Can Wanderers Mackem pay? - Official Match Thread

[BL3]

eighth is fine but we are 4 points clear of 14th and as someone else has said- fine margins

...and 5 behind 7th, or do those 'fine margins' only apply if we're looking down?

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

no

but i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

as an aside - with hindsight now that they are probably safe who would take Birmingham's season over ours?

[superjohnmcginlay]

Anyone comparing this year to GM wants their bumps feeling. Yeah it's a damp end to the season, but we've spent nearly all of it in the top half, worry free, got to an FA cup semi final and had some of the best days in years. Fecking miles better. Though on the other hand we didn't win the league. Injuries hurt teams with small squads. Small and quality over big and shit ta.

As for today, we deserved a point. Defo didn't deserve to lose. Folk saying Sunderland were good were going off the expectation their wonky team would be dreadful. They weren't and played pretty well. That said, Jussi made two saves? Mignolet saved two one one ones, Sturridge hit the bar, rolled one past the far post and Davies had one he couldn't have hit any sweeter cleared off the line. Added to the fact we should have had a penalty twice (maybe freekick for the second? ) in the space of seconds JUST before they scored.

We're a good team missing depth.

I'll go with that. They just look like they've run out of steam for me.

I think you've got to give sunderland a bit of credit particularly for shutting us down in the first half. They were on us all the time and cut out the space. Ol' bentnose did his homework.

What's worrying is we didn't know what to do.

AND I had a fooking terrible pint in Manchester on the way.

Bad day.

[BWFC_Insane]

We may be a "good team" missing depth but a Sunderland team missing 11 first teamers were sill better than us yesterday!

[superjohnmcginlay]

That's what I said.

[BL3]

i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

Most people would have probably said the same before the start of this season...

[Worthy4England]

I don't remember an awful lot of positivity after the 08/09 season when we finished 13th, safe by easter?

There's a lot you conveniently don't remember about 08/09. Not least of which is when Easter was. You're retrofitting facts to match your argument.

There were 6 games left on Easter Monday 2009. We were 7 points clear of the drop. By my maths, that's 18 points left to play for.

We had 37 points from 32 games.

Retrospectively that was safe.

This year from 32 games we had 43 points. If you don't think 6 points is a big difference, you need your bumps feeling.

[BWFC_Insane]

I don't remember an awful lot of positivity after the 08/09 season when we finished 13th, safe by easter?

There's a lot you conveniently don't remember about 08/09. Not least of which is when Easter was. You're retrofitting facts to match your argument.

There were 6 games left on Easter Monday 2009. We were 7 points clear of the drop. By my maths, that's 18 points left to play for.

We had 37 points from 32 games.

Retrospectively that was safe.

This year from 32 games we had 43 points. If you don't think 6 points is a big difference, you need your bumps feeling.

Lets hope then that this season is actually better at the end as determined by final league position.

It will be a crying shame to throw it all away now.

[Armchair Wanderer]

I didn't see this game but still really looking forward to the City game. Win or lose hopefully they do a parade after the game like last year. Good season in my book, despite finishing slowly.

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

Most people would have probably said the same before the start of this season...

myself included. and to some extent i was right. we have had some very good performances this season and on the whole the entertainment has been much much better ... but lets be honest there has also been some abject dross (Stoke away, the semi, Brum home spring to mind). i don't think our league position should lead to complacency about what needs to improve

[BL3]

i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

Most people would have probably said the same before the start of this season...

myself included. and to some extent i was right.

Were you? So we haven't mounted a realistic challenge for a Europa League place for most of the season? We didn't get to the F.A. Cup semi-final?

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

we have and we did.
but the "to some extent" part of my post allows me the qualification that we also fell short in both while still having a lingering fear of being dragged into a relegation battle as late as what mid- March?

so for you everything in the garden is rosy then?
with no improvements to the squad we will definately achieve next season what we have this?

[BWFC_Insane]

i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

Most people would have probably said the same before the start of this season...

myself included. and to some extent i was right.

Were you? So we haven't mounted a realistic challenge for a Europa League place for most of the season? We didn't get to the F.A. Cup semi-final?

We're as many points off a Europa league place as we are off the bottom three and relegation.

I somehow don't think thats a "realistic challenge" anymore than its a season of fighting relegation!

[Beefheart]

i do suggest it is a "finer margin" between us being mediocre-poor next season with the current squad than it is being a team who will challenge for trophies/get into Europe.

Most people would have probably said the same before the start of this season...

myself included. and to some extent i was right.

Were you? So we haven't mounted a realistic challenge for a Europa League place for most of the season? We didn't get to the F.A. Cup semi-final?

We're as many points off a Europa league place as we are off the bottom three and relegation.

I somehow don't think thats a "realistic challenge" anymore than its a season of fighting relegation!

Only because this season 2 of the europa league places have been taken by the cups though. Another year and 7th could have been enough.

[BL3]

We're as many points off a Europa league place as we are off the bottom three and relegation.

I somehow don't think thats a "realistic challenge" anymore than its a season of fighting relegation!

We've mounted a realistic challenge for Europe for most of this season via the league, not to mention the cup run. When have we ever been in any danger of relegation?

[BL3]

we have and we did.
but the "to some extent" part of my post allows me the qualification that we also fell short in both while still having a lingering fear of being dragged into a relegation battle as late as what mid- March?

so for you everything in the garden is rosy then?
with no improvements to the squad we will definately achieve next season what we have this?

So you're now claiming to have been proved partly right because we've just fallen short, even though you didn't think we were remotely capable of challenging in the first place? That's a bit like saying we'll be relegated next season and then claiming to have been proved partly right when we finish fourth bottom.

Who says there's not going to be any 'improvements to the squad', or are you just trying to load the dice favour of your pessimistic outlook again?

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

no - i'm claiming to have been proved partly right because in a fair percentage of games this season we have been shite- not poor, not "not quite at it" but shite and we have fallen short (not just short) because of that shiteness.
and if i said next season we will be in a relegation scrap and finished fourth bottom i'd be right.
but i'm not saying that- i'm saying we may well be mediocre unless improvements are made

[thebish]

no - i'm claiming to have been proved partly right because in a fair percentage of games this season we have been shite- not poor, not "not quite at it" but shite and we have fallen short (not just short) because of that shiteness.
and if i said next season we will be in a relegation scrap and finished fourth bottom i'd be right.
but i'm not saying that- i'm saying we may well be mediocre unless improvements are made

to be "mediocre" - if it is not a relegation dogfight is actually pretty good for a club of our size - especially when you bear in mind how long we have now survived at the top table...

I bet West Ham fans would bite your hand off for our season right now...

[HMX]

West Ham are too good to go down. They should be in Europe

[lovethesmellofnapalm]

and "mediocre" is exactly what we were under Megson
would you be biting off any hands for that?