Back in our hands

[robinrover]

Well done Northampton a gritty performance
It's back in our hands fingers crossed we don't mess up.

[champs95]

Well done Northampton a gritty performance
It's back in our hands fingers crossed we don't mess up.

They were never going to keep winning stuffy games by the odd goal, relying the oppo missing pens.
And they had their captain sent off, and lost a key man to injury. A point is useless to them at this stage. And hands back the advantage to us. No matter what they do now on Sat. I'd expect us to win such a game with relative ease. Which is exactly what we have been doing for quite some time, and will carry on doing so. They need to be 4 points clear of us by the time we play Bradford. They will have played 3 games by then, without us kicking a ball. They had to create a gap to stand a chance. Same with Wigan. Both have to win on Sat, (Wigan have to get 3 points tomorrow) and again the week after and so on. As we won't drop many points.

[alfinyalcabo]

They were never going to keep winning stuffy games by the odd goal, relying the oppo missing pens.
And they had their captain sent off, and lost a key man to injury. A point is useless to them at this stage. And hands back the advantage to us. No matter what they do now on Sat. I'd expect us to win such a game with relative ease. Which is exactly what we have been doing for quite some time, and will carry on doing so. They need to be 4 points clear of us by the time we play Bradford. They will have played 3 games by then, without us kicking a ball. They had to create a gap to stand a chance. Same with Wigan. Both have to win on Sat, (Wigan have to get 3 points tomorrow) and again the week after and so on. As we won't drop many points.

A man full of confidence is Champs,unlike Saxo who is a glass half empty doom mong(er)..

[champs95]

A man full of confidence is Champs,unlike Saxo who is a glass half empty doom mong(er)..

I've just seen what a side looks like who will go up. It just happens to be Rovers this time round. If I had major doubts I'd say why. Our class will shine through in the end.
It's not just they dropped points tonight, it's the 2 players which will be missing for 3 games. That will hurt them.

[AucklandRover]

A draw. Should I still send my brother-in-law the bottle of Scotch? A half-bottle?
I think I'll wait for his match-report, and then decide!
Funny, I was talking to Champs on the other thread about how "outside" influences can provide that bit of luck you need. Here, it's not just the result; it's the loss of a key player for Shrewsbury. It's things like that which can affect a whole season - not just the relative merits of the teams.
I suppose that puts me at the mid-point between Champs and Saxo, in terms of caution. (Would you say that's a weird sandwich to be the filling in?)

[Saxo1man41]

A draw. Should I still send my brother-in-law the bottle of Scotch? A half-bottle?
I think I'll wait for his match-report, and then decide!
Funny, I was talking to Champs on the other thread about how "outside" influences can provide that bit of luck you need. Here, it's not just the result; it's the loss of a key player for Shrewsbury. It's things like that which can affect a whole season - not just the relative merits of the teams.
I suppose that puts me at the mid-point between Champs and Saxo, in terms of caution. (Would you say that's a weird sandwich to be the filling in?)

I prefer to err on the side of caution. Yes Shrewsbury slipped tonight, but our manager and players still have to make sure we take advantage of it. Anyone stating they aren't under pressure is a liar.

[Saxo1man41]

That's not aimed at you champs by the way, just any rovers fan in general. All 3 teams are under pressure now. What will be will be.

[robinrover]

Yes we could be 3rd on Saturday but we have been pretty good chasing teams down
I am in agreement with champs the loss of a couple of key players could hamper Shrewsbury rather than the result
Let's not get too ahead of ourselves we will drop points over the course of the 9 games left however we have a decent sized squad and that's where Shrewsbury will struggle.

[champs95]

That's not aimed at you champs by the way, just any rovers fan in general. All 3 teams are under pressure now. What will be will be.

Don't worry mate, I didn't take it like that. And please don't worry about what you say etc around me ......I get your opinion, and I fully understand where your coming from. We still have loads to do yet. To even hold our heads would be a big achievement. After all this is done, 'if' we got up in that top two, I don't think a shrug of the shoulders and a 'ah well they should be going up' would cover it!!! And that's what a lot of our fan base will say (the ones who have moaned all season) and the likes of Shrewsbury (who will be devastated to miss out) will say the same.
The fact remains, its been an unbelievably hard league to get out of, and we have had to be consistent almost all season. We have been pushed to the absolute limit. We got relegated on 51 points!! That would see us midtable in the Champ this time round. So the fact we have come down, and done all this with class is a massive achievement. Now we are at the business end of the season. This part seperates the men from the boys.

I just have faith in Mowbray and faith in the players ability to see this out.
While I always felt we would be pushed far, I also always felt all 3 sides would not carry on winning games.
The last week (looking at the results of our rivals come in) while it was annoying to see last min winners, and missed pens from the sides they played, that luck would always run out. We are not relying on luck. We are not relying on anyone but ourselves. Wea rent winning by the odd goal most weeks. We are not playing that well, and winning 2-0 or 3-0 most weeks now. We have suffered our injury woes to key players all season, so my heard bleeds for poor little Shrewsbury. We where only behind because we went almost a whole season without Lenihan. If they cant take advantage and create a gap playing 3 football matches without us kicking a ball then its their problem. We will simply carry on doing what we do.