havanatopia Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Wolves are indeed currently the best team but, like all teams, they will have a bump somewhere along the line and then it hangs on the coaching ability and keeping sufficient decent players fit to bounce back. I suspect they will as Sheffield United and us have done and Cardiff as well. These 4 teams are not in the top 4 spots by accident. Leeds seem to be doing what they did last season under Monk with not just one but a run of bad results and boy what a bad run it is. Bizarre how we gave them their only joy in the last 6 or 7 games. Can Monk and Rowett keep with the pace? Well, they have already dropped off it so they are now playing catch up and it might take them 4 to 5 matches to do so given those above them are not all going to lose more than 1 match in a row except perhaps Leeds in continuation and, possibly Villa, who we will now see for the first time if they can bounce back without Terry. I think he has given them the solidity and discipline on and off the pitch they have lacked for 2 years. Bruce has one heck of a job keeping them going in his absence. Ipswich, Forest, Wednesday, Norwich - I can only see the latter two getting close. The first two are not strong enough and, if we read an honest media, have budgetary constraints. it is not all about money of course but you have to question their overall ability to stay the course. If Carvalhal hangs around by putting a few results together they could still be a force; clearly suffering from the curse of hang over from the last two seasons so if he gets them anywhere near he is doing a decent job. Next up for us, so that will be interesting. Not sure what has happened to Fulham and Reading; they are the only other two I would pick out. Fulham still may have something to say come May. Reading I doubt it. The rest will all be mid table or worse with perhaps one team breaking out and surprising us all, hopefully not at our expense. If we draw parallels of this season to 2007-8 we could say Wolves are the WBA and Sheffield Utd the Stoke City. Cardiff, obviously with Colin involved, will be (no not Palace) but Hull City.. so if we do lose to the Blades 2-1 at their place and think that is the catalyst of falling away from auto promotion, as it was with that defeat to Stoke. That said we play away at the Blades in early December and then the final game is them at home! Then we will meet Cardiff in the final of the play offs and hit them with a bullet shot from someone in our ranks. Its the most nerve racking way to get promoted but if you are a winner, especially against that lot, then the most satisfying. Likely to be a roller coaster whatever happens. We must stay in contention to the top 2 through January. That will be key and then see what our bottle is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoxton casual Posted November 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 Ipswich certainly have goals with Celina (?), McGoldrick and Waghorn. if they can find a defensive system that works, they could come strong. Fulham are great through the middle but they leak goals and need a striker. Not a lot of mentions of Norwich. Lack of goals and consistency maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INCRED Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 On 05/11/2017 at 14:59, ScottishRed said: Sunderland are in real danger of a double relegation. Will be intriguing to see who takes the managers job as it is a high risk gig. Looking at the other end of the table I am still going Wolves and Villa for automatic. My thoughts on the play offs change after every set of fixtures - just now I see Boro and Derby, the other two slots could be any of 6 teams, but as I said that could look different after the break. Do I think we could be in it? A very cautious yes currently. We are getting too many long term injuries for my liking. Villa losing Terry for a few months will be interesting and could scupper their good run although SW put a dent in it Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INCRED Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 We have four medium length injuries to contend with and the squad is large enough to absorb them at the moment but surely LJ and MA must be ahead of the game and know now that more bodies are needed, only concern I have is those they brought in last January didn’t exactly make much of an impact. A few hungry and talented U23s from the Prem maybe an option with the odd experienced head to bolster the ranks. We obviously have a list of targets as LJ & MA has stayed as such, just hope the likes of Reid, Bryan, Smith, Brownhill, Flint & O’dowda stay fit as they are our core players who are performing so well week in week out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishRed Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 31 minutes ago, INCRED said: We have four medium length injuries to contend with and the squad is large enough to absorb them at the moment but surely LJ and MA must be ahead of the game and know now that more bodies are needed, only concern I have is those they brought in last January didn’t exactly make much of an impact. A few hungry and talented U23s from the Prem maybe an option with the odd experienced head to bolster the ranks. We obviously have a list of targets as LJ & MA has stayed as such, just hope the likes of Reid, Bryan, Smith, Brownhill, Flint & O’dowda stay fit as they are our core players who are performing so well week in week out And Baker - utterly indispensable currently. Regarding recruitment it will be hugely dependent on where we are come late December, if we are still in the play offs I suspect the cheque book will be well and truly open for at least one high quality signing and a couple of EPL loans. If we are top six late next month we do need to go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppyDAZE Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 I really hope that some people aren't going to act like knobs IF we don't end up top 6. Been a triffic start, but top 10 would be a good achievement. A lot of big clubs and budgets could still get going yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishRed Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 13 hours ago, AppyDAZE said: I really hope that some people aren't going to act like knobs IF we don't end up top 6. Been a triffic start, but top 10 would be a good achievement. A lot of big clubs and budgets could still get going yet. Totally agree. IF and it is a big if, we stay roughly where we are until January then I would hope that a level of ambition is shown in that transfer window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattjtsmith Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 On 05/11/2017 at 22:58, DolmanDave said: Wolves Boro Aston villa Derby Sheff united Fulham I recon 8th for us. I think Fulham is a bold shout for a team that has lost some of its better players and has lost 9 in their last 10 home games. (So I'm told!) I also think Sheff Utd will fizzle. Lost a couple recently and are riding the promotion wave. But you never know, we rode it all the way to the playoffs with GJ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUSSEL85 Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 I'm just enjoying the ride so far, I don't expect us to finish in the top 6 but a 10th place finish would be significant progress, and lets face it, at the beginning of season how many of you would have taken that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattjtsmith Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 13 minutes ago, RUSSEL85 said: I'm just enjoying the ride so far, I don't expect us to finish in the top 6 but a 10th place finish would be significant progress, and lets face it, at the beginning of season how many of you would have taken that at the beginning of the season? I think the big challenge for many will be accepting that after getting carried away with such a good start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.