Lunchtime kickoff between Hull and West Brom. I think a draw would favour us provided we win at Blackburn. If they draw and we win, we won't be in the Top 6 tonight, but the points gap would be closer to both of them rather than only one of them. COYY....
Yes I was thinking the same really. At this stage being closer to two is better, takes a point out of the league
Yeah agree with you both. A draw means that it’s roughly five teams (I think Sunderland are just about out of the fight) competing for the last two playoff spots. A win for either team pushes us closer towards only one spot left.
Preston's face off with Hull today is a big game for all three of us. I fancy Preston to win No more crucial than any other points-gaining result over the season? If we pip them to 6th with 75 to their 74, every point in that 75 will have proved crucial. Doesn't matter how you get them.
Well, yes and no Robbie. That goal denied one point to Hull and gave us two more points, so +3 points more on the divide between us and them. Fassnacht's goal in the return match at Hull insured the 3 points even though they then scored, so that was another +3 points outcome. I can't see how a single goal could have that 3 point effect on us and them, so either could be deemed crucial if we finish 3 points or less ahead of them.
Pipping them to 6th position is not a home and away contest between two teams. It is us v 23 teams including them, and them against 23 teams including us. When all the points gained are counted, the only thing that matters is the two totals, not how they were earned. Suppose Hull had beaten us in both games; all it would mean is that we would have to make up the "missing" six points in matches against the other 22 teams. That, after all, is what Hull will have done if they pip us to 6th. What is the case for saying that winning goal against Hull would be more crucial than Idah's late winning goal against Cardiff, which also gained us two points?
That's the 'yes and no' bit Robbie. If Idah hadn't scored against Cardiff we'd now be 3 points behind Hull. If he hadn't scored in that opening match we'd be 4 points behind Hull. That difference makes both goals against Hull special, given our present position.
And if on Saturday we'd drawn with Sunderland, we'd now be three points behind Hull, and if we'd lost, we'd be four points behind Hull! The only difference the results against Hull make is how many points have to be earned against other teams to achieve the same overall result. But that's true of any result against any club in the league. Come the end of the season, that doesn't make any individual result more "crucial" than any other, or any goal contributing to any result, more "crucial" than any other goal. If Hull are in 6th after 46 games, it doesn't matter whether we are one point behind them, three points, or four; and if we've pipped them to 6th place, every single point we've gained will have proved to be as crucial as every other point.
That's the 'yes' part of my reply as far as points are concerned, but Chris's point was about the impact of a single goal which added 2 points for us and took a point away from Hull, thus creating a 3 point differential (Fassnacht's late goal did the same). It's about our position in relation to Hull. No other goals have had a 3 point impact on that.
And my point is that the outcome of our two games against Hull is no more important than the outcome of our 2 games against any other club in respect of "our position in relation to Hull" if you are talking -- as Chris was -- about our respective end of the season positions in the league. If we were talking about the position as it is now, had those two results been draws rather than wins, we would now be five points behind Hull, and you could correctly point out that the two wins have meant the difference between overturning a one point deficit as opposed to a five point one. The task facing us over the final 11 games would look more difficult. BUT, so it would had results against other teams been different and we'd surrendered four more points than we have.
