[Archived] The Relegation Battle Aftermath

[roverwhelmed]

Can't see us staying up, but until it is mathematically determined I will continue to hope for a miracle.

Still can't believe this is happening to us

Venkys deserve what they get, I just wish it didn't involve us having to deal with that as well.

[imy9]

Have to say 2 wins from 5 games looks tough with our run in, I think it is essential that Junior is fit for the run in and that we need to pray- a lot.

[Tom]

Have to say 2 wins from 5 games looks tough with our run in, I think it is essential that Junior is fit for the run in and that we need to pray- a lot.

If we could get one and a couple of draws we may be ok, still looks beyond us though

West ham losing today is massive for us they have sone messy fixtures and it's essential we avoid defeat there

[booth]

Don't understand that either, or people thinking we'll beat Man City next monday based on current form I don't see where a win is coming from in any of our remaining fixtures... can see a couple of draws at best. Whether that'll be enough, I don't know. Will depend on how bad WHU and Wigan are in these last few fixtures. They must be looking at us and thinking 'come on lads, we can finish above them at least'.

It's because they don't watch the games, it's blind optimism, or they are supremely stupid. If we beat City a miracle will have happened. Funny results do happen in football but not often.

Our only chance of survival is if the clubs below us do worse. And for that to happen we need to get results against two of them away. That's a tough run in.

[Trickstar]

Personally think we will avaoid relegation on the last day by maybe a point or goal difference but it will be nothing to do with Kean it will be the start Sam gave us and the fact 3 other teams are in a worse state than us. Unless Venkys put money where their mouth is we need to start looking at championship manangers like Dave Jones, Neil Warnock or Paul Lambert who can polish a turd and at least keep us mid table next season

[Stuart]

It's because they don't watch the games, it's blind optimism, or they are supremely stupid. If we beat City a miracle will have happened. Funny results do happen in football but not often.

Our only chance of survival is if the clubs below us do worse. And for that to happen we need to get results against two of them away. That's a tough run in.

I was hoping for our miracle today.

We are now completely reliant on 3 of the clubs below us not getting more points than us. So in other words, not getting any more points.

Man City 0

Bolton 1

West Ham 0

Man Utd 0

Wolves ?

Based on this run, and being reasonably conservative about other results for the rest of the clubs in the bottom 6, we will HAVE to win at Wolves to stay up. Lose to Wolves and we finish bottom of the league.

Please (please!) feel free to challenge my predictions - I'm no expert!

Blackpool 1 0 Newcastle

Chelsea 1 0 West Ham

Liverpool 1 0 Birmingham

Sunderland 1 1 Wigan

Wolves 1 0 Fulham

Stoke 1 0 Wolves

Blackpool 0 1 Stoke

Sunderland 0 0 Fulham

Wigan 0 0 Everton

Birmingham 0 0 Wolves

Man City 1 0 West Ham

Aston Villa 1 1 Wolves

Bolton 1 0 Sunderland

Newcastle 0 0 Birmingham

Tottenham 1 0 Blackpool

Wolves 0 1 West Brom

Blackpool 1 1 Bolton

Sunderland 1 1 Wolves

Birmingham 1 0 Fulham

Wigan 1 1 West Ham

Man Utd 1 0 Blackpool

Stoke 1 0 Wigan

Tottenham 1 0 Birmingham

West Ham 1 0 Sunderland

[Kamy100]

I think that 4 points will probably be enough. However, currently we don't look like we will get them. All we can do is support the team, two home games in the space of 5 days next week will probably seal our fate one way or the other.

[broadsword]

We've needed to only win two games for the past six to eight weeks to be safe.

We have failed. I cannot see us winning another game.

Goodbye Prem.

Hello Championship.

We'll win again, don't know where, doin't know when ...

[Waggy76]

If we could get one and a couple of draws we may be ok, still looks beyond us though

West ham losing today is massive for us they have sone messy fixtures and it's essential we avoid defeat there

West Ham , have far superior players to us, a full house at Upton Park see only defeat and I don't mean by the odd goal ..Blackpool at home was the one we had too win and we failed miserably...

[AggyBlue]

If we fell through the Championship next season, would we get parachute payments from the Premier League and from the Championship?

[Stuart]

If we fell through the Championship next season, would we get parachute payments from the Premier League and from the Championship?

Wouldn't have thought so. There is the PL and the Football League. The FL has three divisions you don't change organisations at when moving between Championship and Leagues 1 and 2.

Anyway, don't talk about Leagues 1 and 2, you are depressing me!

[Wiggy]

After being at Goodison today I think we have to accept the inevitable. Relegation. We have a back stabbing imposter of a manager. The clueless numpty has no idea. His only tactic is to make a substitution on 60 minutes (every week) and bring on Jason Roberts.

Our team stroll around as if they're in a training match when 135 years of football history is at stake. We're paying £90,000 a week to a player who would put more effort into walking his dogs.

We are owned by siblings who took over Daddy's successful business in a booming Indian economy and think they know everything, They don't.

They're intellectual derelicts who have absolutely no understanding of business. In fact they are world renowned now as being unbelievably thick. Every chancer invoved in English football has taken them for a ride. Kean, Anderson, Kentaro... So much for the mastermind marketing strategy!

[AggyBlue]

We are owned by siblings who took over Daddy's successful business in a booming Indian economy and think they know everything, They don't.

They're intellectual derelicts who have absolutely no understanding of business. In fact they are world renowned now as being unbelievably thick. Every chancer invoved in English football has taken them for a ride. Kean, Anderson, Kentaro... So much for the mastermind marketing strategy!

They've been very quiet for a month or so too, I'd like to know their thoughts on how their tenure is going.

[Hughesy]

Hansen tips the current bottom 3 to be the 3 that go down

Dixon tips us, Blackpool & Wolves

[Tom]

After being at Goodison today I think we have to accept the inevitable. Relegation. We have a back stabbing imposter of a manager. The clueless numpty has no idea. His only tactic is to make a substitution on 60 minutes (every week) and bring on Jason Roberts.

Our team stroll around as if they're in a training match when 135 years of football history is at stake. We're paying £90,000 a week to a player who would put more effort into walking his dogs.

We are owned by siblings who took over Daddy's successful business in a booming Indian economy and think they know everything, They don't.

They're intellectual derelicts who have absolutely no understanding of business. In fact they are world renowned now as being unbelievably thick. Every chancer invoved in English football has taken them for a ride. Kean, Anderson, Kentaro... So much for the mastermind marketing strategy!

I told you this morning I was resigned to it, today just confirmed it further.

[47er]

I said a couple of weeks ago that Sunderland would play a pivotal role in the relegation battle, both by ceding points to our rivals and by joining it! We played them at the wrong time sadly.

However, if we could get just 1 win we'd go above them and that might be enough to save us. Sunderland, Blackpool and Wolves/West Ham to go down is quite feasible IF we can fluke a win somehow.

[Hasta]

Rovers P33 -14 35

Wigan P33 -21 34

Blackpool P33 -22 33

West Ham P33 -19 32

Wolves P32 -20 32

Run Ins:-

ROVERS

City (h)

Bolton (h)

West Ham (a)

Man U (h)

Wolves (a)

WIGAN

Sunderland (a)

Everton (h)

Villa (a)

West Ham (h)

Stoke (a)

BLACKPOOL

Newcastle (h)

Stoke (h)

Tottenham (a)

Bolton (h)

Man U (a)

WEST HAM

Chelsea (a)

Man City (a)

Rovers (h)

Wigan (a)

Sunderland (h)

WOLVES

Fulham (h)

Stoke (a)

Birmingham (a)

West Brom (h)

Sunderland (a)

Rovers (h)

edit - Sunderland are in free fall but if they go down with their fixtures I would be suprised:-

SUNDERLAND

Wigan (h)

Fulham (h)

Bolton (a)

Wolves (h)

West Ham (a)

[Stuart]

Sunderland could be the thorn in our side over the coming weeks.

[Athlete]

Sunderland could be the thorn in our side over the coming weeks.

forget it are there 3 worse sides than us ???? Blackpool we couldnt beat them at home , Wigan we shipped 4 at there place..anyone who ships 4 against wigan deserves to go down ! West Ham our bogey side couldnt beat them at home in probably the worst game of the season . Wolves possibly . Sunderland on as bad a run as us .

so you can safely see us going down were are we going to win a game from ???? we need at least 2 wins from 5

[RevidgeBlue]

Our team stroll around as if they're in a training match when 135 years of football history is at stake.

Therein lies part of the problem, regardless of who's in charge. Three clubs have to go down every season but if everyone stood to have their 40k p.w. contracts terminated in the event of relegation we might at least see a bit more urgency.

[RevidgeBlue]

Sunderland could be the thorn in our side over the coming weeks.

One win would make such a difference to our situation.

It brings Suderland genuinely into the equation in the event they completely self implode.

You would have to think it slightly more likely they would take points off our other rivals though.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

One win would make such a difference to our situation.

It brings Suderland genuinely into the equation in the event they completely self implode.

You would have to think it slightly more likely they would take points off our other rivals though.

Two things you need to survive with a struggling team - 1) Tremendous work rate, desire and will to win. 2) The ability to keep clean sheets. Really they go together. We appear not to have either.

[philipl]

Andy Dunn on the Sunday Supplement this morning said that for a variety of reasons, people want Blackburn to go down. Rovers supporters are having to get use to the awful reality that this is no longer southern press bias against us but no more than we deserve.

The pain of this situation is that we not only have lost all credibility, self-respect and all the respect our great all club ought to be due, West Ham supporters will be looking at us soon and saying: "Glad we are not in that sort of a mess".

This is relegation as a conscious choice by Venky's.

I put our chances of staying up now at not much better than 10%. Just got to hope Bolton and City are too wound up by their Semi-Final experiences to be too bothered by a visit to Ewood. A slim hope but it is all we have got.

[roverwhelmed]

Andy Dunn on the Sunday Supplement this morning said that for a variety of reasons, people want Blackburn to go down. Rovers supporters are having to get use to the awful reality that this is no longer southern press bias against us but no more than we Venky's deserve.

If only they could get what they deserve without the club being dragged through the mire.

I didn't think I was capable of hate

[joey_big_nose]

This is relegation as a conscious choice by Venky's.

I don't quite follow this. Do you mean Venkys want us to go down? Not matter how daft they are there is no benefit in that for anyone.

Looking at the fixtures none of them I would be confident at a win from, especially on current form. And we just can't score.

Survival for me depends on two things:

1) Get back the organisation that saw us defend well against Arsenal and Birmingham by bringing P Jones back into midfield. Losing this progress against Everton was totally stupid and avoidable.

2) Attacking players making something happen. Hoilett has been doing this with aplomb but is now injured. We need him back. We also need at least one of Rochina, Dunn, Cruz, Benjani, Roberts, Kalinic or Mame Diouf to create chances and score goals. The attacking side of our game, Hoilett aside, has been utterly shameful since the Liverpool game. We are desperate in this position and we need someone to step up.

If we can do those two things we should be alright. 1) I think is very achievable as we have managed it in recent games (if only we had kept it up when Kean first came on board....). 2) is what worries me. None of those players apart from Hoilett have given defenses any real concerns this season. Why should they start now? Rochina is the only unknown quantity.