'Other Boro stuff'

[Borodane 6,301]

The thought of relegation is too frightening for me to even think about. If we go down we will be in the mire for years to come.

[SzilardNemethsCurtains 2,844]

I've never got the whole, we simply must win these games claims. All we need to do is get more is not concede more than 2 points to the teams below is, whether it is wins against teams near us or not

[wilsoncgp 9,283]

52 minutes ago, SzilardNemethsCurtains said:

I've never got the whole, we simply must win these games claims. All we need to do is get more is not concede more than 2 points to the teams below is, whether it is wins against teams near us or not

Well it's the logic of 6-pointers. Take our last game against Charlton. We were one point behind them. Losing that game would have put us a whole 4 points behind them, making it harder for us to ever catch up with them as we'd need to do it a minimum over 2 games. A draw would have kept us a point behind them but still possibly requiring us to overcome them somehow. However, we won the game and come out the relegation zone and directly drag them right into it, in the same way they would have directly committed us to being two games beyond them.

Gaining advantages over the teams around you is important at both ends of the division. When you aren't playing your closest competitors, you can only beat what is in front of you and hope for the best elsewhere, which means you aren't in control of your own destiny. When you do play them, a difference between a win and a loss is a directly affected 6 point difference. Instead of being 4 points behind, we're 2 points ahead. Thus, must-win games.

Of course, mathematically all that matters is we pick up more points than those around us, we have the safety of dropping a single point vs. the teams currently in the bottom 3 even. But it's the way that playing these teams has such a direct influence on the immediate environment of the table that creates this sense of "If you're gonna win any game, win this one". I'd say the same goes for Hull and Stoke. We'd put a gap between us and them as it stands right now and in doing so, would condemn them to be the ones really in the fight against the teams below more-so than we would be.

[Changing Times 12,347]

19 hours ago, Brunners said:

Ah nice to see they haven't lost their inability to pass 5 yards, or defend.

 

19 hours ago, nunthorpered said:

i know its just a training match but.......

I've seen more competitive 5 aside games to be fair as I'm sure you have too.  It was a training game that looked exactly like a training game, I wouldn't read too much into it.

[Changing Times 12,347]

18 hours ago, smogsterking the Inspirati said:

Does anybody know what the teams were?

Blind, I think.

[SzilardNemethsCurtains 2,844]

34 minutes ago, wilsoncgp said:

Well it's the logic of 6-pointers. Take our last game against Charlton. We were one point behind them. Losing that game would have put us a whole 4 points behind them, making it harder for us to ever catch up with them as we'd need to do it a minimum over 2 games. A draw would have kept us a point behind them but still possibly requiring us to overcome them somehow. However, we won the game and come out the relegation zone and directly drag them right into it, in the same way they would have directly committed us to being two games beyond them.

Gaining advantages over the teams around you is important at both ends of the division. When you aren't playing your closest competitors, you can only beat what is in front of you and hope for the best elsewhere, which means you aren't in control of your own destiny. When you do play them, a difference between a win and a loss is a directly affected 6 point difference. Instead of being 4 points behind, we're 2 points ahead. Thus, must-win games.

Of course, mathematically all that matters is we pick up more points than those around us, we have the safety of dropping a single point vs. the teams currently in the bottom 3 even. But it's the way that playing these teams has such a direct influence on the immediate environment of the table that creates this sense of "If you're gonna win any game, win this one". I'd say the same goes for Hull and Stoke. We'd put a gap between us and them as it stands right now and in doing so, would condemn them to be the ones really in the fight against the teams below more-so than we would be.

They're obviously big games but they all are, there should be pressure on every game. Our home games will continue to be the games where there is expectation to pick up points, on the road those points are a bonus but it'll be more about not losing ground

I'd be surprised if Stoke were that close to the bottom 3 by the end of the season too

[TeaCider24 12,639]

Good news it that we can't drop back in to the relegation zone whatever the result against Swansea, as Charlton play Hull.

Makes any points we pick up even more important.

[Neverbefore 10,940]

1 hour ago, SzilardNemethsCurtains said:

They're obviously big games but they all are, there should be pressure on every game. Our home games will continue to be the games where there is expectation to pick up points, on the road those points are a bonus but it'll be more about not losing ground

I'd be surprised if Stoke were that close to the bottom 3 by the end of the season too

Wouldnt be so sure. In the first 33 Bundesliga games since its return only 7 were won by the home team- 21% down from the average of 40% pre behind closed doors. It seems that the home advantage has been wiped out for now - I dont see why this wouldnt translate to our league as well.

In addition, injuries have shot up by more than 220% and the substitute rules have changed which will put a much heavier emphasis on the squad game. I think the teams with the strongest squads and ability to rotate and cover niggles will be the ones who will be successful.

[Borodane 6,301]

31 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

Wouldnt be so sure. In the first 33 Bundesliga games since its return only 7 were won by the home team- 21% down from the average of 40% pre behind closed doors. It seems that the home advantage has been wiped out for now - I dont see why this wouldnt translate to our league as well.

In addition, injuries have shot up by more than 220% and the substitute rules have changed which will put a much heavier emphasis on the squad game. I think the teams with the strongest squads and ability to rotate and cover niggles will be the ones who will be successful.

My Danish team have three times in a row benefitted from substituting extra attacking players in the final 15 minutes Getting some fresh legs on. Putting two or three new players on with pace towards the end Even after you’ve made a couple of changes in the middle can change a lot. The strength of the sub bench is going to play a huge factor in the final stretch of the season. 

[thatoldchestnut 583]

3 minutes ago, Borodane said:

My Danish team have three times in a row benefitted from substituting extra attacking players in the final 15 minutes Getting some fresh legs on. Putting two or three new players on with pace towards the end Even after you’ve made a couple of changes in the middle can change a lot. The strength of the sub bench is going to play a huge factor in the final stretch of the season. 

Players with pace. How many of them do we have?

 

[SzilardNemethsCurtains 2,844]

4 hours ago, Neverbefore said:

Wouldnt be so sure. In the first 33 Bundesliga games since its return only 7 were won by the home team- 21% down from the average of 40% pre behind closed doors. It seems that the home advantage has been wiped out for now - I dont see why this wouldnt translate to our league as well.

In addition, injuries have shot up by more than 220% and the substitute rules have changed which will put a much heavier emphasis on the squad game. I think the teams with the strongest squads and ability to rotate and cover niggles will be the ones who will be successful.

Fair point, in an essence it becomes a 9 game tournament.

It'll be interesting to see how much form before the break comes into play because Hull were on an awful run but Stoke had vastly improved, Sheff Wed and Bristol City in poor form too.

In opposition to an earlier suggestion by someone, I think our squad is better equipped than many around us. The return to fitness of Roberts and Ayala will be helpful and our defensive crisis numbers wise is much less of an issue

[Downsouth 6,326]

19 hours ago, boro-unger said:

Hey, don't call Alan old. Or normal! 😛

But both comments are true John!

[Neverbefore 10,940]

11 hours ago, SzilardNemethsCurtains said:

Fair point, in an essence it becomes a 9 game tournament.

It'll be interesting to see how much form before the break comes into play because Hull were on an awful run but Stoke had vastly improved, Sheff Wed and Bristol City in poor form too.

In opposition to an earlier suggestion by someone, I think our squad is better equipped than many around us. The return to fitness of Roberts and Ayala will be helpful and our defensive crisis numbers wise is much less of an issue

I'd agree with this. In particular, we have lots of options in midfield which is where a lot of the running will be done so we can keep that fresh. We have a young team so fatigue will be less of an issue. Are we one of the better squads in the league? Absolutely not, but in our mini league in the bottom quarter I think theres plenty of room for optimism. 

[Smoggydownsouth 1,621]

18 hours ago, Changing Times said:

 

I've seen more competitive 5 aside games to be fair as I'm sure you have too.  It was a training game that looked exactly like a training game, I wouldn't read too much into it.

Just so you are all aware the game was set up to get a feel for playing in an empty stadium. Players weren't allowed to be physical in certain situations etc

[boro-unger 3,870]

10 minutes ago, Smoggydownsouth said:

Just so you are all aware the game was set up to get a feel for playing in an empty stadium. 

They should be well used to that by now 😛