v Swansea City (a) - 5/2/22

[superniko]

This feels like a huge game. 
If we can move 4 points clear of the playoffs it really puts the pressure on Bournemouth (and QPR) to avoid slip ups. 

Hopefully close to a full strength side again. 

[Miker]

5 minutes ago, superniko said:

This feels like a huge game. 
If we can move 4 points clear of the playoffs it really puts the pressure on Bournemouth (and QPR) to avoid slip ups. 

Hopefully close to a full strength side again. 

We need to survive the next 7 games. 

Minimum 7 points required to stay within the chasing pack. 

3 points at Swansea will be a great start! This sort of game suits us and I think we should be able to get a win even with a weakened squad.

Only concern is with new players coming into the side and all the expectation that comes with it, we might end up with a disjointed performance. 

[garnersfags]

55 minutes ago, Miker said:

We need to survive the next 7 games. 

Minimum 7 points required to stay within the chasing pack. 

3 points at Swansea will be a great start! This sort of game suits us and I think we should be able to get a win even with a weakened squad.

Only concern is with new players coming into the side and all the expectation that comes with it, we might end up with a disjointed performance. 

I think if he plays the same team and formation that has done us proud since October, we'll be fine. 

Suppose it depends on Joe's mental state, and Giles's form and fitness. 

BBD is also a big decision, which 50 min to give him???? From the start?

Hope Joe plays, Trav is fit, Buckley pays his usual free forward role, and Khadra starts.

If so, we are formidable. 

COYB!!!!

Edited February 5, 2022 by garnersfags

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

This is a must win to take some of the pressure off the Forest and WBA games. Really tricky series of fixtures coming up and Swansea are arguably the most beatable side we face this month. 

Hope we’re close to full strength. 

[davulsukur]

Feels like a big game but then I think they all will from now on. 

Gotta go there and come back with the 3 points in the bag.

[garnersfags]

3 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

Feels like a big game but then I think they all will from now on. 

Gotta go there and come back with the 3 points in the bag.

If we lose or draw, the pressure will feel like it's on when we arrive at Ewood on Wednesday. As long as the players don't feel the same. 

Really looking forward to the Forest game, we've just got to smash and grab the Swans first. 

Good luck to those arriving in S Wales. We're proud of you. 

[Tugay-is-God]

Where we are in the table every game is gonna feel big. 

[Admiral Nelsen]

2 hours ago, Miker said:

We need to survive the next 7 games. 

Minimum 7 points required to stay within the chasing pack. 

3 points at Swansea will be a great start! This sort of game suits us and I think we should be able to get a win even with a weakened squad.

Only concern is with new players coming into the side and all the expectation that comes with it, we might end up with a disjointed performance. 

 

I think for the automatics that might be undershooting what we need, slightly. Say if we need 87 points to go up, which I think is the average, 7 from the next 7 games leaves us needing 27 from the last 10 games. There's a decent chance that we'll need slightly less than that this season, but still a big ask. 

 

I think you're right that we need to look at this run as staying in contact though. If after the Fulham game we're within two results of second I'd be pretty happy. I'd guess that probably means something like 12 points, which really highlights how important today's game and Millwall at home are. 

[Oldgregg86]

Maja scores in his debut 

[bluebruce]

3 hours ago, Miker said:

We need to survive the next 7 games. 

Minimum 7 points required to stay within the chasing pack. 

3 points at Swansea will be a great start! This sort of game suits us and I think we should be able to get a win even with a weakened squad.

Only concern is with new players coming into the side and all the expectation that comes with it, we might end up with a disjointed performance. 

I'll be really, really disappointed if we only get 7 points from the next 7 games. A run like that from our position essentially means you're in freefall.

[Exiled_Rover]

What's this talk about surviving the next 7 games?

You need to keep winning or the top 3 will pull away.

[J*B]

There’s no way someone on here doesn’t know the team. What’s the situ? I hate waiting this long for a game on a Saturday. 

For what it’s worth, whilst we are 2nd, I actually consider us 4th. If Bournemouth and QPR win their games in hand that’s the true situation. 

[islander200]

4 minutes ago, J*B said:

There’s no way someone on here doesn’t know the team. What’s the situ? I hate waiting this long for a game on a Saturday. 

For what it’s worth, whilst we are 2nd, I actually consider us 4th. If Bournemouth and QPR win their games in hand that’s the true situation. 

They have to win those games.Points in the bag.We are second.

Plus we play both at Ewood, which we have made a fortress.

[G Somerset Rover]

7 minutes ago, J*B said:

For what it’s worth, whilst we are 2nd, I actually consider us 4th. If Bournemouth and QPR win their games in hand that’s the true situation. 

Bit of a strange way to look at it. They both still need to win those matches. Win today and it puts even more pressure on them too.

COYB, huge game today. Got be taking the 3 points home.

[J*B]

I’d rather be in Bournemouth or QPRs position right now, it’s in their own hands. Appreciate that might not be the general consensus, but it’s mine. 

[Atko's Engine]

2 minutes ago, J*B said:

I’d rather be in Bournemouth or QPRs position right now, it’s in their own hands. Appreciate that might not be the general consensus, but it’s mine. 

No it's not it's in ours, we play them both at Ewood soon & have points in the bag!

[islander200]

2 minutes ago, J*B said:

I’d rather be in Bournemouth or QPRs position right now, it’s in their own hands. Appreciate that might not be the general consensus, but it’s mine. 

Its in our hands too...we have them both to play at Ewood.Obviously we won't but if we were to win every game from now we would go up and nothing QPR and Bournemouth could do about it 

[J*B]

1 minute ago, islander200 said:

Its in our hands too...we have them both to play at Ewood.Obviously we won't but if we were to win every game from now we would go up and nothing QPR and Bournemouth could do about it 

By the same token, if both QPR and Bournemouth win every game from now on they’ll both finish above us. The stats say we’re slowing down, if 2nd is a genuine attempt then we urgently need to start scoring more. 

[Atko's Engine]

9 clean sheets in 11 don't forget. If we don't concede  1 goal wins the game fir us.

I think you're being overly pessimistic. Perhaps understandable but still...

[islander200]

3 minutes ago, J*B said:

By the same token, if both QPR and Bournemouth win every game from now on they’ll both finish above us. The stats say we’re slowing down, if 2nd is a genuine attempt then we urgently need to start scoring more. 

It will be our defence that decides our outcome.When you keep  clean sheets as regularly as we do then have a very good chance.

With the exception of last weekends game QPR have hardly been freescoring.

Before last weekends thumping of Reading QPR had only scored 3 goals in their previous 6 home matches.

[islander200]

Brererton on bench

[bluebruce]

Continuing to keep clean sheets with the frequency we do is bordering on a ludicrous expectation. Our defence are excellent and great credit to them, but they're not impregnable, and part of our run of clean sheets has been luck, as it always must be. Plenty of times where we could have had penalties against or the ball flashed just wide or hit woodwork with the keeper beaten. 9 clean sheets in 11 extrapolated over a full season would be more than 37 clean sheets. Such a thing isn't realistically possible I'm sure.

The most clean sheets anyone (well, a single GK) in the EFL has kept in a season since 2006 is 28, which was for Bristol Rovers in the 2006/2007 season in League Two. The most in the Championship in that period was 25, in 2009/10 for Swansea. Point being, you can't really expect that to continue indefinitely. We will ship goals at times, and will have games where we need to score 2 or more to get anything. I think pointing out we need to rediscover our scoring ways to achieve success is a valid one. It isn't necessary in every game, but it will be necessary in the remainder of the season as a whole.

[SoldierMo]

Too much tinkering has started

[oldjamfan1]

: Kaminski, Lenihan (c), van Hecke, Wharton, Nyambe, Travis, Buckley, Rothwell, Zeefuik, Hedges, Giles

Subs: Pears, Johnson, Ayala, Davenport, Khadra, Rankin-Costello, Brereton Diaz

[pick32]

6-1-3-0 

worst starting 11 I’ve seen this season