Playoffs

Quoted from Hagrid

Won 1 game for goodness sake

When we played Sutton we were relegation fodder

Just go 1 game at a time and get some distance between ourselves and the bottom 2

Prefer 5 League games unbeaten since PH left including two wins agains teams who were in play off places at time and creditable draw at MKD to its one win

I would say it's more improbable than impossible.

We have been a nearly team all season, evidenced by the fact we have lost more points from winning positions than any other team, and could quite easily be up around the play off spots now. If we can start coming out on the right side of tight games, 8 points isn't a massive amount to make up. In 5 games since PH left, we have gone from 4 points above the relegation zone to 8, so making up lost ground is not beyond us. Most of the teams above us are very inconsistent and are losing games regularly. Almost every team from 6th down to 18th have lost 3 or 4 games from the last 6.

We have recently beaten 2 sides that were in play off positions and that was only the 4th defeat of the season for Crewe, so no mean feat. We really should have beaten MK dons too.

The rest of the month will be a good barometer. Three of the four teams we play are just above and just below us, and all three are below us in the form table. After that run, the transfer window opens, and if we get that right, who knows?

We know what can happen in football. we've seen it first hand. You've got to keep believing, or what's the point?

The real stand out point for me so far this season is that to date there has been no outstanding teams who have totally outplayed us. Yes some very decent teams like Mansfield and Notts County plus Stockport & Wrexham are well backed financially so have L1 players in their ranks but nothing where you go into a game thinking we don’t have a chance.

Think Ginny made the point in this, or another, thread that other than Wrexham we have mostly lost by the odd goal and this includes the period when we were playing pretty poorly and were low on confidence. Let’s face it Crawley are doing well and they looked absolute crap at Town despite winning.

With 3 points a game you can quickly rise and fall in any league but we are not far off being more than a very good team in this division. 3 new players in Jan could make hell of a difference.

Dale Mince said that FGR will be buying a number of new players in January (to avoid the drop).  As they are below us we need to secure our league status as the main priority.  Other teams in trouble may panic and start winning games.  

Let's see how much DA can get out of this squad first. Things are certainly looking far better, so much so I no longer fear the drop - but it is still far too early for prediction of play offs...

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

The real stand out point for me so far this season is that to date there has been no outstanding teams who have totally outplayed us. Yes some very decent teams like Mansfield and Notts County plus Stockport & Wrexham are well backed financially so have L1 players in their ranks but nothing where you go into a game thinking we don’t have a chance.

Think Ginny made the point in this, or another, thread that other than Wrexham we have mostly lost by the odd goal and this includes the period when we were playing pretty poorly and were low on confidence. Let’s face it Crawley are doing well and they looked absolute crap at Town despite winning.

With 3 points a game you can quickly rise and fall in any league but we are not far off being more than a very good team in this division. 3 new players in Jan could make hell of a difference.

Yep, we have lost games by the odd goal that we really shouldn't have, and each time it's been our own sloppy defending. Crawley and Colchester both won 3-2 at BP and both were hardly world beaters. Accrington looked nothing until Waterfall got sent off, and that is the only other game we have lost by more than one goal after Wrexham.

We've lost less games than Gillingham, and they are in 8th spot. They looked very poor at BP and we beat them easily.

We lost 3-2 at Stockport, 3-2 at Notts, 2-1 at Swindon, but it's the draws that have cost us really. Mansfield outplayed us but even then, it was a massive blunder that gave them their equaliser. Draws at Bradford, MK Dons and Walsall are all games we really should have won, then there are draws with teams at the bottom in FGR, Sutton and Tranmere.

I think the standard in league 2 is about the best it's ever been, with no massive drop in standard from top to bottom, but ironically, the best team to visit BP has been Barrow, and we somehow beat them.

Dale Mince said that FGR will be buying a number of new players in January (to avoid the drop).  As they are below us we need to secure our league status as the main priority.  Other teams in trouble may also panic and start winning games.  

Surely if you panic, you're less likely to win games?

I agree we should not get carried away after a couple of improved performances.

Out of interest though, would I be correct in saying that in December 2015 we were more that 8 points away from a play off spot? If memory serves we were over 10 points adrift at some point?

Just saying.

Quoted from HerveJosse

Not this season . As Forzano says we have halved the gap between relegation and play off places since Hurst left and are only eight points outside the play offs. From what I have seen if the opposition this year the league is full of mid table teams with several higher placed looking very ordinary eg Gillingham, Morecambe ,Crewe. With a couple of new signings in key positions in the transfer window and some luck on the injury front it’s there for the taking.

Well there's a surprise...I remember you explaining that you see yourself in the 20% of humanity that lacks 'optimistic outcome bias', so
your positive outlook is a welcome reinforcement of my own (I'm in the 'other camp', so to speak).

I see things much the same way - it's a congested league, with the majority of the mid-table teams capable of beating a top side on their
day. Any team that can manage a winning sequence will close the gap with the top sides. It could be us, with our new-found belief.

Stockport looked like they might run away with L2, but have now had a bit of a stumble. It'll be that sort of league this season I think.

Injuries to key players would obviously dampen my hopes a bit, but I've every faith in our manager to cope whatever.