Rival Watch

[Snowflake Royal]

Fair, I think at one point yesterday they were going 5 clear which is a lot in October, but it's only 3 which is one game.

I also under sold Bolton in my original analysis. They're 2 points off 6th and 6 points off 2nd after an awful start, on a run of W5, D1, L1 (with the loss at Birmingham). Still a good bet in my view.

Our W5, L1 isn't shabby either

Yes, but in terms of squad depth and off pitch stability, you would back them to sustain it longer. Same as Birmingham may not be "running away with it", but it would be a massive shock to see Wycombe and Mansfield last the distance in keeping pace with them.

On the other hand, we still have multiple first team regulars to come back from injury.

Yiadom, Dorsett, even Abrefa to a lesser extent.

[Crusader Royal]

I think our team spirit and unity probably offset our supposed ‘paper thin’ squad.
We seem to be bringing kids through who slot in and perform well rather than looking like rabbits in headlights.

I’d rather have half a dozen more Garcias, Camaras, Sengas etc than half a dozen more Deans. And the chances are we do have enough of these kids already training with the first team and having an emotional attachment to the club.
Of course there is no guarantee and half a dozen Gunnarsson/ Oster type back ups would be better but I’m optimistic about what we have as a package.

[Snowflake Royal]

I think our team spirit and unity probably offset our supposed ‘paper thin’ squad.
We seem to be bringing kids through who slot in and perform well rather than looking like rabbits in headlights.

I’d rather have half a dozen more Garcias, Camaras, Sengas etc than half a dozen more Deans. And the chances are we do have enough of these kids already training with the first team and having an emotional attachment to the club.
Of course there is no guarantee and half a dozen Gunnarsson/ Oster type back ups would be better but I’m optimistic about what we have as a package.

Amen.

You can't expect them all to make it, but CBC, Abrefa, Garcia, Osho, Kanu, Dorsett, Stickland, Holzman, Clarke, Spencer, Senga, Sackey, Ahmed, Akande, Camara and Wareham is a hell of a haul to have in and around the first team squad. Many of them slotting in very capably.

Hell, it's not a dreadful team!

........................CBC
Abrefa, Holzman, Kanu, Garcia
......................Senga
Akande, Sackey, Spencer, Ahmed
...................Wareham

Sub: Rowley, Clarke, Stickland, Osho, Camara...

[From Despair To Where?]

If Birmingham were running away with the division would they not be further ahead of the rest ?

The other thing is they are expected to be there. Were they to go on a run of 3 games without a win, it would get interesting to see how they'd react to that. It's then that you get to see the character of the squad.

[Clyde1998]

If Birmingham were running away with the division would they not be further ahead of the rest ?

They're a point better off than Portsmouth and Oxford after twelve matches last season; they ended up on 97 and 77 points respectively. Additionally, a side had a better record at this stage on six occasions since 2007-08 in League One (the past sixteen completed seasons) and only one achieved more than 90 points (Leeds in 2007-08 with 91 points, discounting their points deduction).

Of the twenty-two sides who've ended up on triple-digit points in a 46 match Football League season (adjusted for three points for a win), only five had a record as good or better than Birmingham's current points tally after twelve matches. That's to say, most sides who go on to storm the league start relatively slowly.

It's a little early to know what Birmingham's start suggests though. At League One level, most of the sides who start as fast as Birmingham slow down throughout the season, but if they can keep it going they're absolutely be on course to get 100+ points. The latter is maybe more likely than the typical top side at this level due to their squad depth and ability to spend even more money in January if they wanted to.

[Snowflake Royal]

If Birmingham were running away with the division would they not be further ahead of the rest ?

They're a point better off than Portsmouth and Oxford after twelve matches last season; they ended up on 97 and 77 points respectively. Additionally, a side had a better record at this stage on six occasions since 2007-08 in League One (the past sixteen completed seasons) and only one achieved more than 90 points (Leeds in 2007-08 with 91 points, discounting their points deduction).

Of the twenty-two sides who've ended up on triple-digit points in a 46 match Football League season (adjusted for three points for a win), only five had a record as good or better than Birmingham's current points tally after twelve matches. That's to say, most sides who go on to storm the league start relatively slowly.

It's a little early to know what Birmingham's start suggests though. At League One level, most of the sides who start as fast as Birmingham slow down throughout the season, but if they can keep it going they're absolutely be on course to get 100+ points. The latter is maybe more likely than the typical top side at this level due to their squad depth and ability to spend even more money in January if they wanted to.

Given they've only dropped 7 points, they don’t exactly have a lot of room to be ahead of Pompey and Oxford.

They've also come down and then bought 3 years worth of the entire of L1 transfers, fee wise.

I'd argue a team with a better record is more likely to drift away, as winning virtually every match is unsustainable

[morganb]

Shrewsbury Town have sacked head coach Paul Hurst after nine months in charge.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Wtf is going on with Wycombe?

[Jackson Corner]

How did we lose 4-1 at Stockport? Credit to Wycombe that is one hell of a result.

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

Wtf is going on with Wycombe?

Long term stability off the field is starting to reap dividends already. Let's hope we are next.

[Sutekh]

Wtf is going on with Wycombe?

Long term stability off the field is starting to reap dividends already. Let's hope we are next.

Amazing what you can achieve after a change in ownership

[Clyde1998]

Results today:

1. Exeter 0-0 Lincoln
2. Blackpool 0-0 Northampton
3. Bristol Rovers 0-0 Crawley
4. Cambridge 1-1 Barnsley
5. Stockport 1-0 Wrexham

All fairly good results for us.

[LUX]

Are we looking behind us, to keep clear of relegation, or looking up towards the play- offs?

[tidus_mi2]

Are we looking behind us, to keep clear of relegation, or looking up towards the play- offs?

I say look up, it feels incredibly pessimistic to be looking behind us when we're 10pts outside relegation and only 3pts off the play-offs.

[LUX]

The pessimism, or rather precaution, is due to the reasonable possibility of:

- key players being transferred out in January. Bindon is already off apparently,
- Selles being poached by a desperate Championship club such as QPR, and
- the risk of a 12-point deduction which would be incurred if we went into administration so that Roger Smee could then buy the club.

[Snowflake Royal]

Are we looking behind us, to keep clear of relegation, or looking up towards the play- offs?

I say look up, it feels incredibly pessimistic to be looking behind us when we're 10pts outside relegation and only 3pts off the play-offs.

Given we're far from safe from more points deductions, likely to lose key players in January and still fighting for our existence, I'm still firmly looking down.

The squad is very thin, and we're where we are in epic home form. We should all be familiar by now with it being far more likely our home form weakens than our away form improves to match it.

We've mainly faced weak teams at home and strong teams away, that's going to start flipping and whilst we can probably expect slight improvement in away form, we can realistically expect a bigger decline in home form.

So far we've shared the goals out well, buot woth some key injuries it's nor hard to see them drying up.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Agree with above, looking down for now....in fact we only have to go back 2 years to find us in a similar position at this time of the season, we won at Hull just before the world cup break leaving us 10th......then a spate of injuries and an unexpected points deduction (at least when it was announced) killed us.

[South Coast Royal]

How did we lose 4-1 at Stockport? Credit to Wycombe that is one hell of a result.

Because Stockport showed that to be a one-off by today beating Wrexham in a comfortable 1-0 win and winning themselves the other day 5-0.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Agree with above, looking down for now....in fact we only have to go back 2 years to find us in a similar position at this time of the season, we won at Hull just before the world cup break leaving us 10th......then a spate of injuries and an unexpected points deduction (at least when it was announced) killed us.

We won 1st games back from the WC too, we were miles clear. Even with 6 points deducted, the form was appalling to take us down. Sometimes the deduction covers up how badly the management and players screwed up their position.

[Sutekh]

Agree with above, looking down for now....in fact we only have to go back 2 years to find us in a similar position at this time of the season, we won at Hull just before the world cup break leaving us 10th......then a spate of injuries and an unexpected points deduction (at least when it was announced) killed us.

We won 1st games back from the WC too, we were miles clear. Even with 6 points deducted, the form was appalling to take us down. Sometimes the deduction covers up how badly the management and players screwed up their position.

Have to say it was Ince that got us relegated with his stupid negativity on all fronts.