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I think we have all been blind-sided by our sudden dip in form , coming off the back of our most dominant performance of the season against Reading. Must admit I thought we would do a 'Fulham' on it and smash our way through the next few games. Clearly that hasn't been the case and the reasons why have been debated on here to death. Three consecutive poor performances (4 including the cup) is unfortunately a trend, which we must try to reverse. While it appears that Warburton has made misjudgements recently - Amos being the most obvious - we really need to keep the faith. It is easy to say ' in Warburton we trust' when things are going well, much harder when they are not. But if we REALLY trust his judgement then now is the time to show it - and he has earned that right I think, over the past 12 months especially. We are still 4th, a remarkable achievement , so let us trust Warburton and the players to turn their current form around and cement our play-off position.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 12:14 - Feb 16 with 2319 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 12:14 - Feb 16 by paulhoop2
Well said I’ve said countless times those words and I still do BUT Brentford fans warned us of no plan B hope that’s wrong
I think in fairness, Warburton has evolved as a manager since his Brentford days, which was, in fairness, his first gig. You learn by experience in any job, and not many of us have to it under the pressure of every decision being made is analysed and scrutinised. I think he has learned to adapt and change, particularly in the second half of last season. To be honest, if he hadn't I don't think he would still be our manager One example of that change is the way we have tightened up from corners - it was nearly like giving away a penalty at one stage - and indeed defensively in general. There are many other examples too, of a more pragmatic approach to make changes when necessary. I think we can trust him to see us into the play-offs, which is all he ever suggested was possible, even at the very start of the season.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 12:35 - Feb 16 with 2229 views
We are still in the play offs places with a 5 point advantage, and have been in the top 6 nearly all season, that's real progress under Warburton's tenure. We are now entering the business end of the season, we will just have to see if we are good enough or not. I have great faith in Warbs and his team, doing a superb job and has made us competitive again. If this is just a blip remains to be seen, but no need to panic.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2022 12:35]
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 12:45 - Feb 16 with 2182 views
It easy to say 'No Plan B' but he does change things, albeit sometimes a bit slowly for my liking. The important thing is not to panic. He has shown that he can get us playing good attacking football which is a cut above many of the teams we come across. We are a small club, punching above our weight against several teams and we therefore have to take risks if we are going to reach the promised land. With that come slip-ups. Warburton will prepare us as best we can for what lies ahead.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:22 - Feb 16 with 2103 views
I think our nearest comparison right now is probably the Brentford teams of 2/3 years ago - getting there, but still a work in progress and trying to get the balance between attack and defence right, we’re always going to lose a few games.
Let’s not adopt their fans’ superior attitudes and expectations as well, we’ve had a great season so far and it’s not over yet.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:39 - Feb 16 with 2028 views
Good OP Myke. We had a wobble in the autumn and there was a bit of panicking on here (I said at the time we were in a rut), but results turned around because regardless of our many problems (which all sides have), we are a decent team with a decent manager. We'll come through it. Will we finish top 6? I don't know. But now is not the time to panic, and it's worth remembering that this was never going to be easy and we certainly weren't going to glide through the last third of the season without losing form or a few hiccups. Even in our championship year we only won two of our last seven, even if the job was almost done by then. Fans who go on about 'plan B' tend to mean 'why can't we just hoof it up to Matt Smith when it's not working' - it's a nonsense, and anyone can see that Warbs changes things quite a lot and is not afraid to change things. It could be that after Reading the team got a bit over-confident, with people returning from Afcon and injury worries subsiding. Once you take your foot off the pedal it's hard to get going again. Testing games ahead, but let's remember where we were 12 months ago and see how far we've come. Get behind them on Sat and hopefully we can start to turn it round.
Bare bones.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:43 - Feb 16 with 2011 views
Myke, whilst your starting post was a cry to keep the faith, I think you have also fallen in to the trap of making assumptions that Warbs himself has simply got it wrong, as opposed to the team (pretty much the same team that got us those 17 from 21 points prior to this dip and were banging on the door of 2nd place) have simply gone off the boil. "While it appears that Warburton has made misjudgements recently - Amos being the most obvious - we really need to keep the faith. " So is there is an assumption there that had Amos been playing things would be so much different. Granted you did say "while it appears" at the start of the comment about Amos, but there must be something that Warbs/Eustace and Neil Banfield are seeing day in and day out on the training field and when picking the structure of the midfield ahead of games that puts JoJo and Field ahead of Amos: be it application every session, experience, bulk/build. It could be any one of a number of things that have those two picked ahead of Amos, Dozzell and Hendrick.
It was good to watch Warbs with his heckles raised on YouTube from last nights press briefing post match, as he is clearly narked off about those fans and those in the media who are asking about what plans he has for "wholesale change". I said it on another post last night that the worst possible thing in any industry is to overachieve, because people be it investors, management, the stock market, fans in football, VERY quickly forget that the performance is greater than expected and then when the performance dips for a short period, the world is ending and all is lost. West Brom have been on a terrible run yet there are people predicting that West Brom and Middlesborough and Forest will all come good again - just because of a change of manger or by them hoovering up in the transfer window. If they can come good again then so can we.
We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:43 - Feb 16 by A40Bosh
Myke, whilst your starting post was a cry to keep the faith, I think you have also fallen in to the trap of making assumptions that Warbs himself has simply got it wrong, as opposed to the team (pretty much the same team that got us those 17 from 21 points prior to this dip and were banging on the door of 2nd place) have simply gone off the boil. "While it appears that Warburton has made misjudgements recently - Amos being the most obvious - we really need to keep the faith. " So is there is an assumption there that had Amos been playing things would be so much different. Granted you did say "while it appears" at the start of the comment about Amos, but there must be something that Warbs/Eustace and Neil Banfield are seeing day in and day out on the training field and when picking the structure of the midfield ahead of games that puts JoJo and Field ahead of Amos: be it application every session, experience, bulk/build. It could be any one of a number of things that have those two picked ahead of Amos, Dozzell and Hendrick.
It was good to watch Warbs with his heckles raised on YouTube from last nights press briefing post match, as he is clearly narked off about those fans and those in the media who are asking about what plans he has for "wholesale change". I said it on another post last night that the worst possible thing in any industry is to overachieve, because people be it investors, management, the stock market, fans in football, VERY quickly forget that the performance is greater than expected and then when the performance dips for a short period, the world is ending and all is lost. West Brom have been on a terrible run yet there are people predicting that West Brom and Middlesborough and Forest will all come good again - just because of a change of manger or by them hoovering up in the transfer window. If they can come good again then so can we.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2022 13:46]
Great interview (thanks for posting) and a lot more illuminating than the club interview - not having a pop at Nick L - that would apply to any club interview anywhere.
2 clear messages - 1 as you say - we ARE a top 6 side/squad so lets not panic and 2 Seny is the 'number one' but he won't drop Marshall while he is playing well, which I agree with.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:15 - Feb 16 with 1915 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:56 - Feb 16 by PinnerPaul
Great interview (thanks for posting) and a lot more illuminating than the club interview - not having a pop at Nick L - that would apply to any club interview anywhere.
2 clear messages - 1 as you say - we ARE a top 6 side/squad so lets not panic and 2 Seny is the 'number one' but he won't drop Marshall while he is playing well, which I agree with.
I'd like to have seen a follow up question about how that worked in Chair's case. Granted he was introduced more gradually than a starting keeper would be, but he arguably did 'waltz back in' after 30 mins competitive football in 5-6 weeks.
Anyway, there's still reason to be hopeful that things feel a lot brighter by 5 o'clock on Saturday.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2022 14:16]
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:26 - Feb 16 with 1853 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:15 - Feb 16 by BklynRanger
I'd like to have seen a follow up question about how that worked in Chair's case. Granted he was introduced more gradually than a starting keeper would be, but he arguably did 'waltz back in' after 30 mins competitive football in 5-6 weeks.
Anyway, there's still reason to be hopeful that things feel a lot brighter by 5 o'clock on Saturday.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2022 14:16]
I believe that Chair needed to play and the first game was a cup match. Difficult to compare as Chair competes for more than one place.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:37 - Feb 16 with 1812 views
wow still clear 4th and well in the frame for a play off spot or better, most teams will hit a wall, like wba now but we need a quick turnaround. the fans will be important now, stay with the lads and we could do it, some massive away support and likely more to come too. tight competitive league so far.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:37 - Feb 16 with 1812 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 12:45 - Feb 16 by Logman
It easy to say 'No Plan B' but he does change things, albeit sometimes a bit slowly for my liking. The important thing is not to panic. He has shown that he can get us playing good attacking football which is a cut above many of the teams we come across. We are a small club, punching above our weight against several teams and we therefore have to take risks if we are going to reach the promised land. With that come slip-ups. Warburton will prepare us as best we can for what lies ahead.
Of concern last night was how he didn't change anything until it was too late. There was a strong argument for a change at half-time but to not react after their first goal was really strange. We were sleepwalking to defeat.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:54 - Feb 16 with 1769 views
Very big week coming up. I made the point a couple of previews ago that the maths says we don't have to play that well, or maintain our form, to make the play-offs from here. The average of 20 years says we could basically post something like 1.2 points a game from here on in and have enough for the six - that's the same as Hull, in 19th, have managed. I didn't quite expect us to test that quite this severely quite this soon but it's not fatal atm. Hull, Blackpool and Cardiff all at home in a week and then peterborough just beyond that. It's basically as kind a list as you could hope for and if we were to post 12 points, while losing at Blackburn, Luton and Forest, then that 12 + the 5 point gap that already exists means teams really have to go some to overhaul us.
Of course, play like we have the last couple of games, and we won't be beating anybody.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:54 - Feb 16 with 1769 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:32 - Feb 16 by francisbowles
I believe that Chair needed to play and the first game was a cup match. Difficult to compare as Chair competes for more than one place.
He does compete for more than one position but not really that many more these days, but I take your point. I just think if he was that certain about the situation in Marshall's case wouldn't that have held at least partly true for Ilias, especially since it was a winning side?
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 18:16 - Feb 16 with 1565 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:39 - Feb 16 by Antti_Heinola
Good OP Myke. We had a wobble in the autumn and there was a bit of panicking on here (I said at the time we were in a rut), but results turned around because regardless of our many problems (which all sides have), we are a decent team with a decent manager. We'll come through it. Will we finish top 6? I don't know. But now is not the time to panic, and it's worth remembering that this was never going to be easy and we certainly weren't going to glide through the last third of the season without losing form or a few hiccups. Even in our championship year we only won two of our last seven, even if the job was almost done by then. Fans who go on about 'plan B' tend to mean 'why can't we just hoof it up to Matt Smith when it's not working' - it's a nonsense, and anyone can see that Warbs changes things quite a lot and is not afraid to change things. It could be that after Reading the team got a bit over-confident, with people returning from Afcon and injury worries subsiding. Once you take your foot off the pedal it's hard to get going again. Testing games ahead, but let's remember where we were 12 months ago and see how far we've come. Get behind them on Sat and hopefully we can start to turn it round.
“Once you take your foot off the Pedal”
Is that really what has happened? If so, why?
Warburton has spoken about avoiding complacency and expressed his frustration at the lack of quality and intensity. He seems as perplexed as the rest of us with the collapse in form (although the form hasn’t been great anyway) but quite rightly defends the players. What is needed when suffering a loss of form is to roll your sleeves up and work hard for one another. As long as everyone comes off the pitch knowing they have given everything for the cause, I, for one, can live with the losses. We have been seriously lacklustre in the last few games, so need to be far more positive and take the game to Hull.
The boys need to take a deep breath, go out on Saturday and put a shift in knowing they will get the full backing of the fans.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 21:25 - Feb 16 with 1409 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:54 - Feb 16 by Northernr
Very big week coming up. I made the point a couple of previews ago that the maths says we don't have to play that well, or maintain our form, to make the play-offs from here. The average of 20 years says we could basically post something like 1.2 points a game from here on in and have enough for the six - that's the same as Hull, in 19th, have managed. I didn't quite expect us to test that quite this severely quite this soon but it's not fatal atm. Hull, Blackpool and Cardiff all at home in a week and then peterborough just beyond that. It's basically as kind a list as you could hope for and if we were to post 12 points, while losing at Blackburn, Luton and Forest, then that 12 + the 5 point gap that already exists means teams really have to go some to overhaul us.
Of course, play like we have the last couple of games, and we won't be beating anybody.
Last yeqr, plqyoff teams lost 12-14 games< If e manage to keep it to that we ought to make the top 6. Which is what most of us hoped for, rather than expected, pre-season.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 21:34 - Feb 16 with 1401 views
We are in a good position but a bad place on 14:54 - Feb 16 by Northernr
Very big week coming up. I made the point a couple of previews ago that the maths says we don't have to play that well, or maintain our form, to make the play-offs from here. The average of 20 years says we could basically post something like 1.2 points a game from here on in and have enough for the six - that's the same as Hull, in 19th, have managed. I didn't quite expect us to test that quite this severely quite this soon but it's not fatal atm. Hull, Blackpool and Cardiff all at home in a week and then peterborough just beyond that. It's basically as kind a list as you could hope for and if we were to post 12 points, while losing at Blackburn, Luton and Forest, then that 12 + the 5 point gap that already exists means teams really have to go some to overhaul us.
Of course, play like we have the last couple of games, and we won't be beating anybody.
The theory is good, but you only have to look at how far WBA and Coventry have fallen to see how quickly it can go to shit when your form drops off. There's no window dressing one point from three games.
We are in a good position but a bad place on 13:43 - Feb 16 by A40Bosh
Myke, whilst your starting post was a cry to keep the faith, I think you have also fallen in to the trap of making assumptions that Warbs himself has simply got it wrong, as opposed to the team (pretty much the same team that got us those 17 from 21 points prior to this dip and were banging on the door of 2nd place) have simply gone off the boil. "While it appears that Warburton has made misjudgements recently - Amos being the most obvious - we really need to keep the faith. " So is there is an assumption there that had Amos been playing things would be so much different. Granted you did say "while it appears" at the start of the comment about Amos, but there must be something that Warbs/Eustace and Neil Banfield are seeing day in and day out on the training field and when picking the structure of the midfield ahead of games that puts JoJo and Field ahead of Amos: be it application every session, experience, bulk/build. It could be any one of a number of things that have those two picked ahead of Amos, Dozzell and Hendrick.
It was good to watch Warbs with his heckles raised on YouTube from last nights press briefing post match, as he is clearly narked off about those fans and those in the media who are asking about what plans he has for "wholesale change". I said it on another post last night that the worst possible thing in any industry is to overachieve, because people be it investors, management, the stock market, fans in football, VERY quickly forget that the performance is greater than expected and then when the performance dips for a short period, the world is ending and all is lost. West Brom have been on a terrible run yet there are people predicting that West Brom and Middlesborough and Forest will all come good again - just because of a change of manger or by them hoovering up in the transfer window. If they can come good again then so can we.
[Post edited 16 Feb 2022 13:46]
I thought MW was unusually spikey in this interview but I'd rather have it warts and all than listen to the carefully stage-managed clichés like 'they're only human', 'look after the football', 'get your rewards', etc.
I agree with the overriding message. It is time for calm heads from all concerned and minor tweaks rather than wholesale changes are in order. However, some of these tweaks require MW to recognise and reverse mistakes that he's made in recent weeks. Whilst I understand his position on Marshall, by the same token Amos should've kept his place in the team. Why does Dieng have to fight for the shirt but not Johansen? Why does Hendrick go straight into the team? This sends conflicting messages for me and risks team spirit.
Crucially, the wing-back position, so critical to the manager's preferred style of play has been a real conundrum this season. The only genuine wing-back that has performed consistently well is Wallace but his body is no longer up to the rigours of the role. I feel that recruitment in this area in particular has been weak. McCallum is injury-prone and Odabajo is erratic. As a result, MW has been forced to shoehorn Adomah at RWB. Whilst overall Albert has performed well when called upon, at heart he is an out-and-out winger so he's always liable to throw in the odd poor defensive display like he did at Millwall. A lot rests on McCallum getting up-to-speed quickly and remaining fit for the rest of the season.
Certainly the next few weeks are going to be pivotal because the chasing pack are ready to pounce if this blip continues. Still, as Greavesie used to say, football is a funny old game. As easily as they lost form, QPR can just as quickly rediscover it. Do that and it could really galvanise this team and set us up for an exciting run-in.
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We are in a good position but a bad place on 08:27 - Feb 17 with 1098 views
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