The last three games

[jdrobbo]

In a rare ‘short post’ from me...

Let’s just reflect on the last three games.

Two defeats against arguably two of the best three sides in the league. Much much better defensively and so much better disciplined, in terms of shape, tactics and understanding of roles.

Brighton was the game we needed to win and we did, with a clean sheet.

The form guide suggests three points from nine, but there are green shoots here...things are starting to develop.

Players are playing well and scapegoats are becoming that little bit harder to find. There’s a huge mountain to climb, but we have to believe we can get to our end goal. Another tough game next week. Keep with the side; they’re now fighting for us!

UTC

[Bosscat]

In a rare ‘short post’ from me...

Let’s just reflect on the last three games.

Two defeats against arguably two of the best three sides in the league. Much much better defensively and so much better disciplined, in terms of shape, tactics and discipline.

Brighton was the game we needed to win and we did, with a clean sheet.

The form guide suggests three points from nine, but there are green shoots here...things are starting to develop.

Players are playing well and scapegoats are becoming that little bit harder to find. There’s a huge mountain to climb, but we have to believe we can get to our end goal. Another tough game next week. Keep with the side; they’re now fighting for us!

UTC

Good post

[Ooogeorgeorgeoghani]

Great post , even sd has shown he can change our shape and he's not as stubborn as some suggested

[Vino blanco]

It has taken SD five years or so to try something different, so perhaps he is a bit stubborn. I am an SD fan, by the way, but do not understand his team selections and substitutions.

[SussexDon1inIreland]

Great performance lads!

I liked the three big lads at the back formation and the numbetof tackles and blocks they got in

UTC

[Woodleyclaret]

Much better but we still need to add more steel in midfield and pace on the wings

[Lancasterclaret]

All we need to do is finish above three teams, and there are three worst teams than us.

[EarbyClaret]

Heroic backs-to-the-wall performances against the best in the land are all well and good - suspect we'll see a similar damage limitation exercise next weekend, but we have to find a way of turning that into imposing/dominant displays to enable us take point off the rest, especially the group of six in and around the relegation places.

Positive signs indeed but unless we strengthen in the key areas in January, a driving/physical CM and and a finisher then regardless of the best efforts of the current group it's a a marginal call whether or not what we've currently got is enough to survive.

At the moment we're reliant on Huddersfield, Southampton and Fulham being worse - but at least one of those clubs is likely to spend enough in January to re-draw the battle-lines.

[FactualFrank]

Not many would have expected anything other than a defeat today. But go back a few weeks and we'd have not just lost, we'd have lost this 4 or 5-0. Before the game I was thinking if we do get beat, so long as we walk away with positives, then it's.. well.. a positive. Certainly things to be optimistic about.

Just don't go on Twitter and look for tweets about Burnley. I never knew so many people existed who knew naff all about football.

[Winstonswhite]

All we need to do is finish above three teams, and there are three worst teams than us.

I don’t know how you can confidently say there’s three teams worse than us when we were outplayed by Hudds Fulham and Saints (ok maybe not them) for long periods and ultimately failed to beat any of them.

[FactualFrank]

It's all about the January transfer window. We won't stay up without 1-2 quality players, but our effort and defending has improved.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Very pleased with today and with recent games. The reality though is that in only three games this season has our “expected goals” exceeded the oppositions’, two of those we won (Brighton and Bournemouth) and two of them were in our first six games (Southampton and Bournemouth) with another close one in those six games (Fulham). The other game we won (Cardiff) was very much a smash and grab.

EDIT - last season we had 13 games out of 38 where our expected goals was higher.

It’s thus premature to say we have turned a corner, or that we were poor in the first games and better in the latter ones. We’ve been bad on a regular basis, throughout the season, with the occasional good game. I’m not yet convinced we will be fine.

There are though some pleasing signs, and it is important we don’t go through this tough run with more stuffings than we’d expect on our Christmas dinner.

[dougcollins]

Considering we've never had imposing/dominating displays I don't expect to see that anytime soon.

Just winning some games would suit me.

[jrgbfc]

Not sure where this blind faith that there are 3 worse teams than us is coming from? If you forget about last season and go off what we've shown so far this season we are an extremely poor side.

[BOYSIE31]

pp

Great post , even sd has shown he can change our shape and he's not as stubborn as some suggested

Only took him 6 years

[FactualFrank]

Not sure where this blind faith that there are 3 worse teams than us is coming from? If you forget about last season and go off what we've shown so far this season we are an extremely poor side.

I agree that there aren't 3 worse sides than us. Not unless we can get playing like last season, consistently.

[Rileybobs]

Not sure where this blind faith that there are 3 worse teams than us is coming from? If you forget about last season and go off what we've shown so far this season we are an extremely poor side.

Well if you go off what we’ve shown so far this season then there are exactly 3 worse teams than us.

[EarbyClaret]

"Considering we've never had imposing/dominating displays I don't expect to see that anytime soon.

Just winning some games would suit me."

You're right - but get the first part of that right then the second should inevitably follow. The Huddersfield game being the classic example, We were the more experienced PL team - 1-0 at half-time. We have to be able to take that next step into competent/assured game management. If the try and hang on and hope for the best approach were repeated against a better team we would have lost never mind drawn.

There are matches from now on in where we have to take the initiative and control games against the teams we have to beat in order to survive. The plucky have a go/give it your best shot approach in games where you're not expected to get anything - Liverpool and Spurs - is relatively easy to accomplish by comparison.

[jrgbfc]

Well if you go off what we’ve shown so far this season then there are exactly 3 worse teams than us.

Really? Fulham murdered us down at their place and Cardiff and Huddersfield had the better of our games against them. I expect Southampton to improve now Hughes has gone, think it's going to be very tight. Or to use one of our managers favourite sayings, touch and go!

[Rileybobs]

Really? Fulham murdered us down at their place and Cardiff and Huddersfield had the better of our games against them. I expect Southampton to improve now Hughes has gone, think it's going to be very tight. Or to use one of our managers favourite sayings, touch and go!

Yes really. As things stand there are three worse teams than us.

[Darnhill Claret]

Wish people would stop assuming that just because we have been outplayed in some games, that those teams are automatically better than us.If more of our fans would try to stop judging on individual games to make a negative point, it would feel more like ‘we are all in this together’. I have seen several good performances from Huddersfield, who I don’t think will go down. I think we will finish above Cardiff and Newcastle and a few others but not sure which ones. Plenty of ups and downs to come for many cubs below the top 8. There is usually one club that plummets and one that ends the season well. I hope we are a strong finisher, meaning wins more points in the second half of the season than in the first. Sure that will apply to at least 2 of the current bottom 6.