Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: hawkeye on February 12, 2011, 09:54:52 PM
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I think we will pull through but I am still concerned that we are in a battle
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We are touching cloth,but we will make to bog without embarassment.
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We were then we weren't and now I don't know.
The result in a fortnight might make me sure either way
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Three points away from 18th, i'd question even the biggest optimist if they weren't a bit worried about our postion. Having said that i do think we'll pick up the points and finish 10-12th. This is supposed to be our '11 winnable games' streak, yet we have failed to win either of the first two.
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Kind of stating the obvious here but we need to start putting our pissing chances away and stop throwing leads away then we'll be fine, until we sort that out were in the shit
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Put it this way if someone offered me a guaranteed 17th place now I'd take it
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We will pick up an averagre 1.75 points per game from now till end of the season.
However I am starting to accept that we will not qualify for Europe via the League this season.
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I think we'll be safe with a couple of games to go. Can't say i'm not worried at the moment though.
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Put it this way if someone offered me a guaranteed 17th place now I'd take it
OK I offer you a guaranteed 17th and a possible 7th. Please take it.
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Were in trouble and have been for most of the season. Man City away was when we slipped into serious trouble - we haven't got out of it since, we had the chance the past fortnight and we have blew it.
Difficult to see how we are going to get out of it, lots of winnable games but just can't see how we going to have the bottle to beat West Brom/ West Ham/ Wolves.
As said before I'd happily take 17th place now and clear out all the shite (yeah sorry that does include yer man Houllier) in the summer.
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I'm not in real trouble until somebody digs up that patio
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Put it this way if someone offered me a guaranteed 17th place now I'd take it
OK I offer you a guaranteed 17th and a possible 7th. Please take it.
I'll take the guaranteed 17th now please and not the possible 18 th
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3 wins on the bounce and we are comfortably in the top half of the table. Have faith all.
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3 wins on the bounce and we are comfortably in the top half of the table. Have faith all.
Is right.
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No chance we are going to win 3 games on the bounce. We are not a team able to deal with pressure and with a few "6 pointers" coming up we'll struggle, but just about be okay.
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Three wins would be so very nice.
the last couple of draws have been disappointing.
Until we get those wins I will be very anxious for us.
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Well we're two matches into the much heralded run of easier matches and we've accrued 2 points. If we fail to beat Blackburn, then the worry beads will be got out again.
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When the cook creates a new recipe, there are anxious moments about the positioning of new ingredients, but as long as the right ingredients are present one can be confident of success before too long.
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When the cook creates a new recipe, there are anxious moments about the positioning of new ingredients, but as long as the right ingredients are present one can be confident of success before too long.
Lets hope the Villa can cook then. I read somewhere Super Marc might be able to help us out!
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I think we will be ok we will finish mid table i'm sure of it if we can just put our chances away and be tighter at the back then everything would be fine we do need to start winning our games against the teams around us.
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I think that we will be in a nail-biter until the last couple of games.
We have an unerring capacity to leak poor goals; this will continue to serve us badly.
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I think we're going to be OK as the bottom three are pretty dire, but a couple of wins would be more than welcome. I just don't think Houllier's the man for the long term.
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There are only 9 points between 8th and 20th places. It's extremely tight and none of those clubs can feel entirely secure. It would be foolish discount the possibility that we might go down but I don't expect it. We haven't fully turned the corner but we are getting there; only 1 defeat in our last 8 in all competitions is an improvement on what went before.
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We'll finish about 9th.
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We'll be fine, Will be nervy in places but I'm confident we'll be top 10 or just under, we all accepted this would be a transitional season.
I do however feel that some of the fans really need to get off some of the players back's its really annoying and not helping in the slightest
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Lets not kid ourselves, we're in deep trouble. Too many players out of position and bizarre tactics.
Tippy tappy stuff in your own half is pointless, we were much more effective as abreakaway team.
This will go to the wire and if we need points from the last 2 games we are fucked
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Lets not kid ourselves, we're in deep trouble. Too many players out of position and bizarre tactics.
Tippy tappy stuff in your own half is pointless, we were much more effective as abreakaway team.
This will go to the wire and if we need points from the last 2 games we are fucked
I think you are being overly pessimistic, 12 points from 13 matches will be enough to stay up, we'll do that and we've taken points from the top sides already this season why shouldn't we do it again?
A couple of months ago we'd have lost that game yesterday after going down to 10 men and coming under pressure but we coped pretty well. We've still got some way to go but we have improved.
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We're in not in danger of going down. 1 defeat in 8 suggests that our brittle period has past, however we do need to start winning games, as we've chucked away four points in the past two games.
We've got some good fixtures ahead of us, with only Arsenal left to play who you wouldn't fancy us against. People may like to quote that cliché of there being “no easy games”, but I rather have Blackburn, Bolton, Dinglehampton, Wigan, West Ham and West Brom etc than Chelsea, Man United, Man City, Spurs etc.
Four points from the next two league games and then a few wins on the bounce will see us secure in mid-table.
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3 wins on the bounce and we are comfortably in the top half of the table. Have faith all.
Is right.
But how many times have we won three games in a row this season?
Answer: ZERO.
We've only had one lot of back to back wins, admittedly only recently.
We're still in a relegation dogfight, we can't delude ourselves.
Wolves, Blose and ourselves seem to have the 'easier' run in.
Don't envy West Ham's away fixtures and Albion and Blackpools fixtures in general.
There will be one from Stoke, Bolton, Newcastle or Blackburn who will drop like a stone and have squeaky bum time.
Our next three league fixtures are key. Seven points minimum is needed.
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Which is what we'll more than likely get.
Far too much bed wetting going on.
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we most certainly are in trouble, and while we are a little more difficult to beat recently, we also find it difficult to win, and that for me is down to a negative attitude when in a positive position...
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Oh what a load of bollocks. Seriously, all this over analysing and people knowingly scratching their chin and nodding before imparting us with the wisdom of their astute tactical views as to how we didn't win yesterday, when the answer is painfully obvious.
Downing missed his sitters. Simple.
We were on top in the first half, we dominated them, got in behind them on countless occasions, had golden opportunities and spurned them. Nothing to do with the formation. Nothing to do with the alignment of Venus.
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Oh what a load of bollocks. Seriously, all this over analysing and people knowingly scratching their chin and nodding before imparting us with the wisdom of their astute tactical views as to how we didn't win yesterday, when the answer is painfully obvious.
Downing missed his sitters. Simple.
We were on top in the first half, we dominated them, got in behind them on countless occasions, had golden opportunities and spurned them. Nothing to do with the formation. Nothing to do with the alignment of Venus.
What he said.
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thats great that you are optimistic...
i wish i shared your view...
and while i dont think we are definates to go down, we are where we are in the league, because we havent been good enough to be in a better position... unfortunately, what i see week in week out does not fill me with huge bags of confidence... missing sitters, from both sides, is part and parcel of football, but the regular frustrations of poor defending, players playing out of position, sitting back and tippy tappy football between the defence and midfield with a lack of penetration and support for the attack from the midfield, is a concern for me...
if thats not for you, then that is great for you...
whether you think me being concerned is "bollocks", is less of a concern to me than our performances and our position in the premier league is...
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Its nothing to do with optimism, its called saying what you see instead of clutching for something abstract.
We’ve chucked four points away in the past two games because we couldn’t take our chances and on the three occasions that the opposition had efforts on target, they scored.
We’re playing a host of poor sides, who will give us a lot of opportunities because they’re not very good. We didn’t take them yesterday, but we have more than enough good players to make the difference over six or seven fixtures.
Ironically, Man City gave us one chance and we scored from it.
If you think we’re going down, then go waste your money with William Hill.
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We are not in trouble but we do need more clean sheets and wins. We can be relegated but that is unlikely.
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i never said we are going down, but we are in trouble...
we have chucked plenty of points away this season, i agree...
but i dont see that as a positive, because we havent actually fixed the errors that lead to us dropping points... we arent taking our chances, and we are gifting the opposition goals...
that isnt a recipe for success at any end of the table...
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When you’re 3 points off Bolton in 8th, as well as being three points off Wigan, with both coming up soon- I have the confidence that the likes of Bent, Young, Downing, Gabby, Albrighton et al will see us fine.
It’s all very tight and there’s a lot of clubs struggling with the same problems, but the quality we have will see us beat more of these sides than we lose.
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it is a tight league this year...
i just wish we werent making silly schoolgirl defending mistakes...
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Me too. Its very frustrating, as the past three goals we've conceded were so soft. Friedel hasn't made a save in two games, yet we've only come away with two points.
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3 points off the bottom 3 with 11 games to go does constitute being in trouble. However there is more than enough games to pull out of trouble and I'm confident we will.
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Ads: When you’re 3 points off Bolton in 8th, as well as being three points off Wigan, with both coming up soon- I have the confidence that the likes of Bent, Young, Downing, Gabby, Albrighton et al will see us fine. It’s all very tight and there’s a lot of clubs struggling with the same problems, but the quality we have will see us beat more of these sides than we lose.
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That sounds dangerously close to "too good to be relegated"
Like it or not, our results since Gerard took over IS relegation form.
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I say this every week but really not. We're just not getting a bit of luck at the moment.
We're perfectly capable of getting 7 from our next 9 available. That'd see us in the top half probably.
But, for whatever reason, as good as our build up play is we aren't winning games. We're not clinical enough and we're leaking silly goals; so maybe we're not as good as I think we are.
The games are running out, and I still think 8th is very possible, but we've gotta start winning and fast. 4 points dropped in the last 2 IMO. We'd have been 8th with those.
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We are too good to be relegated, which is why we won’t be.
One annoying cliché put to bed.
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I hope you've written to the FA to let them know.
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Problem is we are playing all the teams that will be fighting and scrapping for everything, we must beat Blackburn and get the confidence back, it's simple
We won't see the best of bent or makoun til next year IMO
Won't we don't need in a dogfight is tippy tappy bollocks
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I hope you've written to the FA to let them know.
Run out of clichés?
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Problem is we are playing all the teams that will be fighting and scrapping for everything, we must beat Blackburn and get the confidence back, it's simple
We won't see the best of bent or makoun til next year IMO
Won't we don't need in a dogfight is tippy tappy bollocks
They fight and scrap because they can do little else. Of course you have to work hard to match them, but quality is what makes the difference. Ourselves and Everton have more than most in this league, which is while we'll be alright, but the likes of Dinglehampton will go down.
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It's you that is suggesting we're too good to be relegated.
I'm pretty sure it's going to be decided by our position in the league table.
Sadly, our form since Geard took over in September is poor enough to see us relegated if it doesn't improve.
When we can't beat Fulham at Home or Blackpool away, it's difficult to say we're improving enough.
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I’m not suggesting it, I’m stating it. You’re the one quoting a nonsense cliché.
We’re three points off 8th place, three points off 17th. Our form of late suggests we’re past the brittle period, while the sides we’ve got coming up will give us more opportunities to beat them than most.
You go waste your money at William Hill as well if you like.
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I don't know if we will be relegated or not. You seem to be certain that we can't possibly be relegated because we're too good, so why don't you go to Betfair and put your house on it?
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We're not too good to go down, not by any means. If we're going to pull away, we needs to start killing teams off, like we should have yesterday in the first half and like other numerous games this season. Until then, it could well be uncomfortable.
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Maybe I already have. Maybe you'd like to make a table about my spending and compare it with Risso's and then complain about how I'm fiddling the tax.
I am stating now, that we're too good to go down, which is why we won't.
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Too good to go down? I could go with that if it wasn't for the fact that we've been absolutely shit for most of the season.
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Too good to go down? I could go with that if it wasn't for the fact that we've been absolutely shit for most of the season.
We haven't though. We've been irritatingly average for most, with an horrendous dollop of "aaaaargggghhh!" thrown in from the end of November to the start of January.
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Too good to go down? I could go with that if it wasn't for the fact that we've been absolutely shit for most of the season.
We haven't though. We've been irritatingly average for most, with an horrendous dollop of "aaaaargggghhh!" thrown in from the end of November to the start of January.
We've been shit at getting results. Apart from the very occasional highlight, we've only beaten teams that are even worse than us, and unfortunately, there are not many of them.
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Too good to go down? I could go with that if it wasn't for the fact that we've been absolutely shit for most of the season.
We haven't though. We've been irritatingly average for most, with an horrendous dollop of "aaaaargggghhh!" thrown in from the end of November to the start of January.
We've been shit at getting results. Apart from the very occasional highlight, we've only beaten teams that are even worse than us, and unfortunately, there are not many of them.
Since our "aaaaarrrgh" period, over the past six games we've been much the same as we have been for three years. Capable of beating the top sides, but drawing far too many against dross when we had more than enough chances to win the game.
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We'll only be too good to go down once we've got the points that'll stop us from going down. Which we haven't got yet.
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Well we're losing less games now so thats something.
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From a Mathematical view- fair enough.
I think that it is a mathematical certainty.
I think we’ll win four out of the next five, with a draw at Bolton and a Cup defeat up at The Council House. My major concern is that this may be the year the Albion beat us.
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I can't share your view that one win against Man City proves we are capable of beating the top sides. Drawing with (or put another way, being unable to beat), dross, I'll give you.
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I can't share your view that one win against Man City proves we are capable of beating the top sides. Drawing with (or put another way, being unable to beat), dross, I'll give you.
We should have beaten Chelsea at home and Man United home, while we ran Chelsea close. Not in the post Sunderland better period granted, but pretty much par for the course as well.
Maybe JJ is right, there’s plenty of games where you walk away thinking how did we lose/draw that? but not too many, Everton apart, thinking we’ve got away with one. I think Bent will change that, especially with the fixtures remaining.
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As there are 11 games, not 3 left and we have one of the best if not the best squad in the lower regions avoiding relegation should not be an issue. Against a side who score goals against the very best we conceded one inane goal, and had to swap out our best CB in doing so.
I'm not convinced with the Houllier tactics, especially as consistent team selections are not part of it and the midfield has not yet joined to the forwards, or vice versa, but we don't have the likes of the top 6 every week and some below us do.
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All depends what you class as trouble doesn't it. We're certainly not at the right end of the table and our performances in many regards still leave a lot to desire and are slightly worrying. We'll stay up but we've made this season far too hard for ourselves by missing easy chances and letting in stupid goals. Going from one of the most solid teams defensively one season to one of the weakest the next, doesn't help.
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I can't share your view that one win against Man City proves we are capable of beating the top sides. Drawing with (or put another way, being unable to beat), dross, I'll give you.
Surely as we did beat them we are capable ?
We have beaten dross too, Blackburn, Albion, Wigan, which Liverpool couldn't do on their own park, with golden Kenny in charge.
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Top 10 finish for me. I know that we struggle at times, but we also do a lot of good things that just need a bit of luck and quality. I don't think the defensive side of our game will be fixed properly until next year so that's always going to leave us vunerable. However, I do think we will continue to pass the ball better and we will take our chances in upcoming games.
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I can't share your view that one win against Man City proves we are capable of beating the top sides. Drawing with (or put another way, being unable to beat), dross, I'll give you.
Surely as we did beat them we are capable ?
We have beaten dross too, Blackburn, Albion, Wigan, which Liverpool couldn't do on their own park, with golden Kenny in charge.
Yes, granted. We are capable very occasionally. Too occasionally. And beating Blackburn in the cup won't keep us up.
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Im sure Newcastle were "too good to go down" the other year? Were not winning games, we can't defend at all, Friedel doesnt command his area enough, doesnt ever come for crosses. We cant defend set pieces. We just tap the ball about in our own half going nowhere, and when we do get it up there we dont score enough. Theres too much not going right to say were definately safe.
I think we'll stay up, finishing about 15th, but were going to be nervously looking over our shoulders
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No they weren't too good. They were a load of shite on the pitch and a total circus off it. It was no surprise to anybody that they went down.
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Well we're losing less games now so thats something.
One loss in eight and we're still hovering just above the drop zone. I've seen a few suggest that it's virtually assured that we'll win a few on the bounce. But what if this is our purple patch? From what I've seen this season, this side, this defensive shambles of an outfit, is plenty capable of losing a few on the bounce too.
Out of all the likely scenarios to play out for the remainder of this campaign, going by our form to date I know which seems the more likely.
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If we go by our form then surely winning a few on the bounce is more likely than losing a few on the bounce.
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If we go by our form then surely winning a few on the bounce is more likely than losing a few on the bounce.
I think drawing a few on the bounce is a safe bet by current form.
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Probably.
I stand by my prediction though. My memory is hazy, but I'm sure we have that triumivirate of awfulness three weeks in a row; Dingles, West Ham and Wigan after Blackburn and Bolton and of course Paul Wash putting us out of the cup.
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Probably.
I stand by my prediction though. My memory is hazy, but I'm sure we have that triumivirate of awfulness three weeks in a row; Dingles, West Ham and Wigan after Blackburn and Bolton and of course Paul Wash putting us out of the cup.
Dingles are never easy to beat
West Ham will be fighting for their absolute lives and one we'll struggle but think we'll beat them
Wigan have the sign over us at VP but think its finally time we beat them
Blackburn and Bolton are never easy, but we should win
In the same vein we should have beat Fulham and Blackpool
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Probably.
I stand by my prediction though. My memory is hazy, but I'm sure we have that triumivirate of awfulness three weeks in a row; Dingles, West Ham and Wigan after Blackburn and Bolton and of course Paul Wash putting us out of the cup.
28 26.02.2011 Blackburn Rovers home
29 05.03.2011 Bolton Wanderers away
30 19.03.2011 Wolverhampton Wndrs home
31 02.04.2011 Everton away
32 09.04.2011 Newcastle United home
33 16.04.2011 West Ham United away
34 23.04.2011 Stoke City home
35 30.04.2011 West Bromwich Albion away
36 07.05.2011 Wigan Athletic home
37 14.05.2011 Arsenal away
38 22.05.2011 Liverpool home
None of those fixtures are "easier" than Fulham at home or Blackpool away.
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http://sport.btvision.com/form/epl/ (http://sport.btvision.com/form/epl/)
Current form table, there are clubs with far more to worry about than us.
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If we can start taking our chances and stop conceding stupid goals I think we could get in the top half,but its worrying at the moment,we have got to beat Blackburn or we're really in the shit!
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3 points off 8th. 3 points off the relegation zone. I'm a little concerned but think we will be ok as there's enough quality in our team and the form has improved.
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we are three points off 8th, but if we are talking statistics, we might as well say that out of all the teams between us and 8th, only one has played as many games as us.
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We'll be fine.
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Probably.
I stand by my prediction though. My memory is hazy, but I'm sure we have that triumivirate of awfulness three weeks in a row; Dingles, West Ham and Wigan after Blackburn and Bolton and of course Paul Wash putting us out of the cup.
28 26.02.2011 Blackburn Rovers home
29 05.03.2011 Bolton Wanderers away
30 19.03.2011 Wolverhampton Wndrs home
31 02.04.2011 Everton away
32 09.04.2011 Newcastle United home
33 16.04.2011 West Ham United away
34 23.04.2011 Stoke City home
35 30.04.2011 West Bromwich Albion away
36 07.05.2011 Wigan Athletic home
37 14.05.2011 Arsenal away
38 22.05.2011 Liverpool home
None of those fixtures are "easier" than Fulham at home or Blackpool away.
I think a few of them are and Everton and Arsenal apart, none of them are more difficult.
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It's worth remembering that we played well for the first half yesterday and we could have won it if we got that late pen. A point at Blackburn is not half as bad as some make out as well. I definitely think Blackburn, Wolves and maybe Wigan are considerably easier games than the last two... Maybe even West Ham away.
Maybe with a few changes and a bit more time we might click and start to get those results. I certainly think those who seem to have a desire to dance on our grave will not get their wish.
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While the defence remains uniformly pathetic, relegation is a possibilty.
Fuck only knows what they work on at the training ground.
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While the defence remains uniformly pathetic, relegation is a possibilty.
Fuck only knows what they work on at the training ground.
Bit harsh, Mark. I though the defence kept us in it second half, particularly after the sending off - we would have lost that a couple of months ago. We're still rubbish at set pieces but we have improved in open play.
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I think we have a nasty run-in, we are in a relegation scrap, lets not kid ourselves
Yesterdays 2nd half was very worrying
How are people are predicting us to win at Bolton ?? they're a good side
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Every team in the bottom half are in trouble at this moment in time- we have the players and ability to get out of this and a win against Blackburn would help our cause hugely.
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That will be a very different Blackburn that turn up than the other week in the FA Cup stroll
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It's worth remembering that we played well for the first half yesterday and we could have won it if we got that late pen. A point at Blackburn is not half as bad as some make out as well. I definitely think Blackburn, Wolves and maybe Wigan are considerably easier games than the last two... Maybe even West Ham away.
Maybe with a few changes and a bit more time we might click and start to get those results. I certainly think those who seem to have a desire to dance on our grave will not get their wish.
Meaning those of us who are shitting ourselves about the absolute disaster that relegation would be? Yes, I'm really wishing for that.
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how have the odds at the bookies changed from a few weeks ago? Do they think we are more or less likely to go down?
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http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/relegation
14-1
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It's worth remembering that we played well for the first half yesterday and we could have won it if we got that late pen. A point at Blackburn is not half as bad as some make out as well. I definitely think Blackburn, Wolves and maybe Wigan are considerably easier games than the last two... Maybe even West Ham away.
Maybe with a few changes and a bit more time we might click and start to get those results. I certainly think those who seem to have a desire to dance on our grave will not get their wish.
Meaning those of us who are shitting ourselves about the absolute disaster that relegation would be? Yes, I'm really wishing for that.
There is some difference between that and what I mean. I'm pretty sure that most of us feel it would be a disaster or at the very least pretty bad. It's not exactly likely more somewhat possible and when it starts to look more possibly I will start to get very worried about it happening rather than the prospect.
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While the defence remains uniformly pathetic, relegation is a possibilty.
Fuck only knows what they work on at the training ground.
Bit harsh, Mark. I though the defence kept us in it second half, particularly after the sending off - we would have lost that a couple of months ago. We're still rubbish at set pieces but we have improved in open play.
Bingo! As soon as Ashley and Downing learn how to take a free kick, corner and cross the ball we'll be flying up the league.
EDIT: I assumed you were talking about our attacking but now realise you probably meant our defence. You right on that score. Not often I get to say that. Well done! (winky)
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We are in the mix but we have more in our locker than the other sides down there and I believe we will pull away, however, the top 10 finish that seemed to be in our grasp a couple of weeks ago is unrealistic. We'll be ok, but only just.
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We are more likely to finish top 10 than bottom 3 but we must get the points on the board soon, we have lost the lead in our last 2 Games and we must start holding onto leads- we have not beaten anyone in the league by more than one goal since the 1st game of the season.
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While the defence remains uniformly pathetic, relegation is a possibilty.
Fuck only knows what they work on at the training ground.
Bit harsh, Mark. I though the defence kept us in it second half, particularly after the sending off - we would have lost that a couple of months ago. We're still rubbish at set pieces but we have improved in open play.
Chris, that's isolating the second half against Blackpool, we've let in a massive 46 goals over the season, more than Wigan or Wolves and the same as Blackpool.
But worse is the fact that we just do not seem to be able to eliminate elimentary errors, we're virtually guaranteed to give every side a one or two goal head start, it's like playing with a handicap.
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any one who thinks that Bolton is winnable they didnt see them out play Everton today, so that means the BBurn game is massive, i think we are a loss at home to BBurn away from crisis.
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any one who thinks that Bolton is winnable they didnt see them out play Everton today, so that means the BBurn game is massive, i think we are a loss at home to BBurn away from crisis.
Blackburn have got 2 points more than us, they're hardly "away from crisis". Bolton are a decent side but no more than that, certainly nothing to be scared of. Not saying that either game is easy but neither are they impossible.
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The table don't lie.... We are in deep shit, now that the Bent feel good factor has worn off, and need to fight to stay in the top division.
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We are in the mix but we have more in our locker than the other sides down there and I believe we will pull away, however, the top 10 finish that seemed to be in our grasp a couple of weeks ago is unrealistic. We'll be ok, but only just.
What exactly have we got in the locker?
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While the defence remains uniformly pathetic, relegation is a possibilty.
Fuck only knows what they work on at the training ground.
Bit harsh, Mark. I though the defence kept us in it second half, particularly after the sending off - we would have lost that a couple of months ago. We're still rubbish at set pieces but we have improved in open play.
Chris, that's isolating the second half against Blackpool, we've let in a massive 46 goals over the season, more than Wigan or Wolves and the same as Blackpool.
But worse is the fact that we just do not seem to be able to eliminate elimentary errors, we're virtually guaranteed to give every side a one or two goal head start, it's like playing with a handicap.
Agreed Mark, one clean sheet in twentyish games is pretty poor. Very poor in fact.
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any one who thinks that Bolton is winnable they didnt see them out play Everton today, so that means the BBurn game is massive, i think we are a loss at home to BBurn away from crisis.
Blackburn have got 2 points more than us, they're hardly "away from crisis". Bolton are a decent side but no more than that, certainly nothing to be scared of. Not saying that either game is easy but neither are they impossible.
Bolton have a great home record and i think we will do well to draw, my point is that BBurn game is now a very big game
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any one who thinks that Bolton is winnable they didnt see them out play Everton today, so that means the BBurn game is massive, i think we are a loss at home to BBurn away from crisis.
Everton could be an even bigger one.
Blackburn have got 2 points more than us, they're hardly "away from crisis". Bolton are a decent side but no more than that, certainly nothing to be scared of. Not saying that either game is easy but neither are they impossible.
Bolton have a great home record and i think we will do well to draw, my point is that BBurn game is now a very big game
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The table still dosen't look great but while it's only 3 points from Wigan in 18th, we're also 3 points off Stoke in 9th.
I just can't see any way with 30 points and 11 games left we're going to get ourselves relegated tbh, infact I'd be disappointed if we didn't finish top half which sounds strange given how shite this season has generally been!
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Yes Bolton will be a hard game but I certainly wouldn't go there thinking we can't win - they are not Barcelona and the day we class games at Bolton as unwinnable would be a very sad day- certainly very tough but winnable !
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any one who thinks that Bolton is winnable they didnt see them out play Everton today, so that means the BBurn game is massive, i think we are a loss at home to BBurn away from crisis.
Blackburn have got 2 points more than us, they're hardly "away from crisis". Bolton are a decent side but no more than that, certainly nothing to be scared of. Not saying that either game is easy but neither are they impossible.
Bolton have a great home record and i think we will do well to draw, my point is that BBurn game is now a very big game
Yes, sorry I misread you post. My mistake.
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i think most of us thought we would get at least 4 points out of the last 2 games, we got 2. We have won 7 games this season the same as wolves who are bottom. For the nuetral this could be the most exciting relegation battle ever, i am hoping we are not a part of it
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The stats are not good, and I thought we would get 4 from the last 2 and be a bit further away from it. I am now seriously hoping we can beat Blackburn in 2 weeks to simply alleviate a bit of pressure from the situation. We need a couple of weeks of getting results and others going for us to pull away, at which point we might play with a little more freedom. The Fulham result having had the lead twice was galling. The amount of points we have squandered having had a side on the ropes is startling this season.
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If GH starts to get the basics right we will be upper mid table. Only he can do this. I don't see any signs that he will start play people in their right positions, bring Bazza and MA through etc, coach the defence, stop playing SD and AY in the same team and makes subs when needed/not EH!
So yes we are trouble.
On the plus side Petrov wasn't around yesterday - was this a GH decision or was he injured?
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I think we will be ok, its just all a bit deflating, frustrating and annoying to see our season limp along.
That said with the often mention problems of mass injuries for the first half of a season, lazy attitude bastard players, losing the management set up in the bat of the eye of the previous manager its no great suprise. Its annoying because now have a squad that is far better than 2-2 at home to Fulham. Far better than 1-1 away to Blackpool. We are man for man far better than that but it is not working right now as well as it should be. Don't get me wrong- we have no right just to beat these teams, but we have the players that can. We are fragile at the back and have been since 2/3 of the way through last season.
I like what GH is trying to do with the team, I like the signings and I like to think he can get it right. When you add trying to change the mindset of approaching a game to the first team squad along with the other issues I have already mentioned then the season is one hell of a transition.
We will win enough games to be well away of the relegation zone by 38 games, I am sure of that. GH will have a whole summer to move on, move out and adapt his players. Then, I am hopeful, we will be looking upwards.
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I think we are in trouble, but will just about have enough to see us stay up. I just wish I had the positive outlook that some of you on here have.
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Does anybody think we'll see a big improvement under Houllier next season? I have to say I'm yet to be convinced. It'd be hard to have another season as bad as this one, but I can't see us bothering the top 6 any time soon.
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Does anybody think we'll see a big improvement under Houllier next season? I have to say I'm yet to be convinced. It'd be hard to have another season as bad as this one, but I can't see us bothering the top 6 any time soon.
Agree.
Unless the players who he plays out of position magically start performing.
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I thought before the last 2 games we were genuinely in with a shout for Europe. Four points dropped, so now I think top 10 is as good as we'll get.
I'm no longer worried about relegation. I think we have too much quality and more tellingly, there are too many other pathetic teams down around us that will go down before us. Everton fans should start to get worried.
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I thought before the last 2 games we were genuinely in with a shout for Europe. Four points dropped, so now I think top 10 is as good as we'll get.
I'm no longer worried about relegation. I think we have too much quality and more tellingly, there are too many other pathetic teams down around us that will go down before us. Everton fans should start to get worried.
I don't think we'll be relegated, but I don't understand why so many people are shrugging the risk off quite so easily.
Blackpool are one point below us with a game in hand and a better goal difference. Albion three points behind, with a better goal difference.
Blues, Everton and Fulham are all on 30 points too, except with better GD, and all have at least one game in hand, Blues have two.
Most worrying is the fact that we look so very frail at the back, that for all the decent football we play (and for long spells, we do), we're always liable to fuck it all up and make things very hard for ourselves.
Two points from Fulham and Blackpool is way less than most of us expected. We absolutely must get some wins chalked up very quickly, or it'll be a horrible end to the season.
11 Blackburn 27 32
12 Fulham 26 30
13 Everton 26 30
14 Birmingham 25 30
15 Aston Villa 27 30
16 Blackpool 26 29
17 West Brom 26 27
------------------------
18 Wigan 27 27
19 West Ham 27 25
20 Wolves 26 24
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Agree Paulie. I don't want to get to the position where we're depending on the teams below being worse than us. We should at least be good enough to pull free of the scrap by winning our own games. We really need a decent end to the season to stand Houllier in good stead for the summer. If we limp along and just avoid relegation, despite having brought in the likes of Bent, Makoun and Bradly, it puts Lerner in a sticky position for the summer.
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I thought before the last 2 games we were genuinely in with a shout for Europe. Four points dropped, so now I think top 10 is as good as we'll get.
I'm no longer worried about relegation. I think we have too much quality and more tellingly, there are too many other pathetic teams down around us that will go down before us. Everton fans should start to get worried.
I think it's only two points dropped, which were against Fulham due to awful defending.
Going a man down at 1-1 means a point is a good result and we stood up to the onslaught well. That showed signs of the old 'they shall not pass' attitude we had under MON that has been sadly lacking this season.
At the moment I think we're lacking the right balance in the three attacking players behind Bent. Two prefer the left, the best of the bunch is out of position and we're also trying to convert a striker to play there. I'd like to see us try Downing behind Bent and Ash and Marc left and right respectively. get this right and I think we'll start to shoot up the table.
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Still concerned. Thought we'd turned a corner after Man City/Wigan but expected us to beat Fulham and Blackpool; now we haven't, we're still right in the thick of it. We seem incapable of holding leads, and we're still giving away soft goals - Blackpool's equaliser on Saturday was dreadful, so basic.
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Agree Paulie. I don't want to get to the position where we're depending on the teams below being worse than us. We should at least be good enough to pull free of the scrap by winning our own games. We really need a decent end to the season to stand Houllier in good stead for the summer. If we limp along and just avoid relegation, despite having brought in the likes of Bent, Makoun and Bradly, it puts Lerner in a sticky position for the summer.
If it's a transitional season then as long as we avoid relegation the actual league position shouldn't really matter. What should is the signs of what he wants to do and that we are 'getting there'. As you said above there ain't much of that, but to me since bent joined we've had the Man City victory, a predicted beating against Man Utd, then two results that should have been better, with the proviso that Blackpool was sort of OK bearing in mind we were down to 10.
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Albion don't have a better GD than us they are -2 worse off.
What is imperative is that we beat Blackburn in the next game. By doing so leapfrogging them and dragging them into the mix.
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If the last two performances are a measure of what's to come, we are in serious bother. The raw material is there to do moderately well, but I'm not convinced about the motivation. Houllier is turnhg out to be a disappointment.
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Ofcourse we are still in trouble. Despite having probably our best undefeated run all season we've not pulled away from the pack having squandered opportunities that i hate to say it Blose ,for example, are taking.
We have a defence that leaks goals like a tap and a goalkepper that is looking short on confidence. In Bent we have the best striker outside the Top 4 which i'm hoping saves us, if he gets injured though we will be in massive trouble. That's no where near enough for me to be confident about safety yet.
I'm afraid I still have huge misgivings about this management team and their ability to turn it around.
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I just hope the players don't think they're going to stay up just on their talent alone, it's going to take more than that. By playing Gabby out wide and Young up front, it's as if we're trying to out-football teams and we're not good enough for that yet, even if the signs are there. It's time to go back to basics slightly, Heskey alongside Bent and Young out wide, with the option of Gabby and Fonz to come off the bench.
West Ham's comeback at the weekend could be a turning point for them, Hodgson's arrival could spark Albion into life, although i'm not sure Wolves or Wigan have enough.
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although i'm not sure Wolves or Wigan have enough.
the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
Maybe not enough to keep them up but enough to keep them alive for a bit longer and to worry team just above them.
We should be safe - but when did we change from a team that was challenging for Europe to a team that is glad just to be staying in the league?
Before anyone answers, I suppose it was 5 days before the season kicked off....
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I don't think we've ever fully recovered any momentum since the 6-0 pasting at Newcastle.
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I don't think we've ever fully recovered any momentum since the 6-0 pasting at Newcastle.
That feels like such a long time ago. This season is dragging on and on.
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I can't imagine there's a single Villa fan who hasn't got at least some nagging doubt about the managerial set-up and our ability to not only hang onto leads but also create enough chances to win games. I dread to think how many points we've dropped from winning positions.
I couldn't say with absolute certainty we'll get enough points to stay up, but with the quality we have it would be criminal if we didn't.
It's reminding me of Graham Taylor's second stint as manager, when we just couldn't get clear of trouble. I remember back-to-back wins around Feb of that season and then we reverted to type and nearly went down. Taylor certainly didn't have the quality in his squad that Houllier has though. Bit worrying.
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Hopefully Darren Bent can do a Marcus Allback and drag us out of the mire.
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Hopefully Darren Bent can do a Marcus Allback and drag us out of the mire.
I think that's exactly what will happen.
Thing is though do we then give Gezza credit for turning it around or did Randy simply buy us out of a hole?
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One defeat in 8 shows progress, there is still much to be done but I feel that GED will at least get us back into the top 8 next season, there have beenajor changes this season and sometimes we need to slip back a couple of steps to go forward in the future.
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I don't think we've ever fully recovered any momentum since the 6-0 pasting at Newcastle.
That and the exit from Europe in quick succession was the ultimate low point in the season for me from which pscyologically we have never really recovered. Although any of the poor sods who went to Anfield or Man City might disagree.
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One defeat in 8 shows progress, there is still much to be done but I feel that GED will at least get us back into the top 8 next season, there have beenajor changes this season and sometimes we need to slip back a couple of steps to go forward in the future.
Sorry, but if he gets us top 8 only it's still a step back from 6th. What I want next season is top 6 or better.
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All of those at the bottom are 'W' clubs. We are 'A', unless you think Witton!
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I don't think we've ever fully recovered any momentum since the 6-0 pasting at Newcastle.
That's what I think too. We were so unbelievably shit in all departments that day in a game we should have won. We now know how low we can go but don't seem to have a clue as to what heights we can attain. That game buggered our GD too and we can't seem to claw it back.
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the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
This is what worries me.
Wigan, Wolves and West Ham, despite being in erratic form, are occasionally showing the sort of resolve and spirit that we don't seem to show frequently enough.
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the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
This is what worries me.
Wigan, Wolves and West Ham, despite being in erratic form, are occasionally showing the sort of resolve and spirit that we don't seem to show frequently enough.
Although I agree in principal, they could look at our results against Man Utd and Man City at home and disagree. The wins against those three now also look like they'll be significant come May.
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the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
This is what worries me.
Wigan, Wolves and West Ham, despite being in erratic form, are occasionally showing the sort of resolve and spirit that we don't seem to show frequently enough.
Although I agree in principal, they could look at our results against Man Utd and Man City at home and disagree. The wins against those three now also look like they'll be significant come May.
Man City was a gritty performance, that's true, but Man United was a win turned into a draw, and was three months ago now in any case.
It worries me a bit when West Ham manage to claw themselves back from 3 goals down away from home, and Wigan go to Anfield and get a point, having gone a goal down. I wonder if we have that spirit now, through to the end of the season.
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Yes I agree john m as I say at least top 8 but I expect us to be challenging along for 6 th place with maybe Liverpool- the worry is the top 5 are getting stronger and richer and although 6th may be attainable next season I think it would be extremely hard to get higher than that.
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the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
This is what worries me.
Wigan, Wolves and West Ham, despite being in erratic form, are occasionally showing the sort of resolve and spirit that we don't seem to show frequently enough.
Although I agree in principal, they could look at our results against Man Utd and Man City at home and disagree. The wins against those three now also look like they'll be significant come May.
Man City was a gritty performance, that's true, but Man United was a win turned into a draw, and was three months ago now in any case.
It worries me a bit when West Ham manage to claw themselves back from 3 goals down away from home, and Wigan go to Anfield and get a point, having gone a goal down. I wonder if we have that spirit now, through to the end of the season.
But West Ham also lost at home to the noses and we beat Wigan. It's not individual results that will keep teams up. It's how they do over an extended period. We've made a start and we're 8th on the current form table which is better than most of the teams around us.
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Looking at the bottom of the table I really think we need to win the next 3, Beating Albion away is also a must
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We've made a start and we're 8th on the current form table which is better than most of the teams around us.
That more than anything else on this thread is a cause for optimism.
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Yes I agree john m as I say at least top 8 but I expect us to be challenging along for 6 th place with maybe Liverpool- the worry is the top 5 are getting stronger and richer and although 6th may be attainable next season I think it would be extremely hard to get higher than that.
The thing with that top 5 though is that whoever misses out on the CL spot could well start to struggle, both financially and in terms of keeping their better players. We've already seen it with Liverpool and although Chelsea and Man City may be immune due to their ownership, Spurs finishing 5th would be interesting and beneficial to the chasing pack.
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The bottom half of the table is incredibly tight. Which is good. Looking at our remaining fixtures, they are all winnable. Yes, even Arsenal and Liverflop. Knowing this league, anything can happen. I am expecting a top half table finish and what will be sweeter is to get the European spot. Think positive everyone!
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Yes we are, next three matches are critical. We need a few wins or the slide will gain momentum and who knows where you end up if that happens.
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Win against Blackburn and we'll be fine.
Lose and it'll be a nervy end to the season.
Bit concerned that the 'only x amount of points away from...' justification has now moved out to the heady heights of 9th. I'll say one thing for GH, he's done a fantastic job at downgrading expectations.
I just hope we're not relying on similar mathematical crumbs of comfort sitting in 16th/17th/18th place going into the final few weeks of the campaign.
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The Blackburn game will probably be another score draw and this debate will continue.
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The Blackburn game will probably be another score draw and this debate will continue.
5-5 knowing our defence.
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Just done the BBC predictor thing... we will finish 11th on 45 points.
Small Heath finish 7th on 51 points
Relegated = West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn
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Just done the BBC predictor thing... we will finish 11th on 45 points.
Small Heath finish 7th on 51 points
Relegated = West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn
Agree with the first bit as a quite likely result.
The final bit is also probably not too far from what will happen.
I'm not even going to contemplate the middle bit!!
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Maybe the Dog Shit will finish 7th and what a travesty modern football in the Premier is.
Too many teams playing sterile, anti football and getting results.
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our next 5 home games are all Sat 3pm K O, which can only be a positive 8)
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the trouble with Wolves and Wigan is that, just when you've written them off, they pull out a mad result.
This is what worries me.
Wigan, Wolves and West Ham, despite being in erratic form, are occasionally showing the sort of resolve and spirit that we don't seem to show frequently enough.
Although I agree in principal, they could look at our results against Man Utd and Man City at home and disagree. The wins against those three now also look like they'll be significant come May.
Man City was a gritty performance, that's true, but Man United was a win turned into a draw, and was three months ago now in any case.
It worries me a bit when West Ham manage to claw themselves back from 3 goals down away from home, and Wigan go to Anfield and get a point, having gone a goal down. I wonder if we have that spirit now, through to the end of the season.
Chelsea?
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Just done the BBC predictor thing... we will finish 11th on 45 points.
Small Heath finish 7th on 51 points
Relegated = West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn
Agree with the first bit as a quite likely result.
The final bit is also probably not too far from what will happen.
I'm not even going to contemplate the middle bit!!
In other news, the price of hallucinogenic drugs continues to plummet.
Small Heath are the lowest scorers in the league, which makes it quite shocking that they’re as high as they are in the league at the moment.
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This league is shite.
Stoke have lost their last 5 away and still remain comfortably in 9th.
I still reckon we'll finish up with 48 or 49 points and finish 9th or 10th, similar to MON's first season.
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Just done the BBC predictor thing... we will finish 11th on 45 points.
Small Heath finish 7th on 51 points
Relegated = West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn
Agree with the first bit as a quite likely result.
The final bit is also probably not too far from what will happen.
I'm not even going to contemplate the middle bit!!
In other news, the price of hallucinogenic drugs continues to plummet.
Small Heath are the lowest scorers in the league, which makes it quite shocking that they’re as high as they are in the league at the moment.
Ads, have a go yourself and see what you come up with -
"In other news, the price of hallucinogenic drugs continues to plummet" - all free up here on Merseyside mate, Its the only way we get by living in such a miserable, depressing hole ;)