The big issue is, we havnt seen, under Dodds recent spell and previous managers, that we are able to put together 90 mins of consistency. It's been very few and far between. Big annoyance of mine. I have taken another look, it's very unlikely we go down but we could be like 14-18 which would represent a very poor season indeed.
Im not sure weve put in a 90 min performance this season, Southampton probably the only 1 i can think of It has been a poor season, the fact we have a thread about a relegation battle says it all. Hopefully a few positive results n performances between now n the end of the season will give us belief for nxt season I try to be glass half full when it comes to football so heres the positives im hoping we take from this season: - recruitment has learned that they must sign more championship ready players. Im fine with the 'model' but need more ready for now players. - speakman gets our 1st choice manager rather than who is the easiest n most convenient one. I feel theyll have learnt a lot from the beale appointment and he will know he has 1 more chance to get it right so go get our main target - plus let him pick his coaching staff. - our youngsters will have another yrs experience. Thatll be massive for them, whether its players like jobe getting loads of 1st team minutes or rusyn having a yr to settle into a new country itll hopefully mean more are championship ready nxt season. - the league wont be as hard nxt yr. The 4 teams at the top are quality, 2 of them at least will be going up. Wouldnt be surprised if 1 of the other 2 go up through the playoffs. Burnley will still be good with kompany in charge but they dont scare me as much as the likes of leeds n leicester. Sheff utd are a mess, they have plenty of bang average championship players in that squad n dont think theyll be selling players for the value others did last summer. - teams seem to be tight against ffp rules, while we seem to be in a good place - rigg could be ready to take the championship by storm next season. He will get good mins between now n the end of the season which will help kick him on nxt yr I know theres loads to be upset or negative about but i also feel theres loads of positives with our club at the minute. Nail the managerial appointment sign a couple ready to play championship players and things look up again Apologies for the long post
It would take an almost unbelievable sequence of events to get relegated. Essentially we'd have to lose every game between now and the end of the season, even then you are asking 10 teams to move above us. Only once in the last 5 seasons has a team been relegated on more than 46 points. Blackburn once went down on 51 points which is mad, considering they were 9 points clear of the 2nd bottom team - that was in 2017
Good post! I still think there's more to be positive about than there is to be negative, no matter what anyone says. Relegation? I'm still expecting a late push for the playoffs.
We're 9 points off the relegation places and people are talking about that as a possibility. You've got to be optimistic, right?
Got to be positive though mate, don't think we're in a relegation fight but we have to think of finishing with a bit fight
There's a positive to all this imo, if we consider the season over. We now have an opportunity to play the likes of Rigg, Aouchiche, Hemir, etc, experiment with different tactics and play without fear. We can treat it as a big pre-season and prepare for next season. That would be even more relevant if we bring in a new manager but I'd rather the club was exploring every option and interviewing them carefully and thoroughly. I know people want the situation sorted quickly but it's so important we bring in someone prepared to work within our set up or who can show why we should adapt it to their needs. Apart from the fact people are supporting the team, paying for home and away games, etc, we can't just let the season fizzle out. And, who knows, clubs who've had a recent spurt might run out of steam and we can finish higher than our current position ... ... narrowing the gap to 6th might even make the last few games more exciting than we may currently believe.
Still reckon we will have a few bum squeaks before our survival is confirmed. My hunch is we will finish in the bottom 6. Bart
Jittery, but think we will be fine, I’m also very reactionary and naturally fear the worst especially when it comes to safc second half has given me some encouragement though
Can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for this season However I’m sure we have enough in us to stay up a few of the others at the bottom would have to have a great end to the season for us to be dragged in
Promotion or relegation some team or other usually come with a better than average finish to the season.
Half my brain knows you're right. The other half of my brain looks at the form tables and the trends, sees that most of the teams below us are in good form, and sees that if the 5-game form is repeated in the next 5 games, we will go into the final 5 games with the table looking like this: 11th - Boro - 53 (with game in hand) 12th - Swansea - 50 13th - Sheff Wed - 50 14th - Watford - 49 15th - QPR - 49 16th - Sunderland - 47 17th - Bristol C - 47 18th - Millwall - 47 19th - Birmingham - 46 (with game in hand) 20th - Huddersfield - 45 21st - Blackburn - 44 22nd - Stoke - 44 23rd - Plymouth - 43 24th - Rotherham - 19 I know that is an entirely flawed approach I'm taking, and it relies on us losing all of our next 5 games. But its using just pure maths of repeating the last 5 games twice. We'd go into the final 5 games just 3 points above relegation zone.. Which isn't an end to the season any of us want. So basically... please win soon Sunderland
Tend to agree. I see no point in playing Burstow again this season, same goes for Dack. I also see no point rushing people like Cirkin and Alese back into the team. Would be good to see Evans, Embo and Roberts back when they are ready. Jury is out on Clarke, but I hope we get to see him one last time at the SOL
There's no such thing as the bottom six, it's either the bottom three, and relegation, or safety. In my opinion we need to give young players, like Hemir, the most time and best service we can ... ... building their confidence could get us off to a good start next season.
The mad thing about football is that form tables tell you about the past, but they absolutely don't predict the future. It's not outside the realms of possibility that we go and beat Southampton on Sat, then click into gear and beat QPR, Cardiff and Blackburn. If you have a decent team and a good spirit, then bad form has to end some time. Was it Swansea who had lost 5 out of 6 before beating us? There's always an uptick eventually Not saying we have a chance of play offs, we'd probably have to win all 10 of our remaining games, but am certain we aren't in any trouble with regards relegation
100% agree re next season - was saying that to my Dad as we left the season. The play offs are gone, but lets win 4 or 5 of our last games and take some momentum into next season. It's not to be discounted
