| We can stay up ... 00:13 - Jan 23 with 7889 views | pablovian |
If the 'new' squad plays with mid-table form, the record over the last 18 games could be something like W6 D6 L6. In that case, Town would have 42 points, which could well be enough to stay up.
Can the 'new' squad achieve mid-table form? Before the January signings, no. With Collins, Keane, and Judge - possibly. If Skusey regains fitness and form, chances improve. If, with Collins anchoring the defence, Bart regains confidence and form, I would be willing to place a bet at evens ...
Does Will Keane remind anyone else of David Johnson who played for Ipswich in the early- to mid-1970's and went on to Liverpool? Skilful, fast, elusive, with a distinctive hair style and fun to watch ...
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| We can stay up ... on 00:23 - Jan 23 with 6670 views | MrTown |
The points total looks ok. But some genuine questions as part of the discussion (these are not negative just genuine questions?
Who do we win 6 against?
Who do we draw 6 against? (Drawing 6 certainly more realistic)
How long will it take the new players to gel?
Has Paul Lambert found or even played his best team yet? (My personal opinion is most definitely not) |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 00:25 - Jan 23 with 6652 views | AlexGreen |
It really is the hope that kills isn't it! |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 01:03 - Jan 23 with 6631 views | pablovian |
| We can stay up ... on 00:23 - Jan 23 by MrTown |
The points total looks ok. But some genuine questions as part of the discussion (these are not negative just genuine questions?
Who do we win 6 against?
Who do we draw 6 against? (Drawing 6 certainly more realistic)
How long will it take the new players to gel?
Has Paul Lambert found or even played his best team yet? (My personal opinion is most definitely not) |
IF (a rather big if) the squad achieves mid-table form, the number of wins will (by the definition of mid-table form), be roughly equal to the number of losses. Wins would mostly be against teams in the lower half of the table, with a sprinkling of decent results against teams in the top half.
For the squad to achieve mid-table form, the new players will need to gel quickly and Paul Lambert will need to find a lineup that works. I am not saying that these things will happen; I am offering a scenario of what could conceivably happen without requiring a miracle ... | | | |
| We can stay up ... on 01:17 - Jan 23 with 6616 views | pablovian |
| We can stay up ... on 00:25 - Jan 23 by AlexGreen |
It really is the hope that kills isn't it! |
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" - W.B. Yeats
Yes, it is the hope that kills.
I had lost hope that Paul Hurst could keep us up. But then along came Paul Lambert. I had lost hope that Paul Lambert could keep us up (cheer-leading can not compensate for a toothless offense, a mistake-prone defense and a lightweight and inexperienced midfield). But then along came the January signings ... | | | |
| We can stay up ... on 07:28 - Jan 23 with 6460 views | Darth_Koont |
I agree it probably won't take much points-wise. The problem is that this still represents a complete change-around in results compared to what's gone on so far. And of course, if just one of Rotherham, Reading or Bolton also go on a similar run, it won't matter what we do.
But we have to take care of ourselves first. What's critical is that the new-look team settles in and we start eking out results. Then we'll have a bit of confidence, momentum and energy to push on to the very end of what must be feeling like a long season already.
But if we're still stuttering over the next few games then you've got to think the chance has gone. Go to Norwich in desperate need of a win let alone a draw and it could be season over if we get gubbed.
If there's a plus side, it could still turn into a very exciting season although I'd prefer midtable obscurity and a better future if I'm honest. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 07:31 - Jan 23 with 6456 views | homer_123 |
On paper feasible. However:
We've won 3 in 28 (around 1 win every 9 games) and we need to change that to winning a minimum of 1 in 3.
That's a major change in form for us and as much as I like Lambert and what he's doing off the pitch and the approach on it - materially our form is at best mildly better. Our form over the last 6 games is:
1 win, 1 draw and 4 loses.
At the moment, the team isn't showing enough and as much as the new signings are decent and certainly a step up from what we had - it's not close to being enough.
It's not over until it's over but I'm not holding out any hope of surviving. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 07:34 - Jan 23 with 6445 views | jjblue84 |
Will all the teams just above us be saying exactly the same thing?? |  | | |
| We can stay up ... on 07:41 - Jan 23 with 6437 views | homer_123 |
| We can stay up ... on 07:28 - Jan 23 by Darth_Koont |
I agree it probably won't take much points-wise. The problem is that this still represents a complete change-around in results compared to what's gone on so far. And of course, if just one of Rotherham, Reading or Bolton also go on a similar run, it won't matter what we do.
But we have to take care of ourselves first. What's critical is that the new-look team settles in and we start eking out results. Then we'll have a bit of confidence, momentum and energy to push on to the very end of what must be feeling like a long season already.
But if we're still stuttering over the next few games then you've got to think the chance has gone. Go to Norwich in desperate need of a win let alone a draw and it could be season over if we get gubbed.
If there's a plus side, it could still turn into a very exciting season although I'd prefer midtable obscurity and a better future if I'm honest. |
'we start eking out results'
That's my biggest concern - we don't look like being able to do that. I really like Lambert and what he's been doing but given out situation, the approach he's taken on the pitch possibly isn't suited to giving us the best chance of getting out of the mire.
without harping back to previous managers, I think we would have stood a better chance of staying up with a more dogged, pragmatic and (dare I say it) belligerent approach to the rest of this season.
I've said before, I think Lambert is the right manager at the wrong time. If we had him in the summer, I do honestly believe this season would have been far better.
We're not completely out of it yet and I don't mind that Lambert wants to try and 'play' his way out, but maybe a slightly different approach in the short term would have given us a better chance of staying up.
I suspect quite a few fans would now agree with your last sentence, certainly in hindsight. | |
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| We can stay up ... on 07:53 - Jan 23 with 6416 views | Steve_M |
| We can stay up ... on 07:41 - Jan 23 by homer_123 |
'we start eking out results'
That's my biggest concern - we don't look like being able to do that. I really like Lambert and what he's been doing but given out situation, the approach he's taken on the pitch possibly isn't suited to giving us the best chance of getting out of the mire.
without harping back to previous managers, I think we would have stood a better chance of staying up with a more dogged, pragmatic and (dare I say it) belligerent approach to the rest of this season.
I've said before, I think Lambert is the right manager at the wrong time. If we had him in the summer, I do honestly believe this season would have been far better.
We're not completely out of it yet and I don't mind that Lambert wants to try and 'play' his way out, but maybe a slightly different approach in the short term would have given us a better chance of staying up.
I suspect quite a few fans would now agree with your last sentence, certainly in hindsight. |
"We're not completely out of it yet and I don't mind that Lambert wants to try and 'play' his way out, but maybe a slightly different approach in the short term would have given us a better chance of staying up."
Yes, probably. Lambert really needed to win one of his first two matches to get some momentum going. We didn't take enough advantage of the infusion of belief he gave us and that's why we're back where we are. Another couple of points there and winning one of Bristol City or Millwall and the mood would be very different now. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 07:55 - Jan 23 with 6409 views | Harry_Palmer |
It's not impossible but its a big ask and in all reality very unlikely. In my view it would need some or maybe all of the following to happen :
- PL to quickly settle on a line up / formation that finds balance in the midfield and a way to create / score more goals.
- A surprise away win at Villa/scum to boost belief & kickstart some form.
- Huws to get back into the team and to hit form immediately ( asking a lot ).
- Keane or Quaner to go on a hot scoring streak. ( unlikely, certainly with Quaner! )
- PR to become a bit of a fortress over remaining home games, we would need to pick up a lot of our points at home.
I realise this is clutching at a whole lot of straws. Its like ItfcJoe said the other day, you approach the next game and suddenly you start convincing yourself that this is the one where it all starts to happen, before another crushing disappointment! |  | | |
| We can stay up ... on 08:49 - Jan 23 with 6332 views | homer_123 |
| We can stay up ... on 07:53 - Jan 23 by Steve_M |
"We're not completely out of it yet and I don't mind that Lambert wants to try and 'play' his way out, but maybe a slightly different approach in the short term would have given us a better chance of staying up."
Yes, probably. Lambert really needed to win one of his first two matches to get some momentum going. We didn't take enough advantage of the infusion of belief he gave us and that's why we're back where we are. Another couple of points there and winning one of Bristol City or Millwall and the mood would be very different now. |
Yep, the momentum from turning that belief into points would have made a sizeable difference and I think, ultimately, will be what costs us. | |
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| We can stay up ... on 08:51 - Jan 23 with 6321 views | chicoazul |
I admire your optimism and wish I shared it. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 09:14 - Jan 23 with 6276 views | Guthrum |
| We can stay up ... on 07:28 - Jan 23 by Darth_Koont |
I agree it probably won't take much points-wise. The problem is that this still represents a complete change-around in results compared to what's gone on so far. And of course, if just one of Rotherham, Reading or Bolton also go on a similar run, it won't matter what we do.
But we have to take care of ourselves first. What's critical is that the new-look team settles in and we start eking out results. Then we'll have a bit of confidence, momentum and energy to push on to the very end of what must be feeling like a long season already.
But if we're still stuttering over the next few games then you've got to think the chance has gone. Go to Norwich in desperate need of a win let alone a draw and it could be season over if we get gubbed.
If there's a plus side, it could still turn into a very exciting season although I'd prefer midtable obscurity and a better future if I'm honest. |
If we go on a good enough run, then teams like Wigan and Millwall are not out of reach, should they falter in the face of a charge from below. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 09:14 - Jan 23 with 6275 views | JammyDodgerrr |
This is the big question - yes we've only won three all season and we probably need to win four/five games out of our last 18 to be okay, but we've got effectively a new half of the team, one which is much better than before. They should be capable of winning enough games. They need to adjust quickly though.
This is the benefit we have over bolton/reading/rotherham, in that we have had the resources to bring in the back up. Let's do it, as far as i'm concerned. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 09:15 - Jan 23 with 6273 views | Darth_Koont |
| We can stay up ... on 07:41 - Jan 23 by homer_123 |
'we start eking out results'
That's my biggest concern - we don't look like being able to do that. I really like Lambert and what he's been doing but given out situation, the approach he's taken on the pitch possibly isn't suited to giving us the best chance of getting out of the mire.
without harping back to previous managers, I think we would have stood a better chance of staying up with a more dogged, pragmatic and (dare I say it) belligerent approach to the rest of this season.
I've said before, I think Lambert is the right manager at the wrong time. If we had him in the summer, I do honestly believe this season would have been far better.
We're not completely out of it yet and I don't mind that Lambert wants to try and 'play' his way out, but maybe a slightly different approach in the short term would have given us a better chance of staying up.
I suspect quite a few fans would now agree with your last sentence, certainly in hindsight. |
We need that spine of Collins, Judge and Keane/Quaner to start delivering. Like against Rotherham it's a case of stopping a couple of chances at one end and burying a chance at the other end even if play as badly as we did second-half in that game. Maybe with Judge's creative spark and set piece delivery we now get more and better chances too.
They're probably the last chance but the good news is that they've only just got in the door so could be a fair bit more to come from them. | |
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| We can stay up ... on 09:30 - Jan 23 with 6252 views | Guthrum |
| We can stay up ... on 09:15 - Jan 23 by Darth_Koont |
We need that spine of Collins, Judge and Keane/Quaner to start delivering. Like against Rotherham it's a case of stopping a couple of chances at one end and burying a chance at the other end even if play as badly as we did second-half in that game. Maybe with Judge's creative spark and set piece delivery we now get more and better chances too.
They're probably the last chance but the good news is that they've only just got in the door so could be a fair bit more to come from them. |
They are, really, the only chance we've had from the start. I'd hoped Lambert might have been able to get more out of the squad as he inherited it, but there was evidently just not enough there (particularly in attack and the solidity of defence). Major renovation work was needed before we could even begin to progress.
As you say, it's early days yet. Breaking it down into the four halves of football with the new team, we've won one, got hard-fought draws in two and lost one (triggered by a single wrong decision). We need to build on the first three and cut out mistakes. | |
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| We can stay up ... on 09:50 - Jan 23 with 6207 views | HARRY10 |
| We can stay up ... on 01:17 - Jan 23 by pablovian |
"Tread softly because you tread on my dreams" - W.B. Yeats
Yes, it is the hope that kills.
I had lost hope that Paul Hurst could keep us up. But then along came Paul Lambert. I had lost hope that Paul Lambert could keep us up (cheer-leading can not compensate for a toothless offense, a mistake-prone defense and a lightweight and inexperienced midfield). But then along came the January signings ... |
" a toothless offense,"
eh, what on earth is that ?
Some kind dental criminal act, perhaps ? |  | | |
| We can stay up ... on 10:16 - Jan 23 with 6169 views | MrTown |
| We can stay up ... on 01:03 - Jan 23 by pablovian |
IF (a rather big if) the squad achieves mid-table form, the number of wins will (by the definition of mid-table form), be roughly equal to the number of losses. Wins would mostly be against teams in the lower half of the table, with a sprinkling of decent results against teams in the top half.
For the squad to achieve mid-table form, the new players will need to gel quickly and Paul Lambert will need to find a lineup that works. I am not saying that these things will happen; I am offering a scenario of what could conceivably happen without requiring a miracle ... |
Stranger things have happened in football there is absolutely no doubt about that.
Villa (A) = L
Sheff Wed (H) = D
Norwich (A) = L
Derby (H) = L
Stoke (H) = L
Wigan (A) = L
Reading (H) = W
West Brom (A) = L
Bristol (A) = L
Forest (H) = D
Hull (H) = L
Bolton (A) = D
Brentford (A) = D
Birmingham (H) = W
Preston (A) = L
Swansea (H) = W
Sheff U (H) = L
Leeds (A) = L
Honest prediction, think Rotherham will pick up points, hard team to play against, really direct with there big man up front, think Town, Reading, Bolton to be sunk comfortably.
Still think our best team with a balance of right now and preparing for next season is:
Bart
Pennington / Chambo / Collins / Kenlock
Skuse / Downes
Lankester / Bishop / Judge
Keane | |
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| We can stay up ... on 10:41 - Jan 23 with 6135 views | JammyDodgerrr |
| We can stay up ... on 10:16 - Jan 23 by MrTown |
Stranger things have happened in football there is absolutely no doubt about that.
Villa (A) = L
Sheff Wed (H) = D
Norwich (A) = L
Derby (H) = L
Stoke (H) = L
Wigan (A) = L
Reading (H) = W
West Brom (A) = L
Bristol (A) = L
Forest (H) = D
Hull (H) = L
Bolton (A) = D
Brentford (A) = D
Birmingham (H) = W
Preston (A) = L
Swansea (H) = W
Sheff U (H) = L
Leeds (A) = L
Honest prediction, think Rotherham will pick up points, hard team to play against, really direct with there big man up front, think Town, Reading, Bolton to be sunk comfortably.
Still think our best team with a balance of right now and preparing for next season is:
Bart
Pennington / Chambo / Collins / Kenlock
Skuse / Downes
Lankester / Bishop / Judge
Keane |
Villa (A) = W
Sheff Wed (H) = W
Norwich (A) = L
Derby (H) = L
Stoke (H) = D
Wigan (A) = W
Reading (H) = W
West Brom (A) = L
Bristol (A) = L
Forest (H) = D
Hull (H) = L
Bolton (A) = W
Brentford (A) = W
Birmingham (H) = D
Preston (A) = W
Swansea (H) = D
Sheff U (H) = L
Leeds (A) = W
At my very most optimistic i can see the above being winnable fixtures. Genuinely. We should be able to beat Bolton/Reading/Wigan by the time we play them again. That's three wins. Villa/Sheff Wed i can see us winning. Preston is winnable. Swansea is winnable.
We can do it. Rotherham are not good enough, and have a relatively naive manager who will cost them points. | |
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| We can stay up ... on 12:51 - Jan 23 with 5999 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| We can stay up ... on 10:41 - Jan 23 by JammyDodgerrr |
Villa (A) = W
Sheff Wed (H) = W
Norwich (A) = L
Derby (H) = L
Stoke (H) = D
Wigan (A) = W
Reading (H) = W
West Brom (A) = L
Bristol (A) = L
Forest (H) = D
Hull (H) = L
Bolton (A) = W
Brentford (A) = W
Birmingham (H) = D
Preston (A) = W
Swansea (H) = D
Sheff U (H) = L
Leeds (A) = W
At my very most optimistic i can see the above being winnable fixtures. Genuinely. We should be able to beat Bolton/Reading/Wigan by the time we play them again. That's three wins. Villa/Sheff Wed i can see us winning. Preston is winnable. Swansea is winnable.
We can do it. Rotherham are not good enough, and have a relatively naive manager who will cost them points. |
4 away wins 👀👀 |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 13:01 - Jan 23 with 5980 views | JammyDodgerrr |
I know, i know. But we should be beating those ones away, really. (Villa, maybe not) | |
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| We can stay up ... on 13:03 - Jan 23 with 5972 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| We can stay up ... on 13:01 - Jan 23 by JammyDodgerrr |
I know, i know. But we should be beating those ones away, really. (Villa, maybe not) |
I miscounted, it’s 5! (And that’s ignoring the Leeds typo)
Not sure how you come to that conclusion, we’re below them all in the table because they’re better than us, with the possible exception of Bolton who are now a complete mess | |
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| We can stay up ... on 13:12 - Jan 23 with 5951 views | IpswichKnight |
| We can stay up ... on 13:03 - Jan 23 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
I miscounted, it’s 5! (And that’s ignoring the Leeds typo)
Not sure how you come to that conclusion, we’re below them all in the table because they’re better than us, with the possible exception of Bolton who are now a complete mess |
Genuine LOL that we will win 5 away games! | | | |
| We can stay up ... on 14:06 - Jan 23 with 5878 views | mccarthy_is_god |
one issue, were terrible. it was that millwall game that did it.
Splash. |  |
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| We can stay up ... on 14:43 - Jan 23 with 5815 views | reusersfreekicks |
| We can stay up ... on 10:41 - Jan 23 by JammyDodgerrr |
Villa (A) = W
Sheff Wed (H) = W
Norwich (A) = L
Derby (H) = L
Stoke (H) = D
Wigan (A) = W
Reading (H) = W
West Brom (A) = L
Bristol (A) = L
Forest (H) = D
Hull (H) = L
Bolton (A) = W
Brentford (A) = W
Birmingham (H) = D
Preston (A) = W
Swansea (H) = D
Sheff U (H) = L
Leeds (A) = W
At my very most optimistic i can see the above being winnable fixtures. Genuinely. We should be able to beat Bolton/Reading/Wigan by the time we play them again. That's three wins. Villa/Sheff Wed i can see us winning. Preston is winnable. Swansea is winnable.
We can do it. Rotherham are not good enough, and have a relatively naive manager who will cost them points. |
Love a good sense of humour! |  | | |
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