Are we currently the best team in L1?

I think with a fully fit full squad with CJ at full fitness, Madine, Gretterson and Ekpiteta back, then we would be a very strong team.
 
LimerickTangerine said:
Some performances are not great but we still scrape points in those games, not the best but we are a very good side
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I think good side, missing some key components, not quite performing as we should.
I actually think the Crewe game took the wind out of our sails and we'd become a bit over-confident that teams would bow down to our style of play.
Hopefully last night's win will mean we can get back to what we're doing best on Saturday - one thing for sure we won't have to worry about Larry throwing everything and the tin bath at it!
 
Hovering around 3rd.

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Not quite at Aiden McGeady setting up all four Charlie Wyke headers in one match for Sunderland levels. Or Burton's hold over everyone with their new team (apart from when they played Sunderland).
 
Sunderland the top dogs in the division not on the table but have the best squad. We are a very dangerously side who are maybe a year down the line from seriously contending at the top the play offs would be a bonus
 
Bend it like Suddick said:
'Currently' is the key word as we are possibly in the top 3 teams. However our league position is a good indicator of how good we really are.
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That's not necessarily true though.

Take 06/07, we were bang average for more than half of the season but by the end were by far the best team in the league. If we win a couple of our games in hand we'll be in sixth, exactly where we were on the 10th March 2007. That season we were 17th at Christmas.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
That's not necessarily true though.

Take 06/07, we were bang average for more than half of the season but by the end were by far the best team in the league. If we win a couple of our games in hand we'll be in sixth, exactly where we were on the 10th March 2007. That season we were 17th at Christmas.
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Point taken, but my post was based on 'currently', which is directed to both form and league position.
 
I believe we have the best defence in the league, we still regularly get clean sheets with our 4th choice centre half/left back at centre half. An incredible feat.

Overall I don't believe we are close to being the best team in League One.
 
It depends how you want to define "best".

Best to watch - probably not.
Best at picking up points - as good as virtually any, currently. Didn't someone post a stat that said over the last 25 games we've picked up the most amount of points in the entire division?

If we want to get out of this division, it is the latter that is most important; I'll happily take us scraping 1 nil wins with the occasional draw if we ultimately achieve promotion.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
That's not necessarily true though.

Take 06/07, we were bang average for more than half of the season but by the end were by far the best team in the league. If we win a couple of our games in hand we'll be in sixth, exactly where we were on the 10th March 2007. That season we were 17th at Christmas.
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A very good point....and at this stage of the season in 2010 few would have given us a sniff of getting in the playoffs let alone promotion.
 
NewburyOne said:
If we use average points per game as a predictor it will mean we finish 6th with Peterborough top and Hull 2nd.

Peterborough 86
Hull 85
Lincoln 85
Sunderland 84
Doncaster 82
Blackpool 74

Obviously the above doesn't take into account current form but I feel it is a fair indicator of my expectations.
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The ppg is massively skewed against us due to how few points we picked up in the first 8 or so games.
We're nothing like the side that started the season.

I think us finishing 6th is probably about right, but the gap in points may not be as wide as the ppg table would suggest.
 
NewburyOne said:
If we use average points per game as a predictor it will mean we finish 6th with Peterborough top and Hull 2nd.

Peterborough 86
Hull 85
Lincoln 85
Sunderland 84
Doncaster 82
Blackpool 74

Obviously the above doesn't take into account current form but I feel it is a fair indicator of my expectations.
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Yes think 6th place is all that’s up for grabs
 
Whilst we have the makings of a decent side and, currently, have cut out giving silly goals away we are not scoring anywhere near enough. The last two home games should have been six points but because we dont score more than one on most occasions we have dropped points. We shouldn't be defending 1-0 leads at home that only invites unnecessary pressure on our own goal.
 
tango94 said:
Some indicators suggest we are, or at least close.
Discuss.
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Were a good side who can beat any team in this league. They struggle against us and usually say they performed badly, but usually its us who press them.

Just lacked goals too often but have scored a few lately.

Imagine this side tonight, but off the bench could come, Madine, CJ, Virtue, Stewart, Gret.

Could completely change things then with quality players replacing them and would really keep players fresh.

Sat Tues games with depleted squad is my main worry now.
 
EC-BFC said:
I think with a fully fit full squad with CJ at full fitness, Madine, Gretterson and Ekpiteta back, then we would be a very strong team.
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Madine is an option off the bench if playing 4 2 3 1 isn't working, at the moment it usually does and we are better for it. But our bench will be so strong with Ekpiteta, Husband, Ballard, Gretarrsson, Stewart, Virtue, Hamilton and Madine fit and available again!
 
The owner has ensured we have one of the best squads in the division and we should all acknowledge the support he has given the manager. Well done Critchley for taking the shackles off and attacking a bit more...everyone in this division is wary of us now and I do mean everyone
 
The division is sitting up and taking notice now! We need to keep one step ahead from now on in!

We know we can "out football" teams and we know we can work hard and stop teams playing, they know we can too but we have to stay a step ahead and out-think teams, out-plan teams and win games by doing everything better.

The last two games suggest we can! UTMP!
 
gjr69 said:
Madine is an option off the bench if playing 4 2 3 1 isn't working, at the moment it usually does and we are better for it. But our bench will be so strong with Ekpiteta, Husband, Ballard, Gretarrsson, Stewart, Virtue, Hamilton and Madine fit and available again!
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Yep, those are my thoughts.

We look miles better than we ever did at our best with the 4-4-2 utilising Madine, but you imagine this formation won't be a "one-size-fits-all". There will be times when a 4-4-2 is needed, maybe even at the back end of games and Madine will be perfect in those situations, but for me he certainly doesn't walk back into this team.
 
I don’t think Pool are playing a new system. They are playing the High Press vigorously, and it is causing our opposition to lose their shape and cohesion. Even DF said as much last night. To play like that you have to fit, and you can’t do it without running your own players into the ground. You HAVE to rotate them, or they won’t be able to do it effectively. I thought their application against OXF in the first half was outstanding. Pool choked them from the first whistle by their intensity.
 
Sadler's Brylcreem said:
I would say as best team then it's between Hull, Sunderland and Peterbough .. it's whether we can improve enough to beat any of those sides in the Play Offs.
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We've taken 4 points off Hull, 6 points off Peterborough. Sunderland are the unknown quantity in comparison to us.
 
We aren’t the best team. BUT we have the best squad depth.

Love to see how Hull could cope without Wilks for 3 months or Sunderland without McGeady and Wyke for 3 months.

We’ve been missing Grettarson, Ekpiteta, Keshi, CJ & Madine for months. So yeah, not the best team but arguably the best squad
 
We have a chance. If we can win 36 points from the last 12 games we would be on 92 pts which would give us automatic.
 
Athers said:
We aren’t the best team. BUT we have the best squad depth.

Love to see how Hull could cope without Wilks for 3 months or Sunderland without McGeady and Wyke for 3 months.

We’ve been missing Grettarson, Ekpiteta, Keshi, CJ & Madine for months. So yeah, not the best team but arguably the best squad
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Best team over the last 26 games.
 
Because I had nothing better to do last week I watched the Accrington/Sunderland match more so to see what all the fuss is about Sunderland at the moment.
To be honest with Accrington having the run they're having I thought Sunderland would win convincingly but they didn't.
They huffed and puffed against a bang average side for the best part of a hour, considering they've allegedly got some great players in their side they made it quite difficult for themselves.
The 1st goal when it came was farcical and Accys keeper will have nightmares about it for a long time as the ball looped over his head from a weak header 6 yards out. Accy had their chances to level but a combination of woeful finishing and competent defending kept them out and with Accrington trying for the equaliser late on Sunderlands 2nd came from a quick counter.

I understand that you cannot judge a team on one performance as others would say Blackpool are shite if they saw us against Wimbledon but on that showing we really have nothing to fear.
Yes they've only lost 5 games so are doing something right but as said how would they cope even losing one influential player this season let alone 5!!

On what I've seen this season from the whole of the season Sunderland, take the first 7 games away and its Blackpool
 
Some of the Sunderland fans on their forum who watched our game on Tuesday night thought the standard was poor and they had nowt to fear from us or Posh. An element of truth in that as Posh were pretty poor, I thought, and it was an easier game to win than our previous games against Burton, Crewe and Wimbledon, I felt. They looked unsure of themselves, in comparison to those three, lacking conviction.

But Sunderland have not really ripped trees up. They are good defensively, like us. Don't lose often. So we are surely looking at two tight games. Wyke has 22 league goals, so he's a threat, but We should have Gretarsson back in tandem with Ballard if not Marv for those games, hopefully. Is there a better central defensive partnership in the division? And CJ might be around to run at them.
 
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