Play-off Acceptance

[lukedcfc]

It's between maybe 5 teams for autos now. If norwich fail to win tommorow I would say 4 teams. There will be twists but we needed to win tonight, which we would of if it wasn't for disgrace of a referee.I accept playoffs and would fancy our chances against anyone with our key players back. 

[lukedcfc]

4 teams sorry if norwich lose tommorow 3 teams. 

[TroyDyer]

But you felt our defence and captain was **** when it conceded only two gaols in circa 7 games ......your opinion them was wrong, but you can now identify defensive weakness. 

Also, hilariously you still blame same player for goals......so yup...another yawn to you.

whatever you do, don't watch the replays cos a bit of your brain will try and speak up and advise you of where errors tonight occurred.

 

pleasure to be clueless in your eyes, truly. Cheers.

[Jourdan]

Why would we accept the play-offs at this point?

While it's still mathematically possible, we have to keep pushing for automatic promotion. Yes, it's important not to forget that we have left ourselves with little to no margin for error. We know we have to make up ground on the teams above us and stave off the threat of the teams below.

But in some ways that could be a blessing rather than a curse. There can be no complacency - we go into every game knowing that anything other than a win simply won't be good enough. I'd rather we strive for the seemingly impossible, give it everything and fall short than coast for the next seven games like we think it's job done, when it's far from it. The teams around us certainly won't be coasting.

Of course, I accept we are in the middle of a barren run and any semblance of composure, cohesion and confidence has completely evaporated and to suggest we could win six out of our seven remaining games might be ludicrous. But for me, all good runs of form start with a win and that's all we need. When you go six games without a win, you almost start to forget what winning feels like. But how quickly things can change and how quickly the past few weeks will be forgotten when that win comes along.

McClaren has an easy job motivating the players now. The pressure and expectation has shifted down a few gears. We are being written off by everyone - even our own supporters. In a lot of people's eyes, 'our season is over' and 'we'll be lucky to finish above Forest'. No-one is expecting it to get better, only worse. So he can lay down the gauntlet for the players to prove everyone wrong - challenging the players and creating a siege mentality.

After 32 games, Watford were six points behind us and now they are five points in front of us with a game in hand, so it just goes to show you how quickly things can change.

Of course, at this point, I'm well aware it's out of our hands and we are going to rely on other results but that is football. We are probably going to need an almost perfect run - 18-21 points from seven games - and some last-day drama to boot but I think it'd be foolish to discount ourselves from the top two at the moment. Watford at home is a pivotal game - should we lose that, then I'd agree that it's curtains for our top two hopes. But should we win, suddenly things look different and you start to remember there is still so much football to be played and there is scope for dropped points, especially given that the teams in and around us play each other in the coming weeks.

You look at Middlesbrough's run-in, for example and it's not hard to imagine them dropping points in the run-in. Watford and Norwich too. Bournemouth less so.

It's still all to play for - we're just doing it the painfully hard way!

 

 

 

 

[Inglorius]

If we make the playoffs and don't get promoted then with the money we've spent on getting loan players in Lingaard Ince Bent this season will be deemed a failure can't fault the board in their backing of McClaren I really really hope that we aren't told in the summer if we don't go up that we've already spent next seasons transfer kitty already on a calculated gamble for promotion this season

[MuespachRam]

I agree we haven't been playing so well generally, tonight was the best for a while I'd say.

[Alph]

Just need to get our best players playing together for the first time this season.  See where it takes us and try to recapture the sort of performances that made us the most highly rated team in the league. Take that into the play offs.

Some of the whining reminds me of my daughter 

"I want it, I want it pleeeeaaaase Dad"

"No"

"Oh I'm never going to get it never never again"

Look at how you deal with dissapointment? Mardy *******. How do you cope with life's real downs. 

The car didn't start. So **** it. I set fire to it and rolled it down a hill. We'll get a different one. 

More bitching and whining than I remember when we were finishing 14th. I'll buy you some dummies.

[VulcanRam]

I echo thoughts on Martin, he must be gutted to see all his own hard work over the season ruined by our awful defence but also the fact our strikers' conversion rate of late is woeful.

That said, happiness comes from the unexpected. Expect to do well and the enjoyment goes away.

Ruling out the autos, which I have, means I can honestly just enjoy us battling for a playoff place and going in with less expectations. 

I thought we'd get top two this year, but over the past month a culmination of injuries, referees and sheer bad luck has stopped that. 

Still so much to play for this season, enjoy it folks. At least we're playing well. It could be worse, we could be playing rubbish

[Pearl Ram]

Bris's right you know, it could be worse, Look at Wigan and Blackpool, playing Premiership football more recently than us and both with a good chance ending up in what I used to think of as the third division.

I'm no happy clapper, thinking of Martin going off against Bournemouth and some of the subsequent results still brings me out in turrets but there's still a fair bit of football to be played and I for one can't predict what's going to happen in this league this season,  it's been quite unique in it's own way.

[Guest]

​Yes I did feel the captain was ****. Because he is ****. 

Error after error after error. All Sky commentators were talking about, hell, even SM was talking about getting the 'leaders back'. Aren't we meant to have a leader? A captain? The fella is a liability and this had been coming for a very long time, even through that patch of clean sheets there were cracks showing all over the place. Just some folks like yourself were too blind, and indeed are still too blind to see it. 

You could find Keogh in bed with your Mrs and you'd say "go on son". Bizarre. 

[61GT]

Fozzy error m8 just kicked ball up in the air. 

Grant and Keogh also the latter less so 

[Curtains]

Thanks for pointing out - my mistake, read the forums afterwards and was going to post a correction. Poor excuse but I got home late last night and watched a re-run of the goal on a 2" video in the corner of the iPad. Lesson learnt.

 

Still bitterly disappointed with our recent form but feeling a bit better about things this morning. I've been supporting Derby for over 40 years so I'm used to a few lows as well as highs. Here's to a good run-in after the International break.

[TroyDyer]

Enjoying the karma. Good lad

You really are "sound bite man" McClaren wants Eustace, Thorne, Martin and Bucko back fit as leaders in the team .......and you take it as a dig at Keough.....

As you enjoy your karma, I shall depart here as the irrational knocking of very good players in a good team frankly disgusts me. 

Just get your bank holiday, end of May fully booked up. Work in your factory, do some studying ...just keep clear of wembley.......wembley is a day out for the supporters 

[TroyDyer]

Enjoying the karma. Good lad

You really are "sound bite man" McClaren wants Eustace, Thorne, Martin and Bucko back fit as leaders in the team .......and you take it as a dig at Keough.....

As you enjoy your karma, I shall depart here as the irrational knocking of very good players in a good team frankly disgusts me. 

Just get your bank holiday, end of May fully booked up. Work in your factory, do some studying ...just keep clear of wembley.......wembley is a day out for the supporters 

[The_Sheriff]

Target is promotion. No matter how we get there that should be the target.

Those saying they'll take guaranteed play-offs i just cant agree with. With the running we have i just cant see us dropping out the top 6 infact i find myself quite optimistic, those 7 games on paper are all winnable. 

[curb]

​I shouldn't keep biting... but I just need to get a few things straight. 

When a few of us were questioning defensive weaknesses even during our run of clean sheets, and you were slagging us (me in particular) off for questioning those weaknesses, YOU WERE RIGHT because we were going through a spell of clean sheets, thus questioning the defence and captain was stupid and 'not being a true supporter'...

Now after 2 points in 18, countless defensive errors, lack of leadership and overall, a giant capitulation, as predicted by us 'non supporters', ITS OUR KARMA (Not we were right in the first place) and we are again **** supporters and shouldn't be welcome to go to Wembley should Derby get there. 

I just need to make sure that's exactly what you are saying. 

[TroyDyer]

When we're on a good run you say we're ****, then we go on a bad run and you say you were right all along, we were always ****.

well done.

turn yourself around and give yourself a big pat on the back.

[Guest]

​I shouldn't keep biting... but I just need to get a few things straight. 

When a few of us were questioning defensive weaknesses even during our run of clean sheets, and you were slagging us (me in particular) off for questioning those weaknesses, YOU WERE RIGHT because we were going through a spell of clean sheets, thus questioning the defence and captain was stupid and 'not being a true supporter'...

Now after 2 points in 18, countless defensive errors, lack of leadership and overall, a giant capitulation, as predicted by us 'non supporters', ITS OUR KARMA (Not we were right in the first place) and we are again **** supporters and shouldn't be welcome to go to Wembley should Derby get there 

I just need to make sure that's exactly what you are saying. 

[Guest]

​Already booked your holiday then? 

Enjoy my karma? Haha. You are an embarrassment. 

[TroyDyer]

Haha. "Dealt with". 

I would love to sit next to you Igor, just to watch your attempt to deal with anything. 

I imagine you couldn't knock the skin off a rice pudding, or recognise a walking liability when you see one. 

All the best.