Thetownend.com

Obviously appears we're gonna be a league 2 side again next year. Who do we want down from L1 and up from the conference?

Jumping the gun a tad?

A little bit?

Bah. That's enough TEF for me for the day.

You should include who do you want departing Div 4 up and down.  As a rule of thumb you want to get rid of as many norvern clubs as possible, but you can't always get what you want.

So coming down ideally you'd want to see Franchise, AFC Wimbledon, Cobblers with Bury, who are just about cooked. For that to happen Oldham and Rochdale will have to get their acts together, it is possible. 

 Going up, Accy look home and hosed and fair play to them I expected a falling away... Luton have wobbled but should have enough. Ideally I'd trade Notts C for Wycombe, who slip in the PO's and one of Lincoln or Mansfield go up.

 Going down, Barnet have given themselves a lifeline, but I'm happy for them to go....hopefuly the Spireites can cling on and Grimsby go.

 The up from the Conference waters are muddied not only by a strange new sexy PO format, but by clubs like Sutton having a pitch not allowed in the FL.  As it stands Macc, look like they'll make it.... they're a bogey side. We have a 100% losing record at Moss Rose.  Hopefully one of Dover or or ideally Aldershot will make it. Boreham Wood would be acceptable, but might bother some of our older fans with long memories.

Past caring, given that I rarely get to away days.  Can effect home attendances I suppose and hence budget.

This will be the worst period in supporting Town I've endured since starting to watch in '89. I remember some guys at school going on about supporting since "the forth division days". And here we are again..

Mathematically, certainly. But after watching this season its going to take a massive change in fortunes to see us into the playoffs. Forget the table and points, just aren't good enough based on what we are seeing on the pitch now. I'd rate the odds 80%/20%, and not in out favour.

Please stay Barnet

Aren't all the other teams around us thinking exactly the same. No one around is is playing exceptional on big unbeaten runs. As long as we are within a win then id say the odds are 50/50. We win one week and lose the next. FWIW I enjoyed today's games bar the first 10 mins of 2nd half. Needed a goal, couldn't get it. Deserved more. On to Monday

we are within a win and a draw due to our goal difference. its not impossible. Lincoln have Coventry, Accrington and the boycott cup final for example.

But that wasn't really the point. we are conceding shit goals for fun and finding shit teams hard to break down. As things stand I can't see it happening, it's win one, lose one, draw one at the moment.

win the next two or three and it'll be game on again..

Without wishing to keep on picking holes in your comments Batch all it needs is for us to have a similar 6 game run to the one we had Dec30 to Feb3 (13 pts/18) and it should be enough.My point being that although unlikely it is possible.

Much as I would like to be wrong, we're just not good enough. Someone asked a few weeks ago "Does this feel like a promotion season?". At the time I didn't know. Now, I'm afraid my answer is an emphatic 'no'. Would love to be taken by surprise but don't see that happening.

76 points will be enough for the play offs. So where do we get 15 points from out of 8 games?

Should expect to win at Creepies, home to Grimsby and Yeovil. That leaves 2 more games to win.

Since Christmas we’ve played 16, won 7, drawn 1, lost 8. We’ve scored 24, conceded 30.

We’ve had mid table form since Christmas, we’ve got no decent defenders, a pair of non league goalkeepers to choose from and are overly reliant on one player for goals.

We’re not going to go up, and we don’t deserve to go up. The seasons a write off.

I hope you don't mind a bit of a ramble in reply. Not expecting agreement from all, bu at least its a  football post :)

Pick away. I would genuinely absolutely love to be eating my words and openly mocked as we recover from Wembley celebration hangovers.

Some people think us pessimists are happy when things go wrong. Absolutely not in my case. I guess I'm making peace in my mind now with not making it, and anything else is a bonus!

I'm not the worst, honest. Was standing in the queue for Bovril muttering to randoms about my assessment of 'close but no cigar'.  They were of the opinion that there was no point anyway, we'd concede 4 therefor need to score 5 to get through to the final. I don't agree with that, playoffs are a funny beast.

And yes, we have had a golden period before. Totally accept its not a fait accompli. Just what I see on the pitch makes me think the odds are 80/20.

In short, we aren't scoring enough to overpower teams, and we are conceding too many to nick a 1-0. Injuries, suspensions and a loss of form in a key player is killing us. Those didn't happen and we'd somehow be challenging third.

Batch and Adje - You're basically in agreement. You don't think we'll go up, you're just looking at it from slightly different perspectives.

nail firmly hit, IF we did manage to make the playoffs this bunch would more than likely bottle it

Batch. Shouldn't those odds be 25/80.  :)

We can look forward to a closed season of budget cuts due to falling gates and no relegation payment money like we had this season. Our great leader will be forced to plunder more non league diamonds in the rough to put out a team each week, which will tip the balance, where by we're the most non league team in Div2. The rest you can see coming, we are only heading in one direction at this point in time. Unless something drastic happens, I'm sorry to say its football league curtains for the town under this balance the books administration. On the plus side we could be having a local derby against Supermarine in a few years time as they're heading upwards. We've consolidated our position in this division when I thought we'd achieve back to back relegations and things might be a little better if Mansfield Fock up and sack flip flop. I feel like one of those guy's with a sign hung around me that the end is nigh.

Your fucking boring pal.

Give it a rest.

No.

good point! sorry

The tail end of this season feels similar to last  - still enough games to prevent relegation/get in the play-offs, but the on-pitch evidence is no where near convincing enough.

I'm not pissed off, angry or disappointed. It is what it is.

Flitcroft failing at Mansfield would be a bonus though.

Rochdale had a big win last night night at Bury... who we'll certainly see next season.  Dale and Oldham are getting a few points atm so may pull out of the mire.  I believe Oldham have a trip to the Kassam on Sat.. Oxford probably just have enough to avoid the drop, but Walsall are dropping like a stone, so could come into the equation.

You use the phrase "balance the books administration" as an insult? Zero wrong with running a football club on an even keel.

That's exactly what I thought. Better to have a team to support that work within their means than no team at all because they have gone bust!

Surely couldn't be worse than the Preston game? I thought the kids put on a better display at half time  :)

Oldham have been in League 1 constantly for more than 20 years and come 19th or thereabouts every season, without fail. It's been as predictable as Arsenal coming 4th in the Prem. Remarkable, really.

It's very difficult to stand still for a length of time, as is shown by most clubs going up or down. 

Oldham were bought by a Morrocan agent earlier in the year, I suppose it should mean the fella will be interested in keeping football at Boundary Park.

If I lived in Swindon I'd be picking my four to go down as Bury (inevitable) followd by Northampton, MK and Oxford. Not likely but very much possible.

However, as I'm based in the north, I'd like it to be Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and Oxford (failing that, Walsall).

From the conference, Macclesfield are as good as up. It would be nice to see Tranmere or Wrexham rise from the ashes, not least because it would be less depressing than playing a league fixture against Boreham Wood or AFC Fylde, whose ground I work next door to.

Or at least the three sides of it he actually owns?

Could be a not half bad year to get some NW based away games next season after the abject failure of this year (Carlisle and Morecambe - missed as I was on holiday, and Accrington - Postponed whilst driving to the ground!)

top trolling that even Reg would hesitate to do :)

Excuse me.  My input is based on careful sifting of the available evidence, backed up by statistical analysis.  It may not always be right, whose is apart from PaulD  :hmmm:

SRK's stuff is based on the voices in his head having temporarily removed the aluminium foil helmet

Who's to say the voices in his head aren't doing some statistical analysis of their own Reg?!

I'm sure they are.... but when it leads to the conclusion that we need Joleon Lescott as player manager, you have to wonder  :hmmm:

  Walsall at Oldham tonight, hopefully Oldham win.... we don't really want them next season, although it would complete the Cov set of having played them in every Div.

 Oxford's unfortunate concession of 93 min winner to Fleetwood, leaves them 5 points clear of Rochdale in 21st, who've a game in hand. A big win for Wimbledon, and if Oldham back it up starting to look perilous for Franchise.

I think they could be fucked. 2 away games against Wigan and Blackburn, home to their bogey side Sarfend and the big one against Rochdale.

Here’s hoping, anyway!

Too many teams need to leapfrog them unfortunately.  They don't look in good shape going into the next season though.

 So Macclesfield confirmed... oh joy... 100% losing record at Moss Rose. 

 Bad result for Oldham last night.... getting them, Dale, as well as Bury down would be horribly norvern.  Especially as you'd rate Tranny as favourite for the Conference PO, not that it means much.

I like Walsall, but I hope they come down instead

Saddlers, Cobblers and MKD would be best for us. 2 traditional opponents.

Mansfield should net us 6 points again  :)

Clearly, they didn’t discuss this with Reg before going to print.

http://the72.co.uk/103735/201819-league-two-table-based-odds/

Seriously, though, it’s way too early for this sort of stuff!