League One survival?

[Pete Burrett]

The most worrying aspects are 1) our poor form, and 2) the general morale surrounding the club, which must affect our prospects for improving.

Last 6 match form amongst current bottom 10 clubs;

Oldham 11 points
Rochdale 10
Blackpool 9
Bury 9
Wimbledon 7
Doncaster 6
Northampton 6
Oxford 4
MK Dons 2
Fleetwood 2

I wasn't worried until today. I'd thought Rochdale, MK Dons and Bury were doomed (and maybe they still are), so we only had to stay ahead of one of the other six 'relegation contenders'. But the lack of a manager with the required grit to get us to safety, and the fact that our competitors seem to be scrapping more intensely than we are, suggests we could be in trouble.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

We are a terrible team at the moment. Shipping goals, unable to score enough, losing against other relegation contenders, with a stand-in manager whose team selections are uninspiring (where was Henry? Obika instead of Thomas? Mousinho?) and whose training is making very little difference to the quality of what's on display. Add in a load of players who will be off (returning loanees, those leaving and Pep's deadwood being culled) who have little motivation and you have a recipe for disaster.

Logically (or at least mathematically) you would say we are still in a better position to avoid the drop than many of those below us. But if you have watched us play recently I think you would have to be a huge optimist to bet against a calamitous ending to a very very disappointing season.

 

[moomooland]

We're fucked

 

[T’ai Chi]

It’s not as if our home form is great either.

 

[bicesterox]

I'd love to be able to say I can see 5 wins in there, but at the moment I cant see 5 points.

This has been on the cards for ages and no one seemed worried like I have been, and have been saying on here.

We nèed a new manager NOW to give the players a kick up the a**e and get them fighting for the club....this feels as bad as 2006

Feel sick at the thought of relegation but even sicker at the lack of bottle being shown by this squad..

 

[Berliner]

In the words of Yogi Berra, "it feels like deja vu all over again". This is so like 2006 it's spooky.
Results don't lie, and at this moment our last results have been dire. Even Charlton was a smash and grab last minute win.
One side always gets sucked down into the mire, it was us in 2006. I hope (and think) we'll still just about be OK though.

 

[Sandy]

I'd love to be able to say I can see 5 wins in there, but at the moment I cant see 5 points.

This has been on the cards for ages and no one seemed worried like I have been, and have been saying on here.

We nèed a new manager NOW to give the players a kick up the a**e and get them fighting for the club....this feels as bad as 2006

Feel sick at the thought of relegation but even sicker at the lack of bottle being shown by this squad..

I'd love to be able to say I can see 5 wins in there, but at the moment I cant see 5 points.

This has been on the cards for ages and no one seemed worried like I have been, and have been saying on here.

We nèed a new manager NOW to give the players a kick up the a**e and get them fighting for the club....this feels as bad as 2006

Feel sick at the thought of relegation but even sicker at the lack of bottle being shown by this squad..

 

[lerekdilley]

Really feels like 2006. Wasn’t Peterborough Jim Smiths first game in charge that season too after a takeover? Accrington going well below us too. Coincidence!!

Stand up the new Tcham N’Toya..

 

[Paul Cannell]

Nothing's changed since November then.

 

[FalmouthOx]

I am struggling to see a role for Faz. Clearly cannot motivate the players who are headless chickens, absolutely dire selection - we need some continuity with players playing together in same position - seems all that matters is who looks good in training during the week. Coaching? We are clueless at set pieces, corners and can't even defend a long cross. Epic Fail. Need a new face with an assistant/coach quick but it would be interesting to hear who is on the shortlist since all the usual suspects seemingly havent been called. Phil Brown until the end of the year

 

[werthersoriginal]

THe thing about us is that we are good at surprise wins. We need one soon! Get a decent manager and win a couple on the trot and we will be fine. But at the moment we would lose to Forest Green.

 

[FalmouthOx]

Another team struggling, leaking goals and apparently now taking short corners is Birmingham. Lost their last 8. Pep magic not working yet but there are a lot of positives to take from their performances.

 

[FalmouthOx]

THe thing about us is that we are good at surprise wins. We need one soon! Get a decent manager and win a couple on the trot and we will be fine. But at the moment we would lose to Forest Green.

and the scum

 

[Lundinsponytail]

I'd love to be able to say I can see 5 wins in there, but at the moment I cant see 5 points.

This has been on the cards for ages and no one seemed worried like I have been, and have been saying on here.

We nèed a new manager NOW to give the players a kick up the a**e and get them fighting for the club....this feels as bad as 2006

Feel sick at the thought of relegation but even sicker at the lack of bottle being shown by this squad..

Erm.... may I politely contradict your view that you have been the only one worried? There has been a reasonably significant group on here who were saying, even when we were top 10, that we were playing so poorly that anything could happen.
I lost faith in this squad (and Pep) away at Blackpool in September!
But countering those who could judge with their own eyes was the Alice in Wonderland brigade - a toxic mix of a manager trying to spin not improve, a personality cult in place of a chairman, a joke of a Board, and the followers of the personality cult, who had bought wholesale into the Brummie wizard, no matter how blatant his behaviours.
That mix was, and is; one that deserves to fail. Until and unless the club (top to bottom) gets some proper leadership, some humility and, consequently, some guts it will continue to deserve to fail.

 

[OUFCwaffle]

Wish someone would just step up and take charge of this absolute mess that we're in. If I were a player in this situation I'd use our league position as motivation to train harder. How the hell can we go all season without improving at all? Clearly nobody gives a s**t though.
I fear that should the worst happen we would fester in league 2 or worse for many years to come.

 

[Anthomic]

Map could see this coming and jumped ship.

 

[arthurturner]

In truth, and with retrospection, the seeds of our decline were sown when Ashton departed.

 

[carefreeoufc]

There have been people on here (for a while) who have suggested relegation. As usual though there’s a larger group of people who seemingly ignore (whether purposely or not) what is happening on and off the pitch.

In our best form we’ve been inconsistent at best, however, since before Christmas we’ve been plain crap!!! People have ignored it and what’s going on behind the scenes which must have some impact on performances however small.

There seems to be a complacency on this forum over recent years where there’s no such thing as a must win. Mathematics seems to take over instead of people actually looking at our performances.

I’ll be amazed and very, very happy if we stay up. If we are relegated then some serious questions need to be asked!

 

[arthurturner]

Map could see this coming and jumped ship.

You may be right that he might have realised that the enthusiasm for the club to push on was waning but I don't think it fair to say he jumped ship. He got the chance to vastly increase his salary at a Premiership club where he is clearly making an impact. Looks like an excellent career move to me.

 

[LowerSouth]

I think many of us do actually look for a performance-winning isn’t always the be all etc.
Recent games (excluding BRovers) have seen an improvement in performance,but with 2 draws and 2 wins from 11 games, this has not been enough.
We are now in the last 11 games and I’m afraid that mathematics do very much come to the fore-if we repeat the above 8 points we are doomed !
So I’m hoping for points well in excess of 8,however they come.
I will (God willing) be at all 11 games, so team, help me out,please ?