It's now Sunday morning, how do you feel?

[yogi bear up the cagire]

GLASS HALF FULL:
Who would have believed, twelve games into the season, we'd still have interest in the season when it came to the last game (apart from being at the other end of the table). Just keep our fingers crossed for next week......third time lucky! All this makes the summer break slightly shorter.

GLASS HALF EMPTY:
No point talking about glasses, let's just talk about bottled. Four defeats in five is not play-off form. Do we deserve or even merit being in them? Don't think about Millwall or Rochdale next Sunday..........does anyone really believe we'll get a result against Bury?

 

[OldBlueLady]

I feel optimistic, as I always do. If Brown and Cocko can get them mentally prepared then we can win without any shadow of a doubt next Sunday. Of course, we will be relying on Brizzle to do us a favour and get at least a draw against Millwall but Millwall are choking every bit as much as us at the moment so anything is possible.

We have to work on the tactics though, we've been at our most deadly this season when running at pace against the opposing side - not lumping it forward. Sadly we seem to have reverted to this old and rarely successful tactic far too often lately. I'd like to see us start with two proper pacey wide men, and with Lenny and Woody in the middle.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I feel optimistic, as I always do. If Brown and Cocko can get them mentally prepared then we can win without any shadow of a doubt next Sunday. Of course, we will be relying on Brizzle to do us a favour and get at least a draw against Millwall but Millwall are choking every bit as much as us at the moment so anything is possible.

We have to work on the tactics though, we've been at our most deadly this season when running at pace against the opposing side - not lumping it forward. Sadly we seem to have reverted to this old and rarely successful tactic far too often lately. I'd like to see us start with two proper pacey wide men, and with Lenny and Woody in the middle.

Not being funny but they haven't managed to get the players mentally prepared against Shrewsbury, MK Dons or Charlton so I doubt they will against Bury.

I'm sick as a pig that over 1500 of us travelled all that way yesterday but the players couldn't be bothered to make the effort on the pitch

 

[C V Shrimper]

So to add just a little bit of perspective here...

Me and my mates had the whole trip planned for months. We did at at Exeter a couple of years back and would have done Wigan last year (the last away game) but we weren't in the race for anything and well, it was Wigan.

My 82 year old Mum has been suffering with a slipped disc and other various ailments - the normal stuff as you get old - but last week (10 days ago) she had what was a suspected stroke, that turned out to be several suspected mini strokes (TIAs) but then it wasn't that either so they weren't really sure what was going on. Then on Wednesday, weird blood spots started appearing on her arm and lips and her nose started to bleed. Off to the doctor, he thought it was a reaction to the aspirin she had been given (quite a large dose apparently - 300g) in conjunction with her other meds but she'd only had it once and that was two days prior, so she stopped that and he said it should be fine. I explained I was due to be away and he said no problem, it should be fine for a few days.

Anyhow, the trip was touch and go for me but at her insistence mainly I set off for the weekend on Friday morning, due back this afternoon (Sunday), keeping in touch by phone.

Well she wasn't ok, the blood spots kept coming and spreading, the nosebleeds became worse and no-one knew what was going on. Thank heavens for my other half who was here, getting her into hospital Saturday morning and as soon as the Doctor laid eyes on her, admitted her as an emergency. He did her blood test personally, said her platelet count was only 1 and he'd never seen anyone with anything that low.

So obviously back I come, leaving Shrewsbury at around 1:30 and being the only Shrimper at the railway station going the other way!

I followed the game on the train home but mainly as a distraction to be honest and whilst I was delighted that Millwall blew it and we are still in it, I can't really get all that excited to be honest and it wouldn't surprise me if both Millwall and ourselves caved in next week and Rochdale nicked it.

But, as I say, a bit of perspective for me, football isn't the be all and end all and I'm now off to the Acute Medical Unit to see how my Mum is. She had new platelets and a blood transfusion last night but they need to know where the internal bleeding is coming from.

As for next week - I'm hoping to go, subject to what happens.

So how do I feel this morning? Pretty crap.

This post certainly does put things into perspective, my mum has dementia and has previously suffered a stroke, this hampers my going to away matches a lot as I always visit her Saturday mornings and she gets into a routine.
My thoughts and I'm sure everyone else's on here are with you and your mum, I hope everything is ok and you make it to the Hall next week and we all have something to celebrate!

 

[AndyT]

Best wishes 'fbm' :sad:

 

[Silencer]

A small part of me doesn't want us to get into the play-offs now, firstly because I don't think either us or Millwall deserve it after the last two results, and secondly because I think we'd get found out and I'd rather not go through the anguish of losing in the play-offs.

Ridiculous - not one single part of me wouldn't want to feature in the play offs, two packed legs or roller coaster emotions.

 

[RobM]

"I'm sick as a pig that over 1500 of us travelled all that way yesterday but the players couldn't be bothered to make the effort on the pitch".

They looked half-disinterested even coming out for the start!

 

[LBBlue]

I don't really get all this mentally prepared stuff. We've struggled in the last few weeks because too many of the four or five really key players have not been fit and their replacements are basically technically not good enough.

Wordsworth and Ranger have only started a game together 17 times all season. At the start of April most people thought we could go for second spot. Then Lenny got sent off. Coker got injured in training. Ferdinand's and Ranger's core fitness is not good enough for 7 games in 30 days, together with little defensive cover. Then White and Wordsworth got injured. McLaughlin has been a shadow of the player he was before he got injured. What's happened is extremely disappointing but probably inevitable.

The only surprising thing about where we are at is that we still have a chance.

Bradford City have only lost 7 games all season. Bristol Rovers last 12 home games have been won 9 drawn 3 lost none. So on paper both Rochdale and Millwall have very hard games.

If we don't do it wont be for lack of effort or bottle it will be because of lack of quality and not strengthening in January - no one brought in has gone anywhere near a place in the first 11.

We have a chance - we will need to score early on but I think that will be difficult particularly if Wordsworth is not fit. They have 7 days rest to get up to it physically and hope for the best.

Let's face it we could easily have been where Coventry, Swindon, Chesterfield and Port Vale are. I'm sure Chesterfield didn't expect to be relegated when they signed Ched Evans.

 

[secondalibi]

How do I feel today? I'm still fuming!! Losing is always frustrating, annoying etc, but sometimes other things are more important.

Yesterday, at the final whistle a number of our so called fans, who don't have the brain capacity to cope with losing, are so desperate to confront the celebrating Shrewsbury fans, that they don't think about anyone else. So they barge past me and my 10 year old son, who is autistic, and my son ends up on the floor! My son was so upset, and even hours after the game he had gone unusually quiet and didn't really want to talk about it.

The worst thing is that he is still not quite himself this morning and says he doesn't want to go to the match next week against Bury.

I am hoping he changes his mind, because I can't stand the idea of a few brainless idiots ruining something that he truly enjoys.

 

[TTS]

Not being funny but they haven't managed to get the players mentally prepared against Shrewsbury, MK Dons or Charlton so I doubt they will against Bury.

I'm sick as a pig that over 1500 of us travelled all that way yesterday but the players couldn't be bothered to make the effort on the pitch

So those are the only games that we can judge this season on then ?

Oh ok, I'll just forget about the other 75% of the season then and will message the boys to tell them not to bother this week nor at training as we are giving up ..

 

[mrsblue]

I don't really get all this mentally prepared stuff. We've struggled in the last few weeks because too many of the four or five really key players have not been fit and their replacements are basically technically not good enough.

Wordsworth and Ranger have only started a game together 17 times all season. At the start of April most people thought we could go for second spot. Then Lenny got sent off. Coker got injured in training. Ferdinand's and Ranger's core fitness is not good enough for 7 games in 30 days, together with little defensive cover. Then White and Wordsworth got injured. McLaughlin has been a shadow of the player he was before he got injured. What's happened is extremely disappointing but probably inevitable.

The only surprising thing about where we are at is that we still have a chance.

Bradford City have only lost 7 games all season. Bristol Rovers last 12 home games have been won 9 drawn 3 lost none. So on paper both Rochdale and Millwall have very hard games.

If we don't do it wont be for lack of effort or bottle it will be because of lack of quality and not strengthening in January - no one brought in has gone anywhere near a place in the first 11.

We have a chance - we will need to score early on but I think that will be difficult particularly if Wordsworth is not fit. They have 7 days rest to get up to it physically and hope for the best.

Let's face it we could easily have been where Coventry, Swindon, Chesterfield and Port Vale are. I'm sure Chesterfield didn't expect to be relegated when they signed Ched Evans.

But that's the problem when you sign these type of players....the window should be used to strengthen yet we signed guys who have hardly had pitch time......self inflicted IMO.

 

[rayleigh dan]

But that's the problem when you sign these type of players....the window should be used to strengthen yet we signed guys who have hardly had pitch time......self inflicted IMO.

We definately should have got another central defender in during the January window, perhaps a left back too. We've ended up far too over reliant any on John White to cover any defensive injuries. Considering that we knew Anton's ability to stay fully fit is suspect, it seems foolish not to have a contingency plan.

Instead we sign more attacking midfielders and strikers, three in fact with Robinson, Nouble and Hines. I know we had doubts over Ranger at the time but signing three attackers and no defenders seemed ridiculous at the time and even more so now. I do blame Brown for this one, it's his job to build a balanced squad and in that regard he's failed.

 

[Lester Bangs]

Resigned to the fact that we probably aren't good enough to play championship level football next season.

 

[rigsby]

I'm happy that I even made it all the way to Shrewsbury and back without a train ticket. Only realised when I was about to board the 08:23 from Euston that I had left my tickets at home. So I had to use all my 70's and 80's miss spent youth skills to bunk the trains there and back without getting caught.

Special thanks to the lads on the train and fellow Shrimpers who sped through the barriers so that I could 'surf' behind them. :thumbsup::smile:

When a member of staff from Virgin asked me about the service, I said, with total honesty " I really can't complain."

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

After an irratable Saturday evening spent cursing Frank Nouble for not heading a ball straight at Charlton. This morning my thoughts are that the league table doesn't lie and we probably unzipped our promotion/play-off chances with a disastrous August and September.

 

[RobM]

I'm happy that I even made it all the way to Shrewsbury and back without a train ticket. Only realised when I was about to board the 08:23 from Euston that I had left my tickets at home. So I had to use all my 70's and 80's miss spent youth skills to bunk the trains there and back without getting caught.

Special thanks to the lads on the train and fellow Shrimpers who sped through the barriers so that I could 'surf' behind them. :thumbsup::smile:

When a member of staff from Virgin asked me about the service, I said, with total honesty " I really can't complain."

I got to Watford station. Had a coffee before going through the barrier - no tickets! I'd dropped them in the car park minutes earlier. Fortunately they were still scattered - but intact. Lucky it wasn't windy!

 

[Chocolardo]

I'm happy that I even made it all the way to Shrewsbury and back without a train ticket. Only realised when I was about to board the 08:23 from Euston that I had left my tickets at home. So I had to use all my 70's and 80's miss spent youth skills to bunk the trains there and back without getting caught.

Special thanks to the lads on the train and fellow Shrimpers who sped through the barriers so that I could 'surf' behind them. :thumbsup::smile:

When a member of staff from Virgin asked me about the service, I said, with total honesty " I really can't complain."

Out of interest how did you get on at Euston? Usually pretty tight getting into the platform there? But well done that must have been a relief!

 

[RobM]

After an irratable Saturday evening spent cursing Frank Nouble for not heading a ball straight at Charlton. This morning my thoughts are that the league table doesn't lie and we probably unzipped our promotion/play-off chances with a disastrous August and September.

...and four defeats from the last 5. The season has been like a toffee Treet - the bit in the middle was best.

 

[rigsby]

Out of interest how did you get on at Euston? Usually pretty tight getting into the platform there? But well done that must have been a relief!

That was the easy bit as it was a platform with no barriers.

I had started to queue at the Virgin ticket desk after I realised my mistake but it became obvious that I would miss the train before getting to the front of the queue. So I just made a dash for it with the hope that as long as I get there I'll worry about the return journey later.

Coming back I sneaked through at Shrewsbury and boarded Virgin at Wolverhampton which was just a case of swapping platforms, so no barriers.

 

[Barling Magna]

Be of good cheer everyone. We are, remarkably, in the box seat for the play-offs. Bury are now safe and will have nothing to play for whilst we should be well up for the match (if not then we clearly don't deserve the chance of promotion). Millwall have to go to a Bristol Rovers team who will be keen to finish on a high note in front of their own supporters and have only lost 3 times at home all season. Rochdale meanwhile take on a Bradford team with one of the strongest away records in the division. I know which of the three fixtures looks most comfortable.......

My predictions are: Southend 2 Bury 1; Bristol Rovers 3 Millwall 1; Rochdale 1 Bradford 1.

Unfortunately I am NEVER right.