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Post by mujtahido on Feb 28, 2024 12:33:28 GMT
Can we make the playoffs.Our next three games are all very winnable but we our squad is now running on air.To still be in with a chance of the playoffs with 12 games to go is a fantastic achievement considering the poor start and all the injuries we've had and continue to have.To make it to the playoffs we'll have to emulate what we've done since Xmas and i just don't think we'll be able to do it but what I've seen this season keep RW sign Idris permanently and get our injured players back to full fitness and we'll be fighting for automatic promotion next season.Up the O's
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Post by dohnut on Feb 28, 2024 12:57:40 GMT
Next season we will be a force. Playoffs a minimum and who knows, another trip to Wembley.
As for running on empty. When you look at appearances this season our guys don’t especially stand out as doing any more than other teams players. Though Idris is second top so he is doing his bit for sure. Excluding Brynn only Ruel and James make the top 80 and as we know many of those appearances have been off the bench. Nearly 150 players have wracked up between 28 and 34 appearances. Go down to 27 and the number just grows. Including Joe Pigott, that surprised me.
The two games a week mantra and tired players mantra we hear all the time does not stand up to scrutiny when compared to other teams and other players.
Want to look at a team who have really had a tough time, look at Southend. For much of the season they survived with a squad of 13 and barring a 10 point deduction would be chasing the playoffs. There is a group of players having to put in a shift.
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Post by mrb on Feb 28, 2024 12:59:34 GMT
Think we’ve left it a little bit to late..But……
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Post by Thor on Feb 28, 2024 13:04:27 GMT
Yes we can
Said Bob the Builder
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Post by dohnut on Feb 28, 2024 13:05:01 GMT
Think we’ve left it a little bit to late..But…… Still have time. But whether we do it or not I think we all agree that given our injuries to key players, we have done amazingly well. And an appetite for next season too. But would I like even an unsuccessful trip to Wembley this season? Absolutely. If that prospect doesn’t motivate our players, nothing will. |
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Post by Thor on Feb 28, 2024 13:08:20 GMT
In all seriousness what we have going for us is momentum. The players will utilise adrenaline to get through it as believe me when you have a target of promotion or such like it motivates you even more. These players have bonuses in their contracts for success, for promotion etc. It can change their lives.
So if the opportunity is there, I know these players our players will give it everything they've got. Time will tell if it was enough.
As Keegan once said "I'd love it if we do it, love it"
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Post by watfordo on Feb 28, 2024 13:53:40 GMT
If we get to play offs and dont make it then the disappointment will kill us next season as it did after Rotherham at Wembey. Im happy to chase it down, get close and then take the momentum into next season.
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Post by SW O on Feb 28, 2024 14:24:01 GMT
If we get to play offs and dont make it then the disappointment will kill us next season as it did after Rotherham at Wembey. Im happy to chase it down, get close and then take the momentum into next season. I don't think that's a valid comparison. We were contenders for automatic promotion for much of the 2013/14 season, lost in a traumatic penalty shoot out and were bought by a madman. Unexpectedly reaching the playoffs in our first season back in League One, whatever the result, would be a huge incentive for next season. |
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Post by watfordo on Feb 28, 2024 14:28:49 GMT
If we get to play offs and dont make it then the disappointment will kill us next season as it did after Rotherham at Wembey. Im happy to chase it down, get close and then take the momentum into next season. I don't think that's a valid comparison. We were contenders for automatic promotion for much of the 2013/14 season, lost in a traumatic penalty shoot out and were bought by a madman. Unexpectedly reaching the playoffs in our first season back in League One, whatever the result, would be a huge incentive for next season. I hear you but its not just The Italian factor. Historically, teams that dont make it in the play offs usually fail the next season. The big Mo goes. |
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Post by dohnut on Feb 28, 2024 14:40:32 GMT
I don't think that's a valid comparison. We were contenders for automatic promotion for much of the 2013/14 season, lost in a traumatic penalty shoot out and were bought by a madman. Unexpectedly reaching the playoffs in our first season back in League One, whatever the result, would be a huge incentive for next season. I hear you but it’s not just The Italian factor. Historically, teams that dont make it in the play offs usually fail the next season. The big Mo goes. You make an interesting point about teams who don’t make it in the playoffs usually fail next season. Not all get taken over as we were. I will have a look, interesting project. Of course failure needs quantification. But accepting that could be the case, the risk for us would be losing Richie and that without doubt would be a blow. Does that risk increase if we fail in the playoffs? Maybe. His stock will be higher and others would come knocking. Eventually an offer he cannot refuse will come along. And it will. Proven in league 2, proven in league 1 with a newly promoted team. Championship clubs maybe will take a punt. Accepting all that I be delighted to have a Wembley trip and allow the Board to deal with the other stuff. |
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Post by redintheface on Feb 28, 2024 14:57:45 GMT
If we get to play offs and dont make it then the disappointment will kill us next season as it did after Rotherham at Wembey. Im happy to chase it down, get close and then take the momentum into next season. I don't think that's a valid comparison. We were contenders for automatic promotion for much of the 2013/14 season, lost in a traumatic penalty shoot out and were bought by a madman. Unexpectedly reaching the playoffs in our first season back in League One, whatever the result, would be a huge incentive for next season. I agree with you 100% SW O. You must always try to take opportunities when they come around as they are often few and far between. No one knows what will happen in the future - teams rarely - if ever- progress on a linear basis and I’ve seen too many ups and downs as an O’s fan to worry about what happens next season until August!👍 |
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Post by osoldguy on Feb 28, 2024 14:59:11 GMT
I hear you but it’s not just The Italian factor. Historically, teams that dont make it in the play offs usually fail the next season. The big Mo goes. You make an interesting point about teams who don’t make it in the playoffs usually fail next season. Not all get taken over as we were. I will have a look, interesting project. Of course failure needs quantification. But accepting that could be the case, the risk for us would be losing Richie and that without doubt would be a blow. Does that risk increase if we fail in the playoffs? Maybe. His stock will be higher and others would come knocking. Eventually an offer he cannot refuse will come along. And it will. Proven in league 2, proven in league 1 with a newly promoted team. Championship clubs maybe will take a punt. Accepting all that I be delighted to have a Wembley trip and allow the Board to deal with the other stuff. I think its worth having a shot imo for the experience for supporters, players and the revenue for the owners. This to make up for the poor performance against Chesterfield in the cup to not even get a draw. If the manager is serious in thinking he can motivate the players to achieve this, as it was unthinkable at Christmas to be in the position now. What I would suggest tongue in cheek is to start practising penalties now in case the unthinkable happens and we reach the playoffs.  |
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Post by carpslayer on Feb 28, 2024 15:49:11 GMT
time will tell.
all we can do is keep on winning.
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Post by duvb on Feb 28, 2024 16:22:49 GMT
Because it depends on teams above us dropping points, I think we will fall short. Hope I am wrong.
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Post by watfordo on Feb 28, 2024 17:02:17 GMT
Im not saying that I dont want play offs. I am saying that next season is
More important for me.
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Post by kbola on Feb 28, 2024 17:37:52 GMT
If we keep the faith Orient will undoubtedly win it all
Don't wet that bed though
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2024 17:43:59 GMT
Because it depends on teams above us dropping points, I think we will fall short. Hope I am wrong. Funnily enough, I think that's exactly why we can do it! Look at the form table: Last 6 games:We're 3rd. Bolton 12th. Oxford 13th. Stevenage 15th. Peterborough 21st. Last 10:We're top. Stevenage 8th. Bolton 9th. Peterborough 12th. Oxford 18th. If we can continue outperforming two of those four teams, even with a slight drop off, we'll get there. We're only six pts off it with 33 still to play for. Now Bolton are probably a bit too far off, but they haven't beaten a top half team since Boxing Day. They're on the way down so who knows? 🤷 I suspect we probably have a few too many duff results like Burton in us to make up the 12 pts. Oxford are just terrible. Their next 5 games are away to 2 teams above them (Portsmouth and Bolton), 2 teams fighting for their lives (Cheltenham and Port Vale), and the current form team (Lincoln). I wouldn't be that surprised if they lost all of those 😅 Something would have to go seriously wrong for us not to overtake them. Peterborough are knackered with a young team suffering from fixture congestion after two cup runs (one still ongoing). They just got their first league win in 6 games so maybe they've turned a corner? It was against Cambridge though, who are utter dog mess. Not sure about Stevenage. It seems like they've been sussed out a bit but I still can't see us beating them in three weeks. That could be a massive difference maker. Lincoln's current form is also a concern. We could easily overtake two teams currently above us only for Lincoln to beat us to sixth. On the other hand, they have Stevenage and Oxford to play in March (as well as us), so could also do us a favour. |
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Post by Nick312 on Feb 28, 2024 20:05:57 GMT
I suspect there's some "what ifs" going on inside the camp concerning the Burton result. A great recovery against Oxford which put the playoffs back on the radar, but still a massive hill to climb re. Stevenage. I wonder if we can catch Bolton, Oxford or Peterborough? They seem to be bottling it a bit. The Stevenage away game is massive anyhow for us, but only if we get the points against the "poorer" teams.
If the playoffs are to be achieved then we have to win virtually all of our remaining games. Derby away and Stevenage away might be excusable as draws.
An interesting and fairly easy project for someone to do would be to look into the games we've played against the "better" teams and compare them with the games played against the "worse". Then analyse the games coming up on a "better" and "worse" scale to predict where we might end up. It seems to me that we have more games against "worse" teams coming up and that might be a problem.
I'm in the camp of those who want to be in the playoffs because I think we'd win them. Momentum is going our way. And I think that momentum will continue into the Championship.
Some have made the point that we're missing star players. I don't think so.
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Post by buffalobill on Feb 28, 2024 20:30:19 GMT
I booked a trip away on the 18th May, playoff final day.
On the basis I’ve never seen us win, only lose when I’ve attended, this must be a good sign.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2024 21:04:36 GMT
If the playoffs are to be achieved then we have to win virtually all of our remaining games. Don't think this is quite true. It's been a season of two halves for us. I think we turned a corner since Charlton on Boxing Day. (The one game I attended. Coincidence? Thank me later.) Since then we've only dropped 10 pts out of a possible 39. To put that into perspective, only Derby have been in better form since then, and that's only on goals scored! It equals 2.23 a game. Last season we won the league with 1.97 a game! In other words, we can afford to do the occasional Burton. We don't need to be in better form than we're currently in, just so long as we don't drop off significantly and Oxford, Stevenage, and Peterborough don't all go on amazing runs. This also gives me pause although I suspect it's a little misleading. It seems to me that it's more a style issue than a quality one, although the two things aren't totally unrelated. We tend to do well against passing teams and struggle against more direct and long ball teams (hence why we can never beat Stevenage). Look at the Barnsley game. Yes, it looked like an equaliser was coming for some time, but in the end their goals came from two punts into the box. Especially with Happe out, we're not great defending high balls. And with the squad running thin, it's not unreasonable to assume we might start shipping more late goals as exhausted players lose focus. To continue at 2+ pts a game is still a huge ask. I'm trying to contain my expectations as I predicted us to finish 18th and think top half would still make for an exceptional season. But if we can pick up 6+ pts from the next three games and then beat Stevenage, I will allow myself to be extremely excited 😅 |
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