[Archived] Relegation Watch

[Hughesy]

We need 4 points, ideally 6 from our next 3 games (United A, Hull A, Everton H).

If we dont manage that, then its time to start worrying.

[CAPT KAYOS]

I think that we will stay up, West Brom, Boro and Stoke have plenty of problems. We just need to continue to hang, the home games are going to be crucial.

Problems - and we don't Kamy?

The home games have been crucial all season but we have made a right hash of them.

DE4life

and I don't think we'll go down, based on the fact there are 3 teams in the league worse than us

MMmm.. - fact? where are these 3 teams then -as I can only see x2

18 Blackburn

19 Middlesbrough

20 West Brom

Strange comments guys/gals considering the season we have had, and although slightly better there has been far from confident or inspiring performances since Sam has been here.

I agree - something can be salvaged as there are still points available and keeping the faith is the whole point of following a football team as you never know what may happen.

However, the players (bar maybe a couple) are not exactly busting a gut to show that they have the fight nor the incentive.

Think we have to hope we can do a Fulham of last season and that Sam actually does know the way to get out of the turmoil.

People's worries are not without good reason.

[jonv]

I had a dream last night that we won like 3 or 4 games in a row and with 6 or 7 games left we where in 7th position and where all wondering what we were thinking about with relegation worries and even had the nerve to call not qualifying for Europe a failure of a season.

[BRFC1995]

We need 4 points, ideally 6 from our next 3 games (United A, Hull A, Everton H).

If we dont manage that, then its time to start worrying.

united........................just keep the score down

hull............................tricky must win, probably draw

everton......................v.difficult, take a draw now

feel overly ambitious asking for 2 pts, and i'd probably take it

[gumboots]

Perhaps I am just despondent I don't know but I have a bad bad feeling about where we will be playing football next season.

Why? Are we selling Ewood?

[bobsterbrfc]

allow yourselves a moments release ladies and gentlemen, let your imgination run wild and think....how bloody amazing would it be if we beat united?

i know it's very very very very very very very very very very very unlikely, but bugger me it'd be marvellous!!!!

[Amo]

Why? Are we selling Ewood?

We'll probably have to.

[Hughesy]

Why doent we sell the naming rights to the ground to gain some extra revenue??

[DE.]

MMmm.. - fact? where are these 3 teams then -as I can only see x2

18 Blackburn

19 Middlesbrough

20 West Brom

We've beaten Newcastle twice this season have we not? Okay they're ahead of us in the table at the moment but I wouldn't say they're a side of better quality than us. You really believe Stoke are better than us? We easily beat them at Ewood, and if we win our game in hand we go above them by 2 points. That's another two teams to add to boro and WBA alone... I'd also suggest Pompey are on a similar level to us, and Spurs, despite their plethora of talent, are hardly impressing either. Considering the amount Sunderland have spent, they're not doing amazingly either and we should have beaten them when we played them in the premiership (and have beaten them twice in different cup competitions) so I'd say as a squad we get the edge over them as well. Difference is many of the teams above us have ground out results and team-bussed their goalmouths at times whilst we shipped a shedload of goals under Ince. If Sam had been here since the summer we wouldn't be in the relegation zone, I firmly believe that, and I think he'll mannage to claw us out of this mess as well.

[Brainfreeze]

we should have beaten them when we played them in the premiership

We can keep saying that from now till the end of the season, but it ain't gonna help us out of the mess we're in! We need to start winning our home games.

[CAPT KAYOS]

We've beaten Newcastle twice this season have we not? Okay they're ahead of us in the table at the moment but I wouldn't say they're a side of better quality than us. You really believe Stoke are better than us? We easily beat them at Ewood, and if we win our game in hand we go above them by 2 points. That's another two teams to add to boro and WBA alone... I'd also suggest Pompey are on a similar level to us, and Spurs, despite their plethora of talent, are hardly impressing either. Considering the amount Sunderland have spent, they're not doing amazingly either and we should have beaten them when we played them in the premiership (and have beaten them twice in different cup competitions) so I'd say as a squad we get the edge over them as well. Difference is many of the teams above us have ground out results and team-bussed their goalmouths at times whilst we shipped a shedload of goals under Ince. If Sam had been here since the summer we wouldn't be in the relegation zone, I firmly believe that, and I think he'll mannage to claw us out of this mess as well.

So all ifs and not facts - I'm sure the clubs you have mentioned also look at Rovers and feel they are better than us

however, what is fact is that the teams above us have more points on the board and until we start doing this there is nothing to say we are any better.

All pure specualation and tinted glasses scenario - Newcastle beat WBA at the Hawthorns something we failed to do but we'll not dwell on that.

At the end of the day its all about points on the board - and despite our 'improvement' at this moment in time we are still in the bottom 3 with performances not suggesting that we will pull ourselves out of it.

If Sam had been with us since the beginning , again speculation , however I also agree its unlikely we would have been in the relegation in only that I doubt he would have sold Bentley without a replacement lined up and nor would he have bought Andrews - however I have a funny feeling he would have sold Benni.

Personally, I think it will be the performances or lack of them by the other clubs that keeps us up more than anything looking at what fixtures are still to be played.

[gumboots]

You really believe Stoke are better than us?

No I don't but I can tell you they are not talking relegation because at their own ground they have the noisiest fans and they tend not to lose. Away they are a completely different proposition. We beat them at our place without Delap in their team and his throws really do make a difference to their performance. They are confident they are staying up and if fans and team are confident (not cocky- there is a difference) then they are at a big advantage against teams like us where the majority of fans seem to be just waiting for official confirmation that we are going down and the team and the manager don't seem much more sure we're not.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

We beat them at our place without Delap in their team and his throws really do make a difference to their performance.

Delap played.

Someone else took the throw ins, but they were good ones. About Pedersen distance. Certainly into the 6 yard box.

[AggyBlue]

We beat them at our place without Delap in their team

I'm not picking a fight but Delap played at Ewood although he couldn't throw the ball due to a shoulder injury.

[gazsimm]

i think stoke are the team we need to be above if we are going to stay up, i think west brom and the boro will go down, with either us or Stoke taking the other place. The match at the Britannia is a must not loose match.

[DE.]

So all ifs and not facts - I'm sure the clubs you have mentioned also look at Rovers and feel they are better than us

however, what is fact is that the teams above us have more points on the board and until we start doing this there is nothing to say we are any better.

All pure specualation and tinted glasses scenario - Newcastle beat WBA at the Hawthorns something we failed to do but we'll not dwell on that.

At the end of the day its all about points on the board - and despite our 'improvement' at this moment in time we are still in the bottom 3 with performances not suggesting that we will pull ourselves out of it.

If Sam had been with us since the beginning , again speculation , however I also agree its unlikely we would have been in the relegation in only that I doubt he would have sold Bentley without a replacement lined up and nor would he have bought Andrews - however I have a funny feeling he would have sold Benni.

Personally, I think it will be the performances or lack of them by the other clubs that keeps us up more than anything looking at what fixtures are still to be played.

If we're going to go by facts then alright...

Fact, we're in the relegation zone as it stands.

Fact, we have a game in hand and if we win it we aren't in the relegation zone.

Fact, we've only lost one game since Sam took over in December.

Fact. we've stopped shipping goals at the rate Ince's team was letting them in.

You can look for positives and negatives in any situation, it's also a fact that we have one of the weakest midfields in the premiership, have drawn a lot of games we should have won and lack the financial clout to ever effectively compete in the Premiership.

However, there are positives and we should focus on those and believe our players can get us out of this mess. Newcastle did beat WBA at home, yes, but they also lost to us whilst we drew with WBA, so over the course of the games between the 3 clubs we're currently in a beetter position by virtue of beating Newcastle twice and drawing with WBA, whilst they've beaten WBA but lost both times to us. It's all a matter of perception - if we beat WBA at Ewood such a result won't be such a huge issue.

Everything that you predict about the future or even to an extent the past (reasons and motivation) is speculation. Fact is, negative speculation, whilst understandable, isn't particularly helpful. We can point out the issues with Rovers over and over (and many on here do) but this leads to people failing to see any positives, and there ARE plenty of those.

We have a defence that is no longer leaking goals at an alarming rate. Okay, we failed to hold onto a 2-0 lead at Man City and we let in 2 quick goals against Bolton, but otherwise, Sam has steadied that problem and the addition of Givet is a fantastic move that could be a big step towards us staying up. Our best midfield, when fit, is good enough for the Premiership. MGP has to stand up annd be counted for, and we need to hope Diouf has the impact we're praying for and Dunn and Grella manage to get an injury-free run going. It's possible, isn't it? McCarthy and Roberts have shown as a partnership they can score goals and we know that when on form RSC will score goals. We're a little light on squad depth and injuries aren't helping, but Newcastle are worse off there by a long shot... ffs, even their manager is injured.

I'm not saying there should be blind optimism, the team should have the finger pointed at them if they make stupid mistakes, but at the same time I am sick and tired of people saying we are definately down, or that we need a miracle to stay up. That's just not true - we DO have enough to stay in this division, it's just a case of the players believing in themselves and the fans giving them the backing required to raise their confidence. With Sam at the helm we have a good chance of getting out of this, and we have to keep the faith until we're definately down.

[CAPT KAYOS]

If we're going to go by facts then alright...

Fact, we're in the relegation zone as it stands.

Fact, we have a game in hand and if we win it we aren't in the relegation zone.

Fact, we've only lost one game since Sam took over in December.

Fact. we've stopped shipping goals at the rate Ince's team was letting them in.

You can look for positives and negatives in any situation, it's also a fact that we have one of the weakest midfields in the premiership, have drawn a lot of games we should have won and lack the financial clout to ever effectively compete in the Premiership.

However, there are positives and we should focus on those and believe our players can get us out of this mess. Newcastle did beat WBA at home, yes, but they also lost to us whilst we drew with WBA, so over the course of the games between the 3 clubs we're currently in a beetter position by virtue of beating Newcastle twice and drawing with WBA, whilst they've beaten WBA but lost both times to us. It's all a matter of perception - if we beat WBA at Ewood such a result won't be such a huge issue.

Everything that you predict about the future or even to an extent the past (reasons and motivation) is speculation. Fact is, negative speculation, whilst understandable, isn't particularly helpful. We can point out the issues with Rovers over and over (and many on here do) but this leads to people failing to see any positives, and there ARE plenty of those.

We have a defence that is no longer leaking goals at an alarming rate. Okay, we failed to hold onto a 2-0 lead at Man City and we let in 2 quick goals against Bolton, but otherwise, Sam has steadied that problem and the addition of Givet is a fantastic move that could be a big step towards us staying up. Our best midfield, when fit, is good enough for the Premiership. MGP has to stand up annd be counted for, and we need to hope Diouf has the impact we're praying for and Dunn and Grella manage to get an injury-free run going. It's possible, isn't it? McCarthy and Roberts have shown as a partnership they can score goals and we know that when on form RSC will score goals. We're a little light on squad depth and injuries aren't helping, but Newcastle are worse off there by a long shot... ffs, even their manager is injured.

I'm not saying there should be blind optimism, the team should have the finger pointed at them if they make stupid mistakes, but at the same time I am sick and tired of people saying we are definately down, or that we need a miracle to stay up. That's just not true - we DO have enough to stay in this division, it's just a case of the players believing in themselves and the fans giving them the backing required to raise their confidence. With Sam at the helm we have a good chance of getting out of this, and we have to keep the faith until we're definately down.

I haven't predicted anything, what I have stated is fact ie we are in the bottom 3 and have less points unlike the 'fact ' that you claim there are x3 clubs worse than us - yet at this moment in time there is nothing to prove this.

I agree we have a better chance with Sam in charge, yet your statements are all ifs and buts which is what I am pointing out - yes keep the faith but don't let it underlie the problems we have and that things might just go against us if we don't start winning games which is why the pessimists (inc myself) are not feeling overly confident - forget about the other clubs and just concentrate on our own game. As fans we know (?) we have enough to stay in this division as I am sure the fans of the other clubs feel also - time the players and the manager started showing this.

Positives - I wouldn't say there are plenty but enough to say its in our own hands to start winning although I stand by what I believe happens in the other fixtures will have most bearing looking at who has to play who.

[DE.]

We are currently 18th, but we do have a game in hand, and assumedly if we won that suddenly there's be 4 or 5 teams worse than us in your view, as we'd momentarilly skip above them? The table doesn't lie at the end of the season, but you can only use it to an extent at this point, especially with games in hand still to be played. It's easy to be pessimistic, in fact most Rovers fans thrive on it and some seem to be desperately hoping the club does lose game after game and go down, but there are positives to be had. The only point I'm really arguing is that we are not definately down, and we don't need a miracle or anything else to save us. Our situation is not that dire, we're not like Derby were last year, though reading through some of these posts you'd think we were.

[incecticide]

We've beaten Newcastle twice this season have we not? Okay they're ahead of us in the table at the moment but I wouldn't say they're a side of better quality than us. You really believe Stoke are better than us? We easily beat them at Ewood, and if we win our game in hand we go above them by 2 points. That's another two teams to add to boro and WBA alone... I'd also suggest Pompey are on a similar level to us, and Spurs, despite their plethora of talent, are hardly impressing either. Considering the amount Sunderland have spent, they're not doing amazingly either and we should have beaten them when we played them in the premiership (and have beaten them twice in different cup competitions) so I'd say as a squad we get the edge over them as well.

By the same token, fans of all those teams look at us and think they're far better. Neutrals don't think we're a good side. Even under HUghes we were regarded as over-acheivers.

If we're going to stay up we need to turn some ifs, buts and shoulds into points. At the moment we are where we are, and that takes us down.

[LeftWinger]

....how bloody amazing would it be if we beat united?

i know it's very very very very very very very very very very very unlikely, but bugger me it'd be marvellous!!!!

I'm not sure you've got enough very's in there. I keep thinking we might nick something, but then remembering we'll likely have Ooijer up against Ronaldo. Hopefully Fergie will take pity and keep him on the right well away from our speedy full-back!

I had a dream the other night that we'd hung on for 0-0, and then in injury time when United were pressing for a winner - we cleared the ball upfield. Ferdinand slipped and Roberts was clean through, one-on-one with Van Der Saar. Luckily I woke up at this point to avoid the inevitable horror of Roberts tripping over the ball or scuffing it straight at the keeper.

Even under HUghes we were regarded as over-acheivers.

I don't believe it's possible to over-achieve. You can either perform at your best or not. Surely there is no way you can achieve things higher than what you're capable of.

[DE.]

By the same token, fans of all those teams look at us and think they're far better. Neutrals don't think we're a good side. Even under HUghes we were regarded as over-acheivers.

If we're going to stay up we need to turn some ifs, buts and shoulds into points. At the moment we are where we are, and that takes us down.

Read my previous posts and you'll see I've expressed the exact same sentiments in match preview threads. Doesn't mean that the ifs and buts are useless, they provide perspective... it's just a case of positive or negative perspective.

[gumboots]

I'm not picking a fight but Delap played at Ewood although he couldn't throw the ball due to a shoulder injury.

Sorry I should have thought for a moment longer and checked what I'd written. I know he played but without his throw ins you halve the effectiveness of their attack and as we both said he didn't take throw ins. It's not just distance he gives - it's that low trajectory that nobody else seems to be able to replicate or at least not to the same effect.

I don't believe it's possible to over-achieve. You can either perform at your best or not. Surely there is no way you can achieve things higher than what you're capable of.

You can't achieve more than you are capable of but you can achieve more than people expect you to. In that sense we are over achievers because people expect little of us and we keep upsetting their expectations.

[CAPT KAYOS]

We are currently 18th, but we do have a game in hand, and assumedly if we won that suddenly there's be 4 or 5 teams worse than us in your view, as we'd momentarilly skip above them? The table doesn't lie at the end of the season, but you can only use it to an extent at this point, especially with games in hand still to be played. It's easy to be pessimistic, in fact most Rovers fans thrive on it and some seem to be desperately hoping the club does lose game after game and go down, but there are positives to be had. The only point I'm really arguing is that we are not definately down, and we don't need a miracle or anything else to save us. Our situation is not that dire, we're not like Derby were last year, though reading through some of these posts you'd think we were.

But there you go again 'assumedly' & 'extent at this point' - ifs and buts

We can only go off 'this point' as that is fact and is exactly where we are - and no the table doesn't lie at the end of the season - nor does it lie at this point either - in other words we have simply not been good enough.

So taking this into account - and the questionable 'improved performances' we are still in the bottom 3 - now this is not being pessimistic (as I normally am where Rovers are concerned) more realistic of how poor we have been and to some extent still are -turning up for only 45 mins of a game is just one issue that must be addressed but has been a constant anomaly in our season that doesn't seem to be being rectified amongst other things.

Now put that into the equation ie a remaining constant - and continue as such would in the normal term of things leave us exactly where we are at the moment - in the bottom 3.

As we all know or hope for anyway , is that this doesn't happen and there will be all kinds of turns - but the way things have been going performance wise has not been encouraging

The ifs and buts may provide perspective - but they will for all teams -just some seem to be making more of a fight for it than we do hence why I feel there is all the negativity.

[JAL]

Looks like Rovers season is going to be dependent on the tale of the two Robbo's, one keeps the ball out of the net, whilst the other puts it into the net.

Robbo, Robbo !

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

You only have to look at our fixtures and you start to wonder just where are the wins going to come from to pull us out of the brown stuff.?We have basically 'bumbled' along from one draw to the next... i.e. we let slip a two goal lead to Citeh while Stoke beat 'em with ten men.You have to question the commitment and passion of our players to get us out of this mess and personally I am worried with what I have witnessed...and it ruddy well hurts to say so.

I pray we somehow pull through but I'm afraid its going to be too close for comfort.