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Expectations

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  • Yeah but the bloke's a Pompey mug

  • So are the FB people who said we would never go up and gareth was a terrible manager now foaming because we might miss out on promotion? I really loved our early season run which was unexpected and am now backing the team to hang on. My expectations are we will win some and lose some and have given ourselves with that 'forgettable' run a good chance of being in the mix at the top by the season's end.

  • @eric_plant Well said, Sir. I have nothing to add.

  • It's easy to criticise facebook

    “Moths, and all sorts of ugly creatures, hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?”

  • edited January 2020

    It was hard to get carried away during that run of wins because we were only nicking games by the odd goal, which wasn't likely to be sustainable, and we were catching certain teams at a good time as others have said. That's not to say we can't overachieve come the end of the season by finishing in the play-offs, but we were in something of a false position for a while. If we can return to our imperious defensive best and have Fred back and at his brilliant best, I believe we can finish in the top six, but that's also largely dependent on how the 'expected' promotion contenders fare - I'm convinced Coventry, Rotherham and Sunderland will finish above us, and probably Oxford.

  • I find it very bizarre that being pleased with a winning run is now being seen as a failure to 'smell the coffee'. Too much winning. You may smile and laugh now but mark my words one day you'll be dead...

  • I was pleased and caught up in it, don't get me wrong, but there was this lingering realism in the back of my mind - which I wish wasn't there sometimes!

  • I dont think there was anyone on here at least who did not go into every game thinking this is the one where the wheels come off and were pleased when it wasn't. And we all know to some extent its actually the failure of other teams to take advantage of their games in hand which has helped us...but thems the facts. Other people are going to lose games too so I'm still very happy with this season despite the recent down turn.

  • @Wendoverman said:
    I dont think there was anyone on here at least who did not go into every game thinking this is the one where the wheels come off and were pleased when it wasn't. And we all know to some extent its actually the failure of other teams to take advantage of their games in hand which has helped us...but thems the facts. Other people are going to lose games too so I'm still very happy with this season despite the recent down turn.

    This sums it up for me too. In terms of "expectations", with each match of the good run I expected more strongly that the next match would see the end of it. My overall expectations for the season did not change and have not changed, on the basis that I still think, as I did before the season started and throughout the good run, that we are good enough to compete and stay up in League One but a long way from being good enough to compete at a higher level.

    Have I been more inclined to fantasise about promotion or finishing top of the table this season because of the good run and current league position? Yes, absolutely, but not with any genuine expectation that such fantasies will become reality. They still could, of course, we'll have to wait and see, but I am not expecting it to happen.

    I do wonder if it would be different had the team achieved its current league position through more consistent points scoring progress, rather than by piling on a whole load of points, going seven clear at the top, then adding very few further points over the course of a month's-worth of matches. If we had been consistently tracking along somewhere in the top four all season, never miles out in front but always within a win or two of being there, and found ourselves in our current position without having had all the losses come along at once, I think I and possibly others may be more inclined to consider adjusting our expectations upwards somewhat.

  • George Burns Quote " I find you have to take each day as it comes and be thankful for who's left and whatever you can do"

  • I was very disappointed when earlier in the season my thread 'Recalibrate your expectations you miserable bastards we are going to win the league!' was completely ignored.

  • @chairboyscentral said:

    It was hard to get carried away during that run of wins because we were only nicking games by the odd goal, which wasn't likely to be sustainable, and we were catching certain teams at a good time as others have said. That's not to say we can't overachieve come the end of the season by finishing in the play-offs, but we were in something of a false position for a while. If we can return to our imperious defensive best and have Fred back and at his brilliant best, I believe we can finish in the top six, but that's also largely dependent on how the 'expected' promotion contenders fare - I'm convinced Coventry, Rotherham and Sunderland will finish above us, and probably Oxford.

    I agree that we were catching teams at a good time earlier in the season, but these things tend to even out and we’ve recently played Oxford, Portsmouth, Coventry and Sunderland who were all enjoying an upturn in form.

  • @glasshalffull said:
    @chairboyscentral said:

    It was hard to get carried away during that run of wins because we were only nicking games by the odd goal, which wasn't likely to be sustainable, and we were catching certain teams at a good time as others have said. That's not to say we can't overachieve come the end of the season by finishing in the play-offs, but we were in something of a false position for a while. If we can return to our imperious defensive best and have Fred back and at his brilliant best, I believe we can finish in the top six, but that's also largely dependent on how the 'expected' promotion contenders fare - I'm convinced Coventry, Rotherham and Sunderland will finish above us, and probably Oxford.

    I agree that we were catching teams at a good time earlier in the season, but these things tend to even out and we’ve recently played Oxford, Portsmouth, Coventry and Sunderland who were all enjoying an upturn in form.

    Exactly this.

    It seems bizarre of people to toss off the good times as some sort of "lucky timing", but refuse to admit anything over the last 6 weeks or so has been less than ideal.

  • edited January 2020

    @arnos_grove It’s certainly progress from May 2019 but not December 2019. Which of those sign points carries more weight?

    The progress from May 19. Chiefly because football’s all about where you finished at the end of the season and secondly because it supports my argument B)

  • @Trouser_McTrouserson said:
    It's easy to criticise facebook

    “Moths, and all sorts of ugly creatures, hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?”

    I think flies round shit would be a more accurate analogy.

  • To be fair except for Gillingham we've been beaten by teams we would have expected to be beaten by but at least we took points off Sunderland and the Posh earlier. Still excited about the games left and the possibilities they offer...

  • We have played the currently placed 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th teams away from home in our last four away matches and would have been playing 4th this weekend had it not been for the FA Cup. Not many teams would have come away from that little run with many points.

    Particularly, as two of those we've played circa 70 minutes with 10 men - Oxford/Posh.

    Gape went off injured in one and missed other games and Thompson was clearly not fit for Coventry. They are so important to us.

    Coventry did not play Boxing Day and we did. They were excellent but surely them not having a Boxing Day game meant they were fresher than us, particularly as we played an in form Portsmouth and Oxford with ten men within the previous 7 days.

    We drew at home with the team currently placed 3rd, Ipswich.

    We beat Rochdale!

    IMHO the only game I'm really spitting feathers about is Sunderland away, where there should have been no excuses for our performance with a 10 day break.

    Realistically I feel we will finish 7th or 8th because I just don't believe we are as strong as the other 6 in the top 7. Hopefully we will finish above Posh now they've sold Maddison.

    Our next 7 we play 15th, 20th, 13th, 11th, 23rd, 21st and 10th. I really think we can win 5 of those games which would keep us in the mix.

    If we do win 5 of them, the teams in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th would have to win all 7 to go ahead of us! Appreciate some of them have games in hand...

    COYB!

  • I'm becoming rather tired of the negative comments such as 'punching above our weight'We are what we are' and 'finishing mid table would be a success' No it wouldn't ! Our recent performances have been dire with the only goals coming from defenders,so shuffling the forward pack is not going to make a lot of difference.We need to bring in some goalscorers.expensive in the short term,but if we gain championship status our increased revenue will more than repay our debt.I also fail to understand the policy of the club not to inform the fans of suspensions,absences and injuries in particular.Why are we constantly kept in the dark on these issues ? Other clubs reveal why players are unavailable so why not us ? What have we got to hide ? We deserve better

  • edited January 2020

    You don't post often @Hughie but when there's a bad run it's always a pleasure!

    'I'm amazed at how fans seem to be lookiing through rose tinted spectacles.'
    'Is GA living in cloud cuckoo land with his comments about how pleased he was with our performance ?'
    'I think their comments about our players feigning injury were valid.'
    'I am becoming increasingly disillusioned with GA's tactics or lack of them.'
    'Am I alone in thinking this was a truly dreadful performance despite GA's 'positives' ? '

  • I'm amazed so many posters do not seem to grasp the concept of overachievement. Secondly, I am amazed it is seen as not WANTING to overachieve, if this concept is pointed out. So, just to clear up all doubt:

    1. We are overachieving. This refers to our position versus resources. It is a similar concept to finding out Cape Verde suddenly conquers the world with water pistols.

    2. All of us are happy if we overachieve. It is not a disloyal, backhanded jab at the club to point out our position versus resources.

  • edited January 2020

    @Hughie said:
    We need to bring in some goalscorers.expensive in the short term,but if we gain championship status our increased revenue will more than repay our debt.

    And if we don't gain Championship status, how do you suggest we repay our debt? The idea that we need to bring in goal-scorers is also misguided. We rank in the bottom half of the league for chance quality, which points to a lack of creativity - sorting that out needs to be the priority, although we generally take the chances we'd be expected to take.

  • Have a whip round in the Gasroom!

  • Keep it tight at the back and hoof it up to the big man...

  • @Trouser_McTrouserson said:
    It's easy to criticise facebook

    “Moths, and all sorts of ugly creatures, hover about a lighted candle. Can the candle help it?”

    I really like that quote.

  • edited January 2020

    @Hughie said:
    I'm becoming rather tired of the negative comments such as 'punching above our weight'We are what we are' and 'finishing mid table would be a success' No it wouldn't ! Our recent performances have been dire with the only goals coming from defenders,so shuffling the forward pack is not going to make a lot of difference.We need to bring in some goalscorers.expensive in the short term,but if we gain championship status our increased revenue will more than repay our debt.I also fail to understand the policy of the club not to inform the fans of suspensions,absences and injuries in particular.Why are we constantly kept in the dark on these issues ? Other clubs reveal why players are unavailable so why not us ? What have we got to hide ? We deserve better

    A fine and reasonable example of recalibrated expectations at the start, though I am less in sympathy with the second half.

    I am very much with @Wendoverman's earlier post about going to each game earlier in the season in the expectation that the bubble was to burst. More than once this season, I have left games shaking my head in disbelief that things were still going our way. For sure, we had the rub of the green just as we have not lately. Nonetheless, I am with @hughie as he observes the poverty of recent performances. We have not just been unlucky, except perhaps in playing good teams in roughly prime form. Though I don't care who scores our goals, have no reasonable expectation that we may or should sign further forwards and understand, though regret, the lack of information about injured players, we can and must play better than we have been.

  • It really rather depends if the candle is a multi-billion dollar organisation with questionable ethical practices.

  • Let's not wax lyrical about candles

  • This thread is getting on my wick.

  • I blame them Yankees

  • You can wax lyrical about the early season performances all you like.

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