The Plot To Escape Relegation Thread - 2016

[oldhill_avfc]

Liverpool Home - 3
Stoke Away - 1 (3)
Everton Home - 0
Citeh Away - 0
Spuds Home - 0
Swansea Away - 3
Chelsea Home - 0
Bournemouth Home - 3
Manure Away - 0
Southampton Home - 3
Watford Away - 1 (3)
Newcastle Home - 1 (3)
Arsenal Away - 0

Realistic - 15 points,  Optimistic - 21

[montague]

Leicester last year last 13 games were won 7 drew 3 lost 3, probably exactly what we need to do now. Two wins and a draw in the next 3 games would make it interesting.

[ozzjim]

If we are within 4 points after the next 5 games I think we have an outside chance. Right now though we are about 92% chance of going based on previous seasons etc. We would need Gabby to go on a Vardy like run of goals, one of the midfielders become a latter day Platt and Lescott to channel McGrath to the last game.

Mind you if fit, I would be sorely tempted to start Gabby and Gestede this weekend, Gestede has some sort of odd hex over their defence.

[SoccerHQ]

Anyone else a bit bemused last night by Keown saying we were dead and buried and playing for pride (not a strange view) but then saying in the same breath Sunderland have a great chance of staying up?! The gap is 4 points, smaller distance than between Leicester and Arsenal.

It's not impossible that if we get 4 points from the next two we could be above Sunderland or one point behind them.

I like Keown as a pundit but just thought it was odd statement.

[DeKuip]

Anyone else a bit bemused last night by Keown saying we were dead and buried and playing for pride (not a strange view) but then saying in the same breath Sunderland have a great chance of staying up?! The gap is 4 points, smaller distance than between Leicester and Arsenal.

It's not impossible that if we get 4 points from the next two we could be above Sunderland or one point behind them.

I like Keown as a pundit but just thought it was odd statement.

Not really, with Defoe in the team Sunderland have more chance of winning games than we do. We're defending better but in reality we don't have enough goalscoring capability in the team to turn draws into wins or rescue points when we fall behind like Sunderland managed on Saturday.

[rougegorge]

It's going to be really hard to get out of this; even though we did much better on Saturday it's in the context of opponents who are in free-fall at the moment.

At the same stage last year Leicester were within 9 points of 6 other teams.

Pld     F     A   Pts 13   C Palace   24   26   34   26 14   Sun'land   25   22   36   24 15   Hull           25   23   34   23 16   WBA         24   22   34   23 17   QPR          25   26   43   22 18   Villa          25   12   34   22 19   Burnley     24   23   40   21 20   Leicester  25   22   40   17

We only have 3 teams currently within that range and we have to get past 3 other sides.

We were 19th at this stage three seasons ago after an appalling league and cup run, but had another 7 sides within 9 points.

At the risk of sounding like someone who made poor football and results almost an acceptable norm, we just have to keep going.

[SoccerHQ]

Anyone else a bit bemused last night by Keown saying we were dead and buried and playing for pride (not a strange view) but then saying in the same breath Sunderland have a great chance of staying up?! The gap is 4 points, smaller distance than between Leicester and Arsenal.

It's not impossible that if we get 4 points from the next two we could be above Sunderland or one point behind them.

I like Keown as a pundit but just thought it was odd statement.

Not really, with Defoe in the team Sunderland have more chance of winning games than we do. We're defending better but in reality we don't have enough goalscoring capability in the team to turn draws into wins or rescue points when we fall behind like Sunderland managed on Saturday.

It balances out though, Sunderland back 4 as a unit is worse than ours so I think they'll concede more than we do in the run in.

[Risso]

The table would look very different now if we hadn't been cheated out of at least 4 points in the last few games, but there we go.

If we're going to stand a chance, and it would only be a remote chance, we need to string a couple more wins together in short order.  Liverpool, Stoke and Everton are all perfectly beatable on their day, and two wins out of those would have those above us starting to worry again.  For most of the season, I expect they've all been fighting to avoid the final two relegation places, rather than all three, so we need to do it now.  No point waiting for us to get relegated THEN winning three games on the bounce once the pressure is off.

[KevinGage]

Aye, I think three on the  bounce will do it - give us a fighting chance, that is.

That, or doing what QPR managed a few years back under Hughes in his first season,  with a run of winning most of their remaining home games.

If we had even a vaguely competent Premier League centre forward I'd be much more confident.

But then if we had one of those, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

[IFWaters]

I think the next 2 games we really have to narrow the gap on those above us. It will put them under a lot of pressure.

Us - Liverpool at home, Stoke away - we have to aim for 4 points, take us on to 20.
Sunderland - Man U at home, West Ham away, say 1 point, 21 points.
Norwich - West Ham at home, Leicester away, 1 point, 24 points.
Newcastle - Chelsea away, home to Man City postponed due to LC Final, so 0 pts, 24 points.
Swansea - Southampton home, Tottenham away, 1 point, 28 points

I dont think the above is la la land, by the end of Feb we could be right back in it.

[BC Villain]

Another little Englander?

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2016/02/08/tony-gale-urges-remi-garde-to-stick-by-aston-villas-british-play/?utm_medium=share%20service&utm_campaign=social%20media&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=HITCastonvilla

[The Laughing Policeman]

Tony fucking Gale? He's just a bag of wind.

[German James]

"Villa need to persist with the British players ahead of some of the foreign players because they know what's needed in the relegation fight."

No relegation in France, then?

[Ian.]

"Villa need to persist with the British players ahead of some of the foreign players because they know what's needed in the relegation fight."

No relegation in France, then?

Ok then, so we drop our foreign contingent for who exactly?
Bring in Sinclair, Hutton, Clark and Richards? That'll do it, we're saved. I hope your reading this Remi.

[cdbearsfan]

I expect Gale probably regards Clark and Hutton as "foreign",  anyway.