[Archived] THE BATTLE FOR PROMOTION....WON.

[blueboy3333]

4 minutes ago, McClarky said:

interesting reading the Shrewsbury forum. I really can't stand that big club attitude some fans have towards these teams

You must have missed it when they came mouthing off on here. Agree about the arrogance though, it's a bit silly when it wasn't long ago that we were in the same division as them on a regular basis in the 80's and may still be if it wasn't for Jack. That said, of all the forums I've read the Saloppy's are by far the biggest bellends.

[Glosrover]

3 hours ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I don't think the fixture backlog will be a help or a hinderance one way or the other for Wigan. As you say when they're playing midweek they don't train and whilst it's a convenient excuse for the manager I'm sure the players would far rather do that. If they're good enough they'll go up, if not they won't.

I agree in terms of the frequency of the games  and the point on training versus match days

- perhaps the most likely hindrance in the fixture congestion is the lack of time to recover from the knocks and niggles, more likely that players may miss games through not being fully fit, or picking up more serious injury by not having recovery time. Ultimately becomes a function of the depth and quality of the squad - if that's big enough and good enough, they'll go up!! 

[Torgeir]

Niggles, suspensions, mental fatigue. Wigan have a tough test going forward, but looked a composed and professional side against us. Will definitely grab one of the two top spots. They're a lot more stable than us...perhaps we have the greatest potential but we have a tendency to give away sloppy goals and ultimately that will cost us a few more points from here on out. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I don't think we can on Walsall doing us any favours. They just got beat 3-0 at home by Rochdale.

[GreenRover]

59 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I don't think we can on Walsall doing us any favours. They just got beat 3-0 at home by Rochdale.

Ya that is a terrible result for them. Hopefully there will be a reaction from them but I doubt it. Shrewsbury will bully them. Watch the second half of there checkatrade trophy semi final tonight. They look a huge team. All big men but not the best footballers. They have a trip to Wembley now so that might take their eye of the league a bit. 

[Tom]

I think the Wembley trip will spur them on a bit and give them a little extra confidence

[Lancaster Rover]

I can never buy into the fixture congestion thing too much, winning breeds confidence. The year we won the Worthington cup we were on a stinking run, that result spurred us on and we finished the season really strongly.

[philipl]

The issue of multiple games being played in a short period of timing is not so much a lack of core athletic fitness or stamina because they should be super fit and training can be adjusted but the accumulation of cuts, bruises and strains which don't have the chance to heal properly before the next match. Carrying a niggle into a game also increases the chances of mis-timed tackles or temper tantrums and hence red cards. The Wigan lot didn't look particularly self-contained or disciplined  on Sunday.

Wigan playing all those games over three months would yield a promotion sealing points haul and at least a 50% chance of an FA Cup semi-final. Playing them in a two month period makes it more of a lottery

 

[arbitro]

1 hour ago, Lancaster Rover said:

I can never buy into the fixture congestion thing too much, winning breeds confidence. The year we won the Worthington cup we were on a stinking run, that result spurred us on and we finished the season really strongly.

When we won the Worthington Cup I recall having to play squad players and players out of position due to injuries and suspensions which happen when you play lots of games in a short space of time. But you are right about the lift it gave everybody as the prospect of relegation loomed. I think if Wigan have an injury or two or perhaps Cook uses a rotation policy it could bring about a couple of unexpected results.

We live in hope.

[Bigdoggsteel]

46 minutes ago, MGPensioner said:

This thread reminds me of last season.

Everyone trying to convince themselves by if, buts and maybes that we would stay up due to this, that & t'other scenario.

Followed by shellshock when we went down because Tony failed to make ANY change to our course by keep chucking points away.

So now we have the same situation again. In 10 games we will know. Shi7 or bust time. Need to win 10 games and hope others drop points. Any other plan will see us fail.

10 games to save our club Mr Mowbray.

I will be clear for you and try and speak in way you will understand

Last season in relegation, team bad before Mowbray come. Now team top of league and play good. 

Understand the difference?

[philipl]

1 hour ago, MGPensioner said:

This thread reminds me of last season.

Everyone trying to convince themselves by if, buts and maybes that we would stay up due to this, that & t'other scenario.

Followed by shellshock when we went down because Tony failed to make ANY change to our course by keep chucking points away.

So now we have the same situation again. In 10 games we will know. Shi7 or bust time. Need to win 10 games and hope others drop points. Any other plan will see us fail.

10 games to save our club Mr Mowbray.

On the 10 games to save our club theme, I suspect getting out of this league will be significantly more difficult with ambitious new ownerships at Charlton, Peterborough and Portsmouth.

This really is sh*t or bust this season.

[Paul]

Theories abound. I’m just happy with our league position. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, MGPensioner said:

Last season 2nd division.

This season 3rd division... worse teams.

The clue is the 3 teams who got relegated now at the top fighting for promotion.

Do you need a picture or do you understand the difference ?

No similarities with last season. Moronic statement. A different squad of players, in vastly better form. Do you understand how football works at all? 

[Bigdoggsteel]

44 minutes ago, MGPensioner said:

Are you very slow? Simply and this my final input in this conversation, look at the picture you posted. Above, go on, look up, its there.  Now,- There. Are. No. Teams. Ahead. Of. Us. This. Season. Do you understand?

Your point was that it's the same as least season. It's not. We have better players,in better form  at the top of a league,not at the bottom. Plus, on your original point and little picture above, we still finished ahead of Rotherham and Wigan. So I have no idea how it is similiar or what your picture is meant to prove 

[eire3382]

It gets extremely difficult to predict results as the season draws to a close. Teams who struggle all season suddenly go on a run to try and avoid relegation.  I really wouldnt like to have Wigan backlog to deal with. On paper they should win most if not and all but like I said end of season!  All we can really do is take our matches one at a time.  We need 7/8 wins and we will be there or there about. 

[Rover_Shaun]

17 hours ago, MGPensioner said:

This thread reminds me of last season.

Everyone trying to convince themselves by if, buts and maybes that we would stay up due to this, that & t'other scenario.

Followed by shellshock when we went down because Tony failed to make ANY change to our course by keep chucking points away.

So now we have the same situation again. In 10 games we will know. Shi7 or bust time. Need to win 10 games and hope others drop points. Any other plan will see us fail.

10 games to save our club Mr Mowbray.

I know exactly what you mean if I am a little unsure about what you are saying. 

[Pedro]

I think a key part of getting us over the line will be a now fit Danny Graham and the return of Harry Chapman and his ability to get balls across the face of goal. 

[AllRoverAsia]

13 minutes ago, MGPensioner said:

Tony has a big hole in his points bag.

Points get put in the bag (like Sunday) then fall out the hole.

Same last season which is why we went down. Same this season.

People have different theories on why Tony can't hold on to points in games  - mentality, formation, the defence as a w(hole), Nyambe, Raya, bla bla bla

But he has 10 games to sort his problem out and ensure we don't drop points and get automatic promotion.

TM will not sort out the 'perceived' problems over the next 10 games.

Defensive frailties existed last season and have not been fixed. Lack of height throughtout the team has been overlooked by TM in 2 transfer windows.

Every man and his dog knew we needed a BSH at CB in L1, maybe up front too.

TM has improved us in our attacking threat and goal scoring.

We have to try and live with our faults, accumulate as many points as possible and hope it's enough to get us above Wigan and/or Shrews into an auto promo spot.

Our prospects will change with each game that we and all the other contenders play. It's going to be a roller-coaster, first one up for us is on the Blackpool big-dipper

[AllRoverAsia]

17 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

No similarities with last season. Moronic statement. A different squad of players, in vastly better form. Do you understand how football works at all? 

7 players who started for us v Wigan also started v Brentford, final game last season.

They were: Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams, Bennett and Graham.

Lenihan was, I think, midfield v Brentford.

Our core defence, the one that got us relegated, has changed very little.

They should be doing better, they are in L1.

[oldjamfan1]

2 hours ago, MGPensioner said:

Tony has a big hole in his points bag.

Points get put in the bag (like Sunday) then fall out the hole.

Same last season which is why we went down. Same this season.

People have different theories on why Tony can't hold on to points in games  - mentality, formation, the defence as a w(hole), Nyambe, Raya, bla bla bla

But he has 10 games to sort his problem out and ensure we don't drop points and get automatic promotion.

How many points have we 'not held on to' this season compared to other teams? Without checking I would wager that we are one of the best teams in the league for seeing out a result when we are in front.

[Dreams of 1995]

23 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

How many points have we 'not held on to' this season compared to other teams? Without checking I would wager that we are one of the best teams in the league for seeing out a result when we are in front.

I don't think we've lost when going 1-0 up all season.

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 hour ago, AllRoverAsia said:

7 players who started for us v Wigan also started v Brentford, final game last season.

They were: Raya, Nyambe, Lenihan, Mulgrew, Williams, Bennett and Graham.

Lenihan was, I think, midfield v Brentford.

Our core defence, the one that got us relegated, has changed very little.

They should be doing better, they are in L1.

Should be , but there is some issue there. Is it a young keeper? The fact we now have 2 players who were originally midfielders playing center half? A center back playing left back? It is undoubtedly an area that needs addressing during the summer. Hopefully our firepower is enough to get us out of this league 

[Rover_Shaun]

6 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

I don't think we've lost when going 1-0 up all season.

But how many have we drawn? Draws kill promotions.

[Dreams of 1995]

7 minutes ago, Rover_Shaun said:

But how many have we drawn? Draws kill promotions.

It's obvious we concede far too many times. Our defensive frailties haven't been addressed in 7 years. The only manager in memory that brought some resemblance of defensive stability was Lambert and that was at the expense of any forward thinking football.

Mulgrew is a good centre back but he's a midfielder turned CB through age and injuries. The bottom line is that we need a born and bred commanding centre half. Two centre mids turned centre half, coupled with Downing or Williams, simply isn't the answer. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Lenihan AND Williams called into the extended 30 man Ireland squad. I got that badly wrong! Did not see that coming. Fair play to them.