I'm never one to count my chickens, however, it does look like we are going to be in the Champs next season. Looking at the teams in the Champs and the likelihood of Wham and Soton to be promoted , i suggest that perm any 3 out of Wigan,Blackburn,Wolves and Bolton to be relegated- but whoever it is we shouldnt be afraid of anyone in the Champs next season - its there for the taking ! Onwards and Upwards.
Nine wins is roughly what we will need to secure promotion, although 8 will likely be enough. We have 17 games left. Would be a real ****up to not make it...but as a Charlton fan I don't think I can ever be optimistic.
I didn't say we would implode. We have developed an amazing knack of playing poorly and picking up points. We have been getting worse by the game. I fail to believe that we can keep that up. But I cling to the hope that we can recover whatever it was that we had a few months ago and combine it with our obvious resilience.
Football is a funny thing, a defeat could put the spark back in to the team (Stevenage). Not that I want us to lose
got my ticket for next year - looking forward to some big teams coming down. i dunno if its just me who thinks this, but we either have been a bit lucky getting this far ahead or that the other teams in this league dont wanna win it or catch us. we seemed to panic last night as the ref was blatantly trying to even it out all second half. we shoulda just attacked it and gone for a rugby score
Sometimes playing 10 men has the negative effect - the team with 11 relaxes, loses control, and then panics when it realises it is under pressure from the opposition. However, agree that we def arent playing well. One other thing is that we havnt played for a couple of weeks - may have been a bit rusty, but however MKD would have been the same. Personally, i think Hollands has been playing poorly for some time, Russel will come back in surely when available, and Stephens will come good again once he's got his fitness back. But its the midfield that does worry me, the lack of chances created in most games will surely tell at some stage.
Look its hard for me because i dont get to watch the games down here, but if we are beating a top 6 team (all year) whilst playing poorly 2-1 surely we are doing ok on the pitch ? If we were that bad they would have put 3-4 goals in. And, it happens in most leagues in most seasons - the top teams lose to lower teams on the ladder and scrape wins past teams they should breeze by. Surely 8 clear with a game or two in hand is the sign of a team travelling well. I just hate this feeling i get from those at the ground, it makes it sound like we are about to drop to 5th or 6th or something.
Think it's all about the definition of 'playing well'. We're not playing well in a creative attacking style, but half the team is playing sensationally, our defense is just immense every game, and that's not about luck. You don't need to be Barcelona going forward if you're never conceding more than one goal at the back, and that's what Powell has instilled. So even if we don't get the free-flowing style of the Andy-Hughes era in November back again, it shouldn't matter come the end of the season because the defence is so strong.
Oz, I think TVR has hit the nail on the head - the defence is just absolutely immense, and thats where we have got most of our points from in last 6/8 matches. If a side cant score against us, then it only takes 1 shot on target from us to get the 3 points. just not great to watch currently, and thats prob why attendances have been a little on the disappointing side recently.
Oz - I agree with Stu here (as usual) I would just add that all the apparent whinging on here from me and others is simply due to the fact that we know this team can play so much better. We know this because we spent the first few months of the season watching it! The defense is phenomenal, but we have to get the middle and the other end sorted out or we simply will not keep this up. We are all in dreamland given our position and the new found stability at our beloved club, but it has been increasingly hard watching of late. If we were a poor team who were scraping points through sheer effort, we'd be applauding. But this team is so much better than that. Don't get me wrong. This is a results business, and the evidence is there for all to see. And i'm not saying we should be beautiful to watch but get caught out every week - been there, bought that Tshirt! We are doing sooooo much right! but we were doing a lot better and need to re-discover it pronto.
The back 4 have been great, and they are all contenders for POTY. That shouldn't mean there shouldn't be any changes elsewhere, in particular the link-up between midfield and attack. Pritchard can feel a bit hard done by that he's been dropped, especially if he gets dropped from the bench to make way for Russell. Likewise Hayes, who was an integral part of our early-season form. CP said last night that with all these games coming up he'd be using the squad, and some players we haven't seen much of will be getting 90 minutes, and I'm looking forward to that.
Cheers lads, i just hope we kick on and do exactly whats required to take the title. I'm with Tewkes since preseason, i think this season will go down as very,very special in our history. Kermo and Bwp will spark again and we will have a series of 3-0 & 4-1 victorys, i am sure.
I remember writing that, Oz and I was thinking about it again a couple of days ago when the details of our away record was shown on the O/S. Honestly though, I don't think anyone could have predicted this, it's just been extraordinary - this team doesn't know when it's beaten and is no repecter of tradition, form or reputation. It's not perfect, by any means but it's been at the top of the division for five months tomorrow, which is a truly remarkable record by any standards and seriously, who's looked like putting the sort of run together that would knock us off the summit? We've got a bunch of players that, although they've been assembled from widely disparate backgrounds, have been gelled into a purring machine playing for the club and the shirt by an intelligent, dedicated manager who got his 'settling in period' well out of the way last season and started this one with a clear vision and a clean slate. A very special season indeed, and long may it last.
