have we got too much know how to go down?

[Spijed]

Regardless of playing ability we do seem to have enough know how to keep us up this season and I suspect we'll keep om getting the required results.

[Hibsclaret]

We have

[Vegas Claret]

pretty sure Stoke, WBA and Swansea fans all thought the same, it's going to be a long old scrap

[Blackrod]

No we havn't.

[Longside4evr]

We will be in this scrap till the end of the season two places are probably cemented now so five or six teams will have to battle it out

[Hibsclaret]

Yep.

Hughes followed by Lambert
Pulis followed by Pardew and then Darren Moore
Clement followed by Carvalhal

I think we have enough with the ginger genius

[Spijed]

pretty sure Stoke, WBA and Swansea fans all thought the same, it's going to be a long old scrap

Difference is with regards to WBA and Stoke they changed the style play as the fans tired of Pulis. That did for them. Swansea changed managers too often as they got new owners in.

[Aclaret]

Couldn't believe Cricketfield stand was singing "Fulhams going down" Its a bit early for all that, and tempting fate.
Long way to go yet.

[Vegas Claret]

Difference is with regards to WBA and Stoke they changed the style play as the fans tired of Pulis. That did for them. Swansea changed managers too often as they got new owners in.

won't disagree but it's far far far too early to think "we have enough" etc, two very tough away games coming up now

[EarbyClaret]

Last season West Brom, Stoke and Swansea all changed managers, whilst you could make a case for saying that was the right thing to do in at least two of those cases, it's disruptive.

For us, avoiding that turmoil has been key.

In terms of the experience of our managerial/coaching staff and the majority of our players we are certainly better equipped than Huddersfield, Fulham and Cardiff to come out on the right side of this. Today's performance/result was a perfect example of achieving what's required when the quality is sometimes lacking.

[Lancasterclaret]

We've put ourselves in the group "could go down"

Three games ago we were in the group "almost certain to go down"

Long way to go yet, but we do look a lot more like ourselves (and that is a team good enough to survive in the prem)

[Giftonsnoidea]

No

We need some quality this month to slot in as were short of options from the bench.

One or two quality additions needed as we should have strengthened in the summer, will be much harder to attract players now though.

[claretfern]

Probably, but we won't be able to rely on it season after season.

[Hibsclaret]

The difference between us and the other teams is that we have the ability to win a few games in batches, like the 3 just now, 2 earlier in the season and the 5 in the early part of the year. The other teams seem for the main part to be unable to do that, particularly Cardiff who in my opinion are most likely to go down with Fulham and Hudds. Long way to go though

[AlargeClaret]

We have but desperately need a lucky break ( I know !) with injuries. Defour is fit Brady is fit ( 1 more susp) and Gud not far off , The emergence of Mc’Neil and a bit of form which were in ,captain Heaton back etc are all big big positives .We do however need a bit of real quality and creativity OR a top centre forward . A better team would have ripped us apart today , but we have shown we’re a touch better than a good few of our rivals .

[tiger76]

We're well capable of picking up points against most bottom-half PL teams,especially at home,this run has given us a real chance of escaping the dogfight but there will be plenty of twists and turns yet,Huddersfield are gone today was their last chance to claw the gap to manageable levels,Fulham are leaky at the back and for all their neat football they created few clear cut openings in the 2nd half,today's results have dragged Palace back into the mix also.

[Spijed]

And Btighton are only five pts ahead

[Quickenthetempo]

After a superb performance against West Ham we slipped a little at Huddersfield and went way below the acceptable peforomance line yesterday.

We might be down to the bare bones but we have probably used all our luck up yesterday for the season.

I wouldn't call it know how with desperate defending, a stonewall penalty for them not given and all the luck in the world to score our goals.

We can stay up by playing better which we are capable of, but we have to set out to play well and go after the opposition, not go in front and hang on for dear life.

[evensteadiereddie]

We were abysmal in the second half. There was a fifteen minute period where we didn't keep possession for more than ten seconds at a time. We passed it to them time after time.
Most Prem teams would have put three or four past us in that second half.
Fulham's defence was pitiful with panic-stations every time we got at them in the first half - why the hell we sat back and asked for it in the second half, I'll never know. Still, a win's a win.

[Winstonswhite]

If the side second from bottom hadn’t decided to score two own goals yesterday against us we’d currently be sat in the relegation zone. So no, we haven’t got too much know how. What a ridiculous question.

[mdd2]

Looking at our remaining fixtures we are going to have to achieve some remarkable away results to stay up if 36pts will be needed and not bottle the 3 pointers at home against Southampton Cardiff and Palace. Personally 3pts against Southampton will be a tough task.
I agree about yesterday's second half performance which I think had much to do with their subs and our inability to replace McNeil with a similar player.
Hard to see us getting any points from our last 4 games so where do we get the next 15?

[taio]

Relegation scrap will probably be a feature for the rest of the season. But still feels like an overachievement. Which is why it was mental when some people were clear that SD should be sacked. Five point gap to Brighton is significant though.

[Spijed]

Looking at our remaining fixtures we are going to have to achieve some remarkable away results to stay up if 36pts will be needed and not bottle the 3 pointers at home against Southampton Cardiff and Palace. Personally 3pts against Southampton will be a tough task.
I agree about yesterday's second half performance which I think had much to do with their subs and our inability to replace McNeil with a similar player.
Hard to see us getting any points from our last 4 games so where do we get the next 15?

If Cardiff can go to Leicester and win, and Huddersfield can get a draw away at Everton, along with beating Wolves away, perhaps indicates there are plenty of matches where we can get results.

[taio]

If Cardiff can go to Leicester and win, and Huddersfield can get a draw away at Everton, along with beating Wolves away, perhaps indicates there are plenty of matches where we can get results.

That's not how it works.

[mdd2]

If Cardiff can go to Leicester and win, and Huddersfield can get a draw away at Everton, along with beating Wolves away, perhaps indicates there are plenty of matches where we can get results.

I hope so and personally I am hoping that the confidence from 4 wins on the bounce will get us something at Watford

[Spijed]

That's not how it works.

But it shows that teams at the bottom are capable of getting results anywhere.

[Rileybobs]

Looking at our remaining fixtures we are going to have to achieve some remarkable away results to stay up if 36pts will be needed and not bottle the 3 pointers at home against Southampton Cardiff and Palace. Personally 3pts against Southampton will be a tough task.
I agree about yesterday's second half performance which I think had much to do with their subs and our inability to replace McNeil with a similar player.
Hard to see us getting any points from our last 4 games so where do we get the next 15?

There’s 16 games left. Everyone has almost the same set of fixtures to play (albeit variances between home and away games).

So if you are writing the last 4 games off, which in itself is silly, then I would suggest we need to get the next 15 points from the other 12 games. That’s also assuming that 36 points will be required which isn’t indicative of how the league has played out so far.

[evensteadiereddie]

The last seven
Leicester h
Wolves h
Bournemouth a
Cardiff h
Chelsea a
City h
Everton a Even the last three might not be write-offs - Chelsea might be in a comfortable top four position by then, City might be champions or a distant second with FA and Champions League finals to prepare for and Everton won't be too fussed. You never know. Every end of season brings unexpected results.

[TVC15]

If the side second from bottom hadn’t decided to score two own goals yesterday against us we’d currently be sat in the relegation zone. So no, we haven’t got too much know how. What a ridiculous question.

Not as ridiculous as suggesting Fulham had “decided” to score 2 own goals !

[Bosscat]

The last seven
Leicester h
Wolves h
Bournemouth a
Cardiff h
Chelsea a
City h
Everton a Even the last three might not be write-offs - Chelsea might be in a comfortable top four position by then, City might be champions with FA and Champions League finals to prepare for and Everton won't be too fussed. You never know. Every end of season brings unexpected results.

I thought Arsenil at home was the last match of the season.... We owe them one.... imagine doing to them what we have done to Fulham and beating them 2-1 with Arsnil scoring 2 own goals that would be Karma

[evensteadiereddie]

Sorry, you're right. Even better, Arsenal will have nothing to play for.

[mdd2]

Given the times they have done us out of points, 2 in 2009-10 season when a good goal was given offside. One in October 2016 at home and one away in 2017 and then one at home in 2017-that's 4 games from the 9 we have played in this league. We deserve to get 3 from some outrageous decisions next game and we would still be owed a dodgy draw.

[Dark Cloud]

The Fulham fan I was chatting to in The Boot afterwards said everyone there was pretty much resigned to going down and yesterday had only made it even clearer. He said Fulham had made the classic mistake of paying out big money and signing really good attacking/flair players like Mitrovic and Schurle etc, but had never seen that PL survival and ultimate success is built from the back where they clearly weren't good enough.

[Bosscat]

The Fulham fan I was chatting to in The Boot afterwards said everyone there was pretty much resigned to going down and yesterday had only made it even clearer. He said Fulham had made the classic mistake of paying out big money and signing really good attacking/flair players like Mitrovic and Schurle etc, but had never seen that PL survival and ultimate success is built from the back where they clearly weren't good enough.

Fulham are leaking almost 2.5 goals a game and scoring less than 1 goal on average. They are relegation fodder personified unless they start to turn that round.

Is it possible, yes ... can they do it, maybe ... will they do it, I wouldn't put money on it.

[jdrobbo]

We need to accept that we’re very much in a relegation scrap, but scrap is what we do well. We were awful at times yesterday. We need at least one new face and a return to FULL fitness of some of our key players.

[Lord Beamish]

We should have enough nous, we need to continue to apply the hard work.

[Burnley1989]

If the side second from bottom hadn’t decided to score two own goals yesterday against us we’d currently be sat in the relegation zone. So no, we haven’t got too much know how. What a ridiculous question.

Decided?

[claretspice]

Know-how doesn't keep you up if you haven't got the quality, but it's definitely a key ingredient and could well be decisive in keeping us ahead of the pack. We saw yesterday that Fulham are a bit lacking in that department.

We don't need much but we do need a player or two this month. Not necessarily for the first eleven, which looks OK, but more to add some more depth in the centre of midfield and possibly a nimble front man if Vydra isn't seen as the future - we missed the option of a striker with the pace to really run the centre backs in the second half yesterday. We've been reportedly focusing on a winger, but after seeing Hendrick do such a good job in an Arfield-type role yesterday, with McNeil coming to the fore and the established 3 wingers to come back, I'd argue we're pretty well stocked.

In the medium term we've a vacancy for an alternative to Taylor as Ward comes to the end, and for an alternative right back given Lowton's loss of form and Bardsley's injury, but i'm not sure either of those are a priority in this window. It's making sure we don't run out of midfielders and that we've got the option of some pace in Lennon's absence that is key. If we get that, then that nous might be the final ingredient in the mix.

[EarbyClaret]

The biggest single factor in our favour is that we know we don't have the required quality so the emphasis has to be on hard work, organisation and resilience when we don't have the ball.

It's that kind of mentality, consistently delivering to those levels, which gets us results like yesterday's. Neither Fulham nor Huddersfield can get those kind of results and I think Cardiff will find that progressively harder to do in the second half of the season.

Three straight wins has given us a fantastic platform and of course it will be tough and at least one of the relegation places will probably go down to the wire but having got ourselves to where we are now then I think we have more "know how" however you want to define that term, than the minimum requirement of at least three other teams - all of whom are currently below us.

[BurnleyFC]

I still think there’s a very good chance we’ll drop.

[Bosscat]

I still think there’s a very good chance we’ll drop.

Well aren't you the jolly voice of Burnleys finest Premier League Support.

[FactualFrank]

The biggest single factor in our favour is that we know we don't have the required quality so the emphasis has to be on hard work, organisation and resilience when we don't have the ball.

It's that kind of mentality, consistently delivering to those levels, which gets us results like yesterday's. Neither Fulham nor Huddersfield can get those kind of results and I think Cardiff will find that progressively harder to do in the second half of the season.

Three straight wins has given us a fantastic platform and of course it will be tough and at least one of the relegation places will probably go down to the wire but having got ourselves to where we are now then I think we have more "know how" however you want to define that term, than the minimum requirement of at least three other teams - all of whom are currently below us.

I think a team can be so good at pressing that it devalues the opposition. And we can be very good at pressing. We can close down the opposing players making them give up possession. So I agree with what you say: pressing is hard work + organisation. But it comes at a price. And that price is being exhausted, like we have seen many times, and like we saw against Fulham. For at least the final 30 minutes we were basically shagged. Because of the pressing we did. That's how it works. You need to be incredibly fit to press the opposing team for 80-90 minutes.

But it's a quality. It takes the right coaching and it takes individuals to be clever enough to work together and know when that person goes for that man and when to drop back. It's a quality in it's own right. I think that's one reason why we have done better than what we are 'on paper'.

[BurnleyFC]

Well aren't you the jolly voice of Burnleys finest Premier League Support.

Realistic.

We’ll revisit this post at the end of the season. I’d take 17th now.

[Long Time Lurker]

I think a team can be so good at pressing that it devalues the opposition. And we can be very good at pressing. We can close down the opposing players making them give up possession. So I agree with what you say: pressing is hard work + organisation. But it comes at a price. And that price is being exhausted, like we have seen many times, and like we saw against Fulham. For at least the final 30 minutes we were basically shagged. Because of the pressing we did. That's how it works. You need to be incredibly fit to press the opposing team for 80-90 minutes.

But it's a quality. It takes the right coaching and it takes individuals to be clever enough to work together and know when that person goes for that man and when to drop back. It's a quality in it's own right. I think that's one reason why we have done better than what we are 'on paper'.

We have mastered the paper press, now we just need to add a bit more creative origami to our technical repertoire.

[FactualFrank]

Well aren't you the jolly voice of Burnleys finest Premier League Support.

To be fair, I can't really disagree with him. I still stand by what I said the other week in that we need at least 1 player good enough to walk straight into our starting 11, if we're to stay up. They need to be signed and be clearly good enough to make a difference for us. If we don't sign that player, I feel we'll struggle.

Now McNeil is like a signing. Heaton coming in, has also felt like a new signing with how much we've improved. But I still feel like we need another. We are not quite there yet.

[jurek]

We certainly seem to have got our 'last season form' back for the last
few games and probably since the Liverpool game with a major blip against Everton.
And more recently found 'ways to win'.

The question is how long can we maintain it?

And given we can't expect to maintain it at recent levels in every game
will those likely to come in be able to make a decent contribution?
I'm thinking of Defour and Brady even if it be only for a few games.
They should be up for it.

Another new addition might also help.

[FactualFrank]

Jurek - the crazy thing is, Brady is now backup. He's no longer making our starting 11.

[HunterST_BFC]

Our final run in is terrible.
We need to get enough points (or nearly enough) to survive by the end of March.
We need a couple in in Jan' window who can influence the team to get there by the end of March.

Will it happen? ... Probably not.
Will we have enough with what we have ... 16th 17th at best. (unless we get a fit team together with what we have).

It will be old school football but we don't have the players who can terrify teams

[FactualFrank]

Our final run in is terrible.

People keep saying that. But you could easily turn that into a good thing, as one or more of those four could be preparing for a cup final or have their league position confirmed. Why am I the only poster who is seeing this?

You can argue that it's better to have those fixtures then as opposed to earlier on.

[Spijed]

Our final run in is terrible.

It's always easier to play teams if they have nothing to play for.

Huddersfield had Man City & Chelsea away at the end of last season and got the required results.