the play offs

[nutty nigel 7,536]

I think we''re rubbish against the top six. And the bottom six. But we''re averaging 2 points a game against the middle eleven....

[king canary 7,607]

Of course the players have to believe they can win every game. However that doesn''t mean fans all have to pretend we think we can do it via a message board.

[Herman 9,767]

[quote user="ricardo"]But only until about 8pm Saturday Herman.[/quote]I''m booking you in to the "LDC School Of Positive Thinking".

[JF 694]

. In tennis you can be two sets down and 0-5, 0-40 in the third set and still win.

I’d be interested to know if this has ever happened, other than a player retiring? As for our chances of the play offs then I’ve seen nothing in our play that suggests we have any chance I’m afraid

[ricardo 7,395]

We should be doing as Parma suggested and blooding those youngsters who have a realistic chance of making it. We look too good to go down as there are at least six sides poorer than us so pursuing a futile quest merely wastes that opportunity.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="king canary"]Of course the players have to believe they can win every game. However that doesn''t mean fans all have to pretend we think we can do it via a message board.[/quote]Pretend? Who is pretending?  I think it is possible and that is it.  Of course I agree it''s unlikely and it will take a big improvement of overall form, but if you believe we will improve now most key players are fit, then the more wins we get as a result, the more likely we will keep on going up the table.  Do I believe we can do it? Yes.  Do I believe we will do it? No, but I wouldn''t discount it out of hand.  

[Duncan Edwards 2,236]

We should just be thankful that matches don’t finish at half time.

I honestly thought we’d be doing better than we are and at least in and around the play off mix but we’ve been disappointing and unfortunate with injuries.

We won’t make the play offs but with some consistency and IF we start taking our chances (statistically we create plenty but don’t convert enough) then perhaps we could apply a bit of pressure to those above us and build some momentum moving towards next season.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="JF"]. In tennis you can be two sets down and 0-5, 0-40 in the third set and still win.

I’d be interested to know if this has ever happened, other than a player retiring? As for our chances of the play offs then I’ve seen nothing in our play that suggests we have any chance I’m afraid[/quote]

Bill Tilden in the 1920''s was known for occasionally purposefully allowing a lesser opponent to get to a 6-0, 6-0, 5-0 lead and then showing off  by suddenly starting to play, winning the third set 7-5 and the last two sets 6-0, 6-0 to prove how good he was.  Apart from that there have been plenty of comebacks from 5-1 down in a final set as opponents get nervous. Funnily enough, one of the greatest comebacks seen was Tilden again, up two sets and 5-1 up against Henry Cochet at Wimbeldon and Cochet did a Tilden on Tilden and fought back to beat him in five sets. Don''t know of any specific results that went as far as 0-40 at 0-5 and then turned around.

[ricardo 7,395]

Unfortunately LDC, the two things don''t equate. This isn''t a one off tennis match against a single opponent. Our form can have no effect on all the other games that will influence who finishes top six. The reality is we won''t be one of those six.

[ricardo 7,395]

On a more positive note dear old Town appear to be going down the pan in style after leading at half time.

[6088m canary 0]

We dont score anywhere near enough for this to be possible.

To enable the kind of run that would be required means we need to be playing teams off the park and winning by 2 or 3 clear goals.

Scraping wins by 1 goal will not suffice as inevitably too many draws will occur in the long run.

[Branston Pickle 3,659]

Ricardo, I don''t disagree with your general premise, I imagine many sides finish near to where they are around the season''s mid-point - but similarly there are plenty of exceptions (good and bad).

The season we got to the play off final we were 7pts adrift of 6th, in 10th place, with 7 to play after the Birmingham game that we lost 1-0.. I consider the point gap, rather than number of positions, to be key.

Whatever, it does feel unlikely that we''ll make the top 6 this season, but I don''t see any reason not to hope for it.

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="lake district canary"]80 points would do it, 14 wins, 4 draws and two defeats.  Promotion form, but if you can get on an unbeaten run at this stage, anything is still possible.  It''s still on until it''s not.

[/quote]So if we''re talking about things that are possible, should we lose our next 2 games, which is definitely possible, we would then have to go without losing for 18 games (and winning 14 of them) right through to the end of the season.Possible but it ain''t gonna happen.

[lake district canary 4,531]

Six points off the play offs now.  An improving situation. Never say never.

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

37 pts from our remaining 19 games might well be enough. 12 wins and a draw. Easy.

[Bill 1,788]

I was thinking more the lines of 2 points a game (38) giving us the usual target of 75 pointswhich would have us now in second place on 54 pointshowever 10 points out of the last four suggests that we are capable of it a decent striker or two and I think the squad is up for itcompare us with what seems to be happening at Sunderlandso much is based on how focused and motivated the players are (see Arsenal/Chelsea in cup games)

[sonyc 5,519]

If we can get to 75 points it COULD be just enough. Lots of teams around us can take points off each other.

[Rogue Baboon 0]

10 from the last 4 - before today look at the teams we had played.

The next 6 games or so against better teams will tell us more.

Striker is obviously important, but we have no cover in certain positions that is just as important

[Dorset Canary 0]

I''ve always felt we''re good enough for top 6

What concerns me is that whilst we''re now on a good run we''ve been here before this season and then the wheels fell off.

Fingers crossed Webber has some gems lined up to strengthen the squad and push on for better things.

OTBC

Looks like I have a ticket for Ipswich :-) :-)... CTID!!!

[Surfer 1,547]

The next 4 games ...

Sheff U: Norwich (a) , Villa (h), Wolves (a), Leeds (h).

Leeds: Millwall (h), Hull (a), Cardiff (h), Sheff U (a)

Fulham: Burton (h), Barnsley (a), Forest (h), Bolton (a)

Boro: QPR (a), Sheff W (h), Norwich (a), Reading (h)

Us - Sheff U (h), Brentford (a), Boro (h), Derby (a)

I can believe we could climb the table and be closer to Sheff U and Leeds after those 4 games, but I doubt we''ll be any closer to 6th from a points perspective - Fulham or Boro to replace Sheff U in 6th for me.