April 9th

[Tetteys Jig 851]

Looks like this is as near as it gets to a 90 million pounds game! League looking very tense now!

[When Saturday Comes 0]

Let''s beat Scunthorpe first.

[Tetteys Jig 851]

Regardless of what happens next week, that game is massive!

[Big Slob 0]

Swansea have got some very hard fixtures coming up. Preston away won''t be easy, they''ve won 2 in a row now giving them belief. The then play us, and they''ve also got Hull at home, who have an awesome away record like us, Burnley away, Portsmouth away, Ipswich at home, Milwall away and Sheff utd at home

[Morisons Prozac 0]

[quote user="Big Slob"]Swansea have got some very hard fixtures coming up. Preston away won''t be easy, they''ve won 2 in a row now giving them belief. The then play us, and they''ve also got Hull at home, who have an awesome away record like us, Burnley away, Portsmouth away, Ipswich at home, Milwall away and Sheff utd at home[/quote]

Easier than ours.

[Bill 1,788]

No games are easy or easier. We are second as much by our points gained as by teams around us dropping points in ''easy'' games.

Swansea losing at Derby and Scuntorpe away and drawing at home to Watford clearly deomstrate that.

Likewise mid table Millwal beating Burnley away, QPR at home and drawing with Cardiff at home. Were those game easier for the top teams or harder for Millwall ? Either way the old saying, in this league, that ''anyone can beat anyone'' still holds true.

The thing to remember is if you can be the first of those ''anyones'' as much as possible then it don''t matter who you play.

[peter-plastic 0]

Watched the Swansea - Forest game on cable TV here, and the scoreline flattered a very ordinary Forest side, even though they did nearly get an unlikely equalizer in the last minute of injury time (damn! that they didn''t). I''ve seen Forest a few times on TV this season, and they haven''t ever look anything but a dead ordinary mid-table team. Swansea, however, looked awesome going forward with Sinclair exceptional. Worked really well with the new signing, Borini. Having also seen City''s game with Bristol a few days earlier, we are also a a very decent team. ("Simon" Jackson, as he is referred to by the Thai commentators, having a pretty lively game for city, I thought.) I think both the Swans and us will pick up a lot of points from these up and coming ''tough'' games, because we  both have strong, quality teams. So 9th April is going to be a nail-biter - probably a tad more than any other game this season. Should be a great game quality wise, despite what is potentially at stake.

Somehow, We''ve never quite been in this position in the 16 years since the relegation in 1995. In the two promotion seasons we were gunning for 1st. But this season has been in a chase for 2nd / play-offs. Even in the play-off season, it was only an amazing late run that got us an unlikely 6th spot. In all the other years, even play-off dreams have been all but extinguished well before mid-March. So, never experienced the tensions of hovering around 2nd - 4th, with so many permutations and possibilities, and so much at stake in every game, probably right up to and including the final game of the season. Amazing to think what has been achieved in the last year to be in such a position as we are now. 67 points is already more than we''ve achieved in all but the promtion and play-off seasons!

 So my tentative predctions are that Forest will miss out on the play-offs and we''ll be fighting all the way for 2nd spot! And we''ll try to get a loan or two in this week "to help out".

Does anyone know what has happened with Hughes'' loan at MK Dons? He played the full 90minutes in their win at Colchester last week, having been on the bench for most of his spell there. I think his loan ended after that game. Was it extended? Is he back?