Choose your top six

[URZZZZZZZZ]

fester's said he thinks it will take fantastic form... that's obviously because he expects those teams to pick up in form. No one knows what'll happen, it's as valid an opinion as most others...

If Forest pick up form they will take points off other play-off contenders. Ditto Leeds. I can't see why we will need to be in fantastic form to make the play-offs.

My thinking is based majoritively on pessimism granted!

However, forest and Leeds even when doing badly can grind results out which is key in this league. It's also something we have failed to do a number of times this year. Run ins on paper are all well and good but how many times has that ever been the case?!?

What is your basis for saying this?

Forest have been playing badly and are third bottom of the form table, hardly grinding out results are they?!

[facaldaqui]

So far in the last 15 we are DWDWWW (2.33 ppg) and we need to average 2 ppg.

If we WW, WL, LW, WD or DW we will be AHEAD of 2 ppg after 8 games. If we DD we will be still on target

1-1 H Watford
2-1 H Millwall
3-3 A Crystal Palace
5-2 H Middlesbrough
3-1 A Ipswich
1-0 A Barnsley

15-8



H Portsmouth
H Preston

If we win both of these games we will be on 20 points from 8 games
comfortably in the top six and will need just 10 points from the following 7 games





The five bolded games are eminently winnable.

A Nottm Forest
A Scunthorpe
H Leicester
A Leeds
H Sheffield Utd
A Coventry
H Derby

Snowball, please don't get my hopes up. In this sort of situation in the past, we've bottled it horribly. We had all the stats in our favour at the end of Coppell's last season, but we missed automatic. And I haven't forgotten the season before our promotion, when we were well poised just beneath the playoffs but the results wouldn't come. An exception was when we got promoted from League 1, but then we were in pole position for automatic, and still we nearly managed to blow it by a series of constipated draws. It would make a change if we turn it on from here on, but past experience makes me pessimistic.

[PEARCEY]

Fester does make a good point aboutthe run-in not necessarily counting for too much. We had an apparently good run-in two seasons ago and blew it.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Fester does make a good point aboutthe run-in not necessarily counting for too much. We had an apparently good run-in two seasons ago and blew it.

True enough, except this time we're the team in form and Forest are the team on the slide.

[Mike Hunt]

Fester does make a good point aboutthe run-in not necessarily counting for too much. We had an apparently good run-in two seasons ago and blew it.

True enough, except this time we're the team in form and Forest are the team on the slide.

True. We were dire in the 2nd half of that season, and on that did not deserve to be anywhere near the playoffs.

[Silver Fox]

Reading and five others

[Ian Royal]

Fester does make a good point aboutthe run-in not necessarily counting for too much. We had an apparently good run-in two seasons ago and blew it.

True enough, except this time we're the team in form and Forest are the team on the slide.

True. We were dire in the 2nd half of that season, and on that did not deserve to be anywhere near the playoffs.

Doyle had been in the form of his life early season but lost it post Xmas... Long is currently in the form of his life. That's a major difference right there, although we're a little close to the same level of one dimensional wing play that we had in that season IMO. But we do have lots of decent options in midfield...

Seriously, how much better is our midfield now?
Ledge > Harper - much as I liked him
Karacan 11 >> Karacan 09
Howard >>> Matejovsky
Tabb 11 = Tabb 09
Gunnarsson 11 = Gunnarsson 09
no Cisse >>>>> Cisse

[RobRoyal]

Now 5/4 to make the top 6 with Victor Chandler... beat Portsmouth and avoid defeat at Forest, I'd imagine we'll be one of the favourites.

[Snowball]

So far in the last 15 we are

DWDWWWW 17 Points in 7 games = (2.43 ppg) and we need to average 2 ppg.


1-1 H Watford
2-1 H Millwall
3-3 A Crystal Palace
5-2 H Middlesbrough
3-1 A Ipswich (2 wins on the bounce)
1-0 A Barnsley (3 wins on the bounce)
2-0 H Portsmouth (4 wins on the bounce)

17-8


2.43 ppg which equates to a 112-Point Season




H Preston

If we beat Preston (not a given, they've found some form) we'll be 20 points from 8 games
2.5 ppg (115 Pt season) comfortably in the top six and will need just 10 points from the following 7 games





The five bolded games remain eminently winnable.

A Nottm Forest
A Scunthorpe
H Leicester
A Leeds
H Sheffield Utd
A Coventry
H Derby

[Snowball]

Form Tables from Statto.com

1 Reading 6 5-1-0 16 -7 +9 16 Points 2.67 ppg

[Franchise FC]

Reading ...................... and any other 5

[westendgirl]

Form Tables from Statto.com

1 Reading 6 5-1-0 16 -7 +9 16 Points 2.67 ppg

also top of football 365 on the basis of last 8 games!

Team Pld W D L F A GD GFA GAA PpG Pts Form
Reading (6) 8 5 3 0 18 9 9 2.25 1.12 2.25 18 WwwWdWDd

[Cookie]

Reading and five others

What he said^

[Mike Hunt]

I hope we haven't peaked too early...

[Snowball]

So far in the last 15 we are

DWDWWWWW 20 Points in 8 games = (2.50 ppg, equates to a 115 Point Season!) and we need to average 2 ppg.


1-1 H Watford
2-1 H Millwall
3-3 A Crystal Palace
5-2 H Middlesbrough
3-1 A Ipswich (2 wins on the bounce)
1-0 A Barnsley (3 wins on the bounce)
2-0 H Portsmouth (4 wins on the bounce)
2-1 H Preston (5 Wins on the bounce

19-9


2.50 ppg which equates to a 119-Point Season





The five bolded games remain eminently winnable and would have us on 78 Points.

A Nottm Forest (A draw would be a very good result. A win would be incredible!!)
A Scunthorpe
H Leicester
A Leeds
H Sheffield Utd
A Coventry
H Derby

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Snowball how many points do RFCneed to guarantee promotion? taking into account other games to be played, or is it too difficult to make that statement yet, as I think that 7 wins would guarantee it, with Leeds playing Forest.

Still too hard with so many alternative scenarios. I used to have a great piece of software that did linear algebra on multi-alternatives, but no more...

We will know a lot more after the Preston Home game. WIN THAT

(ignore the Pompey game for a moment)

If we have won the Preston game it's



4 P38 63 GD 14 Cardiff
5 P38 61 GD 09 Leeds
6 P38 60 GD 18 Reading
7 P38 60 GD 13 Forest

Come on SB, were are we at now?

[Svlad Cjelli]

I'm fairly confident that 75 points would virtually guarantee a play-off place - to beat that (with our GD) Forest would have to get another 16 points, which is 5 wins and a draw out of their 7 games (which includes matches against us, Norwich & Leicester.)

So to get 12 points we four wins out of our seven games. Win the three home games (Leicester, Sheffield Utd & Derby) - plus one out of Scunthorpe or Coventry and we're there - and stuff what happens when we play Leeds & Forest.

[Archie's penalty]

It's just mental that we're in this position. Who'd have thunk it? Huge kudos to Mcdermott and the lads for pulling it around. Great to see.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Isn't it? And I'm still waiting for the wheels to come flying off at any time but they seem to be firmly fixed on.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Isn't it? And I'm still waiting for the wheels to come flying off at any time but they seem to be firmly fixed on.

The players want it they are not going to give up the cahse the last 30 minutes aganist PNE proved the up of the fight.

Oh for the late goals conceeded at Norwich and Cardiff we could be four points better off and right on their tails.