League 2 Relegation Thread 2018/2019

[Bianconeri 1862]

At least if Morecambe go down we won't have people spelling their name wrong every week.

sorry about that, try not to lose any sleep over it.

 

[Semi-skimmed Silk]

Not expecting any/many points from the next 4, just got to hope Sol has realised who his best players are by the time we face easier opposition later. Last minute goal was great and all but covers up the fact we were poor for a lot of the game.

 

[Big Bird]

If only we had a Marc Richards up front with his holiness...

He's crap.

 

[valefan16]

He's crap.

He would have done us a job even if not got the legs of his last spell with us.

 

[Casey]

Our woeful transfer window and negative playing style are working against Crawley. The faithful few are having problems getting excited about games as we don't do anything. Having said that I reckon we can fart arse our way to another five to seven points this season which should see us safe.

Our owners little rant to the "family" was only pointing out that we have a top half budget (I have no idea..if we have and, if we do where, it's being spent) and that he lets the football people make the football decisions. Not really a cock waving display we are used to seeing at the Pies for instance.

I expect one of the bottom two to survive but I've been wrong before.

Casey

 

[Vanni]

Behave yourself,

If it had not been for your Cup Tie against The Mancs you'd still be in the Conference hell-hole

erm, we won promotion in 2014 and that Man Ure cup game was in 2015

 

[Wooderson]

Our woeful transfer window and negative playing style are working against Crawley. The faithful few are having problems getting excited about games as we don't do anything. Having said that I reckon we can fart arse our way to another five to seven points this season which should see us safe.

Our owners little rant to the "family" was only pointing out that we have a top half budget (I have no idea..if we have and, if we do where, it's being spent) and that he lets the football people make the football decisions. Not really a cock waving display we are used to seeing at the Pies for instance.

I expect one of the bottom two to survive but I've been wrong before.

Casey

I think you will be fine, barring a really truly remarkable crash. Cheltenham looked like pulling clear but have been dragged back in a little, but should still be ok, as should Cambridge. Two from the bottom five for me, I think Vale will be ok too as long as Pope stays fit.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Notts will stay up with their acquisitions. Think Macc, for how poor they looked at times yesterday, have a lot of fight about them and they'll stay up because of it. I hope they stay up because they're a good club and it's a brilliant day out, even if I'm not Sol Campbell's biggest fan.

Morecambe and Yeovil for the drop. Two clubs sleepwalking to oblivion. Askey will keep Vale up once his philosophy is imprinted on that side and think Cambridge, Crawley and Cheltenham will do just about enough to stay up too.

 

[Vanni]

You'll have enough to stay up, especially if you can keep Pope fit. You didn't play too bad yesterday and on another day could have nicked a point. I've seen far worse at the Abbey this season. Yeovil easily the worst I've seen.

Really SVH? They weren't great but I don't know about 'easily the worst side' to come here. I thought they looked just about on a par with Macc, Grimsby and Cheltenham, in fact I reckon they had something more about them than the aforementioned sides.

You're right about Vale. They were unlucky with that disallowed goal; it's hard to call looking at the match highlights but it doesn't look offside to me. Could be the lino wanted to atone for his earlier cock up 'cos Pope surely was offside when he was through on goal and Mitov saved his effort.

 

[valefan16]

We just need to start scoring again. We’ve scored 3 goals since December 16th... in the 4 games before that we scored 11!

We went to pot after being the lardies kids 4-0. The weekend after we put in a shocker at Morecambe but somehow got a miracle draw with two late goals and a penalty save... and we’ve never got back into any sort of form.

Granted injuries haven’t helped with Montano and Pope our two top scorers out for 6 and 4 weeks respectively and Whitfield missing/injured.

Defensively we’ve generally been ok bar the odd shocker here and there but i can’t put my finger on what exactly turned us from cruising in mid table picking up regular enough wins to going to 1 win in 12 or whatever it is now since pummelling Yeovil in late November. Confidence, attitude, tactics I don’t know but we need to get back to what was working for us.

Oddly players that had been a key part in the first half of the season such as Legge and Conlon haven’t featured and we’ve been crap since Anthony Kay has come back in. He is good at what he does but slows us down to much in the way we play.

Huge few games for us starting Saturday. Win that and we can feel more comfortable but lose it and we are up shit creek. Problem we have is we aren’t scoring and Morecambe generally set up for a 0-0 and hope to nick one don’t they so doesn’t bode well for us breaking them down!

 

[GTFCfish]

That's funny I watched them play against my team in 1960.

Who did you support back in 1960 then as your team were only formed in 2010.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

1862 and proud of it

 

[GTFCfish]

1862 and proud of it

Goals conceded this season?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Goals conceded this season?

Even we can’t get to that total lol

These young whippersnappers talking and arguing about the years they were formed

 

[Vale on Trent]

We are terrible. I’m finding it hard to believe that there will be two worse teams than us come the end of the season. A lot of fans have been saying that our team is better than our position in the table, but I really don’t see it.

We play three centre backs who are all awful on the ball and struggle to find a pass. Our whole midfield lacks any creativity and literally offers nothing. In Pope we have the best striker in the league in terms of attacking the ball, but we play with no wingers. We don’t play anyone who possesses an ounce of pace or trickery.

We are just boring and so easy to defend against. I know Askey has been in charge for one game, but literally nothing changed yesterday from the previous regime. I hope he changes something next weekend and implements new ideas and tactics. Time will tell.

 

[valefan16]

We are terrible. I’m finding it hard to believe that there will be two worse teams than us come the end of the season. A lot of fans have been saying that our team is better than our position in the table, but I really don’t see it.

We play three centre backs who are all awful on the ball and struggle to find a pass. Our whole midfield lacks any creativity and literally offers nothing. In Pope we have the best striker in the league in terms of attacking the ball, but we play with no wingers. We don’t play anyone who possesses an ounce of pace or trickery.

We are just boring and so easy to defend against. I know Askey has been in charge for one game, but literally nothing changed yesterday from the previous regime. I hope he changes something next weekend and implements new ideas and tactics. Time will tell.

I’m sure he will, would be silly to have changed it yesterday when on a long unbeaten run away from home.

Hopefully drops Kay and Joyce and goes for it!

Got to hope Yeovil keep dropping and Morecambe, Macc or Notts don’t all get their shit together. I think we are better than last year so better than our current predicament but we have to play the right XI in the right system something we’ve failed to do for a couple of months now.

A win on Saturday would change the mood certainly. Huge game now on and off the field with the planned march etc.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I always find Vale fans melodramatic, huge mood swings like a teenage girl that put other L2 clubs to shame.

Try being 8, no make that basically 9 points back. That’s a big gap between our clubs at this stage in the season

 

[valefan16]

I always find Vale fans melodramatic, huge mood swings like a teenage girl that put other L2 clubs to shame.

Try being 8, no make that basically 9 points back. That’s a big gap between our clubs at this stage in the season

We’ve had good reason over the past few seasons to be fair... Pages top half league one squad torn apart by the chairman for a foreign experiment... relegation despite being in the promotion hunt until November... the joint worst finish in Vale’s long and proud history and now an attempt to even beat that this season!

Could get worse before it gets better with protests and fans finally running out of patience with Norman. Morecambe the first of those.

 

[Vale on Trent]

I always find Vale fans melodramatic, huge mood swings like a teenage girl that put other L2 clubs to shame.

Try being 8, no make that basically 9 points back. That’s a big gap between our clubs at this stage in the season

I’m sorry but we are shit from top to bottom. I can’t find a more realistic way to describe us.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

I always find Vale fans melodramatic, huge mood swings like a teenage girl that put other L2 clubs to shame.

Try being 8, no make that basically 9 points back. That’s a big gap between our clubs at this stage in the season

Being bottom of the table’s one thing. Having a completely shit owner is something else. I’ve never felt as bad this season as I did when the Trust or Trew were in charge.

 

[Railway Blue]

Who did you support back in 1960 then as your team were only formed in 2010.

Ha ha very funny!

 

[LondonOrn]

I think you will be fine, barring a really truly remarkable crash. Cheltenham looked like pulling clear but have been dragged back in a little, but should still be ok, as should Cambridge. Two from the bottom five for me, I think Vale will be ok too as long as Pope stays fit.

I wouldn't rule out Cheltenham being one of the teams you need to look at catching, lost 4 of their last 6 and were lucky with debatable refereeing decisions in two home games against fellow strugglers which they only won by the odd goal - I'd consider them more firmly a part of the relegation picture than Cambridge or even Port Vale, and it's not like they haven't been in this situation before. 10 points looks a big gap, but put together a few wins in what looks a kinder run of fixtures after Mansfield and you could narrow it pretty quickly. I'm sure many still remember what Barnet did to Lincoln 8 years ago...

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I wouldn't rule out Cheltenham being one of the teams you need to look at catching, lost 4 of their last 6 and were lucky with debatable refereeing decisions in two home games against fellow strugglers which they only won by the odd goal - I'd consider them more firmly a part of the relegation picture than Cambridge or even Port Vale, and it's not like they haven't been in this situation before. 10 points looks a big gap, but put together a few wins in what looks a kinder run of fixtures after Mansfield and you could narrow it pretty quickly. I'm sure many still remember what Barnet did to Lincoln 8 years ago...

That Lincoln collapse was absolutely baffling. Always remember them coming to Gresty Road and playing quite well, earning a 1-1 draw in a game they should've won which truly derailed any hopes we had of making the playoffs. They looked safe as houses when they earned that point and I still to this day can't believe they went down from being 11 points clear of the drop with a month of the season left to play...

 

[RLC]

That Lincoln collapse was absolutely baffling. Always remember them coming to Gresty Road and playing quite well, earning a 1-1 draw in a game they should've won which truly derailed any hopes we had of making the playoffs. They looked safe as houses when they earned that point and I still to this day can't believe they went down from being 11 points clear of the drop with a month of the season left to play...

It is funny, because exactly the same thing happened to them when they first dropped out of the league in 1987. There was still a mathematical chance of them going down on the final day, but they did not really seem in any danger. They had not been bottom all season, in the days when only the 92nd club went down.

Burnley, Torquay and ourselves all seemed in more peril, but we all won our final match and stayed up.

 

[LondonOrn]

That Lincoln collapse was absolutely baffling. Always remember them coming to Gresty Road and playing quite well, earning a 1-1 draw in a game they should've won which truly derailed any hopes we had of making the playoffs. They looked safe as houses when they earned that point and I still to this day can't believe they went down from being 11 points clear of the drop with a month of the season left to play...

Yes, and at one point well past the halfway season I remember they were actually above Stevenage, who went on a great run to not only reach the play-offs but win them in their first season in the league, and then the next season as pre-season relegation favourites they nearly won a third successive promotion, while Lincoln nearly did a York the same season. Funny how rapidly clubs' fortunes can diverge in football...

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

It is funny, because exactly the same thing happened to them when they first dropped out of the league in 1987. There was still a mathematical chance of them going down on the final day, but they did not really seem in any danger. They had not been bottom all season, in the days when only the 92nd club went down.

Burnley, Torquay and ourselves all seemed in more peril, but we all won our final match and stayed up.

Believe similar things happened to Oxford in 2006 and Bristol Rovers in 2014 too where they only entered the relegation zone on the final day despite Torquay in 06 and Northampton in 14 spending almost the entire season in the drop zone.

Had Lincoln not dropped out the league in 87, Burnley may well be another Rochdale or Bury these days at best and Lincoln might've had two big stands that went down both sides of the pitch as I believe they had to chuck all their cash reserves on a side to get them back into the league. Fine margins shape legacies I guess.

 

[LondonOrn]

It is funny, because exactly the same thing happened to them when they first dropped out of the league in 1987. There was still a mathematical chance of them going down on the final day, but they did not really seem in any danger. They had not been bottom all season, in the days when only the 92nd club went down.

Burnley, Torquay and ourselves all seemed in more peril, but we all won our final match and stayed up.

Apparently Bryn the police dog was their saviour (google that if you don't know what I'm talking about), but I'm not sure I buy that. It's true that the dog attack caused more injury time than would have otherwise been awarded, but Torquay played exactly the same amount of football that they would have had it not been for the dog (that's what injury time is about), so I'm not sure it made any difference.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Yes, and at one point well past the halfway season I remember they were actually above Stevenage, who went on a great run to not only reach the play-offs but win them in their first season in the league, and then the next season as pre-season relegation favourites they nearly won a third successive promotion, while Lincoln nearly did a York the same season. Funny how rapidly clubs' fortunes can diverge in football...

There was a really bad winter that season that caused a huge fixture backlog. Think Burton had 8 games in hand at one point in February. The Alex never played a game between 11th December and 1st January that year. Ironically, the only side that didn't seem to be affected by many postponements that year was a Stockport side whose fate was well and truly sealed when they sunk to the bottom around January having played more games than any other side in the league. Stevenage and Accrington were deep in the bottom half around February before going on a huge run to end in the playoffs.

It was just a very weird season. Only Chesterfield were consistently brilliant and Barnet (before their late season salvo) and Stockport were consistently shite. Everyone seemed to have a point where they would do really well, then suffer a catastrophic loss of form or vice versa. I think the weather played a huge part of that and it showed in the second half of the season, as the workmanlike teams like Gillingham, Torquay, Stevenage and Accrington prospered whilst promising but lightweight teams like ourselves, Cheltenham and Rotherham badly tailed off as we were found wanting in the second half of the season.

 

[RLC]

Apparently Bryn the police dog was their saviour (google that if you don't know what I'm talking about), but I'm not sure I buy that. It's true that the dog attack caused more injury time than would have otherwise been awarded, but Torquay played exactly the same amount of football that they would have had it not been for the dog (that's what injury time is about), so I'm not sure it made any difference.

Yes, I remember that. Fortunately we had beaten Exeter on the Friday night, so we were already safe by then.

I can't imagine the league would let one team involved in the relegation fight play twenty four hours earlier than everyone else nowadays.

 

[valefan16]

There was a really bad winter that season that caused a huge fixture backlog. Think Burton had 8 games in hand at one point in February. The Alex never played a game between 11th December and 1st January that year. Ironically, the only side that didn't seem to be affected by many postponements that year was a Stockport side whose fate was well and truly sealed when they sunk to the bottom around January having played more games than any other side in the league. Stevenage and Accrington were deep in the bottom half around February before going on a huge run to end in the playoffs.

It was just a very weird season. Only Chesterfield were consistently brilliant and Barnet (before their late season salvo) and Stockport were consistently shite. Everyone seemed to have a point where they would do really well, then suffer a catastrophic loss of form or vice versa. I think the weather played a huge part of that and it showed in the second half of the season, as the workmanlike teams like Gillingham, Torquay, Stevenage and Accrington prospered whilst promising but lightweight teams like ourselves, Cheltenham and Rotherham badly tailed off as we were found wanting in the second half of the season.

That was one mental season. Ironically we pretty much sentenced Lincoln to relegation with one of the most pathetic last day efforts at Barnet... Grew blew his nut at the lack of professionalism and wanted to force them to train the following week as punishment... as for us that was one odd season...

Under Micky Adams we were flying up until December we were swapping top spot with Chesterfield and had a crazily good defensive record... then got beat by Morecambe despite battering them and Micky went to the Blades at Xmas with a horror Xmas seeing us lose 3-0 at Gills and 5-0 at Rotherham... in steps Jim Gannon... even by Vale terms that was one weird spell.

Played his first league game at Gresty Road, ditches some of the squad who’d got us top end and randomly played one of the youth teamers... can’t for the life of me remember his name and he never featured again, don’t even think he ever played professionally again! Lost and of course that didn’t really get the fans on side.

Then after patchy form leaks come out that he’d lost the dressing room and stories of them watching DVDs rather than training of tactics etc. Before the infamous Aldershot away trip... Horsfield and Gannon had a scrap the players allegedly cheering on The Horse, Gannon gets off and goes home!

A horror show at Accrington finally ended his time with fans fighting with Exodus Geoghagon with racist claims from Exodus.

Eventually we just missed out on the play offs, randomly once we couldn’t make them absolutely dick Morecambe 7-2 and soon after Micky gets sacked at the Blunts and comes back to Vale to eventually complete the job two years later than it arguably should have been done!

A book was even written about that Vale season!

Was truly nuts. I mainly recall Lincoln from that season as playing against us in the England 2008 away kit with a Lincoln badge on it mind! These being the days when they had about 100 fans in the away end of course.