Good opportunities still for this season

[lake district canary 4,830]

With the FA cup fourth round next week, we have a good opportunity to get back to six points from the play off positions. Long way to go still this season and no this isn''t being ultra positive or over optimistic, this is just saying as it is. Get back to six points behind and we are back in the chasing pack within only one or two good results of really challenging.

I''m looking no further than one game ahead - win that and things will look a lot better again.

[Fuzzar 1,861]

Amen.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

Relentless

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,035]

Wolves derby and Middlesbrough coming up straight after I''m sure will quell any optimism

[kingsway 101]

While your slightly naïve optimism is partly commendable, you obviously weren''t at the game yesterday LDC?

Farkes stifling tactics plus the lack of squad options probably means I''ll take just scrambling to 52 points to stay up this season!

[Feedthewolf 5,885]

We''ll stay up comfortably, switching to three at the back certainly seems to suit our personnel and we''ll pick up enough results to keep us well clear of the drop zone. No chance of us getting near the playoffs though, we''re simply not good enough.

[Len 74]

Rather than chase the top six, we have an opportunity to tune up our playing style, experiment and integrate young players. This becomes more possible the closer we get towards a safe position.

[Highland Canary 78]

Heading for a solid 18th. The challenge will be retaining tier two status next season following the completion of the fire sale.

[king canary 8,754]

As has been pointed out before it isn''t simply about the gap (be it 6 or 9 points) its about the amount of teams we''d have to out perform for the rest of this season.

If we need at least 75 points for the playoffs then we need 38 points from 18 games. That''s over two points a game so we''d need to basically be the best team in the league for the remainder of the season.

It could happen, but let''s not pretend it''s based on anything other than simple blind optimism.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,035]

Let''s just get to 50-52 points to be safe first.....that''s still 4 wins and a few draws away yet.....which still seems a way off

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,222]

I think we can forget the playoffs this season, I also think talk of a relegation battle is equally wide of the mark. Mid table ad the integration of young players will be what it is about. We were off the pace yesterday, and it was two errors that cost us, not the system we play,ed not a lot a manger can do if one of his more experienced players decides to play a suicidal back pass, rather than the safe option of Row Z.......

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]Heading for a solid 18th. The challenge will be retaining tier two status next season following the completion of the fire sale.[/quote]Blimey Highland.....where''ve you been ?We''ve missed your sense of humour....

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

[quote user="king canary"]As has been pointed out before it isn''t simply about the gap (be it 6 or 9 points) its about the amount of teams we''d have to out perform for the rest of this season.

If we need at least 75 points for the playoffs then we need 38 points from 18 games. That''s over two points a game so we''d need to basically be the best team in the league for the remainder of the season.

It could happen, but let''s not pretend it''s based on anything other than simple blind optimism.[/quote]Sums it up in a nutshell. Are we likely to go on an 18 game run averaging 2 points a game ? Save the postage and don''t bother to send a postcard.In LDC''s dreamworld the mechanics of the tasks ahead are always conveniently forgotten.

[E I E I E I O 0]

Have you seen our next 5 fixtures? Some people can make a positive out of any situation.

I think we should look the other way!

[Capt. Pants 5,008]

Too many clubs between us and 6th. They can''t all lose that many games. Comfortably beaten yesterday and I''m afraid the play-off dream died.

The challenge now for Webber/Farke is to win enough games to get the fans to fully buy into their evolution and to keep the season ticket renewals coming in!

[Capt. Pants 5,008]

Plus we seem to choke at home.

[ROBFLECK 134]

I am going to Brentford next Saturday hoping we''re at the races again.... but we are not good enough to make the play offs. We might win , but I am not confident. Our lack of depth up front was exposed again... like mentioned in the thread: LDC your optimism deserves respect but it''s not going to happen. My season''s prediction : we''ll finish about 14th....

[Guest]

I''m looking no further than one game ahead - win that and things will look a lot better again.

Things is LDC. You are. You are looking way ahead and saying we can still be promoted.

If you were only looking one game ahead you would now be saying we can''t go up after yesterday.

[lake district canary 4,830]

[quote user="keelansgrandad"]I''m looking no further than one game ahead - win that and things will look a lot better again.

Things is LDC. You are. You are looking way ahead and saying we can still be promoted.

If you were only looking one game ahead you would now be saying we can''t go up after yesterday.[/quote]No. I''m looking at the next game and thinking we can win that.  Whatever happens that game, you then look at the next match and then think you can win that.  The result of that way of thinking is that the potential points available is still enough to get to the play offs - until it gets to the stage where there isn''t enough points available.  Imo it is not an optimistic view, it is just stating how it is.  Do I think we''ll reach the play offs - realistically, no - but imo there is enough there to give is a good push towards it, especially if we are able to sign one or two players this window and start eeking out some results at home as well as away.  I was always taught there is always a way to improve if you have a mind to - and I am hoping that the manager and players think like this too.  I''m not sure why some fans can''t think the same way too - after all, the team and fans win or lose together. Disappointment after a loss ought, imo, to lead to a determination that we are going to do better next game.  That optimism - or positivity - or whatever you want to call it, can help at matches. It''s the "come on, we can do this" attitide that every club needs from it''s supporters. 

[Guest]

Disappointment after a loss ought, imo, to lead to a determination that we are going to do better next game. That optimism - or positivity - or whatever you want to call it, can help at matches. It''s the "come on, we can do this" attitide that every club needs from it''s supporters.

Don''t forget we lost at Chelsea. So why did we go backwards at home to a team far worse than Chelsea?

I am optimistic that we might win each game. Every supporter has the same approach. But too often this season a good result is followed by another and then it goes Pete Tong again.

So the inconsistency makes taking each game as it comes more of a hope than optimism.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="ROBFLECK"]I am going to Brentford next Saturday hoping we''re at the races again.... but we are not good enough to make the play offs. We might win , but I am not confident. Our lack of depth up front was exposed again... like mentioned in the thread: LDC your optimism deserves respect but it''s not going to happen. My season''s prediction : we''ll finish about 14th....[/quote]

If I remember rightly that isn''t much different to you prediction in August Flecky. 

Someone said to me yesterday that the disappointment was because we had a decent run of results that the top six had begun to look possible again. I guess that''s why the play-offs are such a good idea. They keep hopes up in what used to be simply mid-table seasons. Back when I was a kid we never dreamed of promotion past October. We''d just be looking forward to the FA Cup and once we were out of that the season was over. In factthis would have been a good season back in the sixties what with the Chelsea and Arsenal performances. 

Most seasons don''t include promotion or relegation. Like it or not this is a normal season. There is hope because of the changes taking place. And of course in the event we actually begin to close the gap on the top six hope will be reignited in that too. Don''t they say it''s the hope that kills you?

[Guest]

Most seasons don''t include promotion or relegation.

Thing is Double N, I think we have had, don''t quote me, 17 promotions or relegations in the past 45 years.

So those of us old enough may have come to expect something.

Even a relegation season can be exciting. Remember 1981? We were down then four wins and we are staying up then we lose at home on the last day of the season. Not nice but nailbiting nonetheless.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

I haven''t counted them Pops but most season''s don''t. We have been spoiled since 2008/9 with a real rollercoaster. That isn''t the norm though. 

Play Offs do help to keep the seasons exciting. I reckon if they introduced them in the PL so 4th to 7th played off for the last Champion''s League spot it would be an improvement.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="kingsway"]While your slightly naïve optimism is partly commendable, you obviously weren''t at the game yesterday LDC?

Farkes stifling tactics plus the lack of squad options probably means I''ll take just scrambling to 52 points to stay up this season![/quote]There was much at fault yesterdaty but ''stifling tactics''............. dear me.It was the lack of those that was the main problem. Too many times Sheff players were not picked up, and were allowed far ro much time on the ball.We seemed to be ball watching and reacting, rather than closing down. The almost complete opposite of tifling attacks and certainly the opposite of the corresponding away game.At the moment it seems s if or more expansive game is taking a while to settle in. Vrancic is ok (good) with playing a long ball. Often picking out his man a la  ''chippy''.  But not all are, and we have a tendency to get the ball forward quickly then ... sort of freeze, as if ''what do mwe do no''.We have no one in the box who can deal with a high cross from us, so we don''t get any. Instead crosses and free kicks are all to often hit to arrive below head height, hence the goals against Millwall, Chelsea and yesterday.We do need a ''target man'' up front just as we needed someone like Hanley at the back. I expect we will sign at least on TM as well as aHooper type forward.If Webber et al can find the players such as Zimmerman, Vranci Trybul and Hanley I have no concerns that the pattern will continue. Youngsters coming through ? There''s plenty there to be optimistic about.Will we be relegated ? That is more a question of hope for the closet binners on this thread than it is one of reality or even possibility.As to the OP, well it can be a breath of fresh air to read the words of a supporter of NCFC - not the stench of bin that all too often wafts around this forum.

[FenwayFrank 2,717]

👍

[Budapest Canary 154]

king canary:  "As has been pointed out before it isn''t simply about the gap (be it 6 or 9 points) its about the amount of teams we''d have to out perform for the rest of this season.

If we need at least 75 points for the playoffs then we need 38 points from 18 games. That''s over two points a game so we''d need to basically be the best team in the league for the remainder of the season.

It could happen, but let''s not pretend it''s based on anything other than simple blind optimism."......and Smith must score:" Sums it up in a nutshell. Are we likely to go on an 18 game run averaging 2 points a game ? Save the postage and don''t bother to send a postcard.In LDC''s dreamworld the mechanics of the tasks ahead are always conveniently forgotten."Exactly. Our situation in terms of points  from playoffs might be comparable to that of  three years ago, when Alex Neil took over, but AN inherited arguably the best squad in the league, with a high scoring Jerome, Bradley Johnson, Martin Ollson, Redmond, Howson, Jacob Murphy and subs like  Fer, Vadis, Grabban and Hooper (each of whom scored 12 goals in the season). In that half season we did exactly what SMC and KC suggest, i.e. we indeed were the beast team of the half season, picking up  over 2 points per game. By any stretch of imagination, I can''s see this Farke team emulating that performance.

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

[quote user="Hercules"].....As to the OP, well it can be a breath of fresh air to read the words of a supporter of NCFC - not the stench of bin that all too often wafts around this forum.[/quote]City 1st, you know full well that the vast majority of people on this madhouse are City fans, ranging from fantasizing optimists to suicidal pessimists and all shades inbetween. Strange ways of showing it sometimes but City fans nonetheless.The issue of people of other persuasions on here is a completely separate issue.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Hercules"].....As to the OP, well it can be a breath of fresh air to read the words of a supporter of NCFC - not the stench of bin that all too often wafts around this forum.[/quote]City 1st, you know full well that the vast majority of people on this madhouse are City fans, ranging from fantasizing optimists to suicidal pessimists and all shades inbetween. Strange ways of showing it sometimes but City fans nonetheless.The issue of people of other persuasions on here is a completely separate issue.[/quote]Did I say they weren''t City fans ?I was merely pointing out the type of posters on this thread, that''s allps it is Hercules if you don''t mind

[lake district canary 4,830]

Well I for one will be looking forward to each and every match and seeing if we can push on and get up nearer the play off positions.  All the top teams have to play each other still, so points will be dropped above us. All we have to do is concentrate on each game and try and win it and see where it gets us. I guarantee there will be some excitement of we can get within shouting distance in the last three or four weeks of the season.  We were one result from being three points off 6th position yesterday and that can be got to again with a good run of results.  Never say never - and that isn''t trying to raise false hopes, it''s just saying how it is! 

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="lake district canary"]Well I for one will be looking forward to each and every match and seeing if we can push on and get up nearer the play off positions.  All the top teams have to play each other still, so points will be dropped above us. All we have to do is concentrate on each game and try and win it and see where it gets us. I guarantee there will be some excitement of we can get within shouting distance in the last three or four weeks of the season.  We were one result from being three points off 6th position yesterday and that can be got to again with a good run of results.  Never say never - and that isn''t trying to raise false hopes, it''s just saying how it is! 

[/quote]None of that really changes the brutal fact that we need 2 points a game average over the next 19 games.An average that would over a season give us 92 pointsYes we will gain unexpected points, and yes there is points to be dropped by others, but .... 38 points from 19 games ?Yesterday was more an indication of where we are at the moment than simply 3 points ''dropped''.I cannot think of any City supporter who wouldn''t want what you are suggesting but merely suggesting it doesn''t make it more likely.