nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 Smithy buddy, its a fact. This could either be 2 games or 5 games. But if we win the rest of our games we will certainly be promoted. In fact in the 5 game scenario we could afford to draw one and in certain circumstances lose one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,554 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]In a nutshell it''s 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th with the away game first. The away leg is on Fri 8th May with the home game on Fri 15th 7.45 with 7.45 KOs unless we end up playing Ipswich. Then it''s Sat 9th and Sat 16th with 12.15 KOs..if we finish 4th though presumably the first leg - away, would be on the Saturday?....if its Derby who finish 5th and not Ipswich??[/quote]Not as I read it.Both legs are to be played on Fri 8th May with the return on Fri 15th unless Norwich are paired with Ipswich. Then and only then would we play on Sat in both legs.[/quote]No. As things stand, leaving aside any Ipswich/Norwich complications, the first legs will be on separate days - one on the Friday and one on the Saturday. And the same with the second legs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted April 19, 2015 admittedly it could be a lot clearer?....but as I see it, 3rd v 6th will be on Friday & Friday and 4th v 5th will be on Saturday & Saturday.....unless its us vs Ipswich ,in which case it would be on Saturday & Saturday (be it as a result of us finishing either 3rd and 6th or 4th and 5th) ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="nutty nigel"]Smithy buddy, its a fact. This could either be 2 games or 5 games. But if we win the rest of our games we will certainly be promoted. In fact in the 5 game scenario we could afford to draw one and in certain circumstances lose one.[/quote]actually we could get promoted without winning another game all season.....provided we''re fairly handy at penalty shootouts?!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 Now you scare me GeeJay. The only player I have full confidence in from 12 yards is Hooper. Let''s just win all our games :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted April 19, 2015 ....i have a feeling that would be middlesbro''s strategy of "negotiating" their way through the playoffs anyway?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westcoastcanary 0 Posted April 19, 2015 Lot of grasping at straws going on here, all missing a critical point. Of the six teams in contention for promotion, which has shown the greatest capacity to fall short when the chips are down? I''m afraid the answer is us. Forget automatic, we will drop more points. Have we got it in us to win the play offs? The evidence suggests not. Next season AN can start rebuilding and in a couple of years time we may be good enough to go up and have a chance of staying up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morty 0 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="westcoastcanary"]Lot of grasping at straws going on here, all missing a critical point. Of the six teams in contention for promotion, which has shown the greatest capacity to fall short when the chips are down? I''m afraid the answer is us. Forget automatic, we will drop more points. Have we got it in us to win the play offs? The evidence suggests not. Next season AN can start rebuilding and in a couple of years time we may be good enough to go up and have a chance of staying up.[/quote]How do you come to this conclusion exactly? Before the Boro we had won 5 games in a row, including tricky away ones where we had to dig deep.Before the Boro game Alex Neil had a win rate of 74%Getting beaten by a better team doesn''t mean we show some capacity for bottling big games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted April 19, 2015 what evidence are you referring to??....the only thing surely that could possibly be taken into account is what we did against our possible opposition in the league games this season.....which Boro aside ,isnt too bad??.an interesting point on this is that in 2001/02 ....the only team who did the "double" over us in the whole of that league campaign was infact Birmingham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,336 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]In a nutshell it''s 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th with the away game first. The away leg is on Fri 8th May with the home game on Fri 15th 7.45 with 7.45 KOs unless we end up playing Ipswich. Then it''s Sat 9th and Sat 16th with 12.15 KOs..if we finish 4th though presumably the first leg - away, would be on the Saturday?....if its Derby who finish 5th and not Ipswich??[/quote]Not as I read it.Both legs are to be played on Fri 8th May with the return on Fri 15th unless Norwich are paired with Ipswich. Then and only then would we play on Sat in both legs.[/quote]No. As things stand, leaving aside any Ipswich/Norwich complications, the first legs will be on separate days - one on the Friday and one on the Saturday. And the same with the second legs.[/quote]Yes, having read it again PC is correct.It would be a whole less complicated if we get automatic, right ? [;)] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daly 500 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="nutty nigel"]Smithy buddy, its a fact. This could either be 2 games or 5 games. But if we win the rest of our games we will certainly be promoted. In fact in the 5 game scenario we could afford to draw one and in certain circumstances lose one.[/quote]We Could lose the next 2 games and still be promoted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricardo 7,347 Posted April 19, 2015 Lets stop kidding ourselves, twice we''ve had it in our own hands and twice we have thrown it away. There is nobody to blame but ourselves if automatic is lost.Whilst it is sensible not to give up hope with two games left we need to realise that hope is really all we have left. Bournemouth, Watford or Boro could easily bottle it just like we did and I''d happily accept it, but I''m not counting on it.I have been praying hard at the shrine of Snowy the cat but as yet I have had no sign that the little old boy can hear me.[:D] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735 Posted April 19, 2015 it was never totally in our hands even as the situation stood before that Middlesbro game.....I still suspect that Watford would have outscored us ,if that''s what it would have come down to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,336 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="nutty nigel"]Smithy buddy, its a fact. This could either be 2 games or 5 games. But if we win the rest of our games we will certainly be promoted. In fact in the 5 game scenario we could afford to draw one and in certain circumstances lose one.[/quote]You are indeed right Nutty.Under a thread heading '' with two games left '' it''s so easy to get confused [;)] but in the 5 game scenario we could afford to lose 3 as long as they included Rotherham and Fulham [:^)]But that might a bit more than the nerves could stand.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morty 0 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="ricardo"]Lets stop kidding ourselves, twice we''ve had it in our own hands and twice we have thrown it away. There is nobody to blame but ourselves if automatic is lost.Whilst it is sensible not to give up hope with two games left we need to realise that hope is really all we have left. Bournemouth, Watford or Boro could easily bottle it just like we did and I''d happily accept it, but I''m not counting on it.I have been praying hard at the shrine of Snowy the cat but as yet I have had no sign that the little old boy can hear me.[:D][/quote]Theres no kidding here, considering our form earlier in the season, we have punched a lot higher than any of us dared to expect.I think we need to club together for some kind of pet medium, I could do with Snowy''s take on the current situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 Yes but to avoid any doubt, and especially for those who seem to think we are not in control of our own fate, promotion is very much in our own hands. Win our games and we will be promoted. No its buts or maybes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PurpleCanary 5,554 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="ricardo"]Lets stop kidding ourselves, twice we''ve had it in our own hands and twice we have thrown it away. There is nobody to blame but ourselves if automatic is lost.Whilst it is sensible not to give up hope with two games left we need to realise that hope is really all we have left. Bournemouth, Watford or Boro could easily bottle it just like we did and I''d happily accept it, but I''m not counting on it.I have been praying hard at the shrine of Snowy the cat but as yet I have had no sign that the little old boy can hear me.[:D][/quote]I think that is over-critical, ricardo. If you mean our home losses to Wigan and Middlesbrough, then certainly the former (not that I saw it) was disappointing. But Middlesbrough are a good, apparently very streetwise, side. And on Friday we were only in that potentally good position because we had just won two difficult away games. More than that, until we lost to Middlesbrough we had played 15 and won 12, drawn two and lost one. We hardly threw it away, for example, at Bolton, where we got a late winner. Or at a very hostile Leeds.We were always on a knife-edge because we were playing catch-up with the top three. Because we lost a game hardly means we bottled it. This weekend we had what was on paper the hardest game, compared to those facing Watford and Bournmouth. If anybody bottled it it was Bournemouth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brum_canary 0 Posted April 19, 2015 The ideal thing to happen is for brighton to beat watford in the early kick off. WE then go into rotherham game knowing that If we win we will go into top 2 on goal difference over watford and if boro don''t win we will go top. This would Be ideal as going into last game it would be in our own hands. If boro were to win then we would need bolton to beat bournemouth to stay in top 2 next monday night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricardo 7,347 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="PurpleCanary"][quote user="ricardo"]Lets stop kidding ourselves, twice we''ve had it in our own hands and twice we have thrown it away. There is nobody to blame but ourselves if automatic is lost.Whilst it is sensible not to give up hope with two games left we need to realise that hope is really all we have left. Bournemouth, Watford or Boro could easily bottle it just like we did and I''d happily accept it, but I''m not counting on it.I have been praying hard at the shrine of Snowy the cat but as yet I have had no sign that the little old boy can hear me.[:D][/quote]I think that is over-critical, ricardo. If you mean our home losses to Wigan and Middlesbrough, then certainly the former (not that I saw it) was disappointing. But Middlesbrough are a good, apparently very streetwise, side. And on Friday we were only in that potentally good position because we had just won two difficult away games. More than that, until we lost to Middlesbrough we had played 15 and won 12, drawn two and lost one. We hardly threw it away, for example, at Bolton, where we got a late winner. Or at a very hostile Leeds.We were always on a knife-edge because we were playing catch-up with the top three. Because we lost a game hardly means we bottled it. This weekend we had what was on paper the hardest game, compared to those facing Watford and Bournmouth. If anybody bottled it it was Bournemouth.[/quote]Yes, I''m not criticising the team, we did extremely well to come from a long way back but the fact remains that on both occasions when a win would have taken us top we managed to pick up no points from home games.Now we are reliant upon others to slip up for automatic and of course the lottery of the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westcoastcanary 0 Posted April 19, 2015 I don''t think Bournemouth could be said to have "bottled it" yesterday PC. I saw the game and they showed great determination to get back level after going a goal down. They tore into Wednesday even after being reduced to 10 men, and carried on until deservedly taking the lead. Wednesday showed far more determination than they did at Carrow Road and genuinely deserved something from the game.As regards us, I wouldn''t use the word "bottled". I simply think we''ve shown we don''t have quite enough quality and determination to grasp opportunities when they present themselves. I may be proved wrong, we''ll see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs miggins 0 Posted April 19, 2015 Compared to the other teams we''ve never really had the chance to many times to get the top spot as we''ve always been playing catch up. We''ve been in positions much more where we''ve needed to win to remain promotion contenders; Bournemouth away was the first big one where we won with 10 men, then it was Forrest at home which we won and dominated the game, then Bolton where we scored in the last minute. I don''t think it''s fair to say we''ve ''bottled it'' by any standard because we''ve been on such a good run, it had to end sometime, not surprised it was against the team which don''t let in many goals and are also the dirtiest team I''ve ever seen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 We''ll see with regards to Bournemouth. They may have got away with a blip or the blip may continue. They went 0-2 behind at home to Birmingham but got out of jail. Then they went behind to Wednesday and just about scraped out of jail before that late late penalty. But what this does show is these so-called easy games are not that at all. And we need to remember that and try and take full advantage of Rotherham and Fulham without falling into the trap of believing these are easy games. Because Bournemouth at home to Bolton and Watford away to Brighton look a lot tougher than there respective fixtures yesterday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morty 0 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="nutty nigel"]We''ll see with regards to Bournemouth. They may have got away with a blip or the blip may continue. They went 0-2 behind at home to Birmingham but got out of jail. Then they went behind to Wednesday and just about scraped out of jail before that late late penalty. But what this does show is these so-called easy games are not that at all. And we need to remember that and try and take full advantage of Rotherham and Fulham without falling into the trap of believing these are easy games. Because Bournemouth at home to Bolton and Watford away to Brighton look a lot tougher than there respective fixtures yesterday.[/quote]I think our league position means that we won''t underestimate these games, I would be more worried about complacency setting in, if we were in the top two right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs miggins 0 Posted April 19, 2015 I think instead of complacency of the top two, I think it''s more the pressure of knowing if you win then you''re up. Bournemouth''s last game was an example of this; their passing was all over the place because the looked nervous. Bournemouth especially will be nervous in the next few games having led the table for so long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morty 0 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="mrs miggins"]I think instead of complacency of the top two, I think it''s more the pressure of knowing if you win then you''re up. Bournemouth''s last game was an example of this; their passing was all over the place because the looked nervous. Bournemouth especially will be nervous in the next few games having led the table for so long.[/quote]To me, the pressure is off us in some respect. Automatic is unlikely, though possible, but mostly out of our hands. We could lose our next two games and still be in the play offs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs miggins 0 Posted April 19, 2015 yep agree with that. Of course I''d rather be in their shoes and have that pressure, this seasons not over for us yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morty 0 Posted April 19, 2015 [quote user="mrs miggins"]yep agree with that. Of course I''d rather be in their shoes and have that pressure, this seasons not over for us yet.[/quote]It all depends how well they handle it though, Bournemouth, especially after yesterday really are starting to look a little fragile. I wonder if all the media hype has built them up just a little too much? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 Bournemouth play their next match 2 days after everyone else. They could be 5th when they kick off... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted April 19, 2015 Of course I meant 4th[:$] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs miggins 0 Posted April 19, 2015 They didn''t cope well when they had the chance to beat us when we went down to 10 men. Also strange how Hughton could play a big part as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites