30 Nov 2023 18:35:51
Just been looking at the goal difference of the last 5 years, auto promotion places .
firstly, our goal difference is +2 compared to

Leicester 21
Ipswich 15
Leeds 13
West Brom 12

Previous years final places

2018/2019
Norwich +36
Sheffield Utd +37

2019/20
Leeds +42
West Brom +32

2020/21
Norwich +39
Watford +33

2021/22
Fulham +63
Bournemouth +35

2022/23
Burnley +52
Sheffield Utd +34

Meanwhile, saints are still playing tipsy tapsy football against far weaker sides. If we don't up our +ve goal difference against weaker teams, we aren't going anywhere!
And this is where Martin is out of his depth, he's never won promotion or got anywhere near it!
We are so far off .

1.) 30 Nov 2023
30 Nov 2023 21:38:32
Need to start somewhere. Yes we aren’t convincing but we are at least winning. And I’d rather that than playing well and losing. We need to hope confidence builds, and our unbeaten run stretches past 20 games.

An indication of where we are attacking wise. If we had conceded one goal more in each game played, we’d be 20 points worse off and only outside the drop zone on goal difference.

BUT we’re fourth, and are finding ways to win or avoid defeat. We’d all have taken this position after we were trounced by Leicester. Stewart’s injury record is worrying and with Che out of favour, we need a goal scorer in January, else with our run of fixtures to come, I’d half hope to be pushing the automatic spots by 2024.

2.) 01 Dec 2023
01 Dec 2023 11:19:14
I think one of our problems is that we are so predictable to play against. The opposition know exactly what to expect and set up accordingly.

The major weakness as stated by others is our inability to score goals and kill off games meaning we are vulnerable against the likes of Rotherham and Huddersfield.

I didn’t expect that to be a problem with Adams and Armstrong being as prolific as they were in the championship in previous seasons.

We need to replace Adams with someone whose head is in the right place and who has something to prove

3.) 01 Dec 2023
01 Dec 2023 16:32:52
While points before goal difference, it’s no coincidence that previous automatic promotion places, were with large +ve goal differences.
I think this is where Martin falls flat, he’s never been in a situation of a promotion pushing team.

Our goal difference to those around us, is already way down. But still we plod on, scoring a goal and having no desire to thrash the opposition! He seems to think his possession obsession football, while scraping wins, is good enough.

Interesting to see him get really rubbishty with Adam Blackmore. all he did was referred to the fact that Bristol could have had two in the first half. He made the comment to suggest AB was saying Bristol were in charge .
His counter argument was that we had a good second half
Reality is we were lucky we weren’t 2-0 down!

The fact that we had 80% possession in the first half and Bristol had two clear cut chances, he didn’t seem to have any understanding of how crazy that is!

If I were a coach and my team had 80% possession and 20 shots and the opponent had 15 shots in 20% possession, there is something seriously wrong with the tactics .
try telling Martin that!
Who incidentally managed to get his usual crap into the question of KWPs goal. I’ve been working with him a lot … no you haven’t!

4.) 03 Dec 2023
02 Dec 2023 23:27:18
I agree with all the comments above.

Another point to throw in the mix is how well the top 2 have started. Typically 90 points gets you 2nd place. If Ipswich continue like this they would hit 109 points! That is unlikely, so expect them to slow, giving us and Leeds a real chance.

Probably 2nd place will be 90 to 100 points this season. We are currently trending for 90, though could theoretically hit 100+ if we maintain our recent form, albeit with an easy run.

We have gained a positive 5 points on Ipswich over the last 6 games, which is encouraging.

If we can get within a couple of points over Dec and Jan it could get very interesting.

Thus is all best case scenarios and dependent on us playing and performing to our peak, of course