6th

[BigBed]

That's where we will finish if we beat Derby.

 

[Topplayersleave]

We won't beat Derby
We'll play ok, for a while
But eventually at some point in the game we'll stop playing, start admiring ourselves and the better team will punish us
Just like all the other decent teams do

 

[BigBed]

Then we'll be anywhere in the top 10.

 

[gavtheblade]

With the current squad,top 6 would be unbelievable.
Quality added to the front line to finish chances when we are dominant is a must to establish top 6 status.
I'm not expecting the current squad to keep us there as it's evident against the teams around us we struggle .

 

[BigBed]

Still think it possible

 

[brownie4583]

I reckon we are good enough to finish in the top 6 but still need another 2 or 3 quality players.
We need at least 1 quality striker with pace,and a player to rival Duffy,maybe Eze from QPR or similar.
We could have won both the Leeds and WBA games on another day.

 

[Stretch]

We won't beat Derby
We'll play ok, for a while
But eventually at some point in the game we'll stop playing, start admiring ourselves and the better team will punish us
Just like all the other decent teams do

That is a bit harsh, I don't think we have that type of mentality in the team. I agree on your other points though.

I think frustration plays a big part with our players, there is only so long you can keep knocking on a door for it not to open. Then we just seem to run out of steam, and ideas, before ultimately losing concentration. You can get away with that against the likes of Reading, Bolton etc because they are less likely to punish you.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I think it’ll be 9-10th again for us this season. My prediction is West Brom and the resurgent Aston Villa will go up automatically.

Leeds, Stoke, Derby, Forest and Middlesborough to fight it out for the play-offs (3rd - 7th) then a little further back and out of the picture (again, in our case) with 4-5 games to go will be Norwich, Swansea and ourselves (8th - 10th).

Looking at our fixtures, if we show some character following our recent run of disappointing results, we may still be in the mixer come the end of the transfer window.

However, February - March brings with it a run of tough games against some of the bigger hitters. Given that those sides will likely have strengthened even further, and given that we know that we don’t have the funds to match this, I envisage a dire run of around 8-10 games where we pick up very few points and are essentially out of the running going into April.

More or less, what happened last year. Only this time, I think Wilder will see the lack of progress as a sign that he’s taken things as far as he can under our current ownership and he’ll walk.

I don’t think a Premiership side will take the gamble on him, as he’s yet to prove himself in the foreign market, or in managing highly paid egos. It’ll probably be a relegated side such as Fulham, or Southampton that will pick him up. I think he’d walk the division with either of them.

And I’ll be gutted watching it all inevitably unfold as we slowly sink into struggling irrelevance playing poor football with an ageing squad, with nothing but bettering our neighbours to play for.

 

[dc_blade]

If we beat Ipswich next week we'll reach the halfway point of the season with 40 points. If we replicate the same sort of form in the second half of the season, we'll hit about 80 points and probably be in the play offs.

That means we can continue to under perform against the better teams (although I'd rather we didn't), bully the weaker teams, and still be in with a shout at the sharp end of the season.

I suppose the question is: do we have enough in the tank to continue to be so consistent against the teams below us?

 

[cc1]

We won't beat Derby
We'll play ok, for a while
But eventually at some point in the game we'll stop playing, start admiring ourselves and the better team will punish us
Just like all the other decent teams do

Start admiring ourselves? Wtf??

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

If we beat Ipswich next week we'll reach the halfway point of the season with 40 points. If we replicate the same sort of form in the second half of the season, we'll hit about 80 points and probably be in the play offs.

That means we can continue to under perform against the better teams (although I'd rather we didn't), bully the weaker teams, and still be in with a shout at the sharp end of the season.

I suppose the question is: do we have enough in the tank to continue to be so consistent against the teams below us?

When you look at the first half performances we've put in this season we're a good team lacking a dangerous striker.

Get to half time a couple of goals up instead of 0-0 and it quickly becomes a different story.

Our current finance model won't let the striker come so we need to enjoy the first half performances more.

 

[dc_blade]

When you look at the first half performances we've put in this season we're a good team lacking a dangerous striker.

Get to half time a couple of goals up instead of 0-0 and it quickly becomes a different story.

Our current finance model won't let the striker come so we need to enjoy the first half performances more.

Fair post.

For me, it's not so much the strikers. I'm not sure I'd trade Billy for anyone. McGoldrick is one of the better second strikers in the league--if he could finish he'd be a Premier League player. We do lack options beyond those two.

The bigger issue for me is in the creative department. If our wingbacks were 10% better at crossing, or Duffy was a bit better at picking a through ball, we'd be well away.

But to get those sort of players you're talking about money that is, like you said, beyond our finances.