Draws are like your mum and dad

Devongone · 20-03-2016, 12:41

Like Philip Larkin's mum and dad draws fkcu you up.

At least they do when you have only a few games left and you're down the bottom ....... or that league is very small.

England really won the Six Nations once Ireland and Wales drew their first game. The only two teams who could have stopped them went away moderately satisfied, because they hadn't lost, but already realistically they were committed to winning every other game, including the one against England.

Similarly when you're towards the bottom of a league and draw away from home the tendency is to heave a sigh of relief - at least we didn't lose. The fact is yesterday's draw at Scunny was an opportunity missed. Nothing has changed. Donny, Oldham and Fleetwood losing mean much more more. We still need three wins and now there's another game fewer.

Look at Oldham's record to see the true value of draws. When you're struggling, draws, especially since good old Jimmy Hill, provide an illusion of success. For us losing heavily last week will be tempered by yesterday's draw, but if we don't win our next game our recent record will be one, or two points from the last nine .......... which is John Laurie time - "We're doomed I tell you Pikey, doomed!"

Just a cheerful Sunday thought for fans of teams down the bottom ......

**spireitematt** · 20-03-2016, 14:33

Fleetwood and Oldham are must win games. Then the next three, Port Vale, Barnsley and Sheffield United will be tough as they are all still aiming for the playoffs. Would 50 pts be enough to stay up this season?

bluepooch · 20-03-2016, 21:13

Saturday is without doubt the biggest game of the season so far .I really hope we can get 6k plus home fans and get behind the boys .A win would be a massive step towards safety and is vital because I cant see us getting a win at Oldham.
Four points from the two games would be lovely .

Devongone · 21-03-2016, 14:27

Why can't we win at Oldham? Somebody has to win there and Oldham themselves don't like to. I think they'll be trying for 1-0.

Much as I decry the one point at Scunny it does mean three wins would give us 51 - a small safety margin. 50 should be enough, but we relegated Torquay on more than that didn't we? And look where they might be going if they're not careful.

If we beat either Fleetwood, or Oldham (and we do need a win to give us heart) I think we could win two from Port Vale, Barnsley and Sheffield United ........ because disappointed teams start to lose at this time of the year. They all need two wins from their own next two to get into the play-off picture - & if they fail they'll start to get desperate.

Obviously I'd rather see us turn around our home form, and Oldham fail to do the same thing. Six points would see them both eating our dust, but it's a huge ask.

The imponderables are that teams marooned in mid-table can become easy meat, but equally sometimes they feel free to play as they should've all season. Teams up top suddenly want to win too much and forget how to do it, but sometimes they focus all the way to that finishing line. And teams at the bottom can fight like dogs, but sometimes a goal against will deflate them completely. So even the fixture list is hard to evaluate.

Devongone · 27-03-2016, 12:09

0-0 no shots on target against Fleetwood .......... we have to win at Oldham.

bluepooch · 27-03-2016, 16:37

I do like a clean sheet but you do have to have a little bit of attacking quality and yesterday we had none .

Devongone · 28-03-2016, 17:53

No shots at Oldham either. We're down!

It is that simple.

bluepooch · 28-03-2016, 20:17

There are 21 points to play for so all is not lost but it is worrying that we have no quality in key areas at the moment .

Devongone · 29-03-2016, 11:03

I think "lack of quality" translates to not good enough. We played two poor sides and didn't manage a shot on target. To me that indicates we can stop the opposition, but the cost is stopping ourselves. We're so afraid to concede we can't score. That's fatal.

In these circumstances defence and forwards usually combine to blame the midfield. In this case it is probably accurate. We didn't replace Ryan until we got Liddle and now we are missing a Morsy. Neither Banks nor Herd seem able to step up to the mark more than occasionally. And last season our full backs added a great deal to our attacking impetus that we now lack.

Doncaster seem to be doing everything they can to go down, but that leaves us to find another team keen to finish below us. Mr Oyston may have designs on Division 2 for Blackpool, but that message does not seem to have filtered through to the team. To be honest from this distance we look like the ideal candidate for the drop. And what honest man could say we don't deserve it?

Mr Wilson took over a weak squad and has been unlucky with injuries. What would I do? Get forward! I'd have three at the back, push what were full backs up to attack from midfield and play three up front and tell 'em to keep interchanging and shooting - maybe Ariyibi, Novak and O'Shea. Why? Because if the midfield doesn't get you that much ball you have to make the most of what it does manage. But if your players aren't quite good enough shuffling 'em probably isn't enough. And I'm guessing that's Mr Wilson's central problem - he hasn't enough players he fancies for the job!

**spireitematt** · 29-03-2016, 19:45

Would not surprise me if we are relegated or stay up on goal difference. I worked out we need at least 3-4 wins or 2 wins and a few draws.