TOP 2 STILL HAS TO BE THE TARGET!!!

Heads up folks even after this defeat i still think were good enuff for automatic promotion. My mate is a charlton fan and he says thats easily the best they have played all season, were the big fish so teams will try there ******** off to beat us. 2 defeats after international duty is a worry but after cov defeat we took 10 points from next 15, we have to do same again, once we get our strongest front 2 playing we will take some catching. 3 points on tuesday and a bag full of goals will cheer us all up.

 

Yes early days, not too concerned as of yet but my only question for now would be how can we be turning on performances as Peterborough then Luton and not turn up for Charlton . Done it a couple of times this season just hope it isn’t a habit.

 

I was thinking where were Wigan and Blackburn at this stage last season ie. If already at the top it might signal a problem?

 

Blackburn after 13 games had Won 7 Drawn 2 Lost 4 with 23 points
Wigan after 13 games had Won 10 Drwan 1 Lost 2 With 31points

So we are doing slightly better than Blackburn, Portsmouth have made a start similar to Wigans last season.

 

The Charlton result isn't concerning. Our start to the season has been excellent by any measure. Those who finish in the top two will lose games, just not that many, and we're not losing that many.

The performance is concerning though. Not in the grand scheme of things, but it is if we have aspirations for the top two positions. Charlton were better than us. 2-0 was actually generous to us, it could easily have been worse. We weren't missing chances, they were. You could argue it's a one off, but there were signs against Luton too. Might just be a couple of games where we weren't on it, but it looked more like that if you attack us, particularly on the break, we look very, very vulnerable.

Having said that, there may not be many teams in the division who are capable of playing that way. Our weaknesses may remain unchecked but the majority of opposition teams don't have the means by which to exploit them.

 

Coventry did their homework and out-pressed us as well. It looks like we have no answer when teams turn the tables.

 

Plymouth with a bit more quality up front would have been out of sight first half

 

Its what you must expect with "yoof policy" you can't have it both ways.The younger the player the more inconsistent, by nature.
I think what Anders said this week about us being top 6 side is spot on. If we want to be top two come May then it's vital we strengthen with first team ready players in January.

 

Unlike yesterday, we had plenty of possession and created chances at Coventry to get at least a point.

 

We had enough chances as well, or don’t they count?

 

It seems to me that he just got the team wrong for a tough away game at Charlton. Dougall suffers after travelling half way across the world, Mcgheehan playing well at DM then moving to a attacking midfielder the next game, pinilos not match sharp after injury, brown not a lone striker, moore not ready to start again so soon after injury, Moncur not a battler when sometimes that's what's needed, cavare may need a kick up the backside. Plenty of reasons why it didn't click yesterday but I'm still confident of top two and looking forward to woodrow and Moore combo.

 

We had nearly twice as many shots as Plymouth in that game, and far more on target. But, as you say, they probably don't count.

 

Yes of course they count and I don’t think anybody’s disputing that on our day we have the best attacking stats in the division which in turn helps the defense.
But Plymouth came as the bottom team in the division and probably had their best attacking stats of the season against our defense.
Not criticising the team at all just pointing out realities just as i point out our excellent play this season.
Or doesn’t that count.

 

In fact they had just 1 shot on target against us, and it went in, according to the BBC website. In their first game of the season they played Peterborough, had 22 shots with 6 on target. Despite that they lost 5-1. Just shows how daft football is at times.

 

Personally, I believe we'll still have a good season. We will have games when the opposition play better and beat us, but that's always been the case. I've seen us play some truly wonderful football this season and am looking forward to seeing a great deal more. However, as defeats have been so rare, the losses seem to hurt more than past years.
I think that for the majority of the time, we've produced the goods under Daniel Stendel & his staff and I've every confidence that'll continue. Although I do accept there appears to be many who don't.

 

I was confident before the window closed leaving us weaker rather than stronger in the striking department.

 

I continue to be confident, as we've still produced the goods after 31st August. If that means I'm in a minority on here, or down at Oakwell, then so be it. There's been enough posters criticising Stendel, the club, players individually or as a whole, but their views do not represent mine. They're entitled to air their opinions, so I'm simply exercising my right to express mine, too.

 

A lot will depend on Kieffer staying fit and suspension free for the rest of the season (or at least until January).