Im not being negative but was wondering how you guys were feeling about our chances of staying up. Most of the people I sit with in the Hammersmith End are resigned to religation. Listening to the radio and talking to most neutrals they have us and Cardiff relegated already. Personally I think if we can beat Cardiff we may get out of it. If we loose or draw I can't see any hope for us. We could realistically get 7points from our last 3 games so I think a result at Cardiff would put us back in the mix. How do you guys feel?
Head says we are already down... Mathematically not yet at least! Heart says that we can still get out. There is time!
I was feeling quite positive providing we get a result at Cardiff, even if we do we still face a huge battle to stay up. I remember last season when QPR went down and a lot of fans on their board were positive even though they were obviously down. I think it's hard to be logical when its your club. I love the idea of us getting out of this mess but the fact Felix said we need 6 wins in our last 10 games and we have won 6 of our last 28 speaks volumes....
Well, it depends on how fast the guys will adapt to Magaths philosophy of mental and physical strength. At the moment, he's all about fighting to avoid relegation and I think, he will be successfull in the end. They just need one win to end the serial of losing games.
Welcome Westchinken to the forum. I've said it before - if we can win at Cardiff we have a chance. If we lose it will take a miracle. I've not given up yet. COYW
I've gone into "I don't give a **** mode". I don't think we'll stay up, but I still hope we can pull off a miracle. Either way I'm behind our boys.
I had you as certs to go down until I saw you had Cardiff this weekend, and us at home to come of course Draw or lose the Cardiff game, and I am sorry to say you are gone in my book. While not impossible to reverse the trend of results, and you do have some games where 3 points are possible, it will take an immense effort to hit 38 points (I think that will be cut off point). I am not convinced we are going to hobble over that points tally either, although we too have 3 winnable games at home.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/04/fulhams-clash-with-cardiff-is-cottagers-last-chance-saloon-for-shot-at-safety-4414897/ Heart says we can do it, head says down. Or, not to be out done, we have got 2 hopes - Bob and no! Keep smiling everyone?
Think we are gone have pretty much given up and have been thinking about when it is ok to start a thread about how to go about next season in the championship as there is a lot of points to debate. Norwich (h) Hull (h) Palace (h) Cardiff (a) Win all these and we may have an outside chance
Hi guys - it looks like it's a crunch game on Saturday and the loser will be regarded as nailed on for the drop, but there's still a lot of teams in the frame that could cock it right up over ten games. There are a couple or three clubs that could hold the key to one or both of us staying up - I'll give you Stoke, Brom and Norwich as prime examples. Norwich have the last four fixtures from hell immediately after they visit you - Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal. Unless they're well clear by the time they start those, they could be overhauled by teams sitting below them. Stoke and Brom are both involved in so many bottom club battles (we have still to play both), that they could fly or fall - they are both well in the frame. Of the others around us, Sunderland, Palace and Hull have good managers who should pull them through. Swansea have enough class in their squad to pick up the points they need despite having a rookie manager post Laudrup. All still to play for, but one thing's for sure - a point apiece on Saturday will only help the others - one of us needs to take all three.
Depending on who you ask we are down already or heading with certainty that way. For me the strategy is relativel simple if it is to give it a go. Three parameters: 1. Continue improving the fitness of the team. It seems that the team depending on the opponent can last up to 60-70 mins. After that there is a collapse. Rene potentially spotted this and started getting younger fitter guys in the team (Tunnicliffe, Kvist, Holtby). 2. Use substitutions wisely depending on the formation. Parker and Sidwell is a recipe for disaster. Good for 60 minutes then after that both are knackered. For me it should be Kvist and Sidwell and then wither Sidwell or Kvist replaced with Parker depending on the game. That will ensure fresh legs in the midfield. 3. Experience. We need experience in defense. Young Dan Burn is good and will be great in the years to come. Last Saturday showed his lack of experience and positional awareness. Magath was right when he said that Brede leaving was a blow. Lack of experience coupled with more pressure on the defense due to fitness and late subs, also playing a relative high line, resulted in Chelsea running riot. Sort these things out and we have a chance.
I agree. We're still in there swinging, but we need to win on Saturday. We probably also need something against Newcastle the following week too. If we lose or draw at the weekend I'll officially change from thinking we'll stay up to assuming that we're doomed. I don't take too much notice of what the pundits say. They are generally the same ones who earlier in the season were equally adamant that Palace and Sunderland were definitely down. Most pundits just look at the league table and make obvious statements based on that, rather than on any sense of whether teams are addressing their problems. Savage and co were still banging on about how useless we were even after we stood toe-to-toe with title-chasing Liverpool and, um, Europa League chasing Man United. Sadly, it seems to me that the timing of Magath's appointment has undone the momentum that was coming from good performances in Rene's last two matches, making his ignorant and un-insightful comments retrospectively more accurate. Back in the Hodgson great escape, I remember that week after week on MOTD2, Lee Dixon would say that he still thought we'd get out of trouble. Apparently he was slaughtered off-set by the likes of Shearer and Hanson as a result. Sadly, most pundits just state the obvious and take the money, rather than actually analyse what's going on. And welcome to the board, westschinkin. I like the way your mind is thinking. (poetry accidental - sorry!)
I have refrained from talking about our chances until now, but I have always had a feelin we may sneak it. This flies in the face of facts and form, but looking at our run in we have - apart from the Man City and Tottenham games - a chance of points and wins in all games. However 6 points from the next 2 games are vital. I might be an optimistic glass quarter full - the half went some time ago!! - but I can't escape that feeling that we will sneak it. COYW
I think that if any team, in recent years, could survive from this position at such a late date, it's us. I think we have the players and the management to get a good run of form going and get out of this. Having said that, I've seen bigger, stronger and richer clubs NOT escape - take West Ham and Newcastle, in recent years. I remember looking at their squads, thinking, "there's no way that team goes down ..." and yet it happened. I'm optimistic. But as many of us have noted, we need to get max points from all of our remaining games against similarly situated teams, starting Saturday. If we don't get a good result, and put in a strong performance, on Saturday, I think I chances of staying up are slim.
Thank you, Fulham COYW. I know your new manager very well, because I worked for/with him at one of his former clubs, so I know he has the experience to stay up in premier league, but for this, he needs a team who still believes that there's a chance to do so. I also think, there will be many changes in the squad on summer transfer window, regardless of your league..
