Promotion Maths

[mr underhill]

I'd never previously walked out on a Villa performance but I did that night. Total shite which finished me off before an hour had been played.

[SoccerHQ]

Opening 20 minutes we were quite decent v Barnsley but again shows our fragile nature when we concede first. I've seen far worse anyway.

By all accounts Wigan at home was a horrendous game of football but we won that late so it gets forgotten.

[AV82EC]

Oh well, fun while it lasted but calculators away and look forward to the derby.

UTV!

[oldtimernow]

it's the hope that kills you

[curiousorange]

Even though I knew the playoffs weren't going to happen, this afternoon annoyed me far more than a stroll at a non-league ground should have.

[TopDeck113]

Best thing to do now is to decide who we want to get promoted via the playoffs, i.e. who would be the biggest challengers to the Villa next season. I'll go with Leeds, followed by Derby.

[AV82EC]

Let's be honest we were always likely to draw/lose a game at some point, it was a massive ask to win all our games. But whilst it was still possible why not dream and hope, this is supposed to be fun after all.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Best thing to do now is to decide who we want to get promoted via the playoffs, i.e. who would be the biggest challengers to the Villa next season. I'll go with Leeds, followed by Derby.

Sheff Weds will be there or there about next season. They're sinking now due to all the injuries they've had in the last few months.

[mr underhill]

they usually are but always look like bridesmaids to me. MiddlesVilla will be a threat if they drop, personally if Leeds don't go up, I can't see them sustaining another tilt next season - there's nothing in past Chumps league campaigns to suggest they can.

[IFWaters]

Lock the thread !!!

etc

[ChicagoLion]

Lock the thread !!!

etc

Believe ;-)

[Abbeyfealeavfc]

The way I see it, RDM's ineffectual management and inability to see out games from winning positions cost us the chance of automatic promotion. Bruce's brain-freeze in Jan and Feb regarding team selection, formations and tactics cost us the chance of a play off position. My own expectations this year were to arrest the slide started by Lerner's mis-management over many seasons and to consolidate. We've done that winning 12 more games and 41 more points, to date. I know this has been done in the championship, but it had to be done somewhere. Besides the holy grail of the premier league is not all it's made out to be. In my view you could swop any of the teams in the premier league from the bitters down with any of the top half teams in the championship and you wouldn't notice much difference only in the amount of money splashing around. Expectations next season are to get promoted, hopefully by playing better football, scoring more goals and winning more away games!! UTV VTID

[mr underhill]

I agree with a lot of that. I can't remember who they were playing, but I was watching a Watford game at VP on the monitors comparatively recently before kick off, and it was dire turgid stuff - several teams at VP this season have struck me as being quite handy and certainly no worse than middle to bottom-ish PL sides. The ACON seemed to really disrupt us in January and, as you say, Bruce didn't respond well - however, for me, the real damage was done in the first quarter of the season - one win and nine ( I think) draws from the first 12 was appalling and was always going to leave the proverbial mountain to climb, particularly as the top three or four have hardly changed since.

[old man villa fan]

I agree with a lot of that. I can't remember who they were playing, but I was watching a Watford game at VP on the monitors comparatively recently before kick off, and it was dire turgid stuff - several teams at VP this season have struck me as being quite handy and certainly no worse than middle to bottom-ish PL sides. The ACON seemed to really disrupt us in January and, as you say, Bruce didn't respond well - however, for me, the real damage was done in the first quarter of the season - one win and nine ( I think) draws from the first 12 was appalling and was always going to leave the proverbial mountain to climb, particularly as the top three or four have hardly changed since.

The team was always going to take time to settle with so many new players.  Also finding out some of the players we kept and some of the new players were not good enough but that was only going to be through seeing them play together.  How many posters on here said so and so will be ok in the Championship or he was a good buy for where we are.

I think many lose sight of the turn around needed at the start of the season and only see the results of the spell under RDM.  Granted, Bruce took over a side heading down but it was clear what he had to focus on and the players he could rely on.  RDM did not have that luxury and spent most of the preseason turning over the squad, rather than coaching/improving fitness.

[avfcdale]

Could now still get into playoffs if Reading get blocked by the premier league, due to them not meeting fit and proper owners for premier league.