Thetownend.com

Having experienced a few in the past, this doesn't feel like one to me.
Lots of away wins, yes.
General momentum, no.
Near top end of table, yes.
Secure defence, no.
Winning when playing badly, sometimes.
Late winners?
Late defeats, too many.
Growing attendances? No.
Overall positivity? No.
Feeling of togetherness? No.
I don't think we're quite going to make if this year....

Since the start of the season I've maintained that we can finish top 3 and if we could field our best 11 players every game we still could (or indeed if Flitcroft knew who those best 11 were). That's obviously not possible though and our lack of depth at the back along with Flitcroft's spat with Vigouroux, will ultimately cost us one of those top spots I fear.

I think that come the end of the season we'll narrowly miss out on the autos and be wondering how we couldn't have just scraped a draw at home to Crawley or Barnet, if only a scrappy defeat to Newport couldn't have been a scrappy win or ruing those last minute goals conceded at Cheltenham, Lincoln and Wycombe - I think it could be that close.

Having said that, anything can happen in the play offs and we've shown that besides having the ability to lose to anyone we can also beat anyone. If we were to lose in the play offs we should be starting next season a lot better placed than this. I'm sure we'd lose Elsnik but we don't have a squad full of loanees this time - Taylor and Richards are surely good for another year, sign Banks, extend Preston, get Conroy back from injury, a few shrewd signings here and there and we could be next season's Luton.

Not sure where I stand on Flitcroft at this point, I'd be leaning towards letting him go if we stay down.

So to answer the question I will give a resounding...

maybe... :hmmm:

Reg hasn't mentioned relegation yet, so yes, yes it does.

I just don't want us to have to suffer going to Cheltenham again next season

Ask me at the end of the season

No it doesn't. We're in with a shout, but so are so many other teams.

The last couple of times we've been in this division, we've been one of the best couple of teams and in the top three for the majority of the season, and they felt like promotion seasons.
I don't think we've been in the top three once yet and are one of the top 5-7 teams easily, but playoffs is our only hope I fear.

We're just not consistent enough. We've improved since Jan thanks to the new additions, but still dodgy at the back and in goal.

I'm not a fan of Flitcroft. He talks like a politician; meaningless soundbites & clichés.

sounds about fair.

still think we could finish between 2nd and 12th. i think playoffs are most likely. Would we win them? Anybody in them can win them.

it certainly doesn't feel like an automatic promotion season right now.

Apart from Luton will it feel like it for any team ? Accrington maybe but their running is horrific

No which probably means it will be. We are due a win at the new Wemberley anyway. The support at Wycombe suggests that not all the fan base is as apathetic as some would have us believe, although believe we would struggle to get more than15k fans to a play off final this time around. Beating Mansfield there would be a nice end to the season though in front of their mainly juvenile support - was anyone else in the Merlin on Saturday when a coach load of what looked like mainly under 15 kids arrived??

Play off final at another venue would be welcome

When are the league 2 play-offs this season?

final is Monday 28th may, division 4

https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/key-dates/ (https://www.efl.com/clubs-and-competitions/key-dates/)

It doesn't... But it could be. The last two times we were down here the fans were engaged before the season started with the ex-Premier league appointments and I think that helped big time. Well that and the fact that with Di Canio we smashed just about everyone.

 This doesn't feel quite like any other of our Div 4 seasons, and Div 4 isn't like the others with 3 up auto and a PO down to 7th. Which does mean you might go up without it actually feeling like a promo season.

 I don't suppose many Blackpool fans thought they'd go up last season when they entered March on 44 points, having won just once since Boxing Day. Then like us now there were 13 games to go they won 8, drew a couple and got to finish 7th on 70 points.  That tells us that there are still a dozen sides probably down to Newport who still have a chance of a least a PO slot.

I'm just glad that Flitters has restored a bit of pride into the players wearing the shirt.

It has the feel of a play off season to me, I still hope the feel good promotion feeling will come.

Thanks Batch. I am away for the final. Woohoo! :)

No.

We will lose on penalties in the play off semis, after a last minute Norris effort is deflected off a floodlight pylon to dribble past a stationary RCC.
The officiating team will not notice that the ball had gone out of play.

We normally struggle after an unsuccessful play off campaign, so a long period of decline will set in as we descend to lower mid table L2 obscurity.

Reg will go to DEFCON 1.
Owner, Lee Power, in a rare interview will declare himself satisfied with the progress that the club is making.

Until, many years from now, last game of the season and needing a win to avoid relegation, down to 8 men, a corner in the 10th minute of added time, up steps long serving goalkeeper Vigoroux (who has turned down numerous offers from the Outer Mongolian Premier League to remain with the club) to volley in from 30 yards.

This brings the club to the attention of a Russo-Chinese-Arab multi billionaire oligarch who likes an underdog and who made their money from the exploitation of the former Amazonian Rainforest.

And so begins a financial dope fuelled journey where the club will sweep all before it.

The managers of the big six lead complaints about the unfairness of it all.
Arsene Wenger, clinging onto his job at L1 Arsenal is also vociferous with his opinion.

As large parts of Shrivenham Road are demolished to make way for the new 60k seater stadium, significant elements of the fan base hark back wistfully to the good old days of L1 & L2.

And Batch complains that the season ticket is only being renewed because the great grand children still like to go.

Jayo thinks it's all fucking boring and vows to stop going, again.

The Reg Smeeton Forum, recently renamed after the tragic implosion of Reg carries on as normal.

great grandchildren
cheeky fucker

:)

( I'm mostly enjoying this season)

We need to go on a run. We've got a favourable run in, and if we perform properly, will be there or thereabouts for 3rd.

When we've escaped div2 in the past the Town have been blessed with a good goalkeeper. Somthing sorley missing this time. Yes if we go on a 7 match unbeaten run then well make it but I can't see our form being anything but inconsistant. Looking at the games in hand other teams have over us and how tight the league is we could well end up just outside the playoffs. Hope I'm wrong about that.

It's L2.... Div 4, in old money.  I know it's difficult....

No but I think we'll blag 3rd on the last day in slightly more dramatic style than the Walsall game 11 years ago.

Sent from my SM-G930F

Phil Smith played in goal in both the 06/07 and 11/12 seasons for a significant number of games. Most would put him in the solid back up keeper rather than good keeper.

Quite right and I never rated Smith as a keeper(good pro) but the season we went up he played better than our current keeper. He was quicky shown up in div 1..He did play a blinder in a penalty shoot out so he had a few good moments. Just not seeing that from our keepers this season, not even the odd blinder game, just poor mistakes that have cost us badly. Could be my blinkered view though.

I fear our problems at the back, compounded by injuries, will see that we don't make the autos. I think we'll hang onto a playoff place, and we must be due a spot of luck, mustn't we?

We need to get back to keeping clean sheets regardless of the keeper. 10 so far this season and we won all those games with no 0_0 draws.

You can have a lot of bad luck in the PO's.... Preston had been in them 9 times... unsuccessfully, until playing us  :(

Millwall had never won a game at Wembley, until playing us  :(

So we're done for .... unless we can play us.

I suppose if we were playing Luton in the POs then we could be playing ourselves  :hmmm:

Not really.

But then our last two trips into the Play Offs were seasons if you had asked at the same point in time that fans would respond with a resounding yes.  By the time we got into the Play Offs we were limping.  The post Di Canio end of season - to be honest we did not look like Play Off contenders by the time we got to them.  The Power/Sherwood combo season - we looked very impressive and nailed on until about March and then we looked feeble and defensively prone culminating in the Preston final.  Again, it was a surprise we held on against Sheff Utd, I honestly thought we'd be beaten in the away game convincingly.

This time it doesn't feel as good, but I think we stand a better chance.  I don't see us collapsing between now and the end of the season, so we'll make the Play Offs, and we'll be just as likely to win as lose this time around, meaning we have every chance of going up and competing at Wembley while doing it.

This is all I want if we go via this route. Actually turn up and compete. The last three occasions have been so disheartening. It does seem like it could be different this time. Especially with the likes of Richards and Taylor with the geeing up stakes.

The Wilson final, half the squad had already seemingly made plans but we did try a bit, had Austin's famous shot not bobbled then who knows.

The JPT the squad didn't turn up and it was a case of Chesterfield wanted it more but it was too easy.

The Preston one...don't even need to start really.

It certainly does feel different though now. In any case, we MAY just sneak 3rd.

Still won’t go to Wembley. Rather spend the two hundred quid on a long week end away, same as we we did for the Preston debacle. At the time we were ST holders.

Same here IF we get there... Big BBQ and let the booze flow with the 52" goggebox on...

Wembley is an extended FA rip off and im sick of it.  £25 a ticket I can handle but not the joke prices they charge.

I'd love to say neither would i, but I couldn't risk not being there if we weren't absolutely shit and win..

Not much of a risk, granted

I'd fucking hate missing us get promoted - these are the days you remember and I just personally don't think I'd like to give that up for a weird faux protest. Understand those that don't want to go given our poor recent form at Wembley and there's a good chance we'd lose (again). I think I'd feel a bit embarrassed though if we only took 15K or so. We'd get a good ribbing for that.

We're probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves though. Still have to even make the playoffs first!

I'd go to Wembley with ever decreasing expectations. Its a soulless shitpit but if we did manage to win, I'd rather be there. Saying that, I think we'll fall just short this season. Its all to play for but I can't see it. 

Yeah, I think we just trying to be positive for once! Deep down I'm sure many of us suspect its going to be a non issue (autos or not making the final/playoffs depending on levels of optimism).

Winning the Div 4 PO, would give us the full set, to join Blackpool and Huddersfield.  That I suppose would be good, better than our latest effort which gave us 3 PO records.... most goals scored in a single game 5-5 v Blades, highest aggregate win 7-6 v Blades, ruined by biggest ever defeat in the Final  :(

This time round, I'd worry about Cov...... took 40,000K when beating Scum last season in the Boycott, have already beaten us twice this.

I think Cov would be best option. Good atmos, us as under dogs and law of averages says we're due to beat them.

You follow a strange "law of averages"  Cov hadn't beaten us in a league fixture since 1964 until this season....

Short term law of averages for this season alone will ensure glory for us over Cov in the final. You read it here first. No need to attend. It's nailed on.

If We got there I'm not, I vowed the last time I walked out of the soulless shitpit that if we did make it to the final again that I would sit in a very welcoming pub with a slap up meal and copious amounts of ale :pint:

And booking fee, and programme and travel and parking and five quid a pint for fizzy piss water and a kings ransome for a pus burger or vomit dog.

This 100% - Fuck those rip off Cockneys.

3rd or 8th please - Nothing in between.

£5, I'm sure out was more than that last time. But the Preston game pissed me off so much, I might have just made the price up to piss me of even more. Nathan Thompson's fitness test, my arse.