And for what it's worth, I've felt confident of a top two finish ever since we came away from Ewood Park with all three points. But its such a tight division - its hardly surprising most people don't want to hedge their bets with ten games remaining.
I would also say that those August predictions are largely irrelevant now (unless you have money on it of course!) as they would have been based on Neil Adams management, which was not getting us anywhere near top spot. I felt all along we had the strongest squad in the division, so you'd probably expect I suggested top spot. But I felt Adams would not be up to it so predicted 9th (which to be fair was looking a decent prediction in January). I didn't know we'd get such a talented replacement - nobody did! So those who predicted top spot pretty much the second Neil walked through the door - Munky, Carrabuh etc - THEY made great predictions (even if they fail) because most people did not see any way we would make up an 11 point deficit and overtake so many teams – and I think both suggested we would be above Ipswich following derby day! Very impressive.
That result against the Egg Chasers might actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It has given the manager and players a harsh reality check (not that I think AN really needed it, but perhaps the players did), and also keeps us somewhat 'under the radar' as far as the media is concerned. They didn't really mention us as possible title winners on the FL show last night and that's the way I like it. I will be gutted if we don't go up now after such an amazing run of form since AN arrived and also because the better players, of which there are many, will almost certainly be snapped up by PL teams in the summer. Quite simply, we MUST get promotion OTBC
i think we can go up definitely, but i wouldnt say its inevitable yet. Too many twists and turns to come. If we maintain our current form and squad depth, sure it looks likely, but thats a big if right now. I think to say we 'should' get promoted based on all the current variables is a confident but informed statement. To say we 'will' get promoted at this stage is crossing over into arrogance, especially in light of our teams non appearance against Wigan recently. (lets not forget our home form is only the 9th best in the league and thats where we play derby, middlesbrough and Forest)
I think 20 points would probably do it - 6 wins 2 draws 2 defeats. Maybe fewer if we beat Derby and Boro. Basically we have to get 2 more points than 3 of the teams above us (maybe 1, depends on goal difference). Almost certainly going to be tight.
I believe we have a very good chance. We have many factors in our favour. It's just that I hope to hell it's secured before we play the last game against you know who. To end up third and lose in the playoffs would have dire implications for the club. As Battersea says there are so many twists and turns yet, and we all know our ability to find banana skins. Just going to squeeze my cheeks and take it one game at a time.
Has anyone seen CarrowCanario lately? Not seen him on here since we charged up the table to within touching distance of the top spot.
Apologies, I hadn't seen you involved in any of the recent discussions we've been having - I probably need to get my eyes checked then! What do you think now about our chances? And do you now see where I was coming from now when I suggested your fears about us only being able to scrape into the play-offs were selling us massively short and, dare I say it, a bit ridiculous?
I'm wary. I was brimming with confidence in the recent past, but then we lost at home to Wigan. I'm taking nothing for granted.
Neil's done a fantastic job. To be fair I never said I didn't like Neil, I just didn't think he'd turn things around as quickly as he has. Neil seems to be getting the best out of the players we have and we are certainly much better organised. Howson for me also gives the team much better balance and I don't think its any coincidence that we struggled when he wasn't available. We now seem to be able to take advantage when other teams stutter, but i'm still a bit concerned that when you look at the seasons as a whole we do seem to bottle things when it really matters. So in summary I'm much more confident now that we can get a top 6 spot, although I don't take it for granted and it would only take a couple of results like the Wigan result to put us back where we were. Not yet convinced that we'll get a top 2 place as I consider Bournemouth, Derby & Middlesborough to be good teams who have as much chance as us. I'm still concerned that Martin is one of our 1st choice CB's, although to be fair his perfomances recently have improved. I still think if we do get promoted we will need a significant clear out if we don't want to come straight back down.
The Bookies currently see it as very close between Bournemouth, City and Derby, with Boro a shade behind and Watford next. I think that's about right.
Fair comment - carrowcanario, but the form table doesn't lie and this is the form over the last 12 games. Really, only Watford are close to us and their GD has suffered in the last few games and they have to play 3 of the teams in the top 8 plus Forest away.
I am cautiously optimistic of the automatics (but Wigan dented my confidence badly) - I would not fancy the play-offs somehow and think that we would fall short for an inexplicable feeling. Top 2 or nothing!
I'm not keen on a clear-out if we reach the PL because by the time new players 'gel' it could already be too late. We've built up a good squad of players over the past 3 years and they are now building up a good understanding and solid organisation. Some new players certainly, but not a clear-out for me.
