Not a bad result Saturday which saw us the first team mathematically confirmed in this season's playoffs. Think all the games are likely to be tight, it's the first time for a while I can remember where no-one has confirmed they final position in the playoffs ahead of final day. The fact the current 4 have just 3 points between them indicates how tight the division has been this year. Normally have at least one team a few points ahead having given the automatics a real challenge like us 2 years ago, but having said that I'm glad we aren't coming into them this season having been pipped to autos and having that disappointment hanging over us.

I suppose the questions are:

1) Will we finish 3rd/4th and nick that home advantage for the 2nd leg?

2) Who else gets in?

3) Who would you rather face?

22 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Stockholm syndrome. But entirely agree. 

"They are treating me well" 😀

28 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Stockholm syndrome. But entirely agree. 

Nothing in League IMO would be as good an away day as Spurs though. 

9 minutes ago, Marc505 said:

"They are treating me well" 😀

Barmaid in Dobblers recognising us was both the proudest and most shaming moment of my life

21 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

It works both ways, and overall this team hasn't deserved to finish higher than 5th or get more than 75 points (that would get you 9th place in L2).

75 points would get you 6th in the Championship...

15 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Barmaid in Dobblers recognising us was both the proudest and most shaming moment of my life

We would have pissed that pub quiz if we bothered to enter 

1 hour ago, Leyther_Matt said:

Barmaid in Dobblers recognising us was both the proudest and most shaming moment of my life

When that starts happening in Stevenage it's time to pack in.

6 hours ago, Tombwfc said:

We've won two of our last 10 games and finished 5th.

We've absolutely got a chance of winning the playoffs, all four teams finished within two points after 46 games. There's nowt in it. But it's the attitudes of 'everyone's scared of us, best squad in the league, should've won all 46 games if it wasn't for this that or the other, if we vaguely bother to turn up we'll batter everyone' that seem totally detached from reality to me.

I've never seen a team given more credit for not winning games than this one.

Spot on.  A lot of comments of "we aren't worried about any of the other 3", which are fine and valid, but we weren't worried about going to Port Vale, Northampton, Burton, Rotherham, Doncaster, none of us would have taken a point at those places, we expected to win, we didn't.

Us not losing sleep over playing Bradford or Stockport is irrelevant, it doesn't help us defend corners or improve our shooting.

might as well just sack the play-offs off and play the kids seeing how shit we are! Am sure some people only 'support' us to revel in our misery when we don't win every game 5-0.

For whatever it's worth

 

1 minute ago, TroySwoosh said:

might as well just sack the play-offs off and play the kids seeing how shit we are! Am sure some people only 'support' us to revel in our misery when we don't win every game 5-0.

We aren't shit.

We aren't great.

We might win, we might lose.

Bring it on.

Just now, TroySwoosh said:

might as well just sack the play-offs off and play the kids seeing how shit we are! Am sure some people only 'support' us to revel in our misery when we don't win every game 5-0.

I'm not sure this kind of thing is really fair anymore

All season it's been a case of one step forward, two steps back, and I remember plenty of posts earlier this season about how it "it'll soon click" and it simply hasn't, not consistently so, so those people have been proved wrong

Personally, last week I thought we might just be peaking at the right time, and despite yesterday, I still think we might be

I also think the other three clubs aren't hugely different to us and that league form going into the play-offs isn't that important because the play-offs are their own thing 

But whenever I read posts from people who are concerned, I just think to myself that by this point it's understandable

8 hours ago, Ani said:

I disagree what is tiring is watching us throw points away in games we should be winning or at least drawing. Season started at Stockport where we were as good as them but lost and ended v Luton where we were the better team and lost. I posted last week ‘another game where the best team drew’ so many examples in the 18 draws this season. 

It has been the same story week in week out, yesterday typified our season , 24 shots to their 12, we had 12 on target they had 5, but scored 3 and had a penalty saved. 
 

We go again next week and hopefully we can find that clinical ability to turn good chances into goals. It has to click soon. 

This.

The weaknesses aren't likely to be entirely eradicated neither, but we know how well we can play at times.

What's done is done.

SS now has to focus their minds and get the preparation spot on.

The rest is down to them.

1 hour ago, Marc505 said:

When that starts happening in Stevenage it's time to pack in.

Yeah, about that……

Just play without fear and rip into them from the off.

4 hours ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

For whatever it's worth

 

For what that's worth?

We were the only team to beat Stevenage.

4 hours ago, Burndens Bogs said:

Just play without fear and rip into them from the off.

And mark their players at corners and set pieces.

And tell Gale to play with enough fear that he wants to cross/pass it instead of going for glory every 2 minutes.

53 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

And mark their players at corners and set pieces.

And tell Gale to play with enough fear that he wants to cross/pass it instead of going for glory every 2 minutes.

Don’t play Gale

16 minutes ago, RUREADY2ROLL said:

Don’t play Gale

We all know Cissoko isn't playing 180 minutes plus maybe 30 minutes E-T.

Schumacher must be pulling his hair out at times watching glaring individual blunders and brain fart moments from most of our players, also the obsession with blasting worldie balls high and wide into the stands. Early on in his tenure as manager i questioned what his playing career was and the answer came back as lower leagues journeyman,  well my point is, (and i bet many of you can relate to this) you know when your not particularly brilliant at something yourself or your winging it, blagging it and just about getting away with it??

And then you see other supposedly qualified people making horrendous errors and you think WTF????😯 And I'm in charge of this??.

I blagged a job as a Joiner for 20years at one time with zero qualifications, even worked up to a management position,just getting away with it and the things you see from supposedly trained trades make you feel how i imagine Stephen Schumacher must feel week in week out. 

Its a weird feeling knowing that you're no better yourself but SO much better at the same time.

Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger & Jose Mourinho to name just three; all had less than glittering playong careers, but managed to "wing it" as managers.

Not suggesting for one moment that SS is of that calibre, but it shows you don't have to have played to manage. Some top players have become dreadful managers.

9 minutes ago, Traf said:

Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger & Jose Mourinho to name just three; all had less than glittering playong careers, but managed to "wing it" as managers.

Not suggesting for one moment that SS is of that calibre, but it shows you don't have to have played to manage. Some top players have become dreadful managers.

Skubala hasn’t done too bad either.

3 hours ago, Whitestar said:

Schumacher must be pulling his hair out at times watching glaring individual blunders and brain fart moments from most of our players, also the obsession with blasting worldie balls high and wide into the stands. Early on in his tenure as manager i questioned what his playing career was and the answer came back as lower leagues journeyman,  well my point is, (and i bet many of you can relate to this) you know when your not particularly brilliant at something yourself or your winging it, blagging it and just about getting away with it??

And then you see other supposedly qualified people making horrendous errors and you think WTF????😯 And I'm in charge of this??.

I blagged a job as a Joiner for 20years at one time with zero qualifications, even worked up to a management position,just getting away with it and the things you see from supposedly trained trades make you feel how i imagine Stephen Schumacher must feel week in week out. 

Its a weird feeling knowing that you're no better yourself but SO much better at the same time.

What on earth are you blabbering on about.

Who shall we bring in?  Zidane? 

Wayne Rooney is probably England's greatest ever football player, he can't manage for toffee.

2 hours ago, Traf said:

Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger & Jose Mourinho to name just three; all had less than glittering playong careers, but managed to "wing it" as managers.

Not suggesting for one moment that SS is of that calibre, but it shows you don't have to have played to manage. Some top players have become dreadful managers.

In one.

I think that it must be difficult at times for some top players to manage poorer ones, and think "why can't you just do what I want you to?".

Managerial skill involves making the best from what you've got, and gradually improving them and/or the squad.

4 hours ago, Whitestar said:

Schumacher must be pulling his hair out at times watching glaring individual blunders and brain fart moments from most of our players, also the obsession with blasting worldie balls high and wide into the stands. Early on in his tenure as manager i questioned what his playing career was and the answer came back as lower leagues journeyman,  well my point is, (and i bet many of you can relate to this) you know when your not particularly brilliant at something yourself or your winging it, blagging it and just about getting away with it??

And then you see other supposedly qualified people making horrendous errors and you think WTF????😯 And I'm in charge of this??.

I blagged a job as a Joiner for 20years at one time with zero qualifications, even worked up to a management position,just getting away with it and the things you see from supposedly trained trades make you feel how i imagine Stephen Schumacher must feel week in week out. 

Its a weird feeling knowing that you're no better yourself but SO much better at the same time.

Crackpot.....

Just look at @Zog1, as far as we are aware he's never been a pro football but clearly has coaching and management skills that could easily have success at the highest level.