Relegation Dogfight Thread

[kieran_vale]

Us and Fleetwood likely officially relegated Saturday. To go down when the safety mark is likely to be 46 at best is pretty awful. Plenty of time for a post-mortem but especially in our case it's not one game or whatever that has caused this but our failures last summer and January just gone. Get the recruitment wrong and you can analyse everything else but this is what happens. Pretty phlegmatic about it all though, just hope we can offload a few in the summer.

Down to Burton or Cheltenham for the last spot. Probably just about favour Burton as their last two games seem more favourable than Cheltenhams but you never know.

 

[Bartonyellow]

Us and Fleetwood likely officially relegated Saturday. To go down when the safety mark is likely to be 46 at best is pretty awful. Plenty of time for a post-mortem but especially in our case it's not one game or whatever that has caused this but our failures last summer and January just gone. Get the recruitment wrong and you can analyse everything else but this is what happens. Pretty phlegmatic about it all though, just hope we can offload a few in the summer.

Down to Burton or Cheltenham for the last spot. Probably just about favour Burton as their last two games seem more favourable than Cheltenhams but you never know.

No - Cheltenham will stay up. Stevenage last day they will win, we will not get another point.

 

[Si Robin]

I am genuinely of the opinion that one win for any of us (Cheltenham, Burton or Vale) will be enough. It's just which one of us gets it.

 

[valefan16]

I am genuinely of the opinion that one win for any of us (Cheltenham, Burton or Vale) will be enough. It's just which one of us gets it.

We need 4 points realistically due to GD. If Burton dont beat an already relegated Fleetwood then they deserve to go down.

 

[Si Robin]

5 goals is not too big a swing in two games. 3-0 defeat for Burton and say 1-0 defeat for Vale on Saturday, then it's a 3 goal swing. 2-0 win and 1-0 defeat and Vale stay up on Goals Scored.

 

[Bartonyellow]

We need 4 points realistically due to GD. If Burton dont beat an already relegated Fleetwood then they deserve to go down.

We deserve to go down even if we do beat fleetwood. And at least if we go down we will see the manager sacked.

 

[Bartonyellow]

Vale and us are finished. It’s down to you to win 1 of your 3 games.
We might get a point max.

 

[valefan16]

5 goals is not too big a swing in two games. 3-0 defeat for Burton and say 1-0 defeat for Vale on Saturday, then it's a 3 goal swing. 2-0 win and 1-0 defeat and Vale stay up on Goals Scored.

It isn't but we have Bolton Away next so likely bigger come 5pm Saturday.

We'd probably need to smash Cambridge 4 or 5-0 last game.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

It isn't but we have Bolton Away next so likely bigger come 5pm Saturday.

We'd probably need to smash Cambridge 4 or 5-0 last game.

They look pretty strong and organised in defence so cant see you getting many. They didn't offer much going forward apart from set pieces and quick counter attacks

 

[valefan16]

They look pretty strong and organised in defence so cant see you getting many. They didn't offer much going forward apart from set pieces and quick counter attacks

Wouldn't matter if they wernt strong and organised at the back we dont score enough goals, mental our two midfielders have double figures which should in theory show you have had a decent season... strikers have let us down massively.

 

[Si Robin]

Take Taylor out (5 goals in 8 starts and 2 sub appearances) then the strikers on our books have 4 goals between them, in three games (Lloyd scored 2 on Boxing Day).

 

[leedsvaliant]

5 goals is not too big a swing in two games. 3-0 defeat for Burton and say 1-0 defeat for Vale on Saturday, then it's a 3 goal swing. 2-0 win and 1-0 defeat and Vale stay up on Goals Scored.

Not a chance for us I'm afraid. Our hope went at half time on Saturday. We're never going to win 2 games on the spin, plus swing some goal difference.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

Wouldn't matter if they wernt strong and organised at the back we dont score enough goals, mental our two midfielders have double figures which should in theory show you have had a decent season... strikers have let us down massively.

Yes having a decent (and fit!) striker is key. just look at ourselves, if Chris Martin wasnt here we'd probably be occupying one of those relegation places.
Cheltenham have Matt Taylor, and while I think he is a massive bellend he knows where the net is. i'll always back a team with a regular goalscorer in situations like this.
You have James Wilson who i rate a lot, but he is never fit for long enough.

 

[valefan16]

Yes having a decent (and fit!) striker is key. just look at ourselves, if Chris Martin wasnt here we'd probably be occupying one of those relegation places.
Cheltenham have Matt Taylor, and while I think he is a massive bellend he knows where the net is. i'll always back a team with a regular goalscorer in situations like this.
You have James Wilson who i rate a lot, but he is never fit for long enough.

Willo isn't really an out and out striker as such either, hes better just behind IMO but never fit and really struggled this season. Personally I would keep him next season in L2 as he did show he was very capable there.

Taylor was crap for us largely last season but in fairness scored as many as any of our strikers have this season in the 3 months he was fit and played here! Missed an awful lot of good chances.

Garrity and Chislett have 12 and 11 goals each so its madness we didn't just add a goal scorer to that. If only we'd got Micheal Smith over the line on deadline day maybe things would have been different but Wednesday didn't get their man so it was pulled at 11pm.

Never solved the issue though, even keeping Ellis Harrison would have been better, the only reason we are not rooted like Carlisle is down to having an outstanding talent who is way above this level on loan for the first half of the season, without him we'd have been dead and buried long ago IMO.

 

[Luke Imp]

Take Taylor out (5 goals in 8 starts and 2 sub appearances) then the strikers on our books have 4 goals between them, in three games (Lloyd scored 2 on Boxing Day).

Take our Taylor out and we're in a similar situation - I don't think we had a striker score a goal until February.

Pretty much everyone has scored at least one though, I think this season has been a Club record for different goal scorers with 23.

 

[Luke Imp]

Vale have got too much to do now with Bolton next, which they'll be pissed off about because you'd not trust Burton to get the points they need to stay up at this point.

Cheltenham's final three of Lincoln, Posh and Stevenage probably looks a little less daunting with Posh settling for the PO's and an Evans-less Stevenage.

I don't think Burton will pick up another points tbh. Reading are a half decent side and Fleetwood, despite not getting the results, have read as though in the main they've put up a bit of a fight and had a go.

 

[CTFCfan99]

Vale have got too much to do now with Bolton next, which they'll be pissed off about because you'd not trust Burton to get the points they need to stay up at this point.

Cheltenham's final three of Lincoln, Posh and Stevenage probably looks a little less daunting with Posh settling for the PO's and an Evans-less Stevenage.

I don't think Burton will pick up another points tbh. Reading are a half decent side and Fleetwood, despite not getting the results, have read as though in the main they've put up a bit of a fight and had a go.

I'm looking at our game against you as the toughest remaining, I'd snap your hand off for a draw Saturday. Hopefully Posh will have an eye on the playoffs and rest a few, and as you say Stevenage minus Evans could work in our favour. Despite how poor they were yesterday I can see Burton scraping a win from one of their two games though, so we might need two wins ourselves.

 

[AmberAndy]

So Chris Martin who scored the winning goal against us for Bristol Rovers in the 87th minute, gets a 4 game ban for head butting Jobe off the ball earlier in the game, but missed by the ref at the time. I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt us !!!

 

[valefan16]

Least arsed I’ve been about a relegation. Fully deserved. We’ve had 18 months to learn lessons and change things and we didn’t and can have zero complaints.

Huge summer ahead.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Can't believe that Burton look like they will stay up based on their two games against us, but I guess that's why it's over 46 games.
I'm sure we will see you again Vale and Fleetwood.

 

[valefan16]

Can't believe that Burton look like they will stay up based on their two games against us, but I guess that's why it's over 46 games.
I'm sure we will see you again Vale and Fleetwood.

They were dreadful against us but at the key time have found the battle to get over the line, whereas our nice boys didn’t have it in them. I really hope we will be paying off a lot of this squad next week! (Only 5 out of contract)

 

[kieran_vale]

Least arsed I’ve been about a relegation. Fully deserved. We’ve had 18 months to learn lessons and change things and we didn’t and can have zero complaints.

Huge summer ahead.

It was fate to happen from this point. Hubris like that was only ending up one way. But yeah I’m not really that arsed about it, fully deserved this. If anything should be some nice local games for us with Walsall, Notts and Chesterfield.

 

[valefan16]

It was fate to happen from this point. Hubris like that was only ending up one way. But yeah I’m not really that arsed about it, fully deserved this. If anything should be some nice local games for us with Walsall, Notts and Chesterfield.

View attachment 20107

He hasn’t as he’s gone! But shows the total lack of reality when fans were raising worries months ago.

 

[Grumpy Grecian]

Can't believe that Burton look like they will stay up based on their two games against us, but I guess that's why it's over 46 games

To be fair denz, I suggest anyone who saw most of our games during last Autumn could have justly said the same about us.

 

[kieran_vale]

Just to say in closing looks like Cheltenham will almost certainly take the final spot so sorry to see it happen to a good man in DC. Good on our friends across the A50 though pulling it out when needed.

 

[Grumpy Grecian]

A couple of questions for the Vale fans while they're still on here.
1. Who is this Hubris fella that you mention?
2. What position does he play?

 

[Bartonyellow]

Cheltenham now need 2 wins and us to lose or draw. It’s possible.
If it goes to the last day then who knows.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

Thank god that’s done.
I went out for a quick pint at three, haven’t listened/checked scores or seen anything until now.
Although, I live quite close to to < insert sponsor name stadium here> and they seemed quite jovial , so assumed they’d won, and well fuck it, we well and truly deserve it.
See you all in 6 years.
If we’re lucky.

 

[Laker]

Commiserations to Vale and Fleetwood.

We’ve basically been relying on teams below us to not win so we stay up which will have to end on Tuesday - Peterborough are apparently resting a ton of players on Tuesday so it looks like Cheltenham have a chance of picking up the win. We’ve got Wycombe and need a win to put it out of reach of them. We’re almost there but it’s been an incredibly unsatisfying way to get to safety.

 

[Soz]

this is what happens when you persue vanity signings and even worse, vanity projects off the pitch over the product on the pitch.

all well and good targetting ridiculous players if you actually manage to sign them, and if you don't at least have a plan B.

Flickers and Carol at fault for a totally and utterly avoidable relegation. Criminal to not sign strikers in january, worse than that when we did the same last Jan and didn't learn our lesson.

First time in my life I'm considering not having a season ticket again, not because of relegation, but because it's mind numbing shite even when we were on the winning run. Atmosphere killed off despite higher gates, 99% of the squad are unrelatable twats. it's shit.