samo II

Changes, including Freeman? Thought as much!

Heart says another 2-1, (but a mighty tense one) while my head says a score draw, possibly high-scoring too. And reckon all this talk of Freeman being passed fit is a ruse, and we might see a changed line up to try and bamboozle the Os.

It certainly seemed an over-the-top statement to make, especially in light of the fact they are still very much in with a chance of the play-offs.

This is the thing; neither needs to be mutually exclusive, yet those who are defending SC's record (they don't need to; it speaks for itself) seem to think EVERYTHING he does needs to pay off. It doesn't; he just needs to get the job (avoiding relegation) done, which he is doing. Neither El Abd nor Barnett have impressed me, but despite this SC is building us into a decent unit. Doesn't mean his signings are above reproach however.

Defence has been our out-and-out weak spot, but hopefully we are starting to look a little more cohesive in that area, and with players (with the exception of Maloney) who are safely under contract for several more years. I too think we will struggle to keep either/or JET and Baldock this summer, but with that in mind, I hope the club are keeping their eyes peeled for potential replacements. Clearly, I would be delighted if both were here next year, but with Barnett not looking to be quite the player we all hoped, and very little other options (I don't include Burns as feel he's more a winger) up top, this could be an interesting area of transfer business at the season's end. With Burns having put in what seems to have been a very energetic shift versus England the week prior, hence his not playing Saturday, I can understand SC reluctance to throw him on here, especially with another game Saturday. I can see him getting more minutes against Swindon, possibly at Baldock's expense.

And I notice there is some other "lazy" player down the bottom of that list who plays for Bristol City too. Amazing we have a 30+ goal front pair, yet are closer to League Two than the championship. SC's move to place him on the wing seems to have galvanised him, perhaps because it changes the type of chances he gets, compared to previously. Ultimately, he deserves massive credit for hitting such a large number of goals, considering the season this team has had.

This, ultimately, is my stance also. SOD's objective this season was not (in my eyes at least) to get us out of the division, but to stabilise us and build something that, going forward, could challenge to get us back to the Championship. I personally hoped we'd perhaps finished round midtable, ideally without having to fight relegation again for another season. He deserves some credit for one aspect of this, via several of the signing he made and the attempts he made to encourage us to play good football, but he abjectly failed (however it happened) to stabilise us, and I think his departure was inevitable by the end. This was a great shame, as I personally felt he could have been a very decent manager for us, but no one can say the lack of wins/points under his stewardship didn't give everyone cause for concern, and I wasn't surprised when he was sacked. SC came in with one goal, and one goal only; stave off relegation to the bottom tier. Right now, he's brought in players (some who look good, some who don't) and set the team up to do this. It took a while, and I'm happy to admit I felt pretty negative prior to the Tranmere game that we'd hit the form needed. But we have, and if we can maintain this improvement, SC will have a big 'tick' in the box titled 'Mission Accomplished'. After that he'll have another, different objective, and he should be judged on that when it arrives, not before.

Having Wagstaff back tonight was a nice surprise, and even without Kelly getting on the pitch was a positive looking forward. Our midfield options are starting to look richer and deeper as players come back to fitness, and some start hitting form.

I believe there is a song sung about manager's and their job security that is appropriate here...

With ten games still to go, it is a brilliant achievement for Baldock that he could quite feasibly reach 20 league goals. He's played a big part in the positive parts of our season.

Seconded. Wishing you well, Rednready.

Fantastic, and three wins on the bounce is a cast iron sign our form is on the up swing. Would have happily taken a decent performance and a point, but to claim all three, and with the odds against us after El Abd leaving the field so early, this has to be up there as one of the results of the season. For the record; would like to know more (if possible) before slamming El Abd, but regardless of his guilt or not tonight, I can't say he's the biggest miss for me. Don't imagine Flint will be back, but sounds like whatever we had in place after he left the field of play did okay. Pus, we get another player on top of that to help out! Bring on Swindon.

If we're leaving JET up, no slight on the lad, but I hope we have Burns warming up. Played well by all accounts against England, and rested totally at the weekend; would be nice to see him working Peterborough on the break ofr a good 20 mins.

Me too.

Exactly. There is a time and a place for gamesmanship; this is not it. And, yeah; you gotta still be a decent player.

Anyone at the game comment on the El Abd red? Don't want to cast stones before it's confirmed he was being what I think we all suspect, i.e. a prat. Not disappointed that he's suspended, mind. Just hope Flint is back soon.

Because Stockhausen is someone we all trust.

And good to see Wagstaff back. Been a decent player for us, plus adds goal threat.

Shame it's not; Fielding Williams, Osborne, El-Abd, Moloney Cunningham, Gillett, W.Elliott, Wagstaff Baldock, Emmanuel-Thomas ... rather than 352

I'm up for a little positivity, but a clean sheet? I'd be delighted, but utterly astounded with one in this game.

I don't expect more than a solid performance and narrow loss, and a point would be more than great. A win would absolutely make my week.

Man, I've been dreading games recently, but if us getting on the pitch again stops or distracts from this ridiculous Civil War-like clash, roll on Saturday, however bad it might end up being...

If we can get six points from the next two, regardless of where that puts us I think we'll have a chance, but the prospect of us putting two wins in a row currently seems a bit far fetched...

That is fair. Only thing is that after Saturday we'll not have another 15 games (12, I believe). This means that with a win there (giving us 35 points) and an average of the same ratio of wins, draws and losses (4 each from the 12 remaining), we'll finish with 50 points. While this has been enough for the past three seasons for safety, it is very much a bare minimum, with Gillingham having gone down in 09/10 season on those points. I hope SC beats his ratio and keeps us up, but it looks tight.

Don't get me wrong; I hope and I pray that the team prove me utterly incorrect, and we are able to rise out of the relegation zone and stabilise in terms of performances and results. I've no interest in looking prophetic on the internet at the expense the team I've supported my whole life suffering a second relegation in two years. I was basing my comments on our form and performances, compared to that of those we soon face, and I simply don't think we can maintain the sort of level of performance that might see us hold most of the teams we've yet to face at arms length, let alone beat them. Sheffield United was always a game we should not have been seen as favourites for but, for my money, the fact we inextricably struggled against Tranmere after seemingly soundly beating the team who currently sit at the pinnacle of the division is as bad as possible sign as we could get that we'll be scrapping till the end of the season to try and save ourselves. Home form must at least match away form if we're not to get cut adrift. I've said repeatedly and consistently that this block of four games we now sit slap bang in the middle of was crucial, and if we can pull out two wins from the next two, we have as good a chance of any. If not, I think we will struggle to extract ourselves. That is an opinion I'm happy to be wrong about, but I don't think I will be, unfortunately.