Rival Watch

[AthleticoSpizz]

^hi Royal Jimmy^

[Stranded]

Could easily be bottom 5 after that lot.

That's why today is quite a key game in my mind. 8 point gap to the bottom 7 means if we then only say beat QPR and Stoke and lose the other 5, to drop any lower than 18th, multiple sides would need to pick up 14 or more points from 7 games.

We could also naturally, end up in the play-offs or in roughly the same position.

With the division as it is at the mo, what position we are in if between 3rd and 17th is pretty much immaterial at this point given the small spread of points seperating sides. Building a gap to 18th and below is key for all clubs from Stoke to Blackburn - as even they can't consider themselves out of a relegation scrap - they have built their entire season on scoring first and winning - that sequence was broken yesterday so will be interesting to see how that impacts them.

[From Despair To Where?]

If you look at the games for the teams on 27pts over the same period:

Bristol City - Millwall (a) Coventry (a) Birmingham (h) Blackburn (h) Huddersfield (a) Preston (a) Norwich (h)

Rotherham - Huddersfield (a) Millwall (a) Blackburn (h) Watford (a) Sunderland (h) Sheffield Utd (h) Blackpool (a)

Cardiff - Coventry (a) Blackburn (a), Wigan (h) Millwall (h) Luton (a) Hull (a) Middlesbrough (h)

Hull - Birmingham (a) Wigan (a) Huddersfield (h) Sheffield Utd (a) QPR (h) Cardiff (h) Stoke (a)

Blackpool - Sheffield Utd (h) Sunderland (h) Watford (a) Huddersfield (h) Blackburn (a) Middlesbrough (a) Rotherham (h)

Wigan - Sunderland (h) Hull (h) Cardiff (a)
Luton (h) West Brom (a), Blackburn (a) Huddersfield (h)

Huddersfield- Rotherham (h) Luton (h) Hull (a) Blackpool (a) Coventry (a) Bristol City (h) QPR (h) Wigan (a)

There a fair smattering of games against top sides bit a lot of games against each other, particularly for the bottom 4.

[Royal_jimmy]

Norwich would more than likely beat us regardless of who's in charge, they're a better team than us.

We have a tricky run of fixtures over the next 5-6 weeks:

Swansea H
Norwich A
WBA A
QPR H
Stoke A
Sheffield Utd H
Watford H
Sunderland A

10pts from those fixtures would be a decent return IMO.


We have generally beaten the teams we should be so things should get easier from the middle of February.

Probably right but we should have beaten them at home when they were the leagues form team, so who knows - more chance of a win with Smith in charge than not. Agreed on the tough run, if we can pick up 7pts from the home games and find a win on the road somewhere, that would be an amazing return. 1 point per game from that lot though would be fine.

I'd take a point a game (8 points) from that lot which would put us on 40 points with a favourable run of home games vs Hull, Blackpool, Wigan, Luton and Rotherham to come. I fancy 3 wins from those 5 and nick a couple of away wins at way Bristol City, Preston, Huddersfield and Cardiff.

Should target wins v QPR, Sunderland and Stoke. Watford we can get a draw out of, hopefully get a win today but a point would be ok. The other 3 are very difficult.

[Royal_jimmy]

If you look at the games for the teams on 27pts over the same period:

Bristol City - Millwall (a) Coventry (a) Birmingham (h) Blackburn (h) Huddersfield (a) Preston (a) Norwich (h)

Rotherham - Huddersfield (a) Millwall (a) Blackburn (h) Watford (a) Sunderland (h) Sheffield Utd (h) Blackpool (a)

Cardiff - Coventry (a) Blackburn (a), Wigan (h) Millwall (h) Luton (a) Hull (a) Middlesbrough (h)

Hull - Birmingham (a) Wigan (a) Huddersfield (h) Sheffield Utd (a) QPR (h) Cardiff (h) Stoke (a)

Blackpool - Sheffield Utd (h) Sunderland (h) Watford (a) Huddersfield (h) Blackburn (a) Middlesbrough (a) Rotherham (h)

Wigan - Sunderland (h) Hull (h) Cardiff (a)
Luton (h) West Brom (a), Blackburn (a) Huddersfield (h)

Huddersfield- Rotherham (h) Luton (h) Hull (a) Blackpool (a) Coventry (a) Bristol City (h) QPR (h) Wigan (a)

There a fair smattering of games against top sides bit a lot of games against each other, particularly for the bottom 4.

Glad you included the teams below is and their games. Bristol City have an ugly looking set of games there

[Hound]

The division is so unpredictable I don’t pay too much attention to groups of fixtures coming up

You wouldn’t have expected millwall to win at Watford yesterday but they didn’t only win, they battered them, even before the sending off

Think the top 20 teams are generally much of a muchness player wise with Wigan, Blackpool, Rotherham a step below

[Stranded]

And of course Dean Smith has been sacked - so instead of going to play Norwich in a potentially hostile atmosphere, we go there to play a likely rejuvenated side who will play without care. Is that the 3rd or 4th time this season that has happened now?

[From Despair To Where?]

Yet I don't think there's too many teams currently in a position too far from where you'd expect them to be in.

The teams I selected are the ones who are starting to be gapped so you'd expect them to be in the relegation fight, the ones we need to be looking to beat.

You know that if we lose the next 4, we'll start getting the Ince out posts. Just trying to place some context to the next 6 weeks and if suddenly Huddersfield, for example start climbing the table its more likely because they had 5 games against the bottom 7 rather than any great improvement on their part.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Right on cue


Norwich have sacked Dean Smith

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Right on cue


Norwich have sacked Dean Smith

Brilliant

[Sutekh]

Right on cue


Norwich have sacked Dean Smith

Brilliant

Oh goody, just what we needed.

[Hound]

Right on cue


Norwich have sacked Dean Smith

Brilliant

You never know, they might employ Steve Bruce before we play them

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Right on cue


Norwich have sacked Dean Smith

Brilliant

You never know, they might employ Steve Bruce before we play them

Or Pauno

[YorkshireRoyal99]

And of course Dean Smith has been sacked - so instead of going to play Norwich in a potentially hostile atmosphere, we go there to play a likely rejuvenated side who will play without care. Is that the 3rd or 4th time this season that has happened now?

Multiple times when we've faced a club now where the manager in the dugout is different to the previous game.

Blackpool, Stoke, Huddersfield and West Brom - Norwich now so that's 5. I believe Tony Mowbray was only into his second game when his Sunderland side thrashed us and Liam Rosenior's first home game for Hull was against us, so it's not unfamiliar territory for us.

Incidentally, Dean Smith's sacking is the 13th time a Championship club has changed managers this season, which is quite remarkable. I suppose you could say Michael Appleton and Nigel Pearson are probably only a couple more poor results away from being shown the door as well.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Could easily be bottom 5 after that lot.

That's why today is quite a key game in my mind. 8 point gap to the bottom 7 means if we then only say beat QPR and Stoke and lose the other 5, to drop any lower than 18th, multiple sides would need to pick up 14 or more points from 7 games.

We could also naturally, end up in the play-offs or in roughly the same position.

With the division as it is at the mo, what position we are in if between 3rd and 17th is pretty much immaterial at this point given the small spread of points seperating sides. Building a gap to 18th and below is key for all clubs from Stoke to Blackburn - as even they can't consider themselves out of a relegation scrap - they have built their entire season on scoring first and winning - that sequence was broken yesterday so will be interesting to see how that impacts them.

I think the thing for me is, there are a lot of teams wedged between us and the bottom 3 and I don't think many of those teams on paper are better than us. I think the top 5 teams are Burnley, Sheff United, Watford, Norwich and WBA. You've then got your "better" sides in the league who will be gunning for that last play off place, those being Blackburn, Middlesbrough, QPR, Coventry and Millwall. You've then got the sides making up the rest of top half/mid-table, looking to push for a play off place, those being Swansea, Sunderland, Preston, Luton, Birmingham and ourselves and then you've got the rest below from 17th downwards. You could argue Stoke are playing their way into the next category and it's from Bristol City downwards. That's how I'd split the teams and I don't think we will get dragged anywhere near really.

[Snowflake Royal]

Brilliant

You never know, they might employ Steve Bruce before we play them

Or Pauno

Or Gomes, or Clement, or Stam.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Coventry have warned supporters over the use of drugs at games as well as underage drinking. This comes less than two weeks after they warned their supporters of anti-social behaviour. They just can't get out of the news this season, but obviously this issue will extend beyond them.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Latest Sky relegation odds are still 16-1.

Some very strange others though given we are 16's... Middlesboro 200, Millwall 100??

[Zip]

Latest Sky relegation odds are still 16-1.

Some very strange others though given we are 16's... Middlesboro 200, Millwall 100??

I know. Truly bizarre.

[Franchise FC]

Latest Sky relegation odds are still 16-1.

Some very strange others though given we are 16's... Middlesboro 200, Millwall 100??

I know. Truly bizarre.

Given the WAY we’re picking up points I’m not surprised we’re shorter odds but not that far