We Dared to Dream???

[Keith]

That 7th place is still up for grabs...

Remaining Fixtures.
Chesterfield (7th)
v Gillingham (6th)
v Accrington Stanley (16th)
v Bradford (9th)

Shrewsbury (8th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Lincoln (12th)
v Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)

Bradford (9th)
v Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Chesterfield (7th)

Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)
v Bradford (9th)
v Brentford (1st)
v Notts County (18th)
v Shrewsbury (8th)

Morecambe (11th)
v Notts County (18th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Exeter (2nd)
v Bournmouth (21st)

As it stands, I think we have the easiest run in. As a rough guide, add up the positions currently occupied by each team, then divide by the number of games left to get an 'average position', Dagenham & Redbridge have the toughest run in followed by Bradford & Chesterfield. Shrewsbury are probably favorite to take that final spot but it could be VERY tight and may yet go to the last game of the season. Shame our goal difference isn't better but hey, to even be talking about the play offs with four games left? Superb effort lads.

[ezz]

How many of Shrews games are at home?

[steve mfc]

That 7th place is still up for grabs...

Remaining Fixtures.
Chesterfield (7th)
v Gillingham (6th)
v Accrington Stanley (16th)
v Bradford (9th)

Shrewsbury (8th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Lincoln (12th)
v Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)

Bradford (9th)
v Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Chesterfield (7th)

Dagenham & Redbridge (10th)
v Bradford (9th)
v Brentford (1st)
v Notts County (18th)
v Shrewsbury (8th)

Morecambe (11th)
v Notts County (18th)
v Rotherham (14th)
v Exeter (2nd)
v Bournmouth (21st)

As it stands, I think we have the easiest run in. As a rough guide, add up the positions currently occupied by each team, then divide by the number of games left to get an 'average position', Dagenham & Redbridge have the toughest run in followed by Bradford & Chesterfield. Shrewsbury are probably favorite to take that final spot but it could be VERY tight and may yet go to the last game of the season. Shame our goal difference isn't better but hey, to even be talking about the play offs with four games left? Superb effort lads.

Over the last six games we have the best form.

Chesterfield 8pts
Shrewsbury 5pts
Bradford 3pts
Dagenham 10pts
Morecambe 11pts

I'm not sure that it counts for to much when you get down to the last few games, its about who can handle the pressure as much as anything, but it does give us ground for optimism and after all its not the first time we have made a late push for the play offs.

[Keith]

The other point of interest of course, is that much of our current squad have been there before. Pressure? What pressure?

I still think we're a couple of points short but if others slip up, we could be in there. Shrewsbury appear to have the easiest run in but they are on a really bad stretch of form, with no wins in seven games. There are going to be points dropped, that is for sure. I can see us going in to the last game of the season more worried about how everyone else is doing than ourselves!

[Christies Child]

The other point of interest of course, is that much of our current squad have been there before. Pressure? What pressure?

I still think we're a couple of points short but if others slip up, we could be in there. Shrewsbury appear to have the easiest run in but they are on a really bad stretch of form, with no wins in seven games. There are going to be points dropped, that is for sure. I can see us going in to the last game of the season more worried about how everyone else is doing than ourselves!

......and it's v Bournemouth who could be fighting for league survival. Imagine the implications of that game for both clubs.

[james456]

I've also spent the last 10 minutes looking at the table and fixtures and I honestly think we are in with a shout.

In summary...

- We are only 4 points off 7th place
- We have a game in hand over all the teams around us (save daggers) so if we win it, we're only 1 point off 7th place.
- All our remaining games are winnable.

Notts= winnable. They are 18th and won't have anything to play for.
Rotheram= winnable. They are a decent side but probably won't have anything to play for either.
Exeter= Hardest game. They will really want to win this game to secure automatic promotion but they were lucky to escape with a point against us earlier in the season and if we win the previous two games, we can go into this one with every chance of getting a result.
Bournemouth= Winnable. Bad team who will probably have nothing to play for.


When you think about it, we are much closer than you might think.

[Duffman]

Thanks for that Keith, saved me some time looking. I think it all hinges on the Exeter game. If we're still in with a shout and can get a point there, the last game of the season will be quite exciting to say the least.

I wouldn't mind another trip to Wembley myself.

[outsider]

why not lets all dream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YikMhfKm ... re=related

[ezz]

I also think you should add Gillingham in there, i honestly think they're going to pick up very few points in their last few days

[morecambe mick]

why not lets all dream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YikMhfKm ... re=related

That is really disappointing Outsider, I thought it was going to be a vid of our last trip to Wembley

[marky No.1]

How many of Shrews games are at home?

Away to Rotherham
Home to Lincoln
Last game Dagenham Away

With Chesterfield at home to Bradford on the final day there really will be some twitchy bottoms about

shelfstacker.jpg

[marky No.1]

As it stands, I think we have the easiest run in. As a rough guide, add up the positions currently occupied by each team, then divide by the number of games left to get an 'average position',

I know you are being positive Keith but the flaw in the system is that without the points deductions Rotherham would be 2nd and Bournemouth 15th - so not just as easy

[Keith]

I know you are being positive Keith but the flaw in the system is that without the points deductions Rotherham would be 2nd and Bournemouth 15th - so not just as easy

As I was writing it, I wondered if anyone would pick up on that fact! You are right though, I was being positive! At the end of the day, it is great to even be posting such positive messages this close to the end of the season.

[Christies Child]

There can be few if any who would have even contemplated being in the position we are now in immeadiately following the abject failure of a performance or otherwsie at Accy.

Just goes to show 'it's a funny old game'....

Even if we don't manage to get a play off position, the last few weeks have given us all a buzz similar to that we experienced only 2 seasons ago as we 'lived the dream' in our effort to get to Wembley...... at the very least.

[parceldave]

The other point of interest of course, is that much of our current squad have been there before. Pressure? What pressure?

I still think we're a couple of points short but if others slip up, we could be in there. Shrewsbury appear to have the easiest run in but they are on a really bad stretch of form, with no wins in seven games. There are going to be points dropped, that is for sure. I can see us going in to the last game of the season more worried about how everyone else is doing than ourselves!

......and it's v Bournemouth who could be fighting for league survival. Imagine the implications of that game for both clubs.

Just hope they didn't get their Goallie from Tamworth.

[Crooky MFC]

I wonder what these teams will be thinking though who are playing us. We have only been beaten once in 15 games, thats a fantastic record. Let's not forget, we just beat Bradford, one of the teams challenging for that last spot.

The pressure isn't on us as we arent expected to make the playoffs, whereas teams like Bradford, Chesterfield & Shrewsbury will have had their eyes set on the top 7 from day 1. Let's enjoy these last few games and see where it puts us, starting at home to Notts on Saturday.

[steve mfc]

Just had a look round the forums of the teams chasing that final play off place, though we do get a couple of mentions as a contender the general consensus is that its between Chesterfield, Shrewsbury, Bradford and Dagenham.

If we win against Notts County on Saturday then that opinion might change, especially with 7th v 6th and 10th v 9th plus Shrewsbury at Rotherham.

Its a massive game, even bigger than our cup final last week , being serious though i hope some of the casual support that was at the Bradford game come back for this one, the team really deserve a good turnout.

[RedRedWine1]

There can be few if any who would have even contemplated being in the position we are now in immeadiately following the abject failure of a performance or otherwsie at Accy.

Quite right, I didn't think we'd do as well as we have. But the Accy game was one bad performance in the middle of a decent run. I was confident after the performances during December that we would be quite comfortable in the league, safe in the knowledge that so long as we continued to put in good performances the results would soon follow.

To me, the Accy game gets far too much attention and even recognition as some sort of 'turning-point' in our season. IMO, that's simply not the case. Stanley is close enough for most people to be to get as an away game, as such the poor performance was magnified is perhaps a close truth. If we had put in the same shift against Luton or some other side far away that 50-100 of us get to then I doubt it would have even registered on the radar. We were far poorer at Notts County than at Stanley for example, and since that game I bet we've amassed enough points to be positioned in the automatic promotion positions for the period.

[Christies Child]

There can be few if any who would have even contemplated being in the position we are now in immeadiately following the abject failure of a performance or otherwsie at Accy.

Quite right, I didn't think we'd do as well as we have. But the Accy game was one bad performance in the middle of a decent run. I was confident after the performances during December that we would be quite comfortable in the league, safe in the knowledge that so long as we continued to put in good performances the results would soon follow.

To me, the Accy game gets far too much attention and even recognition as some sort of 'turning-point' in our season. IMO, that's simply not the case. Stanley is close enough for most people to be to get as an away game, as such the poor performance was magnified is perhaps a close truth. If we had put in the same shift against Luton or some other side far away that 50-100 of us get to then I doubt it would have even registered on the radar. We were far poorer at Notts County than at Stanley for example, and since that game I bet we've amassed enough points to be positioned in the automatic promotion positions for the period.

From the comments made by Sammy and others post Accrington, I believe that the aftermath of that game and the subsequent 'team' discussion has been paramount in our recent run. It takes a performance (?) such as that to bring everything to the fore and credit to everybody involved, the results since have surely exceeded everybodies expectations..even the most optomistic of us.

[slackAlice]

CC

From the comments made by Sammy and others post Accrington, I believe that the aftermath of that game and the subsequent 'team' discussion has been paramount in our recent run. It takes a performance (?) such as that to bring everything to the fore and credit to everybody involved, the results since have surely exceeded everybodies expectations..even the most optomistic of us.

Spot on ... there can be no doubt there was some straight talking after 'that' game. The match stats for 10 games pre-Accy Won 3 , Drawn 3 & lost 4. Post Accy ; Won 5 , Drawn 5. We've only lost 1 game since then 27th January ! But Stats don't tell the whole story - its that battling mentality and team spirit that has accompanied some excellent results / performances.
You could argue about what was actually said till the cows come home ;but I remain convinced that following that performance at Accy there was a change in the teams subsequent performances.

[Keith]

CC

Spot on ...

Words rarely seen together in the same post!

[Christies Child]

CC

Spot on ...

Words rarely seen together in the same post!

[The Fury]

The other point of interest of course, is that much of our current squad have been there before. Pressure? What pressure?

I still think we're a couple of points short but if others slip up, we could be in there. Shrewsbury appear to have the easiest run in but they are on a really bad stretch of form, with no wins in seven games. There are going to be points dropped, that is for sure. I can see us going in to the last game of the season more worried about how everyone else is doing than ourselves!

......and it's v Bournemouth who could be fighting for league survival. Imagine the implications of that game for both clubs.

Just hope they didn't get their Goallie from Tamworth.

One Ryan Price wasn't it? A man Sammy knows very well.

As much as the following sentence makes me desire to be exposed to lethal radiation: I actually agree with Christies Child; the Accrington performance signified the onset of Sammy's 'no tolerance, nobody's safe' attitude.

By the by, whilst we are mildly discussing the topic, I sincerely hope we don't get promotion. I understand the "you can't choose when you get promotion" attitude and that it would be utterly glorious for the club, and everybody connected, to see us go up again, by winning at Wembley, again, but I'd be concerned it would be the first step of a ' one steop foward two steps back' type situation. Macclesfield, I think, are decent example of this and it will be interesting to see how Hereford react back in this league next year. I would claim that both these clubs serve as examples as to what can happen if you get promoted 'too quickly'. Doncaster, I suppose, would be the exception, but they romped to victory in their promotion season; we have still struggled at times this season, that cannot be denied.

As it stands, I'd much rather the infrastructure (the new stadium) be in place before we challenge for promotion. Once it is then I feel we can fully establish ourselves as a League One club. However, I'd still like to see us be in with a shout of making the playoffs on the final day: win or lose (and I do hope we lose) the drama would be sensational.

[Christies Child]

As much as the following sentence makes me desire to be exposed to lethal radiation: I actually agree with Christies Child; the Accrington performance signified the onset of Sammy's 'no tolerance, nobody's safe' attitude.


No need to go to such extremes!

I'm of the school who believes that you sometimes only get one opportunity in life and that you should grab it with both hands. I'd rather we gave it our best shot and done our best than to ever wonder 'what if?'

Whatever happens let's enjoy it whilst it lasts.

[Keith]

Didn't Yeovil have back to back promotions? And Carlisle didn't hang around either. I can't think of anyone who went 2nd Division-1st Division and has ended up worse off? Even if we were to go up and straight back down, we'd have huge parachute payments and great experience. I still think we are just a little too far away but if it happened, it would be fantastic.

The real point is, we've proved what we can do now (even to Ned) so there is no reason why we can't hit the start of next season full of confidence. We've got players like Jim playing the best football of their career this season (Gary Hunter, Danny Adams, Barry Roach as well as arguably others?) A couple of additions next season and we should fear no one... which ever league we are in!

FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND WE'RE HAVING A LAUGH!