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Football League 2023/24 - 23-27th February, 2024


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4 minutes ago, Dan said:

Ipswich will deflect one in in the 107th minute and I've no doubt Southampton get two late as well.

The amount of deflected goals we've conceded is stupid.

Two vs Ipswich, two vs Leeds. Game-changing ones as well. 

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That Millwall result was lovely.

Unexpected and now leaves a previously unbeaten in 25 games Southampton with three defeats in four.

Serious food for thought for them.

Credit to Ipswich, so many late goals. They keep going. Been a great week for them but not sure it will be entirely sustainable.

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Also, what a weekend at the bottom.

Wednesday, QPR, Huddersfield as well as Millwall all winning.

That's developing into a right battle royale down there now. I'd like to see Stoke drop to be fair, Birmingham too.

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I did think Ipswich were being unfairly written off. Every team has had a bit of a wobble now. Really is going to be hard on whoever misses out.

I don't think I will ever trust anything again if it's us.

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Think I've finally calmed down after that the other night. That one stung. The points that inevitably get thrown our way about the league position and how many clear we are miss the bigger fundamental issues that surround this club, and the worry for me is that we've still not quite put those demons to rest.

We've come into this league on the back of what I will repeatedly describe as being the most avoidable drop to the second tier in a generation, from a position of consistent top half Premier League finishes to crashing and burning in 12 months of complete madness. With the greatest of respect intended, when fans of clubs in this league moan about the parachute payments, the imbalance and whatnot, they are missing the point. We are not a normal relegated team. The biggest wage bill in the history of the division. A squad that should on paper hold its own in the Premier League. Leicester winning the majority of our games is largely the expectation in this situation. You still have to make it happen, but it would be disappointing if we weren't capable.

I think last night we proved for the most part we are actually capable of living with a decent standard of team. I thought the first half we probably edged overall despite a couple of hairy moments. The second half we played two thirds of it to near perfection. I was genuinely surprised watching how comfortably better we looked than them. I don't think a Leeds fan could've seriously complained if we had walked away 0-3 winners. The statement win made. Frankly, eliminated from the discussion. It becomes a three horse race for third, with ourselves then 9 clear of 2nd placed Ipswich and 12 clear of 3rd placed Leeds.

Now the goals themselves, as well as the one we had disallowed, had a lot of bad luck about them. The 2nd & 3rd particularly were incredibly unfortunate, but a result of the retreat that you see from us on too regular a basis. What I can't come to terms with is the inevitability of our implosion and how there seems to be no fix for it. If this game was an isolated incident, I could forgive a night that involved plenty of bad luck, but we made a lot of that bad luck. We lose all belief, we lose our heads, it's the players, the fans and anybody with any association. You know that despite blowing the lead against the odds, we won't hold out for what is a very respectable and useful point. You know we'll go the full way. Why is that? Where does this stem from?

The manager has proven himself a talented coach. He's had us looking well organised and cohesive with a quite clear plan in the vast majority of our games this season. But he still hasn't quite got to grips with the bottle syndrome we seem to have developed and maybe it's one of those things that will take time to fix. Make no mistake, it exists. The number of absolutely ridiculous collapses, the songs in the street from the opposition I'm witnessing, even in a season where we have clear superiority to the level is infuriating, and it bodes really badly if we do see this through.

I still believe we will win this league. I believe the gap in quality will see us through. But I've now hit a point where I really wouldn't be shocked if we did blow it either. It just seems to be our way now and I hate it.

QPR at home for us next week. That is on paper a routine victory. The sort of fixture that our season has been built on. It is our consistency in these types of games that is why I retain the belief we will see this one through for now. But if we start blowing those sorts of games, I really am going to panic a bit. The others are not slowing down for the most part. This is no ordinary season. The strongest three to go down ever combined with the most ridiculously good promoted side ever in Ipswich. There is a long way to go, and I really hope it doesn't come down to tight crunch games - instead that we can amass a big enough gap to begin with and avert them. Because I really don't trust us in them.

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You know what as well. I'm absolutely sick of the officiating. It's just absolutely appalling more often than it isn't. Shit refs I've come to accept are a part of the game, but not this shit, this often. By all means, introduce another colour card or introduce a load more bullshit technicalities in the rules with your fingers in your ears every time somebody dares tell the truth about it. Absolute joke of a performance - from a Premier League referee as well. That's following the Premier League referee we were inflicted with last weekend as well, who against all odds has blagged himself a cup final this weekend. Is the level seriously this bad?

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