Reivax_Villa Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 I am happy with the result because it is always tough at Elland Road. I think we just need to take it one game at a time. I am pretty confident that we will reach the play offs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turvontour Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Id say that last nights result was OK in isolation but we really need to draw fewer games if automatic promotion is to be a possibility. We're still drawing a third of our games, the same as last season. Last year the top 3 or 4 were drawing once every six games, this season the top few are drawing one every ten! I dont know whether its telling us that we are not adventurous enough, or simply not good enough. But also that we're generally good enough not to lose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 7 minutes ago, turvontour said: Id say that last nights result was OK in isolation but we really need to draw fewer games if automatic promotion is to be a possibility. We're still drawing a third of our games, the same as last season. Last year the top 3 or 4 were drawing once every six games, this season the top few are drawing one every ten! I dont know whether its telling us that we are not adventurous enough, or simply not good enough. But also that we're generally good enough not to lose. Agreed about last night. In isolation it's a good point and a nice come back performance. However we were 7pts off 2nd place on September 1st and 3 months later the gap is the same. The awful start and the form of those above means we need to do more and I'm not sure we are capable of it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareth Posted December 2, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted December 2, 2017 Cardiff's form is a real bugger. But can't be unhappy today, 4 games without terry and 10 points. Match this form in the second part of the season, reverse those results against Cardiff and Reading and we'll make that gap up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 It's not just cardiffs form, they have had minimal injuries and played a majority of the top sides at home as opposed to us who have played all the top sides away barring Sheffield united at first part of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 10 hours ago, KSV said: Take 4 attackers from Wolves starting side and their best defender. They be lucky to be in the top 6. This is what we have had to deal with. We just need to make the play offs. Top 2 is unrealistic.. as without 5 of our best players for long periods of time.. i just dont think we have enough to beat the top sides. If we can somehow make the play offs.. maybe a one or two loan signings in January.. we may make a push come play off time. Brucey i believe has been promoted 4 times all via play offs correct? Hes got a good record. So you have to take away half of their starting XI for them to be on our level We can't finish top 2 because we can't beat the top sides, but we just need to finish in the playoffs...where we will be facing, wait for it...top sides? So you're basically banking everything on "Brucey's" playoff record. Man, you're going to be in for a world of hurt is all I can say. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 1 hour ago, Keyblade said: So you have to take away half of their starting XI for them to be on our level We can't finish top 2 because we can't beat the top sides, but we just need to finish in the playoffs...where we will be facing, wait for it...top sides? So you're basically banking everything on "Brucey's" playoff record. Man, you're going to be in for a world of hurt is all I can say. Would argue the top sides have trouble beating us. cardiff was second game of season and was not same team we have today, wolves the only other side. boro, at home we should have won I accept that and we would have hogan didn't block hourihane goal. We haven't lost at leeds, Bristol city either. Minus the top two away from home next few weeks will be interesting. As we play those around us I fancy us to pick up a couple wins against those around us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post VillaChris Posted December 2, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted December 2, 2017 1 hour ago, Demitri_C said: It's not just cardiffs form, they have had minimal injuries and played a majority of the top sides at home as opposed to us who have played all the top sides away barring Sheffield united at first part of the season. Incorrect. Cardiff are missing their main forward atm (Zahore hasn't played for over a month) and Mendez-Laing only returned last night after a few weeks on the sidelines so that's two of the front three that ripped us apart in August who have been out. Their main midfielder Aron Gunnarsson has also missed a lot recently. I think people are confusing "Cardiff haven't had many injuries" for "I couldn't name more than three Cardiff players so wouldn't have a clue whos injured when I see their starting 11". Quote Neil Warnock provided fitness updates on a number of Cardiff City players after their 1-0 victory over Barnsley on Tuesday night. Joe Bennett and Aron Gunnarsson both started the game after shaking off injuries, but Kenneth Zohore and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing were among the major absentees. Callum Paterson's goal was the difference at Oakwell, but Warnock took time after the match to explain how his injured men were faring on their recovery trails. Kenneth Zohore "When you lose Zohore and Mendez-Laing, you're bound to be a bit affected," said Warnock after the Barnsley win, prompting queries over the duo's fitness. Zohore hasn't been seen since Cardiff's 1-0 defeat at Birmingham more than a month after, struggling with an ankle ligament injury. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-injury-bulletin-neil-13936154 That was just last week. Cardiff will be more of a threat than Sheffield United. Just a much more experienced manager and squad at this level. They won't be going away. That said I'd be amazed if they get 90 + points. They will go on a winless run at some stage. We need to make sure we can capitalise when they do that. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 16 minutes ago, VillaChris said: Incorrect. Cardiff are missing their main forward atm (Zahore hasn't played for over a month) and Mendez-Laing only returned last night after a few weeks on the sidelines so that's two of the front three that ripped us apart in August who have been out. Their main midfielder Aron Gunnarsson has also missed a lot recently. I think people are confusing "Cardiff haven't had many injuries" for "I couldn't name more than three Cardiff players so wouldn't have a clue whos injured when I see their starting 11". http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-injury-bulletin-neil-13936154 That was just last week. Cardiff will be more of a threat than Sheffield United. Just a much more experienced manager and squad at this level. They won't be going away. That said I'd be amazed if they get 90 + points. They will go on a winless run at some stage. We need to make sure we can capitalise when they do that. This is a good post. We have to beat them and the other top sides and hope they struggle away to the better sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post VillaChris Posted December 2, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted December 2, 2017 I think the most important thing is we just keep touch. December is a hard month for us, we will be dropping more points over the next few weeks so important we nick more draws and win Millwall and another. If we can get through that I look at February and March as the months where we make up the ground on 2nd (QPR, Burton, SHA, Preston home, Bolton, Hull away etc). Then April really will be a do or die month. Got Cardiff, Leeds and Derby as our final three home games. This squad is certainly capable of getting 85 points which I don't think would be that far off second. If we continue our current points pick up we'd be in 72 points after 40 games so that would pretty much be play offs so marginal improvement requirement. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 That gap is 7 points again. At the risk of being called a "doom monger" for just being realistic, I can't see how we are meant to close that gap. We are playing well and getting good results and we STILL haven't got any closer to 2nd. We are starting to create a bit of a gap of our own though, the gap to 7th, giving us real hope of a play off place which we realistically are aiming for. We are really going to have to get Davis scoring goals if we want to push on though, as we can't keep relying on our midfielders to score. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 12 hours ago, Reivax_Villa said: I am pretty confident that we will reach the play offs. I'd hazard a guess that everyone is pretty confident of this. The problem is that the minimum expectation this season was automatic promotion. Anything less than that is a failure IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 3 minutes ago, villa89 said: The problem is that the minimum expectation this season was automatic promotion. If that was your minimum expectation then you were always running the risk of being disappointed. Surely play offs would have been the "minimum" expectation with automatic promotion the perfect scenario? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 11 minutes ago, One For The Road said: Surely play offs would have been the "minimum" expectation Not with the money spent on the squad and the highest wage bill in the league. You could say promotion is the minimum expectation and if we go up via the playoffs then that has been achieved but I think that we should be one of the two best teams in this league at the end of this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 The points gap at the moment may be 7 points, but we are yet to hit the half way point yet. No need to hit the panic button or be gloomy just yet in my opinion. I am not saying it is a certainty that we will overturn the gap, just that there is lots of time for a few twists and turns in this season yet. The big point swings tend to happen in the final third of the season as the pressure cranks up, teams that were normally losing suddenly find extra fight to survive, tiredness kicks in, stress levels raise and injuries take there toll. We need to keep on the heels of the teams above, and hope the experience of Terry, Chester and Whelan carry us through the pressure period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 24 minutes ago, One For The Road said: If that was your minimum expectation then you were always running the risk of being disappointed. Surely play offs would have been the "minimum" expectation with automatic promotion the perfect scenario? Every message from the club in the summer was that top 2 was the target. If we go up through the playoffs then it's still job done. Anything but promotion and Bruce has failed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 19 minutes ago, DCJonah said: Every message from the club in the summer was that top 2 was the target. If we go up through the playoffs then it's still job done. Anything but promotion and Bruce has failed. Agree. Ending the season in playoff places isn't failure. It's 3 more games to succeed. Id actually love to go up via playoffs. Would be a great memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 17 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Id actually love to go up via playoffs. Would be a great memory. Not sure I could handle the nerves tbh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, VillaChris said: Incorrect. Cardiff are missing their main forward atm (Zahore hasn't played for over a month) and Mendez-Laing only returned last night after a few weeks on the sidelines so that's two of the front three that ripped us apart in August who have been out. Their main midfielder Aron Gunnarsson has also missed a lot recently. I think people are confusing "Cardiff haven't had many injuries" for "I couldn't name more than three Cardiff players so wouldn't have a clue whos injured when I see their starting 11". http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-injury-bulletin-neil-13936154 That was just last week. Cardiff will be more of a threat than Sheffield United. Just a much more experienced manager and squad at this level. They won't be going away. That said I'd be amazed if they get 90 + points. They will go on a winless run at some stage. We need to make sure we can capitalise when they do that. "A few weeks" try them having kodjia out for near enough the whole season, jedinak the whole season and Terry about for 4-6 weeks. Grealish out most of the season, Lansbury out for few months. Dont try tell me they have had injuries like we have i agree with your last paragraph though! Edited December 2, 2017 by Demitri_C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 23 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: "A few weeks" try them having kodjia out for near enough the whole season, jedinak the whole season and Terry about for 4-6 weeks. Grealish out most of the season, Lansbury out for few months. Dont try tell me they have had injuries like we have i agree with your last paragraph though! I don't think he did. He just made the point that they have suffered some injuries to key players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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