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BroadstairsR

The next three games

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would  seem to represent a pivotal period in our season so far.

Two very, very tough fixtures and then an 'anything could happen' derby fixture.

We have to hope that our injuries do not increase and that the injured continue to improve over the period.

Three points against Sheff  U would ease the pressure and boy if we repeat the Birmingham performance then we could win this one.

Leeds are in somewhat of a turmoil at the moment because of 'spygate' so let's hope it effects them.

It really has to be two points minimum from these two games.

Derby games are always unpredictable and McCarthy always managed to get the best from his teams on those occasions without getting a win. Lambert is likely to be fired for this and get his team ready for a good go at it.

Collins apart, and he is thirty five and likely to get injured at some point soon  (remember Walters)I cannot see much else in their window signings to get over concerned about. Judge is not the player he was but can still perform some tricks. Although Lambert proved at Norwich his talent for getting the best from average players this was some time ago now. We have to hope that he has lost the touch.

Any way you look at it this derby fixture will be the biggest battle of the three and I use the term "battle" intentionally.

4/5 points from these games will be a highly satisfactory+ return.

I am always a bit of a pessimist before games, but Farke's teams have continued to ridicule this trait.

After these three games it is more or less downhill all the way.Now that's  optimism.

 

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1 minute ago, BroadstairsR said:

After these three games it is more or less downhill all the way.Now that's  optimism.

This could be the problem, PNE away three days after playing the binners is going to be a tricky game for a start, every game is going to be big

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11 minutes ago, FenwayFrank said:

This could be the problem, PNE away three days after playing the binners is going to be a tricky game for a start, every game is going to be big

True and Wee Alex has picked them up. My comparison was with the three games I highlighted though. For sure no game is easy.

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TBH i’d take a point at Sheffield Utd and Leeds and obviously a win against that lot down the road, so 5 points will do for me. 

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I expect us to win both home games - not necessarily comfortably - and would be delighted with a point at Elland Road.

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Every single game is going to be a battle, with total commitment and total effort needed.  I don't like singling out games or groups of games for that reason.  

Preston, just after these next three fixtures is going to be just as hard a match as any of them and just as important. 

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2 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Every single game is going to be a battle, with total commitment and total effort needed.  I don't like singling out games or groups of games for that reason.  

Preston, just after these next three fixtures is going to be just as hard a match as any of them and just as important. 

Didn’t I just say that ? 😉

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20 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Every single game is going to be a battle, with total commitment and total effort needed.  I don't like singling out games or groups of games for that reason.  

Preston, just after these next three fixtures is going to be just as hard a match as any of them and just as important. 

Are you suggesting that a DERBY game (with it's history of conflict and needing a very unusual time to be played and booze bans and extra policing) and especially this one with the Lambert factor and Ipswich fighting for their lives for obvious reason is to be viewed as any old game.

Of course all games are battles, that's obvious. THIS GAME will be the biggest of the lot for all the above reasons, commitment and total effort plus that added spice of intense  rivalry, which no other fixture offers.

Derby games are exceptional, no singling out needed by me, it's obvious

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Then I only agree up to a point, as above re: the derby game.

Let's have a barney then! :classic_biggrin:

Just kidding of course. Slight disagreements are the bread and butter of these forums and they are all the better for it.

I respect both your views, but see it slightly  differently.

 

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Exiting these fixtures with a 3pt plus gap over Sheff U and WBA has the be the goal. A quick peep at WBA's fixtures shows that they've some very tricky fixtures, with Middlesbrough, Forest and Sheff U away and trips to Stoke, Villa and QPR all in Feb plus they are still in the cup. 

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I don't know. I always think, in past seasons, we've risen to the occasion when playing the teams higher up in the division but then sometimes struggled against those we're EXPECTED to win against.

Of course, this pattern hasn't always been the case but some teams of the past let complacency sink in, in some instances.

I can't see Farke allowing this to be honest and am quite confident we can get a good return against the big boys along with winning some of the remaining games after that. I bet DF will play these games against Sheff Utd, Leeds and Ipswich down but he'll want to win as much as the rest of us.

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For the sake of balance, our record this season against the top 6 clubs isn't that great, albeit the losses were at the very start of the season and the freak Derby result.

I'd take 5 points now (preferably 2 draws and a win v Ipswich). 6 or more would be a fantastic return.

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3 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

Are you suggesting that a DERBY game (with it's history of conflict and needing a very unusual time to be played and booze bans and extra policing) and especially this one with the Lambert factor and Ipswich fighting for their lives for obvious reason is to be viewed as any old game.

Of course all games are battles, that's obvious. THIS GAME will be the biggest of the lot for all the above reasons, commitment and total effort plus that added spice of intense  rivalry, which no other fixture offers.

Derby games are exceptional, no singling out needed by me, it's obvious

If we go up automatically and the s***e get relegated I couldn't give a monkey's about losing the derby game. 

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13 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

If we go up automatically and the s***e get relegated I couldn't give a monkey's about losing the derby game. 

Me neither but a loss would be three points in the wrong direction after a couple of hard games.

BUT there's an  "if" there sgnfc based upon wishful thinking.

We all want that outcome but a defeat  to the binners would reduce the chance of this outcome..

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Been hearing this all season and I make this our 10th "pivotal period" where we musn't lose or drop points.

And yet despite everything, including a bit of a dodgy run, we are still in 2nd position.

Our season will not be defined by what happens in the next 3 games because they are only 3 games out of the remaining 18 games when anything can, and probably will, happen.

We will lose games we thought we should win and win games we thought we could lose.

Easy, and very misguided, to think that all the other teams are going to win every game but in reality they are no different to us.

No need to panic even if we draw a blank over the next 3 games because we will still be there at the end of the season.

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17 minutes ago, Making Plans said:

Been hearing this all season and I make this our 10th "pivotal period" where we musn't lose or drop points..

 

I don't recall the  term pivotal being  used oh this forum before ie "an important point that signifies a shift in direction."

The term "must  win game is used a lot" though." Different  thing altogether

If successive games against the team immediately above us and immediately below us followed  by an unpredictable derby game is not a pivotal run then I don't  know what is, no matter how many games there will be left to play.

Our direction will be downwards if the run gives a poor return. We will be in a position once again of playing  catch up ie. "a negative shift in  direction" as it is our rivals we are  playing, not any old side in mid-table, and they could gain at our expense.

Perhaps I am playing with words, but I used the term intentionally.       .

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Fortunately we're not making the decisions, for DF it's another 3 points, doesn't matter who we're playing. If we did lose to 1p5wich it would mean some banter for a while but they're only heading in one direction and hopefully so are we. 

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