The Carlisle United f**ked it up Official Promotion Thread

[Richard Cranium]

I'm still not sure if we are going to be consistent enough to mount a play-off challenge, think we will know by the end of January.

Reckon there will be 3/4 more players come in yet. If we can keep picking up points this month and not leave ourselves too much of chase then I think we can. Same goes to about 10 teams at the minute mind, This league is shit!

 

[Habbinalan]

I don't think we'll be much clearer by the end of Jan but Feb is going to be a hell of a month.

Only 3 league games in Jan, all at home, when/if we beat Leeds.

7 games in Feb, all serious and most winnable (also loseable), topped and tailed by Plymouth at home and Doncaster at home.

We certainly don't currently have the personnel to sustain that sort of 2 games per week programme. With the FA Cup, cash should not be a barrier to addressing that shortfall but we'll only know by the end of January how effective the recruitment has been and whether Corr and McGurk are going to have a role before the end of the season. The task facing Ben Strang and team is an interesting one but at least it's in the context of a team with a settled and succesful style that is winning matches, especially away from home.

• Two fullbacks and a centre back have left and Josh (CB) is out for the season.
• Uche aside, we have nothing to offer up front and would be scraping for goals without the room he creates for others.
• Hopefully, McGurk, Elito and Maris will be back at their best but no one is counting on a fully fit Barry Corr and there are bound to be more injuries suspensions.
• Our youth options may give bench cover but I'll be surprised to see even Leon Davies getting much game time.

So - we need CB, at least one FB, at least one Striker and probably a winger - as a bare minimum. I can see ( and would be happy with) loans to cover most of those (bearing in mind the injury situation) but wouldn't be against signing a decent fullback.

Hopefully I'll be back in a month or so but I'm not counting on it - trip to Norway already booked for play-off week, damn my chronic pessimism.

 

[Carver]

ffs Shoddy we're falling back and soon we'll be down into the play off mix and even further.

Why oh why did you have to start this thread so early? You're going to make us look like right tits if we aren't up there near the end.

 

[Vanni]

ffs Shoddy we're falling back and soon we'll be down into the play off mix and even further.

Why oh why did you have to start this thread so early? You're going to make us look like right tits if we aren't up there near the end.

And it's not like you didn't warn him about the consequences before he started this thread. If only he had listened to you eh Carver?

 

[Boletus Edulis]

ffs Shoddy we're falling back and soon we'll be down into the play off mix and even further.

Why oh why did you have to start this thread so early? You're going to make us look like right tits if we aren't up there near the end.

Yeah what was he thinking? If only he had listened to wiser counsel. Oh well, learnt his lesson I'd say!

 

[Alan Partridge]

Don't get too downbeat, this is just our blip.

We'll still go up automatically.

 

[shoddycollins]

ffs Shoddy we're falling back and soon we'll be down into the play off mix and even further.

Why oh why did you have to start this thread so early? You're going to make us look like right tits if we aren't up there near the end.

To be fair, a Doncaster fan started the relegation thread... and even earlier at that.

 

[Carver]

To be fair, a Doncaster fan started the relegation thread... and even earlier at that.

You know what Shoddy, I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry for what I said to you. I've just been feeling really down after our last few results and I shouldn't be because I know that if we were struggling near the bottom and some fan of another club that was in 3rd place was groaning about their season then I'd probably tell them to do one.

Things a going really well Shoddy, so let's go bavk to being positive and asserting our authority on the smaller and weaker clubs in the division.

 

[shoddycollins]

You know what Shoddy, I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry for what I said to you. I've just been feeling really down after our last few results

Why do you think I haven't been posting as much recently?

Well OK the real reason is I've been busy during the day and not sleeping well at night, but also just results... bleh.

I did read at least in Jon Coleman's latest article about how right now would be a good time still to get over this spell of poor form and hang onto a top three spot so I'll hang on to that hope. When Grainger and Jones return from injury, we're going to PTTPL

 

[Boletus Edulis]

Local paper suggests Derek Adams is looking for two more, a winger and a centre mid, one on loan, one permanent. Wonder if the latter is to be paid for by the cup run?

 

[hellogregory]

Ok we're still here by the skins of our teeth.

Next 3 days are big for our season. At the moment our team is no where near good enough to make top 7 let alone top 3, so Curle needs to make at least a couple of very good signings to go along with Gary Liddle. We're going to lose Charlie Wyke so one of the signings will have to be a replacement for him.

On Wednesday morning I think I'll be able to confidently predict whether or not we'll make top 7.

 

[Carver]

Ok we're still here by the skins of our teeth.

Next 3 days are big for our season. At the moment our team is no where near good enough to make top 7 let alone top 3, so Curle needs to make at least a couple of very good signings to go along with Gary Liddle. We're going to lose Charlie Wyke so one of the signings will have to be a replacement for him.

On Wednesday morning I think I'll be able to confidently predict whether or not we'll make top 7.

Oh don't worry Greg, I'm sure we'll spend some of the Wyke money on a couple of good players before the deadline. Heh it's not like we'd get something like £300,000 for Wyke and then never hear of that money again, right?

 

[shoddycollins]

Well we're currently in competition with Portsmouth to see who can the biggest pigs ear of a promotion challenge. Portsmouth are winning... Just. Though I'd have to say we take the points for style. Having your opponents reduced to ten men in three consecutive games, and coming out of them with three 1-1 draws is really eyecatching and innovative fuckuppery.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Things are looking good for us all of a sudden after a decent week of results. We've got some presentable looking home games coming up (although those are usually the ones we struggle with), but in February we also travel to Grimsby and Doncaster and host Plymouth too so potentially something of a make or break month.

 

[Hooped Wizard]

We're promoted.

The rest of you are an irrelevance.

 

[Carver]

We're promoted.

The rest of you are an irrelevance.

ARE YOU SURE?

Is it mathematically proven yet?

 

[BeesKnees]

Final table prediction is interesting
http://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/leaguetwo/league/predicted
Doncaster, Plymouth and Luton for autos

 

[Gladders]

Final table prediction is interesting
http://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/leaguetwo/league/predicted
Doncaster, Plymouth and Luton for autos

Put Wycombe in Lutons place, Luton in Blackpools place and Blackpool in wycombes place and its not a bad final prediction.

 

[Vanni]

I sure hope we don't lose either one of Notts C or Orient. I know there's no room for sentimentality in football, and I fully believe that those sides that go down only have themselves to blame, but it will be a big loss to L2 if they really end up going down. For starters, both are great away days.

 

[Bucket_]

Sadly for us that predicted table looks pretty likely, bar the 6 point gap to Luton (only 1 loss from now till the end of the season?).

 

[shoddycollins]

Final table prediction is interesting
http://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/leaguetwo/league/predicted
Doncaster, Plymouth and Luton for autos

I would not be happy if it ended like that. It predicts we won't win another away game all season.

 

[GTFCfish]

I would not be happy if it ended like that. It predicts we won't win another away game all season.

I think hellogregory did the predictions.

 

[Conker]

I'm still not sure if we will be consistent enough for the play-offs but we won't be far off.

 

[Vanni]

It's all just bollocks. Carlisle will make the play offs at least, and I don't expect Colchester and Blackpool to make the po's at the expense of better sides like Wycombe and Barnet. Also, Mansfield will most probably finish above Col U, Blackpool, Grimsby and Crawley. Good chance they'll overtake us too.

 

[GTFCfish]

It's all just bollocks. Carlisle will make the play offs at least, and I don't expect Colchester and Blackpool to make the po's at the expense of better sides like Wycombe and Barnet. Also, Mansfield will most probably finish above Col U, Blackpool, Grimsby and Crawley. Good chance they'll overtake us too.

I think it's got us spot on in around 12th, way too inconsistent to get in the play offs but good enough to not drop down too much.

 

[shoddycollins]

I think it's got us spot on in around 12th, way too inconsistent to get in the play offs but good enough to not drop down too much.

It could be heavily biased by recent form. I think it must be to have us so low. We've not won in five games now and are very much mid-table in the form table, but I still think we're more likely to rise back up the form table than we are to remain mid-table or sink lower. It's probably now less than a 50% chance of taking the last automatic place but I think we'll still be in the battle for it to the end. HG will be along in a minute to tell you how I'm wrong and obviously haven't been watching the same games as him.

 

[Trapdoor]

It's too early to say if we will be in the mix for a playoff spot yet but if we are still up there at the end of February I will start to believe.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

I am pretty confident that we will be in the play offs at the very least. We have some interesting games in February/early March, if we have done reasonably well after them I will believe automatic is on. We have much more depth than last year and this gives me greater confidence.

 

[dedwardp]

After next weekend, we'll have 11 home games in our remaining 18 to play which includes visits from Doncaster, Plymouth, Luton, Portsmouth, Wycombe, Barnet and Mansfield. Our home form has been decent enough this year so with those games it's in our hands if we want to be there or thereabouts in the play-off picture come the end of the season.

No reason why not but could just as easily still finish in the bottom half.

 

[BeesKnees]

Sticking with my view that Carlisle will drop out of the automatics and we won't be challenging the play offs.