Is this the season... (Poll reset after Albion double)

[tomd2103]

Every other team seems more capable of scoring and battling harder than us. I still don't trust us that we will run for every lost cause, think quicker, be organized quicker than the teams around us. I really hope that the players watch a video of the game yesterday and learn from it. Like many people on here, I have been thinking that we are too good to go down, but I am fast losing faith in these players.

I genuinely think some of them couldn't care less to be honest.  I'd even go as far as saying some of them wouldn't mind going down as they would get more opportunities to play and the others probably think they'll get a move anyway.

[hilts_coolerking]

Given how flakey most of our squad seem to be I'm praying we get safe before the final day.  They just can't cope with pressure.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I think after we lose our next league game I will give up what little hope I have left. We have circled the drain for what feels about the usual amount of seasons. Lerner didnt spend big in January to try and keep us up. The players simply may be what we paid for , cheap or championship level quality. Surprisingly I don't feel nervous about  relegation like I did the previous seasons. I have just come to accept it as a consequence of the clubs decisions. We can't argue bad luck has done us in. Even in a game where we got rid or dropped almost all our scapegoats we still lost. We have been sinking up the league all season. Probably time to go.

[AV82EC]

I won't give up hope until it's mathematically impossible but That hope just keeps getting chopped away at week by week, game by game....

[paul_e]

The counter argument to anything said on here as 'pointing to relegation' is that we're level on points with a side outside the relegation zone.  Forget about 38 points or 5 wins, all we need to focus on is getting 1 point more than Burnley and QPR over the next 12 games, they're both just as bad as we are except they've scored more goals but so far under Sherwood we have 1 in 1.  On top of that the goal difference isn't as debilitating as some make it seem, we're 5 behind QPR that's 1-2 heavy defeats for a side who's next 2 games are against arsenal and tottenham.  Burnley are 4 ahead but have Liverpool, Man City and Southampton as 3 of their next 4.  In that time we play an unpredictable Newcastle and then relegation rivals West Brom and Sunderland.  If' we're still bottom 3 after that then we need to be worried but right now we're not cast adrift and favourites for the drop as some seem to think.

[AV82EC]

The counter argument to anything said on here as 'pointing to relegation' is that we're level on points with a side outside the relegation zone.  Forget about 38 points or 5 wins, all we need to focus on is getting 1 point more than Burnley and QPR over the next 12 games, they're both just as bad as we are except they've scored more goals but so far under Sherwood we have 1 in 1.  On top of that the goal difference isn't as debilitating as some make it seem, we're 5 behind QPR that's 1-2 heavy defeats for a side who's next 2 games are against arsenal and tottenham.  Burnley are 4 ahead but have Liverpool, Man City and Southampton as 3 of their next 4.  In that time we play an unpredictable Newcastle and then relegation rivals West Brom and Sunderland.  If' we're still bottom 3 after that then we need to be worried but right now we're not cast adrift and favourites for the drop as some seem to think.

It's a straw and I'm clinging to it....

[Ron Manager]

The counter argument to anything said on here as 'pointing to relegation' is that we're level on points with a side outside the relegation zone.  Forget about 38 points or 5 wins, all we need to focus on is getting 1 point more than Burnley and QPR over the next 12 games, they're both just as bad as we are except they've scored more goals but so far under Sherwood we have 1 in 1.  On top of that the goal difference isn't as debilitating as some make it seem, we're 5 behind QPR that's 1-2 heavy defeats for a side who's next 2 games are against arsenal and tottenham.  Burnley are 4 ahead but have Liverpool, Man City and Southampton as 3 of their next 4.  In that time we play an unpredictable Newcastle and then relegation rivals West Brom and Sunderland.  If' we're still bottom 3 after that then we need to be worried but right now we're not cast adrift and favourites for the drop as some seem to think.

Quite right Paul. Except if you think West Brom are relegation candidates with Pulis at the helm you are sadly deluded. We should be capable of staying up with ease if Sherwood has anything about him and Delph starts showing again.

[itbrvilla]

The counter argument to anything said on here as 'pointing to relegation' is that we're level on points with a side outside the relegation zone.  Forget about 38 points or 5 wins, all we need to focus on is getting 1 point more than Burnley and QPR over the next 12 games, they're both just as bad as we are except they've scored more goals but so far under Sherwood we have 1 in 1.  On top of that the goal difference isn't as debilitating as some make it seem, we're 5 behind QPR that's 1-2 heavy defeats for a side who's next 2 games are against arsenal and tottenham.  Burnley are 4 ahead but have Liverpool, Man City and Southampton as 3 of their next 4.  In that time we play an unpredictable Newcastle and then relegation rivals West Brom and Sunderland.  If' we're still bottom 3 after that then we need to be worried but right now we're not cast adrift and favourites for the drop as some seem to think.

We were ahead of those teams not long ago by quite some points, now we're below.  That to me suggest they are not as bad as we are.

[David_Nab]

Despite the FA cup win the team still looks fragile.Only really Clark ,Hutton and the 2 new guys are looking at it currently.Gabby and Benteke as a front 2 offered nothing and the 2 CM's whilst they were outnumbered in general they were both poor.

The other issue is for the 3rd time this season we are trying to adopt a new system and tactics , but  this point we should have something settled but we don't.I do worry that Sherwood long term could be good for us but in our position an experienced head to ground out results might have been a better option.Have to say it is worrying that we played a pretty poor threadbare Stoke side and didn't get a new manager bounce.WBA and Palace both got that and have built from there.

Newcastle has to be a must win now we need something on the board and quick.They were evidently very poor Saturday (didn't watch any football once we lost ) and safe in midtable with a caretaker manager so we need to go up there and get a result.

[Dave]

All we need to happen is for Burnley, Leicester and QPR to lose every game from now on. Then we'll definitely stay up.

Sorted.

[paul_e]

The counter argument to anything said on here as 'pointing to relegation' is that we're level on points with a side outside the relegation zone.  Forget about 38 points or 5 wins, all we need to focus on is getting 1 point more than Burnley and QPR over the next 12 games, they're both just as bad as we are except they've scored more goals but so far under Sherwood we have 1 in 1.  On top of that the goal difference isn't as debilitating as some make it seem, we're 5 behind QPR that's 1-2 heavy defeats for a side who's next 2 games are against arsenal and tottenham.  Burnley are 4 ahead but have Liverpool, Man City and Southampton as 3 of their next 4.  In that time we play an unpredictable Newcastle and then relegation rivals West Brom and Sunderland.  If' we're still bottom 3 after that then we need to be worried but right now we're not cast adrift and favourites for the drop as some seem to think.

Quite right Paul. Except if you think West Brom are relegation candidates with Pulis at the helm you are sadly deluded. We should be capable of staying up with ease if Sherwood has anything about him and Delph starts showing again.

Everyone from Everton down is in the relegation battle, the chances of the top 2 or 3 sides being drawn in are much slimmer but if, for example, Berahino got injured I'm not sure West Brom have that many goals in them and they're still not great in defence so it could easily happen.  That's what happened to us last year remember, we were looking safely mid-table until we lost Kozak and Benteke and ended up with nothing up front.  I know Pulis is decent at getting a team organised but he's really not deserving of the god-like status some on here give him.

As I said, the next 3 league games are important, there are points there for us and the team need to stand up and show what they're capable of.  Newcastle are in poor form themselves so we need to, for once, not be the side that teams beat to get their season back on track.

[TheMalandro]

All we need to happen is for Burnley, Leicester and QPR to lose every game from now on. Then we'll definitely stay up.

Sorted.

thats the easiest scenario, I'll take that

[David_Nab]

The gutting thing is at one point Saturday we had 5 teams below us if we could of just hung on..

Newcastle one win in 8 nothing to play for need to make that count.

[Des Little]

Given how flakey most of our squad seem to be I'm praying we get safe before the final day.  They just can't cope with pressure.

...same can be said of me when I'm watching them!

[brontebilly]

I'm sure there have been many instances in the past where a team in utterly dire form, with seemingly no way out of it, do exactly that (as opposed to never, ever winning again.) I think that applies to us: while at this moment, things look completely bleak, we'll improve, but not in the sort of linear manner that makes sense (i.e. a small steps forward sort of thing.) I reckon it'll be more of a scrappy win, a couple of strong performances, a freak result at one of the four remaining toughies, mixed with a few extremely shite performances.

I think it ultimately comes down to the fact that there are four or five teams around us who, for all their alleged "fighting quality" which we apparently don't have, are still far too shit to pull away from our own brand of shittiness. I suspect that even an underwhelming run of results could leave us with all to play for on the final day against Burnley.

I think its going to go to the final day aswell. Think we are going to be very reliant on Scott Sinclair for the rest of the season. He was a passenger at Hull but that was a genuine quality header at the weekend. Finally one of our forward players actually moving in the box. Gabby finished the 12/13 season very strongly but I have no faith in Benteke, Weimann or himself at the moment. Each one as bad as the other really. Have to get a result at Newcastle, a win would be some boost but a point would stop the rot. It wont take much to pull clear but not sure we have it in us.