Now I've seen the Ipswich goal on the box, I think ANYA should of and could of prevented the goal. He easily got to Chaplow before he shoots, infact Anya pulls out of the tackle ( bottles it ). Had Anya slid in and taken one for the team, the worst outcome would of been a red card and a free kick to them. ****ing Anya !
You've clearly got a point, but to say we were never in with a chance of winning some of those games is bizarre. I think we played better against Derby and Middlesbrough than we did when we beat Blackburn or Fulham at home. We were second-best to Bournemouth in the draw at the Vic, but Vydra still had a very good chance to win it late on. Similarly, we had chances to beat Wolves at home late on, despite playing poorly for the most part. Same goes for yesterday - could've won that game if Vydra was on the pitch/Ighalo had his shooting boots on. I think if we play as well as we've been playing recently, or indeed as well as we played against them last time, we will beat Derby and/or Middlesbrough. We've turned in pretty similar performances home and away against all the top teams this season. Disappointing 1-0s against Ipswich sides stifling us; 3-0s against Norwich sides who had a touch of fortune before romping home. Bournemouth couldn't put us away when we had eleven on the field, in either game. Beating Brentford 2-1 home and away. Wolves was the biggest change I saw in terms of performance, although we struggled with them in both games. One more thing: televised games rarely go the way you'd expect in the Championship. Perfect record at home, second in the league vs 15th? 1-1, point for an impressive Bournemouth side. In-form Fulham vs a Watford side who've lost four on a the trot? 5-0 'orns. Resurgent Watford team who've won three in a row against a Wolves side with one win in eight? (and conceding 17 goals in that time) 1-0, away win for Wolves. Watford side who've scored 12 goals in their last two games vs Bournemouth side who've lost three of their last four? 2-0 to the Cherries/Lee Probert. This trend leads me to believe we'll lose to Derby 2-1 and beat Middlesbrough 6-0. And if we're in the play-offs we'll bloody win them.
We are second in the table and have WON more games than any other team. Yes, yesterdays result was mega disappointing, but we arent that shabby are we.
I don't particularly agree with everything HB1 has posted, but if everyone had this attitude then nothing would ever get posted on the forum. We don't have the benefit of hindsight before something happens, surely discussing the potential future is our only option?
Exactly right. Unfortunately the attitude of WT is a typical one on this forum, which I know does deter some from posting their opinions. I'm too stupid/thick-skinned to really care.
Well if you look closely you'll see I haven't said that but whatever. People are free to post whatever they like but I, personally, don't see the benefit of negativity when we're second in the league and on the brink of something very special.
There's nothing wrong with posting an observation. It's not negative to say we struggle against the top sides, just as it's not positive to say we've done exceptionally well against the lesser sides. I've made both these points, but only the perceived negative one is picked up on. I'm just bringing up a concern based on past factual events, but you do not seem to want to hear it at all. Only everything 100% positive will do. I'm sorry but that's not how it works. We could be on the brink of something very special, or it could be another frustration like two years ago. Both are possible and you have to be prepared for both eventualities.
You didn't say it exactly, but you disagreed with the opposite to it (in my interpretation, at least). Precisely what HB1 said - sure, being overly negative can seem a little annoying, but we've not won every game this season by an infinite margin, so we haven't had the perfect season. If we had, perhaps it'd be different. As it is, we're in a great situation whereby we can have a much more positive outlook than in many previous seasons, but there is still a fair amount to discuss with regards to improvements. Pointing out areas where we could get better isn't necessarily being pessimistic, it creates discussion which, at the end of the day, is what most people post on forums for!
Problem hb1, may be that you bring it up regularly and always have an issue with this top 8 thing. Wt has simply said be positive for now and he's got the "don't tell me what to think treatment". Its like telling a girl she's pretty but has a wonky nose. You could have left that out, but you include it every time.
To summarise. We lost to a last minute breakaway goal. We can't beat a top 6 team or Ipswich. We tend to bicker and constantly repeat arguments. We need someone to summarise after 22 pages. Happy to oblige.
It takes two to have an argument. HB is clearly strong headed, but he and Malteser have been equally guilty of an extended examination of semantics, which you've now joined. You are right though. It's academic at this point. Lose to Boro and Derby and then fail in the playoffs and HB1 will be proven correct. Go up by any means and then the top six issue is irrelevant. Debating whether we could should or would have won games which have already been decided is pretty pointless now. Look forwards. IMO, HB is correct to say we will need to transform our form against top sides if we're to get 4 or 6 points over the next two games. But this is the stage of the season where if things like that are ever going to happen, then they happen now. All bets are off and previous form is irrelevant. Onto the next game and whoever holds their nerve the best will triumph.
I think one thing we can all agree on is if we lose to Derby then Joka needs to go and hopefully we'll get Garcia back for the run in.
I know people will argue there are still plenty of games to go, and there are many twists and turns to come, but i personally feel we are fighting for second now that Bournemouth have pulled ahead. Their fixture list really is much easier and now we have dropped to second I believe we have probably lost the chance to keep first place in our own destiny. I hope I am wrong, but I just can't see it any other way.
Agree with this. I would also add that if we are to beat a top 6 team, now is the right time to do so ( as long as Abdi is back). We lost many of those games through a lack of concentration and less commitment and work rate. This is no longer the case. If you were to look at the stats, you might not give us much chance at Derby. They will have their best players coming back. We have a poor record there. We are bad against the top 6. They have nothing to lose. But then you could probably have said the same to Ipswich before their game with us. You become a top side by taking your chances when they come and not gifting the opposition anything. Possession does not matter. In fact, everything else is irrelevant.
Personally I think Forest away could be our most difficult match left this season. Derby are woefully out of form, although admittedly a good side who could click again very soon. Forest are in-form under their new manager, strong at home and still chasing a play-off place.
Totally agree, it's just the sort of game, like Ipswich, that could trip us up, Forest are in good form at the moment and it will be a tough game.
If we have a decent result against Derby and Boro (maybe a win and a draw) and can beat Forest, I think we have a real chance to get 2nd place automatic promotion.
Welcome to the forum. You can edit your posts - the edit button is next to reply in the bottom right of your own posts.
People argue its all to play for, which in theory it is, but realistically i think theres Watford, Norwich and Boro (possibly Derby) fighting to get auto with Bournemouth probably going top. 3rd place is a mega-scrap! Lol
Why do some people on here always find it necessary to have a scapegoat for everything. It's not only when we slip up either often we can win and someone gets pilloried for some aspect of their game but rarely in a constructive way. FFS we are in an automatic promotion place with just 7 games to go, get behind ALL the players and lets get the job done this season.
Well taking one game at a time, I genuinely think we can beat Derby away, even assuming their best players are back at Easter, they have had a long time out, so will prob not be at their best. Their confidence is at rock bottom at the moment, even though they are desperate for an elusive win. Also I still think we tend to nail crucial games better when we play away from home.
There's been no arguing from me. Besides HB1 and I are on good terms. I was just reminding him we have had a few good results against top 6 sides this season and those should be included in the debate! He's right though about our general poor form against top sides and I can understand his trepadation ahead of the next two matches. All very civil and an interesting debate.
I have enjoyed catching up this morning with 'hb1gate'! Arthur the cat came in lame and in pain yesterday evening so a quick trip to the RVC at Brookmans Park ensued. Almost everyone has posted rational answers to Saturday's defeat and what may or may not happen over Easter and beyond.I find myself wishing for a game Tuesday to allow us to remove the anguish of Ipswich.That of course isn't possible so we will all have to stew until Good Friday and hope we can dismiss the 'Top 6 Monkey' from our back. Many would wish to be in our position and our destiny remains in our hands so as hard as it is at present let's try and enjoy it. After all it's a darn site better than being stoned by Luton fans at KR!
If we don't make automatics, Ipswich would be my preferred choice. They are bad, we were just alot worse on Saturday.
I'm so glad I boycotted the forum after the defeat on Saturday - only read a few posts but MY GOD some of you are so negative. We are second.
Personally I don't think record vs top 6 matters too much, even in the play-offs. It's a couple of one off games.
Boy we do have a propensity to argue amongst ourselves when we're all actually agreeing (me too sometimes!). Everyone knows we have a poor record against the better teams , an excellent one against the poorer ones and that the two records are disproportionate. That is an interesting fact, nothing more. In particular, it shouldn't be used to become overly fearful about our next two games and Forest away. What we need to do is buck one trend and stay on course with the other and being overly concerned with the detail of the statistics, which are by definition historical, will not assist us. If the Joka is mindful of these stats at all it will be to use them as motivation for our three most difficult games (on paper). Of far more importance leading up to the final run in (and our next couple of games in particular) will be how everyone deals with the international break. I suspect Derby and Boro will have some current absentees too although probably less than us. Will all those players come back to their respective squads 'undamaged'? Will various injury problems be resolved in the interim (Almen and Fessi still being out would be at least as much of a problem as anything Derby might have)? How will the returnees re-integrate back into the rest of the squad who will have been working on stuff in their absence? How will Derby set up? They're still playing catch-up. So will they be gung-ho or be mindful of the fact that the 'Ipswich way' denied us a single shot on target on Saturday? Going down that route would be entirely against their nature though. And what about Boro who are more defensively minded anyway? Now with Almen and Fessi currently injured and having lost on Saturday, I reckon the international break will be much more in our favour than was the concensus on here a few days ago. The Joka's entire focus will be on how to win our next seven games and how to manage our squad and tactics to achieve that. We've come to trust him in this. The guy immediately admitted he made a mistake on Saturday - not in going for it, but in going for it too recklessly. That kind of personal honesty demonstrates to me even more what good hands we're in. So we should all get behind the Joka in his quest for a further 21 points and not get overly hung-up on a bunch of rather unimportant statistics. Be optimistic. We can do it. COYH.
How is this sort of comment helpful in any way whatsoever? I just hope the squad aren't thinking like this.
