Pre Forest Positivity

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nicksufc said:
Worth mentioning that we had a properly patched-up team in our last match. Norrington-Davies, Seriki, Davies at RCB. We've got first-choice players back since then, they've lost first-choice players to injury.
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Very true. I suppose they might also have been distracted or possibly on a roll as it was also during their cup run..

You can look at it anyway you want, but i think its fair to say that we're going to have two of the hardest games of the season against Forest. They're well organised, strong, have quick young players and they've also shown that during one off games like the FA Cup, that they can really get up for it.

We've also got a very strong side now, yes we still have injuries which it seems unlikely that we'll get any of them back, so the side we played v Fulham is considered full strength now. The organisation and experience we have is top notch, plus we have the likes of Berge, Ndiaye, Fleck, Norwood, MGW, Robinson all bang in form whereas others are consistently reliable.

Interesting that both us and Forest occupied the bottom slots in the table earlier in the season, we've both changed managers and we've had a really surge to finish strongly.
 
I’ve had a really positive feeling about this since the second half of the QPR game.

They were on fire and completely dominated a very decent team on their own patch. Such a difference when compared to some of the recent away games before that one.

I sensed a change in belief.

Then they just carried it on into the Fulham game. I think we’re peaking at just the right time.
 
Mentioned this on the pod so I might as well lob it in here too - but you could make a case that this is the first time we've gone into the playoffs in some actual decent form:

1997 – 5 points from our last 3 games, closest I can find to good form
1998 - 4 points from last 5 games, winless in the last four including a final day defeat at Stockport. Only qualified for playoffs because Birmingham botched it
2003 – lost last game (admittedly meaningless) at Watford
2009 – one win in last four, missed promotion final day
2012 – lol
2013 – 2 points from last 4, goalless in last three games
2015 – 4 points from last 5 games, no wins for a month

Yes yes, no guarantees that this will lead to finally winning the bugger, but it probably doesn't hurt given our previous record either.
 
This is Forest's season, in a nutshell. They gave the rest of the division a 7-game head start and still nearly finished in the autos:
Forest season.jpg
 
Despite Osborn not letting us down, I can see Baldock being recalled to start being the more natural in the RWB role.

Hopefully Enda can take some confidence from a better showing and a goal against Fulham.

It's still a bit of a lottery, it only takes a poor decision, a mistake or a sending off to change the whole complexion of the tie.
Still, we start in good form and with no fear or expectation.
 
I must admit the fact that Sheffield Wednesday Fucked It Up Again (TM) has made me feel even more at ease.

From a fan's perspective, when your club is Top Dog, you don't want to see any opportunity that threatens that.

Regardless of what happens next to us, the Pigs have taken the pressure right off. We'll be at a higher level next year. Another year where young kids would rather watch us play Norwich than Forest Green.

I'm sure others felt a sense of relief when the Wednesday result came in. They are already down in the dumps. What have they got to crow about if we don't make it?

Pressure is off. No reason why we can't just look forward to it and embrace the occasion!
 
Blade.com said:
Have the same 3 teams who have come down ever gone back up to the Premier League together ?
Nice touch on the positivity, feel a bit more confident after reading it. Just my negativity letting me down. Hope someone comes up with a yes it's happened before.
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Bournemouth didn’t come down with us WBA did
 
Rufus Smalls said:
I totally agreed with you there Captain, until …… “ if we beat them at home and go to the City Ground with something to hang on to, than protect whatever we have”

I think we are a far stronger team when we attack the opposition ie. second half QPR and home to Fulham. Even with a slender lead we should go out and play attacking football, currently no other teams can live with us at that level of intensity. “Holding on” could be our downfall.

UTB !
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Billyblade said:
The one thing we are shit at, and have been for years is 'holding on'.

If we run it into the corner you know full well a goal scoring opportunity is coming at the other end.
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Whilst I agree with both of you, in the hypothetical scenario I'm presenting we'd be going away from home to one of the best teams in the league in a game that means everything.

If we go there with any sort of lead, I think it's arrogant to think there won't be times in the game (probably the majority of the game) where we have to dig in and defend for our lives.
 
Champagneblade said:
I must admit the fact that Sheffield Wednesday Fucked It Up Again (TM) has made me feel even more at ease.

From a fan's perspective, when your club is Top Dog, you don't want to see any opportunity that threatens that.

Regardless of what happens next to us, the Pigs have taken the pressure right off. We'll be at a higher level next year. Another year where young kids would rather watch us play Norwich than Forest Green.

I'm sure others felt a sense of relief when the Wednesday result came in. They are already down in the dumps. What have they got to crow about if we don't make it?

Pressure is off. No reason why we can't just look forward to it and embrace the occasion!
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Standard replies from the pig at work (who didn't go last night)..

Forest will beat you this weekend anyway, that'll cheer me up.

Should we get to the final, you can replace that with the opposition, should the miracle happen.

You'll be down by Xmas, will be the next retort..

We have become thier whole life.
 
I'm chilled. If we go up the money will be great but we'll end up with a similar points haul to last time. If we don't, we're in a decent position, with some canny recruitment, to have a better squad next year.
 
CaptainMorgans said:
Whilst I agree with both of you, in the hypothetical scenario I'm presenting we'd be going away from home to one of the best teams in the league in a game that means everything.

If we go there with any sort of lead, I think it's arrogant to think there won't be times in the game (probably the majority of the game) where we have to dig in and defend for our lives.
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Agreed, and I'm all for digging in and defending for our lives. But we are crap at holding it in the corner and shielding. You see so many teams in the corner gaining a corner and taking it. This wastes more time than getting robbed in the corner and having the ball hoofed up into the position where our full back was.
 
mattbianco1 said:
Depends how far you go with form.

Last 5 games, we both have 10pts
Last 10 games, Forest best in league with 22pts. We're 4th with 18pts.

Forest have won 14 out of their last 20 League Games
We've won 10 out of our last 20 League Games
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I’m only trying to be positive. (Not my normal self). Lol 🥲
 

I was more nervous before the Fulham game. Here we don’t have the hoodoo of wilders mob nicking it from us. We have got into the playoffs with an incredible 6 out of 6 of our first choice strikers not available which is a fine achievement And no shame in losing to very fancied team. Que sera sera but the way Forest crumbled second half at Bournemouth is a very hopeful indicator of his good they are minus Davis. We can do this . UTB.⚔️⚔️
 
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Well I’m betting on us loosing both legs cause I’m shit at betting. I could bet on the hottest day in July and it would snow.

Theres nowt to be positive about, we will get hammered by a clear margin or we will fluke it to Wembley to deliver me the biggest financial impact possible then not turn up and we will have yet another drive of shame all the way back to Sheffield and no doubt the game would be against Huddersfield who would be heading home alongside us for 200 miles laughing, showing their arses int car window, 👌 signs even from 5-6 year old kids with their dad thinking it’s hilarious then when we get back piggy’s will try and treat our defeat at Wembley to get into the biggest league int world akin to them going out at first hurdle to try and escape the second tier of the all England pub teams whilst simultaneously announcing dolphin killer has found a few billion to rebuild a 60,000 stadium to seat an eighth of their home support then we get hit with the news our owner actually misread a clause in the partnership contract and McCabe is taking over the reigns again with a mandate to get back at Blades fans by selling off all the players and buying himself a new villa (not Aston) in Belgium…….

So basically I’m being as positive as I can about my Blades getting a chance to get back int PL before I go join Cerberus for the promised Watson Brown pork pie fest we never got to eat.

Its the hope that kills ya
 
robbiez666 said:
I'm chilled. If we go up the money will be great but we'll end up with a similar points haul to last time. If we don't, we're in a decent position, with some canny recruitment, to have a better squad next year.
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Eh? Having read S2 and particularly Shoutbox over the last 12 months or so, we’re going bust and destined for L1 or possibly worse. I assume the playoffs are just a blip?
 
mattbianco1 said:
Depends how far you go with form.

Last 5 games, we both have 10pts
Last 10 games, Forest best in league with 22pts. We're 4th with 18pts.

Forest have won 14 out of their last 20 League Games
We've won 10 out of our last 20 League Games
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What about over the last 10 years?
 
derekacorah said:
The few Forest fans I know think they’ve got a bye to the final. They are one set of fans I really dislike and I’d love to see us not just scrape past them but really show them how good we can be.
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They don’t really think that at all. They’re as concerned about playing us, as we are about them...
 
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CarlMcBlade said:
They don’t really think that at all. They’re as concerned about playing us, as we are about them...
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Not true if you read their forum.
While maybe not quite thinking they have a bye, I would say 95% of them are confident of beating us, mainly based on the the way they played at the lane and that they should have beaten us.
 
For the first time in a playoff position I feel confident....

Got to happen someday.
 
The bookies think there's nothing in it. Forest are favourites to win the Play-Offs, we're close second-favourites. We're slightly favoured to win tomorrow.
 
CaptainMorgans said:
It's odd. I can't remember ever being this team before. The one coming into the play-offs, a little unexpectedly, riding on a wave of a bit of momentum.

When I look at it statistically, there's not a great deal to separate ourselves and Forest. We drew 1-1 in the head-to-heads.
We both changed managers and then became one of the best 3 or 4 teams in the league.
Their run was better, but ultimately it's only 5 points between us and one league position.
And whilst they come into it off the back of a couple of bad results and hopefully feeling a little despondent, we come in off the back of 3 wins. 2 of them very good wins.

Keinan Davis is a massive loss for them. He was by far their best player at the Lane and probably the best forward I saw all season at the Lane.

I don't want to be optimistic, because it's not in my nature as a Blade that's watched us mess up the play-offs numerous times...
but at the same time, I like where we are as a team.

The front 3 have clicked at the right time. Their movement and creativity is a cut above at this level and they've started to add composed finishing into it too.
Their tails are up at the moment and in MGW, I think we have the best creative player in the division.

Norwood has suddenly stepped up in the middle of the park and is finishing the season as our key man. He's getting around the park so much better and using his right foot further up the park. If we can keep the ball better, it allows Norwood to roam. We become so much more effective when this happens, as when he sits in the pocket he can be marked out of games and we struggle to find any rhythm.
John Fleck loves a big game and when he's on it, there's very few better at progressing us up the park.

The back 5 regularly get shut-outs and we have the league's best goalkeeper in Wes Foderingham (still can't believe I'm writing that sentence).

My concern is that our weakness is at wing-back and, unfortunately, Forest's strength comes from wide.
If we are to lose this, you feel it will be Johnson and Spence getting goal side of Osborn (a fill in RWB) and Stevens (improving, but still not at old levels) in the box.

The first fixture is key to our chances.
We're strong at home, so if we can beat them and go to the City Ground with something to hang onto, then I'd fancy us to protect whatever we have.
Fail to win the home leg and it's a mountain to climb given our away form and the confidence that they'll take from getting a result in our backyard.

I certainly wouldn't buy into any theories that the winner of ours, goes up.
Huddersfield are an excellent side and extremely tough to beat.
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"...we have the league's best goalkeeper in Wes Foderingham (still can't believe I'm writing that sentence)..."

Nothing wrong with telling the truth, mate.
 
The fitness of Keinan Davies will play a massive part in this. If he isn’t on the team sheet at 2 o’clock Saturday I’ll be feeling a lot more confident
 
derekacorah said:
One of them was saying that he knows how the pigs feel being a massive club in the wrong league and that pigs and Forest both 'deserve' promotion based on their size. FFS
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Based on statistics (facts) Forest are a slightly smaller club than us.

We've currently, recently and historically had bigger average gates.
A strange but true fact is that since 1981 (over 40 seasons) Forest have averaged over 25,000 on 3 occasions.....4 if you include this season.

We have the bigger stadium, far bigger record attendance.
More seasons in the top flight.
More FA cups wins.

Number of titles won is equal (both won the league on 1 occasion)

They only beat us on winning more League cups
However I do appreciate that Forest are a bit of a special case as they've won the European Cup twice.
Being Champions of Europe gives special kudos....it's that fact that seems to automatically give big club status.
 
These two beauties , there gona rip them a new arsehole !! 🤣
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