Why was Sheffield United one of our most winnable? This arrogance keeps rearing its head. We have nine games remaining and only three of them are above Sheffield United. Only Liverpool, in all four divisions, have conceded fewer and they've only lost two of their last twenty-three away games, against Liverpool and Man City.
We have seven wins, none of which are against teams in the top nine. We clearly need to improve that between now and the end of the season, but it doesn't make any of the matches against the elite teams "must win", at least not yet.Remaining matches against teams challenging near the top:Chelsea (h), Wolves (h), Liverpool (a), Man Utd (h), Arsenal (h)Other matches left:Newcastle (a), Palace (h), Everton (a), West Ham (a).If we can get four points against teams near the top that would leave us requiring two wins out of four of the "winnable" games to get to 36, which is usually enough just to scrape survival.Doesn't seem impossible, also doesn't mean that Chelsea is "must win" yet, either. Though oddly I fancy us more than I did on Wednesday.The enforced break and drinks breaks suit Sheffield United's intense style of play. They were about the worst team we could have started against, other than Liverpool.
By the time we play them I suspect Liverpool, Palace, Everton and Arsenal will all be 'on the beach', Liverpool will still be a tough match but the other 3 are all games we should be targeting for points. 6-8 points from those 4 games is definitely reasonable and would mean 5-6 from the others could easily be enough. What I'd really like is for us to win 1, fairly soon, by a decent margin so our goal difference isn't working against us.Looking through all the games I'd say Chelsea and Man U at home are the 2 'free hits' so I'd like us to be a bit braver in those games. To clarify all the other games are against teams with little to play for , a team in the battle with us or a local rival so they're the ones you'd target.
Quote from: paul_e on June 19, 2020, 11:36:45 AMBy the time we play them I suspect Liverpool, Palace, Everton and Arsenal will all be 'on the beach', Liverpool will still be a tough match but the other 3 are all games we should be targeting for points. 6-8 points from those 4 games is definitely reasonable and would mean 5-6 from the others could easily be enough. What I'd really like is for us to win 1, fairly soon, by a decent margin so our goal difference isn't working against us.Looking through all the games I'd say Chelsea and Man U at home are the 2 'free hits' so I'd like us to be a bit braver in those games. To clarify all the other games are against teams with little to play for , a team in the battle with us or a local rival so they're the ones you'd target.We talk about Manchester United being a free hit and Sheffield United being a must-win/if we can't beat them who can we beat? yet the reality is that there's one point and one league place between them.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on June 19, 2020, 11:41:14 AMQuote from: paul_e on June 19, 2020, 11:36:45 AMBy the time we play them I suspect Liverpool, Palace, Everton and Arsenal will all be 'on the beach', Liverpool will still be a tough match but the other 3 are all games we should be targeting for points. 6-8 points from those 4 games is definitely reasonable and would mean 5-6 from the others could easily be enough. What I'd really like is for us to win 1, fairly soon, by a decent margin so our goal difference isn't working against us.Looking through all the games I'd say Chelsea and Man U at home are the 2 'free hits' so I'd like us to be a bit braver in those games. To clarify all the other games are against teams with little to play for , a team in the battle with us or a local rival so they're the ones you'd target.We talk about Manchester United being a free hit and Sheffield United being a must-win/if we can't beat them who can we beat? yet the reality is that there's one point and one league place between them. I never claimed sheff utd was a must win and all I mean by free hit is that they have as much to play for as well do, I'd have said the same about Sheff UTd if it hadn't been the first game back. As it was we needed to avoid a defeat and put in a decent performance to build on. I think we did exactly that and I'm not sure why so many people are determined to see Wednesday as 2 points dropped.
Sorry - I know you didn't say that; I was using it as an example to support what you say. There's a strange double standard that's saying becasue we didn't beat what looked like poor opposition we're doomed, when more valid is the belief that we were better than a top six side, which is encouraging.
Quote from: dave.woodhall on June 19, 2020, 02:55:23 PMSorry - I know you didn't say that; I was using it as an example to support what you say. There's a strange double standard that's saying becasue we didn't beat what looked like poor opposition we're doomed, when more valid is the belief that we were better than a top six side, which is encouraging. I wasn't sure so I just wanted to clarify what I meant by free hit.For me not losing and avoiding injuries/bans were the top priorities for Wednesday, doing it with a good performance and then a win came after that. The games are coming thick and fast now, keeping as many players as possible available will be the biggest difference between the clubs near the bottom.
I’ve really missed not having to worry about “I hope Southampton are motivated for tonight”.