play-offs?

[Ian Royal]

Battle to be the form team this weekend then.

[working class hero]

You don't get to chose when you get promotion. If we end up losing players in the summer and go back to struggling in this division, those claiming that we'd be better off failing to reach the playoffs will look pretty silly. Also, it's not that hard to stay up in the Premiership. Even Hull and Burnley still have a chance of staying up. If we kept the squad together and added another couple of decent signings, would we be a lot worse than them?

Won't happen, but still.

I would argue that it would be great to achieve the PO final - but losing might be the better 'option'. It would allow us to make some cash and hopefully cling on to players and build for a better result next season...

But yes, if we go up we would obviously take it!!!

[Terminal Boardom]

Play-offs? You're all having a laugh!

[Mr Angry]

There is a very real danger that if we fail to get into the play-offs (still the most likely outcome at the end of the season) by finishing, say, 8th or 9th, some of our fans who are building themselves up into a frenzy about the run we are on will be disappointed and will see the season as a failure, when of course, the absoulte opposite wil be true.

We are now safe from relegation; that was always the main priority this season after the huge amount of change that we have experienced since May 2009, and also the debacle of the Rodgers months.

For what is essentially a brand new management team, with essentially a brand new team as the club sold or let go virtually all its star players, a top 10 finish this season will be fantastic; to do it after being in 23rd at the end of January will be miraculous.

This run should be seen less in the context of the play offs for this season, but from the perspective of what it could herald for both next season and for the next few seasons. And its very, very exciting.

The other thing this run has done has actually made going to watch Reading FUN again; frankly, going to games believing that at best we would squeak a draw is pretty demoralising, and its no surprise that quite a number of fans have spoken about "falling out of love" with RFC as a result.

As a result, can I suggest that before the players come onto the pitch on Saturday, the PA blasts out "Sweet Caroline" because the lyrics have genuine meaning once again.

[Terminal Boardom]

The other thing this run has done has actually made going to watch Reading FUN again; frankly, going to games believing that at best we would squeak a draw is pretty demoralising, and its no surprise that quite a number of fans have spoken about "falling out of love" with RFC as a result.

As a result, can I suggest that before the players come onto the pitch on Saturday, the PA blasts out "Sweet Caroline" because the lyrics have genuine meaning once again.

I agree wholeheartedly about the number of fans falling out of love with the club but Sweet Caroline was more relevant to the class of 2005/06. Considering the tender ages of some of a proportion of the squad I would have thought the theme from Tellytubbies being more appropriate!

[playoffs or layoffs]

While I don't feel that confident about beating QPR on Tuesday night, IF we do
we go three points above them, a better GD and a game in hand.

Six of our next seven games ( shown bold) are against our rivals for the play-offs

Beating QPR gives us a big advantage over them, and they will have just ten games to haul it back

Nobody is saying Middlesboro are out of the running for the play-offs, yet WD our two games in hand and we catch them,
win both our games in hand and we are two points above them. AND WHAT IF WE MANAGE TO WIN AT THEIR PLACE?

Similar scenario with Coventry, a decent little side but with a small squad. If we beat them we are three points behind them
and with two games in hand. if these clubs have a decent shot at the play-offs, then we must have

H QPR
A Middlesbrough
A Leicester City
H WBA
A Ipswich Town
H Coventry City
A Cardiff City
H Newcastle
H Peterborough
A Scunthorpe
A Watford

Agreed.

Having put a speculative tenner on Reading to make the playoffs @20/1 before the Reading Derby game on March 9th, look at how much the odds have shortened since then:

9th March: 19th position, 14 points off sixth position, @20/1
12th March: 17th position, 11 points off sixth, @14/1
14th March: 16th position, 8 points off sixth, @8/1

The top five clubs today will very likely occupy the top five positions at the end of the season, sixth position is realistically the only position that Reading, and half of the remaining clubs in the table, can aim for.

We have a real chance of sixth, providing that Cardiff maintain their poor run of form. Cardiff are second bottom of the form table with one win in six.

IF we can win our two games in hand - giving us 50 points - then providing that we can pick up just one more point - with 30 points to play for - than the clubs in positions 7 to 12, all of whom are below us in the league form table, we will have made it. Coventry and Blackpool with their league position and slightly inferior league form are our biggest rivals.

The calculations are a bit simplistic but it doesn't get away from the fact that today we are probably a lot closer than we might realise.

From the official site:

Victory forces bookies to rethink!
Posted on: Thu 25 Mar 2010
Bet365 have updated their 'To Make The Play-Offs' market after the midweek action and the firm have been forced to cut the odds on Brian McDermott's Reading side yet again.

Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said, "There are a number of punters with a juicy 20/1 quote about Reading making the play-offs and they'll be delighted with that Gylfi Sigurdsson strike on Wednesday as the Royals' great run shows no sign of stopping."

Meanwhile, Leeds are now 6/5 to finish in the play-off places after another defeat on Monday. "Leeds' odds to miss out on automatic promotion are dropping each week (opened 11/4) and they'll hardly be relishing a trip to Carrow Road this weekend," added Freeth.

To Reach Play Offs - Championship
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

Should pay for my day out at Wembley!

[brendywendy]

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.

with hindsight thats easy, but at teh time no one thought anyone except perhaps sidwell was premiere league quality,
dont see whats different now.

[brendywendy]

Play-offs? You're all having a laugh!

so were all the other teams that have made it there from the bottom of the table at xmas.

[Gordons Cumming]

Forget it. Will just miss out.

It's the Reading way....

[brendywendy]

probably, but what a ride, and what potential that leaves us for next year, with McD at teh helm for the whole of preseason and the season itself.

[Wycombe Royal]

Play-offs? You're all having a laugh!

so were all the other teams that have made it there from the bottom of the table at xmas.

We were fifth from bottom as xmas........

[brendywendy]

even more chance then

[Son of Len]

At this point, playoffs are a bit of a stretch still. Expect Swansea and Cardiff to finish with 72 points (extrapolate their season-long and recent form to May). That means we need 22 points from the next 9 games. It's possible, but still unlikely. But if we do finish 7-1-1, who's stupid enough to chuck it out the window and refuse the playoffs? And if we win the playoffs, that proves we are ready for the PL. No matter what some say.

[loyalroyal4life]

We will need nothing less than 6 points i

At this point, playoffs are a bit of a stretch still. Expect Swansea and Cardiff to finish with 72 points (extrapolate their season-long and recent form to May). That means we need 22 points from the next 9 games. It's possible, but still unlikely. But if we do finish 7-1-1, who's stupid enough to chuck it out the window and refuse the playoffs? And if we win the playoffs, that proves we are ready for the PL. No matter what some say.

From 9 games 23 points is the minimum to get us through me thinks

[TFF]

So we can all relax if we get beaten Saturday then?

[Stranded]

But if we win?!!

[East End Lady]

Is the championship play off final on the Monday 31st May - if it is then playoffs are very likely as we fly off on holiday that morning!

[Wycombe Royal]

At this point, playoffs are a bit of a stretch still. Expect Swansea and Cardiff to finish with 72 points (extrapolate their season-long and recent form to May). That means we need 22 points from the next 9 games. It's possible, but still unlikely. But if we do finish 7-1-1, who's stupid enough to chuck it out the window and refuse the playoffs? And if we win the playoffs, that proves we are ready for the PL. No matter what some say.

Extend Cardiff's season form to the end of the season and they will get 71 points, extend their recent form and they only get to 68.6 (courtesy of F365).

http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D1/runin.html

[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.

with hindsight thats easy, but at teh time no one thought anyone except perhaps sidwell was premiere league quality,
dont see whats different now.

Speak for yourself. I thought most our regulars had the potential to be good enough. I didn't expect so many to actually achieve it, but they definitely had the potential. Sidwell was not in any way a standout player in that side.

[Snowball]

At this point, playoffs are a bit of a stretch still. Expect Swansea and Cardiff to finish with 72 points (extrapolate their season-long and recent form to May). That means we need 22 points from the next 9 games. It's possible, but still unlikely. But if we do finish 7-1-1, who's stupid enough to chuck it out the window and refuse the playoffs? And if we win the playoffs, that proves we are ready for the PL. No matter what some say.

Surely it's one of

69 Cardiff 72 Swansea
72 Cardiff 69 Swansea
70 Cardiff 70 Swansea

as they have to play each other?

CARDIFF's Games

Sat 27 12:45 A Crystal Palace Good chance of a win
Tue 30 19:45 H Leicester City Hard to call. Any result helps Reading
Sat 3 17:20 H Swansea City Huge for us. Could make our season
Mon 5 17:15 A Nottm Forest On Form, Cardiff will lose this
Sat 10 15:00 H Reading Crunch match, obviously, but we may only need to draw
Sat 17 15:00 A QPR It will be very hard for Cardiff to win at QPR
Sat 24 15:00 H Sheffield Wed Good chance of a win

There are five very losable games there for Cardiff

SWANSEA

Sat 27 15:00 H Ipswich Town Good Chance of 3 Points
Sat 3 17:20 A Cardiff City VERY TOUGH (Good for Reading)
Mon 5 15:00 H Scunthorpe Scunthorpe have found form recently, so not a definite.
Sat 10 14:00 A Bristol City Bristol, new manager, one big win already. Not a good place to go.
Sat 17 15:00 H Barnsley Decent chance of a win
Sat 24 15:00 A Sheffield Utd Good possibility of a defeat (good for Reading whatever)
Sun 2 13:00 H Doncaster Donny not easy to beat, still trying for POs, could do us a favour
Sun 2 13:00 A Derby County Possible win, but not EASY

LEICESTER

Sat 27 15:00 A Derby County Local Derby, not an easy match
Tue 30 19:45 A Cardiff City Big for Reading
Fri 02 17:15 A WBA Strong likelihood of a defeat
Mon 5 15:00 H QPR QPR are making themselves hard to beat, no certain points
Sat 10 15:00 A Peterborough Good cance of a WIN
Sat 17 15:00 H Watford Probable WIN
Sat 24 15:00 A Preston Very tough going to Preston now
Sun 2 13:00 H Middlesbrough Boro fighting for everything? Could cancel each other out