Yep good analysis. My nagging doubt is that we've been relatively lucky with injuries so far, despite what it seems on the surface. Patto, Hume, Cirkin, O'Nien, Rigg, Jobe, Neil, Roberts and Mundle have been fit for every game. And our depth looks particularly bad at full back. I'm hoping Ballard is back fit for Oxford next weekend because I think the odds are that Hume finally picks up that 5th booking versus Luton on Wednesday, and we'll need to move O'Nien out to right back to cover. (I really hope that's the plan, rather than Mepham).
This is why I’m still saying it’s early days (no issue with those that want to get carried away though). We’re only three points better off than we were last season and only two points better off than Preston (though everyone was fairly certain they’d fall away).
That's pretty staggering that we are only 3 points better off than we were last season. And at the same time validates my point of view that it is still early days. That said, the style of play this year suggests a much more consistent level of form. I can't see us dropping off the way we did last season. Do I see us dropping off at all? Yes I do. I think our battle is positions 4th-9th and we need to make sure we are in the top 6.
Of course it doesn't. It just gives some perspective to the need for those within the camp to stay level headed about it all. Which I'm absolutely positive RLB is doing. Us fans can get carried away though
For context. At that stage we’d beaten. 24th, 23rd, 22nd, 21st, 20th, 10th and drew with 13th. whilst losing to 2nd, 3rd, 17th we hadn’t played many in form teams. And the ones we did. We lost. this season. Beaten - 2nd, 9th, 12th, 14th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd Drew - 3rd Lost - 8th, 19th beaten a better standard of team. Dropped points were against good sides in form bar the Plymouth blip and we should’ve taken more in both losses tbf. We’ve definitely improved despite the similarities in points total. Some of the teams we’ve beaten were in better form when we played them than the table suggests unlike last season
Remember seasons gone by where Preston and others have been in similar position to us now. Fell away and not even made the play-offs. But I do think we have played very well and been very well organised this season.
Ok I have looked back on the last 100 years and over that time the best starts we have had in seasons we have not been promoted are two years where we had 6 wins , 3 draws and one defeat in our first ten games which based on three points for a win would give 21 points. The seasons were 1974/75, finished 4th, two points off promotion. 1926/27, finished 3rd seven points behind Newcastle who won the league.
Some are suggesting that L’Orient fell apart after 10 matches or so, it could happen to us!! FFS……so, at a different club, a different league, different players, different environment, we somehow have a coach who routinely fails after 10 matches and we can expect to see us losing and falling down into the lower reaches of this division!! Some of our so called fans, man!!
It’s only me that’s said it isn’t it? You could have just quoted my post. Not sure how my saying it makes me a ‘so called fan’ though. The whole thread is literally about comparisons and the head coach is more likely to have a bearing on correlation than it just being the same club (with different manager, different players, different era etc) is.
The failure last season was not getting the correct coach in, by the time we realised Beale was completely the wrong fit it was too late and we essentially wrote the season off. I can't see that happening again I'm still adamant a proper coach appointment would have got us in and around the playoffs with the squad.
this is an exaggeration like. You’ve read something and taken it completely to the extreme. Nobody has said anything about expecting or even a likelihood. The argument is that it could happen. Teams have had better starts than we’ve had and finished low. That’s all. If we repeat our 11th-46th games from last season, we’ll finish bottom half even with the start we’ve had. That’s all. Nobody’s saying it going to happen or even that it’s likely to happen. It just could. 10 games is still too low a sample to suggest where things will end up. We can all be excited about the start we’ve made whilst at the same time acknowledging there’s a hell of a long way to go.
What gives me great hope for this season is we just look a solid unit when defending. We don't give teams many (if any) clear cut chances. That coupled with some serious attacking talent make us a very dangerous animal imo
Very much this. Even under Beale we were still in play off contention initially, only for it to drift away and fall apart later after he was sacked. The collapse from Mid January was horrific, but just how much damage Beale did we'll never know and possibly we'd have appointed an experienced "interim" manager earlier if we'd not had the points in the bag. It's one of those "ifs and buts" we'll never know.
I still maintain the big error last year was sacking Mowbray. But it is water long under the bridge. They compounded the error by not having a replacement ready and then appointing someone few got on board with. 10 games in and all is looking good again with Regis. Maybe that long process was worthwhile after all. I for one thought it was far too long, but credit where it is due now. Would love to being saying the same thing end of season.
