• Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.

    Existing Users:.
    Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.

    New Users:
    Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.

    Fans from other clubs
    We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.

    Assistance Required
    For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.

The relegation mini-league

brigg blue

Newbie⭐
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
1,454
Now it looks like we are down to a 3, maybe 4 team mini league to save our FL status. The encouraging thing for us is that we are above 3 teams in the form table 2 of them are below us in the table and the other is only just above us and seemingly within reach if they carry on the way they are going.

Will our approach of not conceding be enough? 4 points every 3 games could be just about enough but is it realistic to expect that kind of return until the end of the season?

The thing that gives me hope is that despite the clubs below us having games in hand, they are both unlikely to win them all, Col U are also sinking like a stone and have no real opportunity to turn it around by adding to their squad.
 
What are the games where the 4 teams are playing each other - could come down to that
 
SUFC
20/4 Col U v Southend
1/5 Barrow v Southend


Barrow
23/3 Barrow v Grimsby
5/4 Col U v Barrow
1/5 Barrow v Southend


Grimsby
13/3 Grimsby v Col U
23/3 Barrow v Grimsby


Col U
13/3 Grimsby V Col U
5/4 Col U v Barrow
20/4 Col U v Southend


Thinking that makes it a bit tougher for us and Grimsby relative to Col U and Barrow
 
That Grimsby vs Col U game looks like it could be pivotal to the mini league, it could either cut Grimsby adrift or drag Col U firmly into trouble
 
Its looks like its between the 3 at the bottom currently, but their normally a team who drops into the battle. I would say colchester look like that team due to their winless run. Unfortunately for us and the other bottom 2 sides is their no consistency, so that makes me think it will be 3 of us battling it out.
 
If somehow we are able to get some fans into the Hall again, maybe that might make a difference in the last couple of home games. The Orient game might be huge. But that’s a big “if”.
 
I think it's going to come down to how well MM can keep us focused after a poor match. On paper we've got a much better squad than Barrow and Grimsby at this point (and probably a few others as well) but low confidence can make you play well below your potential. When you're winning every week it's easy to feel confident but that's not the case when you're at the bottom so we need to make sure our players are fully motivated and believe they can get out of this.
 
People keep saying our squad is better than Barrow and Grimsby yet we still can't score goals and rarely look like it, Holmes has to stay fit and play as many games as possible as he is the player with the ability to score and also set up goals, however, our next three games are FGR, Salford and Cheltenham. These are very tough and considering we couldn't best an avaerge Bolton side it's hard to see where we get points from these three
 
It's going to be a rollercoaster and will go to the last couple of games of the season I think.

A couple of things that may be in our favour are that both Barrow and Grimsby have played 2 games less than us and so will have 2 more midweek fixtures to play than we will. We've also (finally) accumulated a big squad with some decent experienced heads in it that may play a key role. Don't underestimate the benefit of having leaders like Macca, Halford and Holmes with us until the end of the season. We'll need them to step up!
 
It's down to 3, none of the bottom 3 will catch the fourth from bottom club. I fully expect us to go down, the other 2 teams have games over us and we just can't score.
 
Back
Top