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Best I've known it for years. We've won 13 out of our last 14 games at Oakwell. Out of those 14 games we've scored 37 and conceded 11.
The solitary loss out of those was to Bolton where Mads was red carded after 5 mins and gave Bolton a penalty.
Early season we were struggling at home and lost a few games. We looked inconsistent and shaky at times. However, we've been really convincing from November onwards.
After yesterday we can't finish below 4th place which means that the second leg of the play offs is at home. If we can bring anything back from the first leg away to whoever we face, then thaz got to fancy our chances of getting the job done back at Oakwell.
OK, our away form of late could be better and so too the performances which is a cause for concern. Its a case of getting the away leg out of the way with minimal damage and then getting them back to fortress Oakwell and finishing the job in my opinion.
Yesterday was our 9th consecutive home win. In my 35 years of supporting us, I can't recall a run of consecutive victories like that at Oakwell. Out of those 9 successive wins, we have been convincing with them and played some top teams during that run and blown them all away.
It certainly bodes well for the play offs doesn't it. I don't think any of our potential play off opponents will be relishing coming to Oakwell for the second leg without a substantial lead
Last edited by pass_and_move; 23-04-2023 at 09:23 AM.
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I can't knock the home form and 9 successive wins is very impressive given we've put four past Derby and Wednesday plus three past Plymouth .Originally Posted by pass_and_move
Just my opinion Pass but when it comes to the Play Offs I'm not so sure it means a great deal .
Different gravy and that 2nd leg at home is huge pressure for the home side , remember our tie against Huddersfield in 2006 .
They had a 1-0 lead to take to the John Smith's stadium and couldn't get it done .
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It goes without saying I want to see some Wembley glory in a Play Off Final even if I can't be there .
Beating that lot down the road would go down in legend .
It's the other side of this I find difficult and why I'm not super confident .
These games break my heart , Wembley 2000 , the FA cup semi final in 2008 , I still refuse to watch any tv footage of those two games , took me months to get rid of the disappointment .
Even with low expectations the Swansea play off semi final defeat two years ago battered me .
It wasn't so much the defeat but the sight of the players dropping on the floor when the final whistle went at The Liberty Stadium .
They'd given so much and fell short .
I guess I'm inadvertently preparing myself for the worst in the hope it won't hurt so much .
These players and the management team have given us an unexpected season , given everything and put some pride back in the club and town .
Seeing them on the floor and devastated should we fall short is something I really don't want to see again .
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Aye point taken. The form book goes out of the window and the pressure bites hard. It's suddenly knockout football. I suppose that's what makes play off games exciting and unpredictable. A team that looks almost unbeatable on their own turf can suddenly become like a rabbit in the headlights. Hope it doesn't happen to us
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That's surely why we watch football though mate. The highs and lows. Take the emotion out if it and what do you have left?
I understand your disappointment but surely it should ballance with the successful times. Ok, the defeats in finals etc are horrible and very hard to take. However, the successful things live in your memory forever. Thy ent watched any footage of the Ipswich or Cardiff defeats at Wembley but a bet thaz watched Adam Hammills wonder goal time and again, smiled and felt good inside or watched the shootout at the millennium stadium and felt great emotion.
What I'm saying is that despite those horrible defeats to Ipswich and Cardiff, the memories of winning far outweigh the emotions of losing in my opinion. It's like life. Tha has highs and lows. The emotions are what make memories both good and bad. Winning and losing is part of life and personally I wouldn't want it any other way. The day tha teks emotion away through fear is the day it becomes pointless.
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I don’t think anyone can complain about the results at home.
But there is a real concern that the form has dipped over recent weeks.
My theory - which has been said - is that the strike force is getting sharper - but the service into the strikers has got weaker.
That service has got to improve if we are to beat other teams in the top 6.
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Phillips with two great assists yesterday.
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It's not that simple though Pass for me personally with all due respect .
It's very difficult as we've seen for this club to come back better after losing these type of games .
When the final whistle went at Wembley in 2000 you knew the golden era was over , you knew Craig Hignett had played his last game for us and you knew John Curtis wasn't going to sign permanently .
You knew in 2008 we weren't going to get another opportunity at playing in the FA cup final , we'd blown it .
You knew Val's season was a one off and we'd never get this close again to a return to the PL .
If we don't make this season I think we all know what could potentially happen .
I could be wrong and we miss out this season but next season we end up winning the league under Duff and add the little bit of extra quality we need in the summer .
I wouldn't be putting too much brass on that outcome though given recent history .
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I can see thi point mate and no offence intended on how you deal with setbacks from a personal point of view.
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It's a funny thing with myself personally , I can deal far better with a season such as last rather than losing a game of play off or FA cup semi finals magnitude .
It got to November last season and you knew the game was up and we were done for .
The only time it really got to me was when a little carrot was dangled and we won a game before inevitably losing the next three .
I thought when we beat Derby at home we showed some signs of turning a corner only to lose the following game at home to Hull and play abysmally , Hull weren't even that good and beat us comfortably .
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