Relegation

The above puts it all into perspective. After a summer of drum beating and talk of challenging for promotion - with price hikes to cover it - we’re now at Christmas wishing for the season to end with hopefully enough points to stay up and an avoidance of any more humiliating trouncings. Throw in being knocked out of both meaningful cup competitions in the first round we play in to lower league opposition and it really shows what a monumental balls up its all been.

And all that after the owner told a potential new buyer with, by all accounts, the ambition and wealth to take us up to the next level to p*ss off at the last minute..
 
At the beginning of each season there are 46 games, you start each game with one point. By not managing to drop any of those points you’ve been given for nothing you accumulate 46 points. Even if you don’t convert any of those free points into three points you’ve still got what you started with at the beginning of the season.:unsure:
 
If we can keep Payne for the rest of the season I think we've got enough to stay up this season. But that depends on players confidence, and their confidence in the manager. They read social media and will know what the fans think. Port Vale had 27 points this time last season and were relegated. A bad run of form post Christmas can put you right where you don't want to be.

Many of Peps signings have been extremely poor. More of those filling the squad next season and I'd be waging us to go down. At what point do you decide he can take us forward?

Appletons work will soon be totally dismantled, and that's the real worry. I have very little confidence in Pep for next season.
 
The league has a few poor teams, a few good teams and many that are very average this year.

Similarly, we have had a couple of games where we've looked great and a few where we've looked awful - and many more where we have been bog standard.

We have lost Nelson and Hall and the squad has been far too weak. The players brought in have promised much and delivered little, as has Pep. The problem is, what happens next?

My gut feeling is that we will pick up enough points to be safe, although we could finish anywhere between 8th and 18th! Is that good enough? Absolutely not! But panic now and we could spend a lot (paying off Pep and funding a new manager) without any guarantees of getting anything better.

As sad as it sounds, we can already pretty much right this season off and look towards something much better next year. Hopefully with clearer leadership in the boardroom, dressing room and on the pitch - whoever that involves.
 
Looking at our remaining fixtures, the home games look a lot kinder than our away games. Imagine if we need something from our final game away at Blackburn!

Home

MK Dons
Blackpool
Bury
Bristol Rovers
Plymouth
Fleetwood
Peterborough
Scunthorpe
Oldham
Southend
Rochdale

Away

Bradford
Walsall
Wigan
Charlton Athletic
Rotherham
Northampton
Wimbledon
Portsmouth
Shrewsbury
Doncaster
Blackburn
 
So our last five results:

1-1
1-0
0-0
0-7
1-1

And from those remaining fixtures we need 6 wins to get to the magical 50 point mark.. easy. We’ll get that no problem.

Won’t we.....?
 
I will give the owner of this web page £500. he then can give it to the first person who matches it and is proved right on us being relegated. All to local Oxfordshire charities. Who is is game.
 
Based on nothing more than the comments on the forum, RADOX and Pep/player interviews, i don't think there is one single person who is either happy or confident in what is happening at the club on or off the pitch right now.

If there is someone out there who is, it would be great to hear your comments as to why you are confident/happy.

Personally, my mindset has shifted from being ambitious about a possible promotion chance to now being happy to stay up.
 
Dubai Yellow said:
Based on nothing more than the comments on the forum, RADOX and Pep/player interviews, i don't think there is one single person who is either happy or confident in what is happening at the club on or off the pitch right now.

If there is someone out there who is, it would be great to hear your comments as to why you are confident/happy.

Personally, my mindset has shifted from being ambitious about a possible promotion chance to now being happy to stay up.
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We've just been beat 7 nil at home, lost our captain for the season, consistently inconsistent, with little communication from above and, if rumours are to be believed, a second failed takeover in the last 6 months.

No one will be happy with that.

But that doesn't mean that we have to live in a state of permanent depression. We have been awful at times, but there are still teams worse than us, and I think we will have more than enough to be safe this season. Things have to change, but some of the kneejerking is a little premature in my view.
 
Posting this here as not sure where else to do so, seems the most apt being as the discussion is largely about the management.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back and think about the bigger picture.

A point away from home is always good, but more importantly I think the players showed their belief in each other and what we are trying to build here.

Note the word ‘build’ because I think it is a key one to remember”

An excerpt from Peps column in today’s Mail..

I’m trying not to join in with the Pep bashing here, I can see the guy is working as hard as he can under difficult circumstances but I have to pick him up on this. I fail to see evidence of ‘building’ on what was already in place. To me it’s been more a case of completely dismantling the model and starting again. I’d really like to see a coherent strategy and formula for going forward but at the moment it’s really difficult. Hopefully as January passes the way forward will become a lot more clear
 
That might not look likely now. But where are the next points coming from? Certainly not expecting anything against MK Dons or anyone else anytime soon
 
I have been a member of this forum old and new for many years. And l don’t normally comment,
But l feel we are at a crossroad ‘s if we the fans , chairman manager and players don’t start pulling together we are in big trouble.lf the negativity from this forum rubs of on the players we will be knackered.We the fans make this club great no matter what manager or owner we have . Sorry for my rant Happy new year COYYS
 
Scotchegg said:
But that doesn't mean that we have to live in a state of permanent depression. We have been awful at times, but there are still teams worse than us, and I think we will have more than enough to be safe this season. Things have to change, but some of the kneejerking is a little premature in my view.
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I totally agree with that. kneejerk reactions seem to be all of the rage in todays immediate communication culture.
The next two games are big games. Even one win will be good enough to keep us away from relegation form. We do need to start turning things around after a bad run.
 
WestOxon U’s said:
The Walsall away match is also crucial next week as well as today v MKD and
Saturday v Blackpool.
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Our next 2 games are against teams in equally poor form as us, MK with 2 wins in 13, Blackpool with the same record in the League (its worse if you include losing to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup). Walsall are in slightly better form but still 4 wins in 13

So a decent chance to pick up points against equally out of form teams

Lets hope Jan brings a few new faces as the injury list we have would cripple most clubs and not sure that is being taken into account when assessing the manager

Fingers crossed
 
Browny said:
Our next 2 games are against teams in equally poor form as us, MK with 2 wins in 13, Blackpool with the same record in the League (its worse if you include losing to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup). Walsall are in slightly better form but still 4 wins in 13

So a decent chance to pick up points against equally out of form teams

Lets hope Jan brings a few new faces as the injury list we have would cripple most clubs and not sure that is being taken into account when assessing the manager

Fingers crossed
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These two home games will really show wether we are a true mid table team (as we should win them) or heading for a relegation battle
 
PC said:
Incorrect to call everything you don't like a knee-jerk reaction although fashionable.

This thread, for instance is the result of 1 year observing the increasing distance between owner's interest
ns the club's, fumbling of an inpet manager and the transformation of playing staff from young thoroughbreds to aged journeymen.
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Agree that DE has lost interest. A great shame but it’s hard to criticise when he’s losing ££ hand over fist.

But. You can’t really criticise a manager who is working with a chairman who has lost interest and is not investing in the squad.

If a manager is backed and is then not producing, carry on.

Given the lack of transfer funds and injuries, Pep is doing okay. This job is an absolute stinker at the minute. I can’t imagine anyone doing any better.

That’s why we come up against good teams we are exposed. Tanks v pop guns
 
PC said:
Depends who's responsible for the signings, IMO.
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It’s the manager. But we are shopping in Lidl. The quality is poor

Under Appleton we were shopping in Waitrose. Better quality

But given where we are shopping and where we are in the league today Pep has ya about where he should be expected to have us
 
DEs attention has definitely been elsewhere for the past 6 months with the various takeover rigmaroles. It's fair to say, a lot of fan energy has been expended on those rigmaroles. What we need now is for some communal breaths to be taken, some calm and for us focus on the league again without resorting to the we're down nonsense.
 
Gary Baldi said:
DEs attention has definitely been elsewhere for the past 6 months with the various takeover rigmaroles. It's fair to say, a lot of fan energy has been expended on those rigmaroles. What we need now is for some communal breaths to be taken, some calm and for us focus on the league again without resorting to the we're down nonsense.
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Totally agree. This is a game of opinions and we can't agree all of the time. But relegation- seriously?
It could still happen, but with the players that we have we have 35 points from 26 games. We have a decent record against the lower teams generally (in the last 9 league games, we have only lost to Wigan, Blackburn and Bradford).
We have in that time beaten Plymouth, Doncaster and MK (drawn away to Southern/ Rochdale and Gillingham).
So to me suggesting relegation was a kneejerk reaction.
To put into perspective we now need what 15 points from 20 games (so we could win 5 and lose 15 and probably not go down).
I don't disagree at all with the lack of direction at the club. But IF we were to beat Blackpool and sign 2-3 quality players (plus getting Gino/ Mehmeti/ Raglan and Pekalski fit) things may just start looking a little better again?
 
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