Just checked the current form tables.Last eight games we are third.Who would have thought that two months ago?
In the PL we are 7 points above the drop zone which is comforting but by the same points total margin we are within sight of third place. It's a strange and uncertain league this year where anything could happen and it's a very evenly fought league except maybe for the top two positions.
agreed with old canaries, certainly based on the first 15 games, there is little between the teams in positions 4-20. And in terms of the points of the last 18 games, Swansea are 4th - sets it up nicely for Saturday.
and if we can remain 3rd in that table on Saturday night I will be near delirious as it would 9 undefeated with a nice looking home fixture to follow
While we appear to be comfortable, as 1950 points out, there is a real concertina in the middle of the table and any two or or three game slip up, we could be dragged back into it. But well done to the club for the last eight games.
Thanks to CH's recruitment policy, we are fairly well covered in the event of long term injuries - unlike some other teams. I'm sure kane is due to resume treaining this month and hopefully we'll get a chance to see what he can do. Also Butterfield will be back with us soon and so give even more options and competition for places in midfield. The midtable is extremely congested and as Redruth points out - if we were to go on a losing streak of 3 or 4 games, we could well be drifting towards the bottom of the league. My glass is half full though and I fancy us going up the league as opposed to down!!!!
After performances and results such as we've had in the last two months, it would be a miserable son-of-a-gun who thought any differently to you
we're bound to hit a ropey run at some point, although we might of already had it at the start of the season! Xmas looks tough, with chelsea, man c and west ham, but we might get through that with a couple of draws you never know. the main thing is this mini-run has set us up very nicely.
in terms of relegation, yes i agree it's not looking good for those two. But i meant not much difference in terms of ability / performance. Reading have put in some decent performances this season, they are not as bad as blackburn/bolton last year in my opinion. QPR have also shown some fight in recent weeks and have a good squad.
that's being very kind to koopeearr Max. they have players but do not have a team. they are so far adrift at this early stage of the season that i can see no way back for them.
goldeneadie, agreed they will in my opinion get relegated. what i was trying to get across is i see them picking up performance and results in the near future when Harry sorts them out. There are no wipping boys in the league this year (eg Wolves second half of last season)
8 games undefeated in the Premier League is 21% of the season, which is a significant part of the season, so I think this is more than a mini-run as max seems to suggest.
With regard to Reading, a lot depends on that game in hand at Sunderland. Lose that and they do start to look a bit like a lost cause. Win that and they drag everyone from Wigan down into immediate trouble. As for us, it's a bit depressing that such a good run still only sees us in a position where two or three defeats could mean we're right back in it. I guess that just shows how poor our start to the season was. If we can get four points against Swansea, Wigan and West Brom (or more), I would start to relax a bit more. Think CH is doing a wonderful job, though. He has really made us competitive and we can't ask for more than that.
An optimist would say we're 7 points off a place that would get you into Europe, a pessimist would say we're 7 points off the relegation places.
That's not right though is it? If you think about were we to have two or three defeats it is quite likely that three of the teams beneath us would only gain two or threen points on us becuse they are not averaging any better that a point a game themselves.Take last weekend for example.Before a ball was kicked there were seven sides beneath us. Newcastle got three points Villa and QPR one apiece.Generally speaking teams below us don't win as they have poor form.It might take six or seven defeats to drop to 18th.
good points there. What COULD happen is that we lose some of our buffer if we started losing a few in a row and Saints / Villa / Sunderland won a game. EG If we lose this weekend, and saints beat reading i think that would cut the gap to 4 or 5 depending on other results. it's a hypothetical - what gives me comfort is the amount of teams between us and 18th, and like you say Cruyff, we'd need to go on a shocker to end up back in the drop zone.
Looking at last season, the situation after 15 games was exactly the same, we were on 19 points and the team in 18th were on 12 points. Games 16 to 20 yielded 6 points for us (a win, three draws and 2 losses); and at game 20, the team in 18th place had 17 points. IE the gap widened by a single point, because the points total for 18th place rose by only 1 point per game. This illustrates Cruyff's point that the strugglers tend to make slower progress than you might think or they might want -- after all, they have to play someone to get points and it could be top sides or equally desperate strugglers.
We are around 40% through the season and have a seven point cushion. Given the amount of draws going on in the mid and lower reaches of the table I would imagine 38-40 points will keep us up. We already have almost half of those with four games "in hand" before we reah half way. We are in decent form and have a settled side with a bit of cash to spend in January if required. Short of long term injuries to Holt, Tettey and Bassong I reckon we are in excellent shape and there are many reasons to be cheerful. Not a great time to be playing the Swans though - they are in a very similar position.
