The 1/2 way point

[womble76]

So after sat we have reached 1/2 way through the season. Feel free to grade your teams performance and give second half of the season expectations. Im going to go early and give a 5/10. We are not anyway near going down but we should be in or closer to the playoffs than we are. As for entertainment the football we play is turgid and awful. My expectation is we continue to be unpredictable and finish 12th. Meh and double meh. Ardley will walk in the summer.

 

[Luton Cobbler]

For NTFC it has to be 10/10. Given our off field problems it has been nothing short of a miracle that we are in the Top 3. Not only that but the quality of football in the last couple of months has been the best for 30 years. We've also been fortunate to have very few injuries. From here on, I think we will be Top 4 with Plymouth, Oxford and Pompey. Will it be Top 3? Here's hoping

 

[Wombling Kiwi]

So after sat we have reached 1/2 way through the season. Feel free to grade your teams performance and give second half of the season expectations. Im going to go early and give a 5/10. We are not anyway near going down but we should be in or closer to the playoffs than we are. As for entertainment the football we play is turgid and awful. My expectation is we continue to be unpredictable and finish 12th. Meh and double meh. Ardley will walk in the summer.

Would have a agree with you especially about Ardley going, we havent had a win since October, but the players "have been brave" or havent been brave enough" acording to Mr Ardley. He is becoming very much like his brother "Cant Ardley" my thoughtss are he wont last the season, if we dont pick up some wins in January.

 

[Baratheon]

Way above expectations for the Stags. We have been blighted by injuries yet again so our form is not great recently, hence now outside play-offs. I don't think we have enough to finish in the top seven. Probably no significant funds available for January.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Can I give this league a good 8/10 this season.

Yep ok Quality wise it hasn't been fantastic, but nearly every game I've gone to this season has been sides at least having a go, wanting to win, very little time-wasting or mass defence or 'happy with 0-0' sh*te that usually bores me to death half of the season.

its been very refreshing to see sides wanting to have a go, I am hoping it means football is heading into a spell where more attack based styles win over after afew years of horrible 4-5-1's and counter-attack being the 'in-thing'

 

[Tom_CUFC]

5/10, rising from a 3/10 about 2 months ago, still far too many players not pulling their weight for one reason or another, and still more bad games than good, but we're showing signs of getting there and some players who 4 or 5 weeks ago would've been included in that first statement are now doing themselves justice again. Not where we'd have wanted to be at this stage but we seem to be going in the right direction and in League 2 there's always plenty of opportunity to make up for a bad start, but we won't be able to afford any bad runs of 3 or 4 games for the rest of the season now if we're going to still make the playoffs I think. January will be a big month for us on and off the pitch.

 

[Sergei from IT]

About 8/10 I reckon. Had a couple of blips along the way but we are there or thereabouts.

For the rest of the season (24 matches) if we win 8 draw 8 and lose 8 that would give us an extra 32 pots on top of our current 41. I think 73 is enough for a play-off place. But I want more than that so I reckon we need to win 10 draw 10 and only lose 4. I think 81 pts will be good enough for automatic promotion. Not fussed about the title.

 

[Flaxman's Alibi]

In the grand scheme of things - 7/10. Doing enough to stay on the cusp.

In current Mansfield Town scheme of things - 9/10. We've gone from hopeless relegation candidates to competitve improvers who play in the right manner.

 

[wilsontown]

A solid 2/10 for us so far, we've been absolutely useless pretty much all season. However, things might be looking up - there was enough in the performance last Saturday to suggest that the players we have are up for the fight, and we have found some money down the back of the sofa to recruit in January. Jackie Mac has certainly shaken things up, and a lot is going to depend on how the pieces land after we've brought some new players in.

It's going to be a long old season though, and we might need 10 more wins to stay up. That looks a massive ask from here.

 

[rudebwoyben]

About 8/10 I reckon. Had a couple of blips along the way but we are there or thereabouts.

For the rest of the season (24 matches) if we win 8 draw 8 and lose 8 that would give us an extra 32 pots on top of our current 41. I think 73 is enough for a play-off place. But I want more than that so I reckon we need to win 10 draw 10 and only lose 4. I think 81 pts will be good enough for automatic promotion. Not fussed about the title.

I think it might only need a sub-70 total to get that final play-off place. Conversely, it might need quite a high total to get automatic promotion this season.
I'd give our season 5/10. I was expecting a lot more from us but it's still not an irretrievable loss for us and it's worth reflecting that even if we finish in our current position that will still be our highest league finish since 2008/09.

 

[AmberRich]

I'd say 5/10 maybe 6/10. At the start of the season our supporters were thinking we'd get anywhere between 3rd and 10th. At the moment we're 11th we're in good form and are 6 points from Playoffs. I think we've still got a chance of finishing in the playoffs but for that to happen we need to get a new keeper and extend various loans.

 

[Baz]

Probably a 5/10. We all expected a struggle given the new budget, a new manager and a massive overhaul of playing staff but it was an utter shock to see us struggle so bad under Butcher. Things have improved ten fold under Sheridan. The aim is to still stay up given the budget and build for next season. I think we'll stay up under Sheridan, so anything better than that is a bonus.

 

[Leewilson]

1/10

The 1 being for drawing Everton in the cup.

 

[thewwfc]

Can I give this league a good 8/10 this season.

Yep ok Quality wise it hasn't been fantastic, but nearly every game I've gone to this season has been sides at least having a go, wanting to win, very little time-wasting

oh dear Dave, you may be in for a shock when we come to town. That said, we definitely attack and never park the bus.

Anyway.

I would have to give us a 7/10.

Results are as good as can be expected with a weaker squad than last season, and the fact that the squad is weaker is not necessarily Ainsworth's fault since we always have to depend on loanees, and you can never guarantee the quality of those (or the other way, where they do too well and get recalled in short order).

I've only been to a couple of games this season but by all accounts we are mostly playing turgid long-ball fare, but it still isn't as dull to watch as a Peter Taylor side where we'd nab a scrappy goal from a set piece and sit back all game.

As dull and unambitious as it sounds, anything above mid-table would have to be seen as a success for us.

I think we'll fall short of the playoffs this season unless we spunk some of the £250k or so that we've made from the cup so far on players - particularly either a creative midfielder or a goalscorer. But everyone wants the latter so I'm sure it'd be practically impossible to find the quality of player we want at the price we can afford.

I would still love us to cut way down on the gamesmanship but sadly I doubt it'll happen under Ainsworth.

 

[HertsWolf]

For NTFC it has to be 10/10. Given our off field problems it has been nothing short of a miracle that we are in the Top 3. Not only that but the quality of football in the last couple of months has been the best for 30 years. We've also been fortunate to have very few injuries. From here on, I think we will be Top 4 with Plymouth, Oxford and Pompey. Will it be Top 3? Here's hoping

Welcome to the forum, btw.

 

[EricSabin]

For NTFC it has to be 10/10. Given our off field problems it has been nothing short of a miracle that we are in the Top 3. Not only that but the quality of football in the last couple of months has been the best for 30 years. We've also been fortunate to have very few injuries. From here on, I think we will be Top 4 with Plymouth, Oxford and Pompey. Will it be Top 3? Here's hoping

Completely agree. To pick up the results we have whilst under the pressure off the field we were under is nothing short of heroic.

 

[antbfc]

oh dear Dave, you may be in for a shock when we come to town. That said, we definitely attack and never park the bus.

Anyway.

I would have to give us a 7/10.

Results are as good as can be expected with a weaker squad than last season, and the fact that the squad is weaker is not necessarily Ainsworth's fault since we always have to depend on loanees, and you can never guarantee the quality of those (or the other way, where they do too well and get recalled in short order).

I've only been to a couple of games this season but by all accounts we are mostly playing turgid long-ball fare, but it still isn't as dull to watch as a Peter Taylor side where we'd nab a scrappy goal from a set piece and sit back all game.

As dull and unambitious as it sounds, anything above mid-table would have to be seen as a success for us.

I think we'll fall short of the playoffs this season unless we spunk some of the £250k or so that we've made from the cup so far on players - particularly either a creative midfielder or a goalscorer. But everyone wants the latter so I'm sure it'd be practically impossible to find the quality of player we want at the price we can afford.

I would still love us to cut way down on the gamesmanship but sadly I doubt it'll happen under Ainsworth.

I have been shocked by Wycombes antics, but it is refreshing to have fans that know this is an issue and actively don't like it. If it gets you up then it will be worth it. Personally believe that we could do with being a little less naive and make more of challenges etc, certainly seems to be a recurring theme against opponents who inevitably get more from the referee.

 

[Wombletom]

So after sat we have reached 1/2 way through the season. Feel free to grade your teams performance and give second half of the season expectations. Im going to go early and give a 5/10. We are not anyway near going down but we should be in or closer to the playoffs than we are. As for entertainment the football we play is turgid and awful. My expectation is we continue to be unpredictable and finish 12th. Meh and double meh. Ardley will walk in the summer.

Depends of which half of the games you're rating us on.
I'd rate us at about 5/10 although if you factor in the really shit performances (there's more than enough) then I'd only rate us at about 2/10

 

[Richard Cranium]

7/10 for us.

Not a bad first half, We've got ourselves into a healthy position to threaten a top 7 finish which apparently is the aim. Murray says we are going to go for it abit more in games instead, Hopefully that means 2 up top at home as it will be our home form that is the key because so far it's been below average. It would also be nice to beat a team in the top half sometime soon. Preferably V Accrinngton at the start of Jan.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Not sure what id give it out of 10, certainly not good that's for sure. Perhaps a 4 or a 3.

Poor results and at times shockingly poor football which given the type
of player we brought in over the summer, at I'm guessing not inconsiderable expense, hasn't been good enough.

Just about the only bright spot for me has been Jack Marriott, clearly still a long way from the finished article but he has looked very promising and scored a decent amount of goals for his experience and playing time. Hope he continues to develop.

 

[Moomin]

7/10 for us. Too inconsistent again with some fantastic wins against the likes of Orient, Pompey and Argyle but then some utter poo against Barnet, Accy and York.

A big plus has been our cup form drawing Premier League teams in both and the live game vs Liverpool to look forward to. Also winning the derby last month was huge.

I still think we can get playoffs but we have to sort out the injuries. Apparently the walking sicknote, Will Hoskins is nearly back - watch out L2!! This season has at least been entertaining so I'm far happier than a year ago.

 

[oakroader]

just using my short term memory retention..if we had taken a point from Northampton and kept the three lost to Carlisle then we could be a 8/10 looking forward to maintaining momentum into a playoff position,but as it is at this moment in time then no more than 5\10 cause we ain't reached the preseason hype and expectation which should have been matched if managed successfully.

..

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

Started a 10/10, now it's a slow sliding scale down, probably hit a 3/10 right now.

Started with good performances, but failing to win, e.g. v Northampton. Then it moved on to having 0 shots past the 10 minute mark against Wimbledon, and not having a shot on target until well into the second half against Yeovil. (Not that I'm picking these team, if we have 0 shots in 80 mins against Portsmouth I will be annoyed).

Losing Simpson in January will see us hit a solid 1.5/10. (The 1.5 being we're not Yeovil).

 

[Grecian O'Grecian]

7/10 for us. Too inconsistent again with some fantastic wins against the likes of Orient, Pompey and Argyle but then some utter poo against Barnet, Accy and York.

A big plus has been our cup form drawing Premier League teams in both and the live game vs Liverpool to look forward to. Also winning the derby last month was huge.

I still think we can get playoffs but we have to sort out the injuries. Apparently the walking sicknote, Will Hoskins is nearly back - watch out L2!! This season has at least been entertaining so I'm far happier than a year ago.

I'd agree with most of that. Probably give us a 6 though.

Think this is the best team we have had in years and definitely think it is good enough for the top 7, especially when you see the teams above us in the table. Just need our injured players to return which will improve our consistency. Not expecting any signings in January but I'm not sure we need any either.

Hoping for an improved 2nd half of the season.

 

[daviejones]

We're at about a 7 at the moment, hopefully push on in the second half of the season and try and pressurise the automatic spots. We're certainly good enough for the play-offs and worse teams have gone up automatically in the past but it depends on who we sign in January - the signs are that we'll be willing to spend a bit to get a winger and a couple of other players. If we sign a left winger who's nearly as good as Gilliead then we'll definitely have a better team than we did in our last couple of League 1 seasons, if nothing else we'll be able to make a good go of the play-offs but I do feel like now's the time for us to go up, can't see our team being better than this next season if we haven't gone up when our loanees are gone and the experienced players are getting older.

 

[BeesKnees]

I'm going with a slightly disappointed 4. We aren't far off were I expected us to be but we have had to endure a dreadful period of football which has n only will shown signs of improving. Early cup exits have put a dampener on things somewhat as well.

 

[Ban Fat Stan]

Agree with 4/10
It's interesting that we were the best side last season however Bristol have adapted to the league better than us at the moment. recruitment has been poor only dembele and nelson at back have made a difference also maclean up front.

Martin Allen just needs to play players in the right positions and we should steadily climb the table. Good news for us is that we do have goals in the side so we won't go down.

 

[ambernuts]

Agree with 4/10
It's interesting that we were the best side last season however Bristol have adapted to the league better than us at the moment. recruitment has been poor only dembele and nelson at back have made a difference also maclean up front.

Martin Allen just needs to play players in the right positions and we should steadily climb the table. Good news for us is that we do have goals in the side so we won't go down.

Interesting to hear Nelson making a difference, he was so far off the pace last season. Quite possibly the worst player with the worst attitude I've seen in my time watching the Us.

 

[Carver]

Carlisle being in 5th place are at 8/10 for me, if it wasn't for such a lot of goals conceded with most of them earlier in the season being because of stupidly losing the ball in the defence then we'd have a 9/10 as we'd be in the top 3, but we are a lot stronger at the back now and we're not playing a stupid 541 formation anymore, instead it's the trustworthy 442.

 

[Pirateer]

I'd have to go with a 7/10 for the gas purely for our home form otherwise it would be 8s or 9s, if we can sort that out (and we seem to be on the way to doing that) then we can push on in the 2nd half of the season. it will be interesting to see what player movement happens in January as a permanent physical striker like the on loan Gaffney and a keeper could see us threatening the teams above us, however if we lose Taylor and Lockyer then it'll be mid table at best.