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

[martin o`who??]

If we do go, and i fear we will, i get the feeling we may become a Yo-Yo club like the noses were a few years back, too good to stay down there but not good enough to stay up. The much-vaunted youth policy will probably be all we`ll have because what few quality players we have are probably already on the phone to their agents, and we just don`t have the financial muscle anymore to attract replacements. Years of mis-management are about to bring a once-great sporting institution to its knees, and anyone who thinks it will be good for the club is deluded.

[Matt Collins]

I really feel we're going

But then that would mean one of QPR or burnley staying up. Which doesn't seem convincing

Would watching a villa team in the championship with Gardner, grealish, Robinson, Clark, okore etc really be worse than what we've had for the last few years?

[Billy Walker]

I really feel we're going

But then that would mean one of QPR or burnley staying up. Which doesn't seem convincing

Would watching a villa team in the championship with Gardner, grealish, Robinson, Clark, okore etc really be worse than what we've had for the last few years?

Yep, it would be worse!

[ChicagoLion]

We are not gone yet. I will give 3 reasons why.
1. There are signs that our football has improved under Sherwood.
2. There are 6 teams still in the fight.
3. This could require a very low total to retain PL status.

[paul_e]

We are not gone yet. I will give 3 reasons why.
1. There are signs that our football has improved under Sherwood.
2. There are 6 teams still in the fight.
3. This could require a very low total to retain PL status.

Point 3 is the important one, loads of people keep commenting on how many points we need but the truth is it's all guess work, the only truth is that we need to get more points than Leicester, QPR and Burnley between now and the end of the season (or at least get the same amount and hope that we do much better with our goal difference).  If that means we stay up on 32 points then so be it.

[Mister E]

We are not gone yet. I will give 3 reasons why.
1. There are signs that our football has improved under Sherwood.
2. There are 6 teams still in the fight.
3. This could require a very low total to retain PL status.

Point 3 is the important one, loads of people keep commenting on how many points we need but the truth is it's all guess work, the only truth is that we need to get more points than Leicester, QPR and Burnley between now and the end of the season (or at least get the same amount and hope that we do much better with our goal difference).  If that means we stay up on 32 points then so be it.

To stay up, we need to start scoring goals. Just one or two, but we need to do so without conceding.

Lerner and Fox have taken a massive gamble on not offloading TSMII earlier - foolish and headstrong - which would have enabled them more choice of manager. If you look at Pulis and the way that the Bitters are playing; if you look at the effect that Pardew has had .... We could have bought ourselves some time if they had taken a more decisive action earlier.
 

I think we'll drop, just because we cannot buy a goal.

[maidstonevillain]

32 is very unlikely to survive.  But I would take 34 now, and cross my fingers.

[silhillvilla]

We need to win on Tuesday, then smash Sunderland, I'd accept a draw v Swansea.
Then you're looking to those qpr and burnley home games, with also a hope that West Ham and Southampton hit the beach early. Plus the Everton home game.

It's do-able .

[Mister E]

We need to win on Tuesday, then smash Sunderland, I'd accept a draw v Swansea.
Then you're looking to those qpr and burnley home games, with also a hope that West Ham and Southampton hit the beach early. Plus the Everton home game.

It's do-able .

... until you look at recent form.

Form says we're dead meat.

[Legion]

Form is temporary. Class is permanent.

[silhillvilla]

From what I've seen we didn't deserve to lose v Stoke or Newcastle . I think we are close to turning this around.

[paul_e]

32 is very unlikely to survive.  But I would take 34 now, and cross my fingers.

that's the point though, I'll take the exact number of points we need to stay up, if that's 32 then great, if it's 36 then that's what we need.  Trying to predict it now and say we need at least 5 wins and X draws is just creating a situation where you're disappointed, this weekend was shit because we could've got something from the game but it's less shit because at least the teams we're competing with (the ones that played at least) dropped points as well.

[ozzjim]

I agree a win can change so much for us and despite losing yesterday, I really hope Sherwood can give the lads the confidence to go out and keep improving. We're running out of games but if we are to start picking up points it won't be by hoofing it. Benteke looked far happier than he has in ages as he was finally getting some service. If we can build on that we're still in with a chance.

Sherwood needs to do just three things now; keep heads and confidence up, get them believing they can do it, not mess about tactically. All three are within his capability.

I agree. Had we won 4-2 yesterday then it wouldn't have been an unfair scoreline.

It doesn't help how the table looks, but I'd rather yesterday's 1-0 defeat than the 1-0 defeat that we would have had yes there yesterday under Lambert.

Saturday made me feel much better than I had in a while. It was a decent performance, an unlucky goal conceded. Lowton did well at left back too and Benteke looked lively. The last 10 Sherwood even said after the game they went too long, and I got the feeling the tactical instruction against Stoke was nothing close to what we saw on the pitch.

[PeterWithesShin]

Last 38 league games W8 D8 L22 F22 A61 GD-39 Pts32

When your goals for column matches the games lost one, then that really isn't good!*

/understatementoftheyearwinner

[Ads]

We will turn it around though. By Tuesday we will be out the bottom three, by Saturday night, we'll be at Wembley. By the start of April we will be six clear. By the end of the West Ham game in May, we will be safe. By the end of the Burnley game, we will be convincing ourselves that we can beat Man United in the FA Cup final.