Some positives

[Frazzle]

3 at the back could just be the tactic to get us a few points. Another body in midfield where we are weakest. Jonas for R.Taylor though please next time so we can have proper creative wingbacks in him and Duff.

 

And one less body at the back where you're...strong?

 

I think having anything other than 4 in defence will just screw up your chances, tbh. It's the players themselves IMO that need to prove their worth.

 

Defence is our best area, our best players are probably Beye, Bassong and Enrique.

 

The reason we concede is down to the pressure on the defence, which results from the **** midfield.

[Neil]

3 at the back could just be the tactic to get us a few points. Another body in midfield where we are weakest. Jonas for R.Taylor though please next time so we can have proper creative wingbacks in him and Duff.

 

And one less body at the back where you're...strong?

 

I think having anything other than 4 in defence will just screw up your chances, tbh. It's the players themselves IMO that need to prove their worth.

 

Defence is our best area, our best players are probably Beye, Bassong and Enrique.

 

The reason we concede is down to the pressure on the defence, which results from the **** midfield.

 

I do agree with this, and it's also the main reason Owen has sweet FA to work on, due to the ineptitude of the midfield and its general lack of creativity. I just didn't think the wing-back system worked whatsoever on Saturday, so I don't see why pursuing it would result in a different outcome.

[Doug]

3 at the back could just be the tactic to get us a few points. Another body in midfield where we are weakest. Jonas for R.Taylor though please next time so we can have proper creative wingbacks in him and Duff.

 

And one less body at the back where you're...strong?

 

I think having anything other than 4 in defence will just screw up your chances, tbh. It's the players themselves IMO that need to prove their worth.

it doesnt work like that though does it. Wing backs work the flank from top to bottom giving you 5 in defence and extra going forward so you always have a spare defender anyway.

Top sides attack and defend as a unit, our problem all season has been lack of athletes to do this IMO

[madras]

3 at the back could just be the tactic to get us a few points. Another body in midfield where we are weakest. Jonas for R.Taylor though please next time so we can have proper creative wingbacks in him and Duff.

 

And one less body at the back where you're...strong?

 

I think having anything other than 4 in defence will just screw up your chances, tbh. It's the players themselves IMO that need to prove their worth.

 

Defence is our best area, our best players are probably Beye, Bassong and Enrique.

 

The reason we concede is down to the pressure on the defence, which results from the **** midfield.

obvious answer is to play 4-5-2

[Incognito]

I love how a fantastic header by a kid nine minutes from time overwrites an absolutely rubbish performance.

 

My thoughts exactly.....let's hope we can improve FFS.

[samag]

If you look at Stoke’s home form only Man united Chelsea and Everton have won there this season. So It was a good point, it was not a must win game.

It does not matter at the moment that we are in the bottom 3 it matters after the last game of the season that we are not in the bottom 3, We must pick up  the  odd away point and win the our home games, Just like every other team in the bottom half.

Our last 3 home games will decide we if stay up or not.

[Wullie]

If the players have the same attitude as some of the supporters it's no the wonder we're in the s***.

 

"Oh it's Man Utd, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

"Oh it's Everton, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

"Oh it's Stoke, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

We are where we are because we've not won too many of these games that we had a fair chance of winning (i.e. most games). If winning at Stoke City is "unrealistic" then frankly we deserve to go down anyway.

They have one of the best home records in the league.

 

I couldn't give two f***s, football isn't played on paper and their players are, by and large, a tatty collection of mackem rejects. We've got one of the worst home records too so I assume we're just to write off Pompey, Boro and Fulham as well?

Surely your arguement only works if I said they had better players on paper? Its a difficult place to go and play, they gear the play to suit themselves, get physical. You can write off what you want it seems a fair few of this forum already have. Fulham have a shocking away record having scored 6 of their 9 goals in 2 games.

 

You have to look at each game and be relative. Alot of games away from home teams will try and pass Stokes tactics are very unique in the sense that they are the only team that really just attempts to bully teams. I think its sensible to say it would be a tight game. Plus do you not go into home games with assumed confidence ignoring form?

 

Fulham have won, what, two of their last three or four away from home? Given our home form, that looks as unlikely a victory as Stoke was. Another one to chalk onto the "doesn't matter, if you really expected to get anything here and you're whinging that we haven't, God, how stupid" pile, like nearly every other game we've played.

[jimmymag]

If the players have the same attitude as some of the supporters it's no the wonder we're in the s***.

 

"Oh it's Man Utd, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

"Oh it's Everton, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

"Oh it's Stoke, I didn't expect us to win, it's fine"

 

We are where we are because we've not won too many of these games that we had a fair chance of winning (i.e. most games). If winning at Stoke City is "unrealistic" then frankly we deserve to go down anyway.

They have one of the best home records in the league.

 

I couldn't give two f***s, football isn't played on paper and their players are, by and large, a tatty collection of mackem rejects. We've got one of the worst home records too so I assume we're just to write off Pompey, Boro and Fulham as well?

Surely your arguement only works if I said they had better players on paper? Its a difficult place to go and play, they gear the play to suit themselves, get physical. You can write off what you want it seems a fair few of this forum already have. Fulham have a shocking away record having scored 6 of their 9 goals in 2 games.

 

You have to look at each game and be relative. Alot of games away from home teams will try and pass Stokes tactics are very unique in the sense that they are the only team that really just attempts to bully teams. I think its sensible to say it would be a tight game. Plus do you not go into home games with assumed confidence ignoring form?

 

Fulham have won, what, two of their last three or four away from home? Given our home form, that looks as unlikely a victory as Stoke was. Another one to chalk onto the "doesn't matter, if you really expected to get anything here and you're whinging that we haven't, God, how stupid" pile, like nearly every other game we've played.

 

Now you're getting silly like.

 

At this stage it looks like Fulham is a must win game, but it might prove not to be because all we've got to do is end the season above 3 other clubs and I think we can still do that. Cheer yourself up and look at the upcoming fixtures of the other clubs around us. We can still do it man!

[biggs]

Our fitness levels improved, we were still full of running towards the end.

just in time at the arse end of the season 

[beardsleymagic]

Its not just expecting a win against a team in 13th though, its expecting an away win against a team with the 7th best home record in the league.  If we were playing them at home I'd agree with it being a poor result, in fact I did earlier in the season

 

I'm not expecting us to win 3 more games by the way, I'm hoping we can.  I expect us to beat all those teams we have left at home as individual results, but winning all three is going to be more hope then expectation to me.  I'm not sure what I expect realistically from the rest of the season.  But I think we need at least 8 more points.

 

Personally i think we could do with another 10 points (three home wins and nick a point away). I know it's a tall ask when you consider our record this season, but i've just got an awful feeling that the clubs around us aren't going to simply implode (like we have), and are going to pick up a few more points.

[Dinho lad]

Its not just expecting a win against a team in 13th though, its expecting an away win against a team with the 7th best home record in the league.  If we were playing them at home I'd agree with it being a poor result, in fact I did earlier in the season

 

I'm not expecting us to win 3 more games by the way, I'm hoping we can.  I expect us to beat all those teams we have left at home as individual results, but winning all three is going to be more hope then expectation to me.  I'm not sure what I expect realistically from the rest of the season.  But I think we need at least 8 more points.

 

Personally i think we could do with another 10 points (three home wins and nick a point away). I know it's a tall ask when you consider our record this season, but i've just got an awful feeling that the clubs around us aren't going to simply implode (like we have), and are going to pick up a few more points.

 

the worrying thing for me is that I can see us dropping points from those 3 home games we got against fulham, pompey and boro.

 

[Jayson]

Certainly going to take something special.

 

The worrying thing is the Newcastle that will survive this season is a Newcastle we havent seen yet. None of our performances have shown a glimmer of us being able to stay up in recent times. So our best hope is that one of these games we turn into a different side....we need a big win. Just like tottenham last season.....identical.

 

I just hope this result WAS like the draw with birm last season.....and not the 0-0 against bolton.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Jonas looking more like the player from Man U and Guthrie getting an hour, he will be vital for us.