playing on my mind

[spikey norman]

The Newcastle game to use an old cliché is a must win 6 pointer. Other posters on this board are confident that we will achieve this win. I too would be confident if it wasn't for the fact that there are 3 things playing on my mind

Firstly our current form for the last 6 games are 3 draws and 3 defeats which means we are equal bottom in the prem form table with qpr with 3 points each in that respect (if you did it on the last 4 games we would be rock bottom with 1 point while qpr would have 2) so we are not brimming with confidence going into the Newcastle match who have just won at home to wigan. The longer you go without winning the harder it becomes – just look at qpr.

Many have suggested that with the return to the team of hangeland,kaca and ruiz(though it now appears that he is out for a further 4 weeks which has done nothing to boost my confidence) will greatly improve our chances against Newcastle – yes possibly but lets not forget that those 3 played in at least 3 of those last 6 matches and we still couldn't muster a win.

Finally during our best sequence of results from Southampton up to arsenal our two most consistent players , duff and baird , were regular starters and in our last 4 matches which coincides with our worst period of 3 defeats and 1 draw jol has only started with duff once (draw at Chelsea) – just don't understand jols thinking on this

Hopefully a win on Monday will give us the boost we need to get back on track and then go on to getting a great result at qpr.if not we could be in for a long hard winter especially as teams below us are staring to pick up wins and points.

[SaltfordWhite]

Six pointer?

I thought that we were mid table?

[spikey norman]

to me it is a 6 pointer because if southampton,sunderland wigan and villa win this weekend  and we lose we will only be 2 points away from the relegation zone

[mr-ska]

3 points on Monday would be lovely going into the Christmas period.  We are dropping like a stone at the moment. I just want us to attack..

We may be bottom of the form league, but we're 2nd top in the passing the ball backwards league.. 22% of all our balls going backwards!!!

[SaltfordWhite]

I wonder what odds one would get on all of those winning and us losing.

It would be a big win with Christmas around the corner, I may check it out.

[mangoputney]

tenner on those four winning and us losing... 2.4k

[spikey norman]

i never bet on fulham results but i might give the other 4 a go

[Logicalman]

to me it is a 6 pointer because if southampton,sunderland wigan and villa win this weekend  and we lose we will only be 2 points away from the relegation zone

Surely a 6 pointer can only refer to the team we are playing. If it refers to all those others, then ALL our games are 6 pointers, so whats the point (or to be exact, other other 3 points)?

And if it refers to southampton,sunderland wigan and villa, why doesn't it refer to all other teams in the Prem, or, at the very least, all those teams below us?

[MartyFFC]

Not sure I would describe it as a 6-pointer but it is a pivotal game in our season. 3 points could see us moving back up towards the top half, where as defeat may perpetuate our slide towards the bottom 3 yet further. They have looked poor this season Newcastle, but an in-form Demba Ba against our porous defence makes it a potentially precarious evening.

[Lighthouse]

The point is it is an important game. We have had trouble winning games of late and I would like to see us at least go for three points without the fear we can show when we are under pressure. But to do that we need to go forward and trouble them at the back. So two swift wingers and Rodders leading the line and Berbatov pulling the strings please. None of this Petric and Berbatov playing so deep we are drowning nonsense.

[BestOfBrede]

I was reasonably confident of a good result Monday but having read the opinions here I am starting to be concerned as well.
Also, we don't seem to like playing in front of the cameras which is another problem for this fixture!

Oh dear - I hope my original optimism is repaid!  fp.gif

[Burt]

I wouldn't call this a 6-pointer, but it certainly is an important game. Win and we arrest a poor run of form, start pushing on in the top half, and can start building up some momentum in to the xmas / new year period. Lose and there will be some nervous looking over the shoulder at what is happening beneath us, not to mention a meltdown on FOF!

[JackyFulham90]

We will win Monday we have a lot of quality in our side, every side has a bad spell and ours is about to end

[CH FFC]

I agree that this is an important game, but I do not agree that it is a a fight for relegation if we lose. 

I am cautiously optomistic, and I "feel" that we will win.  I know we can win.
I really do not want to see a draw!

One thing that I know, is it is time to get back on form.  I still think there is a chance to have a good season, not just a mid table finish.

[BillNRoc]

Some of you must be smoking an illicit substance. Our run of poor form is not an accident, it's a consequence of not having enough good players who team together well enough to play effective offense and effective defense. With Ruiz out and Dembele gone, our midfielders have shown so little creative spark that Berbatov has had to play #10 without being able to clone himself to also play #9. Our starting keeper is showing signs of age, and our back line can't defend set plays, especially against big strikers. It's not an accident that we're winless in 7 and scoreless in 3.

I watched Spurs advance in the Europa League yesterday, and you can see why they are likely to finish top 6, if not top 4, in the league. They've got a good deep squad with some excellent players thrown in. It wasn't an accident that they beat us at home on a day they didn't have their A game; we're a below-average team right now, and they're above-average. With Jol already warning us not to expect much joy from January transfers, FFC are far more likely to wind up in the bottom 6 than in the top half, given Ruiz's history of playing about 60% of the matches.

Of course, if we do manage to beat Newcastle, I'm full of it. I wouldn't mind, but it's not what I expect.

[A Humble Man]

Without Ruiz we are as good as useless, so I am very fearful unless Petric and Rodders show what makes them worth the agents fees.

[CH FFC]

Some of you must be smoking an illicit substance. Our run of poor form is not an accident, it's a consequence of not having enough good players who team together well enough to play effective offense and effective defense. With Ruiz out and Dembele gone, our midfielders have shown so little creative spark that Berbatov has had to play #10 without being able to clone himself to also play #9. Our starting keeper is showing signs of age, and our back line can't defend set plays, especially against big strikers. It's not an accident that we're winless in 7 and scoreless in 3.

I watched Spurs advance in the Europa League yesterday, and you can see why they are likely to finish top 6, if not top 4, in the league. They've got a good deep squad with some excellent players thrown in. It wasn't an accident that they beat us at home on a day they didn't have their A game; we're a below-average team right now, and they're above-average. With Jol already warning us not to expect much joy from January transfers, FFC are far more likely to wind up in the bottom 6 than in the top half, given Ruiz's history of playing about 60% of the matches.

Of course, if we do manage to beat Newcastle, I'm full of it. I wouldn't mind, but it's not what I expect.

I do not remember seeing anything from Jol stating not to expect anything in the transfer window.  I saw something stating that January can be tough, but also he plans on bringing some players in.  I feel confident that we will see more than one player in January, if nothing more than a loan to help us until the summer. 

I just remembered one thing that he said, "many good players do not want to leave in January"
to me that does not mean he is not looking, and it does not mean that we will not bring people in.

With that being said, I still feel that there is enough quality in this squad as is, to compete for midtable. 
Poor runs happen, it then becomes more of a mental game than a tactical, physical, or skilled game.

[Kell]

Keep believing people!

[MartyFFC]

Keep believing people!

here here. 3 points against the Geordies will set us up nicely ahead of a number of very winnable games. I see no reason why we can't get at least 7 points from QPR, Saints and Swansea, which should see us back in the top 10 by the time we visit the Baggies on new years day. We may even get something from Anfield; this is the poorest Liverpool side in living memory.

[BishopsParkFantastic]

Some of you must be smoking an illicit substance. Our run of poor form is not an accident, it's a consequence of not having enough good players who team together well enough to play effective offense and effective defense. With Ruiz out and Dembele gone, our midfielders have shown so little creative spark that Berbatov has had to play #10 without being able to clone himself to also play #9. Our starting keeper is showing signs of age, and our back line can't defend set plays, especially against big strikers. It's not an accident that we're winless in 7 and scoreless in 3.

I watched Spurs advance in the Europa League yesterday, and you can see why they are likely to finish top 6, if not top 4, in the league. They've got a good deep squad with some excellent players thrown in. It wasn't an accident that they beat us at home on a day they didn't have their A game; we're a below-average team right now, and they're above-average. With Jol already warning us not to expect much joy from January transfers, FFC are far more likely to wind up in the bottom 6 than in the top half, given Ruiz's history of playing about 60% of the matches.

Of course, if we do manage to beat Newcastle, I'm full of it. I wouldn't mind, but it's not what I expect.

Good post - I agree!