[spireitematt]

Looking at results over the last few weeks and the league table with about a third of the season gone. Is L2 unpredictable? As no one seems to be running away with the league. From 1st to 13th only 5pts separate the teams. Also ourselves and Bromley have lost the least amount of games which is 3 and everyone else has lost 4 or more games.

Last season Walsall seemed to run away with it early on but towards the end they fell into the playoffs to then lose the final. This season though looks like any team who builds up a run of form could catapult themselves into the playoffs or automatic places.

[SaltergateBorn]

Personally, I don`t think anybody is going to run away with this league this season. Any team that strings together 3 or 4 wins - even those in the bottom half of the table - is going to put themselves near the top.

[spireitematt]

Bromley have a six point cushion at the top of the league. I don't think many people would believe you if you said at the start of the season that Bromley would be top with 1/3 of the season remaining. Goes to show what a good job Andy Woodman is doing there.

We are 4-5 pts off a playoff spot and 7-8 off an automatic spot. The problem is our form, we can't seem to string two wins together. 17 games to go which means 51 pts to play for, we currently sit on 45 pts with a goal difference of +7 which could be crucial come the end of the season. If we want to secure a playoff spot we need to get to 75-80 pts and if we want to get automatic promotion then we need 80 pts+. Too many people on Bob's Board and on social media are overreacting about the current form and also are starting to question Cook which I think is ludicrous. L2 is a tough league and it seems to be more competitive and open since we returned to the Football League and it doesn't matter how big your budget is or what players you have. Our problems have been injuries in the main but I think we are struggling to hold on to leads which has been our downfall so far but the season is far from over and if we string some decent results together we can easily get in the top 3 or 4. I would like us to play more attacking football but also maybe a change in the formation such as a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2 instead of 4-2-3-1. Bonis and Grigg upfront together could be a good strike partnership.

[SaltergateBorn]

All teams have to put up with injuries, Matt. We can`t expect to be any different.

I genuinely believe that right now and for most of this season our whole has not matched the sum of our parts. The individual quality of the players that we have should, when put together, be producing a more effective team than we have been and are. I think the argument that we should be doing better with players and resources at our disposal is a completely fair one. The fact that we haven`t been is, I`m afraid, entirely down to management and tactics. Simple as. I don`t agree by any means that Paul Cook should be sacked here and now, but I think it`s fair to say the clock is ticking for him. We are going to have to go on a hell of a run from now until the end of the season if we`re going to get anywhere near the points total you reckon (quite rightly, to my thinking ) we are going to need for automatic promotion. We don`t seem to be capable of producing anything like the level of consistency that would be necessary to do that. More likely we`ll scrape into the play-offs again and for the reasons I`ve already stated I think we should be doing better than that.

I suspect that the owners might have a tough decision to make at the end of the season if that turns out to be the case.

For me, part of the problem is PC`s fixation on this 4-2-3-1 system. Other teams cotton on to it, find a way to counteract it, and there seems to be no flexibility. No plan B. It also seems to produce a style of play that involves seemingly endlessly passing the ball backwards - sideways - sideways - backwards across the middle of the pitch that, to put it frankly, bores the arse off me. (We`re not alone in that, to be fair.. I see a lot of that these days.)

A good result today, it has to be said. We just need to be doing it with a bit of consistency now.

[spireitematt]

Teams like Crewe, Barnet, Colchester and Accrington who are below us are now within touching distance. We are only 1pt off 7th, 4pts off 6th. 10pts off automatic places. Cambridge, MK Dons and Salford who are in form are starting to bridge a gap and are competing for 2nd and 3rd with Swindon and Notts County.

Even if we don't get promotion this season, I still think we should stick with Cook, it feels like he is slowly building something with the team. Maybe questions need to be asked about coaches, like do we have too many?

I agree with you about the passing sideways and passing backwards. I've been watching The Big Match Revisited on ITV 4 and noticed teams from the 70s and 80s play the ball forwards and actually attack and try and beat the opposition players instead of passing the ball around the back or back to the keeper. Possession football doesn't necessarily mean you'll win the game especially if you don't do anything with it. I'm not saying we should go back to playing kick and rush and long balls but it would be nice to see players actually play the ball forward.