Johnnyrotten

Its bloody annoying that they get to play them 3 days after a cup final, I honestly think that shouldn't be allowed. No team should play a league game 3 days before or after a cup final, simply not fair on Wycombe but more importantly the integrity of the competition. Same with FA Cup semis (Coventry playing Hull 3 days after Man U at Wembley).

Not likely to go to goal difference now. We need to win all 5 to force Derby to have to win all 4 to go up, 1 point ahead of us. If they drop 2 points from their last fixtures we need to take advantage and as an absolute minimum take it to the last game.

You don't have to sell those goals to me, they were quality finishes. But if he misses either he gets absolutely slated (like he did despite that excellent header at Derby, and doing everything right when the keeper saved at Blackpool). FWIW I don't get why Bod wasn't flagged offside for the 5th, looked clear on replay, but maybe a defender out of site? I'd love us to get a borderline call like that in a tight, crucial game to come.

Yes, all day long. And as others have said, find a place for Iredale more often than not, for many reasons.

I'm a big fan of Bod as I may have mentioned, but for balance, I went for a chat with my brother at H-T (sat in 2 different parts of ESL) and we both said "Bod's not been on it 1st half". Nothing was sticking, but he won a couple of headers and played that excellent ball to Sheehan I think from near the byeline. But its rubbish to say it was one of his better games, he just happened to score a couple of tap ins, it changes everyone's perception. Collins to a lesser extent, didn't have a stormer, gave the ball away a lot, did some very good things and wasteful at other times. its good to play so well knowing that individually we can be better - Cogley, Ogbeta, Tomo, Sheehan and then Dempsey also weren't on their A game in possession, IMO. Hopefully we're saving the complete performance for Pompey!

Are you new to this site? 😀 To answer your question, personally, nothing (from home games). The issues are away against top half teams but that's another conversation entirely, for another day. Anyone that couldn't just enjoy the home games so far in 2024 aren't watching the right sport.

When Bod starts its like playing with 10 men

Only just having a read through the comments, but I'm struggling to read any more, some of the bollocks that was spoken upto half time, including the team selection, beggars belief. Talk about seizing on the negatives and ignoring the great football (from both teams at times). Absolutely cracking, entertaining game of football nearly as good as the last home game, in fact better from the point of view that Reading made a great game of it, unlike Oxford. 17 goals in the last 5 home games, and most of those with our duff 2nd choice strike force. (First 9 homes of season, scored 16 even after getting 6 in first 2). One home defeat in the last 13 and that was played mainly with 10 men. Home games are a pleasure to attend ATM.

On another note, how the hell have Derby managed to get Wycombe to rearrange their fixture for 3 days after a Wembley cup final? There you go Derby have 8 days off to prepare to play a team either celebrating a cup win or commiserating a final defeat, who happen to have nothing to play for in the league, and won't give the game a thought till about 3 hours before kick off. What a piss take.

Even if Charles is fit against Pompey and Posh I expect he won't score from open play 😀 I still hope he's fit though, coz we need as many potential scorers as possible for the run in / play offs. And I'd be chuffed to bits to see him score the winner in the 96th minute at Posh to secure promotion. We've missed those 2, no doubt. But there's a flaw in those "10 game" stats. The last block is 3 homes and 7 aways! And the aways include 3 bogey grounds plus another top 6 challenger. How many points do folk realistically think we would have got from those 10 at any time, given our general inconsistency? Maybe we should have beaten Charlton and Exeter, but no more than we should have beaten Reading, Carlisle, Burton etc when we were "on form". I still say our recent form is typical of the season, I don't know when we expected the results to be better against the same calibre opposition. Undefeated at home since mid December, a 4-1 away win, a 5-0 home win. if we'd started the season with the same home form we'd be a lot closer to Derby.

Trust the process 😀 It was bloody awful - mostly played at a pedestrian pace.

I suppose all the top 8 know promotion is in their hands, anyone down to Stevenage "just" have to win all their games and they'll go up. Difference for us is we can probably afford to lose the next 6, then draw 3 games and win a couple of pen shoot outs and we'd be up! Sounds relatively easy put like that.

If (big if) we finish on 93 points, Derby need 13 points to guarantee 2nd. Goal difference of 7 can soon be reduced with 3 of our 4 home games being very winnable, we could win one of them 5-0 if we're on form. So if they were to lose at Pompey its all to play for because they can't get 13 points from the last 4!

The reality is a bit grim, in terms of everything that's been discussed. But for positivity (and it has to be a first for you not to be the one dishing it out 😀), its not impossible for us to win the last 6. All logic says we won't beat both Pompey and Posh BUT both could be in cruise control when we play them - one absolute certainties for promotion, the other needing no extra points on the last day, wanting to avoid injuries for the play offs. This possibility may last all of one day if we don't beat Reading, which looks like a tough game based on them being well above us in the form table. But if we do win our next 2 games, we aren't out of it just yet.

An interesting debate, we all want a Karl Henry/Gary O'Neill/Gary Speed type in there (mentality wise), but loads of players have great careers that don't possess that type of character. Josh Sheehan is one of our best, most consistent players but not an "in the trenches" type, but I can imagine him playing in the championship. Iredale looks like he has the mentality, desire and mind set - but probably wouldn't get games in the championship based mainly on a lack of pace. I'd put him above Dempsey personally for having what you need, because Dempsey never seems to open his mouth or encourage his teammates, seems very introverted. Not sure how he was a captain previously unless he changes personality off the pitch? Anyway I'd add Jones to the list, great character.

I think what also puts it in perspective is that even struggling teams get the occasional away win at a promotion contender. Looking at games away at the top 10 (to Orient), plus Wigan who would be top 10 without the deduction: Derby and Pompey top (17 and 16 points). Then Posh (12), Charlton, Wigan and Orient 11, Barnsley and Blackpool 10. We have 6 points, this is below the likes of Northampton, Exeter, Burton, Port Vale and even Carlisle. The only teams with less than us are Wycombe, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, Fleetwood, Cambridge (their win at Barnsley was their only one). Just a small improvement against top 10 teams would make a huge difference to our chances.

I find it a bit naive, whilst sympathising with the run of injuries. I repeat what I've said before, I'm unsure which games we've started with a weaker team/squad than the opposition, all season? But the naive bit is thinking we'll ever have a "full strength squad" - when has that ever happened in March/April when the team has played about 50 games? We might get Charles and Baxter back, we might also get more injuries or suspensions, that's what happens but all we ever hear is that the cavalry are coming back, IE has been saying that most of the season, as if we're immune from fresh injuries. This was in September: https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/evatt-ready-vale-test

Yes we knew when we signed him we were signing more of a creator/linker of play than a goalscorer. Eg the assist at Barnsley for Vic was put on a sixpence, I'm not sure any of our forward players has the ability to do that? He's put that type of ball in many times, not always converted obviously, so anyone saying they don't know what he brings to the team - its potential assists as well as occasional goals. But he's not a goalscorer as such, same as Bod & Jerome (and Dan). I'm not defending his poor show yesterday, any more than I'd defend others like Sheehan, Tomo, Maghoma, JDC, Santos, Bod who were all either poor or just didn't get involved enough. If Vic and Charles were asked to play up front while half the team don't turn up, I'd be amazed if they won us the game on their own, at a play off challenger, its never happened before.

That makes it sound like they were playing well every week, that wasn't the players I was watching in some of those games. Collins has as many good games as Vic away from home - not many. At home he's looked good, which is where Vic has had his best games. Opposite to Charles who hasn't performed consistently in home games for a long time but has been a useful source of goals (as well as misses) away from home.

If we can beat Pompey and win at Peterboro the play offs hold no fears anyway 😀 We only need to win 2 out of 3 to go up, that has to be easier than 6 out of 6 when one is v Pompey. Then again, I don't trust the refs/lady luck in the play offs so maybe the 6 league wins is the way to do it!

Its shit to hear our fans behaving like that, especially towards Coleman who was as good as anyone yesterday and is doing what it says on the tin - standing in for our 1st choice keeper in L1. I'm pleased for him he got another clean sheet yesterday by virtue of them missing the open goal, because some would have found a way to blame him for that. On another note, the sooner we can stop playing at these tinpot grounds where the nobhead fans are inches from the pitch, the better. Most championship grounds will do a better job of drowning out the idiots.

On the subject of LWBs, one positive of yesterday I thought was Ogbeta. I think he's established himself as first choice. Has definitely added something to the team with his attacking play and we could do worse than trying to get him back for next season.

Not sure I agree, upto then the only away game at the current top 7 was Oxford (0-0). And we'd already had those home defeats to Carlisle and Wigan, and at Reading, played poor at home to Northampton, drew at Burton. Home form every bit as good now as its been all season. Arguably the aways have been harder recently, 0-0 at Stevenage is as good a result as 0-0 at Oxford, 1-1 at Burton or losing at Reading. Not a lot has changed, winning most games we expect to win, and not many of the others, and the odd stand out bad result.

We knew the fixtures upto 20th Feb (Cambridge away) were a lot kinder than the rest of the season. Our position was unsustainable with the games to come, it was never a reflection of a whole season.

He's not alone. When we've "needed a goal" (ie towards end of game, chasing an equaliser or winner), the only goals I can recall have been scored by Toal and CMG (we miss him), apart from the pen incident at Barnsley. (All away from home as well). I don't remember any from any other strikers or midfielders, when we need a goal they don't step up do they, although Bod scored v Charlton and Tomo v Blackpool but not exactly late goals. Its harsh to single out one player, its a team problem, and he's contributed by earning 2 important late pens, not sure anyone else can claim that.