Matches Top 6 Race 2023/24

[Steve Gilbert]

It comes down to 3 games:

Barnsley vs Northampton
Exeter vs Oxford
Lincoln vs Portsmouth
Reading vs Blackpool

Current standings:
Barnsley - 75
Lincoln - 74
Oxford - 74
Blackpool - 73

If we win then we need to Lincoln to draw/lose or Barnsley to draw/lose

If we draw then we need Barnsley to lose or Lincoln to lose.

If we lose then we don’t make it.

 

[Manorlounger]

So these are the games left for the sides chasing the final play off spot.
I believe every team should win at least 4 of their games with Blackpool winning 5. Obviously us and Lincoln can't both come away with 3 points, same with Stevenage, so we would need at least a point in these games to keep us out of reach of them.

Oxford​	Lincoln​	Stevenage​	Blackpool​	Orient​
Shrewbury (A)	Orient (H)	Carlisle (A)	Derby (A)	Lincoln (A)
Fleetwood (A)	Carlisle (A)	Bolton (H)	Wycombe (H)	Peterborough (H)
Burton (A)	Reading (A)	Charlton (A)	Cambridge (H)	Cheltenham (H)
Peterborough (H)	Wigan (H)	Exeter (A)	Fleetwood (H)	Exeter (H)
Lincoln (H)	Oxford (A)	Barnsley (H)	Carlisle (A)	Derby (A)
Stevenage (H)	Cheltenham (A)	Burton (H)	Barnsley (H)	Fleetwood (H)
Exeter (A)	Pompey (H)	Oxford (A)	Reading (A)	Shrewsbury (A)
Cheltenham (H)

I feel it will be between us and Blackpool due to the games they have left.

We have to play Cheltenham at home again!!?? That's a bit harsh, of course, if we beat them again . .. . .

 

[Jster]

I'm guessing the extra fixture is meant to be for Stevenage, as they have the game in hand on the rest.

Stevenage play Carlisle on Saturday, when the rest don't play, so all will be equal fixture-wise after that.

 

[Roge]

I think you will find Fleetwood is at home

 

[Steve Gilbert]

After a few copy and paste teething problems I think all fixtures should be correct!

 

[Scotchegg]

I posted this on Saturday but for some reason it was merged with another thread.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Think it's more of a race for 6th place. The top 5 will be the top 5.

Lincoln are the the team to watch currently.

 

[Up The Manor]

We are only in 6th place due to the 9 wins from 11 games Manning got us at the start of season .
Other than that we are plummeting like stone and have been since Des first arrived .
I think it will take a miracle to make the play offs now .
The decline in performances and structure to our game plan in recent months has been failure of the highest order .
We are 2 poor home results away from it being a bad history statistic for another season .

 

[Steve Gilbert]

We are only in 6th place due to the 9 wins from 11 games Manning got us at the start of season .
Other than that we are plummeting like stone and have been since Des first arrived .
I think it will take a miracle to make the play offs now .
The decline in performances and structure to our game plan in recent months has been failure of the highest order .
We are 2 poor home results away from it being a bad history statistic for another season .

We are 6th because we have got 63 points over 39 games which is 2 more than the team in 7th. If we had just 9 wins then we would be 2nd bottom on 27 points.

We have been consistently inconsistent this season but at least we are still very much in the mix and have something to actually play for in the last 7 games.

 

[Up The Manor]

We are 6th because we have got 63 points over 39 games which is 2 more than the team in 7th. If we had just 9 wins then we would be 2nd bottom on 27 points.

We have been consistently inconsistent this season but at least we are still very much in the mix and have something to actually play for in the last 7 games.

Consistently inconsistent since Des has been here you mean ?
9 wins from 11 isn't inconsistent under previous manager .

 

[Chris on a Bike]

As a matter of interest UTM where did you think we'd finish this season (before a ball was kicked)?

 

[Steve Gilbert]

As a matter of interest UTM where did you think we'd finish this season (before a ball was kicked)?

According to this, 50% of this forum thought realistic progression after last season would be a play off push but just missing out. Given the season we have had off the pitch then I think even after the 1st 10 games, it can be seen as realistic progression.

Fan's View - What Is Realistic Progression?

After a few dramatic posts on here and also twitter after last night I was curious to see what people actually thought would be a good level of progression after last season. Given the rebuild needed needed not just on the field but off it too with the change in staff it would be a top half...

yellowsforum.co.uk

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Consistently inconsistent since Des has been here you mean ?
9 wins from 11 isn't inconsistent under previous manager .

Our form had already dropped off while Manning was still here though.

 

[maidenheadox]

We are only in 6th place due to the 9 wins from 11 games Manning got us at the start of season .
Other than that we are plummeting like stone and have been since Des first arrived .
I think it will take a miracle to make the play offs now .
The decline in performances and structure to our game plan in recent months has been failure of the highest order .
We are 2 poor home results away from it being a bad history statistic for another season .

I think the point of this thread was to have a discussion about the remaining games as it's quite an exciting stage of the season. We are where we are, the post mortems have been done to death .....

 

[Leysboy]

If we don’t win the next three games, the race is run. It’s looking like a tall order!

I had us down for a top 4 finish at the beginning of the season, but that was with Manning at the helm.

Under Des we look like a team that is more suitable to a Sunday league game at Florence Park.

If somehow we do win the next three games, then we’d need a win somewhere else and a draw against either Peterborough or Stevenage. If we don’t finish in the top 6 this season, then it’s been a failure.

 

[Up The Manor]

Our form had already dropped off while Manning was still here though.

I disagree we were 3 points of top spot when he left with 10 wins 2 draws and 3 defeats .Decent form after 15 games .

 

[Up The Manor]

As a matter of interest UTM where did you think we'd finish this season (before a ball was kicked)?

Top 6 all day long with the budget we have .
Nothing less is exceptable .

 

[Under The Cuckoo Lane]

We are only in 6th place due to the 9 wins from 11 games Manning got us at the start of season .
Other than that we are plummeting like stone and have been since Des first arrived .
I think it will take a miracle to make the play offs now .
The decline in performances and structure to our game plan in recent months has been failure of the highest order .
We are 2 poor home results away from it being a bad history statistic for another season .

 

[Under The Cuckoo Lane]

Generally yes our results have been poor under Des, however we've won 2 out of last 3 and could well make 6th. That said I can't see us getting promotion through play offs but at least it would keep us interested.

 

[NorthernExile]

Lincoln have got all the momentum. My money would be on them. I'd be delighted if we had anything to play for come Exeter.

 

[BS32]

I think we can win those first 3 games and then play Posh who could already have secured a play off place and potentially be resting players, I don, t think we can win the play offs but we have a great chance to grab 6th place at least

 

[Gregortheox]

Someone is about to be awesome. If that continues to be Lincoln then hats off to them…I’ve got a feeling it won’t be them though.

 

[Chippy]

The key thing is, how many points do we think wins the battle for 6th place?

74, 75 or 76+? From the remaining fixtures which team looks the most likely to achieve the points target?

We also need to be wary that our goal difference is currently worse than 3 of the other sides vying for 6th.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

The key thing is, how many points do we think wins the battle for 6th place?

74, 75 or 76+? From the remaining fixtures which team looks the most likely to achieve the points target?

We also need to be wary that our goal difference is currently worse than 3 of the other sides vying for 6th.

I think 75 or 76 will get you in the play offs this season.
Wins in the next 3, a defeat against Peterborough, draws against Stevenage and Lincoln and beat Exeter would put us on 77 points.
It’s vital we don’t lose either game against Lincoln or Stevenage.

You never know, we might actually have a game where all the people who say every week that it’s a must win, might actually be right on the last day.

 

[Basham Wonderland]

Got to say if we are anything other than sixth best out of that lot come the end of the season I will be very surprised.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Got to say if we are anything other than sixth best out of that lot come the end of the season I will be very surprised.

It all depends on Lincoln and if they can keep this form up. They are in the same form as we were at the start of the season but scoring goals for fun on top.
I actually think the international break has come at a bad time for them as they won’t want 2 weeks off.
For us I think it has come at the perfect time to regroup, got a win going into it.

If I was Des I’d maybe go old school and let the players have a team bonding session and send them out on the p**s. It sounds strange but it can actually bring a team together going into the last stage of the season.
West Brom did it in the season they stayed up on the last day of the season and they went abroad, basically on a lads holiday and it brought everyone together.

 

[Joey]

Lincoln have got all the momentum. My money would be on them. I'd be delighted if we had anything to play for come Exeter.

I don't think they'll keep it up. They're playing well of course and Skubala has done an excellent job but there's no way you keep scoring that many goals creating the amount of chances they do and conceding that few with the amount of chances you concede, it's completely unsustainable. Like us at the start of the season under Manning but up another level, it can't last.

That said the confidence it gives a team will always help. I'm glad we're not playing them and hope the international break disrupts their momentum a bit. We look pretty hopeless most weeks so I don't hold out a lot of hope but by the same token Stevenage are in even worse form than us, Leyton Orient are too far back realistically, if it was just us they were chasing them maybe but they've got to pick up more points than four separate teams. Blackpool sometimes look a threat but have never been able to string a run of results together. It's very easy to only look at yourself, think how rubbish we look and assume everyone around us is better but I'm not sure that's the case. Whoever comes 6th I can't see being a factor in the playoffs.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Would people prefer to make the play offs but get beaten comfortably over 2 legs or just miss out on them?

 

[Scotchegg]

I'd prefer that we make the playoffs and see what happens. There are countless examples where a team that scrape in to 6th beat the team who are a dozen points better off in 3rd.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I'd prefer that we make the playoffs and see what happens. There are countless examples where a team that scrape in to 6th beat the team who are a dozen points better off in 3rd.

Also it would prolong the fun, which is actually the point of it all.