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Also highlighted in red games against Doncaster and Sutton who are both on a 4 game win streak.
We could do with winning one of these away games to stand any chance. Then we need to win all three home games to set up a grand finale on the last day.
For these things to happen we need four things to be true.
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We need to re-find that midfield balance. Hopefully Earing returns but if not, then Jellis needs to feature.
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Isaac Hutchinson needs to re-find his shooting boots
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We need a striker to hit a mini purple patch
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We need a bit of luck
All that said, we’re into the last four weeks of the season and it’s alive for all the right reasons. I think we’ll come up short but for those of us wanting to see progress, we can’t really argue.
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I cannot see us making the play offs. We lack forward power and have key players injured or just returning from injury. I think if we make them it will be something of a miracle and great credit to our staff. I am content to see the progress we have made this season but to turn us into a promotion team we need strengthening especially in the forward positions. At least 2 possibly 3 quality permanent forward players are needed. I would add to that a competitive RWB if we are to continue with playing 3 at the back( a system I don’t like) and 2 CBs (they could be loanees) .I am assuming Maher, Jellis and Weir will all be active members of the first team squad and the injured ones Williams, McEntee etc will make complete recoveries.
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Why don’t you like 3 at the back?
The result against MK was very hard to take and in hindsight our returns from the likes of FGR and Sutton do not look as bad now considering their upturn in form but it just feels like this team is running on empty and about to splutter to a halt.
Our entire season has been decimated by injuries to key players and losing Freddie who was the focal point of our attach really hurt us. Since then our form only really picked up when Jamma found his feet and was an absolute beast. However, he isn’t a spring chicken and as witnessed yesterday is really struggling now, although he is still giving 100% (as are they all) I just think that his body has taken a beating and we are expecting too much of him.
Plus without Earring the midfield just doesn’t click, Hutch looks a shadow of the player he was 3 months ago and his confidence must be rock bottom. What recent results have shown us is that we are great a set pieces but we very rarely finish chances created in open play.
When we have a fully fit squad and used correctly I think this team could compete with the best this division has to offer but neither of those parameters have occurred consistently through out the season. We have a group of hard working players with a great team spirit but unless one of the forwards or Hutch hits a run of form I cannot see us making the play offs.
That said I am just glad we are still talking about them in April … a rare occurrence indeed !
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I agree Andy and would very much echo my initial thoughts on what would constitute a good season which appears to have been all but achieved, we have the best base to build on for next season, in terms of how we have improved through this season, a rookie manager who now has a years experience under his belt and will be all the better for it and the vast majority of the squad, for a decade or so for me.
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The one thing that worries me is
Remember the Wembley debacle? thousands of fans turning up to watch us epically fail? and THAT was with a fairly experienced manager.
Imagine us getting into a play off place with this team and management, such is the unpredictability of this league and other teams around us, it is certainly not impossible
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Get what you’re saying. Only thing I’d say is I’d rather be embarrassed in a Wembley final than being embarrassed by battling to stay in the league.
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I agree I feel we’re running on empty a little. It’s been a long long season and a young side has been stretched to its limits by injuries pretty much all season.
I’m not as convinced as many that draper going back was such a problem. He was never going
To continue in the same form and like every other player he’d have had a spell out the side and / or not scoring and it’s possible all that Faal has done is replace what Freddie would’ve done….we’ll never know and of course Freddie staying in form would’ve been a different matter….i just don t think he would’ve done…
I’m not having this. He did ok but he was also struggling for form after his initial return. He was needing his minutes to be managed but he was pretty uninfluential in a fair few of his games. In fact since Grimsby he had 1 goal and 1 assist and has been hailed the catalyst for the midfield while in the same period Hutch has had 2 goals and 5 assists but has been vilified.
As a 3 him hutch and Comley did give us a good balance and I agree his game isn’t only to be measured by his goals / assist return but it is important….but Earing in a midfield without hutch would leave us even more disjointed and hutch and earing without Comley would also!
The narrative train on hutch is running away with itself too. He played well yesterday. Too much of what he does goes unnoticed and he outperformed Comley in the areas Comley is there for and being heralded for.
Of course his game will suffer if we as a team don’t perform….and it will suffer if there are no other outlets for opposition managers / players to focus their attention on……no manager has ever done a team talk on how to prevent Comley from doing his job but it’s a certainty it happens every week for Hutch.
But….if you take a closer look at the Grimsby game for example his numbers in his all round game weren’t as good as they were for yesterday….the noticeable difference of course is two goals v Grimsby but one was a penalty and one was similar to the shot he had yesterday which went past the post…the difference between success and failure being about 3 inches!!
I unfortunately completely agree with this.
We’ll know more a week Tuesday as two wins, one of which is a game in hand give a much clearer picture and could make it a straight fight with us and Crawley with 4 to play 
Could even be two play offs places up for grabs as Crewe seem to have fallen off a cliff.
Still have to play Wrexham, Colchester and Morecambe in their last five.
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I don’t think that is fair about Wembley to be fair.
Firstly, we had a few players playing with injuries, the team selection was debatable but all the same.
More importantly, Bristol City are one of the best teams in memory to play at that level. They pissed the league and were a class above everyone else. It wasn’t a great performance by us, but if you took the emotion of Walsall being at Wembley out of it, it wasn’t really unexpected.
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Two principal reasons. There is often space behind the wing backs which can be exploited unless the CBs have great pace. The other reason is that at our level wing backs who can play the role well are a rarity. Our 2 first choices get lots of criticism …they cannot cross the ball, they cannot defend etc. Even yesterday I was reading criticism of Gordon yet to me he had a fine game. When our first choices are not available then we don’t have anyone else who can play the role well. I think Foulkes did ok yesterday although he came in for some rough treatment but a he is no wing back in my opinion.
I have just thought of a 3rd reason…I am an old fashioned chap who prefers wingers!!!
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Gordon was very good yesterday. His run led to the corner for the goal and he covered well. He had some rough treatment from the Salford players but handled it well.
Wing back is a tough position to play. The good thing about Gordon and Knowles is that they are both comfortable on the ball, have pace and are not afraid to go forward. Our alternatives, with the possible exception of Allen, do not have these qualities.
You and I are both old enough to remember the old-fashioned wingers. No one has them anymore but often they were the exciting players. Lots of our goals game from the flank players but I do not recall Colin Taylor tacking back!
Who was our last good out and out winger, in the sense of being a purely attacking player? Wes?
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Good post. In the days of CT the system was basically 4-2-4 and liked it…I wonder what would happen if anyone tried it today!!! All I know is we scored lots of goals but conceded a few too!!!
Probably the same thing!
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I’m fairly sure Pep played 4-2-4 at Man City a season or two ago. No doubt probably looked very different to what you are talking about though.
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I think if we tried it down here, the midfield two would be so overwhelmed, we’d have to resort to hoofing it to the front four.
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Instead of the front 2 you mean 
Got to admit that’s one of my biggest misses in modern football. Looking back the likes of Hodge, Houghton and Wrack were some of my favourite players to watch. I would say they got you out of your seat but we were already standing !
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