Promotion Thread

[Gladders]

You're thinking to much. Just let the games be played. Doesn't matter who has the easier run in because there's no obvious team who has the easier run in so it can't be that much difference. This league is so unpredictable it doesn't really matter if the teams inform or not. End of the day we all have 6 games of 90 minutes to play 11 vs 11 well for some of us anyway. May the best team win

cool cya in 6 games time then as obviously there is nothing to talk about till then.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Discussing possible permutations and comparing the difficulty of your rivals' matches are an essential part of any tight title/promotion/play-off/relegation battle...
And then seeing it being blown up in the air by an unexpected result on Saturday is another part of it.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Especially when you've spent most of the recent past discussing where the points are going to come from to avoid relegation.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Of course, in the pre-internet age there wouldn't have been so much inter-club chat about our respective chances and the weekly (for us in North London) or daily (for people living outside London) local paper would have been eagerly seized upon for any useful tidbits of information. Barry Fry would do his best to fill the gap by signing a new player every week, which is not possible today. Every weekend I'd turn up to Underhill and see a player in a Barnet shirt I'd never seen before and couldn't recognise.

 

[springerbfc]

Is this the most exciting Conference title race since 1990/91?

With 6 games to go back then, the table looked like this;

Colchester 74
Altrincham 73 (+2 games in hand)
Kettering 72
Barnet 71

Conference always seems to be won by a country mile or is very much a two horse race.

 

[The_Boss]

I'd be surprised if any of the top three win their remaining 6, so there will be some twists and turns to come yet.

The Easter fixtures are usually pivotal and there are some interesting dyamics for the top three.

Bristol Rovers look to have two nice fixtures, Chester home and Kiddy away and have brought their first game forward to give an extra days rest. If you have to play away three days after a match, you'd be ok with that fixture.

Grimsby have Gateshead home and Alfreton away. Could be a real test against Gateshead looking for points for play-offs and then a trip two days later to a side desperate for points to stay up. With Alfreton playing at Wrexham on the Saturday, will they look to target one game over the other when picking their teams for both games.

Barnet have a double header against relegation threatened Nuneaton and Dartford. Nuneaton play Braintree on the Monday, so do they hedge their bets on their team selection on the Saturday. Dartford face a long trip back from Torquay on the Saturday before the early KO live on TV. I think given their position that they have to win every game so don't have the luxury of resting players to target one specific game.

I'd hate to hear how you figure out your weekend accumulators!

 

[Clarkey_GTFC]

So hard to look at our remaining games, obviously there's no right way of looking at them but if you told me we had to win all 6 to win the league I'd be very confident, but then I look at the run we're on at the minute, add them together and think that's one hell of a run we'd have to go on and would never believe it.

 

[Gladders]

So hard to look at our remaining games, obviously there's no right way of looking at them but if you told me we had to win all 6 to win the league I'd be very confident, but then I look at the run we're on at the minute, add them together and think that's one hell of a run we'd have to go on and would never believe it.

I said after the Macclesfield game on the 1st Jan that that was us out of the title race, at that point we was 15 points behind Barnet with a game in hand (so say 12 points). Since then we have won 9 out of 12 games to bring the gap down to just 3 points. I still think we have to win all the remaining 6 games to catch them due to their GD so that would be 15 wins out of 18 which would be an incredible run and its already an incredible run.

I feel we have done well to get in this position but still feel we have an awful lot to do to finish 1st. We have caught up 12 points but 6 of those was from beating Barnet twice, so effectively 6 points in 3 months, can we catch up another 4 points in just 6 games, most likely not unless Barnet lose a couple which is unlikely, and then we have to rely on Bristol losing one too, all the while us winning.

I'm just glad we have had a good second half of the season for a change and what ever happens now (short of losing them all) we should be going into the play-offs full of confidence and feel we have a side that can do well in them. Just a shame we dropped silly points in the first half of the season!

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

I'd hate to hear how you figure out your weekend accumulators!

Don't do accumulators. Mugs game.

 

[TheGas]

Don't do accumulators. Mugs game.

I'm a mug then

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

I'm a mug then

It's always good to know oneself.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Is this the most exciting Conference title race since 1990/91?

With 6 games to go back then, the table looked like this;

Colchester 74
Altrincham 73 (+2 games in hand)
Kettering 72
Barnet 71

Conference always seems to be won by a country mile or is very much a two horse race.

Alty should have won it that season. They had an unbelievable run from Christmas and were a really hard-working tough team. I think their style of play and the hectic fixture schedule did for them. Colchester were always there or thereabouts but I don't think they were ever top. Kettering were frankly lucky to be in that position and started faltering as soon as they sold Andy Hunt to Newcastle Utd in January.

 

[Joe.]

My money is on Grimsby.

 

[Jemfy]

Don't do accumulators. Mugs game.

No more or less of a mugs game than betting on individual games. Nothing wrong with doing an accumulator of good value bets.

 

[AdamStag]

Alty should have won it that season. They had an unbelievable run from Christmas and were a really hard-working tough team. I think their style of play and the hectic fixture schedule did for them. Colchester were always there or thereabouts but I don't think they were ever top. Kettering were frankly lucky to be in that position and started faltering as soon as they sold Andy Hunt to Newcastle Utd in January.

I think the year we won it with Kidderminster was a pretty epic season, I think between us we won something like 43 of the last 50 games of the season combined between us, ending up on 95 and 93, probably was one of the toughest seasons too.

Even though we finished 10 clear of Newport in the end, Wrexham, Newport and Grimsby were all in it until the last few games. That season was made even odder due to cup runs and awful weather - think we had 8 games in hand on Newport at one stage

I've always maintained its probably the hardest league to get out of

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

No more or less of a mugs game than betting on individual games. Nothing wrong with doing an accumulator of good value bets.

No point clogging up this thread anymore with betting, but I'll happy debate it on the betting sub-forum why I believe that if you bet accas to make money you'll almost certainly lose money over time.

 

[GTFC1979]

I think the year we won it with Kidderminster was a pretty epic season, I think between us we won something like 43 of the last 50 games of the season combined between us, ending up on 95 and 93, probably was one of the toughest seasons too.

Even though we finished 10 clear of Newport in the end, Wrexham, Newport and Grimsby were all in it until the last few games. That season was made even odder due to cup runs and awful weather - think we had 8 games in hand on Newport at one stage

I've always maintained its probably the hardest league to get out of

I cant be bothered to go back and check, but how many 90th minute winners did you have In those games in hand if you can remember?
Every time you looked like dropping points BANG 90th fucking minute, drove me insane every week!
From nowhere you were suddenly ahead of us, and we just couldn't pull it back.

 

[AdamStag]

I cant be bothered to go back and check, but how many 90th minute winners did you have In those games in hand if you can remember?
Every time you looked like dropping points BANG 90th fucking minute, drove me insane every week!
From nowhere you were suddenly ahead of us, and we just couldn't pull it back.

From what I remember, only 3. We Scored back to back last minute winners at Lincoln and Luton, then also against Hereford, but that was late on.

ESP had us down as winning 21 from the 25 games after the new year - you need to have a lot of luck to put a run together like that. I seem to remember you battering us during the 1st half at Field mill but not scoring and then we turned it up and went on a run.

You need to have that luck, we could very easily be where Kidderminster are now had things turned the other way

 

[GTFC1979]

From what I remember, only 3. We Scored back to back last minute winners at Lincoln and Luton, then also against Hereford, but that was late on.

ESP had us down as winning 21 from the 25 games after the new year - you need to have a lot of luck to put a run together like that. I seem to remember you battering us during the 1st half at Field mill but not scoring and then we turned it up and went on a run.

You need to have that luck, we could very easily be where Kidderminster are now had things turned the other way

Yup thats right, I had It down as 3 way between us Newport and Wrexham as I thought yourselves and Kiddie could no way keep up your runs, but you both did!
I remember that game well also, battered you for 60 mins but your keeper was incredible that night, then you scored twice, very long drive home that one, as gutted as I can remember ever being at an away game.
(Made worse by us singing, na na na na, fucking useless, at your fans for 60 mins, only to have it sung back at us for last 30)

 

[Harrier94]

I cant be bothered to go back and check, but how many 90th minute winners did you have In those games in hand if you can remember?

Doubt it was anymore than we had. Steve Burr loved a last minute winner

 

[Andy Harrier]

I cant be bothered to go back and check, but how many 90th minute winners did you have In those games in hand if you can remember?
Every time you looked like dropping points BANG 90th fucking minute, drove me insane every week!
From nowhere you were suddenly ahead of us, and we just couldn't pull it back.

Tell me about it. Loads of Harriers fans went to Hereford v Mansfield near the end of the season and they got one there. I was listening to it on the radio. Bloody Matt Green!
I maintain they'd have missed out on the playoffs without him, let alone not won the league. But we shot ourselves in the foot by being bottom of the league 10 games into the season.

 

[springerbfc]

Alty should have won it that season. They had an unbelievable run from Christmas and were a really hard-working tough team. I think their style of play and the hectic fixture schedule did for them. Colchester were always there or thereabouts but I don't think they were ever top. Kettering were frankly lucky to be in that position and started faltering as soon as they sold Andy Hunt to Newcastle Utd in January.

That was the actual table that I posted and Colchester were indeed top with six to play.

Altrincham had Paul Showler and Ken McKenna who were both outstanding, Showler one of the finest players to have ever graced the Conference imo.

I think Alty played Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or something silly like that in the final week of the season and unsurprisingly, slipped up.

Kettering were 15 points clear of us at one stage. They were rocked when we went up there and tore them apart and they never really recovered.

Was a great finish with a three way title shoot out on the final day.

Great times!

 

[AdamStag]

Tell me about it. Loads of Harriers fans went to Hereford v Mansfield near the end of the season and they got one there. I was listening to it on the radio. Bloody Matt Green!
I maintain they'd have missed out on the playoffs without him, let alone not won the league. But we shot ourselves in the foot by being bottom of the league 10 games into the season.

Probably my favourite goal of all time. We went mental in that away end at the final whistle

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

I think Alty played Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or something silly like that in the final week of the season and unsurprisingly, slipped up.

Alty only needed to fall over the line to win it. Somehow they fell backwards.

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/conference/1990-1991/table

Didn't win any of their last five after having gone 28 games unbeaten, being 2/3rds of the season back then.

Just shows that nothing can be taken for granted.

 

[rudebwoyben]

They played Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in the final week of the season. The 3-3 draw at Slough on the Tuesday really did for them.

 

[springerbfc]

Yes that's right, Alty had an incredible run - 28 games unbeaten takes some doing at any level!

Love the fact that we scored 103 and conceded 52 in just 42 games

 

[Roly]

I've booked all our remaining games bar Nuneaton off from work, when asked what the leave was for the answer "because those bastards might just do it" seemed to suffice.

 

[springerbfc]

I may be able to get to Kiddy if there's a chance we could win the league that day. And should get to the Halifax and Gateshead games.

Otherwise, I will be babysitting and watching the scores come through for most of the rest of the season...

 

[BeesKnees]

I will miss the lot. I thought we were going to do poorly after seeing the pre-season friendlies so after tomorrow I'm abroad. At the moment there is a small chance I'll be back in time for the last game of the season.

 

[appletablepenny]

Alty only needed to fall over the line to win it. Somehow they fell backwards.

http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/conference/1990-1991/table

Didn't win any of their last five after having gone 28 games unbeaten, being 2/3rds of the season back then.

Just shows that nothing can be taken for granted.

Looking at that table is painful - only 2 wins from the last 10 games. That run started immediately after the day we battered Barnet and looked utter certainties to win the league.