In most championship seasons we’d be nailed on for 6th. Really shows the gulf between the top half and bottom half of the league this season.
Think that ave for 6th over the last decade is something like 74 points. But with Norwich on 67 with 15 to play for it's probably going to be a couple higher this year. But it's looking like we'll enjoy a better campaign than Sunderland last year and still miss out. Which is why it's a nonsensical argument to use.
City finished 3rd in 2008 with 75 points. If we have a good run we could theoretically get close that and still not be up there which is crazy too.
Traditionally 1.5 PPG is the benchmark for playoffs. 2.0 for promotion. Recently it's been a bit higher for 6th at least. But that's the ever increasing disparity since parachute payments were introduced.
That's how wasteful we were with our recruitment under Ehab/Slutsky, but first time they got us back up. Either way, we certainly aren't benefitting from them now. And we were more recently in league 1, so it's a moot point
Don't sound like Carvalho is one "We've highlighted that (the home form), and we've highlighted that the best time to peak as a team and individually is now. The best time is now. And that's the only time we've got, we can't really let games go by. "We just need to keep sticking to the game plan because our manager is one of the best in the league, if not the best. We've got good players and we're going to keep sticking to the game plan, and we'll see where it gets us.
Could be, could not be... Hopefully ( if it indeed did happen ) there's been plenty of open, honest and constructive discussions to find solutions. We have pretty much all the ingredients needed to be successful ( still think we're a proper goal scorer or 2 short ) and if lessons have been learned, opinions listed to and there's less over analysing and more of letting players play, then the sky's the limit.
I just don't get your over analysing at all, how can you over analyse if you don't then you leave yourself open to situations in a game that you never covered, when they analyse it is just to show the players what the other team can and or will do if they do not keep alert of the situation and how to counter it so to over analyse is not really a problem is it, i agree a proper goal scorer or 2 would have helped alot or will in the future if it is addressed, as for opinions the only opinions that matter are the people involved in the club Acun and Tan the manager and coaches and players and it seems they are all working along the same lines.
LR admitted himself he's been analysing everything possible to the n'th degree ( his words not mine ) and that maybe he just needs to let the players play. Theres 100% a need for the whole club to analyse things. But the balance has to be right and at times you just have to let and trust talented people do their jobs ( that's what the issues have been with certain players ). LR along with this squad are on a steep learning curve and as long as their learning ( and take those learnings onboard and implement them ) we will improve. Saturday was imo and from what I'm hearing, LR loosening the grip or taking the brakes of and just letting the team play and it showed. This just has to continue now and it's obvious it worked and long may it continue. If we continue in the way for the rest of the season then I've no doubt LR will still be here and I've no issue with that at all.
I knew you'd quote this, but if you listen to his actual words it's not what he was saying at all. He said they analyse everything in detail to see what they need to do differently and that's how we've gone from being the worst defence in the country to being a playoff chasing side. He then said that now we're in this final stretch it maybe isn't the time to do as much of that because it's a bit late in the day and with the midweek games we don't have much time for detailed analysis anyway. Mike White followed up and asked if it means he's micro-managed too much and his response to that was to again stress, quite firmly, how much progress had been made and how he believes that's down to the level of detail they work on. By using the term "over-analyse" he inadvertently offered a stick to beat him with to those who love to collect them, and inevitably you've grabbed it with both hands.