thermopyl
First Team Squad
good 'cause our games in May look tough! especially with Bournemouth as our last game
The Relegation Dogfight 25/26
- Thread starter UnfinishedBusiness99
- Start date
Cloughie1975
Stuart Pearce
Some league wins (plural) in quick succession wouldn’t go amiss.
Given our poor start to the season I reckon it’s highly likely we will be in and around the bottom 3 until the
New Year at least.
I hope I’m wrong but mid-table looks a long way off at the moment to me.
Rzar
Bob McKinlay
I guess we are until we aren't.
I feel the same where I have strong faith we will end up mid table, but we would be foolish to think we aren't when we sit where we are. What we cannot do is let the gap continue to grow, otherwise even if we improve to the level we know we can be, we are leaving a lot of work to do.
That is why the game against Leeds is so important, we cannot lose that game simply for the mental barrier it is going to create. It is going to be a mental game these next few months, if we are mentally right then we will climb the table.
Berkshire Red
Jack Burkitt
Any team losing at home to Leeds deserves relegation. They’re not a good side.
JonnoSnr
Geoff Thomas
Yep, as you say actually winning some games might be helpful if we're to finish midtable.
greatbowden_garibaldi
First Team Squad
They really aren’t.
They lack quality all over the pitch and Farke is an imposter at premier league level.
If we don’t win this I think it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say we are really in the shite. It’s not the end of the world but we have to start winning soon, and if we can’t beat Leeds….
But, I think we will.
FLC
Viv Anderson
I think we’re in good hands. SD might not be everybody’s first choice (including me) but in the situation we’re in he’s the best man for the job.
Cloughie1975
Stuart Pearce
I think the supporters and players believe in him and he definitely offers our best hope of survival this season in my view.
It’s just a shame we didn’t appoint him when Nuno left.
jdthebrit
Grenville Morris
Unbelievable Jeff.
If Cloughie's team were bad enough to go down in 1992, then our current iteration definitely is. No Pyscho, not to mention the midfield, and there is no number 9 on our books fit to lace the boots of Nigel.
They couldn't do it on their own, and neither can Anderson.
Sorry....you were saying?
jdthebrit
Grenville Morris
A scrap. And not pretty. After all, it were dirty Leeds who burnt our main stand down in 1967 and I'm not expecting the Dychey revolution to start galloping until the boys really get stuck in, Yatesy and all.
A 0-0 if we could do the laundry but another of those 1-1 tentative scorelines otherwise beckons I fear.
Cloughie1975
Stuart Pearce
It was 1968 and to be fair the Main Stand ain’t improved much since then.
I agree that we can expect a battle on Sunday but we need a win or two from somewhere.
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Chairman Mo
Youth Team
It'll be a fight for quite a bit, I think.
Realistically we should have 8 more points after a not-too-difficult start to the season- WH (+3), Burnley (+2), Sunderland (+3). This would put us 12th. It means to get up to 12th, over the next couple of months, we've got to pick up an extra 8 points in 'harder' fixtures- tricky but not impossible.
Hopefully SD, SS and IW will get up firing so we can get in a more comfortable position. Don't think we will be there until well into the New Year.
Realistically we should have 8 more points after a not-too-difficult start to the season- WH (+3), Burnley (+2), Sunderland (+3). This would put us 12th. It means to get up to 12th, over the next couple of months, we've got to pick up an extra 8 points in 'harder' fixtures- tricky but not impossible.
Hopefully SD, SS and IW will get up firing so we can get in a more comfortable position. Don't think we will be there until well into the New Year.
Cloughie1975
Stuart Pearce
Pearce missed a fair bit of that season on the treatment table but there are some haunting similarities-perhaps most
notably the lack of a fully fit quality striker and a propensity to concede too many goals (I think Dyche will sort this though).
Also winning the first game followed by a terrible run and the pinstripe shirts bring back all the nightmares.
Statto
Free Kick Specialist
I think it was more our lack of goals (not replacing Teddy) that was the issue then.
We scored 41 in 42 which is less than 1 a match (just) but 62 isn't an awful lot for a relegated side (the next year one let in 100). Oldham and Boro let in 75 that season. The other relegated teams scored 48 and 54.
We conceded 5 vs Oldham (L 5-3), 4 vs Blackburn (lost 4-1) and QPR (lost 4-3), and the rest were all 3 or less, but we only kept 9 clean sheets too, meaning a side short of goals needs to score to get anything. 10 losses were by 1 goal, 8 by 2 (unless I've miscounted any, but the point remains, mostly smaller margins and mostly not scoring goals).
This season even if we tighten up at the back we need to score more. Dyche, in theory, should make us more effective from set plays at both ends of the pitch. That will help - we have players like Nikola who can be threats from set plays. But we need to be getting more out of our wingers and attacking players in open play. Noticeable MGW hasn't really been with it.
And we can't - unlike the 92/3 side - complain about losing a key striker. Wood might be injured at the moment but he's largely been first choice. But he needs chances to put the ball in. The only player from last season we have lost is Elanga and we have replaced wingers with Hutchinson, Ndoye, Bakwa and also probably Kalimuendo can play out wide. We have added Jesus in to the attacking options as well. We have replaced weaker cover players in Sosa and Jota with in theory better options. It just needs a system and a manager to make it work.
Cloughie1975
Stuart Pearce
Yes-lack of goals was a problem then and is a problem now.
I remember ‘murdering’ Southampton at the City Ground and still losing 1-2 (we missed chance after chance
and Pearce even missed a penalty at the death).
One of those games that made you realise relegation was inevitable.
I remember ‘murdering’ Southampton at the City Ground and still losing 1-2 (we missed chance after chance
and Pearce even missed a penalty at the death).
One of those games that made you realise relegation was inevitable.
Osiris
Viv Anderson
Where do you get these analytical nuggets from?!
They clearly don't call you Statto for nothing!
Rzar
Bob McKinlay
The best team doesn't always win a football match
Anything can happen in one off games, the ball could hit a nob end and deflect in our own goal 3 times
Over a season, you may deserve to get relegated if you finish below them but not in a one off game
Bing Crosby's Head
Viv Anderson
On the plus side we don't have Carl Tiler in defence.
That Southampton game was pivotal and it really dawned on many of us that relegation was a real prospect. IIRC, Pearce tried to side foot the last minute penalty into the corner of the net, but failed to get enough power on it.
The Brian fanzine aptly reflected on the game some weeks later with an article titled, "The Day The Music Died".
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Jimmy
Viv Anderson
They might not be but there they are, almost double our points total and three times as many wins.
One might argue that it's still early days but we're a quarter of the way through the season.
Bob Fossil
Nottingham's dirty secret
Thankfully, the chances of this are massively reduced as Dele no longer plays for us.
Berkshire Red
Jack Burkitt
The manager was mainly dunk, wasn’t he? And Keane played centre half. We were poor that season, and Clough had no ideas. Dyche will have ideas. And we have more quality throughout the side, more evenly spread. We wont be playing Rosario and Bannister FFS.
FLC
Viv Anderson
Jesus, that’s triggered my PTSD.
Captain Sinister
Senior doom Monger
We have Yates…