Matt Tubbs is reported to have said he and the rest of the team still believe they can reach the playoffs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31552479 Is he serious? Here's my take. Cambridge United away D Tranmere Rovers home W Oxford United home W Northampton Town away L Accrington Stanley away D Luton Town home L Cheltenham Town home W AFC Wimbledon away L Shrewsbury Town home L Carlisle United away D Plymouth Argyle home L Morecambe away D Stevenage away L Bury home D Mansfield Town away D York City home W That's 18 points, giving us a total of just 55 With the blue tinted specs on this becomes Cambridge United away W Tranmere Rovers home W Oxford United home W Northampton Town away D Accrington Stanley away W Luton Town home D Cheltenham Town home W AFC Wimbledon away D Shrewsbury Town home D Carlisle United away D Plymouth Argyle home L Morecambe away D Stevenage away D Bury home D Mansfield Town away W York City home W That's only ONE more defeat [at home to Plymouth] and 29 points giving a total of 66. Last season York finished 7th with 71 points, with Oxford in 8th on 62. So do you think our Mr Tubbs is being just a little over ambitious or do you think they can actually pull it off?
Over ambitious - without any doubt. He'll be lucky to get any service for the rest of the season, "we have ways of stopping you scoring!"
2 things if I may join in your contemplations.......the first is don't judge anything by today's result. Not that I think you will get too carried away. We played Cambridge a short time ago. They came across as a decent enough side with the ball but when you looked at the match as a whole they were living too much on the hype of having played MU. They passed well. Then they passed again and again and again ....ad nauseum. Absolutely no threat going forward at all if they ever bothered to try. The second thing is you have Matt Tubbs. He has been top of the pops goal scoring wise for a while now and the one thing he does do is score which is something you have lacked a tad earlier in the season. If you have a goal scorer then you always have a chance. One team as somebody else pointed out makes a dash for it from about here on in. Every season it's the same sinve we've been here anyway. Why not you. There is another with possibilities on that front which is Northampton. Their revival has been quite meteoric of late. The odd blip but back on track again today. It does give you something to focus on though rather than write this season off as a dead rubber already. Doing that makes the rest of the season very very boring and an awfully long way to the next opportunity.
Fair comments SG, but another important point to add to the mix, which no-one seems to have picked up on much, is Gary Waddock - since he brought his experience into the club to assist our very inexperienced manager - AA has stopped tinkering with the team so it's much more settled. With Waddock it seems to be one solid foot forward at a time. James Dunne has also been an absolute rock for us, possibly one of our most important players alongside Jed Wallace and Robinson.
To be fair I don't know your players that well but I got that "jed" was a decent player from the many mentions during the match on the match day thread. Two things win games and they are obvious. Stop shipping stupid goals i.e. get the defence sorted and find somebody to score them. When I saw Tubbs was available at season start me and my cronnies wanted him down here. Not to be. Then he was available again and again I wanted him here. You got him and he is a proven scorer. Not flash in the pan for a season but a regular scorer and at the top of the list. You probably could have done with him from the start of the season but better late than never. I think you have a good shout for a late charge but a lot will see you as a "big club" in a minnow league and raise their game when they play you. They love a scalp in league 2 as often it's all they have to get excited about. Look at our lot. They get well over excited at beating Exeter for Christ sake. I mean Exeter but I suppose they have played Brazil.......
Jed is 20, came via our academy a couple of years ago. He's our top scorer with 15 goals now this season and lord knows how many assists, he's involved in many/most of our goals. He's signed a 3 year deal in the summer, but most fans seem to be resigned to losing him for a better team in the summer, unless we're around the play-offs. Westcarr must be feeling a bit peeved - he's a proven goal scorer as well, but if they don't get service they can't score goals. Taylor was brought in by Steve Coppell/Ritchie Barker from Bristol City. He's a good player who works hard and can hold the ball up but he hardly scores. I haven't seen any games this season unfortunately, but from what I'm told our tactics were lump it forward to Taylor. I'm just hoping today wasn't a fluke. We're not so good against physical sides. But you're right about the "big club" nonsense, I think the other teams raise their game because of the number of fans at Fratton Park - but fans don't get on the pitch that's up to the players and too often they haven't been good enough.
Some very sensible comments on here - I think we should enjoy the purple patch we have hit over the last 6 weeks but not get too carried away - don't get me wrong I felt at the start of the season the play-offs were a realistic aim but that top 10 was what should be hoped for - after a very ropey period of time I just wanted mid-table security - now with Tubbs joining and players beginning to tick (settled team definitely helps - been moaning about it on and off for a while) I do think that top 10 finish is what we should hope for - if we slip into the play-offs well I won't complain....let's look up and not down but not get carried away. The squad is capable on paper of doing it - but football is played on grass not paper.
The only place a win over Cambridge is impressive is on the Thames. Holds true for Skates and Scummers, I suppose. And its about time your lot put a run together. It was getting to the point where laughing at you was getting embarrassing.
