The Play Off Fight

It is just a dream, and I said it won't happen in the opening post, but it's nice to add some extra excitement to tonight's match thinking 'if we can just win this....'! It gives us something to get our teeth into whilst we can!

And whilst I agree and acknowledge the limitations of some of our squad, are other teams really any better? There has never been much in any of our games this season win or lose. We've beaten a few of the top 6, drew with Norwich. I said before this season that it was a real opportunity because the whole league is pretty poor this year and I still believe that. Not much to fear.

Will we make the top 6? Probably not. Is it exciting to believe the impossible whilst we can? Yes!

This thread could be dead by tonight with a battering anyway!

not this season maybe next

Well we are a point closer to the top 6 than we were.

I still think there is a remote chance, but we need to keep building our form prior to that Reading game on 20 March. Cardiff look strong, so it is Reading that we'd need to catch.

The big positive was another clean sheet but can we keep persisting with Dykes as a striker who continues to fire blanks.

We all know that Warburton is very slow to change things as has been proved by his reluctance to scrap his favoured 4-2-3-1 system until his job came under real threat. Of course he then listened to what we had been telling him and lo and behold we started to get some consistency.

In respect of Dykes he is now contributing next to nothing and his confidence is totally shot. It's time to bench him and play Willock who can't do any worse and his extra pace would be an asset.

The problem with Dykes is that ultimately he is a striker and he just doesn't score goals. I admire his work rate and for a few months that was well and good. But that first chance last night was a sitter for a striker at this level. Yes the keeper made a good save but he shouldn't have had a chance to save it. Dykes had time, he had space, he could pick his spot and I'm now doubting if he will ever come good.

When we are talking about making the top 6 we cannot afford misses like that.

Our first choice target last summer was clearly Kieffer Moore who went to Cardiff and now has 15 goals. Where could we be with him in the team?

Dykes has 1 from open play.

We could also be pushing for the play offs again as we have 2 games in hand

a team wont go down on 50 plus points and if they do it wont be us

we will win at least 1 of those games in hand if not we might even draw them both thats 2 extra point in the mix

end of the day had we been told we will be in this position in December we wud have been delighted

Brum (we were unlucky)
Barnsley (out played due to enthusiasm and legs.....MW could have had a better plan yesterday but sometimes your just not as good as your oppo)