LondonBristolian Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I do not think I am alone in that, when the fixture list came out, I looked at the games from Villa to Ipswich and thought we really needed to do well in our first four games so we could limit damage on a tough run of September fixtures. Obviously the reality was very different! I was just looking at our fixtures over the coming months and it is not until New Year’s Day (Villa away) that I really think we have a game where I think it will be tough to get anything and I will be relieved to leave with a point. Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting for a minute we will win every game - or stay unbeaten until January - and I think the Real litmus rest of where we are is how we react to losing a game, and especially losing two in a row as almost inevitably happens over the course of the season. But, at the moment, I’m looking at every game until January thinking we COULD win and I will be really disappointed if we lose - even games that looked tricky at the start of the season. I don’t know if this will last and I would still see even a top half as a good achievement and real progress given where we were last season and the resources of some of the clubs in this division but it really does go to show the influence of confidence and momentum. When you are losing, even a straightforward home tie feels like a banana skin waiting to happen but when you are winning, even the toughest away tie feels like a challenge you can overcome. Last year the October international break came at the wrong time for us and we lost momentum. This time I hope we have learned and I bloody well hope it continues. COYR!
1bristolcity Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I agree, but I am sure we will treat every match much the same, we are so tricky to play at the moment, impossible to mark, and pull teams apart with our movement, and now we have a natural finisher up front, I reckon it's all the teams that will be looking at us and thinking as we always did...(settle for a draw)
ExiledAjax Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I'm pretty sure there were quite a few thinking the same at this point last year. Although you're right that the fixtures don't quite strike the fear of god into me as they perhaps did a couple of months ago. Take each game as it comes, and don't overreact to the result. One more win doesn't mean we're invincible, and if we lose to Burton then it is not the end of the world. It's a dull outlook that doesn't lead to much debate, gossip or soundbites, but I think it's fairly reasonable.
SedRA Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 The main difference for me from last season is that the early performances had me waiting for the bubble to burst, whereas this year I feel we are getting stronger and will continue to do so as the season goes on.
LondonBristolian Posted October 2, 2017 Author Posted October 2, 2017 12 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said: I'm pretty sure there were quite a few thinking the same at this point last year. Although you're right that the fixtures don't quite strike the fear of god into me as they perhaps did a couple of months ago. Take each game as it comes, and don't overreact to the result. One more win doesn't mean we're invincible, and if we lose to Burton then it is not the end of the world. It's a dull outlook that doesn't lead to much debate, gossip or soundbites, but I think it's fairly reasonable. Absolutely agree. Ultimately my hope for the season was evidence we were progressing as a team. As long as we get that, keep playing entertaining football and stay resilient I will be happy. The results and the league position will hopefully follow on from that but we will of course lose games and, as you say, it is important not to overreact.
ExiledAjax Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 3 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said: Absolutely agree. Ultimately my hope for the season was evidence we were progressing as a team. As long as we get that, keep playing entertaining football and stay resilient I will be happy. The results and the league position will hopefully follow on from that but we will of course lose games and, as you say, it is important not to overreact. I'm hoping that this year we can benefit from two good fixtures coming off the international break. Last year we went straight into an away derby against a Cardiff team who had just changed manager. In retrospect that must have been tough for the coaching staff to plan for and the players could have found it tough to adapt to an unknown opponent. Whilst Warnock's style is well known, Warnock at Cardiff was not. We then had the tough away match at QPR. This year we go in to a home game against a struggling Burton. I won't take anything for granted but that must surely be a more enticing prospect than last season's post-international game. We then get what should be an excellent match against Leeds, again at home, against tough opposition but the players should be able to get well up for it. Then Palace at home - who knows, maybe they'll have figured out how to score by then! Basically I think that the fixture gods have generally handed us a chance to keep that momentum going, a chance that we maybe didn't quite have last year.
LondonBristolian Posted October 2, 2017 Author Posted October 2, 2017 9 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said: I'm hoping that this year we can benefit from two good fixtures coming off the international break. Last year we went straight into an away derby against a Cardiff team who had just changed manager. In retrospect that must have been tough for the coaching staff to plan for and the players could have found it tough to adapt to an unknown opponent. Whilst Warnock's style is well known, Warnock at Cardiff was not. We then had the tough away match at QPR. This year we go in to a home game against a struggling Burton. I won't take anything for granted but that must surely be a more enticing prospect than last season's post-international game. We then get what should be an excellent match against Leeds, again at home, against tough opposition but the players should be able to get well up for it. Then Palace at home - who knows, maybe they'll have figured out how to score by then! Basically I think that the fixture gods have generally handed us a chance to keep that momentum going, a chance that we maybe didn't quite have last year. Totally agree. I think Leeds will be a great game!
lenred Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 18 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said: I'm hoping that this year we can benefit from two good fixtures coming off the international break. Last year we went straight into an away derby against a Cardiff team who had just changed manager. In retrospect that must have been tough for the coaching staff to plan for and the players could have found it tough to adapt to an unknown opponent. Whilst Warnock's style is well known, Warnock at Cardiff was not. We then had the tough away match at QPR. This year we go in to a home game against a struggling Burton. I won't take anything for granted but that must surely be a more enticing prospect than last season's post-international game. We then get what should be an excellent match against Leeds, again at home, against tough opposition but the players should be able to get well up for it. Then Palace at home - who knows, maybe they'll have figured out how to score by then! Basically I think that the fixture gods have generally handed us a chance to keep that momentum going, a chance that we maybe didn't quite have last year. Completely agree. The Cardiff game was a big big turning point last year with hindsight. You just knew as soon as they appointed Colin during the international break that it was going to be 10 times more difficult than it would've been to get something there with him there than it would've been without him and so it proved. Bad luck on our part with the timing as they were really struggling up until that point and we would've been confident of at least 1 point if not 3. This year we have a winnable game against a struggling team at home under the lights to kick off - on paper at least a much easier hurdle to overcome. Let's hope we can take advantage and start to build up our momentum again from there.
Kingswoodactor Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 I read over the weekend that Huddersfield went 11 games without a win in the Championship last season?!! And where are they now
Bris Red Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Lets not get ahead of ourselves. This will be our downfall this season i feel if we are not careful. A game at a time people, there are no pushovers in the championship. We have spent long enough in this division over the last decade to know the deal..
wendyredredrobin Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Yeah, it's really nice to look at the fixture list and now think that every game is winnable. Long may it continue. After all we have 2 (soon to be 3) Premiership scalps under our belt.
LondonBristolian Posted October 2, 2017 Author Posted October 2, 2017 25 minutes ago, bris red said: Lets not get ahead of ourselves. This will be our downfall this season i feel if we are not careful. A game at a time people, there are no pushovers in the championship. We have spent long enough in this division over the last decade to know the deal.. Absolutely. I'm not suggesting for a minute they are no difficult games. Every game will be tough and the team need to work hard. All I meant in my opening post is that is nice to be going into games feeling like we can compete and potentially get something from any match rather than several points in the last two seasons where I've been secretly relieved not to get an absolute pasting...
Red-Robbo Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 My main hope when this season began was very modest: a season where we were looking up rather than always looking over our shoulders to see if we could be dragged into the relegation mire. That's been achieved so far. I'm a happy man.
dunsteral Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Chance to go 2nd in championship. If we win the next game against Burton (and why shouldn,t we) because it is on a friday night, and no-one else in the top 6 is playing, we will go 2nd in the league. What an incentive to win the match (although it hasn,t always worked out in the past) but here,s hoping.
Peter O Hanraha-hanrahan Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Strange how this time last year we also had the chance to go up to 2nd after the international break if we'd beaten a struggling Cardiff side in a televised Friday night match. Bit of a coincidence, hopefully we won't lose our momentum this year.
Grey Fox Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Its the hope that gets you. But , what the heck, lets win the lot
pongo88 Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 The fixture list always looks better when you’re winning, because most of the teams you have to play are below you in the league. When you’re losing, most of the teams you have to play are above you in the league.
Lew-T Posted October 3, 2017 Posted October 3, 2017 Haven’t we got Leeds, Cardiff and Sheff Utd and Wednesday in the coming weeks? I’d say that’s a tougher run than previous matches. Edit: United and Wednesday are much later!
Phileas Fogg Posted October 3, 2017 Posted October 3, 2017 12 minutes ago, Lew-T said: Haven’t we got Leeds, Cardiff and Sheff Utd and Wednesday in the coming weeks? I’d say that’s a tougher run than previous matches. Edit: United and Wednesday are much later! Not necessarily. Leeds are on poor form, Sheffield Wednesday inconsistent, United have lost lots of games (barely any draws) so they’re beatable.. Cardiff will be a tough one though. Warnock has done pretty well against LJ.
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