[Albion] In 12th place at the end of December - where you thought we would be?

[Buzzer]

My point isn't about luck - it is that we are 12th in a very tight situation - could be 10th or 17th with very small swings either way. That isn't hypothetical, it is mathematical fact. It is fine as it stands, but goal scored is becoming a real concern; being 12th doesn't mask that. It can all change suddenly, a couple of wins in this situation and we are well on way to safety but TBH don't find a lot to be confident about based on last 10 games.

I get your point but it's about assessing us over 20 games. The last 10 games have included 4 of the top 6 and our arch-rivals (always a tricky one) so isn't it much better to try to assess how we've done over the whole season to date as a barometer of how we're doing relative to others? I do also think it's pointless (excuse the pun) to pick out a couple of isolated incidents that went our way and then argue that we are in a false position because of those.

 

[neilbard]

4 points from being in the shite!

 

[BadFish]

In terms of points I would say we are doing as well as i expected at the beginning of the season. 4 points above the drop is pretty good as far as I am concerned C+ on that score. However staying up is more about how many teams are below us and the fact the we are 12th at the moment with many teams doing worse than us is way above my expectations, B+ for this. We still have some tricky games to play but on the plus side we are hard to beat and there are still points that we can gain.

I am not going to predict that we will be safe, things are still certainly in the balance but the bottom line is we are doing okay and things could be a lot lot worse.

 

[studio150]

Bottom 3 so happy where we are. Just think if we had been entertaining like some idiots are suggesting we would no doubt be adrift in last place with next to no points but lots of goals and a massive negative goal difference

 

[Hotchilidog]

My preseason prediction was that we would be bottom six for most of it and hopefully four off the bottom at the end of it. So far we have exceeded my expectations.

 

[SeagullofMalaysia]

15th, so it's over my expectations, which can only mean good things

Obviously we need to sign a striker, though

 

[OzMike]

Around mid table is what I thought, but slipping down in the last few hard fixtures at the end of the season.
Got to try and build a bit of a buffer now to compensate for that happening later.

 

[kevo]

Easy to get ahead of ourselves but when you look at our latter fixtures I think people will begin to realize we need to accumulate points quite quickly...

True given the tough run-in, but four of our six matches against the top 6 are at home. Possibility of picking up an unexpected point or two?

 

[larus]

With over half the season now gone, where did you think we would be at this stage of the season? Despite a dodgy December, we're in a very respectable mid-table position. I've been looking at it as 6th out of 14 amongst the league also-rans - much better than I thought we would do way back in June/July and much, much better than I expected after the transfer window closed with 2 failed medicals, Baldock injured and no striker coming to the club.

I thought we would be bottom 5 for sure. Still a long way to go but very glad that I've been proven wrong so far.

I remember all of the negativity on here after the set backs in the last transfer window. I was expecting us to be bottom 5 and would not have really been surprised if we’d been bottom. Saying that, the ‘fans’ who are moaning now are probably the same ones who were slagging off Gross, Propper, Ryan, Duffy after a few games saying they weren’t up to it.

We know it’s a tough league and it will be a challenging first season. I’m confident we’ll strengthen the striking options this transfer window and will hopefully then be able to push on next season. This season is not the end game; it’s just another step on our journey in the Bloom era.

So please, stop the constant frigging moaning. I’m happy to accept a couple of seasons on consolidation rather then the Sunderland, Newcastle way of being a constant yo-yo club.

 

[DumLum]

A few points above the relegation zone isn't anything to shout about, so I don't buy all this up selling style of we are midtable.

It's all about the points and we need more of those 3 point type of ones before March or its back to the Championship IMO.

Exactly. 12th means little when the table is so tight. Most of us thought we would be in a relegation battle come the end of December and we are, as are the team in 10th.

 

[Brovion]

When the parade was finished and before the new signings were made (and before the fixtures came out) I thought we'd be in the relegation zone at Christmas. Maybe fourth from bottom if we were lucky. Obviously my biggest fear was that we'd be rock bottom and about six points adrift from the team immediately above us, and even if we do go down at least we've avoided that.

Our position is a weird one: we're only four points off the drop zone, but at the same time we're virtually mid-table. That just shows how tight it is, which is good from our point of view. Any three of about twelve clubs could get relegated. We're in that mix (rather than being nailed-on certainties for relegation), so I couldn't realistically have hoped for anything else.

And at least we expected to be in a relegation battle. I'm sure other clubs are irritated (and worried) that us and Hudds haven't obliged by being the two worst teams in the division. A lot have already played their 'New Manager' card and the pressure on them will be greater than on us.

 

[super-seagulls]

we cannot 0-0 our way to safety.

I think 39 points will do it. Maybe we can 0-0 our way to safety.

 

[Spicy]

When the parade was finished and before the new signings were made (and before the fixtures came out) I thought we'd be in the relegation zone at Christmas. Maybe fourth from bottom if we were lucky. Obviously my biggest fear was that we'd be rock bottom and about six points adrift from the team immediately above us, and even if we do go down at least we've avoided that.

Our position is a weird one: we're only four points off the drop zone, but at the same time we're virtually mid-table. That just shows how tight it is, which is good from our point of view. Any three of about twelve clubs could get relegated. We're in that mix (rather than being nailed-on certainties for relegation), so I couldn't realistically have hoped for anything else.

And at least we expected to be in a relegation battle. I'm sure other clubs are irritated (and worried) that us and Hudds haven't obliged by being the two worst teams in the division. A lot have already played their 'New Manager' card and the pressure on them will be greater than on us.

Some very good points there.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

Good points. Despite our frustration at times, we must remember how far we have come. ...12th at New Year.? I'd have taken that gladly......

 

[Thunder Bolt]

When the parade was finished and before the new signings were made (and before the fixtures came out) I thought we'd be in the relegation zone at Christmas. Maybe fourth from bottom if we were lucky. Obviously my biggest fear was that we'd be rock bottom and about six points adrift from the team immediately above us, and even if we do go down at least we've avoided that.

Our position is a weird one: we're only four points off the drop zone, but at the same time we're virtually mid-table. That just shows how tight it is, which is good from our point of view. Any three of about twelve clubs could get relegated. We're in that mix (rather than being nailed-on certainties for relegation), so I couldn't realistically have hoped for anything else.

And at least we expected to be in a relegation battle. I'm sure other clubs are irritated (and worried) that us and Hudds haven't obliged by being the two worst teams in the division. A lot have already played their 'New Manager' card and the pressure on them will be greater than on us.

That sums it up very well. Realistic without being ultra critical.

 

[Icy Gull]

Better than I expected but given that we haven’t had a single lucky point and that we seem to be happy with a point or a narrow defeat when a game is potentially winnable has been a disappointment recently. I get that we cant’t go gung ho but a little more belief could have got us more goals and more points.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

12th place sounds great, and it is on some level, but we are only 4 points above safety. In reality, we should have 4 or 5 points more than we do already, and come the end of the season we could very well rue not having those.

Whilst I’m enjoying the ride, I’m realistic enough to realise that we may not pick up more than 4 or 5 points at a maximum out of our last 10 games. Even that may be a stretch considering how easily Huddersfield outclassed us at theirs and considering we are away to Burnley and Palace. And I don’t expect us to pick up anything against the Top 6 considering how we approach those games. So realistically, we have about 8 games to pick up 10 or more points. And considering how tough we are finding it to score goals, that could be a real challenge.

In summary, whilst this sounds negative, I’d prefer to just enjoy where we are currently and not get my hopes up. We are certainly not safe by a long shot and our current lofty position, I’d imagine, is not a true reflection of where we’ll end up. I hope I’m wrong though.

 

[Chicken Run]

I’m another in the 4 points off relegation camp I’m afraid, the next few weeks will confirm wether we have the minerals as a club to stay in this league! You just know Bournemouth, West Ham and Palace will sign players seamlessly, probably Huddersfield and WBA too, so let’s see if our Tone truly has plenty in the tank!

 

[portslade seagull]

We maybe 12th but it is now getting very congested. We need a remedy to the goalscoring drought

 

[Peteinblack]

Oh goody, another poll.

Don't worry, there won't be any more after Brexit