play-offs?

[Franchise FC]

We are now 8-1 to get promoted...

Mental!

What price are Cardiff and Swansea ?

[Maguire]

It's really all a bit incredible isn't it?

[Woodcote Royal]

Remember when Palace stuffed us 3-0 at the Madstad and levered themselves out of the relegation spots and on to promotion via the play-offs?

That could be us.

Remember how crap they were in the Prem and came straight back down?
That could be us too.

We are winning without playing well a lot of the time. We do not look anything like a prem team. Along with Billy Davies' Forest I suggest we are not ready for promotion.

Hooray, there's that bit of negativity we've all missed recently. Why aren't we ready for promotion when we've handled ourselves against Prem sides already this year, we'd likely make at least small enhancements to the squad in the summer and the bottom half of the premier league is frankly bobbins?

+1

I suppose we were cr@p at Anfield and just got lucky

This is a tough league in which most teams are capable of having a good day and beating the best it has to offer but, it is sheer, utter nonsense to suggest it's possible to top the form table over the last 10 games, with just one defeat and a draw amongst eight wins, whilst playing badly most of the time The nonsense some people post on here simply beggars belief.

As for for the likelihood of promotion and how ready for it we are, perhaps we should just politely decline what is still a long shot and the 80 million plus windfall it has now become

Actually, as a big fan of the playoffs, I think their favouring of form teams at the end of the campaign is a good thing and, should we manage to scrape the top 6, we could be hot favourites to finally win one of these nail biters.

[RIP ELM Park]

Based on the most optimistic view shown here in respect of points totals based on recent form
http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D1/runin.html

I think the lowest points total we could hope for 6th place is 69 points, with this in mind and the games remaining this would be the form the contenders for 6th would need to finish in final play off place

.............points per game to finnish on 69
cardiff.........1.25 per game.......................season form 1.55
blackpool......2.14 per game.......................season form 1.38
Shef U.........2.14 per game.......................season form 1.38
Boro...........2.28 per game.......................season form 1.36
Donc...........2.42 per game.......................season form 1.33
Reading.......2.00 per game.......................season form 1.38

With the exception of Cardiff thats a pretty big ask, but based on this we are best placed to take advantage if Cardiff slip up.

What's the betting we get to 69 points and miss out on GD?

[Ian Royal]

We weren't ready for promotion in 2006 either.

Don't be ridiculous, we'd been building towards it for about 4 years and we had a Premier League quality team in the Championship. 8th the next season would rather definitely suggest we were ready for it.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

at the start of the 05/06 season not very many thought we could do it, let alone as well as we did.

[Dirk Gently]

A team is *NEVER* ready for promotion unless they bounce straight back up in the first season.

All you can do is go up, do you best and trust to luck that there'll be 3 teams worse than you - or 3 teams with major financial trouble, which could be a reasonable possibility as the debt bubble bursts!

[Ian Royal]

at the start of the 05/06 season not very many thought we could do it, let alone as well as we did.

I did. Not as well as that though.

[Sun Tzu]

A team is *NEVER* ready for promotion unless they bounce straight back up in the first season.

All you can do is go up, do you best and trust to luck that there'll be 3 teams worse than you - or 3 teams with major financial trouble, which could be a reasonable possibility as the debt bubble bursts!

Is having proved already that you aren;t good enough for the division above being 'ready' to go back up to it though ?

[Dirk Gently]

A team is *NEVER* ready for promotion unless they bounce straight back up in the first season.

All you can do is go up, do you best and trust to luck that there'll be 3 teams worse than you - or 3 teams with major financial trouble, which could be a reasonable possibility as the debt bubble bursts!

Is having proved already that you aren;t good enough for the division above being 'ready' to go back up to it though ?

Not necessarily, but keeping the PL budget and the infrasttucture gives you a head-start that makes the transition easier - for everyone else the gap is so massive that there's no way you can prepare for it.

[Victor Meldrew]

Hadn't read much of this thread until this morning but...................... after last night, stuff work

After the 12 month nightmare that was 2009, what sheer joy it is to be spending time looking up the table rather than down and, whatever happens now, Brian McDermott's impact on this season since SJM handed him the reigns has been simply staggering. That old saying in football about needing bad times to appreciate the good ones is really appropriate here.

Last season we expected to be in the mix and throwing it away was, IMHO, rank bad management.

Now, with nearly all our major stars departed the kids, and a few well chosen older heads, are a match for anyone in this division (even Newcastle)

As much as I loved James Harper, now he doesn't have to play week in week out, suddenly we have quality midfielders coming out of ours ears, including one most of us hadn't seen this time last year who some already value at a million and think we won't hang onto in the summer

There's not only life after Brendan, there's life after Steve, too!!!

And, thinking back to Coppell's floundering favourites, who I could no longer face watching this time last year, THANK FCUK FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

If, and as many have said anything is possible now, we get promoted via the play offs, Brian McDermott should either be granted the freedom of the town or, drowned as a witch..................................I would prefer to see the former

Seriously, though, there is simply no praise high enough for what this man has done for our club and I can't help feeling a touch of guilt in that there was more chance of hell freezing over than any of us throwing his hat in the ring last summer. Thanks a million, Brian.

Agree with most of that Woodcote except the bit about "the kids".
There is Gylfi and then there is Gylfi...can't think of any others.
What Barry McD has done is create a TEAM-bringing in mature players Kish and Griffin and actually playing Mills and Tabb has turned our season round-long may it continue.

[PEARCEY]

Dont agree Victor. Simon Church has done very well. Shane Long is still young although not quite a kid. Ryan Bertrand is not one of our own but has played for us all season. Jem has come into the side and made a contribution as has HRK.

[Archie's penalty]

Come on VM. Church has done an excellent job for his first full season at Championship level.

Gylfi love is ok but how many of his goals have been penalties?

Karacan is on his way as well.

Also Mills and Long are both under 23.

Shebang!

[Archie's penalty]

Now that is scary. I'm off home...

[Dirk Gently]

What Barry McD has done is create a TEAM-bringing in mature players Kish and Griffin and actually playing Mills and Tabb has turned our season round-long may it continue.

What he's really done is made the formation and the tactics fit the players available, instead of trying to force the available players into a formation and set of tactics that just weren't suitable for them.

[PEARCEY]

Now that is scary. I'm off home...

Feck off Archibald and takes papereyes wiv ya.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Too late in the day and GD is against us unfortunately. Looks good for next season though if we can hold onto the core of the team

[Ian Royal]

What Barry McD has done is create a TEAM-bringing in mature players Kish and Griffin and actually playing Mills and Tabb has turned our season round-long may it continue.

What he's really done is made the formation and the tactics fit the players available, instead of trying to force the available players into a formation and set of tactics that just weren't suitable for them.

Yep.

Although the current formation is pretty like what Rodgers wanted. It just seems tha Rodgers wanted to amble about passing a move slowly towards the goal. Whereas under McD we want to hit the opposition hard with pace.

[Franchise FC]

at the start of the 05/06 season not very many thought we could do it, let alone as well as we did.

The reason no-one thought we'd do it in the way that we did is because no-one had EVER done it that well.

[playoffs or layoffs]

We are now 8-1 to get promoted...

Mental!

What price are Cardiff and Swansea ?

We were 7/1 to make the playoffs before yesterday, we're now 7/2. Here's the list:
 
Nottm Forest 1/16
Leicester 1/8
Swansea 1/6
Cardiff 1/3
Reading 7/2
Sheff Utd 11/2
Middlesbrough 15/2
Blackpool 8/1
West Brom 12/1
Doncaster 20/1
Coventry 25/1
Newcastle 28/1
Barnsley 40/1
Bristol City

And we're top of the Championship form table again:
 
    P W D L CS FtS F A GD Pt PPG
1 Reading 6 5 1 0 3 0 15 3 +12 16 2.67
2 West Bromwich Albion 6 5 0 1 3 0 11 7 +4 15 2.50
3 Newcastle United 6 4 2 0 2 0 16 6 +10 14 2.33
4 Doncaster Rovers 6 3 2 1 0 1 11 7 +4 11 1.83
5 Leicester City 6 3 1 2 3 1 8 6 +2 10 1.67
6 Cardiff City 6 3 1 2 1 2 7 6 +1 10 1.67
7 Middlesbrough 6 2 3 1 2 1 9 6 +3 9 1.50
8 Queens Park Rangers 6 2 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 9 1.50
9 Sheffield Wednesday 6 2 3 1 3 3 6 4 +2 9 1.50
10 Ipswich Town 6 3 0 3 3 2 5 5 0 9 1.50
11 Nottingham Forest 6 3 0 3 3 1 7 8 -1 9 1.50
12 Plymouth Argyle 6 2 2 2 1 1 8 8 0 8 1.33
13 Coventry City 6 2 2 2 1 1 7 7 0 8 1.33
14 Blackpool 6 2 1 3 1 2 10 10 0 7 1.17
15 Scunthorpe United 6 2 1 3 1 2 8 8 0 7 1.17
16 Bristol City 6 2 1 3 1 1 12 15 -3 7 1.17
17 Barnsley 6 2 1 3 2 2 7 13 -6 7 1.17
18 Sheffield United 6 1 3 2 1 2 6 5 +1 6 1.00
19 Preston North End 6 1 3 2 0 1 9 11 -2 6 1.00
20 Derby County 6 1 3 2 2 1 7 9 -2 6 1.00
21 Peterborough United 6 2 0 4 2 3 3 8 -5 6 1.00
22 Crystal Palace 6 1 2 3 2 4 3 6 -3 5 0.83
23 Swansea City 6 1 2 3 2 3 3 9 -6 5 0.83
24 Watford 6 1 0 5 0 3 4 10 -6 3 0.50