A couple of weeks ago . . . .

[chicken 0]

A couple of weeks ago I felt that Fulham and Cardiff would struggle to get the points to get to the 35/36 points many are predicting will mean safety this season.

I think it is fair to say that they in most likelihood will not.

I have thought for a while that the final spot would be a fight between Sunderland and West Brom. That will only change if Sunderland get some surprise wins that drag other teams back into it although there are a number of teams in touching distance.

Their first game in hand is on Weds away to Liverpool.

The last thing I wanted to ask was, does final placing or final point tally mean more to you?

I ask because I recall a conversation on here with Purple who felt that Hughton should be judged on the comparison to last season in terms of points on the board.

I had pointed out we finished higher up the season last season than the one before but with less points. It''s now looking plausible that we could finish around the same, possibly higher place again, and once more with less points.

To me league table positioning is everything as seasons are relative only to the quality and ability of the teams that year.

[Move Klose 303]

Sunderland still gotta play 6 of the top 7.

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

Tbh I don''t think either is that important if we stay in this division, given where we are and how things have gone...I think we''ll end on 37-39, safe and maybe 14th.

Comparing to previous years doesn''t really work out for me, as there''s too many other factors to consider - a large element of it might be how we performed rather than place or pts. The thing is that you can''t always expect to finish higher - there''s 16 other sides would expect to (ie all remaining sides from the PL last season other than the champions) which clearly can''t happen. When all is said and done we are in the ''mid-to-bottom mini league'' which we''ll be in for a while (along with the likes of Stoke, WBA et al) which we finished towards the top of last season, but there is a pretty fine line between being top of it and towards the bottom.

[Houston Canary 0]

The points vs place issue came up when comparisons between Lambert and Hug Ton started.

In general, it''s placement that counts. It also affects how much the team gets paid.

.

[nutty nigel 7,506]

It''s places that count, all day everyday. Because that''s where the money is. It won''t change until it''s ex amount of dosh per point.

 

 

 

 

[Surfer 1,547]

Table position, not points, for the reason you describe.

[PurpleCanary 5,553]

[quote user="chicken"]A couple of weeks ago I felt that Fulham and Cardiff would struggle to get the points to get to the 35/36 points many are predicting will mean safety this season.

I think it is fair to say that they in most likelihood will not.

I have thought for a while that the final spot would be a fight between Sunderland and West Brom. That will only change if Sunderland get some surprise wins that drag other teams back into it although there are a number of teams in touching distance.

Their first game in hand is on Weds away to Liverpool.

The last thing I wanted to ask was, does final placing or final point tally mean more to you?

I ask because I recall a conversation on here with Purple who felt that Hughton should be judged on the comparison to last season in terms of points on the board.

I had pointed out we finished higher up the season last season than the one before but with less points. It''s now looking plausible that we could finish around the same, possibly higher place again, and once more with less points.

To me league table positioning is everything as seasons are relative only to the quality and ability of the teams that year.[/quote]That is my view, chicken. Obviously, the league position is highly relevevant if you are right at the top or right at the bottom, in terms of European qualification or avoiding relegation. And in the middle it matters a bit in terms of extra money.But as a guide to assessing the manager, which is what we were talking about, I do place less emphasis on position and much more emphasis on points/points per game, and on the other two key indicators, of goals scored per game and goals conceded per game (all of which are currently worse than last season''s).Your argument - which is true - that seasons are relative applies as much to points as to position. More if anything, because position can be misleading. One win right at the end of a season in a crowded section of the table can shoot a club upwards.Supposing, for the sake of argument, that we finish on 37 points in 13th/14th place. A not unlikely scenario. If I was a director, in deciding whether to keep or sack Hughton, I would pay less attention to us having dropped two or three places from the season before, and one or two places from the Lambert finish, and much more to us having finished seven points down on 2012-13 and a whole 10 points down on Lambert. That kind of points slide would very much worry me.