The Great Escape

Which is why myself a few others have said we need to chuck money at a decent loan signing.

They don’t have to be prem level, any other top league would still be ok, but they have to be proven at the top level, anything else is a complete waste of time.

We’re in a position where we can’t undercook it, we can’t try and gamble on getting it just right, we have to go ott to give ourselves the best chance of survival. That is of course if the owners even think it’s possible.

Relying on a player who played well for us a good few years ago in a lower league, and hoping that they will all off a sudden start scoring regularly in the premier league is not even close to enough.

 

I meant they would be unlikely to come on loan as they would have better options, Giroud included.

 

I think it depends on how much you pay them. It’s not ideal but we’re talking a half season loan. I’m sure there are plenty of players who would come for the right amount of money, and in the grand scheme of the premiership tv money the figure wouldn’t be that significant if it kept us up.

Our league position means there is no perfect solution, but I think we need to go big whatever we do.

 

I hear you but it was more about shaking both players up a bit. Giving them a new start & purpose is all it takes sometimes. Nothing really much to lose for either club if they did a Jan 6 month swap deal until the summer.

 

A loan is the best option by far. As you allude to, players could come for half a season that wouldn’t sign for us full time. We can get a player on loan.

So it is more realistic.

but also, January signings often fail In the short term. We need our current squad to deliver, and hope any January signings will add to it.

 

It'll be someone like Niang on loan, who scores 3 goals, does not buy into Nigels plan and is dissapointing. Or Ighalo.

 

It is more realistic. But the better players will still have more attractive options. Hence the very short list of names being suggested. Giroud will go to France or Spain.

 

I'm not our Sporting Director mate, it doesn't matter which player I suggest, and you don't actually have to have the literal answer to be able to tell when another suggestion is bad; particularly when it's one we already possess and are therefore already aware of in all their glorious failings.

 

Vydra in all his time in the Prem has started only 10 games scoring 4 goals (https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/matej-vydra/leistungsdaten/spieler/101500/plus/1?saison=ges). He's played for two clubs that both had managers that don't play to his strengths at all. Think it's very harsh to write him off as having the ability to do something. In my opinion it's best finisher we have had this decade (Graham may pip him). I know we are all a bit obsessed with him but I really believe he'd be a viable option.

 

We’re not in a position where we can gamble on him suddenly being able to score regularly at PL level though.

if we were mid table then fine we’d having nothing to lose, but we’re 6 points adrift, so we need to go for the absolute best we can possibly get and hope even thats enough.

 

So far so good. I bet the majority will be gutted if I get all these correct.

 

Yep. Today was a good result. Roll on 3 points against Villa!

 

The thing that’s killing us is results elsewhere. As it stands under your predictions even if no one else wins another match we’re in the relegation zone until after Everton.

 

40 points may not be enough. We need to finish above 3 sides and the way Wet spam, Southampton etc keep picking up points it’s not obvious who the 3rd will be.

 

It's the so called big clubs dropping points against the supposed strugglers which is messing things up for USA's well as our own short comings

 

It would only be by Wolves, surely?

Edit: ignore me, I’m counting points we’ve already got from the first two games!

 

I've always felt it would be a higher than usual total required this season to stay up, which of course does not bode well for us.

Villa could be a killer. We have to win this one. It's vital in order to claw back those clubs above us. As I thought a while ago, when it was Spurs, Everton, West Ham and United down near the bottom you could ignore these clubs. It was the clubs who were on 15 points at the time were the teams we needed to chase down. These were Newcastle, Palace, Brighton, Bournemouth, and this is how it's looking now.

We picked up 4 points from two tough games, yet our position has not improved. In fact it looks a little more hopeless than before. This is because our starting position was so incredibly bad. We've got to continue this good run and get back-to-back victories in order to catch up the pack and hope that Southampton, Brighton, Bournemouth & West Ham don't win their two. This would put us within 2 or 3 points of safety if that happened.

It's not going to be a quick turnaround. We have to be very good for at least 10 games in order to get to a position where we can feel we have got a really good chance of staying up.

Looking at the table, I'd say those clubs from Everton upwards have enough points in the bag to be ok this season, unless someone has an incredibly bad run out of the blue. Burnley, Palace, Newcastle and Sheff Utd are 4 clubs I would have thought would be in the shake-up and of course one of them could go on a bad run if they get a lot of injuries, but all being equal I can't see them falling back, especially Sheff Utd. They're safe for sure now.

 

I don’t think we can worry too much about the teams above us picking up points, everybody can’t win all the time, if the teams immediately above us are winning they’ll just be replaced by other teams.

We know in a sort of reverse way, from that run of 1 win in 10 or 11 under Silva when we still only got to within 4 points of the drop zone, that equally it’s going to take a long time to close the gap and get out of trouble.

 

Just think, back-to-back wins will change everything. If we do that, then on the back of our 4 points, confidence will be high and all of a sudden we'll look like the most inform side in the bottom half and the one everyone will be talking us up.

 

This.

At some point we need to worry about other teams, but now we just need to pick up points

 

At least we could potentially improve.

Norwich are playing great football, making chances and still losing.

 

You should do it as an accumulator

 

In a couple months time, once we're pulling away from the relegation zone we'll all be moaning about how boring it is.

 

Looking at the table at the half way point, it's beginning to take shape. You can see the pre-season favourites for bottom half being forming. Only Sheff Utd and Palace are looking capable of a top half finish from the pre-season predictions.

Worryingly the team in 17th place has 19 points with a game in hand then it's 20 points from 19 games, with a small group on 20-22 points. I say worryingly because if you expand that over an entire season it's going to be at least 40 points to stay up this season. There is always a little wag in struggling teams too, which tends to produce a few extra points in the second half of the season.

If that plays out as I think it may, then it will be tough for us to stay up. I've predicted a pretty much best case scenario, and we still only achieve 40 points. We have to hope there is a collapse from two other clubs in order for us to climb above them. I don't think anyone needs to worry about Norwich anymore.

 

Slightly less worryingly, West Ham’s game in hand is against Liverpool.

 

Leicester putting reserves out against West Ham which will help them.

 

Looking at form and the table I think Newcastle muff wet spam and the bottom 3 are going to be the teams in the thick of it. 5 fixtures to play 2 at home 3 away, 15 points up for grabs in those games. Put us on 31. Need to carry on with our home form, make the Vic a fortress. If wet spam continue the way their going Pellegrini will be gone sooner than later. Can the sex shop boys figure out a mastermind replacement like the Pozzo’s?


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Anyone like me to pick their Lottery ticket numbers?

 

Well, of your next predictions I’d rather take a loss against wolves and win against Muff than two draws, then target a draw against spurs and another win against Villa. So I hope your next few are wrong.

 

Help who?

 

We win all of our games up until Liverpool.

 

Go on then, Ill take you up on it. Give me 7 numbers & I'll do them. If it comes in you will get a share.

 

Looking at that now, I think we’ve more chance getting points away at Chelsea and Arsenal than Brighton and palace. But that’s current form anything can change. I fancy wolves to get something at Anfield tomorrow and playing us on a massive high and getting brought back to earth


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