The final table prediction...top 6 or not? (21 Viewers)
- Thread starter Paxman II
- Start date
I honestly now believe we will make 5th or 6th, I would prefer 5th as I assume we would meet Sunderland, I think we can take them over two legs, then it would be potentially Burnley/Sheff Utd at Wembley, that's if the 6th team don't do the same and beat 3rd over two legs
Lamps
Well-Known Member
I'm with you here.
Us against a weakened Sunderland and either Blackburn or Norwich against Burnley.
Chicken Mcgraw
Well-Known Member
Kingokings204
Well-Known Member
I’m really 50-50. Of course we can make it but reality is different. We have had some unspeakable run that no one predicted so to miss out now isn’t the disaster some will paint it as. Even if we do make it we have to probably beat Burnley and Sunderland to get to the PL. again very very unlikely so even if we miss out I think next year with a Summer for Lampard to get us ready isn’t the worse case scenario.
Having said all that caution there is no reason we can’t make it . We have the strongest strong all season right now assuming sheaf and wright are back and only getting stronger with momentum and teams fizzling out . It’s been some ride this season and shows the old saying is still true “it’s a marathon not a sprint”
Having said all that caution there is no reason we can’t make it . We have the strongest strong all season right now assuming sheaf and wright are back and only getting stronger with momentum and teams fizzling out . It’s been some ride this season and shows the old saying is still true “it’s a marathon not a sprint”
PUSB-We_are_going_up
Well-Known Member
When fit and sharp we are a very good side in this division, expected points on Opta has us 2nd for a reason, we have dropped points in so many games we should have won or not lost this season, we are currently performing how everyone expected to at the start of the season and now people think we wont get there, have some faith stranger things have happened
Lamps
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Sunderland went into freefall and we go past them.
Yes, Burnley are the ones to beat. But in a one off game with our attacking force joined by a fresh Wright? We have goals right through our side. Our next game against them will be interesting.
Domo
Well-Known Member
i get that, but happens when/if bidders and MVE had an injury, surely we need to give the backups some experiance? i dont know what the balance is,
Otis
Well-Known Member
Yeah, but we do have to play Sunderland, Sheff Utd, West Brom and Burnley don't we.
All going to be tough. Losing to West Brom could really kill us, if we're in a similar position as we are now. A real 6 pointer, potentially.
steve cooper
Well-Known Member
I think we will get around 70 points, whether that's enough remains to be seen.
March fixtures
Oxford (A) Stoke (H) Derby (A) Sunderland (H) Sheff U (A)
2 wins and 2 draws = 8 points
April Fixtures
Burnley (H) Portsmouth (H) Hull (A) WBA (H) Plymouth (A) Luton (A)
3 wins and 2 draws = 11 points
That would leave us on 69 points going into a final day home game against Middlesboro who hopefully will have nothing to play for.
I think that's achievable barring a catastrophe.
March fixtures
Oxford (A) Stoke (H) Derby (A) Sunderland (H) Sheff U (A)
2 wins and 2 draws = 8 points
April Fixtures
Burnley (H) Portsmouth (H) Hull (A) WBA (H) Plymouth (A) Luton (A)
3 wins and 2 draws = 11 points
That would leave us on 69 points going into a final day home game against Middlesboro who hopefully will have nothing to play for.
I think that's achievable barring a catastrophe.
Kingokings204
Well-Known Member
Don’t underestimate what that penalty shoot out win did for us also in the fa cup. Nothing beats winning football matches regardless of how.
Lamps
Well-Known Member
Sunderland lost 2 big players last game to injuries and will be out for a couple of months it looks.
WBA been out of form for a fair bit. Look at how quickly we have caught them up. I can't see it changing. They have an awful run of games now.
Leeds A
QPR H
Burnley A
Hull A
Norwich H
Sunderland H
Bristol City A
Watford H
After that lot they have to come to our place. Think we will be clear of them by our game and the playoffs could well be out of their reach by then.
Yes we have both Sheffield United and Burnley. But other than the games already mentioned we're playing bottom half clubs until the last game of the season. We finish off with Middlesbrough at home.
For a little bit of context on our run in we still have to play 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd 23rd and 24th in the table. That's 7 of our remaining 12 games.
skybluelee
Well-Known Member
We're good at 6 pointers. This run of 7 wins included 5 of them! Bristol C, Watford, Blackburn, QPR, Sheff W. Not to mention the other 2 wins which ended hoodoos stretching back to medieval times. Seriously - it's on.
Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
Yes, this is true. 3 of those games are at home and of our remaining 6 away fixtures, 5 are against bottom teams in the bottom 7 and Sheff U. It’s not ridiculous to expect 5 wins.
Our home games are more difficult on paper but the fact we’re home is an advantage against the likes of Stoke, Sunderland, Boro, Burnley, Pompey and WBA.
Realistically, home and away, there’s easily 6 wins in us from now until May.
Lamps
Well-Known Member
I was confident of at least getting close to the playoffs until that game. It left me totally deflated. Thought our season was over for the 1st time. The last 2 playoff places have always been up for grabs. I didn't see what happened afterwards at all.
Now it's ours to lose.
Lamps
Well-Known Member
We still have to play 7 of the bottom 8 sides. They could all be seen as easy games. But teams playing for survival can be the hardest to beat. But prefer to be playing 7 bottom sides than 7 top sides.
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
Our last 13 games last season. 13 pts
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
Please.
skybluelee
Well-Known Member
Lucky we have a better squad, manager and no FAC distraction this year then otherwise I'd be worried about the relevance. Phew!
Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
Our form had been dropping off that February, losing key fixtures against playoff rivals Norwich, WBA and then PNE. There was the FA Cup run that added 4 extra games to a congested period to our season.
Fixture congestion aside, the squad was depleted and both Sakamoto annd Sheaf’s injuries were compounded by EMC being loaned to Peterborough and Torp wasn’t fully match fit because it was pre-season for him, which added to his own injury woes.
Last season happened and frankly, it was the beginning of the end for Robins’ tenure here. We lost against all our competitor teams last season and our record against the top half was awful. This year we beat playoff hopefuls Blackburn, Bristol, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday to march up the table.
We’ve played ourselves into contention this season, last season we played ourselves out of contention. There’s a huge difference.
steve cooper
Well-Known Member
That was a ridiculous run of results. Just look at the last 8 games where we took a total of 4 points , 5 of those games were at home and the only one we won was against Leeds. We conceded 15 goals in those games, and without checking all line-ups I know Collins was in goal for some of those games.
Sky Blue Pete
Well-Known Member
Felt the same
My adult kids were loving us at 2-0 and making chances
I was nervous for the first time in many weeks
Hard to enjoy when things start to matter
Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
Frankly, I think there’s potentially 8 wins in us. It allows for 2 losses v Burnley and Sheff U, 2 draws v Sunderland, WBA and Boro, for arguments sake.
That leaves home wins at Pompey and Stoke. Away wins at Oxford, Derby, Hull, Plymouth, Luton. Then one win against Sunderland, WBA or Boro which is doable.
There’s important thing now is to avoid losing to WBA and Boro because both are potential ‘6 pointers’, especially on the final day.
I don’t want to be too hubristic, we have an unbelievable chance of finishing in the playoffs and it’s likely that a win at the weekend sees us jump up to 5th/6th.
Otis
Well-Known Member
Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
Luton will be gone by then imo. You know what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. How much colder can relegating them to L1 be after that playoff final?
Sky Blue Pete
Well-Known Member
Yeah we won’t win every game we should or lose every game we should
Let’s enjoy the ride
Got to be confident Saturday, week off, on the back of the run, sheaf stepping up his return, wright likely to be on the bench, emc stepping up his return
It’s very exciting
Lamps
Well-Known Member
To me it's revenge for a couple of seasons ago. Give them an absolute pasting that sends them down.
Skyblueweeman
Well-Known Member
And we'll confirm you're one when we finish in the top 6! ;-)
TomRad85
Well-Known Member
It's mad to me that we could play an already relegated to League 1 Luton less than 2 years after that play off final. I think i'll enjoy it quite a bit.
Lamps
Well-Known Member
I keep trying to calm myself down but I can't. Mainly because I just can't see us failing to reach the playoffs and should be above 6th. And not only that we should have Wright back and match fit. Add this to the recent signing of Grimes. Very good chance we will have our strongest side of the season just when it matters. At the same time other clubs are struggling to put a team together because of injuries.
Skyblueweeman
Well-Known Member
Even towards the end of MRs tenure, I was convinced that we'd still do well this season. We've got a good squad who were underperforming at the time but we've started the last few seasons slowly and picked up so I was pretty relaxed with talk of relegation. The xG brigade were saying we were lower than we should be and I thought the same.
Since FLs been in, we've only headed in one direction. Our squad is now even stronger with the addition of Grimes & Patterson and we've got/are getting EMC, Wright and Sheaf all back from long term injuries.
Yes we've got some tough fixtures but other teams in the hunt will have tough fixtures as well.
I believe in FL and I'm pretty sure he wants it as much as we do.
The march to the arch is most definitely on.
Since FLs been in, we've only headed in one direction. Our squad is now even stronger with the addition of Grimes & Patterson and we've got/are getting EMC, Wright and Sheaf all back from long term injuries.
Yes we've got some tough fixtures but other teams in the hunt will have tough fixtures as well.
I believe in FL and I'm pretty sure he wants it as much as we do.
The march to the arch is most definitely on.
Lamps
Well-Known Member
Burnley in the final won't be easy. But when they play an attacking side they sit back and defend. That's why I'm looking forward to the league game against them especially if Wright is back. They're still in the FA cup away to Preston. I'd love to see them make it to the SF. All the extra games will catch up with them.
If you asked them who they didn't want in the playoff final the odds are they would say us. Yes Leeds beat us but they didn't even register a shot on target against Leeds. Just 4 off target. We came close to scoring against Leeds a couple of times.
I would love to go up this season. But we would be better prepared if we wait another season. Would be fun battling at the top of the table next season.
Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
Bristol’s home form is great, it’s their away form that needs to pick up. They haven’t won away in 9 games!