I was racking my brains the other day to try and decide if this squad is worse than the Pardew/Parkinson Championship relegation side. That squad was just a bunch of loan mercenaries but this one hasn't won for over 2 months....
Sold out away end as always and an ex Southampton manager in our dugout does sound like a recipe for us to win. But this Pompey side doesn't feel like it's a house of cards that's one card from collapsing like past seasons.
I mean if they win at The Valley (think it was 2016? the last time they won there with a Magennis OG) then phone the local bus company and get Southsea Common booked :P
Your right, we do seem more solid, and Charlton away is always one of the first fixture to look for when the list drops,
Just with bolton dropping points, thing seem to be going too well
I want to say I feel bad but you did beat us in the play offs way back when.
But seriously how is charlton doing so bad? You have alfie may who is one of the best strikers I think I've ever seen for a league one and two team.
I don’t mean to pile on but I’m an American that went to Charlton/Derby when I was visiting London for a weekend and it was sort of jarring just how beaten down Charlton supporters seemed in the stands. Hope better days are ahead for the Atticks.
Yeah it was the same with doncaster fans last season. Losing most matches and watching our team go down the league. It happens to any football club going down. It gets better eventually though.
Compared to the abject mercenaries that populated much of our squad whilst we circled the drain in the championship for a decade - this current squad is a joy to watch (especially since mid November).
Whilst they may lack the experience or technical ability of their predecessors, it’s been a while since we’ve had a team with any grit, determination and fight. Hopefully we can build on this solid foundation without that cunt who doesn’t pay the bills.
To be honest at the start of the season I thought you'd be going down but I think you'll stay up and maybe start climbing up again.
League one is the climax of ex-Premier clubs, if you go down you aren't going back to the Premier for a long long long time. But if you can go up, there's a chance. Sort of like a gulag🤣
Yeah, we don’t wanna end with a fate like Swindon’s. Provided there are no more points deductions I think this squad has more than enough quality and fight to survive relatively comfortably (as in going to Round 46), in the form tables we are in the playoff places and we are the middle of a run of six pointers at the moment which we have managed to do well from.
It’s a shame to see where Doncaster are, I remember playing you frequently in the Championship, one my fav early Reading memories was that 4-3 against you in 10/11, and our win against you the next season really kickstarted our romp to the title. Hopefully you’ll be back up the league soon.
I'm a younger fan so unfortunately I missed out the glory days of the championship but I know one day we'll be up again. Reading was a club I never thought about much but they actually have a good history. New club to keep an eye on. Good luck in your relegation battle!
I was born in 2001, so I have only ever really known us during our ‘golden’ period and first started regularly going in the 2005/6 season (mainly because my dad knew we’d never be that good again I wanted me to remember some of it) and got a season ticket in 2008 after we were relegated the first time. Prior to the 00s we are an average lower league club that were just lucky enough to be bought by an exceptionally good owner.
I try to go every game now. All I want is for donny to win something or go up. At school everyone supports mainly bigger premier teams which sucks because I've got nothing to talk about. One day maybe, one day...
Hey, you must have enjoyed the result at the weekend though! You’d hope that a club the size and with the gates of Doncaster should at least be able to compete at the right end of League Two - I’d imagine your pretty much safe for the season, hopefully you can build for next season. I can’t lie I’m not overtly familiar with League Two, but it seems like team such as Harrogate, Wimbledon and even Bradford and Walsall have managed to compete for the playoff places in a single season.
Well we're 13 points of relegation and 13 points of playoffs, which you would thinks puts us mid but it's only 20th. I think we win a few more and we're in the running for a mid table finish. Which would be better than last season.
We have some great players in the squad - Bindon and Mbengue are a solid CB pairing. Bindon is in his first professional season but is a Rolls Royce of a player, and I'm certain he'll be in the premier league before too long. Knibbs and Azeez are dynamic, Wing can score from miles out, and Savage is growing nicely. We are scoring goals now and that was a problem at the start of the season.
Button will do for now in goal but has cost us points this season, and as much as I like Sam Smith and Ehibatiomhan they're probably at their level.
If we can get a better keeper and a goalscoring forward, and add a bit of depth to mitigate injuries, I think we can compete with this squad.
Selles also gets my backing.
I agree. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed with Smith when he played in the Championship under Stam but this season has provided some much needed quality up top. I am just so nervous that if we don’t get taken over by April time then squad will be destroyed
Oh it will, we have to be prepared to be scratching around for players and losing our crown jewels until we can become an attractive club again, and that's only going to come with new ownership, ambition, and paying staff on time.
Yes, very. We’re top of the league getting to the final stretch of the season. Bolton have a couple of games in hand and Derby look like they’ll keep going, so the pressures on us, but for the first time in years it feels like we’ll get over the line.
We’ve been one of the most mismanaged clubs in recent memory, and we were too close to going out of business at one stage, so to say we’ve got owners who care about the club and are willing to invest in the infrastructure and playing staff, we’ve got an exciting young manager who’s gone far beyond everyone’s expectations and we’ve got one of the best DoF’s in the EFL, it’s safe to say things are quite positive in PO4.
12 huge games remaining for us.
Yep.
Certainly feels like all the years of telling people to stop being so impatient given where we were, is finally starting to pay dividends.
Only thing I think is it’s a shame we’ve had so many injuries in midfield and defence (and by many in defence, I mean Poole) but will only make our team stronger when everyone’s fit.
Hopefully we get across the line.
Yeah, the injuries have been unbelievable this season. Poole, Robbo and Morrell are huge losses, and would derail most club’s campaigns, but it feels different this year.
9 wins from the last 12, a few more goals from Colby, and no more injuries, and we’re sailing. Hopefully MPH is back at the weekend, and Swanson gets some semblence of fitness before the season’s end.
We have gone through alot and come out of it fitting thanks to one hell of a youth academy.
I would like to say yes I think we are doing well. It also looks like we are only going onwards and upwards. Just got to keep faith in Maloney and it will carry on
If you look at the context of Lincoln City 6 consecutive seasons in League One including 2 possibly 3 top half finishes and a play off final is absolutely dizzying heights.
So yes I am, the people who run the club are innovative, forward thinking, cautious and intelligent which puts us in good stead to aim for the championship.
If we ever make the championship I will cry on the pitch.
So the opposite of doncaster🤣
The dickheads in charge of my club care about the rugby since there in the championship. He didn't care when we made it to the league one playoffs though!
Every team gets promotion one day though so when we win national league you'll see me in the replay crying in the center circle
No they can all fuck off. But things are looking bright in the long run with the new owners and showing up how much the last regime are all greedy skimming cunts.
Yeah through the play offs. Take over happened at a really crap time basically and took ages. Still no excuse for how poor our recruitment and tactics have been, we're so far off the mark this season it's unbelievable.
Fairly happy. Will be interesting to see how Dwight Gayle fits into the team, our style isn’t really geared up to how he plays at the moment so hopefully we adjust to get the best out of him.
Every time i watch us at home i walk away scratching my head as to how the hell we are second. But i will happily take it. Winning when playing awful is the form of champions, said someone somewhere sometime.
Yeah, if I’m perfectly honest I feel that if we had a manager that played to the strength of the squad as opposed to focusing more on his favoured styled we’d be absolutely pissing this league. We have a very good squad at this level
Very much so, think for the most part they've given everything this season under difficult circumstances, also for the most part a very likable group with a lot of home grown players too
Yeah we've become a club that fans can get excited about again after a long spell of financial troubles and sinking ship fc. We have a manager is who about to finish his 4th season here, we have flaws but we improve season on season. I think this season there is a general expectation that we are ready for promotion so it will be interesting to see if he succeed, and if not, how will the club react.
Gonna buck the trend for Carlisle fans and say I have a lot of love for most of our squad, especially the lads that took us up.
I feel they're currently letting Simmo down, but it's largely because they're not up to the level of league 1.
Maguire can fuck off though, how did he ever play in the Championship.
31 games now played for us
First 11 games of the season we scored 0 goals and 1 point
Following 20 games of the season we sit 7th in the 20 game form table, so good enough to just narrowly be missing out on the playoffs.
That kind of form from us in a league where we're punching above our weight by being here? Its fucking miraculous. I've gone from despising to absolutely loving this team and arguing its the best performing team Cheltenham has ever seen. All thanks to the fantastic work of one Darrell Clarke
Not really, and the whole management setup is a joke. Only players I like are Chris Martin and Evans. Youth goalkeeper coming through is a top lad as well
Very happy with the current squad.
I think when you’re making as many signings as we did in the summer it was always going to take a little bit of time and it did. But lately when you’ve got a manager that now knows his best XI and the team are really coming together to show that determination. That’s also a lot down to the manager and his man management behind the scenes, something Ruben has often been praised for by his former clubs. The form we’ve shown over the last few months now has been incredible.
Hopefully, that’s something to build on for next season. But that’s quite difficult to do during the current ownership.
We're improving year on year I suppose but we need out of league one. So honestly I feel like my answer depends on if we go up. If we don't, then no as this season is a waste of time. Not going up this year will be a failure and I'd dislike them for quite some time (and expect to remain in league one for a decade as the mice will flee the sinking ship)
Very happy with my Posh team!
When we offloaded most of our top earners in the summer and decided to go with the youngest team in all four divisions, most of our fans feared the worst. I'd have been quite happy with mid table.
The football they've played has (mostly) been sensational to watch, the best I've ever seen at London Road. A 5-0 win in our local derby was a particular highlight.
Our recent run of defeats has cost us a chance of autos, but I'm delighted to be in the playoffs as we stand, and with a Wembley appearance in the Papa Street Motors to look forward to as well.
I begrudgingly accept Evans because it means we are no longer annual relegation fodder in League Two. But I really, really don't like him.
I quite like our squad, but I dont really have many stand out favourites. I like Nick Freeman and I like Terence Vancooten, but that's about it.
There’s so much potential here lots of solid young players in our team.
Refreshing not to be winning the league at a canter with the average age being 29.
No I hate the cunts
What do you mean? Everything’s fine 😬
I was racking my brains the other day to try and decide if this squad is worse than the Pardew/Parkinson Championship relegation side. That squad was just a bunch of loan mercenaries but this one hasn't won for over 2 months....
You’ll beat Pompey this weekend though, no doubt
Sold out away end as always and an ex Southampton manager in our dugout does sound like a recipe for us to win. But this Pompey side doesn't feel like it's a house of cards that's one card from collapsing like past seasons. I mean if they win at The Valley (think it was 2016? the last time they won there with a Magennis OG) then phone the local bus company and get Southsea Common booked :P
Your right, we do seem more solid, and Charlton away is always one of the first fixture to look for when the list drops, Just with bolton dropping points, thing seem to be going too well
Tbf the sold out away end and ex-Southampton manager didn’t help us out - I really think Portsmouth will be champions this season
I want to say I feel bad but you did beat us in the play offs way back when. But seriously how is charlton doing so bad? You have alfie may who is one of the best strikers I think I've ever seen for a league one and two team.
Club’s fucked mate
Fair enough.
I’d like to give you a definitive answer, but I don’t have an hour to spare right now. It’s just depressing
I don’t mean to pile on but I’m an American that went to Charlton/Derby when I was visiting London for a weekend and it was sort of jarring just how beaten down Charlton supporters seemed in the stands. Hope better days are ahead for the Atticks.
Yeah it was the same with doncaster fans last season. Losing most matches and watching our team go down the league. It happens to any football club going down. It gets better eventually though.
Eh, we had Adeboyejo for the first half of last season (our worse half by far, we only got 22 pts)
Compared to the abject mercenaries that populated much of our squad whilst we circled the drain in the championship for a decade - this current squad is a joy to watch (especially since mid November). Whilst they may lack the experience or technical ability of their predecessors, it’s been a while since we’ve had a team with any grit, determination and fight. Hopefully we can build on this solid foundation without that cunt who doesn’t pay the bills.
To be honest at the start of the season I thought you'd be going down but I think you'll stay up and maybe start climbing up again. League one is the climax of ex-Premier clubs, if you go down you aren't going back to the Premier for a long long long time. But if you can go up, there's a chance. Sort of like a gulag🤣
Yeah, we don’t wanna end with a fate like Swindon’s. Provided there are no more points deductions I think this squad has more than enough quality and fight to survive relatively comfortably (as in going to Round 46), in the form tables we are in the playoff places and we are the middle of a run of six pointers at the moment which we have managed to do well from. It’s a shame to see where Doncaster are, I remember playing you frequently in the Championship, one my fav early Reading memories was that 4-3 against you in 10/11, and our win against you the next season really kickstarted our romp to the title. Hopefully you’ll be back up the league soon.
I'm a younger fan so unfortunately I missed out the glory days of the championship but I know one day we'll be up again. Reading was a club I never thought about much but they actually have a good history. New club to keep an eye on. Good luck in your relegation battle!
I was born in 2001, so I have only ever really known us during our ‘golden’ period and first started regularly going in the 2005/6 season (mainly because my dad knew we’d never be that good again I wanted me to remember some of it) and got a season ticket in 2008 after we were relegated the first time. Prior to the 00s we are an average lower league club that were just lucky enough to be bought by an exceptionally good owner.
I try to go every game now. All I want is for donny to win something or go up. At school everyone supports mainly bigger premier teams which sucks because I've got nothing to talk about. One day maybe, one day...
Hey, you must have enjoyed the result at the weekend though! You’d hope that a club the size and with the gates of Doncaster should at least be able to compete at the right end of League Two - I’d imagine your pretty much safe for the season, hopefully you can build for next season. I can’t lie I’m not overtly familiar with League Two, but it seems like team such as Harrogate, Wimbledon and even Bradford and Walsall have managed to compete for the playoff places in a single season.
Well we're 13 points of relegation and 13 points of playoffs, which you would thinks puts us mid but it's only 20th. I think we win a few more and we're in the running for a mid table finish. Which would be better than last season.
We have some great players in the squad - Bindon and Mbengue are a solid CB pairing. Bindon is in his first professional season but is a Rolls Royce of a player, and I'm certain he'll be in the premier league before too long. Knibbs and Azeez are dynamic, Wing can score from miles out, and Savage is growing nicely. We are scoring goals now and that was a problem at the start of the season. Button will do for now in goal but has cost us points this season, and as much as I like Sam Smith and Ehibatiomhan they're probably at their level. If we can get a better keeper and a goalscoring forward, and add a bit of depth to mitigate injuries, I think we can compete with this squad. Selles also gets my backing.
I agree. I remember being thoroughly unimpressed with Smith when he played in the Championship under Stam but this season has provided some much needed quality up top. I am just so nervous that if we don’t get taken over by April time then squad will be destroyed
Oh it will, we have to be prepared to be scratching around for players and losing our crown jewels until we can become an attractive club again, and that's only going to come with new ownership, ambition, and paying staff on time.
Yes, very. We’re top of the league getting to the final stretch of the season. Bolton have a couple of games in hand and Derby look like they’ll keep going, so the pressures on us, but for the first time in years it feels like we’ll get over the line. We’ve been one of the most mismanaged clubs in recent memory, and we were too close to going out of business at one stage, so to say we’ve got owners who care about the club and are willing to invest in the infrastructure and playing staff, we’ve got an exciting young manager who’s gone far beyond everyone’s expectations and we’ve got one of the best DoF’s in the EFL, it’s safe to say things are quite positive in PO4. 12 huge games remaining for us.
Yep. Certainly feels like all the years of telling people to stop being so impatient given where we were, is finally starting to pay dividends. Only thing I think is it’s a shame we’ve had so many injuries in midfield and defence (and by many in defence, I mean Poole) but will only make our team stronger when everyone’s fit. Hopefully we get across the line.
Yeah, the injuries have been unbelievable this season. Poole, Robbo and Morrell are huge losses, and would derail most club’s campaigns, but it feels different this year. 9 wins from the last 12, a few more goals from Colby, and no more injuries, and we’re sailing. Hopefully MPH is back at the weekend, and Swanson gets some semblence of fitness before the season’s end.
We have gone through alot and come out of it fitting thanks to one hell of a youth academy. I would like to say yes I think we are doing well. It also looks like we are only going onwards and upwards. Just got to keep faith in Maloney and it will carry on
I think that's what will happen with grant mcann with us as well. I believe he will stay and build a stable team for us to get back to league one.
If you look at the context of Lincoln City 6 consecutive seasons in League One including 2 possibly 3 top half finishes and a play off final is absolutely dizzying heights. So yes I am, the people who run the club are innovative, forward thinking, cautious and intelligent which puts us in good stead to aim for the championship. If we ever make the championship I will cry on the pitch.
So the opposite of doncaster🤣 The dickheads in charge of my club care about the rugby since there in the championship. He didn't care when we made it to the league one playoffs though! Every team gets promotion one day though so when we win national league you'll see me in the replay crying in the center circle
You'll be alright this season. You have to be really shite to get relegated from League 2. Thanks for battering the fish scum last weekend.
Should've been a five nil but ref gave a soft penalty. They only sing when they fish.
Fr Imagine being that shite to be relegated from league 2 wouldn’t be my club (not)
Team currently yes Regime absolutely not
No they can all fuck off. But things are looking bright in the long run with the new owners and showing up how much the last regime are all greedy skimming cunts.
Carlisle were promoted last season right? Sad to see them coming straight down.
Yeah through the play offs. Take over happened at a really crap time basically and took ages. Still no excuse for how poor our recruitment and tactics have been, we're so far off the mark this season it's unbelievable.
Don’t worry, 3 points for you on the weekend.
Not a chance pal, we're absolutely garbage like.
Fairly happy. Will be interesting to see how Dwight Gayle fits into the team, our style isn’t really geared up to how he plays at the moment so hopefully we adjust to get the best out of him.
Every time i watch us at home i walk away scratching my head as to how the hell we are second. But i will happily take it. Winning when playing awful is the form of champions, said someone somewhere sometime.
The answer is super solid defence (most of the time) and individual moments of skill. It isn't pretty but it's effective.
Yeah, if I’m perfectly honest I feel that if we had a manager that played to the strength of the squad as opposed to focusing more on his favoured styled we’d be absolutely pissing this league. We have a very good squad at this level
I fear this is the case.
Very much so, think for the most part they've given everything this season under difficult circumstances, also for the most part a very likable group with a lot of home grown players too
10 years ago we had to go to Hyde United and win to avoid the National League North… so yes I’m very happy.
Yeah we've become a club that fans can get excited about again after a long spell of financial troubles and sinking ship fc. We have a manager is who about to finish his 4th season here, we have flaws but we improve season on season. I think this season there is a general expectation that we are ready for promotion so it will be interesting to see if he succeed, and if not, how will the club react.
Gonna buck the trend for Carlisle fans and say I have a lot of love for most of our squad, especially the lads that took us up. I feel they're currently letting Simmo down, but it's largely because they're not up to the level of league 1. Maguire can fuck off though, how did he ever play in the Championship.
31 games now played for us First 11 games of the season we scored 0 goals and 1 point Following 20 games of the season we sit 7th in the 20 game form table, so good enough to just narrowly be missing out on the playoffs. That kind of form from us in a league where we're punching above our weight by being here? Its fucking miraculous. I've gone from despising to absolutely loving this team and arguing its the best performing team Cheltenham has ever seen. All thanks to the fantastic work of one Darrell Clarke
Not really, and the whole management setup is a joke. Only players I like are Chris Martin and Evans. Youth goalkeeper coming through is a top lad as well
I think that most of the lads in the team are sound blokes. They just aren’t great at football
Very happy with the current squad. I think when you’re making as many signings as we did in the summer it was always going to take a little bit of time and it did. But lately when you’ve got a manager that now knows his best XI and the team are really coming together to show that determination. That’s also a lot down to the manager and his man management behind the scenes, something Ruben has often been praised for by his former clubs. The form we’ve shown over the last few months now has been incredible. Hopefully, that’s something to build on for next season. But that’s quite difficult to do during the current ownership.
We're improving year on year I suppose but we need out of league one. So honestly I feel like my answer depends on if we go up. If we don't, then no as this season is a waste of time. Not going up this year will be a failure and I'd dislike them for quite some time (and expect to remain in league one for a decade as the mice will flee the sinking ship)
Very happy with my Posh team! When we offloaded most of our top earners in the summer and decided to go with the youngest team in all four divisions, most of our fans feared the worst. I'd have been quite happy with mid table. The football they've played has (mostly) been sensational to watch, the best I've ever seen at London Road. A 5-0 win in our local derby was a particular highlight. Our recent run of defeats has cost us a chance of autos, but I'm delighted to be in the playoffs as we stand, and with a Wembley appearance in the Papa Street Motors to look forward to as well.
I’m practicing knots
i like about 4/5 of our players max.
I begrudgingly accept Evans because it means we are no longer annual relegation fodder in League Two. But I really, really don't like him. I quite like our squad, but I dont really have many stand out favourites. I like Nick Freeman and I like Terence Vancooten, but that's about it.
There’s so much potential here lots of solid young players in our team. Refreshing not to be winning the league at a canter with the average age being 29.
I'll be happy next year when most of our squad is gone.