How many times is that now?

[Akinfenwa]

The table only matters at the end of the season. You said it yourself.

[dickos1]

Exactly
But if you're doing it you've got to use the same parameters
Can't compare 46 games with 21

[Akinfenwa]

The main gist of the post was about our realistic expectations for the season as a whole, taking into account the actual performance of our predecessors. This came about because of the assumption that promoted team = struggle.

I then said "we are not currently on course to perform at the level of the average promoted side". What I said there is true. If it makes you feel better - we may (or may not) "be on course" to do so at some point between now and the end of the season. There is no comparison between 46 games and 21 games - only between 46 games and where we are currently on course to be after 46 games.

Hope that helps.

[dickos1]

Not really no. Cause if you look where they were after 21 games it might be a different story. I imagine teams coming up take time to settle in so will generally have a better 2nd half to their season

[Akinfenwa]

Jesus wept.

The post was about expectations. You don't wait until the end of the season to establish where you expect to finish, you do that at the beginning and reassess throughout.

Over the season, teams are (rightly or wrongly) continually assessed as to whether they are on course to meet those expectations. If that didn't happen then no manager would ever get sacked or players bought / sold in the transfer window. Mr. Chairman might not be best pleased if he wasn't able to act to change the course of the club mid-season.

We are not currently on course to achieve the average final placing of a promoted team. No one is saying that this is gospel and we definitely cannot change the course of where we finish. I thought that point was made loud and clear.

As for your sentence on promoted teams, maybe you could go and find some facts to prove your imaginings. It might be interesting.

[i_ateallthepies]

Akinfenwa, give it up mate.  No amount of your generous helpings of logical explanation and patience are going to get you anywhere with Dickos.  There is none so blind as he who will not see.

[dickos1]

You got two likes, I wonder which 2 likes your post 😂😂.

I don't expect the likes to be anything other than negative, a prime example is this forum is unbelievably quiet after a victory. Mainly cause you lot have nowt to say

[Chris Black come back]

First step to solving a problem is acknowledging that it exists.

Just about everyone accepts that where we are and how we are doing is not satisfactory.

Just about everyone.

[RedJ]

Maybe he's just reached the point that he's painted himself into a corner.

Maybe it's just complete delusion.

[goalkick]

You got two likes, I wonder which 2 likes your post 😂😂.

I don't expect the likes to be anything other than negative, a prime example is this forum is unbelievably quiet after a victory. Mainly cause you lot have nowt to say

unless you are the biggest wind up merchant in Doncaster,I respect your optimism.you are entitled to your views.we are though going through difficult times which we may or may not come through.the end of the season will show.it cannot all be bad luck, I wonder what you views are to improve the current flirt with the bottom of the table.i am in no way trying to get at you,cheers.

[dickos1]

First step to solving a problem is acknowledging that it exists.

Just about everyone accepts that where we are and how we are doing is not satisfactory.

Just about everyone.

I've never said I'm happy with where we are now, but as per you don't let facts interfere with your agenda

[Chris Black come back]

Ok, this is good. We are making progress. 

If the situation is unsatisfactory, then the next step is to identify what are the causes?

[dickos1]

you keep saying what the manager should do after a defeat i.e. Play 4 at the back, play round pegs in round holes, play two up front, when we then win you say I've been saying for ages we should've been doing this.
When we lose though playing two up front, playing 4 at the back, playing round pegs in round holes.
This doesn't seem to get mentioned

[Donnywolf]

Another loss to a late injury time winner

TOO many - but doubtless already discussed above !

[drfchound]

Genuinely, with 25 games to play I am expecting us to pick up 25 or so points.
This is based on DF’s record in recent times in L1.

[dickos1]

Even with no improvement on our 21 games we'd end up with 51 points.

[anne honemous]

Lawlor is a bit susceptible to shots from range.

He's the new Ben Smith of this decade.

[hoolahoop]

Lawlor is a bit susceptible to shots from range.

He's the new Ben Smith of this decade.

I agree he is poor and I had higher expectations of him. However it's tiresome that the spotlight is always on him because WE  don't allow him to make the odd error without it almost always costing us the game.

I am concerned about the way we keep getting hit with sucker punches . That's not bad luck ... It's being suckers.

[bobjimwilly]

He's the new Ben Smith of this decade.

Now you're just talking shite.

[anne honemous]

He's the new Ben Smith of this decade.

Now you're just talking shite.

Eh?

Ben Smith acquired a reputation, unjustly IMO, for being continuously beaten by long-range shots.

This happened about half a dozen times during the spell when he broke into the first team with Blackpool away in a 3-1 defeat, where they scored all their goals in the last 20 minutes, being a game that springs to mind.

[drfchound]

Even with no improvement on our 21 games we'd end up with 51 points.

So even that outstanding end of season tally would only be just over a point per game.
I just hope we don't have our usual end of season / end of season except for five games crash.

[dickos1]

You're missing the point, everyone is saying how rubbish we've been in these games yet with no improvement whatsoever we would have enough points to stay up.
Only a very slight improvement would see us comfortable

[dickos1]

The hypocrisy in that last sentence is remarkable

Last season you're classing the end of season as the last 5 games yet the season before you're classing the end of the season as everything but the last 5 games just to suit your argument

[since-1969]

We are League 2 standard that is all that can be said , we proving our self to be wanting more League 1 standard or above players .

[dickos1]

We proved we're too good for league 2 by clinching promotion with 5 games to spare.
Must've been one of our most comfortable promotions ever

[since-1969]

We proved we're too good for league 2 by clinching promotion with 5 games to spare.
Must've been one of our most comfortable promotions ever

we proved nothing only that we can F*** up  and finish 3rd in a 2 horse race .

[GazLaz]

We proved we're too good for league 2 by clinching promotion with 5 games to spare.
Must've been one of our most comfortable promotions ever

we proved nothing only that we can F*** up  and finish 3rd in a 2 horse race .

How can you finish third in a two horse race. That’s impossible. We finished 3rd in a 24 horse race.

[idler]

Punters wouldn't be happy if the odds on favourite that they had backed threw away a good lead and trailed in third.

[GazLaz]

Punters wouldn't be happy if the odds on favourite that they had backed threw away a good lead and trailed in third.

We were about 1/10 weren’t we? So not impossible to happen.

[idler]

Not impossible but very unlikely don't you think?
What upset me most was that we didn't go down fighting so to speak.
We were just abject failures for most of those games. Had we fielded a stronger team against Blaclpool the pressure would have been off. We couldn't cope mentally to me.