So come 10 games, could we no longer be relegation candidates?

[Bws Cat 0]

Now, this time last season I''m fairly certain that the media and the folks of NCFC in general believed that we would be safe from relegation. Good thing we were right.

However, after a ten game unbeaten streak (second in Europe!) we are still being labeled as relegation contenders. Why?

So I ask the good people of the Pink ''un this. In ten games time, could we, the media, and the general populace agree that we are no longer relegation contenders?

Or does anybody think we have already reached this stage?

[Highland Canary 76]

I think we are, and will continue to be, relegation candidates along with Reading, QPR and, possibly, Wigan.

[Mister Chops 7]

Frankly, it''s not over until the Relegation Mini-League™ sings.

[Herman 9,838]

Highland Canary is John Laurie and i claim my five poonds!

[ricardo 7,414]

It was obvious after a dozen games that we would not finish in the bottom three.Ladbrookes will lay you 17-2 if you think differently. Reading are 1-6, QPR 8-15, Southampton Evens.

[RvWs 4 year contract 0]

Frankly even when we werent winning I was confident that we would eventually pull out of trouble. The Arsenal game was massive.

[lake district canary 0]

I don''t think anyone should be counting their chickens yet.  Anything can still happen.  We could have a poor spell while others below improve, we could carry on as we have been and if so challenge for a top six position.  We simply don''t know.   What it is - as always - is a roller coaster. It wouldn''t be Norwich if it wasn''t.     Results have been good recently and if the players keep a good attitude and we don''t get too many injuries - we should look up the table.   If things go badly, we will start looking downwards again.   At the moment - and that is all that matters - we can just enjoy where we are.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Whilst there are 22 games left the wigan game is massive. Lose and we are back in the mix albeit higher up the pile than others, win and we have an incredible 11 point gap from 3rd bottom and probably only needing 4 more wins and a draw

[York Canary 28]

Agree with my fellow Yorkshireman. Every game seems huge and I keep saying the next one is bigger than the last, but Wigan really is a big one imo..A loss would be very hard to take and a draw would be ok, but the win is what we really want and need. P.S It would be a 10 point gap if we beat Wigan not 11 point Yorkshire. Still a crucial gap and would no doubt put us in the top half finally!

[Bill 1,788]

"However, after a ten game unbeaten streak (second in Europe!)"

 

One that has given us 22 points

 

Which means that based on last season we will now need to go on a ten game BEATEN run to achieve that much coveted 17th spot. It was after 26 games (on 3rd March) that the team in 17th place reached 22 points.

 

We also need to lose tomorrow or 17th spot is becoming much further beyond our grasp. A win would mean we would have to then lose the next 12 games after Wigan to reach 17th (it was achieved on 21st March after 29 games).

 

For the " ever so ''umble" it gets worse.  Unless we can pull off a defeat tomorrow a win could see us move up to 7th spot, albeit mainly because other are not playing until Sunday or Monday - but seventh would equal our highest spot of last season. Were we to finish there come the end of the season, it would earn us an extra £8m in prize money.

 

But then can you really see McNally, Hughton and the playing squad bothering with the extra bonuses that figure would generate, when they can concentrate on losing 12 league games in a row to achieve 17th spot ?

 

 

[Houston Canary 0]

The Norwich for relegation thought likely comes from someone basing it a lot on our very weak start and our seemingly lucky recovery from that.

 

However, our recovery is not just "the ball went our way", or "we''re lucky the ref didn''t call that". Hughton has installed a confident defensive strategy, and is now adding an offensive tack to it. We''re in the midst of the entire plan. With the new offensive capabilities, out defense has lost some of its effectiveness. Injuries have slowed the progress, but when all the wheels are turning as they are supposed to be, we will be solidly mid-table, and next season competing for top 6 IF they don''t change course and shoot for the (ones we can afford) stars around whom our entire approach will have to be changed.

 

If it''s working, don''t fix it. Hughton seems to know our offense was working, so he didn''t mess with it. His approach to the game may not be as reckless as Lambert''s but he has more to work with, and the progression continues. I like Hughton now, and I am convinced he doesn''t blindly follow a pre-set plan, but pays attention to those who''ve been watching the team for ages.  

                        

[BroadstairsR 2,215]

We are safe. We do not look easy to beat and from now on that is the most imoportant thing needed. Roll on the trillions.

 

It is no longer about us but about the eight teams below us suddenly hitting top six form. Will this happen? IMO, no.

 

The win against Wigan will seal it surely and we can look upwards rather than downwards. Well done the Hoots.

[smooth 114]

Until it is mathematical proven that we are safe, there will be still be doubts.

It helps with so many teams below us and you need to pick up points throughout the season. Fortunately we have one club who are beginning to drift from the others and two promoted teams just struggling at the moment.

I am afraid with our potential budget, quality and depth of squad we will be considered for relegation by many. The January window gives us a chance to add this to our squad.

I think we will add key components all we can hope for is that we can move some of first teamers to the bench or to the 25 man squad. We have seen this with fox.

Lets look positively to the Wigan game, last season I think I was surprised we could not handle this team. I think tomorrow we could be in a great position to do so. Think it is time we started to make an impression on this relegation mini league.

[Dubai Mark 0]

City 1st, nice one.

This season is shaping up very differently to last season due to QPR and Reading picking up so few points, and its already looking like just the one relegation space is open. This could well mean I feel, when taking into account how tight and competitive the rest of the league is, that more than 40 points could well be required to keep up this season, and I get a feeling we will have a surprise team going down at the death.

From what we are seeing we are good enough to keep out of any scrap, but to ensure we do I''d love to see a couple of quality signings in January "to help the boys out". 

[Zak Van Burger 0]

Is it worth pointing out that last year QPR went on a pathetic run of results from the week we beat them in November until March gaining just 8 points from a possible 54. (with 15 points by November, they were only on 22 points at the start of March) But still they struggled to break into the bottom three  because the teams below them kept losing as well.Once the points are on the board you don''t lose them however poorly you perform which means that to be true relegation candidates now, we would not only have to go on an extended losing run but at least three of the teams below us would have to show a marked improvement on their current form over the same period to even drag us towards a relegation place.

[Yelloow Since 72 54]

City 1st - that was beautifully done!

At this stage, it is about probabilities rather than certainty as wise heads like Ricardo have pointed out. I think 40 points will be enough for survival, but I also think that City will do better than that, like last year. With 22 points now, City need 18 more. That''s 4 wins and 6 draws out of 22 matches. A win against Wigan would mean that 3 wins and 6 draws will be enough. It will be a while until certainty is achieved, but the probabilities are certainly on our side.

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="City1st"]

"However, after a ten game unbeaten streak (second in Europe!)"

 

One that has given us 22 points

 

Which means that based on last season we will now need to go on a ten game BEATEN run to achieve that much coveted 17th spot. It was after 26 games (on 3rd March) that the team in 17th place reached 22 points.

 

We also need to lose tomorrow or 17th spot is becoming much further beyond our grasp. A win would mean we would have to then lose the next 12 games after Wigan to reach 17th (it was achieved on 21st March after 29 games).

 

For the " ever so ''umble" it gets worse.  Unless we can pull off a defeat tomorrow a win could see us move up to 7th spot, albeit mainly because other are not playing until Sunday or Monday - but seventh would equal our highest spot of last season. Were we to finish there come the end of the season, it would earn us an extra £8m in prize money.

 

But then can you really see McNally, Hughton and the playing squad bothering with the extra bonuses that figure would generate, when they can concentrate on losing 12 league games in a row to achieve 17th spot ?

[/quote]

 

"a win could see us move up to 7th spot"

 

So, 7th it is ... for now - games over the next couple of days could change that. What those games can''t change is the points total, 25 points.

 

What also won''t change either is the clubs winning mentality. The last few seasons have seen us fight our way into a strong position, and fight even harder to stay there.

 

Expect that again this season.

 

 

[Bws Cat 0]

Excellent point city1st. The club will never ''back down'' and let us sink to the bottom of the mire to reach that coveted 17th spot. We have a winning mentality which will keep us going. Now look at the points. We are only 15 points from 40.

Good times people. They will get better.

[York Canary 28]

21 games to go..22 points and we''ll equal last season''s total of 47pts. I''d love us to beat that this seasonInteresting stat..we already have the number of points Wolves got from the whole of last season.

[Gingerpele 0]

If any pundit seriously thinks we will go down now, they should be sacked.

25 points and guaranteed to be in top 10 at the end of this weekends games. With just over half the season to go, we''ve come back after a 4-1 cup defeat to continue our unbeaten league run, the only negative I can see is that if one or both of Tettey and Bassong get injured we could struggle, we now have a great starting X1, with a few decent reserves, but a lot of our squad players just won''t be as good as what we have now.

But we have a good system and style and a real belief, I would not be at all surprised if we finish top 10 comfortably this season.

[Bill 1,788]

more importantly we are now only 22 points off last seasons 47 points total

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bill 1,788]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]If any pundit seriously thinks we will go down now, they should be sacked. 25 points and guaranteed to be in top 10 at the end of this weekends games. With just over half the season to go, we''ve come back after a 4-1 cup defeat to continue our unbeaten league run, the only negative I can see is that if one or both of Tettey and Bassong get injured we could struggle, we now have a great starting X1, with a few decent reserves, but a lot of our squad players just won''t be as good as what we have now. But we have a good system and style and a real belief, I would not be at all surprised if we finish top 10 comfortably this season.[/quote]

 

"I''m fairly sure pundits do the same, and as much as we like to ridicule them, they do know what they are talking about "

 

as opposed to silly old City1st who ridiculed the relegation mini league* and stated (against those pundits knowledge) that we would not be relegated

 

 

 

* so far 11 points (10 games) from the bottom ten clubs and 14 points (7 games) from the top 9 clubs

which is about 1 point per game from the bottom ten clubs and 2 points per game from the top 9

 

 

[York Canary 28]

[quote user="City1st"]

more importantly we are now only 22 points off last seasons 47 points total

 

[/quote]

 

As I said above too City1st.. this is the target I''m looking at in the back of my mind. Get to 40pts asap then only 7 more pts and we''ve equalled last season, which is great (no chance of doing that this season without PL though remember!) If we can get some points from the next 3 games it''ll be a real boost and a tasty bonus going into the new year. Next game against West Brom is a real tough one..nervous, but excited

[Highland Canary 76]

But we were very much a top half team in 1994 and managed to go down. QPR and Villa will both be mid-table. Sunderland and Newcastle will make it. Reading will go down. Stoke and Fulham as ever will be OK. Leaves the last spots for ourselves Wigan and Soton. If we buy an experienced, quality striker I think we''ll edge out of the bottom three. Failing that my prediction is Wigan and ourselves to join Reading.

[Graham Humphrey 13]

I would suggest Highland that, given you predicted that yesterday would be our first win of the season and we''ve won five more games in the meantime, we''ve gone ten games unbeaten and are seventh in the league, closer to the Champions League spots than the bottom three, your glass isn''t half empty - you don''t actually have a glass at all.  If you can''t enjoy what''s happening now then you never will, quite frankly.

[Lord Horn 0]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]But we were very much a top half team in 1994 and managed to go down. QPR and Villa will both be mid-table. Sunderland and Newcastle will make it. Reading will go down. Stoke and Fulham as ever will be OK. Leaves the last spots for ourselves Wigan and Soton. If we buy an experienced, quality striker I think we''ll edge out of the bottom three. Failing that my prediction is Wigan and ourselves to join Reading.[/quote]Have you actually seen any of our games since the Chelsea league defeat????????

[Bws Cat 0]

"QPR will be mid-table"

I stopped reading right there.

[FourFourTwo 0]

I''ve not been worried about relegation at all this season, there are several sides worse than us in this league.

It''s taken Houghton a while to work out what his best side is and how to get the best out of them. Plus it was always going to take a while for a new defensive line up to get to know one another and become a solid unit. So the slow start was to be expected. We''re now playing the high quality football we are capable of and doing so more consistently. A few more goals to back up the domination we''ve shown at times in resent games would top off a superb first half of the season.

I expect the second half of the season to be at least as good as the first in terms of points, key injuries aside, I don''t see any reason why we shouldn''t kick on and keep producing.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,360]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]But we were very much a top half team in 1994 and managed to go down. QPR and Villa will both be mid-table. Sunderland and Newcastle will make it. Reading will go down. Stoke and Fulham as ever will be OK. Leaves the last spots for ourselves Wigan and Soton. If we buy an experienced, quality striker I think we''ll edge out of the bottom three. Failing that my prediction is Wigan and ourselves to join Reading.[/quote]Sunderland have won, what, 3 in 25? I think we''ll be top half, 8th or 9th is my guess.

[Bill 1,788]

"Get to 40pts asap then only 7 more pts and we''ve equalled last season"

 

what has 40 points to do with anything - if it relegation then that is nonsense

 

clubs have been relegated on 40 points, in fact West Ham were relegated with 42 points

 

we have to continue to win points and then see where that leaves us in the table at the end of the season

 

overhauling 47 points would be great - but it is meaningless on it''s own

 

it is where we finish and what that place earns us that is the absolute target