[Archived] Relegation Watch 2009-10 Season

[Steve Moss]

Our schedule to date:

ManC L

Sunderland L

W Ham D

Wolves W

Everton L

AV W

Arsenal L

Burnley W

Chelsea L

ManU L

Portsmouth W

Bolton W

Fulham L

Stoke D

I placed in bold the teams that are in the top half of the table. 8 of our 14 games have been against top ten clubs. We've performed with W 5 D 2 L 7. With Liverpool coming up, that will make it 9 out of 15. All in all, I think we are doing pretty well.

[FourLaneBlue]

We need some creative quality in midfield as other than Dunn we have nobody who can consistently create. This, however, has been the problem for the last 3 years or so. A good attacking midfielder was more important than bringing in 2 strikers. Why have 4 strikers at the club if you are often going to play just the one? We cannot rely on Dunn to be fit for an entire season. Let's hope the cupboard is not completely bare this January...

[tony gale's mic]

Our schedule to date:

ManC L

Sunderland L

W Ham D

Wolves W

Everton L

AV W

Arsenal L

Burnley W

Chelsea L

ManU L

Portsmouth W

Bolton W

Fulham L

Stoke D

I placed in bold the teams that are in the top half of the table. 8 of our 14 games have been against top ten clubs. We've performed with W 5 D 2 L 7. With Liverpool coming up, that will make it 9 out of 15. All in all, I think we are doing pretty well.

Yep and the only game we've lost home or away to a bottom 10 side is Everton who do have a better first xi than us on paper.

Still I feel your post might be a bit too much common sense for some people on here.

[FourLaneBlue]

We have either only lost to top 7 sides from last season (big 4, Everton, Fulham) or to sides who spent a fortune during the summer (City, Sunderland) so we are certainly competing with those more at our level. That said we need more against the top sides as, one win against Villa apart, we have had next to nothing.

[Blue blood]

I doubt we'll go down. There are a lot of poor teams - the most shambolic of which are wolves, portsmouth and bolton - although there are 3 or 4 others. The chances of enough of them doing well enough to put us in trouble isn't very likely imo. Added to which, Sam has enough nous to grind out the points we need to survive. I doubt we'll get top half of the table under Sam, we don't have the quality nor the aggressiveness to win enough matches, but I'm also confident that we won't go down.

[ABBEY]

we are one home defeat from being back in the poop folks.....

[Tom]

I said I don't think we'll go down due to other teams being even worse. The worrying thing is the likes of Burnley, Wolves and Hull will scrap for their lives, I just can't see this team doing that.

[philipl]

Looking at 18th now being on 17 points, I am now tipping the dingles to go down. 17th spot is going to need more points than the dingles will be capable of getting. Their home form will go soon and they will be busted then.

Hull seem to be pulling away from their financial troubles- Pearson would not have gone back had the situation not have been resolvable.

That leaves West Ham and Pompey wrecked by off-field problems and one from Bolton, Wolves, Hull and the dingles. Of those, the dingles have the weakest squad but the best manager. The dingles are bound to hit an injury or suspension problem sometime soon and Coyle's magic is wearing thin.

[Tom]

I think the dingles will scrape it as will Bolton, if we don't start playing away from home we will end up in danger.

[philipl]

We will see, but the dingles are clearly a Championship side out-performing their real ability. The Prem has rumbled them at Turf Moor now and they are so woeful away as to be beyond a joke. Going 5 down at Upton Park was seriously bad.

[Tom]

Tomorrow is the kind of match I can see them getting something though, the fans will be well up for it and games like this are like cup ties to their players.

Burnley going down and us staying up could save this season.

[Alan75]

I would suggest that after the display against Birmingham and the second half disjointed display against Spurs, Rovers are becoming candidates for religation.

[Blue blood]

It's a tad worrying that we are only 3 points above the relegation zone and can't get a goal for love nor money. And it hasn't helped that some of the other teams down there have come into a bit of form.

We probably are back in a relegation battle, but in terms of the squad and our current position I feel a lot more confident about staying up. 1/2 creative players and a settled front two and we should be fine.

It's frustrating; we are progressing under Sam, but other teams are progressing faster. Brum and Stoke are just two examples of this.

[Doogs]

Crap goes down

[Paul]

I would suggest that after the display against Birmingham and the second half disjointed display against Spurs, Rovers are becoming candidates for religation.

Three from four of Everton, Wolves, Bolton and Wigan can go above us by 10.00pm Monday. If Wigan beat Bolton tomorrow night the Boxing Day game will be really crucial.

[1864roverite]

I thought about starting a new thread but realised its nearly Bob Fleming time. I definately think Rovers are in a relegation battle and to show just how far Rovers should be instead, I have taken a look at where our team have lost some serious points and have missed the foundations to mount a serious top 10 finish this season.

Sunderland (a)- 1-0 up and very comfortable with it. We then throw the game away with defensive errors. 2 pts lost.

Everton (a) - a total non appearance by Rovers. 1 pt lost.

Fulham (a) - stupid erros cost us at least a point. 1pt lost.

Stoke (h) - not enough guile to win the game through the formation on the field. 2 pts lost.

Liverpool (h) - would grab a point with both hands but we missed a golden 90th chance to take all 3. 2pts lost.

Hull (a) - languid performance where we should have converted pressure into a goal. 2 pts lost.

Brum (a) - errors cost us at least a point. Our goal was too late in coming. 1 pt lost.

Spurs (h) - costly defensive error and a lack of guile/creativity fatal. 3 pts lost.

Thats a total of 14 points thrown away. Its safety guaranteed and would have put us in a healthy 5th spot clear of Man City and above Spurs.Some might say 14 points is a high total, but of you look at the games and the manner in which Rovers have conceded stupid goals it is very easy to find that total.

Even with a lack of creative spark in the middle, a lack of pace and the not so effective andrews, Rovers could so easily have banked at least 50% of those 14 and it would still have left us in a healthy position going into the festive period.

Anyone disagree ?

[S15]

Yes. To suggest we should have 14 more points at this stage is ridiculous.

How about you make a list of the points we have that could easily have been lost.

We're 13th, which means we are the 13th best team in the league. I agree with that.

[1864roverite]

My point being Shillito is that we are actually far better than our current position shows even with some of the poor players in our squad. I am certain it is not that difficult to see.

Now then, having been to the majority of those games, that is how I see it.

if you dont agree fine, you clearly see a different picture.

[S15]

I don't think we are better than the 13th (ish) best team in league.

Does that mean we disagree?

[LeChuck]

My point being Shillito is that we are actually far better than our current position shows

Come off it. If every team hyper-analysed every single match like that they could make a case for lost points as well. The fact that you calculated it to make us fifth just shows how wide of the mark it is.

[S15]

Add to that the justifications are comments such as 'silly errors cost us a point,' 'costly errors and lack of guile,' and 'throw away the game with defensive errors' etc and this just go to show that all the points we have lost are because our defence is crap and we can't create chances.

Yet we should be 5th?

[Tom]

Come off it. If every team hyper-analysed every single match like that they could make a case for lost points as well. The fact that you calculated it to make us fifth just shows how wide of the mark it is.

Exactly, you can say if and but all you like but the fact is at the end of 90 minutes you get either 0,1 or 3 points, it doesn't matter if we missed and easy chance or conceded a sloppy goal. As someone else said you could easily make a point for times we have got points when we might not have.

Bolton - They hit the bar seconds before we scored, they may have been comfortable had that gone in -3 points

Villa - they had an early lead and got sloppy when we weren't in the game at all and then eased off at the death -3 points

Stoke - Beattie missed a sitter - 1 point

Livrpool - NGog missed a sitter - 1 point

Burnley - Di Santo's goal could have been disallowed - 2 points

So that puts us on 10 points and bottom of the league.

The fact is these kind of things don't matter one iota.

[sambo]

Exactly, you can say if and but all you like but the fact is at the end of 90 minutes you get either 0,1 or 3 points, it doesn't matter if we missed and easy chance or conceded a sloppy goal. As someone else said you could easily make a point for times we have got points when we might not have.

Bolton - They hit the bar seconds before we scored, they may have been comfortable had that gone in -3 points

Villa - they had an early lead and got sloppy when we weren't in the game at all and then eased off at the death -3 points

Stoke - Beattie missed a sitter - 1 point

Livrpool - NGog missed a sitter - 1 point

Burnley - Di Santo's goal could have been disallowed - 2 points

So that puts us on 10 points and bottom of the league.

The fact is these kind of things don't matter one iota.

Disallowing Di Santo's goal would have been a horrendous decision.

On that Jeff Winter table a few weeks back if referees/linesmen made the right decisions, we'd have been better off than we actually were. But I do believe we have been very poor of late.

[Tom]

Yes it would have been harsh but not beyong the realms of possibility.

I don't believe what I wrote I was simple playing Devils Advocate to 1864's post

[1864roverite]

I take your point of views chaps but it is only a "potential" scenario.

I fully agree with taking a negative side view of points gained out of potential losses and I suggest its going to be a fine line between failure and success. thw what ifs are questions that can be asked and answered if we require a post mortem at tghe end of the season. The point of my post was to try and make sense of our predicament. A club without money, a town team, a club with little in the way of potential investment and a club with a die hard home support of just some 23000 fans could so easily have found itself safe and secure for next season and put itself on course for Europe once more whereas, due to my opinions pointed out in the post, we now find ourselves full tilt into a survival battle with 7 other clubs. After this weekends results we now find the gap has significantly closed with Wolves over us in the league, now who would have expected that ?

I think it is going to be a long hard winter, a daunting spring and as we near the end of the 38 match marathon I just hope we have enough in the tank to scrape over the line.

Our form has dipped at the wrong time especially with a semi final on the horizon against a team that is flying, has pace and creativity and has a splurge of English talent.

Worrying isnt it ?