End of season thoughts.

[Yellarbellyblade]

Sorry league tables don’t lie. You can win cups with a degree of luck but after 40 odd games you are where you deserve to be. Yes we have played well in games and got nothing but that is the difference between us and those above. They won more games when playing well (& probably when not) than we did. The quality to win those vital moments in games makes the difference.

 

[GodricBlade]

Sorry league tables don’t lie. You can win cups with a degree of luck but after 40 odd games you are where you deserve to be. Yes we have played well in games and got nothing but that is the difference between us and those above. They won more games when playing well (& probably when not) than we did. The quality to win those vital moments in games makes the difference.

Correct.
Not only have those above us won more - they’ve drawn more & those points add up. They’d have made the difference this season.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Well I’ve enjoyed it. We need to tighten the defence up but keep playing attacking football and we won’t be far off again next season.
Time for a bit of a rest now and recharge the batteries for August.
Let’s enjoy summer.

What date are the fixtures released?

 

[Pinchy]

Top ten!, all I was hoping for, happy and disappointed, cos I know are good enough to be top 6, I do think this boardroom shit has cost us this year, we need stability, if it weren't for their childish shit, we'd be looking forward to Wembley this year!!

Only if they could repair broken legs. The Roller’s injury was absolutely pivotal. Come back soon Couttsy.

 

[BigBed]

Only if they could repair broken legs. The Roller’s injury was absolutely pivotal. Come back soon Couttsy.

Don't think it's all down to Coutts injury, there have been plenty of game we should've won but our strikers let us down!!, we could've easily had 12 more points than we have without Coutts, so just imagine if he was playing!

 

[WORKSOPBLADE]

What date are the fixtures released?

21st June

 

[Pinchy]

Don't think it's all down to Coutts injury, there have been plenty of game we should've won but our strikers let us down!!, we could've easily had 12 more points than we have without Coutts, so just imagine if he was playing!

It’s a mighty coincidence then, that the slide started immediately after that cowardly tackle on our pivotal player.

Couttsy made our team tick. Everything went through him. We had little or no problem scoring goals with him in the team. He kept the ball. He recycled it. We kept possssion of the ball far better than now and the more possession you have the more likely you will score (sorry Hoofers, it’s true). Coutts didn’t play the ‘assist’ ball as often as we would like, but he was never more than a pass or two away from it.

Both Duffy and Fleck were more effective with the Rolls-Royce alongside them. They knew they could rely on him to make their jobs easier and accordingly the football flowed, as did the goals.

 

[BigBed]

It’s a mighty coincidence then, that the slide started immediately after that cowardly tackle on our pivotal player.

Couttsy made our team tick. Everything went through him. We had little or no problem scoring goals with him in the team. He kept the ball. He recycled it. We kept possssion of the ball far better than now and the more possession you have the more likely you will score (sorry Hoofers, it’s true). Coutts didn’t play the ‘assist’ ball as often as we would like, but he was never more than a pass or two away from it.

Both Duffy and Fleck were more effective with the Rolls-Royce alongside them. They knew they could rely on him to make their jobs easier and accordingly the football flowed, as did the goals.

View attachment 39273

Totally agree, but are you disagreeing, that even without Coutts, we shouldn't easily have had 12 more points, and that we should've won or atleast drawn more games with the team that played??

 

[Pinchy]

Totally agree, but are you disagreeing, that even without Coutts, we shouldn't easily have had 12 more points, and that we should've won or atleast drawn more games with the team that played??

Probably, but don’t all fans and managers say something like that? I’m not sure how many Championship teams had two strikers who scored more than Leon and Billy? For me, at the risk of moving off topic; whilst we certainly need a striker or two, we need at least one more commanding centre back. We conceded too many soft goals at key moments, didn’t we?

 

[raul]

The Jakeys note your last point with interest.

 

[YES Blade]

On balance I reckon that's about right. The two games that will haunt me are Bristol City and Villa at home, in both of which we delivered top performances and got no points. Two (probably deserved) wins in those and we finish on 75 points. Could easily have won the away draws at Derby or Brentford, another two points puts us on 77 and comfortably in the play offs. Fine margins, isn't it?

I think the Villa game highlighted the reason they are in the playoffs and we aren’t, individual quality.

We’ve got a good team that can get results, but in those tight games when you aren’t at your best, you sometimes need a bit of quality that will win you matches like Snodgrass did for Villa that night.

I also think we need to be a bit smarter with the gamesmanship side of the game as well.

 

[Blade56]

Until the ownership is sorted we are ffooooooooked

 

[wizadry]

It’s a mighty coincidence then, that the slide started immediately after that cowardly tackle on our pivotal player.

Couttsy made our team tick. Everything went through him. We had little or no problem scoring goals with him in the team. He kept the ball. He recycled it. We kept possssion of the ball far better than now and the more possession you have the more likely you will score (sorry Hoofers, it’s true). Coutts didn’t play the ‘assist’ ball as often as we would like, but he was never more than a pass or two away from it.

Both Duffy and Fleck were more effective with the Rolls-Royce alongside them. They knew they could rely on him to make their jobs easier and accordingly the football flowed, as did the goals.

View attachment 39273

While I agree with BigBed s post regards it not all being down to Coutts I find it hard to argue with your post because whilst I like Evans he doesn’t keep the ball or use it anywhere near as good as Coutts did, which isn’t a dig at Evans ‘btw’ because he does have his uses and qualities, it’s just that his decision making needs to desperately improve.

 

[super_pig]

Don't think it's all down to Coutts injury, there have been plenty of game we should've won but our strikers let us down!!, we could've easily had 12 more points than we have without Coutts, so just imagine if he was playing!

our strikers haven't let us down. they are well up there in the table. if anything the rest of the team has let us down. Fleck, JoC and missing Freeman meant we've scored very few goals apart from the forwards contribution.. Leon bagged a hattrick vs Fulham and still lost!
as for Couttsy.. he is pivotal to the way we play. it's no coincidence people made a song about him never losing the ball (he does obviously but it is quite rare).. he is the get out of jail ball for the whole team as well as taking the ball off the cb's and covering for JoC and Bash when they go marauding forward. (this stopped happening after he got injured). his completion ratio is huge. he has already worked out the pass before he even gets the ball and puts us on the front foot by attacking the space

 

[BigBed]

Probably, but don’t all fans and managers say something like that? I’m not sure how many Championship teams had two strikers who scored more than Leon and Billy? For me, at the risk of moving off topic; whilst we certainly need a striker or two, we need at least one more commanding centre back. We conceded too many soft goals at key moments, didn’t we?

Agreed, also, a keeper and a left back would be high on my list!

 

[dc_blade]

I think the Villa game highlighted the reason they are in the playoffs and we aren’t, individual quality.

We’ve got a good team that can get results, but in those tight games when you aren’t at your best, you sometimes need a bit of quality that will win you matches like Snodgrass did for Villa that night.

I also think we need to be a bit smarter with the gamesmanship side of the game as well.

Yeah I think that's fair. In all the games I highlighted, we used tactical cleverness and good teamwork to dominate teams that should've been much better than us on paper, but weren't able to take advantage of that domination by finishing them off with that little bit of quality.

 

[BigBed]

our strikers haven't let us down. they are well up there in the table. if anything the rest of the team has let us down. Fleck, JoC and missing Freeman meant we've scored very few goals apart from the forwards contribution.. Leon bagged a hattrick vs Fulham and still lost!
as for Couttsy.. he is pivotal to the way we play. it's no coincidence people made a song about him never losing the ball (he does obviously but it is quite rare).. he is the get out of jail ball for the whole team as well as taking the ball off the cb's and covering for JoC and Bash when they go marauding forward. (this stopped happening after he got injured). his completion ratio is huge. he has already worked out the pass before he even gets the ball and puts us on the front foot by attacking the space

I meant in those games where a miss from 3 yards out or simply not shooting, not making the contact etc, can't fault them on the amount they've scored, but they needed to do it in more games!