Away Form

[Ravi]

Much has been said about the difference between our exceptional home form and average away form this season. It's true to say that our mid-table away form has been the difference between auto and playoffs, but it's only by looking at the stats that you realise how average it's been.
We have accrued 21 pts from 19 games, whilst crucially Newcastle have 31 from 19 and West Brom 35 from 20. Also, our potential playoff opponents, Cardiff, Swansea, Leicester, have all picked up more points away than us, as have the likes of Reading, Boro, Donny and..err.. Palace.
I guess the only consolation is that if we can get something from the playoff away leg we should be strong favourites to reach the final.

 

[T.B.T.]

You say that our away form has been average this season yet you seem to have forgotten that until end January we were unbeaten away.

It's only since then that our away form has dipped and we have lost precious points which may be the difference between automatic and the playoffs.

We all have our own views as to why this has happened yet it's not too late for us to finish strongly and hopefully we'll have the return of McKenna for what promises to be a nail biting finish to the season.

The stats you've quoted are interesting and we can all but hope that our opponents encounter a wobble or two before too long.

 

[Annesley Red]

Law of averages say you gotta win an away match sometime so it could be tomorrow
(glass half full again)

 

[Ravi]

You say that our away form has been average this season yet you seem to have forgotten that until end January we were unbeaten away.

It's only since then that our away form has dipped and we have lost precious points which may be the difference between automatic and the playoffs.

We all have our own views as to why this has happened yet it's not too late for us to finish strongly and hopefully we'll have the return of McKenna for what promises to be a nail biting finish to the season.

The stats you've quoted are interesting and we can all but hope that our opponents encounter a wobble or two before too long.

I havent forgotten that we were unbeaten away until Brum/Derby, I was just giving our overall away record (so far). Despite all that early promise there are currently 9 teams that have been more consistent on the road than us this season.
It is curious that home and away we are so 'Jekyll and Hyde'.

 

[RedMark]

It was nice to be unbeaten away, but the record of 9 draws and 4 wins before we lost has probably cost us an automatic place. The likes of QPR, Sheff Wed and Ipswich should have been wins. Getting another 6 points from those 3 games and this league would be wide open.

It was good and before anyone says it, I'm not moaning because we still picked up points, but in those particular games we had the opportunities to turn the screw against poor teams and win them.

I think that being unbeaten blinded some, when it was obvious we took our foot off the peddle and were content with the 1 point when the full 3 were there for the taking.

 

[Kier]

Even up to the end of January we still had far too many draws on the road despite being unbeaten away, there were teams who had far better points:games ratio than us. Our away form at this level has always been shite though, even when we have done well in the league.

 

[winnits]

Yeah, whilst our run of unbeaten games was impressive our points haul - as Kier correctly points out - wasn't particularly spectacular. Which of course, would be absolutely fine if we had the kind of home form Newcastle have!

Unfortunately, despite an excellent run of 12 wins on the bounce, our indiffernent home form prior to that means we can't easily profit from either run!

 

[Kier]

We have won 15 out of the last 16 games, only a last minute goal conceded against Bristol City prevented 16 straight wins However we lost 3 of our first 4 home fixtures.

 

[bwb]

Perhaps we need a few more leaders on the pitch, a couple more experienced heads, preferably one at left-back...

 

[RedMark]

I see plenty of leaders on the pitch, but like Billy said a very young squad.

 

[bwb]

Indeed and we can only get better because of this, especially if they all continue developing

 

[Chivalry Augustus]

We've been unadventurous away from home, even throughout the unbeaten run. The choice to play Adebola in a number of key games has proven costly as he has generally played awfully and missed key chances in winnable matches (Doncaster, Barnsley, Reading). Unfortunately for Blackstock he has had to be the big-match player robbing him of the chance to score goals against worse opposition, which has also hindered the team. I think it's obvious that 4-5-1 is our best formation on the road with Blackstock up top and Earnshaw being used as an impact sub. However, Dex is on a hiding to nothing when he plays in the hard games and Adebola turns out against the shite (and only manages to lower himself to or below their level). Personally I used to think Adebola actually did a job but it has become more and more clear over the course of the season that he is what I always feared he would be, a past-it cast-off who Bristol City were wise not to offer a two-year contract to.