A month in football

[davewebbsbrain]

It's a funny old game. A month ago we had the worst goal difference in the top half of the table and there were shouts of 'we won't get anywhere with a negative goal difference'

Now we have the second best goal difference in the division after a very good month of football and are top.

The ups and down of the world's best sport eh.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Its also the ups and downs of Shrimperzone. Some of the reactions on here are so kneejerk. I expected us to hit a spell of form eventually but I've got to be honest I thought it would be in a few weeks time when the fixtures got a bit easier. That we're top after the run of games we've been on recently is incredible.

 

[Angell Delight]

Its also the ups and downs of Shrimperzone. Some of the reactions on here are so kneejerk. I expected us to hit a spell of form eventually but I've got to be honest I thought it would be in a few weeks time when the fixtures got a bit easier. That we're top after the run of games we've been on recently is incredible.

I agree, I expected us to be maybe 8th-12th right now and predicted we would break into the play-offs or maybe top 3 by November. To be top really does say an awful lot about Sturrock and this team. After all we've already had Crawley/Port Vale/Swindon/Rotherham/Accrington away.....there aren't many tougher away trips than those in this division!

 

[Bromley Blue]

Exactly. With the fixtures we have coming up we should be pulling away really. Not necessarily from 2nd, 3rd and 4th but certainly from 8th. But just as we've got some unexpected results on the positive side of late its important not to get to carried away as it can certainly happen the other way. I, for one had Burton at home down as 3 points so there's still a long way to go.

 

[Shrimper21]

I hope we haven't 'peaked' to early (as they say) and can carry on this good form we have been in. There will certainly be a spell where we struggle in a couple of games which is to be expected, as no team can keep on picking up points until the end of the season from now. But hopefully it won't be for long and we go on to break the record number of points picked up in league 2....

 

[Rob1920]

Its a bit hard to believe the last few weeks. I remember being on holiday when we lost to Swindon & was thinking oh well, despite all the hype & hope another season of lower mid-table toil awaits.. Can't quite believe in such a short space of time we've gone from that to top of the league, and looking full of confidence. what on earth happened after the Swindon game to change things so dramatically? Drugs maybe?

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

Its a bit hard to believe the last few weeks. I remember being on holiday when we lost to Swindon & was thinking oh well, despite all the hype & hope another season of lower mid-table toil awaits.. Can't quite believe in such a short space of time we've gone from that to top of the league, and looking full of confidence. what on earth happened after the Swindon game to change things so dramatically? Drugs maybe?

To be fair the Swindon game we were forced to put very weak forward line out. Players staying fit and available is key for any side in the lower divisions

 

[Smiffy]

The 12 games in the run up to xmas looks very appealing indeed. 5 home and 7 away. With only 3 games against any of the current top 7. We have only played 4 games against bottom half sides so far. The lowest out of any of the current top 7 sides. Which we have won 3 and drawn 1 (Northampton when we was 2-0 up!)

Teams such as Morecambe and Wimbledon have played 9 and 8 games respectively against bottom half sides already. Which may say a lot about their current lofty positions?...

But you just know a poor patch is around the corner somewhere. We need to looking to pick up around 20-25 points from that lot really. Which will surely leave us top with points to spare. And probably a nice cushion on 8th spot. A key period of the season coming up...

Crewe (A)
Morecambe (H)
Torquay (H)
Barnet (A)
Macclesfield (A)
Oxford (H)
Daggers (A)
Bristol R (H)
Cheltenham (A)
Bradford (H)
Aldershot (A)
Wimbledon (A)

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

I think we will **** this league, I really do. We were so much better than Dagenham last without playing well. We should have put 4 or 5 past that defence last night and it wouldn't have flattered us. I reckon over teams are looking at us as the team to beat along with Crawley and a couple of others.

 

[Reg Martin]

We are at the moment doing far better than I expected or dared hope but even if we do go up we will almost certainly have a bad run at some point this season. I think it's a case of enjpying the great run when it's happening and not panicking when the bad spell comes along.

 

[Angell Delight]

I'm very confident, I really am. The only thing that concerns me now is that we can no longer slip under the radar, as leaders we are there to be shot at and sides generally up their game against such opposition. Still I'm confident we have the ability and strength in depth to keep on picking up the points regardless....

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

I was hopeful (but not expectant) of a promotion push and if we'd been around the playoffs now I'd have been pretty pleased. So to be where we are is fantastic, enjoying it while it lasts but as Smiffy says there will be a tough period along the line somewhere, it's how we deal with that.

Not too many I'm worried about in this list, Torquay can be tough, Bristol R are dangerous and Aldershot & Wimbledon will be tough to beat on their own patches, plus Oxford could be awkward.

Crewe (A)
Morecambe (H)
Torquay (H)
Barnet (A)
Macclesfield (A)
Oxford (H)
Daggers (A)
Bristol R (H)
Cheltenham (A)
Bradford (H)
Aldershot (A)
Wimbledon (A)

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

I agree, I expected us to be maybe 8th-12th right now and predicted we would break into the play-offs or maybe top 3 by November. To be top really does say an awful lot about Sturrock and this team. After all we've already had Crawley/Port Vale/Swindon/Rotherham/Accrington away.....there aren't many tougher away trips than those in this division!

Interesting to speculate how we would fare against Crawley and Swindon, the way we are presently playing.....we shall see when we entertain them at Roots Hall. Considering that we have our top scorer from last season still injured and the cultured skills of Lee Sawyer, still to delight us, the picture is encouraging and nearly everyone can wear their rose-tinted spactacles with pride. It's quite a long time since I remember the bench being so strong and discipline appears to have suddenly improved. Thus, without a catastrophic series of injuries we can, if neccesary, accomodate the occasional injury or suspension without weakening the squad.
There is one other point, that I don't think anyone has mentioned, concerning the maintenance of our position in the automatic promotion places. If we are well ensconced in the top three come the New Year there is more of a chance that the likes of Ryan Hall etc will stay with us, believing that they are likely to be playing at a higher level next season.

 

[Beefy]

I think it just shows the importance of keeping some perspective. We got spanked by Swindon. It happens. We'll get hammered by another team before too long. If we go through a few bad games it isn't all over and it doesn't mean that the next game is our biggest of the season, or whatever else we hype these things up to be.

At the same time us being top right now doesn't mean that we'll get promoted.

Right now we're winning games which, after the couple of years we've all had, I'm pretty happy with.

 

[Cricko]

I think it just shows the importance of keeping some perspective. We got spanked by Swindon. It happens. We'll get hammered by another team before too long. If we go through a few bad games it isn't all over and it doesn't mean that the next game is our biggest of the season, or whatever else we hype these things up to be.

At the same time us being top right now doesn't mean that we'll get promoted.


Right now we're winning games which, after the couple of years we've all had, I'm pretty happy with.

I don't see that at all from watching some of the dross in League 2 this year..we have been far from brilliant ourselves this season and have played some of the top sides away from home and taken points..We sit top of a league that shows no team is better than us as it stands.

 

[Blue_Wes]

Yeah but you only have to look at the Morecambe Crawley game to realise that if you have a few players having a bad day at the office, suffer a few suspensions and injuries then it's possible that you can have your pants pulled down in a bad way.

Beefy's right, we'll suffer one or two bad results along the way, but as long as it's just one or two and we don't over react to them then it should be fine.