| Why we're about to go on a run of wins 09:14 - Mar 13 with 2054 views | jayessess |
Watching our last few games, I watched us dominate everything bar the scoreboard. Opposition barely had a clear opportunity, we've had territory, possession, penetration, done everything but score.
My main worry wasn't that we'd keep fluffing our lines in front of goal, but that the dominance reflected the standard of the opposition and our ability to put out the same 8 players.
But yesterday we were exactly the same - playing one of the form teams in the division, who'd beaten Oxford twice recently (once with ten men!), and we might as well have been playing Morecambe again. That despite losing Edmundson, Morsy, Evans and Jackson.
There's no reason we should fear any of the fixtures we've got coming up, to me we're better than every single other team in this league right now and if we get a fair wind, our share of good luck and take even a normal proportion of our chances, we'll run through these last 8 like a hot knife through butter.
Keep the faith! [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 9:32]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:28 - Mar 13 with 1983 views | textbackup |
id have taken 7 from pompy oxford plymouth..... with wins vs the final two seemingly even more important to make up ground.
its absolutely not over yet, these players have a mindset to go til the end |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:30 - Mar 13 with 1974 views | LeoMuff |
Hopefully 3 or 4 attacking additions and keeping the defence together with Burns and Morsy will see up improve our end product, if we do we will surely go up next year. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:40 - Mar 13 with 1923 views | unstableblue |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:28 - Mar 13 by textbackup |
id have taken 7 from pompy oxford plymouth..... with wins vs the final two seemingly even more important to make up ground.
its absolutely not over yet, these players have a mindset to go til the end |
Agree 7 was the ask from these 3 games… the injuries hampered our attacking subs plan yesterday
Think we’ll remain defensively strong at Oxford, given how well burgess played, as well as Thompson. Burns gets a nice rest with no Tuesday night game.
Can we get a central midfield balance? And fix the front 3…. Bonne was better when he came on… but still looks unconvincing. Chaplin had a poor first but then became a real threat. We’ll miss Jackson’s pace. I think Bakinson and Carrol given a run could do OK.
So Oxford away is all about whether we can find a scoring formula. Morsy was giving us a lot going forward.
Note to McKenna… don’t be so reliant on individual players… with burgess, Wolf, armin, Baggot, Donacien we can handle missing the excellent fridge…. Can we say the same for Morsy and Burns?? |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:53 - Mar 13 with 1878 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:40 - Mar 13 by unstableblue |
Agree 7 was the ask from these 3 games… the injuries hampered our attacking subs plan yesterday
Think we’ll remain defensively strong at Oxford, given how well burgess played, as well as Thompson. Burns gets a nice rest with no Tuesday night game.
Can we get a central midfield balance? And fix the front 3…. Bonne was better when he came on… but still looks unconvincing. Chaplin had a poor first but then became a real threat. We’ll miss Jackson’s pace. I think Bakinson and Carrol given a run could do OK.
So Oxford away is all about whether we can find a scoring formula. Morsy was giving us a lot going forward.
Note to McKenna… don’t be so reliant on individual players… with burgess, Wolf, armin, Baggot, Donacien we can handle missing the excellent fridge…. Can we say the same for Morsy and Burns?? |
I think the changes knocked our rhythm but we restored it after half time. Pretty confident that whoever is available McKenna's going to put out a team capable of getting on top of Oxford too.
Real shame Bonne's legit goal was chalked off. Not just for the win, but because a winning goal in a big game in front of the North Stand would've been huge for him. | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:02 - Mar 13 with 1833 views | clive_baker |
All or nothing at Oxford I would say. If we beat them I would think we’ll back it up against Plymouth, especially at home and with a full weeks prep. Then we go into a home game v Cambridge and Shrewsbury away, where we’ll be favourites. So really Saturday is make or break for us, 3 points and it’s back on but anything less and we’re probably toast for this season. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:31 - Mar 13 with 1761 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:02 - Mar 13 by clive_baker |
All or nothing at Oxford I would say. If we beat them I would think we’ll back it up against Plymouth, especially at home and with a full weeks prep. Then we go into a home game v Cambridge and Shrewsbury away, where we’ll be favourites. So really Saturday is make or break for us, 3 points and it’s back on but anything less and we’re probably toast for this season. |
Yeah, it probably is. Although back at the beginning of the month I thought 10 for the month would keep us clinging on to an outside chance by our finger tips - but I think other teams' subsequent results have probably put paid to that.
I think we're in a good position to catch Plymouth and Wycombe, but right now Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland look like they'll continue chugging along just fine. Need to knock Oxford off their stride and put some pressure on Sunderland. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 11:18]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:56 - Mar 13 with 1706 views | positivity |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:31 - Mar 13 by jayessess |
Yeah, it probably is. Although back at the beginning of the month I thought 10 for the month would keep us clinging on to an outside chance by our finger tips - but I think other teams' subsequent results have probably put paid to that.
I think we're in a good position to catch Plymouth and Wycombe, but right now Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland look like they'll continue chugging along just fine. Need to knock Oxford off their stride and put some pressure on Sunderland. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 11:18]
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i was thinking 78 should be enough which was 5 wins and 4 draws.
drawing yesterday means we now have to beat plymouth, a draw would just about do against oxford, but it's a tough ask to win 5 of 7!
of course 78 won't be enough if those above us keep cruising, but nerves must kick in at some stage mustn't they? |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:09 - Mar 13 with 1642 views | billlm |
I hope your right buddy, |  | | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:24 - Mar 13 with 1591 views | LankHenners |
It's becoming trite to mention this but our dreadful start has meant that every game not won feels (and looks, table-wise) worse as a result, particularly with the teams around us continuing to win and still having games in hand.
6 points from the next two and it's back on, as I think we'd all feel confident of winning the rest of the games after that excluding Rotherham and Wigan (though I don't think they're write-offs by any stretch, we're capable of 4 points there).
Just need that little bit more in the attacking areas to put the ball in the net - thought we were guilty of being a touch casual at times yesterday plus as the game went on there were some tired touches and passes which slowed down or broke up a promising move. Fully believe that had we not lost Morsy and Jackson when we did we'd have won that, both in terms of the qualities they bring and that it would have afforded us more luxury with subs (Aluko surely would have been introduced earlier and given McKenna admitted afterwards they weren't really wanting to have to use Carroll you'd have thought he would have chucked Pigott on to get someone on to hold the ball up on the edge of the box).
Plymouth vs Portsmouth on Tuesday will affect us negatively whatever the result (though a draw limits the damage) so we'll have to make up some lost ground again before kicking on but it can definitely be done. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:29 - Mar 13 with 1558 views | Bent_double |
The next 2 are now must-wins in my book, trouble is, in the last 5 games against Oxford, there's been a total of 1 goal I believe. They score for fun, but concede plenty too, so will our defence hold out, and will whatever fit striker(s) we put out be able to stick 1 or 2 in the back of the net?
Plymouth, who knows - I still don't know why/how they're still up there, I expected them to drop away in the last couple of months. Again, it has the makings of a 0-0 or low-scoring game, as someone else has said, maybe a win against Oxford will see us steamroller Plymouth too. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:31 - Mar 13 with 1548 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:24 - Mar 13 by LankHenners |
It's becoming trite to mention this but our dreadful start has meant that every game not won feels (and looks, table-wise) worse as a result, particularly with the teams around us continuing to win and still having games in hand.
6 points from the next two and it's back on, as I think we'd all feel confident of winning the rest of the games after that excluding Rotherham and Wigan (though I don't think they're write-offs by any stretch, we're capable of 4 points there).
Just need that little bit more in the attacking areas to put the ball in the net - thought we were guilty of being a touch casual at times yesterday plus as the game went on there were some tired touches and passes which slowed down or broke up a promising move. Fully believe that had we not lost Morsy and Jackson when we did we'd have won that, both in terms of the qualities they bring and that it would have afforded us more luxury with subs (Aluko surely would have been introduced earlier and given McKenna admitted afterwards they weren't really wanting to have to use Carroll you'd have thought he would have chucked Pigott on to get someone on to hold the ball up on the edge of the box).
Plymouth vs Portsmouth on Tuesday will affect us negatively whatever the result (though a draw limits the damage) so we'll have to make up some lost ground again before kicking on but it can definitely be done. |
Even with Pompey winning both their games in hand they'll still have fewer points than Plymouth if they lose both theirs, so anything but a Plymouth win probably suits us there. If we're catching Plymouth I don't think Portsmouth will finish above us. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 12:22]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:39 - Mar 13 with 1522 views | LankHenners |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 11:31 - Mar 13 by jayessess |
Even with Pompey winning both their games in hand they'll still have fewer points than Plymouth if they lose both theirs, so anything but a Plymouth win probably suits us there. If we're catching Plymouth I don't think Portsmouth will finish above us. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 12:22]
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That's true, just don't want to see it getting too crowded and the number of teams to get past become as much of a challenge as racking up the points.
Saying that, it's nice to be able to say we're making teams look not as good as their form/previous results suggest but I can't see Portsmouth keeping this up - similar to Bolton they've had a good spell but aren't good enough in comparison to the teams above them to make the most of it.
Shame we played Sunderland at the stage of the season when we did - think if had them in the next couple of weeks we'd walk to victory and cut the gap. | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 13:52 - Mar 13 with 1358 views | DJR |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:56 - Mar 13 by positivity |
i was thinking 78 should be enough which was 5 wins and 4 draws.
drawing yesterday means we now have to beat plymouth, a draw would just about do against oxford, but it's a tough ask to win 5 of 7!
of course 78 won't be enough if those above us keep cruising, but nerves must kick in at some stage mustn't they? |
I don't think 78 points will be enough because (ignoring the top 3 who we have no chance of catching) it means Oxford will need only 11 points from their remaining 8 games to beat it (1.375 points per game), Sunderland will only need 13 points from 8 games (1.625ppg), Plymouth will need only 14 from 10 games (1.4ppg), and Sheffield Wednesday will only need 15 from 10 games (1.5ppg). There are also Wycombe and Portsmouth who have games in hand. I think 80 points may be enough but that would involve our having to win 7 of our last 8 games. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 13:54]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:00 - Mar 13 with 1333 views | textbackup |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 09:40 - Mar 13 by unstableblue |
Agree 7 was the ask from these 3 games… the injuries hampered our attacking subs plan yesterday
Think we’ll remain defensively strong at Oxford, given how well burgess played, as well as Thompson. Burns gets a nice rest with no Tuesday night game.
Can we get a central midfield balance? And fix the front 3…. Bonne was better when he came on… but still looks unconvincing. Chaplin had a poor first but then became a real threat. We’ll miss Jackson’s pace. I think Bakinson and Carrol given a run could do OK.
So Oxford away is all about whether we can find a scoring formula. Morsy was giving us a lot going forward.
Note to McKenna… don’t be so reliant on individual players… with burgess, Wolf, armin, Baggot, Donacien we can handle missing the excellent fridge…. Can we say the same for Morsy and Burns?? |
personally without morsy on i think id have got norwood on, purely because they started sticking in a few naughty tackles, they wouldnt have got away with it with morsy on the pitch.... and i think norwood adds that bully boy feel to the team.
at what point does simpson become an option on/off the bench? | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:01 - Mar 13 with 1333 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 13:52 - Mar 13 by DJR |
I don't think 78 points will be enough because (ignoring the top 3 who we have no chance of catching) it means Oxford will need only 11 points from their remaining 8 games to beat it (1.375 points per game), Sunderland will only need 13 points from 8 games (1.625ppg), Plymouth will need only 14 from 10 games (1.4ppg), and Sheffield Wednesday will only need 15 from 10 games (1.5ppg). There are also Wycombe and Portsmouth who have games in hand. I think 80 points may be enough but that would involve our having to win 7 of our last 8 games. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 13:54]
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That's slightly better than normal play off form for Sunderland, who aren't playing that well. 1.4 ppg doesn't look like much for Plymouth but the rest of their fixtures are 3 competitive mid-table teams and 7 of the top 10. They'll do well to go w1 d1 l1 through that lot.
Agree that we'll need Oxford or Sheff Wed to actively collapse to catch them [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 14:02]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:05 - Mar 13 with 1305 views | textbackup |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:56 - Mar 13 by positivity |
i was thinking 78 should be enough which was 5 wins and 4 draws.
drawing yesterday means we now have to beat plymouth, a draw would just about do against oxford, but it's a tough ask to win 5 of 7!
of course 78 won't be enough if those above us keep cruising, but nerves must kick in at some stage mustn't they? |
with the points tally likely to be so high, does that say this league is so sht that 8 teams can achieve such a tally?
i think it probably does, but i cant work it out! | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:09 - Mar 13 with 1295 views | positivity |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:05 - Mar 13 by textbackup |
with the points tally likely to be so high, does that say this league is so sht that 8 teams can achieve such a tally?
i think it probably does, but i cant work it out! |
i think all it probably says is that the top teams are better than usual and the bottom teams are worse than usual! | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:25 - Mar 13 with 1265 views | Ryorry |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 10:31 - Mar 13 by jayessess |
Yeah, it probably is. Although back at the beginning of the month I thought 10 for the month would keep us clinging on to an outside chance by our finger tips - but I think other teams' subsequent results have probably put paid to that.
I think we're in a good position to catch Plymouth and Wycombe, but right now Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland look like they'll continue chugging along just fine. Need to knock Oxford off their stride and put some pressure on Sunderland. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 11:18]
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I keep going back to our narrow defeat to the Owls on 29/1, that was such a key game.
In Morsy's absence, would Aluko starting be a good option? Only seen 2 games on TV this season, but seems to me his tenacity & forward-driving might at least partially compensate for Morsy's. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:37 - Mar 13 with 1237 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:25 - Mar 13 by Ryorry |
I keep going back to our narrow defeat to the Owls on 29/1, that was such a key game.
In Morsy's absence, would Aluko starting be a good option? Only seen 2 games on TV this season, but seems to me his tenacity & forward-driving might at least partially compensate for Morsy's. |
Morsy's injury seems to be a bit of a mystery, so who knows without a midweek match maybe it's cleared up by Saturday?
Without him, I'm a bit more conservative I think, 2 orthodox CMs helps you keep your shape and keep the ball. Carroll and Bakinson were good enough to keep us on the front foot v. Pompey and should be good enough to do the same at Oxford. | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 15:14 - Mar 13 with 1136 views | DJR |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:01 - Mar 13 by jayessess |
That's slightly better than normal play off form for Sunderland, who aren't playing that well. 1.4 ppg doesn't look like much for Plymouth but the rest of their fixtures are 3 competitive mid-table teams and 7 of the top 10. They'll do well to go w1 d1 l1 through that lot.
Agree that we'll need Oxford or Sheff Wed to actively collapse to catch them [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 14:02]
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Fingers crossed! | | | |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 15:50 - Mar 13 with 1080 views | Chrisd |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 14:01 - Mar 13 by jayessess |
That's slightly better than normal play off form for Sunderland, who aren't playing that well. 1.4 ppg doesn't look like much for Plymouth but the rest of their fixtures are 3 competitive mid-table teams and 7 of the top 10. They'll do well to go w1 d1 l1 through that lot.
Agree that we'll need Oxford or Sheff Wed to actively collapse to catch them [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 14:02]
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Is this the same Sunderland team that have amassed 1 point less than us in the last 6 games and are already 6 points ahead of us in the table? I’m all for optimism, but I think we need to have a bit of a reality check too. There’s plenty of ‘ifs and buts’ here and we keep saying the next two games are must wins and that doesn’t materialise, then the next two or three are must wins and that doesn’t happen. Are we seeing the trend here? We are now at the point where we are relying on others to slip up and the way things are going those other sides are more than holding their own and in decent runs of form themselves. Based on the last 10 games, which is a fair chunk of matches, we’re 7th in the form table with the usual suspects ahead of us. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 15:54]
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 20:49 - Mar 13 with 895 views | jayessess |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 15:50 - Mar 13 by Chrisd |
Is this the same Sunderland team that have amassed 1 point less than us in the last 6 games and are already 6 points ahead of us in the table? I’m all for optimism, but I think we need to have a bit of a reality check too. There’s plenty of ‘ifs and buts’ here and we keep saying the next two games are must wins and that doesn’t materialise, then the next two or three are must wins and that doesn’t happen. Are we seeing the trend here? We are now at the point where we are relying on others to slip up and the way things are going those other sides are more than holding their own and in decent runs of form themselves. Based on the last 10 games, which is a fair chunk of matches, we’re 7th in the form table with the usual suspects ahead of us. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 15:54]
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What do we need a reality check for? | |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 20:59 - Mar 13 with 866 views | Nthsuffolkblue |
| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 15:50 - Mar 13 by Chrisd |
Is this the same Sunderland team that have amassed 1 point less than us in the last 6 games and are already 6 points ahead of us in the table? I’m all for optimism, but I think we need to have a bit of a reality check too. There’s plenty of ‘ifs and buts’ here and we keep saying the next two games are must wins and that doesn’t materialise, then the next two or three are must wins and that doesn’t happen. Are we seeing the trend here? We are now at the point where we are relying on others to slip up and the way things are going those other sides are more than holding their own and in decent runs of form themselves. Based on the last 10 games, which is a fair chunk of matches, we’re 7th in the form table with the usual suspects ahead of us. [Post edited 13 Mar 2022 15:54]
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Indeed. We have been keeping pace with the top six rather than closing the gap. We now have the final 8 to kick on and make up the difference. If we can do that, we will be there. If we can't then it is time to look to next season. If 3 of the others can drop off from their current form, that will help. I am still fairly sure this season will be no exception to 75 points making 6th place. Certainly fewer than 80 will get there. |  |
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| Why we're about to go on a run of wins on 21:17 - Mar 13 with 838 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
I like your optimism, and lots to be positive about - the football is great, and we can dominate against the best in the league. Defence is watertight.
However, I think we will miss Morsy, and I can’t see who’s going to put the ball in the net. Hopefully I’m wrong as I’m really desperate to get out of this league ASAP! | | | |
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