Rival Watch

[Zip]

We need to keep winning to stay in the race for automatic promotion. Can’t see Stoke making the play offs now.

[andrew1957]

With Watford winning and Boro having two relatively easy games in the next week, Bournemouth could be well and truly in 7th place by the time they come to us next Friday, especially if we win at Preston. Let's hope they feel under pressure a week today and we win.

Unless someone lower down goes on a great run its looking more and more like 6 of the current top 7 to make the paly offs. I am wondering if it might be Bournemouth that miss out. That would be a shock.

[Hound]

Stoke have really struggled since Campbell got injured

Despite patchy form, it does kind of show how well we have coped relatively with the injuries we’ve had

Definitely starting to look like 6 from 7 but a long way to go yet

[tidus_mi2]

It's interesting that the top 5, alongside Sheffield Wednesday have the best 5 game form in the division, Bournemouth are falling apart a little bit when everyone else looks like they might start pulling away.

[Simmops]

Watford are the best team in the league

[royalp-we]

Personally think the playoffs are wide open still, right down to mid table. It’s still the midway point

We’ve been in this division long enough to know that if you pick up a bit of form in the Championship you can suddenly catapult up the league.

[72 bus]

Watford are the best team in the league

Tablets are working I see

[Snowflake Royal]

Personally think the playoffs are wide open still, right down to mid table. It’s still the midway point

We’ve been in this division long enough to know that if you pick up a bit of form in the Championship you can suddenly catapult up the league.

Agree, the gap is only 9 points down to 13th.

The way people are talking you'd think there was a 10 point gap to 8th.

[Hound]

Personally think the playoffs are wide open still, right down to mid table. It’s still the midway point

We’ve been in this division long enough to know that if you pick up a bit of form in the Championship you can suddenly catapult up the league.

Agree, the gap is only 9 points down to 13th.

The way people are talking you'd think there was a 10 point gap to 8th.

But none of those teams below Boro are much good or have shown any real signs of consistent form. Barnsley worried me but have stalled

9 points is a big gap to make up in 20 games. Do-able of course but can you really see any of them doing it?

[SouthDownsRoyal]

We need to keep winning to stay in the race for automatic promotion..

I agree with this

[Snowflake Royal]

Personally think the playoffs are wide open still, right down to mid table. It’s still the midway point

We’ve been in this division long enough to know that if you pick up a bit of form in the Championship you can suddenly catapult up the league.

Agree, the gap is only 9 points down to 13th.

The way people are talking you'd think there was a 10 point gap to 8th.

But none of those teams below Boro are much good or have shown any real signs of consistent form. Barnsley worried me but have stalled

9 points is a big gap to make up in 20 games. Do-able of course but can you really see any of them doing it?

Spurts of form happen all the time.
I'm not gap or rival watching for a good chunk of games yet. Just focusing on us.

For me, at this stage rival watch is just about keeping an eye on form and laughing at who is currently oxf*rd up

[Zip]

We need to keep winning to stay in the race for automatic promotion..

I agree with this

I know I was stating the bleeding obvious but at the moment Norwich, Brentford, Swansea and now Watford are barely dropping any points. A draw at Preston would be an entirely decent result but it’s not enough to keep pace with the others.

[Hound]

We need to keep winning to stay in the race for automatic promotion..

I agree with this

I know I was stating the bleeding obvious but at the moment Norwich, Brentford, Swansea and now Watford are barely dropping any points. A draw at Preston would be an entirely decent result but it’s not enough to keep pace with the others.

4 points from the next 2 would be fine. Be pretty disappointed to lose either tbh

We’ve ten from the last 12 haven’t we?

[Zip]

I agree with this

I know I was stating the bleeding obvious but at the moment Norwich, Brentford, Swansea and now Watford are barely dropping any points. A draw at Preston would be an entirely decent result but it’s not enough to keep pace with the others.

4 points from the next 2 would be fine. Be pretty disappointed to lose either tbh

We’ve ten from the last 12 haven’t we?

Yes we have. The QPR and Luton wins were priceless given our injuries at the time.

[royalp-we]

Agree, the gap is only 9 points down to 13th.

The way people are talking you'd think there was a 10 point gap to 8th.

But none of those teams below Boro are much good or have shown any real signs of consistent form. Barnsley worried me but have stalled

9 points is a big gap to make up in 20 games. Do-able of course but can you really see any of them doing it?

Spurts of form happen all the time.
I'm not gap or rival watching for a good chunk of games yet. Just focusing on us.

For me, at this stage rival watch is just about keeping an eye on form and laughing at who is currently oxf*rd up

Bristol City started very well and had a rough patch much like ourselves. Blackburn have been scoring for fun. Stoke showed us they are no pushovers. Never write off a Warnock team.

To say the teams below us aren’t much good is naive to say the least. If we were placed in 12th or 13th looking upwards, we would all think we still have every chance of making the playoffs.

Preston are no pushovers, then we have Bournemouth, Stoke, Brentford, Bristol City, Millwall and Boro. By the team we play Wycombe we could be one of the teams down in 12th or 13th

Edit: Before nobbers pile in. That doesn’t mean that I think we will drop out of the playoffs. Just think fans are getting a bit comfortable writing off those clubs just below us with so much of the season to play for.

[Stranded]

In all form tables over 6,8,10 or 12 games we are pretty settled around 6th and 7th. Of the immediate challengers only Boro (and Preston) are above us.

For me the only way we slip up is by going on a run like our 2nd set of 8 games as otherwise we are a solid play-off side.

1st 8 games: 22pt
2nd 8 games: 8pts
3rd 8 games: 13pts

[Hound]

I’m not writing any club below Boro off, just don’t think it’s likely looking at their sides and form so far

Obvs we could go on a very bad run and someone like Bristol could go on a very good run - but can’t see it

That’s not naivety just a judgement based on the season so far

If one of the top 6 falters I expect Boro will be there to take their place

[CountryRoyal]

I just think ultimately it will come down to injuries. We’re in a healthy position at the moment but we haven’t recruited. We’ve seen what happens if we lose a couple of key players and it wasn’t pretty.

If Joao and co manage to stay fit the remainder of the season I just don’t see how we don’t finish top 6 and pushing for autos.

[Zip]

Personally think the playoffs are wide open still, right down to mid table. It’s still the midway point

We’ve been in this division long enough to know that if you pick up a bit of form in the Championship you can suddenly catapult up the league.

Agree, the gap is only 9 points down to 13th.

The way people are talking you'd think there was a 10 point gap to 8th.

But none of those teams below Boro are much good or have shown any real signs of consistent form. Barnsley worried me but have stalled

9 points is a big gap to make up in 20 games. Do-able of course but can you really see any of them doing it?

Spot on.

[andrew1957]

I’m not writing any club below Boro off, just don’t think it’s likely looking at their sides and form so far

Obvs we could go on a very bad run and someone like Bristol could go on a very good run - but can’t see it

That’s not naivety just a judgement based on the season so far

If one of the top 6 falters I expect Boro will be there to take their place

In most seasons the play off places come done to the top 7 or so after game 24. Last season was a tad unusual as only 4 of the top 6 at that stage finished in the play offs but that was because the form of Sheffield Wednesday and Preston went down the toilet in the last 22 games.

I think RFC would be best not to worry about the other play off contenders but to just to concentrate on winning games as 11 wins of the last 22 will guarantee a play off place. So we just need to win every other game.