Carl Sagan Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I reckon the table still looks pretty good tonight. The Gumps are right behind us, but when you realize they're 4 points back having played 2 games more, we can take a lot of positives. Their maximum points tally if they win all their remaining games is only 86 points - already they can't get an automatic spot. That shows we're well and truly entering the business end of the season. Our potential maximum of 96 shows there's still everything to fight for. And with our England star Mason Mount due to come back into the team, with others strengthening too, I think we'll make the playoffs. What a final two games to the season to get us battle-ready too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 12 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said: I reckon the table still looks pretty good tonight. The Gumps are right behind us, but when you realize they're 4 points back having played 2 games more, we can take a lot of positives. Their maximum points tally if they win all their remaining games is only 86 points - already they can't get an automatic spot. That shows we're well and truly entering the business end of the season. Our potential maximum of 96 shows there's still everything to fight for. And with our England star Mason Mount due to come back into the team, with others strengthening too, I think we'll make the playoffs. What a final two games to the season to get us battle-ready too! It is just potential that needs to be turned into performances of quality and power. I have seen no actual evidence to support my rather blind faith hopes and I am starting to doubt that this team have what it takes. It’s another year where I feel we will fall short yet again. We get little glimpses of something impressive but nothing sustained. Florest is a big game in terms of the play offs and I would be relieved to get a point. I only get to watch games on ramstv but Mount hasn’t been the brilliant since December. For my money Marriott is our player that makes a difference. We need him in a fit state now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthram Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Just a silly observation, but if Blackburn stuff M'boro this sunday 4-0 we go into 6th spot without even kicking a ball. Oh well we can dream. But if Boro do lose we will have a chance to grab 6th spot on Wednesday night, not a big ask. COYR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy the hare Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, plymouthram said: Just a silly observation, but if Blackburn stuff M'boro this sunday 4-0 we go into 6th spot without even kicking a ball. Oh well we can dream. But if Boro do lose we will have a chance to grab 6th spot on Wednesday night, not a big ask. COYR 5th if we win coyr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDerbySuperRams Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Wednesday really is massive. We finally have our vital injured duo back (hopefully) and we really need to kick start a run heading into the business end of the season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remy the hare Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 28 minutes ago, SuperDerbySuperRams said: Wednesday really is massive. We finally have our vital injured duo back (hopefully) and we really need to kick start a run heading into the business end of the season I’ve just wrote something very similar under the Millwall match thread. We need that identity back that all Frank’s pundit mates keep talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bald Eagle's Barmy Army Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I’d rather be in our position than 17 other teams in this league. Players coming back in, 5 games at home between now and the end of March, the likes of Bristol City now coming into their ‘tough’ period. We have a great chance of cementing play offs between now and the beginning of April. Many negative comments need to vanish and support the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Sagan Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 3 hours ago, Spanish said: It is just potential that needs to be turned into performances of quality and power. I have seen no actual evidence to support my rather blind faith hopes and I am starting to doubt that this team have what it takes. It’s another year where I feel we will fall short yet again. We get little glimpses of something impressive but nothing sustained. Florest is a big game in terms of the play offs and I would be relieved to get a point. I only get to watch games on ramstv but Mount hasn’t been the brilliant since December. For my money Marriott is our player that makes a difference. We need him in a fit state now I'm full of blind faith too. I think if it had been any other team Mount wouldn't have played against Chelsea and he's suffered for it and then some. Hopefully the lay off has helped all his injuries heal. And teams target Marriott too. He was so skillful and assured when he came on today and showed all the advance players what they should have been doing. Beating Forest kills them off doesn't it? We're getting to that stage. You're right that a draw keeps them at arms length and that's one of the few games it's now more important not to lose than to win as I've given up on automatics. But both them and Millwall are such hard matches where we have to win the physical battle first and that will be so hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthram Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 TITLE RACE= Taking the heading of this blog and looking at the current league table (16/2/19) positions, I would only consider the top 7 teams who have a chance of top spot at the end of the season. Looking at the bigger picture, teams that have a chance of getting into the top 6 for a play off place, you would have to consider as low as 14th spot(currently owned by Blacburn). So I have looked at the remaining fixtures for the top 7 teams with games against any side in the top 14 places. On paper (yes, I know its not played on paper), Norwich have the easiest remaining games, with 6 matches against teams in the top 14 places with only Boro(A) and Bristol(H) from the top 7. Leeds also have 6 to play against the top 14, but have WBA(H),Bristol(A) and Sheff Utd(H) to play from the top 7. Sheffield Utd have 7 of the top 14 to play but have WBA(A),Leeds(A) and Bristol(H) from the top 7. Next Derby have also 7 against top 14 teams most of them away and have just Bristol(A) and WBA(H) from the top 7. The 2 teams that have 8 matches each to play against the top 14 teams. WBA have Sheff utd(H),Leeds(A),Bristol(A) and Derby(A) from the top 7. M'Boro have Norwich(H) and Bristol(H).Bristol have 9 of the remaining 15 matches against top 14 teams with Leeds(H), Sheff utd(A),WBA(H),M'Boro(A) and Derby(H) from the top 7. So based on teams remaining games and their form so far I would say Norwich will grab top spot. Leeds would be favourites for 2nd, 3rd spot between Sheff Utd, Derby and WBA,. M'Boro grabbing 6th and Bristol missing out. Based on this happening, it will be Sheff Utd, Derby, WBA and M'Boro in the play offs. But football is'nt played on paper, these teams will all drop points against other sides not in the top 14 positions. I think though most football fans will agree that the top 2 slots will be from the current top 7 teams and no others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irobinson Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 At best we are not worthy of above 6th. if we get 6th and get a place in the play offs. - I will be more than happy we just have to realise, we are under a new, rookie management.......and thats us at he moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayram Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 9 hours ago, irobinson said: At best we are not worthy of above 6th. if we get 6th and get a place in the play offs. - I will be more than happy we just have to realise, we are under a new, rookie management.......and thats us at he moment I agree with this. We have been very average since WBA away and have shown that we are nowhere near good enough to challenge for automatic promotion. In fact we barely deserve to be mentioned as playoff contenders as every team in the top 6 (bar maybe Boro) are playing at a far more consistent level than us, playing better football and scoring more goals too, which will be a factor at the end of the season. I will be more than happy if we manage to grab the last playoff spot but as it stands I think that’s going to be a big ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angieram Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 14 hours ago, Spanish said: It is just potential that needs to be turned into performances of quality and power. I have seen no actual evidence to support my rather blind faith hopes and I am starting to doubt that this team have what it takes. It’s another year where I feel we will fall short yet again. We get little glimpses of something impressive but nothing sustained. Florest is a big game in terms of the play offs and I would be relieved to get a point. I only get to watch games on ramstv but Mount hasn’t been the brilliant since December. For my money Marriott is our player that makes a difference. We need him in a fit state now I don't doubt that we have quality in our players individually , but we seem to struggle to offer quality as a team. No matter how many permutations Frank tries, it doesn't quite click - or more frustratingly - it clicks only for a short period in each game. Maybe that is related to the second point you make - we also need power. This comes in two forms for me at Championship level - the big, bullying power of the type of physical units that most teams have except us! Or the power of speed of reaction and playing on the front foot. We potentially have this second type of power but show it far too infrequently. That's why we are so inconsistent, even within individual games. I have had a difficult week - over 800 miles travelled, precious holidays used and more money spent than I can easily afford - and not seen a great deal to give me optimism for the rest of the season. I hope that I am wrong and that Mount and Marriott returning will make the difference and get us into a sustained run of form that takes us into the playoffs. If we get there anything can happen! However, I also hope that Frank is planning for what he will do at the end of the season if we fade away. I would like to see a bit of a clear out and evidence that we are building the right team to execute Frank's vision of how to play football because overall, I am doubting it is the current set of players. I hope I'm wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRamFan Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 When FL was appointed, I said I would be happy with any spot in the top 10. I am still of the same opinion. I can see us going for a playoff position, however I would not be disappointed if we missed out, and ended up 7th. I am looking forward to the, hopefully successful, summer car boot sale, and the potential new arrivals, be that loans, promotion from the academy or bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamNut Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Its slightly depressing to read a series of posts that basically reach the same consensus of opinion - an opinion that i agree with and have done for some time. any hopes of automatics faded and died at bramall lane and elland road. Portman road just confirmed what we already knew. We now have to show a period of sustained good form in order to secure one of the remaining play off spots. we can do that but not if we keep under performing as we are at present. We needed a lift in january. Someone who could come into the side and grab this team by the scruff of the neck. We need more leadership out there. Someone who will drive us forwards, not sideways and backwards. We need ashley cole and andy king to have a big impact on the younger players around them. Its been a bit of a strange season. A welcome change of direction, and some memorable moments but a slightly confusing series of transfers and an awful lot of rotation. We have never looked like finding our best eleven. The better players have been the loanees which only serves to highlight some of the shortcomings in our squad. A few of the major buys have failed to establish themselves and the bits of the jigsaw don't yet quite seem to fit together. There have been some positives in terms of the rebuild. Bogle, holmes, marriott, and roos. But overall we have a team that looks slightly wrong. Full backs over committing, passes going astray, a tendency to go sideways and backwards, and the ball bouncing around like a pinball machine when we attack. but there are grounds for optimism. Marriott and mount are returning; Ambrose, Cole and king have arrived; Roos is playing well; and we have Mitchell-Lawson up our sleeve. lets start by absolutely smashing Millwall on wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 55 minutes ago, McRamFan said: When FL was appointed, I said I would be happy with any spot in the top 10. I am still of the same opinion. I can see us going for a playoff position, however I would not be disappointed if we missed out, and ended up 7th. I am looking forward to the, hopefully successful, summer car boot sale, and the potential new arrivals, be that loans, promotion from the academy or bought. I remain worried that disposing of a number of expensive signings in the summer with little or no transfer fees we will be up against FFP. I have no itk so I hope I’m wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inglorius Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 41 minutes ago, RamNut said: Its slightly depressing to read a series of posts that basically reach the same consensus of opinion - an opinion that i agree with and have done for some time. any hopes of automatics faded and died at bramall lane and elland road. Portman road just confirmed what we already knew. We now have to show a period of sustained good form in order to secure one of the remaining play off spots. we can do that but not if we keep under performing as we are at present. Against which yardstick are measuring that we are underperforming though? The games against Man Utd or Southampton in the cup? If you look at the Gaussian distribution of league performances this season the normal is probably a 6 out of 10 standard so this is the normal for us. Would be far more accurate to say that we need to increase our average level of performance from where it has been so far this season to have any chance of being in the top 6 come end of season but I would argue against saying we have been underperforming all season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FindernRam Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 12 hours ago, plymouthram said: I think though most football fans will agree that the top 2 slots will be from the current top 7 teams and no others. Top 3 not top 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-Ram Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 1 hour ago, angieram said: I have had a difficult week - over 800 miles travelled, precious holidays used and more money spent than I can easily afford - and not seen a great deal to give me optimism for the rest of the season. I hope that I am wrong and that Mount and Marriott returning will make the difference and get us into a sustained run of form that takes us into the playoffs. If we get there anything can happen! However, I also hope that Frank is planning for what he will do at the end of the season if we fade away. I would like to see a bit of a clear out and evidence that we are building the right team to execute Frank's vision of how to play football because overall, I am doubting it is the current set of players. I hope I'm wrong! You haven’t had much bang for your buck Angie that is true. I still think we will make the playoffs and who knows from there - Huddersfield got up without winning a playoff game. Difficult for Frank, but in truth other than Roos (maybe) there is no one l would offer a contract renewal to from a pure football perspective. I think the affected players know that (Brys, BJ, Nuge, Thudd, etc.) and therefore that must have some impact on their motivation and form. Assuming that the loan players all go back and aren’t reavailable, there are in truth very few current players I feel I would want to see in the first team squad next season, even in the Championship. Keogh, Marriott, Waghorn, Bogle, err, Carson, Davies, err, err - I am really struggling. Fortunately there are some promising U23s, but I read somewhere oncethat you win nothing with kids. Lets hope King, Cole, and Mount on his return, do re-energise us over the coming months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uptherams Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 Our performances have been fairly average of late, we have a much easier run in than our competitors, have games in hand and players are coming back from or to come back from injury. I am confident we will finish in the top 6. But we should be going into every one of these remaining matches playing for a win and a convincing one at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richinspain Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 17 minutes ago, i-Ram said: You haven’t had much bang for your buck Angie that is true. I still think we will make the playoffs and who knows from there - Huddersfield got up without winning a playoff game. Difficult for Frank, but in truth other than Roos (maybe) there is no one l would offer a contract renewal to from a pure football perspective. I think the affected players know that (Brys, BJ, Nuge, Thudd, etc.) and therefore that must have some impact on their motivation and form. Assuming that the loan players all go back and aren’t reavailable, there are in truth very few current players I feel I would want to see in the first team squad next season, even in the Championship. Keogh, Marriott, Waghorn, Bogle, err, Carson, Davies, err, err - I am really struggling. Fortunately there are some promising U23s, but I read somewhere oncethat you win nothing with kids. Lets hope King, Cole, and Mount on his return, do re-energise us over the coming months. Pretty much agree with everything apart from the end of your second paragraph. Surely if their contracts are up and they're looking to renew then that should be enough motivation to put performances in, unless they're trying too hard and their form is suffering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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