The Relegation Thread

[Super_horns]

Bournemouth big winners tonight!

Great victory for them.

Point for everyone else ..

 

[Jamie_SFC]

12 games without a win for us matching a club record for winless games in the Premier League.

Looking forward to JROD and Sturridge helping Reed and Pellegrino make history on Saturday.

 

[AnkleBiter]

We're now favourites for the drop and can't really argue with that. Those beatings from West Ham and Stoke were really damaging. Double header coming up against Bournemouth and WBA is massive. We were 6/1 for the drop after our good run in December!

 

[Leewilson]

Initially went for Swansea, West Brom and Newcastle back when the thread kicked off.

Huddersfield look in trouble but I still think they have enough to put one last little run together.

Newcastle look doomed to me. Missing out on Sturridge could cost them. It could be the signing that keeps West Brom up potentially.

Tough one to call though. Not ruling Watford out yet either although I do think they’ll be fine

 

[JimJams]

But Newcastle got Slimbob. 10 goals guaranteed.

 

[G.B]

prefer slimani to sturridge. fits our system better, isn't injured as often and isn't scared of contact like sturridge has been for the last 3 years. but yes, we'll struggle to stay up.

 

[Humongous Fungus]

What happened to Huddersfield?!

 

[Abertawe]

What happened to Huddersfield?!

Haven't watched much of them but from the outside momentum seldom lasts a full season. It's been a massive jump for them as it's not as though they were stomping the championship - they lost 15 games in the season they went up which may be some sort of record. Maybe they could've done a bit more in terms of player recruitment but even if they had done so it's hardly a guarantee to success - I think they've done the right thing by being prudent and building a settled team with the finances they have - if they keep Klopp's mate as manager and concentrate on the longer term there's no reason they can't come back up and be in a stronger position to stay up if they do go down this time. I'd like them to beat the drop but if it means they go down and we stay up then that's just the way it's gotta be. I'd sign that Mooy guy - he has tekkers.

 

[Super_horns]

Well they have generally been poor on the road apart from against us and slipped up a bit at home which they relied on to get points early on.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

I think it's quite easy to come up here and realise that on the day, the standard of us lower half clubs often isn't much different to the better Championship sides. Think 'hey we can do this', and tick along with some decent results. But then it becomes just week after week after week, and the gap in standard becomes more apparent. A few injuries occur, some refereeing decisions go against you as a smaller club, and then there's a handful of usually unwinnable games against the top 6 thrown in. It just becomes a real grind mentally and physically. I found our first season absolutely exhausting as a fan, never mind the players. And in that season we were helped out by Villa being a basket case, and there is no such club this time around.

I'll be up at Huddersfield next week for the ridiculous midday kickoff, and obviously I hope we get a result. But the main thing for Huddersfield is to keep at their identity and what they've been doing, not let the fear of relegation change their style. It's far too close, and just because they've been slipping for a while now, doesn't mean they actually have to slip into the bottom 3 or stay there. Trying to change style just because it's been getting you some defeats is counter-productive.

 

[AnkleBiter]

You're all basically right. We've never been a free scoring/create lots of chances side, it's always been 'terrier spirit', hence -2 GD last season, but recently the chances have totally dried up. I believe we've only had 6 shots on target in 2018 so far (and that'll probably stay at 6 after this weekend).

We still have enough winnable fixtures left to do it but there's big pressure on those games and we'll need a bit of luck. When we beat Man Utd, we played the same way we did against Liverpool the other day, but the difference was when we got a chance at 0-0 on Tuesday, it was saved, whilst the one against United went in on the rebound and was followed a few minutes later by a Lindelof shocker resulting in a tap in. Big moments like that that happen in the blink of an eye can define your season.

We have spent a fair bit in fairness, for us anyway, bare in mind our record signing before we got promoted was £1.8m. That just highlights what a miracle last season was. We'd have taken this position in July, but the lack of momentum and confidence is obviously a big concern.

 

[Leewilson]

But Newcastle got Slimbob. 10 goals guaranteed.

I never really got why he didn’t get more game time with you. Any reason?

Like, I get Vardy being your main striker but even when he couldn’t score for his life last season, he never got a look in. Always pegged him as one who would get 10-15 for a bottom half side.

 

[mistermagic]

Always thought the Huddersfield play-off win was a best of a bad bunch type of thing. Nobody could score loads last season in the Championship but they had to pick someone.

 

[AnkleBiter]

I wouldn't say so. Reading and Wednesday were very strong sides and Fulham were like Barca for the 2nd half of the season.
The play off games were poor for a neutral though.

 

[Jamie_SFC]

Word on the street is that the clown is gone if we lose today.

 

[Kyle Hatch]

a stay of execution then, for now. Might harm you in the long run this win.

 

[ValiantRob]

Bad news for Swansea, Bony and Fer out for the season, i hope not but it may disrupt their recent climb.

 

[mistermagic]

So 8 sides in 3 points. All is good with the world.

 

[Super_horns]

Oh dear - after Lord Mayor's show for us.

Swansea in front too..

Big penalty miss/save in the Stoke v Brighton game!

 

[Benji]

Newcastle were a Charlie Adam penalty away from being in the bottom three.

 

[Super_horns]

Adam wasn't really the man to take it..

 

[AnkleBiter]

Think it's looking like a higher points total needed for survival this year. 40 maybe. 36 is usually enough!
Can't see West Ham, Watford or Bournemouth being in danger now, 30/31 points with 11 games to go.
Our next league game is WBA away. Oh my.

 

[G.B]

Newcastle look doomed to me. Missing out on Sturridge could cost them. It could be the signing that keeps West Brom up potentially.

Less than 2 weeks later we pick up 3 points at home to Man Utd and Sturridge makes his 3 minute debut before picking up yet another injury to rule him out for a reported minimum of 2 weeks. Funny old game init.

Don't know why people thought that loan was good business. £4mil and £100k plus a week for someone who's never fit, not right mentally and was finished 3 years ago.

They've got plenty of fixtures left against the teams around the bottom but being 7 points off safety at this point I think they're probably gone. Could be any 2 from 10th place and below to join them.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Less than 2 weeks later we pick up 3 points at home to Man Utd and Sturridge makes his 3 minute debut before picking up yet another injury to rule him out for a reported minimum of 2 weeks. Funny old game init.

Don't know why people thought that loan was good business. £4mil and £100k plus a week for someone who's never fit, not right mentally and was finished 3 years ago.

The gamble is only on whether he can stay fit, and one well worth taking for a club fighting to stay in the Premier League. He's a better striker than they could possibly hope to sign, when he's fit at least.

 

[Benji]

Sturridge may have been fit for periods of the last few years, but he hasn't been near his best in that time. It's about more than just fitness now, his body doesn't appear able to operate to the level it needs to for top level football anymore. He's lost pace and agility. Sure he can still finish, but he's a fraction of the player he was even when healthy.

 

[Jamie_SFC]

Surprise Surprise, Pellegrino is still in charge.

Great news for the other clubs in the relegation battle.

 

[Leewilson]

Less than 2 weeks later we pick up 3 points at home to Man Utd and Sturridge makes his 3 minute debut before picking up yet another injury to rule him out for a reported minimum of 2 weeks. Funny old game init.

Don't know why people thought that loan was good business. £4mil and £100k plus a week for someone who's never fit, not right mentally and was finished 3 years ago.

They've got plenty of fixtures left against the teams around the bottom but being 7 points off safety at this point I think they're probably gone. Could be any 2 from 10th place and below to join them.

Yep. I did actually tweet at the time that ‘if they could keep Sturridge fit, it could be the difference’.

I keep changing my mind each week on the relegation fight. You certainly have the best manager down there. Kenedy looks a good signing too. You still need more goals though so Slimani coming good is crucial for me.

 

[JimJams]

Playing would be a start!

 

[G.B]

Sturridge may have been fit for periods of the last few years, but he hasn't been near his best in that time. It's about more than just fitness now, his body doesn't appear able to operate to the level it needs to for top level football anymore. He's lost pace and agility. Sure he can still finish, but he's a fraction of the player he was even when healthy.

Yep. And more than just his physical condition, he genuinely looks terrified of taking any sort of contact whenever I've seen him. When he played against us earlier this season you could see him obviously shying away from the ball/ducking out of challenges whenever it was close to one of our players. It's understandable to a extent given his injury history but if he's scared to play then he's done as a footballer. And his performances over the last few years, coupled with Klopp's opinions on him, leads me to believe he is done.

Yep. I did actually tweet at the time that ‘if they could keep Sturridge fit, it could be the difference’.

I keep changing my mind each week on the relegation fight. You certainly have the best manager down there. Kenedy looks a good signing too. You still need more goals though so Slimani coming good is crucial for me.

Yeah, our inability to finish has been the glaring problem this season. We create more than enough chances, our strikers just fail to put them away. Hoping Slimani makes the difference.

Playing would be a start!

Will definitely be back for Bournemouth JJ. Was supposed to be close to making the team for the game this weekend.

 

[villa loyal]

Can't believe how bad Huddersfield have fallen after that great start. West Brom are down