Matches Last 10 Games

[Siho]

Yes but Stevenage have a bit of Pompey about them - I don’t think they’re a particularly great side but they somehow carve out results and they definitely aren’t going away. Evans has them with the bit between their teeth and I only see them becoming more resilient and more capable of digging out results as the season goes on. Right now, they are everything we are not, even luckier maybe.

I thought pompey's key strength was their unflappabiliy.
They were calm and just didn't make many mistakes.

Stevenage came out furiously, but couldn't keep it up.
Once they tired they didn't have anything to them.

We've already beaten them once, no reason why we can't do it again.

Obviously, it's by no means guaranteed...That's what makes it exciting!

 

[BillyTurleys CurlyWurly]

On form we’ve got no chance but the reality is it would be quite shocking if we can’t reach 75 or so points with that run in.

 

[North Wales Yellow]

I want to see 10 attacking performances where Des firmly shows us his style and what he is about. If we miss out but go out on our sword playing on the front foot it will be easier to swallow than going out with a whimper.

 

[Beast]

There’s no doubt we can make the playoffs, as someone has mentioned, our remaining fixtures are not bad for the run in. But we need to be putting in good performances, like away at pompey on Saturday on a more consistent basis. It’s no good going to top of the league and playing really well and then putting in another rubbish performance against Cheltenham on Saturday like the last home game vs orient!. I believe we have the players to make the playoffs, but they need to perform more consistently!

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I'd love us to suddenly go and win six or seven of the last ten games. But apart from a 'better in defeat' showing at Portsmouth giving us a glimmer of hope, I just can't see it. Saturday will, I suppose, give us some indication - but at the moment I don't trust the current set up (either manager or team) to stay on the front foot. Reverting to the 'safe' (although it isn't!) passing around at the back, backs to goal, slow football is going to rear it's ugly head again.

 

[MustardYellow]

I'd love us to suddenly go and win six or seven of the last ten games. But apart from a 'better in defeat' showing at Portsmouth giving us a glimmer of hope, I just can't see it. Saturday will, I suppose, give us some indication - but at the moment I don't trust the current set up (either manager or team) to stay on the front foot. Reverting to the 'safe' (although it isn't!) passing around at the back, backs to goal, slow football is going to rear it's ugly head again.

Cheltenham have been better under their new manager but still a game we should be winning fairly comfortably. As you say, it'll show us if that uptick in performance Saturday was anything of substance or just a one off.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Cheltenham ... still a game we should be winning fairly comfortably.

The thing is, I don't think that is true. If you look a the form table (https://www.soccerstats.com/formtable.asp?league=england3) over the last 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 games they are above us in every single period. The same is true of Bolton, Lincoln (by a mile), Burton, Stevenage and Exeter! All of our hopes are based on that last performance, and the belief (whether justified or not) that it somehow is the new normal. I guess we will see.

 

[Hackney Jack]

As good as it is to be optimistic in life, given the fact we are pretty much bottom on form, and that we need to win circa 6 games of the remaining ten, it just isn't going to happen with how things have looked on and off the pitch.

 

[OUFCwaffle]

It would be a remarkable drop off. To win 11 of the opening 16, be joint highest scorers and 3rd least conceded to missing out on play-offs winning barely a handful of your last 20 games.

Not sure I can think of that happening to quite an extent before??

2013/14 season comes to mind. We were 3rd for large portions of the start of the season then a huge drop off to finish 7/8th I seem to remember.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Ignore the last 3 games, it is the next 7 that are crucial. If we don't get 15 or 16 points out of the next 21 it is not going to be good enough. Going into games against Peterborough and Stevenage knowing that draws against these could be enough will be so important.

 

[Foley]

This is a classic 'take each game as it comes'.
Win Saturday is critical ( preferably with a convincing performance)

 

[MustardYellow]

This is a classic 'take each game as it comes'.
Win Saturday is critical ( preferably with a convincing performance)

If we fail to win Saturday then any hope for play-offs will be gone for me.

 

[tonyw]

100% this. It’s do-able but that’s a monumental upturn in performances and results required. Just as DB deserves stick for getting us in this current mess, he’d deserve the praise if he manages it. It’s hard to see, or fathom, how we can go from 1 in 10 to 6 or 7 in 10. The fixtures don’t look that easy to me either. Take away the Bolton, Stevenage and Peterborough games where we will likely get no more than 2 points then I think that’s 7 wins needed, minimum 6. We are better than some but are we really any better than Lincoln ? Exeter ? Port Vale ? I’d say we are around that level and no way could we just assume we’d roll them over. A hell of a task but let’s see.

Port Vale haven't won a game in 2024 and have been literally the worst team in the league this calendar year. If we're not better than them, we're not better than anybody!

I think we'll know whether the playoffs are even a possibility by a week on Saturday.
Cheltenham (H), Bolton (A), Port Vale (A) in the next three has to be six points minimum if we're going to do this (obviously the bookend games are the ones we should be winning, but if we screw one of those up but somehow beat Bolton instead, fair enough).

If we do get six points from those three, then maybe a bit more confidence seeps back in (on the pitch and in the stands) and 4/5 wins from the last 7 pretty friendly fixtures would be doable.

If we don't, then we can get started early with the Summer Transfer Window thread, and start planning for next season.

 

[Bitter]

I can't see us going from 1 win in 10 to 6 wins in 10, just not going to happen,. Would love to be proved wrong, just can't see it. What I would like to see is a strong finish to the season taking the game to the opposition, we as fans need to see something to give us belief and optimism for next season.

 

[Gregortheox]

We are a poor side.

We shouldn’t really be 6th and I think we will finish 8th or 9th in the end which will seem like a decent season, when in reality it’s been a bit pants really.

I think we will win 4, draw 2 and lose 4.

We are painfully lacking in critical areas and there are things we can’t or don’t do that we should and things we keep doing that we definitely shouldn’t.

Des will definitely get a summer transfer window and it needs some investment.

 

[Victor1986]

We are a poor side.

We shouldn’t really be 6th and I think we will finish 8th or 9th in the end which will seem like a decent season, when in reality it’s been a bit pants really.

I think we will win 4, draw 2 and lose 4.

We are painfully lacking in critical areas and there are things we can’t or don’t do that we should and things we keep doing that we definitely shouldn’t.

Des will definitely get a summer transfer window and it needs some investment.

Yep, think you're right there. I reckon he will get until October.

 

[Deanroger]

Cheltenham have been better under their new manager but still a game we should be winning fairly comfortably. As you say, it'll show us if that uptick in performance Saturday was anything of substance or just a one off.

I can't remember the last time we won a game comfortably.

 

[derek]

I can't remember the last time we won a game comfortably.

Stevenage? Long time ago though. The midfield play was at times sublime

 

[Sheik Djibouti]

If we do make the playoffs, we should be in pretty good form going into them!

 

[Symp59]

3 wins 2 draws and 5 defeats, I hope we turn the style of the weekend into a win this Saturday. It would great if it was much more but I just can't see .I think Cheltenham is really tough Daryl is a much cleverer manager than how Des is working out ,we were completely stuffed when we played them away.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

We are a poor side.

We shouldn’t really be 6th and I think we will finish 8th or 9th in the end which will seem like a decent season...

We are painfully lacking in critical areas and there are things we can’t or don’t do that we should and things we keep doing that we definitely shouldn’t.

Disagree with much of this. We're not a poor side, and we should be comfortably Top 6.

We're not 'painfully lacking in critical areas' either. We have areas where we are not as strong as others. That happens at every club. Why do we need perfection in order to put up a decent fist of a promotion push?

I think there is a really interesting comparison to be made with Portsmouth here. Imagine, if you will, that Mousinho had jumped ship to Bristol City in November. If this then led to a downturn in form, with them tumbling out of the play-offs, you could comfortably make a case that this was inevitable and that they had previously been in a false position - lot's of late winners, not dominating teams etc. Sound familiar?

That would have been wrong for them - as we can now see - if anything they've improved as the season has gone on (minus a small wobble over the festive period). It is also, IMHO, wrong for us. Who is to say that we wouldn't have improved?

League position and the confidence that comes from that are great drivers. Having seen Portsmouth twice in recent weeks, I don't think, player for player, that they are better than us. And yet they are cruising to the title.

This isn't a dig at Buckingham, it's merely an observation that large swathes of our fanbase regularly talk down our position.

Portsmouth don't have the perfect squad - and they're going to win promotion through organisation and, quite frankly, momentum.

We had both these things earlier in the season - we let them both go without so much as a whimper.

 

[MustardYellow]

Disagree with much of this. We're not a poor side, and we should be comfortably Top 6.

We're not 'painfully lacking in critical areas' either. We have areas where we are not as strong as others. That happens at every club. Why do we need perfection in order to put up a decent fist of a promotion push?

I think there is a really interesting comparison to be made with Portsmouth here. Imagine, if you will, that Mousinho had jumped ship to Bristol City in November. If this then led to a downturn in form, with them tumbling out of the play-offs, you could comfortably make a case that this was inevitable and that they had previously been in a false position - lot's of late winners, not dominating teams etc. Sound familiar?

That would have been wrong for them - as we can now see - if anything they've improved as the season has gone on (minus a small wobble over the festive period). It is also, IMHO, wrong for us. Who is to say that we wouldn't have improved?

League position and the confidence that comes from that are great drivers. Having seen Portsmouth twice in recent weeks, I don't think, player for player, that they are better than us. And yet they are cruising to the title.

This isn't a dig at Buckingham, it's merely an observation that large swathes of our fanbase regularly talk down our position.

Portsmouth don't have the perfect squad - and they're going to win promotion through organisation and, quite frankly, momentum.

We had both these things earlier in the season - we let them both go without so much as a whimper.

Agree. We've shown we can be/are a good team at the start of the season.

You have to be a strong believer in coincidence that we became sh** at the exact time we appointed Des without it having anything to do with him, though. Using your example of if Mousinho jumped ship at Pompey at a similar time to Manning did and they dropped off how we have, I'd bet we'd all be attributing that drop off to Mousinho leaving and whoever replaced him coming in.

I'd say overall, the top 6/7 are fairly comparable in terms of player for player squad strength (other than Stevenage who are punching above their weight). The difference is how the managers use those squads.

 

[Siho]

Agree 100%. We are a good team, but sloppy play has cost us games. Where would we be if we hadn't gifted goals to other teams? or been a bit tighter with our passing and keeping the ball?

 

[holdsteady]

Agree 100%. We are a good team, but sloppy play has cost us games. Where would we be if we hadn't gifted goals to other teams? or been a bit tighter with our passing and keeping the ball?

Other than the 0-0 away to Wycombe you have to go back to Burton at home on the 16th December as the last clean sheet, conceded 2 or more quite a lot recently as well, you are not going to get a decent run of wins doing that.
We need to be tighter, better organised and just meaner, you get the feeling that as a team we don’t place enough value on a clean sheet, no team who gives away the sloppy goals we do is hurt enough by conceding for me.

 

[Gregortheox]

Disagree with much of this. We're not a poor side, and we should be comfortably Top 6.

We're not 'painfully lacking in critical areas' either. We have areas where we are not as strong as others. That happens at every club. Why do we need perfection in order to put up a decent fist of a promotion push?

I think there is a really interesting comparison to be made with Portsmouth here. Imagine, if you will, that Mousinho had jumped ship to Bristol City in November. If this then led to a downturn in form, with them tumbling out of the play-offs, you could comfortably make a case that this was inevitable and that they had previously been in a false position - lot's of late winners, not dominating teams etc. Sound familiar?

That would have been wrong for them - as we can now see - if anything they've improved as the season has gone on (minus a small wobble over the festive period). It is also, IMHO, wrong for us. Who is to say that we wouldn't have improved?

League position and the confidence that comes from that are great drivers. Having seen Portsmouth twice in recent weeks, I don't think, player for player, that they are better than us. And yet they are cruising to the title.

This isn't a dig at Buckingham, it's merely an observation that large swathes of our fanbase regularly talk down our position.

Portsmouth don't have the perfect squad - and they're going to win promotion through organisation and, quite frankly, momentum.

We had both these things earlier in the season - we let them both go without so much as a whimper.

Our performances and results have been substandard for months. There is a point where you have to concede that its no longer poor form.

I would say an explosive right back, a centre back who can shift his feet and is a good one on one defender, a defensive centre mid, and a striker are missing based on a semi educated assessment of our team. Admittedly, we have signed Matete who isn't quite ready yet and Goodwin who could turn out to be brilliant, but how long are we going to wait. There are 10 games left!

One major issue we have is our mental capacity. We seem to be unable to go a match without having a major brain fart or two at the worst possible times. If it was just an isolated case of occasionally playing the wrong ball in the final third, or passing when a shot on goal was on then you could put it down to the level we play at. But its worse than that isn't it? Watching us can be like watching a comedy sketch of panic, madness and mayhem that ensues following a most unusual error which then bleeds through multiple players within the team and ultimately ends with us conceding. Ive turned round to people at games and said "you couldn't f*****g make this up", but its not bad luck is it?

 

[m]

‘Was always expected to be one of consolidation’ ? Really ? After, what, 8 seasons in L1 what precisely are we meant to be consolidating ? A 9th season in L1 ? I must be on my own then as a fan who was expecting a damn sight more than consolidation.

Have you already forgotten last season?

I mean, I get why you'd want to, but if you have, then you should probably refrain from commenting.

 

[Nox]

Our performances and results have been substandard for months. There is a point where you have to concede that its no longer poor form.

I would say an explosive right back, a centre back who can shift his feet and is a good one on one defender, a defensive centre mid, and a striker are missing based on a semi educated assessment of our team. Admittedly, we have signed Matete who isn't quite ready yet and Goodwin who could turn out to be brilliant, but how long are we going to wait. There are 10 games left!

One major issue we have is our mental capacity. We seem to be unable to go a match without having a major brain fart or two at the worst possible times. If it was just an isolated case of occasionally playing the wrong ball in the final third, or passing when a shot on goal was on then you could put it down to the level we play at. But its worse than that isn't it? Watching us can be like watching a comedy sketch of panic, madness and mayhem that ensues following a most unusual error which then bleeds through multiple players within the team and ultimately ends with us conceding. Ive turned round to people at games and said "you couldn't f*****g make this up", but its not bad luck is it?

You are correct in your analysis, unfortunately you won't stop players from making individual errors.
These errors can be less impactful if the team is coached, drilled and set up where every player knows his role in minimizing the impact of individual errors.
There needs to be a team response to dealing with individual error.

 

[MustardYellow]

Have you already forgotten last season?

I mean, I get why you'd want to, but if you have, then you should probably refrain from commenting.

In our 8 seasons in L1 we've only finished below 10th 3 times (assuming we don't this season). Within the remaining 5 seasons we've had 2 play-off campaigns and come close to play-offs 3 times (again, assuming we just miss out this season). 'Off seasons' aren't uncommon in L1 historically. Wigan finished 20th then won the league the next season, for example.

Don't get the idea that the season after an off-season should just be a write off to 'consolidate'.

 

[m]

In our 8 seasons in L1 we've only finished below 10th 3 times (assuming we don't this season). Within the remaining 5 seasons we've had 2 play-off campaigns and come close to play-offs 3 times (again, assuming we just miss out this season). 'Off seasons' aren't uncommon in L1 historically. Wigan finished 20th then won the league the next season, for example.

Don't get the idea that the season after an off-season should just be a write off to 'consolidate'.

So you think the final season of KR's tenure was just an 'off season'?

I would further say that Wigan's circumstances were very 'uncommon', but would welcome examples to the contrary.

 

[Gregortheox]

You are correct in your analysis, unfortunately you won't stop players from making individual errors.
These errors can be less impactful if the team is coached, drilled and set up where every player knows his role in minimizing the impact of individual errors.
There needs to be a team response to dealing with individual error.

I disagree on your first point. I think you cán coach habits and settle on a default choice of action in line with what is least damaging.
For eg. playing a ball under pressure across the pitch in your def 3rd or back to the last man vs a clip down the line followed by an aggressive press. It’s mostly common sense on when to take added risk.
However I do totally agree that we need a better team response to a mistake or losing possession.