League 2 relegation thread 14/15

LordJord said:

Agreed, and yet that was not particuarly uncommon away from home in the Aidy Boothroyd reign, fortunately now we have Wilder who understands how to address poor runs.

Click to expand...

Might he be kind enough to lend Murray some advice after the game on this issue?

Massive, massive win for us.

5 points above the drop-zone with another crucial game against Portsmouth on Tuesday night.

So, anywhere nice in non-league these days? Guess we can always open our stadium in front of 12 Forest Green fans...

TheMinsterman said:

So, anywhere nice in non-league these days? Guess we can always open our stadium in front of 12 Forest Green fans...

Click to expand...

Our game next week is now massive.

Good 3 points for us, definitely needed.

Just when you though you were out...they pull you back in!

Some of our fans think we could be dragged into this, but if you ask me, they're being very melodramatic. I know League 2 relegation battles are somewhat different from the other leagues, and a lot of clubs could get sucked in, but I think we have a bit more quality than some of the clubs that are currently occupying the bottom 4/5 places.

Vanni said:

Some of our fans think we could be dragged into this, but if you ask me, they're being very melodramatic. I know League 2 relegation battles are somewhat different from the other leagues, and a lot of clubs could get sucked in, but I think we have a bit more quality than some of the clubs that are currently occupying the bottom 4/5 places.

Click to expand...

...says pretty much every fan of every team in the mire.

Tranmere continuing to do the self-destruction act they've become experts of in the last 20 years.

TheMinsterman said:

So, anywhere nice in non-league these days? Guess we can always open our stadium in front of 12 Forest Green fans...

Click to expand...

It's just as shite as you will remember.. Although we have moneybags Eastleigh these days. Even alfreton have foreign owners.

Dan_Macclad said:

It's just as shite as you will remember.. Although we have moneybags Eastleigh these days. Even alfreton have foreign owners.

Click to expand...

Pretty much time for anyone to he out of it, we were in the relegation last week and 20th now, it's so close.

As I said last week, if I had to be in the zone Id rather be in it now than at the end of the season

Often found that a team would free fall from lower mid table just in time to go down.. Year after year it happened with the season long strugglers often staying up.

TRFC ON TOUR said:

Our game next week is now massive.

Click to expand...

You'll beat us, everything I've heard indicates there is a worrying lack of unity in the squad.

Dan_Macclad said:

It's just as shite as you will remember.. Although we have moneybags Eastleigh these days. Even alfreton have foreign owners.

Click to expand...

Well, I guess we can wave to you as we go pop and join Scarborough Athletic for a massive derby in the Evo-Stik...

Accrington losing five on the bounce has seen them come right back into it.

Think it'll take more than 50 again this year to see everyone safe as well. Goal difference will likely be massive again as well, decided who goes down in the last two seasons.

Murphy said:

Accrington losing five on the bounce has seen them come right back into it.

Think it'll take more than 50 again this year to see everyone safe as well. Goal difference will likely be massive again as well, decided who goes down in the last two seasons.

Click to expand...

Great win for you lads, you've most certainly got the knack of winning those games, I half imagine you winning a game through a sneaky goal at our place later this month.

As you've proven, 2 wins and you go from relegation zone to feeling relatively safe for a while.

Many twist to come, that we've got portsmouth at home and accrington away last 2 games could be massive

AdamStag said:

Great win for you lads, you've most certainly got the knack of winning those games, I half imagine you winning a game through a sneaky goal at our place later this month.

As you've proven, 2 wins and you go from relegation zone to feeling relatively safe for a while.

Many twist to come, that we've got portsmouth at home and accrington away last 2 games could be massive

Click to expand...

To be honest, we've actually played some of our better stuff in these games. 4-2 against Carlisle. 3-1 against Cheltenham. 2-0 home and away against York. 2-0 at home to you guys. Had an entertaining 3-3 draw up at Oxford.

Portsmouth is the one we'll bottle as in all of our 3 games against them so far, we've been overawed by the big club side to it. And annoyingly we were shite at home to Tranmere.

As the weeks go on I'm more and more baffled as to why Cheltenham were so quick to offload Jason Taylor to us! The bloke is a lion, and we are unbeaten since he got here. Just can't think why they wouldn't want him

Leewilson said:

To be honest, we've actually played some of our better stuff in these games. 4-2 against Carlisle. 3-1 against Cheltenham. 2-0 home and away against York. 2-0 at home to you guys. Had an entertaining 3-3 draw up at Oxford.

Portsmouth is the one we'll bottle as in all of our 3 games against them so far, we've been overawed by the big club side to it. And annoyingly we were shite at home to Tranmere.

Click to expand...

Understandable i guess

TheMinsterman said:

Well, I guess we can wave to you as we go pop and join Scarborough Athletic for a massive derby in the Evo-Stik...

Click to expand...

Would be typical as I really like York and you bypassed us when we went down!

Cheltenham are bang in trouble. Buckle in my opinion has made a number of errors in his approach - I feel to quote Wilder's phrase they are missing "men".

After yesterday I can safely say Hartlepool are doomed. We were average at best yesterday and only scored one goal but they barely threatened us and looked a team with nothing going for them. I know football turns quickly sometimes but they are surely too far behind to survive now.

Tuesday's game against Dagenham is huge now. The winners of that will likely go 8 points clear of the drop and the losers start to look nervously over their shoulder again.

Cheltenham have collected 18 points in 25 games, compared to 12 in their first 4 games.

If anyone was to drop, at this rate Cheltenham look the best bet, they may infact officially have the current worst squad in L2 as I think Harrison and Taylor (two decent players) have moved on since the start of the season, leaving them with no real quality and a divided fanbase.

Dagenham seem to have the knack of winning big games and have a reliable goal scorer in Cureton.

Tranmere and Carlisle seem similar to each other in that they both have arguably better squads than the teams around them but struggle badly for consistency.

Mansfield is a strange one, new team, style and manager in place since the start of the season but form seems to have got worse (obviously barring yesterday). A few key players out through long term injury (Hearn and Blair (?)) haven't helped matters. I think Mansfield are the leagues lowest scorers along with Hartlepool so will have to rely on clean sheets quite often. Mansfield do seem to have an advantage of being able to adapt playing styles better than most, e.g. Can out pass Plymouth and out hoof Stevengage.

York are also struggling badly for goals, just one in 6 games iirc, factor in their awful home form and it doesn't look great (of course traditionally away games are harder than home) so they will have to pick a lot of away points up in the run in against teams also fighting for promotion/safety which will be no easy task. They simply have to start scoring goals and winning at home.

Hartlepool remind me very much of Bury when we got relegated from L1 in 2012/13, we had a terrible squad but would put the fans hopes up by winning the odd game e.g. Plymouth and Cheltenham for Hartlepool, but would then slump again and go and lose the next 4. They seem to have too much work to do now I would argue, but I'd fancy them to finish above Cheltenham on current form.

In our next 8 we will play Hartlepool, Mansfield, York, Pompey, Tranmere and Carlisle so we have quite a big bearing on the relegation picture in the immediate future!

EricSabin said:

In our next 8 we will play Hartlepool, Mansfield, York, Pompey, Tranmere and Carlisle so we have quite a big bearing on the relegation picture in the immediate future!

Click to expand...

I'm Expecting a good game next week between us especially with the £7 offer back again. Hopefully your lot bring a good amount so there's a bit of atmosphere.

StagsForLife said:

I'm Expecting a good game next week between us especially with the £7 offer back again. Hopefully your lot bring a good amount so there's a bit of atmosphere.

Click to expand...

Before Friday it was 700 sold, so a good day of sales yesterday we will probably be about 850/900. Still a full week to go so expecting around 1,200. It's been dubbed 'JJOT day', a lot of people have purchased wigs and headbands to celebrate our enigmatic midfielder who's been really good these last few weeks. We will be heavy favourites for it, and I cannot wait!

55
54
53
52
51 Safety 2012/1013
50 Safety 2013/2014, Safety 2005/2006
49
48 Safety 2010/2011
47 Safety 2006/2007
46
45 Safety 2011/2012, Safety 2009/2010
44
43 Safety 2007/2008
42 Safety 2008/2009.
41 Stevenage.
40 Wimbledon, Northampton.
39 Safety 2004/2005
38
37 Morecambe
36 Cambridge
35
34 Oxford
33 Accrington, Carlisle, Dagenham, Portsmouth.
32
31 Mansfield
30 Cheltenham, Tranmere.
29
28 York
21 Hartlepool

Safety in 08/09 is factoring out Luton's 30 points deduction/ Safety 06/07 is factoring out Boston's 10 point deduction. Suppose the rest of these tables, especially going back over the last 10 years shows how strong this years league actually is, despite everyone appearing to be utter shit - just inconsistencies really. For a team to go down on 39 this time around would seem remarkable. And the way we're going at the moment, I think that we may need over 50 and over again this season, especially if York and Cheltenham pull themselves together and pick up a few results. Think it almost proves that Hartlepool are goners unless they can produce promotion winning form from now until the end of the season.

Or we're all equally as rubbish as each other.

To be honest, if we end up the 2nd worst team in this league then I have no qualms about us dropping. I look at our squad and see players who can make a difference in the run in so for us to finish 2nd bottom would need some big mistakes and consistent poor performances over a 15-20 game period. If that happens, then we deserve it.

I feel like we are in a far better position than the likes of Cheltenham, Accrington and York to start with.

I think we're an odd team atm. We've had so much change we don't know what to expect.

Injuries have been a major problem this season for us but perhaps that's a blessing in disguise, if Hearn and Jones hadn't of got injured then perhaps Cox would still be here and the hoofball would've been still happening as well as dreadful performances.

The team is certainly capable of staying up but the shyness in front of goal needs to stop if we are to achieve survival as we waste so many chances.

The capture of Lenny Pidgeley is a cracking signing for us and gives us something that we haven't had since Marriott left us - Someone who has the experience and knows where he wants his defence.

19 points in 18 points is certainly achievable and with the likes of Portsmouth at home and Accrington away in the last two games I'd rather see us reach 50 points sooner than later.

I see bags of potential to build on what Murray has started here but that can only happen as long as we stay up.

UpTheShakers said:

Mansfield do seem to have an advantage of being able to adapt playing styles better than most, e.g. Can out pass Plymouth and out hoof Stevengage.

Click to expand...

True and if they were able to do that on more than a handful of occasions over the course of the season they'd piss this league. The problems come when teams like ourselves who weren't exactly known for combative football, beat them at what was always seem to be their own game. They're probably stuck between the type of football Cox had them playing and the type of football Murray wants them to play, and are getting all the basics wrong, I think they've still enough in them to stay clear but they've a big job on this summer to get this right.

I see Manset was substituted at half time on his debut for Cheltenham yesterday. The gaffer there has completely gone and lost it if he thinks that man is going to do anything but hinder a league 2 relegation battle.

Paul Buckle never had it.