Title Race

[TigerTedd]

23 minutes ago, Jourdan said:

At home, we are pretty solid. We have drawn a few games we should have won, but at the same time, we’ve lost only twice at home all season. So the foundations for a good run are there, in a way.

But when our away form goes from the sublime to the ridiculous like it does, I don’t think anyone would be looking at us and thinking ‘They are shaping up for a good run here.’

We have lost 6 out of 15 away from home. Would you bet against us losing another 3-4 away from home?

We might win in midweek, but every time we go away from home, we are going to be worrying ‘Is this going to be another horror show like Leeds and Sheff Utd?’

I don’t think we are reliable enough to back for a winning run.

But the point is, we’re not playing Leeds and Sheff Utd every week away. We specifically aren’t playing teams as good as them at all for the rest of the season, home or away. 

Not saying that means our away results will improve, but I’m saying there’s good reasons to hope they might. 

Also, we’ve lost a total of 8. So have Bristol. So why do they suddenly find themselves with a better chance than us?

Is it better to consistently pick up points throughout the season, or have a really bad start, and then go on a run. I’d say option 2 is better (if you’re manager survives the bad patch), but we’ve done option 3, we haven’t actually had a bad run, we’ve had good runs interrupted by bad results, or bad runs interrupted by good results (depends if your cup is half empty or full), either way, we haven’t gone on a bad run, and I really don’t see us going on one now. So if we can combine a decent start of the season, with a good run at the end, then we’re laughing. 

[RadioactiveWaste]

I think Bristol are 8 wins in a row, sooner or later they'll lose a couple.

I think we're a way off top 2 but there's every reason to believe we can get in and stay in the top 6.

 

 

[68 Guns]

On 09/02/2019 at 07:16, VulcanRam said:

 

I'd rather Forest went up than Leeds. 

 

What a ludicrous statement

 

Nurse...... nurse..... Vulcan needs his medicine

[David]

25 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said:

Interesting in that the perception is that Fulham came from nowhere on a late run, but when you see this point last season they were already well up there and all of last season's top 5 at this point went on to either promotion or the playoffs. It was Bristol City who fell away to be supplanted by Middlesbro who at this stage were 4 points adrift. I said above that I hoped 87 points would be enough for autos, and it might, but last year Fulham missed out on 88 with Cardiff gaining second place with 90 points.

Remember all of those Fulham are equipped for the Premier League, the football they play is sustainable up there?

Also remember reading how Huddersfield and Burnley would be straight back down after a season.

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

1 minute ago, David said:

Remember all of those Fulham are equipped for the Premier League, the football they play is sustainable up there?

Also remember reading how Huddersfield and Burnley would be straight back down after a season.

You aren't questioning our resident experts surely. 

[Jourdan]

8 minutes ago, TigerTedd said:

But the point is, we’re not playing Leeds and Sheff Utd every week away. We specifically aren’t playing teams as good as them at all for the rest of the season, home or away. 

Not saying that means our away results will improve, but I’m saying there’s good reasons to hope they might. 

Also, we’ve lost a total of 8. So have Bristol. So why do they suddenly find themselves with a better chance than us?

Is it better to consistently pick up points throughout the season, or have a really bad start, and then go on a run. I’d say option 2 is better (if you’re manager survives the bad patch), but we’ve done option 3, we haven’t actually had a bad run, we’ve had good runs interrupted by bad results, or bad runs interrupted by good results (depends if your cup is half empty or full), either way, we haven’t gone on a bad run, and I really don’t see us going on one now. So if we can combine a decent start of the season, with a good run at the end, then we’re laughing. 

Like I said, at home, the foundations are there. We could win our next seven games at home and no-one would be surprised, and most likely it's our home form that will keep us in the running for the play-offs.

But our away games balance that out. OK, we are not playing teams at the level of Leeds, Norwich or Sheff Utd every week, but for a team that has lost 6 out of 15 on the road, a run in including Swansea, Villa, Forest, Blackburn, Birmingham, Brentford and Bristol City away from home is hardly one to inspire hope, especially when the majority of those defeats have come against 'easier' opposition.

I fully expect our inconsistency to continue, unless we can become more solid away from home.

 

 

[RamNut]

15 minutes ago, David said:

Remember all of those Fulham are equipped for the Premier League, the football they play is sustainable up there?

Also remember reading how Huddersfield and Burnley would be straight back down after a season.

Many promoted teams that survive year 1, still come crashing back down in year 2. Huddersfield are getting well stuffed now.

as for fulham, they had a great midfield that played fantastic football. Johansen stuck close to cairney and they picked their way through opponents with ease. But there are big egos behind the scenes there, and the promotion team was ditched for shiny new signings. MacDonald, Cairney and Johansen have started together on previsely zero occasions, and the manager has gone.

[RadioactiveWaste]

1 hour ago, RamNut said:

Many promoted teams that survive year 1, still come crashing back down in year 2. Huddersfield are getting well stuffed now.

as for fulham, they had a great midfield that played fantastic football. Johansen stuck close to cairney and they picked their way through opponents with ease. But there are big egos behind the scenes there, and the promotion team was ditched for shiny new signings. MacDonald, Cairney and Johansen have started together on previsely zero occasions, and the manager has gone.

Cyrus Christie must be a terrifying prospect against Premier league forwards.

[RamNut]

1 hour ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

Cyrus Christie must be a terrifying prospect against Premier league forwards.

.....and there was you saying you moved seats because of the moaning.

[RadioactiveWaste]

6 hours ago, RamNut said:

.....and there was you saying you moved seats because of the moaning.

Touche

[VulcanRam]

10 hours ago, Charlie Dram said:

What a ludicrous statement

 

Nurse...... nurse..... Vulcan needs his medicine

Ludicrous only if you disagree.

Perfectly sensible if you agree.

The basis of any opinion/debate. 

A man of a certain age, I'll always hate Leeds, as will plenty whose football experience was shaped in the 1970s when growing up. I enjoy the whole Forest banter thing, and obviously I'd prefer it if neither of them went up, but not overly bothered by them. 

[erathirea]

I think it's.... relatively... safe to assume that the top 6 will come from the current top 7, now.

The 4 point gap is only that because 4-7 have a game in hand. Derby's is the *easiest* of the games in hand at present (home to Millwall - West Brom have QPR away and Bristol City have to go to Boro).

 

I've said it before, and i'll say it again. February is *huge*.

 

Before the end of the month:

Derby have to play Ipswich (A), Millwall (H), Forest (A). I think most fans would be disappointed with anything less than 7 points, perhaps even anything less than 9 points, because who isn't disappointed when we don't beat Forest? I'm going to say 9 (because this is my head, dammit)

Bristol have QPR (H), Norwich (A), Birmingham (H). Can't see them picking up more than 4 points there. Reckon they'll lose at Norwich, and draw one of the others.

Boro have Sheff Utd (A), Blackburn (A), QPR (H). Maybe 5 points? Maybe 4? Don't see them winning either away game, but they could draw them both.

West Brom have 4 games this month. Forest (H), Villa (A), QPR (A), Sheff Utd (H). I mean, that's tricky (and at this point I'm thinking "crikey, Maclaren, you could do us a bit of a favour this month me ol' mucker". Something around 7-8 points would represent a *very* good return for them there (and i think that would include a win over United).

Sheffield have got Boro (H), Reading (H), and West Brom (A). I see 4 points there (beat Reading, draw with Boro)

Leeds have got Swansea (H), Bolton (H), QPR (A) - flipping heck, Steve - Leeds are unpredictable. Don't really know what to expect. They should beat Bolton, but going to QPR will be tricky, and Swansea at home could go either way. I'm going to (optimistically?) say 5 points.

Norwich have Preston (A), Bolton (A), Bristol City (H). 9 points is what I'm thinking here.

 

IF those go "as predicted":

Team: Played: Points:

Norwich 34 69

Leeds 34 63

WBA 34 61

Sheff Utd 34 59

Derby 33 59

Boro 33 56

Bristol 33 54

so we'd be 4 points of 2nd, with a game in hand (home to Wigan) over the 4 teams ahead of us 

Norwich go on to win the league, Derby end up playing West Brom on last day of the season with a winner takes 2nd spot stipulation.

Richard Keogh scores a 94th minute winner with a header from his own half, to go with his 88th minute winner against Chelsea in the FA Cup Final the following week.

 

[Edtheram]

Every game from now until the end of the season is massive starting with Ipswich away on Wednesday. We should be looking to get 3 points and we would all be disappointed if we failed to win but if we cant win the game just dont lose it!

We need to go about our games one at a time and just work hard on and off the ball to produce moments of quality and see games through with confidence. February is a big month if we can beat the likes of Ipswich, Millwall and Wigan and play well and pick up points at Villa and Forest we then face 3 home games which are winnable, By the middle of March the table could look very favorable for us.

COYR keep going!

[TigerTedd]

How are Leeds still hanging on to a top 2 spot. Seems ages since they last won a game. And that was against us. 

[SSD]

I reckon we'll be comfortably top six looking at our run of fixtures. I'll have a guess at a 81 points total which should be 4th or 5th.

To say this is a "transitional" season, we should be proud to be fighting off the likes of Swansea and Aston Villa, teams with much larger budgets than ourselves.

I think Middlesbrough will slip away. Norwich and West Brom will be promoted. Leeds, Derby, Sheffield Utd and Bristol City play offs. 

 

[BathRam72]

On 09/02/2019 at 10:59, Millenniumram said:

That may be the most stupid thing I’ve read all day

Just go searching through other threads and you will soon find plenty more.

[ram1964]

Middlesbrough vrs  Sheffield Utd mid week so some points being dropped by someone ,giving us the chance of moving up the table and closing the gap if we do the business against Ipswich.?

[Kennington Ram]

Bristol's emergence is good for Derby. We don't play them til near the end, when it'll probably be all but over (whether that's Top 2, Top 6 or not) but they have 3 games against Top 6 opposition before the end of March, and games against "the rest". Either they win and those above us drop points, or Bristol lose and the 7 for 6 places reduces to 6. Or better, they draw and the overall pool of available points is reduced for everyone that's not Derby.

[1977 Ram Raider]

I’m concerned by brizzles latest form, is that now 8 wins on the spin!!!

[TigerTedd]

53 minutes ago, Kennington Ram said:

Bristol's emergence is good for Derby. We don't play them til near the end, when it'll probably be all but over (whether that's Top 2, Top 6 or not) but they have 3 games against Top 6 opposition before the end of March, and games against "the rest". Either they win and those above us drop points, or Bristol lose and the 7 for 6 places reduces to 6. Or better, they draw and the overall pool of available points is reduced for everyone that's not Derby.

Yeah, our competitors are all playing each other far more than we are during the run in. Just Bristol and West Brom for the last two games of the season. I don’t think it’ll all be done and dusted by then, I think it might be squeaky bum time, but we should be in a very good position by then, with a play off place, at least, being ours to loose. 

So at least some of the teams around us will drop points, starting with boro vs Sheffield this week, that’s a certainty. We just have to take care of ourselves.