Where will we finish?

[ivoralljack]

WOL did a survey of the remaining results and I did it; took just a couple of minutes. It showed the following final positions but I must stress that I rushed through it and, had I taken more time, some of my predictions might have affected the final placings. I could have given it more thought but there was no bias in my selections. Pointless cheating myself.

01 Norwich 95 points

02 Swansea 90

03 Brentford 89

04 Watford 87

05 Reading 73

06 B'mouth 73

07 Barnsley 73

08 Boro 71

09 Cardiff 68

10 Stoke 61

11 Millwall 60

You can do the survey here and it takes a couple of minutes or about five if you think about it.

Will Swansea or Cardiff be promoted? Have your say on the Championship run-in

Have your say on who will gain promotion from the Championship this season using our updated match prediction gadget

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[CroJack]

Here is what I've got.

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[ivoralljack]

Yours looks prettier than mine, CJ.

 

[Behindthegoal]

mine comes out as
Norwich 101
swansea 94
brentford 93
watford 90
barnsley 86
reading 77

 

[The Blobster]

I can't be arsed , ill just wait to see how it pans out , Watford have a tough run in , Brentford are my bet for second spot. Norwich deserve the no 1 spot .

 

[Behindthegoal]

I can't be arsed , ill just wait to see how it pans out , Watford have a tough run in , Brentford are my bet for second spot. Norwich deserve the no 1 spot .

Just concentrate on 7OTB

 

[The Blobster]

doing crap in that as well mate !

 

[ivoralljack]

Have to admit that as I missed so much whilst I was in hospital, I haven't been doing either. However, Fate allowing, I will be right in the thick of it from the start of next season and I'm going to urge everyone on this forum to join in where they can; particularly the prediction league as that is our memorial to Borini.

 

[Behindthegoal]

If you started now, Ivor, you’d probably catch us up!

 

[CroJack]

Bragging rights

 

[Jackflash]

There isn't a team in the top six that plays as hot and cold as us.
But it won't surprised me if we get promoted ! It will Fukcing Amaze me.

 

[Jackflash]

IF we are successful then we will be in need of a road map, ...... For Cooper to the dole queue.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

What a difference between 2011 and now. Then there was an air of eager anticipation, optimism and latent expectation. Now there is an air of inadequacy, doom and gloom and an expectation of failure. Then there was a high level of consistent quality - we knew what to expect, we saw what we expected, we had an identity. Now there is a level of dire muddled inconsistency punctuated with moments of technical brilliance (e.g. Roberts goal against Derby) that somehow manage to drag the cart out of the ditch. Who are we? What are we? Who the f*%k knows?

In 2011 we had players that could pass crisply and accurately by rote and offensive players that could take defenders on and burn them with speed and skill. We had players like Borini and Sinclair that were always dangerous on the ball. Today we pass sloppy, we go backwards over forwards, we lack any invention in the final third, and forget a Dyer-esque move to take somebody on and beat them ... our wing backs, when they are used in that mode are our most consistent creators.

We had a Monk, who couldn't play football, but gave it his best go and knew how to find Britton and Allen and Pratley. Now we have a Bennet, who plays in preference to Cabango, who hoofs it any chance he gets.

It's bizarre.

 

[ivoralljack]

All very true, Yankee. In 2011 we had an identity that, at the time, was different to what other teams offered including many in the Premier League. Our ID of course was reflected in our Swanselona style of play where most of the team were comfortable on the ball, knew how to pass it and knew how to keep it. Pass and move was our Bible and this ethic was drilled into all our players.

I look at what we produce under Cooper and I'm at a loss to understand what he's driving at. We don't pass it well; we don't move off the ball well enough; we don't play with any urgency or pace; we are definitely not a physical team, so just what the fcuk are we?

My general sense is that we are a reactive team as opposed to being proactive. We respond to what our opponents are doing rather than forcing them to find an answer to what we're doing. Of course there are exceptions to this when we play at our best, look like a top team and put the oppo on the back foot. But we are so inconsistent because, after we really shine in one game, we regress to absolute shite in the next.

For me this is absolutely a coaching issue and is down to Cooper's lack of experience. Our team doesn't have an identity because he doesn't know how to give us one. When we were promoted, I was optimistic about our chances at the top level because I knew we played better football than at least eight other teams there. And my optimism proved to be justified when we went on to enhance our Swanselona reputation.

But our present lot? If we do win promotion I'm shitting myself at the prospect of what's going to happen. I can see routine 4-0/5-0 drubbings becoming the order of the day because we do NOTHING better than any of the teams already there - and I include the relegated sides. Our only hope is that the owners will spend big to bring in some quality to strengthen the side. Good luck with that because we all know they won't.

Our only other chance is a change of manager to one who is experienced and who knows how to get our team playing football. But again we all know that that won't happen either as Cooper will prove unsackable if we go up. Maybe we'll be lucky and some short-sighted club will snap him up leaving us free to appoint one of those foreign coaches who seem to know what they're doing. We can but hope.

 

[Behindthegoal]

Not all doom and gloom. Cheer up, we might not get promoted then you’ll have our manager who has failed TWICE.
= sackable?

 

[Yankee_Jack]

... We respond to what our opponents are doing rather than forcing them to find an answer to what we're doing. ...

Indeed, this is the essence of it.

Under Martinez, Sousa, Rogers ... 3 regimes ... one system - 4-2-3-1. And, even when we sub'd, we sub'd into the system but changed its expression by the personality of the new player introduced. We never changed, but forced the opposition to deal with us and because we were harvesting good possession while racking up well over 600 passes a game, we made the other side work their balls off.

Now, we had an untouchable defensive record with 3+2, which we squandered with a dithering back and forth into 4+something. This dithering lost us a good grip on 2nd place in the table through Feb and March, and a challengeable position into 2nd through April. We are reactive to the other team and through our lack of quality on the basics we too often gift possession, momentum and occupation of our half of the field to the opposition regardless of their league position. Essentially, Cooper lost belief in the system that brought him to the dance and granted him the greatest opportunity. It was a fortress of a defensive platform that afforded our meager offering in the final third the margin to just be good enough ... where 1 goal would be enough if we could score it.

It's frustrating.

 

[Yankee_Jack]

I would also add that the 3+2 covered over Woody's weaknesses. He can't let in, what he doesn't have to save.