FAO Dutch

[BillyStubbsTears]

You stopped worrying about some team coming with a run and getting 90 points yet?

By the way, I've been saying since January that Bournemouth were only a threat if we imploded. Unfortunately, we have done. In the last 17 matches, since the start of Feb, we have picked up just 25 points. So, for more than a third of the season, we've averaged about 10th place form. I thought we had been uber-consistent this season, but those stats give the lie to that idea. We've had a really average run for three months now. Even then, Bournemouth have only just been able to catch us. It is entirely our own fault. 

[Dutch Uncle]

Hi BST - of course you were right about the two 90+ points scenario. Unfortunately my worst case neuroses about Rovers (based on 90% of half a century's experience) just won' t go away.

Deja Vu all over again (Yogi Berra is very underrated IMHO) with Notts County for me - I was there in 1966. 

And yep, Bournemouth' s stellar form over the last 8 games has put every other team' s results in a shadow

Just hope the fact we are away, and play counter-attacking football is enough next weekend

 

[CusworthRovers]

..........come come Billy, you never thought Bournemouth would prove you wrong and do that did you. It's not our fault they've won this many games on the bounce is it?

[RedJ]

They could still prove him right yet.

Int over til it's over. Ask Mancini.

[River Don]

We've clearly been average for a while, then again I think the league has been pretty average. The amount of times we've dropped points and those around us have failed to capitalise has been untrue.

[pubteam]

25 points from 17? Interesting. Around 67 points over a season, ergo mid-table form.

[wilts rover]

How many of those matches has Paul Keegan played in btw? Just a question.

[The Red Baron]

Hi BST - of course you were right about the two 90+ points scenario. Unfortunately my worst case neuroses about Rovers (based on 90% of half a century's experience) just won' t go away.

Deja Vu all over again (Yogi Berra is very underrated IMHO) with Notts County for me - I was there in 1966. 

And yep, Bournemouth' s stellar form over the last 8 games has put every other team' s results in a shadow

Just hope the fact we are away, and play counter-attacking football is enough next weekend

 

We followed up that 0-3 reverse by Notts County in 1966 with a win (away at Crewe!) and a draw at a team beginning with "B." (Yes, it was Bradford City and yes, I'm clutching at straws!

[River Don]

How many of those matches has Paul Keegan played in btw? Just a question.

A good observation. I always felt we had better balance with him in midfield.

[The Red Baron]

We've clearly been average for a while, then again I think the league has been pretty average. The amount of times we've dropped points and those around us have failed to capitalise has been untrue.

Says it all for me that we went top (and stayed top for the best part of two months) during a period when we were in such average form.

[Lipsy]

Bournemouth's form has been entirely predictable ever since Eddie Howe took over... [Off the top of my head here/A *very* quick tot up courtesy of Beeb]: 17/18 matches unbeaten, a blip of a couple, then onto 5 unbeaten, followed by 5 dismal results when they got hit hard by injuries... Sure, their run now is spectacular, but - and this has always been obvious - had Eddie been there at the start then AFCB would have walked this league. Never really been a doubt of that.

This is where stats fall apart. Take Bournemouth's performance throughout the season and they - obviously - don't look like certs for the league; cut out the bit that was managed by (and I'll quote a Cherries fan here) a man who couldn't manage his way out of a bag, and they were/are and always have been champions.

So a) Our win at Dean Court (when they had their injured players back) is even more impressive and b) if we win next week and they lose, we'll have earned it good and proper - 'cos we've had our lumps, shite and injuries this season too.

[CusworthRovers]

Bournemouth's form has been entirely predictable ever since Eddie Howe took over... [Off the top of my head here/A *very* quick tot up courtesy of Beeb]: 17/18 matches unbeaten, a blip of a couple, then onto 5 unbeaten, followed by 5 dismal results when they got hit hard by injuries... Sure, their run now is spectacular, but - and this has always been obvious - had Eddie been there at the start then AFCB would have walked this league. Never really been a doubt of that.

This is where stats fall apart. Take Bournemouth's performance throughout the season and they - obviously - don't look like certs for the league; cut out the bit that was managed by (and I'll quote a Cherries fan here) a man who couldn't manage his way out of a bag, and they were/are and always have been champions.

So a) Our win at Dean Court (when they had their injured players back) is even more impressive and b) if we win next week and they lose, we'll have earned it good and proper - 'cos we've had our lumps, shite and injuries this season too.

I'm going to give that post a VSC rating of 9/10

[hoolahoop]

Basically Billy we are on the verge of chucking it all away when in fact we should have been home and dry by now. 
Many are happy with a defeat then a win etc. , however that as you pointed out is the form of a mid table coaster team. 

[pubteam]

When we won at Dean Court, they were still missing Elphick and Daniels.

[CusworthRovers]

If we're comparing us to Bournemouth over recent times, then we are shite...........but then again how are the other top 10 sides doing in comparison to Bournemouth.

Comparing us to Bournemouth over 46 games tells a very different tale.

[RedJ]

Let's look at it this way eh?

We're one match away from an instant return to a tier it took us 50 years to get back to last time.

If results go our way - it isn't likely in any way but it isn't beyond the realms of possibility, and it's only one result we need - and we do our bit, we could yet end up Champions. Something a lot will have only seen once or twice, some never.

Autos are still in our own hands and the title isn't entirely out of our reach. Button down yer pockets.

[Lipsy]

Okay, they were still missing some of their players, but they had some back (sorry, I am trawling through my feeble mind), but we also had injuries also. I'd call that evens.

I was trying to be positive, ferrchrissakes. 

[BillyStubbsTears]

Cussy.

I got a very big part of my prediction wrong.

I said back in January that we could forget about Bournemouth, because the only way that they could catch us was if we ended up imploding, and in that case, 2 or three other teams would top us.

I never thought back in January that 82 points would clinch promotion, but it will if we draw next week. That shows:
a) How poor we have been for the last three months - had we continued the form that we had for the first 28 games, we'd now have 90 points. That is a very big fall off in form.
b) How poor everyone else apart from Bournemouth has been

Since the end of Jan, this is the form of the teams that were in the top six on 31 Jan

Tranmere: 10 points from 16 games - bottom of table form by a mile
Rovers: 25 points from 17 games - 10th place form
Swindon: 24 points from 17 games - 11/12th place form
Brentford: 29 points from 17 games - mid play-off form
Bournemouth: 33 points in 16 games - Top of table form (but having said that, not exceptional - hardly better than our entire season-long form in 2003/04)
Sheff Utd: 26 points from 16 games - squeaking a play-off spot form

Yeovil have been the impressive ones apart from Bournemouth: 32 points for 17 games - promotion form, but even that wasn't good enough to seriously challenge for automatic promotion given that they were middling earlier.

So, apart from Bournemouth, none of the ones in position at the end of Jan has had a good end of the season.

I said at the end of Jan, the only way Bournemouth could catch us was if we weren't going to be good enough to win promotion ourselves. As it's turned out, we've been lucky because everyone else has been shit.

[CusworthRovers]

I think what you have written sums this league up perfectly. Again I think you differ to me though. I think this league is poor and everyone is beating everyone, hence the unpredictable results. It was far tougher, more quality, better teams and players than the last time we went up. Our team then (and I know you'll not like it) was far far better and would destroy this current team.

That said, this team, this club, this manager can only attempt to be better than the others around it, and its doing/done a cracking job

[BillyStubbsTears]

Cissy.

Depends which team you mean from the 07/08 season.

The one that played from Xmas onwards was head and shoulders better than the current team. The one that played the first 20 matches would not have troubled the current side.

[CusworthRovers]

Your stats should tell you it was the team of 07/08

[BillyStubbsTears]

Cussy (Apologies for the auto-correct calling you Cissy before, yer gret Cissy)

If the current team had played the one from October 07, I know who I'd put my money on.

[RedJ]

I can tell you which team I'd rather have in the trenches with me though. Not that it counts for much.

[CusworthRovers]

Cussy (Apologies for the auto-correct calling you Cissy before, yer gret Cissy)

If the current team had played the one from October 07, I know who I'd put my money on.

I think without going through all the old points, we'll agree to disagree