This season's start vs last season

[Pinchy]

All this talk of what we've done or not done against the 'bottom four' is illusory. We shall not know who are the bottom four and how we fared against them until the end of the season!

 

[Bladesman]

We should be doing better really.

 

[shorehamview]

Col U 2 points
Cov 2 points
Bury 2 points
Total = 6 in my book

How those three teams can be the bottom two teams is beyond me. Still, I stand corrected.

 

[Kenilworth]

How those three teams can be the bottom two teams is beyond me. Still, I stand corrected.

Good, because it was you not I that stipulated "bottom two"
I stated bottom teams. So, yes, 6 points is correct because last time I looked Col U, Cov and Bury were all at the bottom of the league.

 

[Ollessendro]

We need some analysis from Wombwell_Blade. Another one of his this vs last years threads. Where is he by the way? Not seen him on here for ages (checked and his last log in was July).

 

[blade too long]

far too early to judge whos going to do what ,

take preston , last year they were in top 6 after 6 games , finished nowhere after flirting with relegation
Tranmere wont sustain their start, not enough depth , a couple of injuries suspensions and they are buggared, they started well last season, but nose dived in december
We only had to not let missing out lead to pitying our selves and stay up there, which we have
Once we get a head of steam we will be fine

 

[moDtheGod]

So, we got 8 points from those four games, a point more than I thought we'd get in the best case scenario, so I'm quite happy with that.

2011/12 - First six matches
Oldham (A) - W
Brentford (H) - W
Walsall (H) - W
Tranmere (A) - D
Yeovil (A) - W
Bury (H) - W

Points: 16

2012/13 - First six matches
Shrewsbury (H) - W
Coventry (A) - D
Colchester (A) - D
Bournemouth (H) - W
Scunthorpe (A) - D
Bury (H) - D

Points: 10

2011/12 - Next four
Scunthorpe (A) - D
Huddersfield (H) - L
Colchester (H) - W
Wycombe (A) - L

Points: 4

2012/13 - Next four
Doncaster (H) - D
Yeovil (A) - W
Notts County (H) - D
Hartlepool (A) - W

Points: 8

Points After Ten Games

2011/12 - 20
2012/13 - 18

We have to be happy with that now, don't we? Considering the player's we've lost this summer and the fact that a new team is still gelling? We're not at all far behind where we were last season and we got 90 points at the end of it!

 

[snb69]

I've been (very sadly) tracking this season versus last, both against the number of games played, and the corresponding fixtures. For the promoted and relegated teams I've used the average of the points gained at home or away against the teams they replaced - so, Shrewsbury at home was an expected 2.5 points (because we got 10 points at home vs. the 4 relegated teams last year).

At the moment, matching last years results would have given us 20.83 points - the negatives are the draws against Bury & County (4 points down). Shrews give us +0.5, and Donny +0.67, but that's rounding

 

[Ollessendro]

I'd have snatched your hands off for 8 points from those 4 games before they were played. Funny that United did the hard work winning away, yet slipped up at home. I was tempted to say I was slightly disappointed with the points from those 4 games, after the performances, but think that we rode our luck against Yeovil and Hartlepool. We have a pretty solid defensive unit and if we can cut out individual errors then I think we'll stay up where we are.

I think we have to be pretty happy with the start of the season. Considering the players we have lost, Wilson has done an excellent job. We've not lost and have not really looked like losing in any of our games. The counter to that is that we've drawn too many, which is a concern. The lack of goals could be the difference between finishing 2nd and 5th. That said, look at Charlton last year. How many games did they win 1-0? They built their season on being rock solid. With a back 5/6 of Howard, McMahon, Collis, Maguire, Hill and Doyle, then I think we could do something similar. However, we need to cut out silly mistakes and keep our concentration at all times. I don't think there will be a lot of occassions when we score more than 1 this season, so defending impeccably is essential.

 

[Houso]

It's a bit of a disappointing start, but by the same token, as Olle says we can be happy where we are given the upheaval of the summer.

I also think we're yet to click and properly blend, so when we do we should start to win games with ease. One interesting point is that we seem to play pretty much the same whether it's a team from the top or a team from the bottom.

Makes me think that it's not so much talent or even setup, but psychology and concentration. If we can be a touch more confident we'll stop throwing away points. And it goes without saying that when that first defeat comes, we have to bounce back straight away.

 

[cooperblade]

Last season

P W D L F A GD PTS
1 Charlton Athletic 10 7 3 0 21 9 12 24
2 Preston North End 9 7 1 1 21 13 8 22
3 Sheffield United 10 6 2 2 17 8 9 20
4 Hartlepool United 9 5 4 0 17 8 9 19
5 Milton Keynes Dons 10 5 4 1 18 10 8 19
6 Notts County 10 6 1 3 18 11 7 19
7 Brentford 10 6 1 3 15 9 6 19
8 Sheffield Wednesday 10 6 1 3 19 16 3 19
9 Huddersfield Town 10 4 6 0 18 9 9 18
10 Carlisle United 10 5 1 4 12 15 -3 16

 

[Highbury_Blade]

It's a bit of a disappointing start, but by the same token, as Olle says we can be happy where we are given the upheaval of the summer.

I also think we're yet to click and properly blend, so when we do we should start to win games with ease. One interesting point is that we seem to play pretty much the same whether it's a team from the top or a team from the bottom.

Makes me think that it's not so much talent or even setup, but psychology and concentration. If we can be a touch more confident we'll stop throwing away points. And it goes without saying that when that first defeat comes, we have to bounce back straight away.

The football at the beginning of last season was exactly scintillating either. I don't think we started clicking til the end of september.

 

[Ollessendro]

The football at the beginning of last season was exactly scintillating either. I don't think we started clicking til the end of september.

Later than that Highbury. We had a few decent games early doors (Bury, Colchester and Brentford) but the others wins (Oldham, Yeovil and Walsall) were unspectacular. There were a few frustrating draws (Scunny and Tranmere) and we got convincingly beaten by Charlton and Huddersfield (as well as losing at Wycombe). We then kind of bumbled along a bit, picking up some excellent results (Preston away, MK Dons at home) and frustrating results (drawing with Pigs, not beating Exeter at home and conceding a 96th minute equaliser away at Orient). The turning point for me was early November last year. We got battered by Stevenage and then dumped out of the Johnstone's Pain trophy by Bradford. Wilson talked about going back to basics and cutting out mistakes. We started slowly, but surely, beating Oxford, Carlisle and Chezzy. We looked far from convincing, but did not concede and looked solid. From then on we did not look back and the team started to click. Right up until K Mac getting injured at home to Preston we were in top form and our defeats (Charlton and Carlisle) were unlucky (barring Brum in the cup).

K Mac did not start playing regularly until after Stevenage (November) and Evans did not play until mid September last season. I think the signs early doors last season were more positive (we dispatched a few poor teams) but that just reflects that we had more quality.