Playoff hopes
It now seems very unlikely that we will qualify for the playoffs, but there is still a chance.
If Wycombe lose or draw against Cambridge then we fail to qualify.
If Wycombe win, then we have to hope that three of the following results also happen to qualify:
- Blackpool lose or draw at home v bottom and relegated Orient (which seems very unlikely, although Orient did hold Luton to a draw on Good Friday)
- Colchester lose or draw at home v 19th placed and nothing to play for Yeovil (which seems unlikely, although Yeovil drew at home v Stevenage yesterday)
- Carlisle lose or draw away at 5th placed Exeter (which seems entirely possible)
- Stevenage lose or draw at home v 13th placed and nothing to play for Accrington (again, entirely possible. Stevenage haven't won since 1 April)
I'd put our chance of making the playoffs about 1 in 24 now. Bet365 have us as 8-1.
Something to look forward to - if we win on Saturday there is a very distinct possibility of missing out on the basis of goal difference v Colchester.
On the plus side at least we are guaranteed a top half finish!
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When we really needed a result we failed to deliver (mansfield and morecombe) top half finish is not something to shout about especailly when you take the 5 year plan into consideration.
Although this season has been a great success in many ways, paying off the loan shark chief among them. Watching our heroic effort at White Hart Lane, a sixteen game unbeaten run, standing a chance of promotion on the final day of the regular season all with a pretty unlikely set of heros ...
Priceless. If the five year plan turns out to be a seven year plan it will still be an amazing story and to be one of the supporters of this great club is a blessing in disguise. Disguised of course as an almost made it, supporter owned (if not perfectly run always), fourth tier team who can't help but hope; who we can't help but hope reach higher every season.
Yes, the defeats to teams we should have beaten and points dropped at crucial moments guile us but that is the lot of a true supporter. It has been a rollercoaster of a season and its not over yet! It was a joy to hear the Barmy Army singing out at Morecambe and it will be for many seasons to come. Our support is what we can give this football club, this dream of cup runs and seemingly out of reach promotion hopes.
"And this is why we follow..."
@Wwfc2015_ We needed a result against Doncaster and we got it, so it doesn't always seem to work that way.
Overall a positive season for me, playoff hopes alive until the last game and two good cup runs. Shame about a few dips in form.
Five year plan is a pointless exercise.
Decent season marred by some desperate afternoons of 'entertainment'. @Wwfc2015_ would find something to complain about even if we were promoted as champions by Easter!
Overall a decent season with a squad that has punched above its weight. Away day at Spurs was brilliant, the thrashing of Chesterfield and the 16 game unbeaten run. Yes we have seen some dross at times and dropped points which is frustrating.
If we make the play offs then great but I think the key is to build for next season. We need to move some of the dead wood on and I think we will see a fair amount of changes to the squad. We are in a decent position now so bring on next season whether that be League 1 or 2.
Thump Cambridge to leapfrog Col U on goal difference
Must disagree...imo this is the best squad of players we have had in circa 10 years....if we make some additions then got a great chance next season especially as the "big" clubs have gone up this season.
@Wwfc2015_ No way is this the best squad of players for 10 years, particularly as a large proportion have suffered long term injuries.
Blackman is the best goalkeeper we've had since Taylor. Pierre, whilst still a great player at this level, has deteriorated this season and none of the defenders match Mawson and McCarthy. The back up to Pierre and Stewart is poor.
We have no midfielder to match Josh Scowen, the likes of Wood, Bloomfield and even Saunders have seen better days.
Excepting Kashket (who is so injury prone) our strike force are nearly due their pensions and in any case Hayes is always injured. Cowan Hall is not the player he was and again is always injured. Without the Beast we would have been knowhere near the play offs and he cannot go on for ever.
We will need to make more than a "few" additions next season to challenge as the squad overall is much too old and injury prone.
If we really have the ambition and desire to gain promotion next season then we will.
A decent season for me...and a very bizarre one in L2 for everyone with people at the bottom of the season for long periods now in contention for playoffs...and to say we had two slumps in form we're done very well. We can argue, as we do, about late substitutions and the team and tactics put out by GA and his staff, but there are a lot of teams below us...even if we end up disappointed! Sadly for some posters, we are not at the bottom of the table to justify their constant carping and dire predictions, but at least some of them have had to be quiet for sizeable periods this year.
At least half the squad are touch and go to being here next year. The argument for this being such a good squad is weak when you look at who you would give new deals to in the summer.
What GA needs to do is to sit down and consider his favoured formations and sign players around that. Having so many wide players and not playing a wide formation on a very narrow pitch is Tony Adams'esq
Agree @TheAndyGrahamFanClub he needs to decide how he wants to play. 433 surely needs two pacey forwards either side of the big fella which is not Thommo and Hayes. I know Kashket has been injured and yet Weston, who looks class when he comes on, was underused in my opinion. As you say...narrow the pitch and buy players who are more comfortable in space? Bizarre. specially considering how we played against Spurs on their pitch. We were nearly there this term, but I fear it will be harder next season as the five year plan comes to its conclusion. (Ignore all of the above if we get to Wembley!!)
Agree @TheAndyGrahamFanClub the current squad isn't that great but they've done well. It is nowhere near the best squad in 10 years. There will be at least 8 if not more leaving in the summer.
@Wendoverman I believe next year is year four of the five year plan - win promotion.
Year five is to consolidate our place in league one.
The usual balanced views and commonsense from @mooneyman, @StrongestTeam, and @Wendoverman.
The thing that caused my heart to sink before kickoff yesterday was the fact that Kashket was unavailable. If Three Counties Radio were right in their speculation that he was being rested in order to make sure that he'd be available for the final assault against Cambridge, then, with the benefit of hindsight, the decision could be seen as ill-judged.
As I understand it, it's not injuries as such that limit his appearances but a chronic pelvic condition which requires careful management. It would be great if he is able to play on Saturday and even better if something could be done during the summer break to alleviate the condition.
Thanks @Vital maths was never my strong point and so it seems next year we will storm to the championship and win the FA Cup?
Year Five consolidation in League One and semis of the Europa League?
if Kashket was rested GA is clinically insane in a game we needed to win, I wonder if we will sign somebody called Bowditch in the summer, that would certainly get the moaners going !!!
Can we please stop giving stupid points and promotion targets as it just goes tits up.
@rmjlondon according to the post match interview with GA, Kashket had a recurrence of his groin injury, which I suspect will be related to his pelvic issue?
Yes so not rested !!!
I haven't seen a play off place as realistic for a couple of months now so even being in with a small shout on Saturday is a plus. The league is so tight it's not worth worrying about each what if. I just hope being 5% better next year must make top three a real option.
Sorry to be a pedant, Righty, but a 5% improvement would give us about 70 points going into the last game. Might be alright for the poofs but not much chance of the top three.
To be there or thereabouts is a pretty decent result all things considered. If we look at the gruelling midweek schedule we had in Feb and March it was almost inevitable that our points return would dip (not helped - but maybe not unconnected - by our injuries). In a more normal, balanced season we would almost certainly have picked up a few more points out of those games
@Cyclops a 5% improvement in terms of points, sure, but a 5% improvement in terms of performance might mean that you win a lot more games and earn disproportionately more
points. Although I'm not entirely certain how you quantify performance - I'm guessing @Right_in_the_Middle means something a little more complex than km covered per game.
@cyclops you gotta check your autocorrect!!!
@Cyclops , in this world of ultra sanitised PC, I must admit I chuckled at that one!
@StrongestTeam , I think once we've got over the inevitable "so near and yet so far" regrets, when we reflect in the summer, we've got a real chance next season.
Brown looks to have shown he's capable for the keeper position, Jombati may well have given Gaz an inhouse solution to what is surely our biggest summer quandary, and we look to have a pretty good squad as we are.
A couple of astute signings funded by a few releases/settlements, and we've every chance of a play off campaign next season.
I have mixed feelings about promotion and the season generally.
This time last year, if the oppo scored first, you knew we couldn't win the game since we were never going to score twice and probably wouldn't score at all. Though we're a little looser defensively than last year, one at least feels we have it in us to score at any time, even if a number of games these past few months have produced frustratingly flat, uncreative performances. The squad is a lot stronger overall and should be competing for promotion. Thus, I'd be tempted to see this season as an underachievement, in league terms.
That said, having watched the Doncaster game and seen the quality of their team and individuals, I have to think that promotion would be a massive challenge for the current players as a whole and not one that we would necessarily be able to cope with (though some, obviously, would rise to the challenge). Thus, while I'd be delighted to slide into the playoffs on Saturday, I'm probably content to stay where we are, at least for one more season.
Oh..! Sorry everyone. I had a long day on Saturday and was obviously feeling a bit tired and emotional. I meant to say "...p/offs..." Please accept my apologies if I inadvertently offended anybody. It is all Ellison's fault.