Sussex Ram

As you can all tell, I had totally forgotten about the BSM cup. I also hadn’t fully appreciated the weird timings of the games, meaning we’ll have played 2 more than Barnsley and P’Boro this time next week. This all plays in our favour (assuming we get a positive result against Northampton) as you’d always rather have points on the board than games in hand- even if against lower placed sides.

As Dom Dietrich might say, these are “take it or leave it” stats. Below is my attempt at showing the league position of the opponents our direct competitors face on the run in: Portsmouth- 12 2 17 3 5 11 7- average 8.14 Derby- 14 9 1 12 10 20 24- average 12.9 Bolton- 8 18 13 1 17 23 4- average 12 P’Boro- 24 10 23 6 22 13 21 3- average 15.3 Barnsley- 20 19 16 8 18 1 9 14- average 13.1 I haven’t considered home or away ties, but on the face it Portsmouth have by far the hardest run in, playing us, Bolton and Barnsley. My personal preference would be for them to beat Barnsley and Bolton, let them take the title, and it gives us more breathing space on the final day. But looking at it another way, if we can beat them on 2 April and other results go against them, might we be looking at a title push?? I would love that, for B4 if nothing else. Peterborough have the easiest run in and face all three bottom teams, although I noticed they are one of only four teams to play midweek before the final game of the season- which for them is a massive 6-pointer against Bolton. Our games seem to get “easier” as time goes on, whereas others are more mixed. Portsmouth finish against one the form teams of Europe (I’d guess?) in Lincoln. Let’s see if the Imps are still averaging three goals a game by then- if they are, they might well finish 4th or 5th! Final point- our GD is 4 better than Portsmouth, 7 better than Bolton and P’Boro and 13 better than Barnsley. That could well be the half point advantage that makes a difference come 27th April…

Does anyone know how to start a poll?! On Monday night, do people want to see Portsmouth win, Bolton win, or a draw? Portsmouth played 19, 42 points. Bolton played 18, 39 points. Derby played 19, 36 points. I’ll start by saying I’d rather see Bolton win, and then we’re 6 points off top with a game in hand on one of those teams.

I will also keep a close eye on this, but not because I am Hereford based (sorry!). It’s more that I’ve often wondered about regional Rams groups, and how to access those easily for people who are “exiled” as you put it. I wonder if someone like @angieramor another connected to RamsTrust might know if there is a network of regional fan groups?

Having watched the extended highlights back, a few comments to stir the pot. Those saying Sibley could/should have laid in Max Bird instead of shooting (and Paul Warne said so in his post match interview), I disagree. When Sibley gets the ball, Bird slows down and doesn’t bomb forward- or turn his head/scan to see their left back moving over fast to cover. A sign to me that Bird isn’t a natural 10. If Sibley releases to Bird there, a goal is very unlikely so I think it’s the right decision. Can’t we just give Sibley credit for a well taken goal? It’s a red card. 3:55 of the RamsTV highlights. You only get a 4 second snippet of the act, so eyes peeled, but the defender does sneak an elbow and (unbelievably) catches Collins flush, despite not being able to see exactly where JC was behind him. Those questioning the triple change: personnel wise it seemed like for like rather than defensively minded, with Nelson at full back to replace Ward. At 2-0 they have to press forward, so I am guessing the tactic was to soak that up and counter, with fresh pace of TJJ and Barkz, and NML too. It worked! Almost worked twice (how funny was it to see Bradley among the charge in that final chance?! He looked like he just joined in a run with the lads, no idea where he was going 😂 ). Sometimes inviting pressure late in games backfires, and it can make the fans nervous, but with a two goal cushion you can afford one slip up and it creates chances to kill the game on the break. James Collins was inches away from two goals today, but fine margins make all the difference- both to the result, and people’s perception of him on this forum. I saw a post from Derby Retweets that said, across English domestic competition, only three players have scored more goals than James Collins since he started his career in 2009/10. Thats Harry Kane (251), Jordan Rhodes (226) and Sergio Aguero (217) all better than JC’s 202. Billy Sharp with 190 and Charlie Austin with 188, for reference. Not bad company… and proof that he DOES score goals. As well as work hard, gets in good positions (mostly) and- crucially- he stays fit. With Wash, Wags And TJJ all either recently or currently injured, I think people simply don’t give JC enough credit. I’m not saying he’s a world beater, and he does miss chances- but he brings a lot to this team in League One. As soon as the third went in, Warne should have pulled NML for Brown. That’s a very small criticism for Warne after a great run of results, some sound team selections in the face of injury troubles, some slightly better subs, and better tactical play. This is where our squad depth is starting to show and will hopefully separate us from the pack as injuries and suspensions thicken over the busy Christmas period. I didn’t know B4 personally, but after 5 league wins on the spin I can’t help but think about what he’d be posting on here today. We should enjoy this while it’s good. And hope it stays good.

Yes please- I’ll message you!

Asking for a friend, who lives local to Leyton Orient. If he were to turn up to an away pub on the day (if there is one designated?) what are the chances of finding a group of like minded Rams with a spare ticket? I think it’s highly unlikely, but I said I’d check.

Who is it on here that, from time to time, produces a version of the league table with our results against each side home and away? I would love to see that now. Last season it was a really useful visual reference, and clearly showed our lack of points away from home against the better sides. This season, I get the sense that we have already played nearly all of the top half (?) meaning that the run into the end of the year should be against (theoretically) weaker opposition, and presents a good opportunity to go on a run of league results- which is precisely what we need. And yes, I can’t be bothered to build it myself 😆

Who is it on here that, from time to time, produces a version of the league table with our results against each side home and away? I would love to see that now. Last season it was a really useful visual reference, and clearly showed our lack of points away from home against the better sides. This season, I get the sense that we have already played nearly all of the top half (?) meaning that the run into the end of the year should be against (theoretically) weaker opposition, and presents a good opportunity to go on a run of league results- which is precisely what we need. And yes, I can’t be bothered to build it myself 😆

Can anyone on here tell me the names of the three under 15s that went to Man Utd back in 2021?