Perspective

[Hoop Blah]

understand your point andrew, folk have said similar things for the last couple of years and the players coming in have stepped up. Lose Sigurdsson it's all over, Long has stepped up. Filled the goals void.

Got the likes of Manset and Morrison to add to the picture, got a host of promising young goalies and i don't think Reading will lose everyone if they don't go up. I think Federici could be replaced, I think Mills could be replaced and maybe one of the wingers could be replaced by not signing anybody. If those players were to go, Reading would sign 1 or 2 players as well, so things would move on and they'll be competitive again next season.

I agree the squad needs to evolve and always will. I think the problem I have, and it sounds like Andrew is coming from the same angle, is that we're usually replacing with players of lesser quality than those remaining (ie Federici leaves and we get a young las to play second fiddle to Anderson or McCarthy instead of getting in a 1st team keeper).

That's fine in some cases, but when it's the case for the majority the side deteriates more than it probably should.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Plus the one thing that money can't buy is teamwork/team spirit or whatever you want to call it. It's the extra that you get from a core of players who have played together for a while and know how to play together. The 106 team had it, Blackpool had (and have) it - Man City have spent millions but don't have it.

The improvement that come with time and stability can be priceless.

[Hoop Blah]

The improvement that come with time and stability can be priceless.

Very true. The art of management is to get that balance right and get the best out of the resources you have.

Blackpool had quite a new team together last season though didn't they? Other teams integrate new players pretty well, and I'm not calling for revolution of the playing staff, just adequate rebuilding when required.

[Snowball]

We WERE good enough this year.

We started poorly, blew our fully-winnable opening game, failed to capitalise on Portsmouth's disastrous state, were beating Forest and threw that away with a goalkeeping gaffe of monstrous proportions. Our strikers could not score in open play for how many games?

We should have done better at home to Swansea, and then away to Bristol. Church missed a sitter at Swansea. Harte blew the points at home to Hull. Friday Shane missed a very good chance, Church shot straight at the keeper then failed to get by the defender from two yards out.

At Preston Zurab gave away a silly goal, etc etc etc.

I know, of course, that every club can list such errors, but I really feel as if we have screwed up, this more than lacking the absolute quality. It would take SO LITTLE luck to be in an automatic spot. Two extra points versus Hull (Harte just finds Row Z) two more points v Cardiff away, a draw against QPR, that's five points straight away. We get the pens against Leeds and Watford, four more. Feds doesn't hit Karacan's back in the Forest game. We are on 53, Forest on 51.

It really is that tight.

I think we've only been "a bit lucky" twice/three times. Away to Leicester (but brilliant by Mills) away to Hull, and the sending off for Norwich.

if the fates were with us, we could be on 62 rather than 42. NO, I don't mean we deserve to be there or that 42 "isn't right". I mean, totally honestly, that a tiny bit more luck, a few less individual errors and we would be FLYING, with these same players (who would all probably be playing even better because they'd be on a high from winning.)

Next season, if we keep all our better players, get a seriously good, fast, attacking left back and find another 1% of midfield creativity I would seriously expect us to be fighting for an automatic place. It could easily have happened this year

[Scarface]

Sorry, but the season is over, we're not making the play-offs as the strikers and goal keeper simply aren't good enough.

Let's just hope we have a decent cup run.

[Snowball]

You heard it there first

[weybridgewanderer]

We WERE good enough this year.

Next season, if we keep all our better players, get a seriously good, fast, attacking left back and find another 1% of midfield creativity I would seriously expect us to be fighting for an automatic place. It could easily have happened this year

Not so optimistic for this season as you were on Saturday then? or are you still sitting on the fene saying maybe we will maybe we wont?

come on snowball, nail your colours to the mast. you have consistently shown us the stats that prove we ar ebetterthan 7th.

Do you THINK we will make the play offs? yes or no

[Snowball]

We WERE good enough this year.

Next season, if we keep all our better players, get a seriously good, fast, attacking left back and find another 1% of midfield creativity I would seriously expect us to be fighting for an automatic place. It could easily have happened this year

Not so optimistic for this season as you were on Saturday then? or are you still sitting on the fene saying maybe we will maybe we wont?

come on snowball, nail your colours to the mast. you have consistently shown us the stats that prove we ar ebetterthan 7th.

Do you THINK we will make the play offs? yes or no

Are you sick or something?

I made myself totally clear yesterday.

The above post was not about making the POs. It was about, with a following wind, making AUTOMATIC. I am saying the current squad was more than good enough to COMFORTABLY make the higher spots in the PO positions.

Anyway, keep asking. I'll just say, "Learn to read."

[weybridgewanderer]

Not entirely sure which post from yesterday makes your postion on this clear

so you are believe we will make the play offs?

[Snowball]

Not entirely sure which post from yesterday makes your postion on this clear

so you are believe we will make the play offs?

"Learn to read."

[weybridgewanderer]

can you point me at the post you want me to read that makes your position clear, then i can read it?

[Snowball]

can you point me at the post you want me to read that makes your position clear?

Learn to read.

[weybridgewanderer]

i guess a simple yes or no is too much for you

all I ever read from you is posts saying that you are not saying we WILL malke the play offs but xyz says we are good

I am just looking for some clarity on your view

[Hoop Blah]

We WERE good enough this year.

Next season, if we keep all our better players, get a seriously good, fast, attacking left back and find another 1% of midfield creativity I would seriously expect us to be fighting for an automatic place. It could easily have happened this year

We've shown flashes of good form, but I don't think you can say we WERE (or even WEREN'T) good enough for the playoffs yet Snowball.

Personally I've always thought, and still do, that we don't have enough quality or strength in depth to make a consistent season long challenge for the play offs. Being good enough doesn't mean winning the odd game well here and there, or even having a purple patch of 5 or 6 games. It means you've got the players, nouse and determination to accumulate enough points over the season to finish high enough.

I don't see where you're getting this WERE business from. Can you enlighten me a little please?

[weybridgewanderer]

he wasn't referring to the play offs, he was referring to automatic promotion

The above post was not about making the POs. It was about, with a following wind, making AUTOMATIC. I am saying the current squad was more than good enough to COMFORTABLY make the higher spots in the PO positions.

[PEARCEY]

I don't agree Snowball. We are where we are because we are not good enough to be in the play-offs. Every other team in the division could point to what-ifs where if things had gone their way they would have picked up more points.

[Snowball]

We WERE good enough this year.

Next season, if we keep all our better players, get a seriously good, fast, attacking left back and find another 1% of midfield creativity I would seriously expect us to be fighting for an automatic place. It could easily have happened this year

We've shown flashes of good form, but I don't think you can say we WERE (or even WEREN'T) good enough for the playoffs yet Snowball.

Personally I've always thought, and still do, that we don't have enough quality or strength in depth to make a consistent season long challenge for the play offs. Being good enough doesn't mean winning the odd game well here and there, or even having a purple patch of 5 or 6 games. It means you've got the players, nouse and determination to accumulate enough points over the season to finish high enough.

I don't see where you're getting this WERE business from. Can you enlighten me a little please?

The odd game here and there?

Elwood is undefeated and we've lost just two in 16, to QPR and Swansea both 1-0

Our last 19 games are W8 D8 L3 32-21 30 points, and the three defeats were QPR twice and Swansea

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Hard to beat, but as said not really winning enough to make a proper challenge.

It is all very Steve Coppell esq, going into a game thinking win this and its top 6, to the fail to win. Then the same a few games later. Same in the Cups really, some great results, but 2-0 up at home to Villa and it all fell apart, for just a moment we thought we were in the SF..

[Snowball]

Hard to beat, but as said not really winning enough to make a proper challenge.

It is all very Steve Coppell esq, going into a game thinking win this and its top 6, to the fail to win. Then the same a few games later. Same in the Cups really, some great results, but 2-0 up at home to Villa and it all fell apart, for just a moment we thought we were in the SF..

I don't disagree that we could do with that tiny extra bit of magic.

Look at Bellamy, stole a point of us (cost us two) then scored a brilliant
winner against Swansea (who I think might still drop out of the top six)

With a player like that, even missing games, we'd be top-two. Ditto Taraabt

But hard to beat is the first, and most important thing. If, after Norwich, we can go unbeaten until the end of the season, we'll be between 69 and 76 points.

We get to 76 by pulling off a special, unexpected win somewhere (Norwich, Leeds or Forest) and maintaining our solid form elsewhere and winning our home games. To do that Elwood has to maintain his form, Shane will need to score 7-8-9 in 17 games, and someone else has to start scoring at least as many. Is that Manset? Hunt? Can Church come good?

Win all our home games and at Sheffield - that's 69 points.

Then we have Palace, Coventry, Ipswich, Barnsley, Leeds, Norwich, Forest, 7 games to get say 5 points (plus picking up extras to compensate for any points dropped at home.)

Any betting men out there?

What odds would there be on MAKING THE PLAYOFFS?

QPR (No Bet)
Forest 1-2
Cardiff 10-11
Norwich 6-4
Swansea 2-1
Leeds 3-1
Millwall 5-1
Watford 5-1
Leicester 4-1
Burnley 5-1
Reading 5-1, 6-1?
Hull 9-1

Just my guesses. IMO the six-pointers will decide. eg if Norwich beat us they will finish above us

[Hoop Blah]

The odd game here and there?

Elwood is undefeated and we've lost just two in 16, to QPR and Swansea both 1-0

Our last 19 games are W8 D8 L3 32-21 30 points, and the three defeats were QPR twice and Swansea

We've won, I think, 4 of those league games Leigertwood has played in and, in case you haven't noticed, he hasn't been with us all season. The league is judged on a selection of games when you have a certain player available or when you've had a good run.

We weren't good enough for a lot of this season because we didn't have good enough players, good enough performances or good enough results to get us enough points so far.

We could go on a storming run from here on in and secure a play off place. I think that's unlikely but the daftest thing you've said here is that "we WERE good enough" when we blatently weren't.