Anybody still optimistic about this season?

[sinkov]

Yes--- Newcastle!
The fans can be encouraged as much as they want, however, the bottom line is that neither team beat the Clarets and that is what matters.

s

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Newcastle Sub, two teams worse then, but at least they did have enough about them to go two up at Old Trafford and take them to injury time.

I agree, it's results that matter and we took four points off Cardiff and Huddersfield. Little more to be said on that aspect, it's a fact. It's the perfomances that are generating the discussion, and they were abysmal. As you well know, in any game anything can happen, a poor team can beat a good one, a team playing badly can still get lucky and win, but over a full season it tends to even out, the teams that perform best graduate to the top, those that perform poorly might still pick up points they don't deserve, but they will gradually sink to the bottom end.
Our last two performances indicate that our future is far more likely to be towards the bottom end of the league rather than the top, and the fact that we picked up four points from those two performances cannot and do not disguise the direction we are heading.
And it's the dismal performances, not the results, that all the discussion/worrying/ moaning is about.

[Supersub6]

s

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Newcastle Sub, two teams worse then, but at least they did have enough about them to go two up at Old Trafford and take them to injury time.

I agree, it's results that matter and we took four points off Cardiff and Huddersfield. Little more to be said on that aspect, it's a fact. It's the perfomances that are generating the discussion, and they were abysmal. As you well know, in any game anything can happen, a poor team can beat a good one, a team playing badly can still get lucky and win, but over a full season it tends to even out, the teams that perform best graduate to the top, those that perform poorly might still pick up points they don't deserve, but they will gradually sink to the bottom end.
Our last two performances indicate that our future is far more likely to be towards the bottom end of the league rather than the top, and the fact that we picked up four points from those two performances cannot and do not disguise the direction we are heading.

Which is what all the discussion/worrying/ moaning is about.

Yet, in spite of all the moaning, we have scored 10 goals from 73 attempts in 8 games.
Cardiff have had 86 attempts and scored 4, Huddersfield have had 77 attmepts and scored 4 and both have conceded 17.
Newcastle have had 65 attempts and scored 6, whilst Palace have had 93 attempts and scored just 5 and Southampton have had 117 attempts and scored 6.
If you don't score then you are not going to win ---obviously, however, we have been scoring more than these other clubs in spite of the fact that we have had fewer attempts than all except Newcastle.

As you said on the other thread sinkov ---Football is a funny game!

[alfinyalcabo]

I'm sure both sets of fans will be encouraged by the fact that, poor as they are, they know there is at least one team in the league that's a whole lot worse than they are.

TBF Sinky,didn't most teams say that last season?

[sinkov]

TBF Sinky,didn't most teams say that last season?

They might have said it Alf, but did two sets of fans ever have such overwhelming evidence of the fact last season ? We've been 'ragging' results for more or less since Dyche arrived, I've mentioned before the long list of managers who couldn't work out how we've beaten them, being outplayed and picking up the points has been our speciality, and I've long since given up trying to understand how we do it. But the last two performances have been way, way worse than anything we've conjured up before, and still we've got points from those games. I don't think we can continue to perform at that level and keep ragging the points, imo we either improve performances from piss poor to average, or we'll be in a relegation battle.

[sinkov]

Actually Sub, I'm wondering if you may be onto something. I don't like backing favourites, I think the only way to make money betting is to go against the crowd, don't bet on what the millions of mugs are betting on, and what is more against the crowd than betting teams taking on the big six. There would be a low %SR, but when one bet came up it would be a big price, maybe over the long term it might be profitable.

One way to find out, I'll start a thread and put an imaginary tenner on every lower team playing one of the big 6 at the best price I could get with my accounts. I'll give it a few weeks and see how it looks then, we could be in world cruise territory by the end of the season, as you say Sub, you never know.

[Supersub6]

I love your optimism, sinkov, however, that comes from being a gambler and willing to take risks.
If you win enough to win a world cruise I woud recommend going west, although you do miss South Africa doing this. Go via Madeira, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Falkland Islands, rouond Cape Horn, Chilean Glaciers, Valparaiso, and then 8 days at sea, sailing past Easter Island and anchoring off Pitcairn Island to let the locals come on board to sell their wares (all except the wood carvings are made in China!!). On to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Pago Pago, cross the International Dateline when you lose a day, New Caledonia, Australia, New Zealand, back across the International Dateline when you get the same date twice but on different days, Apia, Christmas Island, Hawaii, San Francisco, Mexico, through the Panama Canal, various Caribbean Islands, Azores and back to Southampton. A total of 95 days and you don't have to worry about what Burnley are doing, although that season they played 16 games during that time and won 6 drew 4 and lost 6 before finishing 8th in the Championship. Happy days!!

[sinkov]

I give up Sub, here's me trying to win you a world cruise and you've already been on one. FFS !!!

[Supersub6]

I give up Sub, here's me trying to win you a world cruise and you've already been on one. FFS !!!

THanks for the thought sinkov, much appreciated!! I could tell you about the other one but don't want to rub it in except I will say that Bali, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia were good

[sinkov]

I did once take a Narrowboat from Macclesfield to Leamington Spa in six days, through gale force winds and pouring rain. That was fun.

[Supersub6]

I did once take a Narrowboat from Macclesfield to Leamington Spa in six days, through gale force winds and pouring rain. That was fun.

I used to enjoy rowing on the Thames many years ago!