The Playoff Thread | Vital Football

The Playoff Thread

Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

Vital Football Legend
Playoffs have started.

League One tonight- Charlton Vs Shrewsbury. I think I would prefer Shrewsbury for the novelty.

Derby tomorrow at Pride Park where we all hope that Fulham take their sexual frustrations out on the Rams with a big old arse buggering

Middlesbrough would be my preference for promotion, in order to relieve the sheer tediun of having to play them again
 
I think I speak for everyone in wishing Derby all the best, they've been an outstanding footballing side for a long time and only cruel misfortune has prevented the premiership from experiencing the Derby way.
 
Fulham playing shit.
Why did none of our playoff opponents ever play shit? Our opponents always seemed to have the game of their lives.

Awful goal to concede. I thought Michael Mancienne must have been masquerading in a Fulham shirt by how easily their man was beaten in the air
 
If they go (every possibility) that will be the most depressing thing in the world. It really will sum up how awful we've been last few years!
 
Mistakeogh hasn’t done anything stupid for a while so we’ve got that to look forward to. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
 
Pope John XXIII said:
Fulham playing shit.
Why did none of our playoff opponents ever play shit? Our opponents always seemed to have the game of their lives.

Awful goal to concede. I thought Michael Mancienne must have been masquerading in a Fulham shirt by how easily their man was beaten in the air
Click to expand...
Fulham have gone to shit at precisely the wrong time. Just hope they rediscover their mojo for the second leg.

Don’t remember Swansea being all that great to be honest. They were just solid and we bottled it totally, looking devoid of any ideas.

Scunthorpe today so another chance to get a look at Ryan Yates.
 
Basha73 said:
Fulham have gone to shit at precisely the wrong time. Just hope they rediscover their mojo for the second leg.

Don’t remember Swansea being all that great to be honest. They were just solid and we bottled it totally, looking devoid of any ideas.

Scunthorpe today so another chance to get a look at Ryan Yates.
Click to expand...

They out in a great performance with 10 men at the CG and in the first half at their place.

We were dire though.

But we have been in every playoff game.

We have won ONE playoff game out of 8 and have never won one at home.

A truly pathetic record.
 
Pope John XXIII said:
They out in a great performance with 10 men at the CG and in the first half at their place.

We were dire though.

But we have been in every playoff game.

We have won ONE playoff game out of 8 and have never won one at home.

A truly pathetic record.
Click to expand...
I agree that we were dire that night but that was the problem. Swansea just sat back and said ‘come and break us down’ and we failed to do that utterly.

At their place they came out ready and we...didn’t. They got what they needed then again sat back and hit us on the counter.

It actually felt over the two legs like we didn’t want to win which was bizarre.
 
Basha73 said:
I agree that we were dire that night but that was the problem. Swansea just sat back and said ‘come and break us down’ and we failed to do that utterly.

At their place they came out ready and we...didn’t. They got what they needed then again sat back and hit us on the counter.

It actually felt over the two legs like we didn’t want to win which was bizarre.
Click to expand...
The killer for us was their sending off.

We were prepared for an attacking side that we could hit on the counter and pick apart the space they left.

Instead, within five minutes the game plan we had prepared for was blown to pieces and suddenly the whole onus was on us to relentlessly control possession and attack well defended territory.

It just wasnt us at all. I remember being in the stands away at Scunny that season when they nicked a goal and we spent the entire game in and around their box trying to find the equaliser while they defended like it was Raukes Drift. We struggled against teams that parked the bus and once Swansea parked it we were always in trouble.

And then we had a continual bane of our lives, Stephen Bloody Dobbie... Never has such a bang average player been so devastating against just our club
 
Pretty much agree entirely with that. We just didn’t seem to have any clue at all going forward.

The players seemed to have no ability to improvise or think for themselves. If a team did something unexpected or set up to defend then we didn’t have a clue.

That’s my main fear under AK. That for all the controlled possession and decent passing stats we won’t have the ruthlessness to go after teams and put them to the sword.

Not since the days of Hart have we had a side that was great to watch going forward.
 
Basha73 said:
Pretty much agree entirely with that. We just didn’t seem to have any clue at all going forward.

The players seemed to have no ability to improvise or think for themselves. If a team did something unexpected or set up to defend then we didn’t have a clue.

That’s my main fear under AK. That for all the controlled possession and decent passing stats we won’t have the ruthlessness to go after teams and put them to the sword.

Not since the days of Hart have we had a side that was great to watch going forward.
Click to expand...

Disagree with the last bit- Davies' side was great going forward. Anyone finds it hard when teams park the bus- just look at Man Utd recently, and Fulham last night could do nothing about Derby.

But I do agree with you about Karanka. That was exactly the problem he had at Boro. I would argue that we have been less defensively minded than he was there so far, but that might just be because we are less defensively competent. We all remember forest going there under Freedman, getting the goal and parking the bus.

Under AK that will be our problem. But it is a problem for almost any manager when a side is determined to defend.

That's why we need to inject at least an element of Warnock.and become more adept at scoring from set pieces and aerially, as then there is always a chance
 
See apart from some notable exceptions such as Leicester an WBA I always thought we were ‘functional’ going forward and somewhat ponderous at times.

Don’t get me wrong we were a good side - well drilled and a match for most but we never had that freewheeling feel partly because Billy demanded that we defend from the front.

It is difficult against teams that park the bus but as you say that’s where we need to become more adept at forcing and then converting set pieces.

We also need to come out firing rather than the slow, measured (if I am being kind) starts we have seemed to make to most games. Hard to park the bus if you are a goal down in the first five or ten minutes.
 
Basha73 said:
I agree that we were dire that night but that was the problem. Swansea just sat back and said ‘come and break us down’ and we failed to do that utterly.

At their place they came out ready and we...didn’t. They got what they needed then again sat back and hit us on the counter.

It actually felt over the two legs like we didn’t want to win which was bizarre.
Click to expand...

Regarding your last sentence, all I'm going to say is, I have it on very good authority, that that's true!
 
Will.NFFC said:
Regarding your last sentence, all I'm going to say is, I have it on very good authority, that that's true!
Click to expand...
I just don't believe that.

I understand that there were various warring parties at work and dark stuff behind the scenes, but nobody benefitted from us remaining in the championship whereas promotion would have been in everyone's interest even if, inevitably, there was a parting of the ways.

How many of the key protagonists ever fought for promotion again or even remained in football as it worked out?
 
Obviously without knowing the truth of the matter there were rumours at the time that Billy had effectively thrown the playoffs as a sort of protest but for the reasons Pope has mentioned I found it bizarre at the time and still find it bizarre now, if true.

After his behaviour in his second stint though, I am not sure there was much that was beyond him...
 
Basha73 said:
Obviously without knowing the truth of the matter there were rumours at the time that Billy had effectively thrown the playoffs as a sort of protest but for the reasons Pope has mentioned I found it bizarre at the time and still find it bizarre now, if true.

After his behaviour in his second stint though, I am not sure there was much that was beyond him...
Click to expand...

How do you throw a playoff?

Defence was the same as it had been previously. The dreadful Maloney was at left back but he had been in the first leg and the last few games of the season.

Davies went with McGoldrick and Tudgay up front which was the only slightly unusual thing rather than Boyd and Earnshaw as in the first leg. That's hardly throwing the game though.

Formation was the same, midfield replaced Anderson with Tyson but he had done that in the second leg the previous year too.

Do we seriously believe that Billy Davies could tell these players to throw a playoff game and their chance of PL football for his own nefarious ends and expect them to one?

What was in it for the players?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.