Reasons for remaining hopeful

queensland_addick

This one is for "nutters" like me who will never ever throw in the towel whilst there is still a mathematical chance of staying up. Cynics, mockers etc, please stay away, there are enough doom and gloom threads already to keep you all occupied. So here goes:

1) We have lost one in the last four since Riga took over (disregarding Hull)
2) We are conceding less than a goal a game since Hull
3) We kept a clean sheet
4) We are off the bottom
5) We have some influential players close to return
6) A fit Diarra and Vetokele could make a huge difference
7) The standard of this league is not that high outside the top few teams
8) Win two in a row and we are more than capable of going on a good run
9) Still plenty of points to play for
10) One team nearly always goes on a dreadful run at the end of the season and slips into trouble from out of the blue.
12) We have a much bigger squad now than a few weeks ago
13) According to most fans and the media we are already down. That not only relieves pressure on the players, it could also motivate them.
14) Football is "a funny old game"

Ok, I could be here all day listing all the positives, over to you!

nichorob

Your right, these really are marvellous times.

Off_it

Ahh, Queensland. Had some great days down there.

What's the weather like at the moment?

queensland_addick

Off_it said:

Ahh, Queensland. Had some great days down there.

What's the weather like at the moment?

Hot, sticky and humid, I think it must be sending me mad!

nth_london_addick

I think this is where I normally say your right what's wrong with you all we won't go down

The next 8 games I predict

Win
Loss
Draw
Win
Win
Loss
Draw
Draw

Arsenetatters

queensland_addick said:

This one is for "nutters" like me who will never ever throw in the towel whilst there is still a mathematical chance of staying up. Cynics, mockers etc, please stay away, there are enough doom and gloom threads already to keep you all occupied. So here goes:

1) We have lost one in the last four since Riga took over (disregarding Hull)
2) We are conceding less than a goal a game since Hull
3) We kept a clean sheet
4) We are off the bottom
5) We have some influential players close to return
6) A fit Diarra and Vetokele could make a huge difference
7) The standard of this league is not that high outside the top few teams
8) Win two in a row and we are more than capable of going on a good run
9) Still plenty of points to play for
10) One team nearly always goes on a dreadful run at the end of the season and slips into trouble from out of the blue.
12) We have a much bigger squad now than a few weeks ago
13) According to most fans and the media we are already down. That not only relieves pressure on the players, it could also motivate them.
14) Football is "a funny old game"

Ok, I could be here all day listing all the positives, over to you!

This was good to read QA. I always look for hope and you may have a point. Never say never

Henry Irving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkURz6H0I0I

RedChaser

Trouble is this rotund lady is also warming up her vocal chords;

BR7_addick

The pitch is good, the sign is fixed and the women, under 21,18,16 and 5s are all doing really well..

andynelson

The only positive from this season is to see the Pardew bounce going flat. Small consolation really.

Godstone

There is a glimmer of hope. Perhaps we could invite some Palace fans to teach ours how to get behind a team.

Apparently, cheering professional sportsmen can improve their performance. Radical eh?

mogodon

15) We are six points off safety and need to win eight of our last 15 games to stay up. We have won five from 31 so far and one from the last 14.
16) We need to average at least 1.5 points a game to stay up. Even under the Riga survival boost we average 1.25 (and that includes three homes games from four)
17) We still have to play seven of the top eight sides, including four back-to-back from mid March.

Still cheerful anyone?

queensland_addick

Godstone said:

There is a glimmer of hope. Perhaps we could invite some Palace fans to teach ours how to get behind a team.

Apparently, cheering professional sportsmen can improve their performance. Radical eh?

If Charlton supporters need any motivation to create a fortress Valley and cheer the team out of this mess, they should think of all the Millwall supporters laughing their heads off at our misfortune and longing to thump us again next season.

harveys_gardener

Key is Vetokele. We need the goal threat he provides. Every match we play without him, we will struggle.

dickplumb

I am all for staying positive, but let us look at the facts.We have won five games out of thirty one. We have scored twenty six goals and conceded fifty six. We need to win about nine of the remaining fifteen games. I really don't think it is going to happen.

Richard J

mogodon said:

15) We are six points off safety and need to win eight of our last 15 games to stay up. We have won five from 31 so far and one from the last 14.
16) We need to average at least 1.5 points a game to stay up. Even under the Riga survival boost we average 1.25 (and that includes three homes games from four)
17) We still have to play seven of the top eight sides, including four back-to-back from mid March.

Still cheerful anyone?

MK Dons picked up four points out of six from Derby and Middlesbrough this week and but for Jordan Rhodes last minute goal they would have maximum points. In some ways these teams are going to start to wobble.

soapboxsam

The U21 have had a fantastic run of results, 15 wins and 5 draws,
and have been told that they will be our 1st team next season on
1500 hundred pounds a week each.

Happy Egalitarian days.

mogodon

Richard J said:

mogodon said:

15) We are six points off safety and need to win eight of our last 15 games to stay up. We have won five from 31 so far and one from the last 14.
16) We need to average at least 1.5 points a game to stay up. Even under the Riga survival boost we average 1.25 (and that includes three homes games from four)
17) We still have to play seven of the top eight sides, including four back-to-back from mid March.

Still cheerful anyone?

MK Dons picked up four points out of six from Derby and Middlesbrough this week and but for Jordan Rhodes last minute goal they would have maximum points. In some ways these teams are going to start to wobble.

Not much good if they wobble and we continue to totter, though. And I recall people saying back in November that MK Dons/Rotherham etc were in a worse state than us and we'd be fine.

Even if we win our next two games - both away - and everyone else loses (which they can't) then we will still be in the bottom three because of our fire goal difference. Oh, and it's take us 15 games to notch our last two wins.

WhenIwasLittleBoy

Although on paper our home fixtures look difficult as the majority are in the top half or challanging for promotion history shows there are twists and turns as these clubs drop points towards the end of the season .

Fanny Fanackapan

Loving your positivity, q_a.

Brings back memories when at this stage of the season, I'd make my own league table , predicting each week's results and totting up the points to see where we'd finish at the end of the season.

Ah, for those good old days of the 90's !

Sadly, I am finding it really difficult to see us rise above the bottom 3 this time, although I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

Redrobo

Never say never. Anything can happen.

Fingers crossed that you are right.

ShootersHillGuru

No. I've tried and I can't see any positives this season.

queensland_addick

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Loving your positivity, q_a.

Brings back memories when at this stage of the season, I'd make my own league table , predicting each week's results and totting up the points to see where we'd finish at the end of the season.

Ah, for those good old days of the 90's !

Sadly, I am finding it really difficult to see us rise above the bottom 3 this time, although I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

That's a great point Jean, so I did the maths. So far under Riga, we are averaging 1.25 points per game (5 in 4) If we project that out over the remaining 15 games, we finish with 42.75 points. 42 points would have kept us up last season. I actually think that we can improve on the past 4 results if we can get a couple of key players back. People are basing their negative assumptions on how dreadful we have been up until the Blackburn game. Results since then in truth have been OK, average, but no longer dreadful. Yes it was unfortunate that the loss happened to occur against a relegation rival, because had we drawn with Bristol but lost to Cardiff, things would not only be perceived as improving, but the table would also look better with Bristol being two points lighter.
I think we have to pick up at least 3 points in the next couple of games, if we can do that, I think we still have a very good chance of staying up.

Davo55

I just so wish you're right @queensland_addick. I fear for our future if we go down.

MountsfieldPark

RedChaser said:

Trouble is this rotund lady is also warming up her vocal chords;

Is she saying goodbye, do you think?

ElfsborgAddick

queensland_addick said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Loving your positivity, q_a.

Brings back memories when at this stage of the season, I'd make my own league table , predicting each week's results and totting up the points to see where we'd finish at the end of the season.

Ah, for those good old days of the 90's !

Sadly, I am finding it really difficult to see us rise above the bottom 3 this time, although I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

That's a great point Jean, so I did the maths. So far under Riga, we are averaging 1.25 points per game (5 in 4) If we project that out over the remaining 15 games, we finish with 42.75 points. 42 points would have kept us up last season. I actually think that we can improve on the past 4 results if we can get a couple of key players back. People are basing their negative assumptions on how dreadful we have been up until the Blackburn game. Results since then in truth have been OK, average, but no longer dreadful. Yes it was unfortunate that the loss happened to occur against a relegation rival, because had we drawn with Bristol but lost to Cardiff, things would not only be perceived as improving, but the table would also look better with Bristol being two points lighter.
I think we have to pick up at least 3 points in the next couple of games, if we can do that, I think we still have a very good chance of staying up.

Or alternatively, we lose to Fulham then that could well make the remaining games irrelevant.

queensland_addick

Davo55 said:

I just so wish you're right @queensland_addick. I fear for our future if we go down.

Me too Davo and that's why I don't want us as fans, throwing in the towel prematurely based on what is now history. We can't affect that, it's been and gone, but we can affect what happens until the end of the season by getting right behind Riga and the players.
We need fight, we need determination, if the Valley crowd can get up for it, as they did in the last 15 minutes on Saturday, I'm sure they'll see a response on the pitch. If we can beat Hull, QPR and Wednesday at the Valley, we are capable of beating anyone. This team, with Diarra in midfield, would look totally different playing with confidence and belief. Only results can bring that, but we have made a steady start by cutting down the goals against, picking up some draws and a great win at Rotherham. When I think of how appalling we were at Colchester, that is big progress.

SDAddick

I'm a bit in denial, but I still think we'll improve and stay up. Having the experience of Fanni, Diarra, and Bauer to come back in defense should help immensely, especially when we play teams near the top who come at us where we'll want to sit deep. The potential to add a player with legs (or Diarra) alongside Cousins will make our midfield more robust. If we can keep JBG, Igor, Lookie, and Mak fit (maybe even CC), they're all players who exploit space, but need space, and I think there will be a lot more space in the next 15 games.

Oh, and we have a manager who believes in tactics and who scouts opposition, he seems to train the team hard (x2/days in his first week or two), and that hard work does not always pay off in the short term, but it's a better bet in the long term.

There are still 15 games, which is one more than what KF was in charge for. 12-15 more points might keep us up easily.

queensland_addick

ElfsborgAddick said:

queensland_addick said:

Fanny Fanackapan said:

Loving your positivity, q_a.

Brings back memories when at this stage of the season, I'd make my own league table , predicting each week's results and totting up the points to see where we'd finish at the end of the season.

Ah, for those good old days of the 90's !

Sadly, I am finding it really difficult to see us rise above the bottom 3 this time, although I'd dearly love to be proved wrong.

That's a great point Jean, so I did the maths. So far under Riga, we are averaging 1.25 points per game (5 in 4) If we project that out over the remaining 15 games, we finish with 42.75 points. 42 points would have kept us up last season. I actually think that we can improve on the past 4 results if we can get a couple of key players back. People are basing their negative assumptions on how dreadful we have been up until the Blackburn game. Results since then in truth have been OK, average, but no longer dreadful. Yes it was unfortunate that the loss happened to occur against a relegation rival, because had we drawn with Bristol but lost to Cardiff, things would not only be perceived as improving, but the table would also look better with Bristol being two points lighter.
I think we have to pick up at least 3 points in the next couple of games, if we can do that, I think we still have a very good chance of staying up.

Or alternatively, we lose to Fulham then that could well make the remaining games irrelevant.

Elfsborg, all the negative threads are elsewhere, on this one we are trying to remain positive. If we lose at Fulham it is not all over. It probably means we need to win the next one. An average of 1.5 points per game should do us just fine. The trend is your friend!, we mustn't look at results in isolation.

queensland_addick

SDAddick said:

I'm a bit in denial, but I still think we'll improve and stay up. Having the experience of Fanni, Diarra, and Bauer to come back in defense should help immensely, especially when we play teams near the top who come at us where we'll want to sit deep. The potential to add a player with legs (or Diarra) alongside Cousins will make our midfield more robust. If we can keep JBG, Igor, Lookie, and Mak fit (maybe even CC), they're all players who exploit space, but need space, and I think there will be a lot more space in the next 15 games.

Oh, and we have a manager who believes in tactics and who scouts opposition, he seems to train the team hard (x2/days in his first week or two), and that hard work does not always pay off in the short term, but it's a better bet in the long term.

There are still 15 games, which is one more than what KF was in charge for. 12-15 more points might keep us up easily.

I'm with you SD. Riga also thinks about the big picture rather than getting too down with the odd poor result or the results of the clubs around us and the league table. He knows that in order to achieve anything we have to improve our own form and be fitter and better organised and he's making some progress on that front. If we get our own ship in order and pick up the required 1.25 to 1.5 points per game, we should be Ok so long as the points total required this year is the same as previous years. I think this is how he approached things last time. We had some bad losses in amongst a big improvement overall. I think he will probably be happy with a point on Saturday then aim to win won of the next two. I'm sure he's intent on making sure that once Diarra and Vetokele come back the next time, they are fit enough to last until the end of the season. If we are still in touch with at least 10 games remaining when they return, I think we'll survive. Kashi would be a huge bonus, but unfortunately I can't see him coming back this season.

queensland_addick

dickplumb said:

I am all for staying positive, but let us look at the facts.We have won five games out of thirty one. We have scored twenty six goals and conceded fifty six. We need to win about nine of the remaining fifteen games. I really don't think it is going to happen.

All in the past Richard, all in the past. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives!