Why all these points dropped at home against sh*t teams will prove so damaging

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Leicester (a)

Hull (a)

Ipswich (a)

Portsmouth (a)

Tough games against sides massively improved from the first half of the season. 6 points v Donny and Preston at home would have given us some breathing space. Now we have little room for error with Burnley also picking up.

 

[I am a Banana 0]

8 points form these 4 would be fine. 2 wins, 2 draws. Wins against Leicester & Hull would be the best as they are nearest to play offs. Also leicester as the family are from there, and im going [y]

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Yes but the reality is we will probably get 3 or 4 points from them which is why we can''t keep missing out on 3 points at home from games we should be winning.

[Yellow Rider 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Leicester (a)

Hull (a)

Ipswich (a)

Portsmouth (a)

Tough games against sides massively improved from the first half of the season. 6 points v Donny and Preston at home would have given us some breathing space. Now we have little room for error with Burnley also picking up.

 

[/quote]

Totally agree Jim. Whilst there are strange results going on at the moment with many top sides dropping points when not expected, it''s unrealistic to have to go to the games you mention with us possibly HAVING to get a result due to points thrown away recently at home.

Pompey is a nightmare place to go at the best of times and you would''nt fancy our chances there is the chips are down. Likewise Ipswich. Hull can be a bit hot and cold so we could have opportunities there. Ditto Leicester although if they hit form I fear the worst if Zak is out.

We can certainly ''get over the line'' to secure last play off place which, after all, is minimum aim and we may yet do so with some comfort. The home results (and form) MUST be improved though.

 

[grantroederdisaster 0]

Agree that these dropped points against lower League sides could prove damaging but in this very tight League the likes of Cardiff, Forest and Swansea, who some make out as being so much better than us, are also dropping points and will probably drop more poins in games you''d expect them to win!

We quite often play better against the higher up teams and feel the game on Tuesday + the Swansea and Forest games will prove decisive?

[Mike 0]

Prestons last four games they have drawn against QPR, Cardiff, Us & narrowly lost to Burnley. We could have easily beaten them, were unlucky against Pompey as we battered them first half. Only Donny gave me cause for concern.

Yesterday was always going to be as tough as playing a top six side.

As for the ongoing forward debate & the need for a "proven striker" we have scored more than Forest & Swansea despite them having more so called proven strikers.

I do however fear the worst at Leicester with Zak out

[ca 1]

Agree it could prove damaging but its a critical time in the season, we are so close to the auto spots, the bottom teams are fighting for their lives so it turns into a nervy game with the 24,000 plus fans quieter than usual too which don''t help.

Not blaming the home fans but expectations are so high that the atmosphere is tense whereas at away games the 1500 - 2000 are much more verbal and don''t expect to win every game, hence a great away record only losing 3 from 17 away

[kdncfc 27]

Has anything been said about whether Zak is out ? I thought he was taken off as a precaution so he would hopefully be ok for Tuesday, he carried on for a minute or two after getting injured.

[canaryfan68 0]

Expectations go hand in hand with results so they are going to be high when we are where we are in the league. Remember we are trying to get to the promised land where the pressure will be greater (to stay in the league) although the expectation won''t be.

The players have to learn to adapt to the conditions regardless of booing or quietness.

[Joanna Grey 0]

Good to see that some people like Mike and CA have their feet firmly on the ground rather than the depressing doom-mongers that crawl out of the woodwork when we don''t put in a 10/10 performance.

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Leicester (a)

Hull (a)

Ipswich (a)

Portsmouth (a)

Tough games against sides massively improved from the first half of the season. 6 points v Donny and Preston at home would have given us some breathing space. Now we have little room for error with Burnley also picking up.

 [/quote]

But isn''t this the same whichever team you support, Jim ? To balance the argument you could say we''ve had our fair share of last minute '' get out of jail '' escapes this season and gained some fortunate points against supposedly inferior teams. It happens to everyone.

There''s always surprise results in any sport and I''ll bet every other football supporter in the Championship, indeed in the land, is isn''t constantly churning over '' if only '' results in their heads. Being a football fan is certainly a good way to beat yourself up.

We were fortunate yesterday in that other teams also messed up - thank you ITFC - so in the great scheme of things no real damage has been done as a result of the last two games at Carrow Road.

A win at The Walkers on Tuesday evening would be nice though.....

[Jim Smith 2,314]

[quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Jim Smith"]

Leicester (a)

Hull (a)

Ipswich (a)

Portsmouth (a)

Tough games against sides massively improved from the first half of the season. 6 points v Donny and Preston at home would have given us some breathing space. Now we have little room for error with Burnley also picking up.

 [/quote]

But isn''t this the same whichever team you support, Jim ? To balance the argument you could say we''ve had our fair share of last minute '' get out of jail '' escapes this season and gained some fortunate points against supposedly inferior teams. It happens to everyone.

There''s always surprise results in any sport and I''ll bet every other football supporter in the Championship, indeed in the land, is isn''t constantly churning over '' if only '' results in their heads. Being a football fan is certainly a good way to beat yourself up.

We were fortunate yesterday in that other teams also messed up - thank you ITFC - so in the great scheme of things no real damage has been done as a result of the last two games at Carrow Road.

A win at The Walkers on Tuesday evening would be nice though.....

[/quote]

 

Yes you could argue that no damage has been done but by the same token you could argue that the "damage" is that we sit in 4th place with Leeds, Forest, leicester and Burnley on our tails rather than in 2nd and 10 points clear of the playoffs chasing pack. I''m not a doom monger, we remain in the mix and I suspect we will play well at Leicester and away at Swansea but even if we do a win is not guaranteed and the fact is you can''t keep relying on away form to make up for substandard home performances. We''ve been pretty average at home in a lot of games this season, not just the last two and there is clearly something there which needs addressing.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

This reminds me of the people who seem to think our goals aren''t worth the same if they are not scored by our strikers. We have scored 55 goals this season and they count the same whether they are scored by Chris Martin or Russell Martin. We have 60 points and they are worth the same whether they were won away, at home, against Preston or against QPR.

 

Forest have won one in the last 6. They beat Cardiff. They dropped points to Scunthorpe, Preston., Hull, Middlesboro and Millwall. If they hadn''t dropped those points they would be sitting comfortably in 2nd 10 points clear of the play-off chasing pack. The reality is we are 4th and 5th and both very much in the mix with a mouthwatering game against eachother at Carrow Road on the horizon.

 

When we got relegated Woves and Birmingham were 1st and 2nd yet neither of them beat us home or away. They still got enough points to go up!

 

 

 

[Bomber 48]

[quote user="Jim Smith"][quote user="......and Smith must score."][quote user="Jim Smith"]

Leicester (a)

Hull (a)

Ipswich (a)

Portsmouth (a)

Tough games against sides massively improved from the first half of the season. 6 points v Donny and Preston at home would have given us some breathing space. Now we have little room for error with Burnley also picking up.

 [/quote]

But isn''t this the same whichever team you support, Jim ? To balance the argument you could say we''ve had our fair share of last minute '' get out of jail '' escapes this season and gained some fortunate points against supposedly inferior teams. It happens to everyone.

There''s always surprise results in any sport and I''ll bet every other football supporter in the Championship, indeed in the land, is isn''t constantly churning over '' if only '' results in their heads. Being a football fan is certainly a good way to beat yourself up.

We were fortunate yesterday in that other teams also messed up - thank you ITFC - so in the great scheme of things no real damage has been done as a result of the last two games at Carrow Road.

A win at The Walkers on Tuesday evening would be nice though.....

[/quote]

 

Yes you could argue that no damage has been done but by the same token you could argue that the "damage" is that we sit in 4th place with Leeds, Forest, leicester and Burnley on our tails rather than in 2nd and 10 points clear of the playoffs chasing pack. I''m not a doom monger, we remain in the mix and I suspect we will play well at Leicester and away at Swansea but even if we do a win is not guaranteed and the fact is you can''t keep relying on away form to make up for substandard home performances. We''ve been pretty average at home in a lot of games this season, not just the last two and there is clearly something there which needs addressing.

[/quote]

 

Jim, don''t worry about it there is nothing you can do and fate plays a big part - there are many twists and turns yet (who would have expected Ipswich to turn over Cardiff especially with Cardiff knowing all the other results) - the thing is they got nervous and messed up the game just like a lot of teams will between now and the end of the season - look how Forest''s results have slumped just lately - lke what was said previously all fans up and down the country will be saying ''what if'' - look at Arsenal fans at the weekend with their team messing up at home to Sunderland - that is the beauty of football and why we never win the pools 

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

I think people need to forget about automatic promotion - our home form is just not good enough. Hopefully we should accrue sufficient points for a play-off place, though.