The push for the Play offs ?

[SidSidSidSid]

I'm resigned to us not reaching the play-offs now. 

I like to think we'll win more than we'll lose between now and the season's end. I just don't see a turn around in our results that's gonna trouble the top 7 or 8.

If results and performances don't improve significantly, given the signings just made, then there's a decision to be made on Bruce come May. I say that as someone who was accepting of his appointment. 

The one issue that's bugged me, and it was  RDM's undoing also, is our failure to match our opponent's intensity and desire, week after week.

This seemed to have improved initially under Bruce. We've seemed very passive of late, however. Not like a team determined to turn their season around. 

The manager can't be blameless in all this, however much he likes to transfer blame. He's now got a squad capable of play-off results. I'd like to see them display that in the remaining games. 

Rectify this crippling deficiency by the end of the season please SB!

Otherwise we should look for someone who can. 

[Demitri_C]

Well judging by xias last post looks like he has given up on play offs this season. If they can't handle the pressure from.now wait until next season as we are going to demand top 6 with this squad

Edited February 6, 2017 by Demitri_C

[wilko154]

It's sad but it's now got to the stage where I just want to finish above Blues with a run of decent performances before the end of the season.

Playoffs are now out of the question in my opinion.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Couldn't care less about finishing above the blues. What difference does it make?

[Demitri_C]

Just so people know and I find this absolutely pathetic from sky. They have shown us on sky 16 times this season with only a pathetic four times at home

Home games: Forest, Newcastle, Wolves and Leeds

Away games: Wednesday, Luton, derby, blose, Brighton, Leeds, Norwich, QPR, Wolves, Brentford, forest and a upcoming one at Newcastle. So we have had x3 times the amount away from home on sky. How **** biased is that? I am sure sky like us losing that's they have done this. I have never seen such unbalanced coverage in my life. **** Sky 

[VillaChris]

14 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Couldn't care less about finishing above the blues. What difference does it make?

I would be massively embarrassing to finish below them considering they've barely won a game in the last two months.

I'm not bothered either way as to me it's top 6 or bust but I imagine they'd revel in that all summer.

[KSV]

1 minute ago, VillaChris said:

I would be massively embarrassing to finish below them considering they've barely won a game in the last two months.

I'm not bothered either way as to me it's top 6 or bust but I imagine they'd revel in that all summer.

neither have we though. We havent won in 2017 have we? thought i was glad to see the back of 2016. 

[John]

15 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Couldn't care less about finishing above the blues. What difference does it make?

Ask any Nose the same question...

I understand what you are saying and our ambitions have and always will be different to those who drag their knuckles on the pavements from the other side of the city but our minimum requirements from what is left of this sad season is to beat them at Villa Park and to end the season comfortably above them. 

[Demitri_C]

9 hours ago, VillaChris said:

I would be massively embarrassing to finish below them considering they've barely won a game in the last two months.

I'm not bothered either way as to me it's top 6 or bust but I imagine they'd revel in that all summer.

They won against 10 men, I don't think we have played a game against 10 men for 30 mins and blose have on a number of occasions this season.

We do we have a game in hand against them providing we win that we are one point behind. We have 4 homes in next four I am hoping we turn this form around now and then at least finish top 10 and ready for next season 

[ViewFromT2]

On 2/1/2017 at 13:37, turvontour said:

2 away wins in 4 days for Lambert and Weimann. We haven’t recorded back to back away wins since 2014. Although, we did have the great Phillipe Senderos marshalling the defence back then which made us more or less impenetrable. Seriously though wtf, don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this stage.

 

Put this in the push for the playoffs thread just for the lols.

4 home wins and a draw up at Newcastle and we are right back in it going into March.....never say never in football. On paper we have one of the best squads in the division...sooner or later they are gonna show it.

What we haven't seen yet this season is a Villa side brimming with confidence...confidence comes with results. We have been good at home and we can win the next 4 at Villa Park definitely....We have a squad full of players capable of excelling in the league, if we ever get some momentum we can still sneak in.

Look at the results of some of the top 8 recently, they aren't all winning the games you think they will. Nerves come into it now and teams at the bottom are scrapping for every point. The league table can change radically over a month, especially in the championship. 

99% of people think our season is over now, so If Steve Bruce can just get them to go out and play without fear who knows what might happen!

[PieFacE]

On 06/02/2017 at 08:03, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Couldn't care less about finishing above the blues. What difference does it make?

Agreed. We need to be focusing on ourselves and not really be looking at anyone else right now. We need to get some confidence and start putting in some decent performances, lots of work needed on the training pitch. These things take time.

[Designer1]

18 minutes ago, PieFacE said:

Agreed. We need to be focusing on ourselves and not really be looking at anyone else right now. We need to get some confidence and start putting in some decent performances, lots of work needed on the training pitch. These things take time.

[romavillan]

Shall we lock this thread then? Or do we have to wait till we need to win all our remaining games and the teams in the top six have to lose all of theirs?

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, ViewFromT2 said:

4 home wins and a draw up at Newcastle and we are right back in it going into March.....never say never in football. On paper we have one of the best squads in the division...sooner or later they are gonna show it.

What we haven't seen yet this season is a Villa side brimming with confidence...confidence comes with results. We have been good at home and we can win the next 4 at Villa Park definitely....We have a squad full of players capable of excelling in the league, if we ever get some momentum we can still sneak in.

Look at the results of some of the top 8 recently, they aren't all winning the games you think they will. Nerves come into it now and teams at the bottom are scrapping for every point. The league table can change radically over a month, especially in the championship. 

99% of people think our season is over now, so If Steve Bruce can just get them to go out and play without fear who knows what might happen!

I admire your optimism but play offs are over not a chance we are making them this season. 

We need to concentrate on winning games consistently home and away. That has to be short term goal. I suspect now that most have accepted promotion is highly unlikely there will not be as much pressure which may help us get out of this rut and see huge improvement 

[osmark86]

2 hours ago, ViewFromT2 said:

4 home wins and a draw up at Newcastle and we are right back in it going into March.....never say never in football. On paper we have one of the best squads in the division...sooner or later they are gonna show it.

What we haven't seen yet this season is a Villa side brimming with confidence...confidence comes with results. We have been good at home and we can win the next 4 at Villa Park definitely....We have a squad full of players capable of excelling in the league, if we ever get some momentum we can still sneak in.

Look at the results of some of the top 8 recently, they aren't all winning the games you think they will. Nerves come into it now and teams at the bottom are scrapping for every point. The league table can change radically over a month, especially in the championship. 

99% of people think our season is over now, so If Steve Bruce can just get them to go out and play without fear who knows what might happen!

as unlikely as this is as long as there is a chance we should be playing for the play-offs. the pressure is a bit off now given the predicament we're in which should only act as a bolster for simply playing for wins. who knows, maybe we start gelling and getting win after win and if that happens we're right back in it. never give in, no matter how slim the hope. let's go on a winning streak!

[turvontour]

2 hours ago, ViewFromT2 said:

4 home wins and a draw up at Newcastle and we are right back in it going into March.....never say never in football. On paper we have one of the best squads in the division...sooner or later they are gonna show it.

What we haven't seen yet this season is a Villa side brimming with confidence...confidence comes with results. We have been good at home and we can win the next 4 at Villa Park definitely....We have a squad full of players capable of excelling in the league, if we ever get some momentum we can still sneak in.

Look at the results of some of the top 8 recently, they aren't all winning the games you think they will. Nerves come into it now and teams at the bottom are scrapping for every point. The league table can change radically over a month, especially in the championship. 

99% of people think our season is over now, so If Steve Bruce can just get them to go out and play without fear who knows what might happen!

I don’t disagree with you, if we go unbeaten in the next five winning four of those then great, and then maybe win four out of the next five. It’s just that this season to date we win just better than one in four, so we need to see a monumental shift in performances/results for that to materialise.

 

Out of interest, what do you mean by playing without fear, and is that what you see as the problem at the moment?

 

For me, if the players can’t perform at Griffin Park and a half empty City Ground then I don’t fancy our chances of getting out of this division! If I was an ex-Premier league player I would relish going to these pokey mid-table Championship grounds (on the assumption that it was just for one season) just so I could display my talent and enjoy winning matches again. I think we’re seeing just how far away from Premier League quality some of these players are.

[BOF]

Villa's push for the playoffs.

[briggaman]

Play-offs look to be completely out of the picture now, although not being impossible. The main thing is that this team starts to gel over the next few weeks and starts to gain momentum. Whatever happens we need to hit the ground running next season. Promotion will be the minimum expectation next season and failure to get promoted then should see Bruce sacked. However, talk of him being sacked now is premature. This is a new squad lacking confidence but we really do need to start picking up results soon. Play-offs or no play-offs, this team needs a boost from some good results...

[tismyk]

On ‎06‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 09:15, Demitri_C said:

Just so people know and I find this absolutely pathetic from sky. They have shown us on sky 16 times this season with only a pathetic four times at home

Home games: Forest, Newcastle, Wolves and Leeds

Away games: Wednesday, Luton, derby, blose, Brighton, Leeds, Norwich, QPR, Wolves, Brentford, forest and a upcoming one at Newcastle. So we have had x3 times the amount away from home on sky. How **** biased is that? I am sure sky like us losing that's they have done this. I have never seen such unbalanced coverage in my life. **** Sky 

Don't have Sky I stopped years ago its ruined football for the real fan

[Demitri_C]

I still don't see how even if we made play offs anyone thinks we will win them. We can't even win at bloody city ground or Griffin park. How are we going to get a result at Elland road or Hillsborough? Also games are on tv? How would they cope with that pressure 2nd leg away from home?