Then lose at Preston and Leicester and the gap will be what ...
Just 1 home win from last 6
- Thread starter BigUnit
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Then lose at Preston and Leicester and the gap will be what ...
Merlin
Well-known member
It does have the feel of the season fizzling out a bit - we lost all that goal threat from the players who left in the summer and now we have two forwards who are both injured to compound the problem. We should have got someone through the door as a loan surely knowing how bad out striker situation is - there’s no guarantee Lath will be fit for quite some time and we all know Josh isn’t right, that only leaves Forss who is played on the right usually anyway and Greenwood who doesn’t look like a natural finisher
So opponent PPG shows that we've had the easiest 6 games in the league? Probably because we've played Rotherham twice.
I'm pretty sure it's just to give a bit of an indication of the strength of opponents in those last 6 matches. Our opponents have been the weakest in the division. It is useful.
Whereas Coventry and Norwich have had a tough set of fixtures and still gained more points than us.
Our next set of 6 fixtures are 1.48PPG so will be tougher. Although Leicester having such a high individual PPG does throw the stat a little bit.
We need better quality signings in the summer quality over quantity
Its alright signing 7,8 or 9 new players on the cheap if 3 or 4 are going to come off but how many of those signings actually improved on what we had?
We've profited on Rogers, Deing has looked a decent replacement for Steffan. Rav is fast becoming a fans favourite but as for the rest most have been very hit and miss (or injured for good periods).
Most of the summer signings had the feel of potential/not the finished article/who the chuff is he?
i'd never heard of Job or Nemeth when they came through the door either but both did a decent enough job (yes they were internationals)
There's still time for 1 or 2 to come good, some players take a little longer to settle than others but for every Rogers there's a Hoppe.
Its alright signing 7,8 or 9 new players on the cheap if 3 or 4 are going to come off but how many of those signings actually improved on what we had?
We've profited on Rogers, Deing has looked a decent replacement for Steffan. Rav is fast becoming a fans favourite but as for the rest most have been very hit and miss (or injured for good periods).
Most of the summer signings had the feel of potential/not the finished article/who the chuff is he?
i'd never heard of Job or Nemeth when they came through the door either but both did a decent enough job (yes they were internationals)
There's still time for 1 or 2 to come good, some players take a little longer to settle than others but for every Rogers there's a Hoppe.
We totally outclassed all the sides in these games but just from 70th minute on in the games we run out of gas they is an issue with team fitness alongside inability to covert our chances
Gordon Bennett, what a terrible, terrible point of view. Yes it's more unlikely than likely, but even if there was only six games to go and we were 4 points off 6th I'd still want us to go for it with every fibre of our being, never mind 16. So much more football to play.
I think some people started watching football last Christmas, don't people realise how quickly it can change?
Absolutely zero chance.
You seem to have slightly misquoted me, at no point have I said I do not want us to go for it with every fibre..... Of course I do but we are to inconsistent and therefore will not make the play offs.
Corcaigh_the_Cat
Well-known member
And yet we rarely fail to score. As displayed yesterday, defences lapses are costing us more. That's not a criticism of the defence, by the way, it's a team criticism.
parmoboy
Well-known member
I'm holding onto the hope that if we can have a period where we have McGree, Jones and Lath all fit and available, we can put a run of wins together. A front four of Lath, Jones, Azaz and McGree would be decent. Not forgetting Forss either, who I actually feel needs a run of games playing as a striker.
In reality though, until (and if) that happens, we're probably going to continue to be inconsistent, which may mean that we find ourselves in a position where we're cut adrift from the top 6.
My gut feeling is we're going to be midtable this season, but I live in hope.
In reality though, until (and if) that happens, we're probably going to continue to be inconsistent, which may mean that we find ourselves in a position where we're cut adrift from the top 6.
My gut feeling is we're going to be midtable this season, but I live in hope.
The Card Cheat
Well-known member
But what I mean is I'd still hope and believe we'd have a chance until it's mathematically impossible . To say with sixteen games to go that we have literally "zero chance" of making the play offs is ridiculously defeatist. If the players and club had the same attitude as you I'd be completely furious!
All the teams between us and sixth have had periods where they have been inconsistent, every single one. It's likely they'll all have times where they're inconsistent between now and the end of the season.
Alzi
Well-known member
We could have won them I agree, but over the course of this season so far we clearly aren't a superior team to them (other than Rotherham).
If you are going to bet on a top 6 finish, go with Betvictor, or Skybet, or Coral, or Ladbrokes or Betfair, which are all showing 3/1 or better.
Look at the goal difference. It tells the real story. Good teams, like we were last season, win by multiple goals regularly. It means most weeks you are winning and can afford to concede a goal here and there and still win or when you have an off day and you only score one you won't lose. If you concede you can be confident of scoring and equalising or going on to win and if you do lose it's most likely by a single goal. Poor teams are the opposite get beat by multiple goals regularly. They have to score multiple goals in a game to not get beat. Average teams win some and lose some but most matches are close and the fine margins means you get inconsistent results. That's where we are this season.
We don't dominate many matches to the point we get a 2 goal cushion and can be comfortable. It's always like it was yesterday where even though we were the better team for a good period all it needed was 1 break and the 3 points are gone. I've just had a look and we've had only 6 occasions this season where we have had a 2 goal cushion (or more). Sunderland and Preston, both 4-0 wins, were the only occasions where it was for a significant period of time (30 mins & 65 mins). The other 4 were 7, 12, 7 and 2 mins. That's a total of 129 mins across 29 matches (2,800ish mins) where we've been comfortable in a game.
We don't dominate many matches to the point we get a 2 goal cushion and can be comfortable. It's always like it was yesterday where even though we were the better team for a good period all it needed was 1 break and the 3 points are gone. I've just had a look and we've had only 6 occasions this season where we have had a 2 goal cushion (or more). Sunderland and Preston, both 4-0 wins, were the only occasions where it was for a significant period of time (30 mins & 65 mins). The other 4 were 7, 12, 7 and 2 mins. That's a total of 129 mins across 29 matches (2,800ish mins) where we've been comfortable in a game.
Scrug
Well-known member
I was thinking about this, those two games and Chelsea at home. I think it shows that we're at our best when we play a low block and draw the opposition onto us, opening up the space. When the onus is on us to attack and break down a team doing just that, which is most teams who come to the Riverside, we struggle. Perhaps that's why our record hasn't been great.
chickenrunner
Well-known member
Our home and away performance this season in terms of points won is equal which I guess in itself is a bit 'odd'. We are 14th in the home table and 6th in the away table.
But our goal scoring record home and away shows a striking contrast. At home we've scored 16 goals in 15 games (4 of those were against Preston, so 12 in the other 14 games at home). Only 4 teams have scored fewer home goals.
Away from home we've scored 27 goals in 14 games and only Leicester have scored more.
Answers on a postcard.
But our goal scoring record home and away shows a striking contrast. At home we've scored 16 goals in 15 games (4 of those were against Preston, so 12 in the other 14 games at home). Only 4 teams have scored fewer home goals.
Away from home we've scored 27 goals in 14 games and only Leicester have scored more.
Answers on a postcard.
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