Relegation Battle

[AnglianRed 2,904]

20 minutes ago, TLF10 said:

What does everyone think we need to survive?

We are on 37pts. Other day i said 50pts but i am hoping 10pts would suffice. So 47pts.

10ptz from the 39pts left to play for. Fact we taken 4pts from last 21pts is not good but i am hoping we can improve on that slightly.

Usually 46-47 is enough to be mathematically safe...but of course that depends on how the teams below us fare. 

Wouldn't be surprising to see one or two go on a bit of a run that drops us another couple of places.

My real worry is that, right now, I can't see where we will get even 1 point from. IMO Woody needs to have a serious "clear the air" talk with the whole squad, where everybody gets to air their grievances. With so much apathy and ill-feeling, we simply can't function as a football team.

Woody needs to get to the bottom of the issues, pay attention and ACT. At the same time, the players need to be told in no uncertain terms that, even if they don't like playing for the manager, they still have a duty to the fans and to enhance their reputations, if they want to transfer to other clubs. Nobody is going to want to take this bunch of losers on in their current form.

IF the manager can somehow bring the players back onside - even if only for the short term - and get us playing something resembling decent football again, I think 10-12 points is quite achievable.

If not...well, we're doomed...

[Motor Mouth 240]

Fact that Woodgate as slumped to a new low and is now saying the team are 100% to blame means he as lost the dressing room and its only a question of weeks if not days that he will be replaced. I certainly would not like to see some one brought in to help him,that would mean he will be given a second chance. For me the guy has blew it and deserves to be kicked out asap.

The box was empty where were they all.? My bet is talking to applicants for the coming vacancy.

[BoroAbroad 192]

To be honest I have been very much on the fence regarding Woodgate all season. He was obviously appointed due to our financial situation and I hoped he would be able to grasp the reigns and at least get some kind of system in place that could be built on. After all, he has worked as an assistant long enough.

But a lot of his decisions have had many folk baffled. And if we are left baffled then imagine what must be going through the minds of the players? It is difficult to perform a role if you have no idea what that role is.

Like all of us on here. I believe we have a squad capable of at least fighting it out in the top half of the table. But when that squad has no direction we end up with the kind of situation that has shown itself over and over again. A bunch of headless chickens that do not give each other space or options.

I cannot accept that the loss of a couple of players can make such a drastic change to a team that has been battling for a play off spot for the last few seasons.

[BillinghamBoro 229]

I'm going to be really honest, I was ever so slightly concerned from preseason about how this was going to go. When we were struggling against the likes of Salford and Gateshead and just scraping last them alarm bells were quietly ringing, but of course I would've been a fool to judge it from that alone. 

As the season progresses I find my self more and more concerned about how the state of play is. We can't put 2 passes together, were blunt in attack, our midfield is non existent and our defence is consistently vulnerable. 

The Christmas purple patch could end up being the one thing that keeps us afloat but yesterday's result put the s**ts up me and has just undone any confidence I have. 

I have absolutely no faith in Woodgate and his coaching staff turning this around. I have no faith that hell have the intelligence to look at it and be able to know where to fix it. 2 formations in 2 days fgs. 

If Gibson was serious about us moving forward he'd be looking around for a new manager, and would just admit this project is going belly up apart from one decent spell. 

[TeaCider24 3,459]

No idea how we're still 6 points clear after this horrible run.

[DurhamRed 1,156]

We need like 2 wins and 4 draws too stay up or 10 points just dunno where they coming from. Also when is Robert's due back as he could be the saving grace

[White Band 489]

Did any of the ITK people ever establish whether there was any truth in the rumours of Warnock helping out behind the scenes which coincided with our good run? If there was any truth in them, the decline since would say a lot about Woody's ability to learn from and implement guidance in his own management of the team.

[Denzel Zanzibar 2,559]

18 minutes ago, White Band said:

Did any of the ITK people ever establish whether there was any truth in the rumours of Warnock helping out behind the scenes which coincided with our good run? If there was any truth in them, the decline since would say a lot about Woody's ability to learn from and implement guidance in his own management of the team.

Warnock wasn't helping behind the scenes.

[sanddancer 1,046]

6 hours ago, Motor Mouth said:

Fact that Woodgate as slumped to a new low and is now saying the team are 100% to blame means he as lost the dressing room and its only a question of weeks if not days that he will be replaced. I certainly would not like to see some one brought in to help him,that would mean he will be given a second chance. For me the guy has blew it and deserves to be kicked out asap.

The box was empty where were they all.? My bet is talking to applicants for the coming vacancy.

I mentioned in another post Woody blaming players and not acknowledging his contributions is a sign of trouble and a reflection on his position. However I don’t believe SG is man enough to admit YET ANOTHER MISTAKE and replace him. 

[SouthernSmoggie 998]

How bad do people think it would need to get for Woodgate's job to be called into question?

I can easily see us losing away to Barnsley then losing two more on the bounce to Leeds and Forest. We would be teetering on the edge of the bottom 3, if not in it. 

Would then be the time to roll the dice on a Warnock type keeping us up? Or will Gibson trudge on no matter how bad things get? I have a really nasty feeling we will ditch Woody once we're cut adrift from safety and it'll be too late for anyone else to change anything. 

[AnglianRed 2,904]

23 hours ago, RiseSirAxlRose said:

We are not playing well atm and confidence is low but..... we won’t go down. We’re a half decent side in an awful, awful run. We weren’t going to get a play off spot after winning 4 in a row any more or less than we won’t go down on the back of this awful run. Polarised opinions are normal on a message forum but I suspect the reality is somewhere in between (or in our case, nearer the bottom, but not relegated). 

I'm holding you to that.

If we manage to stay up you've got to do a "Bernie Slaven" - or the nearest possible equivalent (I'm guessing Binns is long gone). 😁

 

We have a team of half-decent players, playing like they don't give a toss and a manager who's doing the best impression of Nero outside a West End theatre.

There needs to be a major attitude change (from everyone) otherwise the dire performances will continue and we likely will end up in the bottom 3, because the other teams are at least playing like they want to stay up.

 

[Duvel 1,443]

53 minutes ago, SouthernSmoggie said:

How bad do people think it would need to get for Woodgate's job to be called into question?

I can easily see us losing away to Barnsley then losing two more on the bounce to Leeds and Forest. We would be teetering on the edge of the bottom 3, if not in it. 

Would then be the time to roll the dice on a Warnock type keeping us up? Or will Gibson trudge on no matter how bad things get? I have a really nasty feeling we will ditch Woody once we're cut adrift from safety and it'll be too late for anyone else to change anything. 

I honestly don't see us being cut adrift at any point. 

As bad as things have been, I still think we'll scrape enough points together to keep our heads above the bottom 3. 

To answer your question about how bad things would have to be for Woodgate to get sacked, I'm not sure whether he'll even get sacked if we fall into the bottom 3 or get relegated. 

 

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,331]

I don’t think Woodgate will get sacked this season, Gibson has faith in him and wants him to develop as a manager. As long as people buy season tickets, Gibbo will keep him in his role. If you want him out, you know what to do.......

[Duvel 1,443]

9 minutes ago, BillyWoofs_shinpad said:

I don’t think Woodgate will get sacked this season, Gibson has faith in him and wants him to develop as a manager. As long as people buy season tickets, Gibbo will keep him in his role. If you want him out, you know what to do.......

That's one of the reasons I don't think he'll get sacked. You saw how easy our fans were swayed in the summer by one press conference and a handful of Gazette articles. 

If we got relegated we'd just have a massive PR campaign from the club and Gazette and by August our fans would be raring to go again. 

[BillyWoofs_shinpad 1,331]

41 minutes ago, Duvel said:

That's one of the reasons I don't think he'll get sacked. You saw how easy our fans were swayed in the summer by one press conference and a handful of Gazette articles. 

If we got relegated we'd just have a massive PR campaign from the club and Gazette and by August our fans would be raring to go again. 

Sadly, you are probably right, a similar thing happened at Sunderland. Do you think the club would reduce ticket prices in the event of relegation? I find it strange that people are renewing now, at the current cost, when they could be watching third tier football next season. 

Edited February 17, 2020 by BillyWoofs_shinpad