Reality Check

M

Middxile

Well-known member
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
 
I’ve held the view that we’ll likely still have a shout at the playoffs heading into the last day of the season - and I can still see this happening.

That being said - I doubt we will make the playoffs, and that is an abject failure this season. I don’t think the squad has been good enough, and the manager has had some serious faults, despite me giving him benefit of the doubt for the first half of the season.

Even though I don’t see the squad as good enough for challenging for the title/the Championship, if we’d won 3 of the aforementioned away games at some awful teams, we’d likely be in 5th with a +90% chance of being in the playoffs.

Can only blame ourselves for this shitshow.
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
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We've been very poor away from home this season, with only a couple of notable exceptions. It is an indictment of how poor this league is that we are still within touching distance of the play offs with that sort of form. We simply, haven't been good or consistent enough, we had a total shit show the season before and I do think we were left with far too many bang average players to make an immediate return to The Championship.

We can argue the merits, or otherwise, of the system, tactics and recruitment until the cows come home, but, we simply, have not been good enough on the pitch, when it really matters and that's why we are where we are.

With our loan players, Rhodes, Dembele, Byers and Coulson all going back, several out of contract, there is a serious rebuilding job required for next season, I just wish I was confident we can make the changes required.
 
Picking up Only One Pool's point, I still think there is a question to be answered about the squad. "Can it really that be bad given the results in those games?" There is another question arising from that, "what is wrong in the set up of the team that means against poor opposition we don't get many more chances" (even if the forwards at the moment cannot seem to score)? If I were the Owner/Chief Executive I would want to ask these questions, and the often suggested answer that poor teams park the bus may be true, but it isn't enough.
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
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Add to that, it's hard to understand how we blew all those games yet still sit on 70 points. What a missed opportunity this season has been.
 
norfolkpool said:
Picking up Only One Pool's point, I still think there is a question to be answered about the squad. "Can it really that be bad given the results in those games?" There is another question arising from that, "what is wrong in the set up of the team that means against poor opposition we don't get many more chances" (even if the forwards at the moment cannot seem to score)? If I were the Owner/Chief Executive I would want to ask these questions, and the often suggested answer that poor teams park the bus may be true, but it isn't enough.
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I’d counter that by saying that Portsmouth, Bolton and Derby for the most part have navigated those games much better than us. Then you’d have to ask yourself why?
 
Some good points made here, I agree entirely with how bad the away form has been against lower down sides, the amount of losses away to bottom half sides is quite unfathomable especially when we’ve actually done ok against the top half sides, wins at Pompey, posh, gas, Northampton and Barnsley and a draw at Oxford show that we’ve competed away against the divisions better sides but yeah away overall, 11 losses is piss poor that’s nearly half the total away games.

To give it some balance though the home form has been superb, 13 wins and counting is an excellent return and we’ve had some big wins as well in there!!! I’ve said all season were a team that are set up to be winning in a game, we rarely don’t win when we take the lead but likewise we rarely win when we go behind it’s almost like first goal wins but overall home form excellent and defensively we’ve not been bad especially recently 4 clean sheets on the spin, 18 in the league all season must be one of the highest. So a combination of keeping it relatively tight and good home form is probably why we’re still in with a shout but the poor away form is why we will probably just miss out
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
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Good post Midds
 
tonners1212 said:
I’ve held the view that we’ll likely still have a shout at the playoffs heading into the last day of the season - and I can still see this happening.

That being said - I doubt we will make the playoffs, and that is an abject failure this season. I don’t think the squad has been good enough, and the manager has had some serious faults, despite me giving him benefit of the doubt for the first half of the season.

Even though I don’t see the squad as good enough for challenging for the title/the Championship, if we’d won 3 of the aforementioned away games at some awful teams, we’d likely be in 5th with a +90% chance of being in the playoffs.

Can only blame ourselves for this shitshow.
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I agree.
 
Its the managers approach which has been wrong all season, far too negative. You only have to look at CJ playing at wing back rather than let the opposition worry about him on the wing up front, which is where he should be playing. Dom Thompson another attacking outlet has been shipped out and Lyons another one who could score us goals criminally under used.
 
Meanleywarrior said:
Its the managers approach which has been wrong all season, far too negative. You only have to look at CJ playing at wing back rather than let the opposition worry about him on the wing up front, which is where he should be playing. Dom Thompson another attacking outlet has been shipped out and Lyons another one who could score us goals criminally under used.
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In the grand scheme of things, I wouldn’t say Thompson is of a good enough level to challenge for L1 playoffs. Getting Coulson in to replace him was a decent bit of business.

Agree on Lyons though.
 
norfolkpool said:
Picking up Only One Pool's point, I still think there is a question to be answered about the squad. "Can it really that be bad given the results in those games?" There is another question arising from that, "what is wrong in the set up of the team that means against poor opposition we don't get many more chances" (even if the forwards at the moment cannot seem to score)? If I were the Owner/Chief Executive I would want to ask these questions, and the often suggested answer that poor teams park the bus may be true, but it isn't enough.
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Surely - and I thought this was now common knowledge,
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
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I think it's what's known in the game, Middxile, as "deluded desparation".
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
Click to expand...
Who cares
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
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It's posts like that which make me so angry about this season - incompetence is the only word that springs to mind.
However, as others have said, clean slate for Saturday.
 
Meanleywarrior said:
It’s the managers approach which has been wrong all season, far too negative. You only have to look at CJ playing at wing back rather than let the opposition worry about him on the wing up front, which is where he should be playing. Dom Thompson another attacking outlet has been shipped out and Lyons another one who could score us goals criminally under used.
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🤓

Dom Thompson another attacking outlet ? jeeesus come on absolutely ridiculous .
 
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Meanleywarrior said:
Its the managers approach which has been wrong all season, far too negative. You only have to look at CJ playing at wing back rather than let the opposition worry about him on the wing up front, which is where he should be playing. Dom Thompson another attacking outlet has been shipped out and Lyons another one who could score us goals criminally under used.
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Yeah Dom Thompson done really well at Forest Green. He’s played a whopping four games and they are rock bottom of league two.

Why oh why did we send him out on loan, best LB in league one.
 
End of the day, we are now in a two game scenario where we are the in form team out of the four who could get in the Play Offs (with two places available) and so actually what has happened over this season is pretty irrelevant.
 
tonners1212 said:
In the grand scheme of things, I wouldn’t say Thompson is of a good enough level to challenge for L1 playoffs. Getting Coulson in to replace him was a decent bit of business.

Agree on Lyons though.
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Coulson is still under contract till next year at Middlesborough with an option so would cost a fee, how much would we value him as he has been almost an ever present?
 
tangysider said:
Coulson is still under contract till next year at Middlesborough with an option so would cost a fee, how much would we value him as he has been almost an ever present?
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Thought he was out of contract to be honest but I stand corrected.

It’s a good question you ask, I would imagine that he’d be in our budget range, as despite him being a good player for us, by all accounts he hasn’t cut it in the Championship and with other loans.

That could also work in our favour as he’d probably want to stay under Critch.

Of all the loan players I’d say he’s the most attainable.
 
tonners1212 said:
Thought he was out of contract to be honest but I stand corrected.

It’s a good question you ask, I would imagine that he’d be in our budget range, as despite him being a good player for us, by all accounts he hasn’t cut it in the Championship and with other loans.

That could also work in our favour as he’d probably want to stay under Critch.

Of all the loan players I’d say he’s the most attainable.
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They don’t want him and he wants to move here permanently
 
WE Have a shocking record against the Royals. Not a win away in seven. just think it will be an away draw. To many permutations that could go against us.
 
Middxile said:
Before dreaming up combinations of favourable results which might see us into the top six, just remember for a moment the away days at……….Burton, Cheltenham, Stevenage, Port Vale, Cambridge, Orient and Wigan. Five of these teams are fighting relegation, and Pool managed one goal and no points from all seven games. I have to give my head a wobble when I look at the league table, struggling to understand how we are even considering such possibilities.
Click to expand...
However on a positive note 2 places up for grabs and 4 teams in the mix. Before a ball is even kicked at 12-30 next Saturday we have a 50/50 chance. 😀
 
We have the least points of the four and our GD is joint worst and our final game is away,only 2 can make it..
We obviously have a chance but to describe it as 50/50 is simply deluded.
 
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tangerinesince88 said:
Yeah Dom Thompson done really well at Forest Green. He’s played a whopping four games and they are rock bottom of league two.

Why oh why did we send him out on loan, best LB in league one.
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He's played 19 games for them, regular starter.

The last day is a long shot, but Oxford face Exeter who are in great form, and Pompey will want to end the season with a celebration at Lincoln, I'm sure.
 
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1950`spoolfan said:
We have the least points of the four and our GD is joint worst and our final game is away,only 2 can make it..
We obviously have a chance but to describe it as 50/50 is simply deluded.
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GD doesn’t affect us for the final game. It’s a must win game and hope one of the other 3 slip up which l think one will.
 
voyeur said:
He's played 19 games for them, regular starter.

The last day is a long shot, but Oxford face Exeter who are in great form, and Pompey will want to end the season with a celebration at Lincoln, I'm sure.
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Probably makes more sense given they’ve been relegated.
 
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