I am thinking 7/7 homewins and we stay up. However Man Utd very difficult and Liverpool difficult. Therefore apart from these two games we have to win all our other 5 home games and pick up a couple of away wins.
To be fair it is not sounding likely given our inability to defend.
Hopefully Wolves/Wigan/QPR/Bolton don't pick up results and maybe 37 points will be enough.
Then we can do all this next season.
Good article Renthehen. I think it is human nature to search for positives when seemingly few exist.
Unfortunately, Walkden sums it up in that we have an absolute mountain to climb and there is little point kidding ourselves we can win all remaining home games after losing 9 out of 12 to date. Winning away will take some doing as well as we have only managed that once all season also.
Sorry as I know you are searching for positives. My positives from this season are;
1) Yakubu. Brilliant performance from someone rumoured to be in his late 40's and perhaps the best buy of the season along with Demba Ba.
2) Jason Lowe - To be thrust into the first team at an early age in a new position and to perform so consistently has been very pleasing.
3) Hanley and Henley - Two young defenders who have grown into the roles asked of them and done well.
4) Samba - pre toys out of pram. Immense all season and we would be marooned and isolated already if he had been missing all season.
5) Hard to quantify the finite benefits, but all newer players have some experience of the club and the PL now.
Again the positives are few and far between and mine also are very weak indeed. A huge list of negatives at the tip of my tongue, including 3 assistant managers, lack of class displayed to good servants leaving the club, drink driving of manager and players and perhaps most telling and lasting, shortfall of around 22% in recent home attendances.
Another positive is that each passing day brings us closer to when the bald clown leaves along with the ridiculous venkys.
Agree with 1 and 4. For me the only things that will keep us up this season are Yakubu and other teams being dreadful. Its happened often enough now that everyone can predict how the other aspects of the club pan out:
Venkys stay away.
Kean goes on occasional random good runs amid long periods of rubbish.
We continue to drop points against teams we really shouldn't and pick up points against teams we really shouldn't.
The numbers point to relegation though. 18 points from 24 games = 0.75 ppg = 29 points by the end of the season. Even with the bottom 5 struggling as they are, we'll still need close to 35.
what I find depressing is that you have the likes of Norwich and Swansea sat comfortably in mid-table. Just goes to show what a half decent manager can do for you.
OOJW, thanks for the kind words on the article, much appreciated.
Can't believe I forgot about Jason Lowe though, that is one of the main positives from this season for sure, he has been brilliant for this his first full season in the starting team! I'll blame it on the fact I wrote this article late last night...
Agree with your other positives too, shame that all the positives that we come up with are so weak compared to the negatives.
Agree with everyone else that has commented also, think it will be hard for us to stay up and blueandwhitehalves, makes a good point, Yakubu and other teams being dreadful are the only things that I can see that will keep us up I fear, which is not a great position to be in, it could be enough, here's hoping. Well thats barring a miracle of course and Kean learns how to make the team defend as a unit, but that is wishful thinking.
Oh one more positive that everyone has forgotten, the beautiful football we've been playing since the evil overlord Allardyce was sacked.
SKL- can't comment- I must have been getting a pie and bovril when this beautiful football broke out- which game was it
I'll give you it is more exciting- who would think into the 90th minute we could give two goals away (when the ball should have been bouncing off the Jack Walker stand roof) and end up winning 4-3 in o/t.
If only we could score 4 every game.
O yes, Kean is a genius, we are going to be the new Barcelona with all the silky skills on display. So glad we don't have to rely on set-pieces any more like we did under the 'awful' BSA, we were down for automatic relagation to the Conference from the Premiership due to our awful style of football not being allowed under new rule changes. .
Perhaps it is more exciting, unfortunately we are more often than not on the wrong end of the result, which now more than ever is not what we need. We need wins.
(Positive, Positive, Positive...)
comment by Steve Kean's Lobotomist (U6398)
posted 5 hours, 5 minutes ago
Oh one more positive that everyone has forgotten, the beautiful football we've been playing since the evil overlord Allardyce was sacked.
---------------------------------
I don't know if you're being sarcy or not, so I'll answer as if you're not.
"Pretty" football only works if you are actually good at it, and can stop yourself conceding every game (see Barcelona/Swansea). If you are genuinely suggesting that relegation is a decent enough swap for pretty football you're insane (imo of course).
Personally I found Allardyce's brand of football wasn't as bad as everyone makes out - he knew what style to use in what games, and with him at the helm we sure wouldn't be in this predicament.
I apologise, however, if you WERE being sarcy
As much as people didn't like SA's style of football, I enjoyed the feeling before the match of thinking we could get something out of any game. No matter who were up against.
Sure it didn't always go to plan, but it went to plan a LOT more often than it does now. We played good football then, because we got a decent amount of positive results, no matter if the style of football by some was not deemed as good or 'pretty'.
Ok Can't help but wade in on the "anti-football" stuff, its simply a fallacy created and emphasised through the following:
People who complained were those we beat, they were frustrated, trying to play a certain way and we countered it.
People talk about how "well they played" or "how attractive" when they get beaten when looking for some shred of comfort.
Fashionable teams use "Long-ball" or "training ground work" or "mix it up" Less fashionable clubs play "hoofball" or "anti-football" they are all the same!
Teams that want clubs like Rovers to "play on the floor" are those with players around the 20million mark who have the skill to do so. We are lauded when we do soley because they beat us, they never say what beautiful football we play if we beat them!
Finally its this simple, If I (BRFC) was forced to fight someone like say Amir Khan (Man City) (can't think of why someone would force me to fight Him but was first name I thought of) I would use My strengths, I'm not going to out box the guy so would just kick him in balls and win!
MJRovers
So true. I would take SA back in a heartbeat. He understood the set-up at the club and how to get the best out of what we had. We did a lot better when he was in charge, and I enjoyed the results at the end of the day. Sure we didn't play like Barcelona, but I didn't expect us too. We won games and I loved every second of that. Like you say, the people who brought that argument up against us were always the teams we beat. We played to our strengths and it showed in the results, I was more than happy under SA, our 'unfashionable club' was upsetting the apple cart, and that made me very happy. Shame there seems to be such a reliance on playing a certain way nowadays, there isn't only one way to play football. No matter what the media and certain fans lead us to believe.
I thought my sarcasm was pretty clear.
I quite liked being able to absorb a bit of pressure and then get a goal out of nothing (/ set piece). Being able to win a game that you didn't dominate was quite a luxury.
Now we have to completely out play a team to have even the feintest chance of winning. Everytime the opposition puts us under any kind of pressure, we concede.
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posted on 7/2/12
I am thinking 7/7 homewins and we stay up. However Man Utd very difficult and Liverpool difficult. Therefore apart from these two games we have to win all our other 5 home games and pick up a couple of away wins.
To be fair it is not sounding likely given our inability to defend.
Hopefully Wolves/Wigan/QPR/Bolton don't pick up results and maybe 37 points will be enough.
Then we can do all this next season.
posted on 7/2/12
Good article Renthehen. I think it is human nature to search for positives when seemingly few exist.
Unfortunately, Walkden sums it up in that we have an absolute mountain to climb and there is little point kidding ourselves we can win all remaining home games after losing 9 out of 12 to date. Winning away will take some doing as well as we have only managed that once all season also.
Sorry as I know you are searching for positives. My positives from this season are;
1) Yakubu. Brilliant performance from someone rumoured to be in his late 40's and perhaps the best buy of the season along with Demba Ba.
2) Jason Lowe - To be thrust into the first team at an early age in a new position and to perform so consistently has been very pleasing.
3) Hanley and Henley - Two young defenders who have grown into the roles asked of them and done well.
4) Samba - pre toys out of pram. Immense all season and we would be marooned and isolated already if he had been missing all season.
5) Hard to quantify the finite benefits, but all newer players have some experience of the club and the PL now.
Again the positives are few and far between and mine also are very weak indeed. A huge list of negatives at the tip of my tongue, including 3 assistant managers, lack of class displayed to good servants leaving the club, drink driving of manager and players and perhaps most telling and lasting, shortfall of around 22% in recent home attendances.
posted on 7/2/12
Another positive is that each passing day brings us closer to when the bald clown leaves along with the ridiculous venkys.
posted on 7/2/12
Agree with 1 and 4. For me the only things that will keep us up this season are Yakubu and other teams being dreadful. Its happened often enough now that everyone can predict how the other aspects of the club pan out:
Venkys stay away.
Kean goes on occasional random good runs amid long periods of rubbish.
We continue to drop points against teams we really shouldn't and pick up points against teams we really shouldn't.
The numbers point to relegation though. 18 points from 24 games = 0.75 ppg = 29 points by the end of the season. Even with the bottom 5 struggling as they are, we'll still need close to 35.
posted on 7/2/12
what I find depressing is that you have the likes of Norwich and Swansea sat comfortably in mid-table. Just goes to show what a half decent manager can do for you.
posted on 7/2/12
OOJW, thanks for the kind words on the article, much appreciated.
Can't believe I forgot about Jason Lowe though, that is one of the main positives from this season for sure, he has been brilliant for this his first full season in the starting team! I'll blame it on the fact I wrote this article late last night...
Agree with your other positives too, shame that all the positives that we come up with are so weak compared to the negatives.
Agree with everyone else that has commented also, think it will be hard for us to stay up and blueandwhitehalves, makes a good point, Yakubu and other teams being dreadful are the only things that I can see that will keep us up I fear, which is not a great position to be in, it could be enough, here's hoping. Well thats barring a miracle of course and Kean learns how to make the team defend as a unit, but that is wishful thinking.
posted on 7/2/12
Oh one more positive that everyone has forgotten, the beautiful football we've been playing since the evil overlord Allardyce was sacked.
posted on 7/2/12
SKL- can't comment- I must have been getting a pie and bovril when this beautiful football broke out- which game was it
I'll give you it is more exciting- who would think into the 90th minute we could give two goals away (when the ball should have been bouncing off the Jack Walker stand roof) and end up winning 4-3 in o/t.
If only we could score 4 every game.
posted on 7/2/12
O yes, Kean is a genius, we are going to be the new Barcelona with all the silky skills on display. So glad we don't have to rely on set-pieces any more like we did under the 'awful' BSA, we were down for automatic relagation to the Conference from the Premiership due to our awful style of football not being allowed under new rule changes. .
Perhaps it is more exciting, unfortunately we are more often than not on the wrong end of the result, which now more than ever is not what we need. We need wins.
(Positive, Positive, Positive...)
posted on 7/2/12
comment by Steve Kean's Lobotomist (U6398)
posted 5 hours, 5 minutes ago
Oh one more positive that everyone has forgotten, the beautiful football we've been playing since the evil overlord Allardyce was sacked.
---------------------------------
I don't know if you're being sarcy or not, so I'll answer as if you're not.
"Pretty" football only works if you are actually good at it, and can stop yourself conceding every game (see Barcelona/Swansea). If you are genuinely suggesting that relegation is a decent enough swap for pretty football you're insane (imo of course).
Personally I found Allardyce's brand of football wasn't as bad as everyone makes out - he knew what style to use in what games, and with him at the helm we sure wouldn't be in this predicament.
I apologise, however, if you WERE being sarcy
posted on 7/2/12
As much as people didn't like SA's style of football, I enjoyed the feeling before the match of thinking we could get something out of any game. No matter who were up against.
Sure it didn't always go to plan, but it went to plan a LOT more often than it does now. We played good football then, because we got a decent amount of positive results, no matter if the style of football by some was not deemed as good or 'pretty'.
posted on 7/2/12
Ok Can't help but wade in on the "anti-football" stuff, its simply a fallacy created and emphasised through the following:
People who complained were those we beat, they were frustrated, trying to play a certain way and we countered it.
People talk about how "well they played" or "how attractive" when they get beaten when looking for some shred of comfort.
Fashionable teams use "Long-ball" or "training ground work" or "mix it up" Less fashionable clubs play "hoofball" or "anti-football" they are all the same!
Teams that want clubs like Rovers to "play on the floor" are those with players around the 20million mark who have the skill to do so. We are lauded when we do soley because they beat us, they never say what beautiful football we play if we beat them!
Finally its this simple, If I (BRFC) was forced to fight someone like say Amir Khan (Man City) (can't think of why someone would force me to fight Him but was first name I thought of) I would use My strengths, I'm not going to out box the guy so would just kick him in balls and win!
posted on 7/2/12
MJRovers
So true. I would take SA back in a heartbeat. He understood the set-up at the club and how to get the best out of what we had. We did a lot better when he was in charge, and I enjoyed the results at the end of the day. Sure we didn't play like Barcelona, but I didn't expect us too. We won games and I loved every second of that. Like you say, the people who brought that argument up against us were always the teams we beat. We played to our strengths and it showed in the results, I was more than happy under SA, our 'unfashionable club' was upsetting the apple cart, and that made me very happy. Shame there seems to be such a reliance on playing a certain way nowadays, there isn't only one way to play football. No matter what the media and certain fans lead us to believe.
posted on 8/2/12
I thought my sarcasm was pretty clear.
I quite liked being able to absorb a bit of pressure and then get a goal out of nothing (/ set piece). Being able to win a game that you didn't dominate was quite a luxury.
Now we have to completely out play a team to have even the feintest chance of winning. Everytime the opposition puts us under any kind of pressure, we concede.
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