ridgeway kid wrote:

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Despite my faith in Kempo's predictive skills I have argued all season we are certs for relegation.  The main reason imo is the club's and manager's inexperience at this level.  Evans' transfer policy simply won't work in the Championship.

I read on another Millers site after the Blackpool fiasco repeated statements to the effect that 'Any point away from home is a good one.'  One poster was so pleased with this brilliant observation that he repeated it several times and on three separate threads.  It's an old chestnut and meaningless boloney.  It originated in the observation first made I think by Don Revie that 'If we win our home games then a point away from home is a good result.'  Readers will note the first part.  RUFC currently are winning 25% of home games.

Blackpool are doomed.  Millwall are not.  They will offload Holloway and will revert back to being very hard to beat at home.  Leeds, Brighton, Wigan and Huddersfield will improve.  I expect us after the next 8 games to be second bottom and well adrift.

A great shame as we will find it hard to get back up.  But you can't prosper in the Championship with an half-rrsed approach to recruitment and retention which seems SE's method of choice.

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pretty much agree with the sentiment. Its a surprise to me that Holloway has performed so badly. I have no idea about their means, but I dont get the sense of them being reasonable spenders in this league; certainly, their crowds dont support a decent budget.

I am not so certain we will be adrift in second from bottom, even after our next very tough 7 games, as there are so many yo-yo teams in this league.  As badly as we have performed there are so many teams within 5-6 points of us either way that I expect it to be very close to the death. 

Like you point out and, I agree, a point away in this league is ok, but that has to be balanced by wins elsewhere. There are teams every season who perform better home, or away, but to be performing poorly at both is not a good sign of form.

I am not so fed up with EVO though. I think that when we look at the teams around our position half way through the season, we are doing ok (although its disappointing). I, like perhaps 80% of the rest of the division would love to know how Brentford have done it. If there is a magic formula then very few have it and they perhaps dont know what it is themselves.

 

-- Edited by ian on Tuesday 30th of December 2014 10:22:03 AM

Bar the first 25 minutes where we should have been out of sight, the other 65 minutes I thought Blackpool deserved something from the game. We've taken 2 points from them where most will take 4 or 6 this season - that says a lot about where we are.

Do we need a reality check? - I'm not so sure. Not knowing the numbers, we should have been hell bent on keeping Thomas, Tavs and Agard. For what I saw of Brindley last season I don't think anyone else has made me think they're better, we retained Smallwood which was great but to decimate half of a promotion first 11 like that was always going to spell trouble.

It just makes it worse that the players that have come in have all not really contributed to much, on a regular basis. The forward players except the Becchio situation which was downright unlucky have failed miserably. Derbyshire & Bowery in particular have got to be up there with some of worst 'value for money' signings we have made. Throw that in with the usual panic loan signings due to the permanent players not doing the business and this is where we find ourselves.

Someone mentioned what magic Brentford have come up with, easy. They kept most of what got them up, added with 1 or 2 of quality and how many loan players have they had?

There is a lot to answer for for the player acquisition policy, but rather than address that we get media outburst of individuals in defence who on a whole don't do much wrong.

I think SE has done very well, he's made personal changes in himself which is admirable, however I feel if he doesn't overhaul his scouting department, change his transfer policy - it will lead to his own downfall. As he stated himself a quote from Clough was it?, players win you matches not tactics.

The sad thing is, if we go down, it will be our own fault & our own doing. It will be full of what ifs, and will feel like a whimper rather than a fight. And that will do the most damage long term, on & off the pitch

Blackpool
Millwall
sadly us

In no particular order BTW

2 loans in.
1 permanent.
Revs gone.

All signings are very attacking players by the looks. Exactly what we have all been screaming out for.

On balance we are moving in the right direction once again. ..more to come. Will we get another striker by the end of The Window?

I'm more optimistic.

Let's see what the other teams bring in too, but we are off to a good start.

-- Edited by ian on Saturday 10th of January 2015 12:59:34 AM

bournemouth, ipswich and derby.---SOD IT ,it,s a banter board  and you have to dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wigan
Blackpool
Millwall

We need to stop bringing in mystery players.

Gap remains at 3 points...

The gaps are opening.

It's beginning to take shape as it does at this point in the season.

It looks much worse with a gap above us even though the gap below is still the same.

No man's land.

Yikes!

-- Edited by ian on Friday 23rd of January 2015 03:01:04 AM

S8Miller wrote:

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And one always seems to drop like a stone from mid-table.  I'm hoping it's Wednesday but got a feeling that Charlton have been riding their luck and living off their early season form.  I think they will nose dive after Christmas.

 

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 We beat Charlton on Saturday and we go above them.  Maybe one of my predictions is coming true for a change.