[Albion] It’s amazing how well results have gone our way

[Knocky's Nose]

I was saying the exact same to my Son the other day. If you could write your perfect restart results on a piece of paper - the ones which have happened would be the ones you would have chosen (all bar a Villa draw I think..)

We've had an excellent combo of dream results by the other teams and some rather good results of our own.

Sometimes you need luck. We seem to be having it. Long may it continue.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

All teams are down the bottom because they lose, the only difference is we didn't

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

All teams are down the bottom because they lose, the only difference is we didn't

Yeah, I was thinking the same. It’s the opposite of the end of the season before we were promoted when us, Boro and Burnley were winning virtually every week. That is what teams at the top do. Teams at the bottom lose.

 

[warmleyseagull]

Teams at the bottom lose.

Well blow me down.

 

[Silverhatch]

Pop over to Redcafe's match day thread about their visit to The Amex on Tuesday. It might just be starting to dawn on the top 6 that we are not a bad side.

 

[Mancgull]

Norwich away concerns me. Any away game in the EPL is always tough. Man Utd could only manage a draw today so why should we think we should get 3 points? We can’t just single this game out and expect to win it.
The best way to look at the rest of the season is simply take every game as it comes and try to put in performances which will allow us to pick up a point or 3 points from every game. We obviously won’t do that but will be nice to get 41 points and beat our best ever EPL total.

 

[Sheebo]

Norwich away concerns me. Any away game in the EPL is always tough. Man Utd could only manage a draw today so why should we think we should get 3 points? We can’t just single this game out and expect to win it.
The best way to look at the rest of the season is simply take every game as it comes and try to put in performances which will allow us to pick up a point or 3 points from every game. We obviously won’t do that but will be nice to get 41 points and beat our best ever EPL total.

Never such a thing as an easy 3 points on paper in this league. I’m certainly not looking at Norwich away as that. I’m thinking let’s win one of the next 2 or even get 2 points - that would do fine. Even 1 point would give us a good total (5) from the 4 games since the restart. Each game at a time - beat Man U and the Norwich game becomes even more less pressured!

 

[southstandandy]

Looking at their fixtures, I really can't see how Villa are going to get the seven points they need to overhal us - even if we don't pick up a single point from now until the end of the season.

Was thinking the same. Effectively they are 7 points behind due to our superior GD and they'd realistically need to win 3 of their last 6 to overhaul us (as you say assuming we didn't get another point - which again I think is unlikely) and for any team in the bottom three, to win half of your remaining six fixtures would be pretty good going, especially as they have Liverpool and Man Utd in their next 2 games.

I always felt another 6 points would be required but in the light of recent results I genuinely think 4 could be enough, which I think is more than possible from our games with Norwich, Southampton, Newcastle and Burnley, and it's not out of the realms of possibility we could get something off Utd on Tuesday.

Can't help think that the West Ham v Villa game on the final day of the season could be critical for either of these two.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Norwich away concerns me. Any away game in the EPL is always tough. Man Utd could only manage a draw today so why should we think we should get 3 points? We can’t just single this game out and expect to win it.
The best way to look at the rest of the season is simply take every game as it comes and try to put in performances which will allow us to pick up a point or 3 points from every game. We obviously won’t do that but will be nice to get 41 points and beat our best ever EPL total.

No ifs. No buts. No draws. Norwich will have to beat us.

That’s pressure.

If they don’t freeze like we did against Cardiff at home last season at around the same stage, I’ll be surprised.

 

[Danny Wilson Said]

No ifs. No buts. No draws. Norwich will have to beat us.

That’s pressure.

If they don’t freeze like we did against Cardiff at home last season at around the same stage, I’ll be surprised.

After us, Norwich play Watford and West Ham. Three must-wins for them now. Their cup final, followed by their Champions League final and then their world club cup final.

 

[Solid at the back]

Admire the optimism on this thread, but we will not beat Norwich away.

 

[atomised]

Admire the optimism on this thread, but we will not beat Norwich away.

Might as well just give it up. Forfeit the rest and prepare for the championship then

 

[oldboyroy]

I am more concerned with our result against United on Tues. Get something out of that and even a point will be another big step to surviving irrespective of what others do.

 

[sparkie]

Admire the optimism on this thread, but we will not beat Norwich away.

We might beat them.

But best focus on Man Utd on Tuesday first, and we may even get the remaining 3 points needed then.

 

[OzMike]

One game at a time.

 

[Lever]

I commented in an earlier post about about false optimism, in other words see how it all pans out after three or four of these “restart” fixtures. So far, so good. To pick up four points after two games is encouraging particularly as those in the bottom five have failed to register a win at all.

Realistically, I think Norwich are down - the gap is too great for them to overcome. Villa’s defeat to Wolves today must have been a hammer blow. That’s just two points from four games since the break, I would imagine their confidence is draining away because of that. Bournemouth are another team that also have not adjusted well, Eddie Howe looked absolutely spent after they lost to Wolves - has his magic touch gone?

So then you have West Ham and Watford. West Ham are definitely struggling, and that was a bad home defeat to Wolves (them again!) and I don’t think Moyes is the one that can lift them. The final game against Villa is going to be crucial. Watford will probably be ballsy enough to scrape enough points to escape the drop, not bad considering how they were red hot favourites for relegation for most of the season.

Which leaves us. Personally I was dreading this restart. I felt that the 2019/20 season would be cancelled and we would have our get out of jail card. Two highly competent performances against Arsenal and Leicester have boosted my Albion mojo considerably. If we can get something out of our next two matches then I think we will be able to breathe more easily. We certainly have a nice cushion of six points, let’s hope that we don’t have to rely on that in the coming weeks.

These are exactly my thoughts as well; thank you.

 

[Lever]

Admire the optimism on this thread, but we will not beat Norwich away.

Who knows?
We might
We might not.....

I wonder what your confident forecast is based on.....

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

amazing how poor those sides at the bottom really are. Woeful

Careful, we aren't that far above them|!

 

[Icy Gull]

Careful, we aren't that far above them|!

One game could change it BUT we look to be in a much better place than we were at this stage last season. We look confident and there is plenty of spirit in the team. We have come from behind in some of the last few games, at the end of last season if we went a goal behind we were beat. As much as I went into every game at the end of last season with a feeling of impending doom I am going into games now thinking that we might get something out of the game. I am naturally a pessimist but am currently feeling very upbeat. A couple of thumpings against United and Norwich would change that...but it’s not going to happen, is it? Enjoying the moment

 

[Palacefinder General]

If we come out of the United game with nothing I will be disappointed, even a point would leave me somewhat underwhelmed. Some people need to get onboard the blue and white bus and start believing in Potter, in the project and in Tariq Lamptey et al, and I write that as a glass half empty type. Come on!