terrible miss by the ref, with that clear push on Dobson but it was clear how much these players were missed. We have about five or six that we simply can't replace, and whilst you can get away with it for one or two games, you can't for a sustained period, especially when opponents curb their ambition.
So it does boil down to keeping key players fit. Removing Pearce and Stockley took 20% off us in key areas. If we keep Stockley fit and Pearce can be covered with a fit centre half, and likewise our midfield three, a run that will get us into the play offs is, I would say, Likely rather than just possible.
Our start does require an 'IF' though. Thanks Adkins.
Rotherham are the best team in this division in my view and will finish top, Wigan are riding their luck at the moment and we have too many tough away games to come to gain points from the top teams. But it can be done, look at Blackpool and Oxford last year.
Cambridge, Gillingham, Wycombe, Fleetwood, Wimbledon, Oxford, MK Dons, Sunderland, Burton, Lincoln, Morecambe, Shrewsbury.
If you look at the top sides so far, Rotherham have dropped 10 points at home, Oxford 9, Wycombe 6, Sunderland 5. We've dropped 18 thanks to Adkins.
If we could take say 27-28 points from 36 at home it'd put less pressure on us to go away to the likes of Rotherham and Wigan needing to get a result. And realistically i think it's that kind of form we would need to give us any chance.
A lot of damage early on has been done this season, and we are playing extreme catch-up.
Will we sign a half decent striker in January (If no then we are reducing the probability even further).
Will Jacko get the job as manager - still unknown to us, if he doesn’t I don’t believe we will.
Will we struggle with injuries as we have the last few seasons?
Will we have the depth in quality to cover injuries if they do happen?
With Jacko at the wheel, I’m positive that we will have a darn good go at trying to get there.
Without - No
We also need to keep the Shrewsbury away type results to just an occasional blip between now and the end of the season.