Can we make the Playoffs?

[RevidgeBlue]

9 hours ago, tomphil said:

'So Jack we've consolidated last season and after investing 12 million of your hard earned i think we can finish a place or so above that this season. What do you think ?'

 

 

5 hours ago, Wegerleswiggle said:

"Fuck off Tony"

Quality!

[RevidgeBlue]

The answer to "can" we make the play-offs is of course "yes".

The same as the answer to "can" we win the next 16 games or "can" we win automatic promotion next season and follow that up by winning the Premier League and Champions League in seasons 2 and 3 respectively.

Of course we "can". (If we win enough games).

"Will" any of those events occur?.

No.

[RevidgeBlue]

5 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

No one in huff so please don't post such rubbish. 

If that's you not in a huff I'd hate to see you when you were!

[JHRover]

The answer to the question is yes - we can make the play offs. Beyond being achievable with the points remaining it is also a wide open division and in the end you could pick any 2-3 from about 10 who will secure 4th, 5th and 6th spot. 

In the position we are the manager, his staff and the players should be targeting the top 6. If they don't believe that is achievable or don't do everything they can to try and get there then they are probably in the wrong jobs.

If you aren't going to target it from this position then you never will.

Nobody aims for midtable in this league. 

As I've said before being 4, 5, 6 points off the top 6 isn't really an achievement at this stage. Obviously better than being 15 points off but the reality of the play-off system and the congested nature of this league is you will always have 10+ teams in early February threatening to get into those positions. Most won't last and will fall away.

That isn't to say that people DEMAND promotion, or think they have a god given right to success. But if you don't aim for it you won't get it. That's why I get annoyed with Mowbray and his 'target' of 70 points or 'better' than last year - both are ultimately futile targets - it matters not whether we get 71 points or 51 because come August we will be kicking off on 0 points with 23 other clubs. 

What matters is getting promotion. If Mowbray doesn't feel that is achievable then he should move on because it is achievable and it is quite probable that sides like Forest, Preston or Swansea will be getting into the top 6 - i don't accept they have anything we don't as a club. Notice when Warnock went into Cardiff who were bottom of the league he didn't sit there talking about increasing point returns each year or a 3-4 year build. He didn't have time for that. He wanted promotion and did it in his first season. 

I could accept the gradual improvement idea if there was a reason to believe that foundations were being built and a class squad being assembled whereby each window we address deficiencies in a carefully thought out way - but that isn't what is happening. Our transfer policy is chaotic, limited and shoddy, and we face a summer of wailing about FFP whilst trying to once again rebuild GK, defence and attack because these areas have been neglected. That's before dealing with sales of key players which will come sooner or later. Once all that happens it is then we start the 'consolidation' stuff again and around it goes in circles.

Can anyone genuinely say that we have kicked on and improved from last season or learned lessons? Cos I can't see much evidence of it. 

Will we get into the play-offs? Probably not, for a range of reasons stretching from injuries to the manager to a thin squad and a refusal/failure to strengthen just like last season.

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by JHRover

[47er]

Theoretically, of course we could make it from here, others have. But everything would have to go absolutely right for us. We are thinly stretched now and defence has been all season.

So I can't see it. Some real tests coming up and its much more likely we will finish halfway.

I'm afraid finishing in the play-offs has become an end in itself, after all, we have had so little to look forward to in the last decade or so.

 

[Oldgregg86]

Not as long as I have a hole in my arse

[JacknOry]

no

[Leonard Venkhater]

2 hours ago, Oldgregg86 said:

Not as long as I have a hole in my arse

Sounds like a yes?

[Sparks Rover]

Can you imagine.if we did and Mowbray picking his team for.the 1st leg away at Leeds or something.....??? I think he would spontaneously combust.  Benno would be in there the lad, keeping it tight.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Sparks Rover

[PeteJD13]

No chance , we'd do well to finish on or around where we are

[G Somerset Rover]

42 minutes ago, PeteJD13 said:

No chance , we'd do well to finish on or around where we are

Agreed; was an extremely long shot before we lost every bit of creativity we had! We're not going to be one for the purists for the remainder of the season - that's for sure.

[USABlue]

On 02/02/2020 at 08:06, Ewood Ace said:

Absolutely no chance we have neither the squad or the manager capable of getting us into the top 6.

And owners that seem to be perfectly happy with that.

[Bigdoggsteel]

This thread is gone kind of stupid now. 

Is there really any point to it? 

I mean if we had everyone fit, this thread would still be negative, as for now.......

Edited February 4, 2020 by Bigdoggsteel

[Miller11]

It’s a big ask, but it’s not impossible.

The problem with gradual improvement and small steps is it can’t carry on for more than a couple of seasons. If we are feeling the pinch due to FFP this window, as appears to be the case, it’s likely the squad will be broken up sooner rather than later. For that reason I’d like to see a bit more urgency.

It looks as though we may well fall into a cycle where every three years the squad is decimated as part of a cost cutting exercise, and a slow rebuild begins. It gives us a very narrow window at trying to get promoted, and means another relegation could be on the cards in the not too distant future. I may be miles off, and there is an assumption that Venky’s have anything more than sporadic knee jerk interest in our fortunes.
 

We can’t afford any more bad luck on the injury front. Nyambe, Travis, Armstrong, Downing, Lenihan and Adarabioyo are key players for us now. It’s took longer than some of us wanted to phase out some of the older heads for these lads, but we are now seeing the benefit. We need all of them firing, as well as one or two of the fringe players to step up and make an impact. With a little bit of luck, it’s possible.

I should add as well, if Mowbray was to get us in the top 6 it would be a remarkable achievement given the constraints he has to work under. I know I’m in the minority but I think he takes far too much blame for failings in our transfer policy.

[roversfan99]

Interesting and unsurprising stat about our fast starts this season. Good to see us hitting teams from the front. Of course some investigation required about why we have only won 12 games, including Sheffield Wednesday when we conceded first. Need to improve our game management.

Edited February 4, 2020 by roversfan99

[DE.]

2 hours ago, Miller11 said:

I should add as well, if Mowbray was to get us in the top 6 it would be a remarkable achievement given the constraints he has to work under. I know I’m in the minority but I think he takes far too much blame for failings in our transfer policy.

Mowbray himself takes full responsibility for our transfer policy and repeatedly states the owners will back him if he asks for money. Any talk of constraints, forced signings, etc are total speculation seemingly designed to try and shift some of the blame away from the manager and towards the owners. I put a lot of the blame for our current position at Venky's door, but to exonerate Mowbray on the basis of speculation and ignoring what he directly tells us in public is confusing to me. 

[Miller11]

43 minutes ago, DE. said:

Mowbray himself takes full responsibility for our transfer policy and repeatedly states the owners will back him if he asks for money. Any talk of constraints, forced signings, etc are total speculation seemingly designed to try and shift some of the blame away from the manager and towards the owners. I put a lot of the blame for our current position at Venky's door, but to exonerate Mowbray on the basis of speculation and ignoring what he directly tells us in public is confusing to me. 

I cannot believe for a minute that he changed his mind about wanting to bring in defenders. It’s not just Mowbray either... there is a pattern.

I can’t believe he had 7 million burning a hole in his pocket but decided after the window had closed he wanted to spend it all on Brereton to then hardly ever play him.

[Inglorious basturk]

There is no evidence whatsoever in the last couple of seasons to suggest we have what is needed to get into the playoffs and I don’t think anyone has any evidence to show me otherwise . We have been damaged by

loyalty  to Crap players 

no scouting system 

wasting what money there was 

a tombola squad selection 

players in the wrong position 

not covering weaknesses 

a fear of ripped denim 

[DE.]

Just now, Miller11 said:

I cannot believe for a minute that he changed his mind about wanting to bring in defenders. It’s not just Mowbray either... there is a pattern.

I can’t believe he had 7 million burning a hole in his pocket but decided after the window had closed he wanted to spend it all on Brereton to then hardly ever play him.

Then you have to accept he's outright lied to you and the fanbase as a whole, which makes him another yes man towing the Venky line to keep himself in a job whilst the club continues to stagnate.

That doesn't paint him in a good light either, so personally I'd prefer to believe that he genuinely has just spent badly and isn't very good at Championship level recruitment.

[Miller11]

Just now, DE. said:

Then you have to accept he's outright lied to you and the fanbase as a whole, which makes him another yes man towing the Venky line to keep himself in a job whilst the club continues to stagnate.

Don’t entirely agree or disagree with this. I think there is definitely a certain amount of self preservation. Anyone who has spoken out even in the most minor way against Venkys has been quickly relieved of their duties. Towing the line is far more important to them than competency. 
 

I don’t think your assessment of Mowbrays character is fair. I’m sure he thinks he is helping us progress as best he can. That said I’m very dubious about the circumstances in which he arrived at the club.

[DE.]

1 minute ago, Miller11 said:

Don’t entirely agree or disagree with this. I think there is definitely a certain amount of self preservation. Anyone who has spoken out even in the most minor way against Venkys has been quickly relieved of their duties. Towing the line is far more important to them than competency. 
 

I don’t think your assessment of Mowbrays character is fair. I’m sure he thinks he is helping us progress as best he can. That said I’m very dubious about the circumstances in which he arrived at the club.

My assessment of his character is that he's spent badly. My conclusion over potential lies is simply a statement of fact if such speculation had any grounding in truth. He's either lying to us about the owners meddling in transfer business, which is clearly hindering the club's progression, or he's not. If he is then we as fans should surely be concerned about the implications to the club itself rather than loyalty to a manager who is covering up what is really going on.

As I said in my previous post though, I'm more inclined to believe he's not especially good at recruitment and would preferably relinquish those duties to a more suitable person who could better identify and secure targets to improve the team whilst keeping us in line with FFP requirements.

[islander200]

14 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

I cannot believe for a minute that he changed his mind about wanting to bring in defenders. It’s not just Mowbray either... there is a pattern.

I can’t believe he had 7 million burning a hole in his pocket but decided after the window had closed he wanted to spend it all on Brereton to then hardly ever play him.

Did we not have a 4 or 5 million bid for Luke Freeman rejected prior to the Brererton signing?Mowbray also spoke of another player we had a bid accepted for only for us to lose out due to him getting a higher wage at another club(reported to have been Celina who went to Swansea for 4 million). Did we not also have an interest in bringing Sam Gallagher back in that same window?

Mowbray has repeatedly said that Brererton was his signing.I keep seeing these suggestions that 7 million suddenly appeared into Mowbrays kitty on the condition it was spent on Brererton?.Yet everything the manager has said on the signing suggests it was his decision to bring Brererton to the club.Plus how do we explain the bids for Freeman and Celina if we only had money to spend on someone the owners or their  advisors pushed on to the manager?

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, Miller11 said:

That said I’m very dubious about the circumstances in which he arrived at the club.

Can you please explain this comment? 

My info from Paul Senior is that choose Mowbray and he was his 1st choice. I can send ur a dm with this info if you wish. 

[Inglorious basturk]

55 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Can you please explain this comment? 

My info from Paul Senior is that choose Mowbray and he was his 1st choice. I can send ur a dm with this info if you wish. 

Could I see this in a dm pls bro ? What came first ? Waggott or Tony ? Venus is here too .  The remnants of what went wrong at Coventry ? 
Maybe I’m too cynical and some are too naive ? Or somewhere in the middle ?
Surely even the most optimistic among us aren’t content ??? Are people settling for it not being coyle or keano? . 
If you are critical of Tony drizzle cake it doesn’t make you less of a fan 

[tomphil]

6 hours ago, Miller11 said:

It’s a big ask, but it’s not impossible.

The problem with gradual improvement and small steps is it can’t carry on for more than a couple of seasons. If we are feeling the pinch due to FFP this window, as appears to be the case, it’s likely the squad will be broken up sooner rather than later. For that reason I’d like to see a bit more urgency.

It looks as though we may well fall into a cycle where every three years the squad is decimated as part of a cost cutting exercise, and a slow rebuild begins. It gives us a very narrow window at trying to get promoted, and means another relegation could be on the cards in the not too distant future. I may be miles off, and there is an assumption that Venky’s have anything more than sporadic knee jerk interest in our fortunes.
 

We can’t afford any more bad luck on the injury front. Nyambe, Travis, Armstrong, Downing, Lenihan and Adarabioyo are key players for us now. It’s took longer than some of us wanted to phase out some of the older heads for these lads, but we are now seeing the benefit. We need all of them firing, as well as one or two of the fringe players to step up and make an impact. With a little bit of luck, it’s possible.

I should add as well, if Mowbray was to get us in the top 6 it would be a remarkable achievement given the constraints he has to work under. I know I’m in the minority but I think he takes far too much blame for failings in our transfer policy.

I predicted this might be the case after the last one whether by design or just plain necessity brought on by continual floundering and bad spending. If the owners or their backers get a big chunk of the previous 3 seasons funding back from a load of sales they aren't going to be that bothered about leaving it to bob along.

It covers some of their input, resets the FFP and overdraft and gives license to go again doing the same thing in the feint hope everything just falls into place one season. It causes them little fuss when they have people they favour running the show and they'll be lenient to bad form, purchases and maybe nice wages and bonuses out of in safe in the knowledge at least half of it can get covered every 3 season cycle.

Fair enough a lot might say but in reality it isn't building the club it's just keeping its head above water whilst providing wages for people. Hence the lack of urgency and ambition that often seems evident here in certain quarters. If it's going to be that way they can't keep gasping at the crowds. Somewhere in all that they'll need to do something to stem anymore bleeding away of support never mind build it up significantly again.

They should have learned by now northerners see right through the wool being pulled over their eyes.