Gav says…
I’m going to be really boring and clichéd here, but we have to take it one game at a time. If we beat Spurs on Sunday – and, regardless of what anyone thinks or says, that would still be a huge win given the amount of quality they actually have at their disposal, and the fact that this will be their new manager’s first game in charge – then I reckon people will start believing that we can actually do it.
Winning the home game places less pressure on us going to Villa, who are not in the best of form,
yet are in a pretty confident fourth position, five points clear of Liverpool. A draw would be amazing at Villa Park, but I wouldn’t be too disheartened if we lost. The mad thing is that even despite the fact they’re flying, it honestly would not shock or surprise me if we managed to get something, because we are a match for any team in this league on our day, and with so many players returning from injury, I reckon we’re in with a shout.
Then, we’ve got games against Forest and Wolves, and in the case of Forest, they’re scrapping for survival, so it won’t be easy. We’ve been better than them all season, though, but I don’t like us when we’re expected to beat a team, and that makes it tough to predict what will happen in those two games. I’d be over the moon with four points, which I reckon would have us on seven from four games – not a bad return.
After that, we’ll hopefully be in some proper scraps against other teams hoping to qualify for Europe. It feels far too early to say what will happen in those games, but I’m hoping that we can escape from Everton with a draw and then nick a win from either of our last two matches – preferably Chelsea. Imagine if we did that and qualified for Europe on the final day of the season, at home in front of our own fans? If we’ve still got something to play for going into that game, the atmosphere will be unbelievable, and I reckon we’ll do them.
That’s a very optimistic prediction of events, in which we possibly only lose two more games between now and the end of the season, but that’s what I’m going with. This team has taken us to some ridiculous places over the last twelve months, and there’s a feeling right in the pit of my stomach that we are not done yet.
John Wilson says…
Not only do I not like computer predictions that make no consideration for players’ attitudes and approaches to various games, but I also don’t like predictions in any form!
The reason for this is that you never really know which version of your team is going to turn up. Wolves, for example, are already in full “Let’s generate some momentum for next season” mode, whilst Spurs are about (I’d guess) to start fighting big time, as are Nottingham Forest.
The Lads love to be underdogs, and for me, it isn’t the Wolves and Spurs games that will necessarily provide us with points — I’d be more of the opinion to gamble that we’ll give Manchester United and Chelsea proper scares.
Like I say, no one is ever sure of the mindset of the team.
If we were absolutely up for every remaining game, fifty-six points is very doable, but I don’t think we’ve quite mastered the art of top-level consistency yet, so I don’t see us getting anything from Aston Villa or Everton.
We’ll have to battle for points during the other five games, so a return of a couple of wins and three draws is absolutely the top limit for me. If it’s a computer-type prediction you’re looking for, it’s a total of fifty-two points for me: top ten and above ‘the Visitors’ — got to be happy days.
Malc Dugdale says…
I’m not sure how much I agree with these computer predictions, despite being employed for many years in the IT world — but if this “guesstimate” is about right, I think we have a real chance.
The games against Spurs, Nottingham Forest, and Wolves have to be the go-to three-point expectation areas, and having teams who are embroiled in the drop zone in our last seven is a good thing from the perspective that they’re down there for a reason.
On the flip side, they’re all playing for survival. Both Forest and Wolves have occasionally had some good results of late, while Spurs have yet another new head coach. With that all in the mix, form and odds can go down the pan very quickly.
Assuming we get those three wins, I’d be very happy with a point against Aston Villa, but I see that as a low likelihood. If we got three points from Manchester United at home and Everton away (who are also very much in the mix), the home game against Chelsea could be the decider.
All we can do is knock over one peg at a time and see how it pans out, but it shows our season is far from over, nor are our aspirations of nicking a Europe spot at the first time of asking under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
