by AustrianAndyGull » 28 Feb 2012, 22:48
Gullscorer wrote:Cheltenham, Brighton and Crawley are all beginning to drop points, not to mention ourselves and Shrewsbury. Swindon will undoubtedly be champions, but, with the possiblity of a loan signing, and as Martin Ling says, given a fair wind with injuries and suspensions,
we have as good a chance as any to finish in the top three, never mind the play-offs. 
It's just over a week since Gullscorer posted this and at the time it was a very valid post, the Gillingham game has come and gone and Shrewsbury, Gillingham, Vale and Swindon have all picked up further points tonight. They say what a difference a week makes in football and if we suffer defeat on saturday to that shower of detritus ( as is more likely than not ) then this week could just be the one that kills off our dreams of an auto spot. I personally feel that defeat against Crawley followed by unfavourable results elsewhere will be too much for us. We all agree that the run of form that has got us into this position was quite unbelievable and we just kept digging in, riding our luck, nicking the odd goal out of nothing and it just carried on. Now it is over and without wanting to sound too much like Brucie, another similar run would be a footballing miracle. With Robbo gone, the odd injury and suspension popping up and a sterile attack, things have to click back into place very quickly or the top three could be out of sight come April.
I'm not moaning or complaining one bit. I never expected an automatic spot NOR a play off spot when the season kicked off and i have loved every minute of this season's journey ( apart from the 90 away at Bradford ). I suppose i am being negative but it's not intentional, i am just being realistic. If any of you out there are seriously considering us going up in the top three and you have no worries then hats off to you. I'll have whatever you've had, for me, considering the worst case scenario we could actually not even end up in the play offs. There is always a team that comes with a run and i feel that will be Gillingham, Vale are in the hunt and Oxford, Crawley, Southend, Shrewsbury, Swindon have bigger squads and can attract 'better' loanees if need be. In short, i am seriously concerned about losing our play off berth and i think Martin should address our lack of goals NOW. Failure to do this would show a chink in his armour and be a huge mistake which, for me, would slightly detract from the job he has done this season. He has managed every situation almost perfectly this season but the lack of a fresh attacking threat has been blatantly obvious for many, many months and needs to be addressed now. I hope Martin doesn't allow this inactivity to ruin what he has achieved thus far. Again, not having a pop i'm just telling it as i see it. Martin has done a phenomenal job this season and if he finishes outside the play offs then he will have exceeded my expectations by about 10 league places.
We need to be aware that whilst we can kick on again and challenge for the auto's, we can also endure a huge slump and drop out of the top 7. Whatever it is to be, it will certainly go to the wire which is why we love footy so much. Just get in a half decent striker Martin and we should be ok. Don't piss about getting trialists, just pay over the odds for a decent loanee for 2 months. There must be someone available?
[quote="Gullscorer"]Cheltenham, Brighton and Crawley are all beginning to drop points, not to mention ourselves and Shrewsbury. Swindon will undoubtedly be champions, but, with the possiblity of a loan signing, and as Martin Ling says, given a fair wind with injuries and suspensions, [color=#FF0040]we have as good a chance as any to finish in the top three, never mind the play-offs. :scarf:[/quote][/color]
It's just over a week since Gullscorer posted this and at the time it was a very valid post, the Gillingham game has come and gone and Shrewsbury, Gillingham, Vale and Swindon have all picked up further points tonight. They say what a difference a week makes in football and if we suffer defeat on saturday to that shower of detritus ( as is more likely than not ) then this week could just be the one that kills off our dreams of an auto spot. I personally feel that defeat against Crawley followed by unfavourable results elsewhere will be too much for us. We all agree that the run of form that has got us into this position was quite unbelievable and we just kept digging in, riding our luck, nicking the odd goal out of nothing and it just carried on. Now it is over and without wanting to sound too much like Brucie, another similar run would be a footballing miracle. With Robbo gone, the odd injury and suspension popping up and a sterile attack, things have to click back into place very quickly or the top three could be out of sight come April.
I'm not moaning or complaining one bit. I never expected an automatic spot NOR a play off spot when the season kicked off and i have loved every minute of this season's journey ( apart from the 90 away at Bradford ). I suppose i am being negative but it's not intentional, i am just being realistic. If any of you out there are seriously considering us going up in the top three and you have no worries then hats off to you. I'll have whatever you've had, for me, considering the worst case scenario we could actually not even end up in the play offs. There is always a team that comes with a run and i feel that will be Gillingham, Vale are in the hunt and Oxford, Crawley, Southend, Shrewsbury, Swindon have bigger squads and can attract 'better' loanees if need be. In short, i am seriously concerned about losing our play off berth and i think Martin should address our lack of goals NOW. Failure to do this would show a chink in his armour and be a huge mistake which, for me, would slightly detract from the job he has done this season. He has managed every situation almost perfectly this season but the lack of a fresh attacking threat has been blatantly obvious for many, many months and needs to be addressed now. I hope Martin doesn't allow this inactivity to ruin what he has achieved thus far. Again, not having a pop i'm just telling it as i see it. Martin has done a phenomenal job this season and if he finishes outside the play offs then he will have exceeded my expectations by about 10 league places.
We need to be aware that whilst we can kick on again and challenge for the auto's, we can also endure a huge slump and drop out of the top 7. Whatever it is to be, it will certainly go to the wire which is why we love footy so much. Just get in a half decent striker Martin and we should be ok. Don't piss about getting trialists, just pay over the odds for a decent loanee for 2 months. There must be someone available?
