Saturday 9th and Monday 11th Dec Fixtures

[SVH]

 

[valefan16]

El Sackico this weekend, loser surely gets the boot, draw both possibly do, Exeter in slightly worse form but we can't score goals, we will probably dominate but likely let them off the hook with our poor scoring form and concede from the odd chance OR we will dominate go 1-0 up, cruise control then get sucker punched late on.

Think this will be a draw as its just set up to be a 0-0 or something with the form and confidence both sides are in, we've got a raft of injuries back from recent months for this which may help, certainly Connor Grant, Kofi Balmer adds options and the Yak getting good game time in the cups to get back up to speed, looks like Arblaster and Devine should be ok which would be a huge plus... too much to hope for Wilson back to boost our strike options?

Mid September this would have been 1st v 2nd... the fall of both sides since has been nose dive level (5 draws between us in 20 odd games I believe!)

 

[leedsvaliant]

It's an absolute must win. Draws are no good. Both teams really should have got shot of their manager ages ago but we're both too nice as clubs.

We'll definitely dominate possession but never look like scoring and then Exeter Will score from their limited chances.

Can't believe how quickly we've dropped off. We've got players who should comfortably have us in mid table but our attacking play is so laboured and we love giving a soft goal away.

It'll be a dreadful advert for league 1 football.

 

[nelsonpfc]

Huge weekend for us and Bolton considering the fixtures. If either Bolton or us win, with Oxford playing Peterborough it could give one or both of us a bit of a gap to third

 

[Bartonyellow]

Stevenage at home.
It really doesn’t inspire the casual fan to turn up and watch the liquid football on display.
I can see a real war of attrition and a dour 1-0 defeat.
Thankfully I won’t be there to see all the huffing and puffing and ultimate defeat.
Attendance will also be super low - as many like me instead prefer to take the family Christmas shopping, which is saying something.

 

[Si Robin]

December is a huge month for us with the games we've got coming up. Saturday away at Rovers is probably the most difficult of them, but with DC returning to another of his old clubs, hopefully we'll get the same result and performance as when we played his other old club a few weeks back.

I'm not overly confident to be honest, but at least we know we'll put up a fight.

 

[E10rifle]

We won’t score. We may or may not concede. I will be bored to tears.

 

[FarehamPompey]

Really hope Pompey can step up and show their quality, even with a couple of key players out. Big game!

 

[SVH]

Charlton away, tough game but with Harris now in the hot seat and off the back of a 4-0 win in the FA Cup I'm a bit more confident then I would have been a few weeks back.

Charlton not pulling up any trees and have a few injury problems. I'd take a point.

 

[LordJord]

Big game at home for us against Fleetwood. Win and we put a 10 gap between us and them and have us dreaming of a lofty mid table finish. We dont tend to draw many so im backing us for a 2-0 win here.

I know Fleetwood have had major behind the scenes issues this season but i thought they would have enough goals in them between Marriott, Stockley and having Danny Mayor etc feeding them, surprised they are as low as they are.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Carrying on playing a centre back up front. Haven't scored in 400 minutes.
Would bite your hand off for a 0-0, though a defeat may be better as that would mean he has to go.
Lots of rain in the last few days and more to come so pitch will be interesting.

 

[valefan16]

Carrying on playing a centre back up front. Haven't scored in 400 minutes.
Would bite your hand off for a 0-0, though a defeat may be better as that would mean he has to go.
Lots of rain in the last few days and more to come so pitch will be interesting.

Some of our own fans have suggested that whilst a win would be good short term it may just prolong the issue so an interesting point there.

 

[Tallow]

Blackpool away on a wet, cold and windy winters day. Lovely.
Down to the bare bones again with injuries and suspensions but so what, no good having a negative attitude before a ball is kicked.
Positives for us, Armer and Garner both available.
Not gonna predict a score, but confident we'll defend better than we did at Reading.

 

[HutchECFC]

This has all the hallmarks to be the worst game of football League 1 has ever seen. Like has been said, loser surely gets the sack. Draw gets both the sack.

I don't know if I'm looking forward to it or absolutely dreading it to be honest.

 

[Si Robin]

We played Reading in August - that was worse than dreadful

 

[thewwfc]

Speaking of games that are likely to be shite, 23rd in the form table (us) v 17th (Shrewsbury) at Adams Park this weekend - yum.

So we stopped the rot a little with a win v Fulham kids midweek in The Tinpot - but you can’t compare playing vs a bunch of green kids to senior pros hardened in the ways of the lower leagues.

That said, we do have not one, but FOUR chances for the old boy curse to kick in, since a few of our lot (Jacobson, Leahy, Phillips, Grimmer) have turned out for the Shrews in the past.

I certainly don’t underestimate any team with us in such poor form, but we really need to start picking wins up again to avoid being sucked into the relegation dogfight.

I don’t think that will happen, but no-one’s too good to go down, so no room for complacency.

 

[Throbber_for_Dunk]

Time for HMS Ironside, or whatever it's called now, to come back with a three point haul.

Or more likely shit match, narrow loss, but with signs of PASHUN. McGrandles sneaks on to our team bus after the match.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

Wycombe away.

Aside from the win at Adam’s Park last season, it’s a stadium we always seem to struggle to do well at. Leahy will no doubt have the game of his life and bag a goal or two whether that be from the spot or a free kick. I just struggle to see how we can win any game right now with what we have available. January transfer window can’t open quick enough where it sounds like we’ve already got a few signed up ready from the 1st.

Wycombe 2-0 Salop (Leahy, Phillips)

 

[Luke Imp]

Wigan for us.

Sorenson, Bishop and Roughan were all back in the squad for the postponed midweek game, which padded the bench out and gave us more options. Hackett is back on the grass but still a couple of weeks away and unfortunately Tyler Walker is likely out for the season having had an operation on a recurrence of his hamstring injury that's already kept him out for 3 or 4 months.

Wigan seem to have been quietly going about their business this season and would be above us on GD if it wasn't for the points deduction so will be a tough away game.

 

[denzel ecfc]

This has all the hallmarks to be the worst game of football League 1 has ever seen. Like has been said, loser surely gets the sack. Draw gets both the sack.

I don't know if I'm looking forward to it or absolutely dreading it to be honest.

I don't think we will sack him if we draw, it will be hailed as a great result..

 

[valefan16]

I don't think we will sack him if we draw, it will be hailed as a great result..

Im not overly convinced Crosby goes with a loss, there’s a feeling in the fan base he is being given the quarter final out of loyalty for getting us there! If that is the case which we don’t know it’s bonkers.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

December is a huge month for us with the games we've got coming up. Saturday away at Rovers is probably the most difficult of them, but with DC returning to another of his old clubs, hopefully we'll get the same result and performance as when we played his other old club a few weeks back.

I'm not overly confident to be honest, but at least we know we'll put up a fight.

Blimey, id love your run of fixtures if we are the most difficult.
We are not playing well at the moment and havent done since Barton was in charge, so there wont be better time to get 3 points at The Mem.
Even that tinpot trophy game you should have gone 1 up

 

[Si Robin]

Yourselves, then Orient at home (the only reason I consider this less difficult than Rovers), Carlisle away, Shrewsbury at home then Reading at home.

At the moment, I fancy us against anyone at home. Away I'm sceptical, but Carlisle seem to have been very poor recently (could well change by then of course).

 

[Moonie]

Short hop on a couple of (inevitably delayed) trains, few beers, pouring rain, howling wind...

Tough game to get anything out of, but we should have a point to prove after the Reading travesty.

 

[The Terminator]

Derby at home and its sold out again, these are the type of games I've missed us having.

Not played Derby for 37 years.

Last week at Chesterfield was the worst performance a Wellens side has put in during his 20 months here, we just didn't seem to have the endeavour to get going. I wondered if we'd have performed the same had the draw been more lucarative than Watford away, but there we go.

Not won in 7 league games - 5 of those have been draws. Our games are always very, very tight.

It still stands though that unless we start scoring more, we will find ourselves sucked into the scrap near the bottom, which tbh isn't a massive suprise as I expected us to have a very poor run at some point.

Not many midweeks coming up for us, which was needed as squad has taken a few hits recently now the winter is finally here and alot of players have had to play more than needed.

I can't see us winning this, Derby should really have more fire power than us and have won 5 in a row IIRC and we've not won for 7 games so it points to an away win. A draw would be a good result for us.

 

[kieran_vale]

I think some of our fans are making a mistake convincing themselves it’s a case of lose this game and Crosby is on his way. Seeing an interview Flitcroft has done with one of our local reporters today it seems to me they are going to ride this out with all the talk about changing the playing style. Also our owner does like to think she does things differently to anyone else so will for good or bad try to hold it off as long as possible.

Obviously Exeter not having a good time results-wise either. Smart money would suggest drab 0-0 or something like that I guess.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

I think some of our fans are making a mistake convincing themselves it’s a case of lose this game and Crosby is on his way. Seeing an interview Flitcroft has done with one of our local reporters today it seems to me they are going to ride this out with all the talk about changing the playing style. Also our owner does like to think she does things differently to anyone else so will for good or bad try to hold it off as long as possible.

Obviously Exeter not having a good time results-wise either. Smart money would suggest drab 0-0 or something like that I guess.

Yep I’ve seen that.
I was in the boxes for the Cheltenham game and she gave a speech which suggested he could streak across the pitch and have a dump in the centre circle and wouldn’t be reprimanded.
They love him.
I don’t completely think he should be sacked, and the crowd hasn’t called him out on masse as yet, but it won’t last if we don’t win a few soon.
Exeter are shit.
We’re shit.
Nils

 

[kieran_vale]

Yep I’ve seen that.
I was in the boxes for the Cheltenham game and she gave a speech which suggested he could streak across the pitch and have a dump in the centre circle and wouldn’t be reprimanded.
They love him.
I don’t completely think he should be sacked, and the crowd hasn’t called him out on masse as yet, but it won’t last if we don’t win a few soon.
Exeter are shit.
We’re shit.
Nils

For the record I’m similar in that I’m not calling for his head. My preference would be if he did come through this spell and turn it around. I do think though just from what I’ve seen this season it’s a team that’s over-coached almost and you can tell that by the fact we religiously stick to the same patterns of play with no deviation and it is easy for any semi-competent team at this level to defend. Some of the talk about work in the classroom too just suggests a case of paralysis by analysis. Not advocating going back to the Neil Aspin way where his approach to analysis extended as far as banning players wearing gloves as ‘real men don’t wear them’ but you can go too far the other way.

 

[valefan16]

For the record I’m similar in that I’m not calling for his head. My preference would be if he did come through this spell and turn it around. I do think though just from what I’ve seen this season it’s a team that’s over-coached almost and you can tell that by the fact we religiously stick to the same patterns of play with no deviation and it is easy for any semi-competent team at this level to defend. Some of the talk about work in the classroom too just suggests a case of paralysis by analysis. Not advocating going back to the Neil Aspin way where his approach to analysis extended as far as banning players wearing gloves as ‘real men don’t wear them’ but you can go too far the other way.

I want Crosby to survive, he is a great guy etc and him to turn it around the issue is I don’t see how he does it when we don’t change anything week in week out. We will play lovely football, have most possession but we’ve not tried to change it up to turn this form around.

 

[hellogregory]

It will be another defeat tomorrow. Blackpool are simply better and we are crap, but I hope we have a go, show a bit of fight and don’t just chuck in the towel like we did last week.