Leeds win, we would’ve turned back and passed back to Bazunu if we were in the same scenario, probably at 1-1 aswell
I find it easy to accept us missing out on automatics, because there are quite clearly reasons why. But if I was to be a fan of whoever misses out between Leeds, Leicester and Ipswich, I would be gutted. It will feel so, so unfair. (And from our point of view, hopefully it happens on the final day of the season, and the players of said club are so despondent that they fail to lift themselves for the play-offs.)
Agreed. Obviously we'd rather still be in the race if given the choice, but it is much better to fall away now than have your hopes crushed at the last hurdle. We can now prepare, both mentally and physically, for the play offs with plenty of time to spare.
I hope we don't waste these 8 games though, by just doing the same thing. How about trying 4-2-3-1? How about trying Sulemana through the middle? How about trying Charles sitting alongside Downes? How about trying Stephens at LB for more than just one game in a row? How about trying all sorts of other things? I'm not saying that I want us to just tear everything up and find ourselves heading into the play-offs with no plan and a load of mixed messages. But with the exception of not knowing what order our back four will play, our set up has become fairly predictable now, and even our subs are generally quite like-for-like.
Tbf I don't know why Manning is suddenly out of the question. Yes he was a weak link but at least he is a left back and gives us a better shape. I think as a team we are better with him LB. Which is what we had throughout our brilliant run. Stephens return has coincided with this poor form.
Yep, this is undeniable. I don't really think I've seen Jack have stinkers in this run, but it's undeniable that we are now playing worse and the defence is less settled. I quite like Russell but this ****ing around with his back four should be a big lesson.
Ahem, weve actually a good record statidtcally with Stephens starting. See tweet below. I can't deny that at times he's started when you perhaps wouldn't expect him to, but I don't think it's fair to pin down one player for this poor form. I think we've just been found out and/or Martin has got a little bit too clever. We looked decidedly dodgy defensively towards the end of the unbeaten run as well ... Bristol, Huddersfield & Hull all spring to mind, Stephens didn't even play in those. We also didn't have Downes, but even then, that didn't do us harm earlier on in the season when he got injured (eg. Watford away) so again, I think it's more a case of we've been found out to be honest. Manning has had injury niggles lately, and probably shouldn't have gone away with Ireland (he didn't even play so even more pointless) To be honest, in a way I think we've got too much quality in the squad in a way. Look at the matchday squad during the unbeaten run; Stephens, Sulemana, Bree & Edozie are long term injured. Aribo missed 7 weeks away with Nigeria. Okay, none of them were huge players during that run, but when you look at the benches; Holgate, Dibling and co regularly on the bench. With respect, Martin was never going to include those guys in the starting XI, so by default his starting XI remains largely settled and we go unbeaten for 25 games. Fast forward to mid-Feb and those guys are back fit all wanting to play. Downes has got injured for a few games and unsettled us and we have to adapt slightly without a proper DM. We also need to start including Rothwell & Brooks who joined in January. Suddenly you have an XI that is regularly changing to keep everyone happy and playing, plus fixture congestion in the form of an unexpected cup replay and trip to Anfield. And its all snowballed from there, I feel. February has really knocked us off our block a little, and killed the momentum that we had, and we all know what a huge thing that is in football. But it's easy to blame one player whose always been a scapegoat I suppose.
Totally agree on all points you make. Stephens isn't the (only) reason for our bad recent form, not by a long shot. He's actually been playing well. I wouldn't personally be putting him in defence when everyone is fit, but I'd certainly be thinking about getting him in midfield to help Downes (and/or rotating him with the CBs). But your point about 'too much quality' is exactly what I've been thinking. Yesterday I wrote about Brooks being another reason for the unsettling of the team, as weird as it sounds. This is why I'm sort of looking forward to next season. I think we'll have more of a settled team. How far into this season was Russ being patient with Charly? How many games did he give Sulemana to prove himself? How long did it take before Aribo showed his quality? We didn't know Bree could cover left back. Shea Charles looked good and then looked sh*t from one game to the next. It's been a transition season, which is why I think Russ deserves more patience from the fans than he's been receiving. I know we'll likely lose half a dozen or so (THB, KWP, Aribo, Bednarek, Che, Sulemana, Brooks), but I honestly feel with just a couple of quality buys/loans, and by putting more faith in the youngsters, we can actually mould a team, and hit the ground running from day one. A front three of Adarma, Stewart, and Fraser, with Dibling, Amo and Edozie as subs is decent-looking. And that's before we even make any signings.
Love the optimism. Sounds like you don't fancy us for the play offs either. Looking at the table today I expect Leicester to top - I don't think they'll lose any more games maybe not even drop a point. Leeds I reckon second as they will possibly slip to a draw or two, safety secured at home on the last day of the season. I'm thinking Ipswich will drop the most points and end up in the play offs with us. West brom win the playoffs and go to the Prem because why the hell not, who knows what happens in the play offs.
Haha, I'm the guy who started a relegation thread in December last season. Definitely think we can win the playoffs. As good a chance as any of the other top 4, much better chance than 5th or 6th.
Leicester announced a loss of £90m for last season. With the points deduction they will be in an even worse state than us if they don't go up
They sold players though, which might not have been taken into consideration. But yeah, rumours are they're not doing great financially.
I could only find € figures and couldnt be bothered to convert.... They sold about €100m worth but they spent a fair bit of that at €40m. So -€60m net spend, with the revenue loss from the prem isnt all that much. Our net spend for example was -€165m in the summer.
The Maddison sale is included in their massive 22-23 loss. But the Barnes and Castagne sales will fall into their 23-24 accounts.
So if we presume now that we are destined for the playoffs…. If needed on the last day do we throw the game at Leeds to send them up and ensure not having to play them in the PlayOffs? Think we’d have a better chance v Ipswich or Leicester if we make the final
I suggested this scenario a few weeks ago. At the moment our form is probably worse than all of the top 3 though, so it’s a lottery. Plus we still have to get to the final…
I said the exact thing to my Leeds supporting son yesterday after the game. It would be the smart thing to do: )
Nah I'm not up for handing anyone promotion on a plate. If we get to the final, I think it doesn't really matter who the opposition is. We can beat anyone, and get beat by anyone. It would be fun to make Leeds sweat a little bit. Also, if we beat them twice this season, but lose twice to Ipswich and Leicester, then I don't see why Leeds should be considered the toughest.
