Final 4 games

[Finn Claw II]

There will be 2 more games after these 4

[Ricey]

41 minutes ago, Ian Nacho said:

I reckon 8 points may be enough, 10 should be. 

9 points guarantees it.

[CheeseHead]

1 hour ago, Ian Nacho said:

I reckon 8 points may be enough, 10 should be. 

We already know that 9pts guarantees promotion

[Royston.]

17 hours ago, Happy Fox said:

West Brom (h) D

Southampton (h) D

Preston (a) L

Blackburn (h) W

 

 

[cruzFOX]

Isn’t it a statistical fact that majority of players or teams that come up against a quality opponent;  step up their game?

The mindset is different it’s all psychology.

You may still lose due to a gulf in quality but  the game has a different dimension to it.

 

anyway, I don’t care where the win comes from but it needs to come asap. It’s so exhausting to watch we all keep fearing what may happen next as the same patterns of play repeat themselves.we should be able to watch in comfort and enjoy our possession play but instead we’re all stressed out that we have’nt scored a goal as a result of it. It wasn’t even like this is the premier league (different stress ie, we do score but we can’t hold onto the lead)

[LC99FC]

Feel slightly more uplifted after yesterday's results, and three of the last four are at home. Just when you think we've blown it...

[Foxmeister]

18 hours ago, cruzFOX said:

Isn’t it a statistical fact that majority of players or teams that come up against a quality opponent;  step up their game?

The mindset is different it’s all psychology.

You may still lose due to a gulf in quality but  the game has a different dimension to it.

 

anyway, I don’t care where the win comes from but it needs to come asap. It’s so exhausting to watch we all keep fearing what may happen next as the same patterns of play repeat themselves.we should be able to watch in comfort and enjoy our possession play but instead we’re all stressed out that we have’nt scored a goal as a result of it. It wasn’t even like this is the premier league (different stress ie, we do score but we can’t hold onto the lead)

Can't possibly be true, if the best teams were more likely to lose by virtue of being the best teams, they wouldn't be the best teams in the first place.

[dannythefox]

11 hours ago, LC99FC said:

Feel slightly more uplifted after yesterday's results, and three of the last four are at home. Just when you think we've blown it...

Can’t believe how lucky we’ve been but we’ve got to take the chance now. We’ve got to win on sat we can’t be needing 3 wins out the last 3 games. 

Edited 14 April by dannythefox

[HarryDee8]

One game at a time now. 

 

Just shut up shop at the back and win it the old fashioned way. 1-0 will do

[Bezzanator89]

I'm not banking on Enzo changing his gameplan any time soon, even if the form over the last 10 games has been abysmal. He has stubbornly stuck to Plan A all season, why change now.

 

The typically-fragile confidence of the team is shot to pieces across the pitch, and have no idea where our next win is coming from. Certain players should not be starting again this season, others that are being starved of gametime should be given a go.

 

Seen many bad performances over the last 15 years being a regular season-ticket holder and fan, but Plymouth and Millwall combined were among the worst. And even when we were winning, we rarely won emphatically or convincingly. Chickens came home to roost, laid their eggs and became dinner. That's how cooked this team is, on and off the pitch.

 

And I have to question motivation now. When we are being penalised no matter what we do, promoted or not, it must have mental effect on the players. Some are running down contracts. Fatawu can't join the club permanently even if we wanted him to.

 

Getting promoted will soften a hefty blow, but either way, we are still being screwed due to gross financial incompetence by the board. 

 

All of the above taken into account, I have it in my head that no matter what we get (7pts MAX), Ipswich and Leeds will likely get more. Play-offs await, and therefore, so does another season in the Championship and the financial pain that comes with it. Goodbye and goodnight, the fairytale ends.

[Daggers]

You have got to love people thinking about nine points. I can’t see more than two.

[Bert]

4 minutes ago, Daggers said:

You have got to love people thinking about nine points. I can’t see more than two.

And here’s me thinking about 12  

[teblin]

17 minutes ago, Daggers said:

You have got to love people thinking about nine points. I can’t see more than two.

 

14 minutes ago, Bert said:

And here’s me thinking about 12  

Two point would mean drawing, which seems to something we haven’t done much of over the last 2 seasons.

 

Im usually optimistic but can’t see 12. 6 maybe 9. But we know this side is capable of winning 4 in a row, but can they when the pressure is most on.

[Pliskin]

The one saving Grace for us is neither West Brom or Southampton will play a low block. Both will be far more expansive than our recent opponents, but, defensively we’re absolutely shocking at the moment, so it may come down to out scoring out opponents.

 

Preston and Blackburn are the ones I worry about, both are well capable of scrapping and it’s something we simply can’t deal with. 
 

Having said that, if we can somehow get two wins in our next two, that will set us up nicely to kick on into the last two. 

        

[Sly]

On 13/04/2024 at 06:54, An Away Move said:

We have to remember that we, all of FoxesTalk, get so coloured by the last result we just can’t see the bigger picture. After we beat Birmingham it will be all roses again. Believe! - even when you don’t believe! 

You’ve only got to look at the player ratings thread and see how the Manager stay / leave % stays after a win / defeat. I think one swung for Enzo by 30% after one win after a series of defeats. 

[ClaphamFox]

56 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

The one saving Grace for us is neither West Brom or Southampton will play a low block. Both will be far more expansive than our recent opponents, but, defensively we’re absolutely shocking at the moment, so it may come down to out scoring out opponents.

 

Preston and Blackburn are the ones I worry about, both are well capable of scrapping and it’s something we simply can’t deal with. 
 

Having said that, if we can somehow get two wins in our next two, that will set us up nicely to kick on into the last two. 

        

It’s highly likely that neither Preston nor Blackburn will have anything to play for by the time we face them, which may encourage them to attack a bit more. The fact that three of our remaining games are at home is also a major bonus - we’ve been generally much better at home than away recently. 

 

 

[Sly]

On 14/04/2024 at 02:13, cruzFOX said:

Isn’t it a statistical fact that majority of players or teams that come up against a quality opponent;  step up their game?

The mindset is different it’s all psychology.

You may still lose due to a gulf in quality but  the game has a different dimension to it.

 

anyway, I don’t care where the win comes from but it needs to come asap. It’s so exhausting to watch we all keep fearing what may happen next as the same patterns of play repeat themselves.we should be able to watch in comfort and enjoy our possession play but instead we’re all stressed out that we have’nt scored a goal as a result of it. It wasn’t even like this is the premier league (different stress ie, we do score but we can’t hold onto the lead)

I think the actual difference is quality is minimal. This is why any team is capable of beating any team. A good Championship player will be closer to Messi in terms of quality, than an average non professional will be to playing League 2 football. 
 

What sets “player A” apart from “player B”, is consistency. 
 

In pressure situations people make decisions that they wouldn’t normally do. This is what we are seeing now. We are almost looking to walk the ball into the net and playing without creative freedom and letting the players express themselves. We are so rigid, that we’ve reverted to playing safe and recycling the ball until we generate an opportunity that is clear cut. It’s great when you have players like KDB that can find that pass 7/10 times. I’m not sure that our forwards even see the space, or our midfield attempts those passes. Hence we just pass the ball around for 70 minutes and they concede on the counter. 
 

Justin alluded to this a little bit earlier in the season after he’d scored from long range. The gaffa would ask him not to shot again. 
 

Enzo plays pragmatic football, that manages the odds in games to a degree, this is okay if you’re converting chances. 

[Scanchez]

On 13/04/2024 at 06:35, Happy Fox said:

West Brom (h)

Southampton (h)

Preston (a)

Blackburn (h)

 

We need 12 points we will only end up with 4 at the most.

4 points sounds about right to me.

[Lionator]

We just need to smash these next two games. Win them both and I think the last two could be meaningless given the other teams fixtures. Leeds especially are basically on last chance territory and all three of their games look solid. 

[String fellow]

That game in hand is fraught with danger. Remember what happened the last time City's away game with Southampton was a stonking victory for us? Yep, the reverse fixture later that seasopn at home (19/20) was a defeat. History could easily repeat itself. They also won here last season, completing a double over us.

[Spudulike]

5 minutes ago, String fellow said:

That game in hand is fraught with danger. Remember what happened the last time City's away game with Southampton was a stonking victory for us? Yep, the reverse fixture later that seasopn at home (19/20) was a defeat. History could easily repeat itself. They also won here last season, completing a double over us.

Vestergaard was sensational that day.

[Yes N'Didi]

We have a mad four days which could define our season. A home win against WBA, whilst a loss for Leeds away to Boro would mean that 3 points against Southampton on Tuesday would send us up there and then. 

 

Even if Leeds draw that game, we'd only need another point from our final two games.

 

Pressure is a funny thing, and needing a win to seal promotion in our own hands puts a completely different game on that Tuesday night.

 

I know we have been awful, but a win (however it comes) on Saturday coupled with a positive result elsewhere should do it. We cannot predict what will happen but let's take it one game at a time and see where we end up.

[CheeseHead]

2 hours ago, Yes N'Didi said:

We have a mad four days which could define our season. A home win against WBA, whilst a loss for Leeds away to Boro would mean that 3 points against Southampton on Tuesday would send us up there and then. 

 

Even if Leeds draw that game, we'd only need another point from our final two games.

 

Pressure is a funny thing, and needing a win to seal promotion in our own hands puts a completely different game on that Tuesday night.

 

I know we have been awful, but a win (however it comes) on Saturday coupled with a positive result elsewhere should do it. We cannot predict what will happen but let's take it one game at a time and see where we end up.

Yep. Beating West Brom is imperative, and if it happens would put us in a relatively strong position.

[LVFox]

I think we will get 7.

 

One out of the next 2, win the final 2.

[KrefelderFox666]

I think getting 3-4 points from the next 2 matches would be a decent return and put us in a strong position.

 

If we are in the Top 2 by the time we get to matchday 46, I am confident we will beat Blackburn and get the job done.