Matches Top 6 Race 2023/24

[billyturleyscurlywurly]

Exactly this - we’ve been hamstrung all season by having totally inefficient cover in multiple areas. The cracks didn’t show in August or September, but by the time Des came in they certainly were. Remember Pompey? Ahead in that game against a now Championship side, then off the bench came Eastwood, Smyth at RB, O’Donkor and James Henry.

There is most certainly an argument that says that Des should have implemented a preferred style of play sooner, although he’s improving much more quickly as a manager than I feared he might a few weeks ago. And we most certainly wasted January as the opportunity to resolve some of the issues. The principle reason if we don’t make the playoffs though is the lack of squad depth. Manning said it was two to three windows to fix and he was right, you don’t get promoted carrying half a dozen or more who can’t contribute consistently.

I think I can agree with a lot of this however in terms of two to three windows to fix it..

Who is implementing this fix?

Because our January transfer window was one of the worst I can remember for a very long time. Dale was the only 1 out 6 signings who has worked.

Goodwin..

Edwards..

Burey..

Matete..

Cumming..

 

[SteMerritt]

I think I can agree with a lot of this however in terms of two to three windows to fix it..

Who is implementing this fix?

Because our January transfer window was one of the worst I can remember for a very long time. Dale was the only 1 out 6 signings who has worked.

Goodwin..

Edwards..

Burey..

Matete..

Cumming..

I think you can add Bennett to that list as a success, I know technically he was signed in December before the window, but for completeness add him in. Not that it shifts the needle very far anyway...

 

[WRox]

I think I can agree with a lot of this however in terms of two to three windows to fix it..

Who is implementing this fix?

Because our January transfer window was one of the worst I can remember for a very long time. Dale was the only 1 out 6 signings who has worked.

Goodwin..

Edwards..

Burey..

Matete..

Cumming..

If we had an excellent January window, we’d have been fine this season. Not easy to do due to player availability etc, but we didn’t need to spend £400k on one for the future while Lincoln picked up the safest of safe bets in Taylor scoring every week for a Colchester side creating next to nothing.

So we need that third window to fix things - and there’s no excuse really based on contracts ending and players available.

 

[MustardYellow]

Brilliant, along with your relentless positivity, you can use Google.

I know it's sometimes challenging for those of your age, there are classes you can attend though .

 

[holdsteady]

I think I can agree with a lot of this however in terms of two to three windows to fix it..

Who is implementing this fix?

Because our January transfer window was one of the worst I can remember for a very long time. Dale was the only 1 out 6 signings who has worked.

Goodwin..

Edwards..

Burey..

Matete..

Cumming..

Bennett was also signed in January, was already here but then so was Edwards.

Dale and Bennett have been a success.

Cummings has been alright, you can't bundle him in with the ones below.

Burey looked ok, no real end product for me but still strange how it went. falling out I assume.

Matete, Goodwin and Edwards were our old friend signing injured players, as usual it was a f**k up.

So thats two successes, one ok signing, a falling out and 3 crocks.

Better than last January, but not exactly a roaring success either. The January window is only ever a patch up, shows how important getting the summer one right is as only so much you can do during the season, but the glaring error for me is the injured players signed, 3 in that window is a bit ridiculous.

 

[Chippy]

Am I right in thinking Sky have cameras at every ground next week and one match showing live. Then is something happens in another game they show it?

Pompey are on the beach so I expect nothing from them, don't think Blackpool will get any change from Reading, Barnsley are having a good wobble so I fancy Northampton getting a result there, all the Yellows have to do is win at Exeter.

Hope you’re right, and Barnsley have been on a terrible run of form. My worry is Northampton have absolutely nothing to play for, and last Sat lost at home to Exeter who only had 10 men for over 45 mins, so not sure how bothered they will be!

I also think Exeter will be really up for it, final home league game in front of a sold out stadium. It’s still do-able and possible for us, but realistically the odds are against it.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Hope you’re right, and Barnsley have been on a terrible run of form. My worry is Northampton have absolutely nothing to play for, and last Sat lost at home to Exeter who only had 10 men for over 45 mins, so not sure how bothered they will be!

I also think Exeter will be really up for it, final home league game in front of a sold out stadium. It’s still do-able and possible for us, but realistically the odds are against it.

Northampton have nothing to play for which plays into Barnsley’s hands and makes it an easier prospect for Barnsley but Exeter who have nothing to play for, will be really up for it?

 

[MustardYellow]

Summary of the season:

16 games in, 2nd in the league 8 points above 6th with 2 games in hand on 4th and 1 on 5th. Manager leaves, uniting fans and players alike culminating in a good win away to Orient.

Des comes in, gets off to a poor start, taking him 5 games to get his first league win. We go through a couple of months of injury problems, maintaining the form of the poor start.

Injured players start to return and Des gets the transfer window, of which 2 you can call a success (Bennett & Dale). Cumming is meh. Matete, Edwards, Goodwin, Burey etc all a waste of time (and money). Form picks up slightly but still pretty poor, failing to beat any top 10 side (till Posh).

A late run of good form towards the end of the season, but failing to beat Lincoln & Stevenage when it truly mattered leaving us at the mercy of other results on the last game of the season.

Whatever you want to call it, we were in a great position and it hasn't been good enough since Des came in and that will potentially cost us a play-off spot.

 

[Chippy]

Northampton have nothing to play for which plays into Barnsley’s hands and makes it an easier prospect for Barnsley but Exeter who have nothing to play for, will be really up for it?

I think they will be yes, unbeaten for almost 2 months and 21 from their last 27 available points, including 13 from their last 15, and also including the win with 10 men on Sat.

I don’t see any sign that they will be a pushover and not bothered about the last game, given the run they have been on, especially with a packed out home crowd. We will have to be fully on our mettle to get 3 points that’s for sure.

 

[Ox4Eva]

Last game of the season form goes out the window, just win our game and see what happens!

 

[WRox]

Summary of the season:

16 games in, 2nd in the league 8 points above 6th with 2 games in hand on 4th and 1 on 5th. Manager leaves, uniting fans and players alike culminating in a good win away to Orient.

Des comes in, gets off to a poor start, taking him 5 games to get his first league win. We go through a couple of months of injury problems, maintaining the form of the poor start.

Injured players start to return and Des gets the transfer window, of which 2 you can call a success (Bennett & Dale). Cumming is meh. Matete, Edwards, Goodwin, Burey etc all a waste of time (and money). Form picks up slightly but still pretty poor, failing to beat any top 10 side (till Posh).

A late run of good form towards the end of the season, but failing to beat Lincoln & Stevenage when it truly mattered leaving us at the mercy of other results on the last game of the season.

Whatever you want to call it, we were in a great position and it hasn't been good enough since Des came in and that will potentially cost us a play-off spot.

Fair summary. I think the key point to add is that Des was way to slow to work out where the squad was in those early weeks and find a way to get results, but that late form seemed to be a reflection of him finding his feet as much as players returning or January signings making any difference.

Whatever happens Saturday, it feels to me like we’ve gone through the new manager transition now and have a platform to build from like we did last summer. After Bolton, that felt a million miles away.

 

[chromeyellow]

Summary of the season:

16 games in, 2nd in the league 8 points above 6th with 2 games in hand on 4th and 1 on 5th. Manager leaves, uniting fans and players alike culminating in a good win away to Orient.

Des comes in, gets off to a poor start, taking him 5 games to get his first league win. We go through a couple of months of injury problems, maintaining the form of the poor start.

Injured players start to return and Des gets the transfer window, of which 2 you can call a success (Bennett & Dale). Cumming is meh. Matete, Edwards, Goodwin, Burey etc all a waste of time (and money). Form picks up slightly but still pretty poor, failing to beat any top 10 side (till Posh).

A late run of good form towards the end of the season, but failing to beat Lincoln & Stevenage when it truly mattered leaving us at the mercy of other results on the last game of the season.

Whatever you want to call it, we were in a great position and it hasn't been good enough since Des came in and that will potentially cost us a play-off spot.

Aren't some of those signings Manning's? Cumming certainly. Manning's former keeper at Milton Keynes coming in after wunderkind Beadle left us (as he was always expected to I suspect) otherwise Cumming wouldn't have been lined up.

Mills is still our our second best source of assists

 

[Sheik djibouti]

I don't get all the hoo-haa about Edwards being a failed signing. Failed signings are ones that haven;t performed as expected. With Edwards, we've pretty much got exactly what we all expected, surely.

He was taken off Ipswich's hands by us to complete his re-hab. THEY paid up his contract and released him and who knows, maybe they've also contributed towards his rehab IF not already covered by player insurance, (which it probably is). I'm not sure anyone really expected him to make any real contribution again this season. THere was a HOPE that he might feature in April, but surely it was nothing more than that....was it?

Where he ends up beyond this season...and how much we "paid" for him or are paying him in the meantime is simply conjecture, but I'd hazard a guess that he'll do pre-season with us at the very least (if fit) and that we paid nothing for him and neither are we paying him very much either. Worth a low risk/high reward punt as far as I'm concerned. . . .bit like Murphy

 

[MateoCorbo'sTackle]

I think one of Lincoln or Barnsley will drop points; it's then down to how we approach Exeter. We need to go all out, press and play with urgency from minute one.
But I honestly don't know how I would feel about it, if it does go well. The fact that what we need to do on Saturday is something we've only really done in two games in the last four months, despite always having it in our locker, makes me feel increasingly like we don't deserve it.
For me, football only truly hurts through a sense of injustice. Little has been served on us this season.

 

[ttg17]

I think they will be yes, unbeaten for almost 2 months and 21 from their last 27 available points, including 13 from their last 15, and also including the win with 10 men on Sat.

I don’t see any sign that they will be a pushover and not bothered about the last game, given the run they have been on, especially with a packed out home crowd. We will have to be fully on our mettle to get 3 points that’s for sure.

Think it’s worth digging into this a bit.

Take a look at who they’ve actually beaten / picked up results against in that time. Other than beating a 10-man Posh in early Feb, they’ve lost against all of the other playoff/autos sides they’ve faced (Derby, Lincoln, Posh again). The only top half side they’ve actually faced and beaten was a Stevenage side in the midst of its wheels falling off. They’ve had some creditable draws - Bolton and Leyton jump out - but by and large their good results have come against the sides propping up the division (Cheltenham, Fleetwood, Port Vale, a Shrewsbury side that played 84 mins with 10 men). You can, of course, only beat what’s in front of you, and they’ll definitely be feeling confident, but the base stats you quote I think overstate just how impressive their run has been.

Ryan Woods, who was sent off on Saturday, has also played in every game for them at CM since he was signed on deadline day in January. He’s an experienced head, so his absence should hopefully be disruptive.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Dammit....my point of highlighting the absolute folly of blaming this on one individual was far too subtle it seems

OK - I will spell it out for those that didn't see through my ruse. Blaming Buckingham for this season is just as ridiculous as blaming Manning for it. The roots of why we are where we are go far deeper than that I'm afraid and I am astounded that more either can't, or simply refuse, to see that.

Doh. I such literalist yokel.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Still too many on the “we’ll beat Exeter and see what happens elsewhere” track.
Exeter are no mugs (I said the same about Stevenage when these same people were expecting a walk in the park) and certainly won’t want us to win in front of their own fans.
A draw would be a “good” result in the circumstances, although clearly a bad result in the context of league position.
Sorry, but we’ve left it too late.

 

[holdsteady]

Still too many on the “we’ll beat Exeter and see what happens elsewhere” track.
Exeter are no mugs (I said the same about Stevenage when these same people were expecting a walk in the park) and certainly won’t want us to win in front of their own fans.
A draw would be a “good” result in the circumstances, although clearly a bad result in the context of league position.
Sorry, but we’ve left it too late.

Maybe, but i reckon we should still go down there and play the game, even if just for appearance sake.

 

[Foley]

I think one of Lincoln or Barnsley will drop points; it's then down to how we approach Exeter. We need to go all out, press and play with urgency from minute one.
But I honestly don't know how I would feel about it, if it does go well. The fact that what we need to do on Saturday is something we've only really done in two games in the last four months, despite always having it in our locker, makes me feel increasingly like we don't deserve it.
For me, football only truly hurts through a sense of injustice. Little has been served on us this season.

I think that after 46 games you finish where you deserve.
If we get 77 points and get it, there is no doubt that we will deserve it.

 

[Foley]

Still too many on the “we’ll beat Exeter and see what happens elsewhere” track.
Exeter are no mugs (I said the same about Stevenage when these same people were expecting a walk in the park) and certainly won’t want us to win in front of their own fans.
A draw would be a “good” result in the circumstances, although clearly a bad result in the context of league position.
Sorry, but we’ve left it too late.

I am.not sure that anybody has assumed that we will best Exeter and yes it will be a tough game.
But we have to go and win against Exeter and then worry about other results. Not sure that is controversial and IF we win we have a chance. The players and supporters must NOT think that it us too late.