Form

[BillyStubbsTears]

Sometimes you do have to step back and see the big picture.

After an OK start to the season, we have hit superb form since October.

First 8 games were

P8 W4 D1 L3 Pts 13 PPG 1.63

Bottom end of playoff form

Since then, form has been

P11 W7 D2 L2 Pts 23 PPG 2.09
Title-winning form.

Add in a run to the Cup 4th round and this is becoming one of those "only every 4-5 seasons" runs of form.

Today was a very important continuation of that form, showing that we are not dependent on Whiteman. Moore switched the balance superbly, with us being less guarded in possession and much quicker to get the ball forward.

We have a very hard February coming up, but the form over the past three months has earned us the right to have a couple or three stumbles and still be contenders.

If the playoffs are the target, another 40-42 points will probably be enough. So finishing the season with
P27 W12 D4-6 L9-11
would probably do it. That's 8th-10th place form. I'm struggling to see us dip below that, assuming a fair roll of the dice with injuries.

Chalk em off as the points come in.

[Barmby Rover]

Quite agree BST, fabulous form, but losing three squad members, JJ the latest yesterday, we desperately need some good reinforcement to carry on. Hopefully we have good nes coming in the next week or so.

[Chris Black come back]

The pass from Richards to set up the first goal yesterday was easily on par with Whiteman. Absolutely superb.

[dickos1]

The pass was from James wasnt it?

[DearneValleyRover]

It was Richards to James to Fejeri

[NickDRFC]

The pass from Richards to set up he first goal yesterday was easily on par with Whiteman. Absolutely superb.

The pass by Richards to James was good but the control to trap it by James, then thread it through the defence on the turn, was far more impressive for me.

[Chris Black come back]

Maybe I am forgetting this but there was a deep ball from Richards that went through their midfield, to James I think. Either way, it was a devastating move and finish.

[NickDRFC]

https://youtu.be/HM506dFn4hE

[Alan Southstand]

Shame about that Shrewsbury defeat! We’d have had a clean sweep over the last 5 games.

Bogey side coming up on Tuesday. Rochdale are scoring for fun, but also conceding for fun as well. Can we possibly keep this form going considering what we’re now faced with?

[drfchound]

Are they a bogey team for us Alan.
Two draws last season and we beat them twice the season before last, including that fabulous 5-0 at home.

[Alan Southstand]

It just feels that way to me, hound, but those stats say otherwise! Their recent goal scoring form is the worry, but equally, they havn’t come up against our very good defence!

[Chris Black come back]

It just feels that way to me, hound, but those stats say otherwise! Their recent goal scoring form is the worry, but equally, they havn’t come up against our very good defence!

They’ve kept more clean sheets in the league his season than we have!

[dickos1]

They’ve conceded 40 goals to our 21

[Chris Black come back]

That’s correct and we are knocking on the door of the top of the league, if we win our games in hand.

It is an oddity that we keep so few clean sheets, despite our overall defensive record being strong.

[Chris Black come back]

Wigan Athletic and AFC Wimbledon are both currently in relegation spots, and have kept same number of league clean sheets as us this season.

[dickos1]

I guess all this does is show you that clean sheets don’t really matter if you’re scoring every week.
Some managers will be more inclined to make sure the other team doesn’t score rather than trying to create themselves
Thankfully Moore isn’t of that mould

[adamtherover]

Remember when under sod we knew that if the other team scored first then we were screwed as we never scored 2,  now it seems that we bag 2 in the vast majority of games...  Meaning...  We always have a chance.

[drfchound]

Vindaloo anyone?

[Monkcaster_Rover]

Btts Rovers to win has to be a certainty for Tuesday.

0-0 inbound now I've said that.

[Pancho Regan]

https://youtu.be/HM506dFn4hE

Wow, that was quick thinking by Reece James.

[roverstillidie91]

With the exception of Hull the other 4 defeats have been to teams that are currently in the bottom half.

We simply have to get 6 points from our next 2 games takes us to Lincoln away we are generally renowned for doing better against the teams in and around us.

[Rovers91]

We need 6 points from the next 2 fixtures before the fun run in starts with Lincoln and finishing with Portsmouth. We will know after that run in if we are promotion candidates.

[BillyStubbsTears]

After Rochdale and Wimbledon we have

Lincoln (A)
Oxford (H)
Fleetwood (A)
Sunderland (A)
Accrington (H)
Hull (H)
Blackpool (A)
Ipswich (A)
Portsmouth (H)

If we do win the next two, I reckon 8 points from that tough run of 8 games would be OK. Not ideal but not disastrous. That would put us on 50 points from 29 games. We'd need another 26-28 points from the final 17 games to make the play-offs, and in those final 17 games, we'd only have 5 games left against teams currently in the top 10.

Anything more than 14 points from this next ten games and we are looking to be in the box seat for the playoffs at least. Count them off.

[Alan Southstand]

And the Portsmouth game is on the 2nd March, which means if JJ is out for 6 weeks, he’ll miss all those important fixtures.

Really highlights the problem we have if his injury is serious.

[BillyStubbsTears]

If the playoffs are the target, another 40-42 37-39 points will probably be enough. So finishing the season with
P27 26 W[/s]12[/s] 11 D4-6 L9-11
would probably do it. That's 8th-10th place form. I'm struggling to see us dip below that, assuming a fair roll of the dice with injuries.

Chalk em off as the points come in.

This run since the end of October, including FA Cup matches now stands at.

P15 W11 D2 L2.

Dutch or BRR or John Coyle might be interested in giving us an insight into how that compares with other good runs in our recent past.

Only recent ones that beat it that I can think of are:

P15 W11 D3 L1 in the middle of 16/17
P16 W13 D1 L2 in the middle of 07/08
P15 W12 D1 L2 up to Xmas in 03/04

And guess what happened all of those seasons...

[BillyStubbsTears]

Sometimes you do have to step back and see the big picture.

After an OK start to the season, we have hit superb form since October.

First 8 games were

P8 W4 D1 L3 Pts 13 PPG 1.63

Bottom end of playoff form

Since then, form has been

P11 W7 D2 L2 Pts 23 PPG 2.09
Title-winning form.

Add in a run to the Cup 4th round and this is becoming one of those "only every 4-5 seasons" runs of form.

Today was a very important continuation of that form, showing that we are not dependent on Whiteman. Moore switched the balance superbly, with us being less guarded in possession and much quicker to get the ball forward.

We have a very hard February coming up, but the form over the past three months has earned us the right to have a couple or three stumbles and still be contenders.

If the playoffs are the target, another 40-42 points will probably be enough. So finishing the season with
P27 W12 D4-6 L9-11
would probably do it. That's 8th-10th place form. I'm struggling to see us dip below that, assuming a fair roll of the dice with injuries.

Chalk em off as the points come in.

Turning into a quite exceptional run if league form now.

P13 W9 D2 L2 Pts 29 PPG 2.23

I'm guessing that, barring that phenomenal run by O'Driscoll's side in 07/08, this could be the best run of form we've had in this division in the past 60 years. In only just over a quarter of a season, we've won about 40% of the points you need for a playoff spot.

And with a threadbare squad for much of it. Tonight, on the bench, we had Wright and 6 others who have made a total of 1 league start between them in their careers.

Picking a match at random from O'Driscoll's run, when we won at Leeds, the bench was Hayter, Woods, Wilson, Mills and Guy.

[BillyStubbsTears]

By the way, ending the season like this will almost certainly secure a playoff spot now.
P25 W10 D4-6 L9-11

[Forkbeard]

I think BST is referring to to most recent dozen or so matches.

[BobG]

He sure is Fork. 13 matches to be exact.

BobG

[NickDRFC]

The more recent league form in the run that BST highlights is even more impressive - 7 wins from the last 8, with the only slip up bring the Shrewsbury game.