samo II Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 So, here we are; the run-in. Below are the tables from this time last year, and the current state of affairs. We stand just two points worse off, but those two points are the difference between being two points clear of the drop zone in 15/16, to being one point shy of safety this year. And of our fellow strugglers, the nearest both hold games in hand; Wolves enjoying the luxury of two of them. This means the nearest club with the same number of games played is Burton, who are three points ahead (you might struggle to remember what three points are, but a reminder; they are what you get when you win a match). This time last year we won both our 37th and 38th games; the latter a six nil thrashing of Bolton. We also scored four at home against both Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday, which really makes you think of what could have been. Our record in the final ten was; won four, drawn three, lost three. From LJ's post-match I think it is pretty clear that he's here to stay; the terse nature of his discussion on Pembo's leaving, and the fact he was involved in that decision along with the board makes me convinced he's here until he chooses not to be. He seemed to have gone immediately to speak with the board and Ashton post-game, but if anything sounded more exuberant than he has for a while rather than concerned when on the wireless, so again; nothing to see there. I don't know... I think only a total fool would not say anything other than a win at Wigan signals that we are in terrible trouble; the point tonight really hasn't done us any favours in the context of other results, and may have even incentivised Wigan, who stand as good a chance as us to escape the bottom three after their win tonight. We need a win. It's as plain as day. But I honestly wonder when the next one might be coming from. Wigan looks like it should be the place to break our terrible streak, but after that I don't see us beating a terrifyingly capable Huddersfield, nor Brentford or Preston away after that. Will we have enough to drag ourselves free of the mire? Will promoting Jamie Mac prove to be a masterstroke? Will LJ survive the international break, even if we reach SL's prophesied "cut adrift" state? Again; I don't know. But I do know it is going to be a tough last ten, and as it stands; odds are very much against us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAmNick Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Personally what concerns me more than the actual number of games left or a few points here and there is our current trajectory. We're on a steep downhill course at the moment, and a lot of the teams around us are heading upwards. If it were the same positions, but we had started off further behind and caught up with a good bit of form in the last month or two I'd feel much more confident about our chances. Football is all about momentum and the confidence that goes with it at this stage of the season as the stakes and pressure get higher - and currently we have neither, and nobody in charge has the slightest f*cking clue how to generate any apparently. I can see us going down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Exile Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Three wins in our last 25 matches...all at home...suggests the odds are against us! Eleven points from the last 20...I'd suggest that we need at least 11 from the final 10... Three of our next four are away from home - Wigan, Brentford and PNE - which then leaves four of our last six at home. I'm far from optimistic but if we can stay in touch going into the Wolves match perhaps we can turn our home form around. We certainly need to see a run of form that we've not been in for months. We've taken 8 points from our last 10 matches...and that was an improvement on the previous 10 in which we won one and lost nine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samo II Posted March 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 10 minutes ago, IAmNick said: Personally what concerns me more than the actual number of games left or a few points here and there is our current trajectory. We're on a steep downhill course at the moment, and a lot of the teams around us are heading upwards. If it were the same positions, but we had started off further behind and caught up with a good bit of form in the last month or two I'd feel much more confident about our chances. Football is all about momentum and the confidence that goes with it at this stage of the season as the stakes and pressure get higher - and currently we have neither, and nobody in charge has the slightest f*cking clue how to generate any apparently. I can see us going down. Agreed, and when you consider that this time last year we may have only had a couple of point more, the striking thing is we had won four out of five between game 30 and game 36 - our form was electric, and I don't think I speak for myself alone when I say that even with just 37 points, I was confident that our form would see us stay up. Right now, the trio of Wigan, Blackburn and Burton are in very decent form; across the last six matches, they are all showing mid table form, and if you combine their results, they have actually won more games (5) than they've collectively lost (4). Our inability to win is becoming pathological, and the longer we wait for our next win, the less impact it will have on our league position too. I honestly think we 'feel' like a team destined for the division below now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FNQ Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Who knows???? I'm being optimistic with QPR I know... but pessimistic with Barnsley and Birmingham... CITY WIGAN BURTON WOLVES BLACKBURN WIGAN (A) 1 CITY (H) 1 FOREST (H) 1 ROTHERHAM (H) 3 NORWICH (A) 0 HUDDER (H) 0 VILLA (H) 1 BRENTFORD (H) 1 BRENTFORD (A) 0 FULHAM (A) 0 BRENTFORD (A) 0 NEWCASTLE (A) 0 HUDDERS (A) 0 FULHAM (A) 0 PRESTON (H) 1 PRESTON (A) 1 IPSWICH (A) 0 NEWCASTLE (A) 0 CARDIFF (H) 3 BRIGHTON (A) 0 WOLVES (H) 3 ROTHERHAM (H) 3 VILLA (H) 1 FOREST (H) 1 READING (A) 0 QPR (H) 3 BARNSLEY (H) 3 IPSWICH (H) 3 CITY (A) 0 BARNSLEY (H) 3 BLACKBURN (A) 1 BRIGHTON (A) 0 BIRMINGHAM (A) 0 BRIGHTON (H) 0 FOREST (A) 1 BARNSLEY (H) 1 CARDIFF (H) 3 LEEDS (H) 1 LEEDS (A) 0 CITY (H) 1 BRIGHTON (A) 0 READING (A) 0 BARNSLEY (A) 0 BLACKBURN (H) 1 WOLVES (A) 1 BIRMINGHAM (H) 1 LEEDS (H) 1 READING (H) 1 HUDDER (H) 0 VILLA (H) 1 DERBY (A) 0 BRENTFORD (A) 0 PRESTON (H) 1 11 12 8 9 8 NOW 35 34 38 36 37 46 46 46 45 45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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