Relegation? I can't see it ....

[Andy_M]

Ok. Yes relegation is now a possibility, especially if Wigan win tonight.

Let's say that Wigan do win tonight, and that then drags us and everyone up to Stoke firmly into a relegation scrap and it becomes real squeeky bum time for a lot of clubs. But let's look at the whole picture and get a bit of perspective, this is everyone from Stoke downwards last 2 games (assuming Wigan win tonight):

41 Stoke: Spurs (home) and Southampton (away)
40 Fulham: Liverpool (home) and Swansea (away)
40 Villa: Chelsea (home) and Wigan (away)
39 Southampton: Sunderland (away) and Stoke (home)
38 Sunderland: Southampton (home) and Spurs (away)
38 Norwich: West Brom (home) and City (away)
38 Wigan: Arsenal (away) and Villa (home)
38 Newcastle: QPR (away) and Arsenal (home)

I'm sure many of us have now played about with the BBC table predictor thing. I'd like to think we will get a point from one of our final games to take us to 41, which would then mean considering our fairly good goal difference (only team on 38 with similar is Sunderland)any of the teams on would need a win and a draw or 2 wins to go above us barring a considerable goal difference swing.

Personally I can't see Norwich getting more than a point from their 2 games, they struggle to score, they won't beat City and West Brom are a decent side. All the rest I could see getting a win from 1 of their 2 games.

For me it will be Norwich that goes down if Wigan win tonight. If Wigan don't win then this topic is rendered somewhat pointless.

[Lighthouse]

IF we get one point. The point we have failed to get at home to a relegated side. Then we are safe. IF Wigan lose to Arsenal AND Villa lose to Chelscum. We are safe without the extra point.

There are other possibilities if the team around us lose twice.

However IT IS a real possibility. The anger at the club and Jol is we should never have been put into this position. So I can see relegation very clearly and it scares me. BUT what is more scary is the club have it within their hands to do something. So what's the betting Jol will revert to a no man attack that hasn't worked and hopes to defend for 180 minutes.

That is the worry. Please God this all becomes a non converstion before the last match.

[brightster]

Funny enough I was looking at the predictor just now, trying different permutations and if we lose both games, there are a few teams that on their current form could go down and we would be JUST safe.
I can't see Necastle getting more than 3 points, could only be 1,
Sunderland 3 points, Norwich, 3 points, Villa 1 point, Wigan 6 points (including tonight), Southampton 4 points.
So really it could be us staying on goal difference or by the odd point.
I still think we will get 2 points from last 2 games!

So let's start looking forward to being in the prem next year COYW.  049:gif

[H3Matt]

We won't get a single point in our last 2 games but we won't get relegated. After carefully looking at BBC's predictor, I've got us finishing 14th, 2 points from relegation. A top 10 finish is impossible now, we need to just be grateful for Premier League survival then spend the summer figuring out what went wrong.

Yes we're rubbish. Before the Reading game (which we still lost) we couldn't even buy a goal. There are at least 3 teams worse than us right now. Newcastle, Wigan and Sunderland.

Keep the faith.

[EJL]

The guy who sits next to me who I have always considered a dreadfully unnecessary pessimist has been calling this for weeks. After the home game against QPR, he said that despite our points total we're going to "sleepwalk into a needless relegation battle". If you're reading this, I'm sorry for doubting your educated negativity, sir.

Anyway, I don't think we'll go down. If Wigan lose tomorrow then that's it. Although, Swansea are on a similarly poor run of form with one win in nine games, which means they'll get thumped by Wigan and smash us at home...  :005:

[nose]

I have been looking at the predictor too and assuming we get the famous 'NIL POINTS'
then I assume wigan will beat swansea and Villa lose to chelsea on saturday.
Arsenal then play Wigan during the week and assuming arsenal win, whichj I believe they will then because Villa play wigan on the last day barring catastrophe we stay up on goal difference under any result in the wigan villa match.
So we must break the habit of a lifetime and support chelsea on saturday and arsenal during the week, it is temporary I know but necessary. All this can be avoided if we break the poor run and beat liverpool but I have so little faith in our esteemed manager that I cannot see us picking up any points.

[Admin]

This is all fair and well, and I see where most of you are coming from, but have you taken  067.gif Fulhamish 067.gif into consideration yet? Just saying..  

[grandad]

This is all fair and well, and I see where most of you are coming from, but have you taken  067.gif Fulhamish 067.gif into consideration yet? Just saying..  

Fulhamish could also mean we will beat Liverpool & Swansea.

[Admin]

This is all fair and well, and I see where most of you are coming from, but have you taken  067.gif Fulhamish 067.gif into consideration yet? Just saying..  

Fulhamish could also mean we will beat Liverpool & Swansea.

That is very true!!

[ToodlesMcToot]

I have been looking at the predictor too and assuming we get the famous 'NIL POINTS'
then I assume wigan will beat swansea and Villa lose to chelsea on saturday.
Arsenal then play Wigan during the week and assuming arsenal win, whichj I believe they will then because Villa play wigan on the last day barring catastrophe we stay up on goal difference under any result in the wigan villa match.
So we must break the habit of a lifetime and support chelsea on saturday and arsenal during the week, it is temporary I know but necessary. All this can be avoided if we break the poor run and beat liverpool but I have so little faith in our esteemed manager that I cannot see us picking up any points.

Firstly, I don't believe we'll be relegated. But, I do have to say that I also believe that it'll be other teams who save us. Like you, I've lost some faith in our manager. Additionally, I've lost faith in our team to put in a 90 minute fight. It's a switch they turned off at some point in the season that I have my doubts can be turned back on this late.

I do have an additional question for those that have defended Berbatov by resurrecting memory of Haynes' similar behavior at the sight of errant play. Did Haynes at any point recognize that he was not going to get what he wanted all of the time and decide to motivate positively on the pitch and get behind his teammates? I think that is what is required of Berba in this time. Enough with the arm flopping and hanging head. Let's see more fist pumping, clapping, and shouts of encouragement. The displays of disappointment haven't worked. He's the one player who could turn this team at the last. Needs to take a page from the Danny Murphy book.

[jarv]

I did predictor too, stayed up on goal difference, above Newcastle!!!

[alfie]

I have been looking at the predictor too and assuming we get the famous 'NIL POINTS'
then I assume wigan will beat swansea and Villa lose to chelsea on saturday.
Arsenal then play Wigan during the week and assuming arsenal win, whichj I believe they will then because Villa play wigan on the last day barring catastrophe we stay up on goal difference under any result in the wigan villa match.
So we must break the habit of a lifetime and support chelsea on saturday and arsenal during the week, it is temporary I know but necessary. All this can be avoided if we break the poor run and beat liverpool but I have so little faith in our esteemed manager that I cannot see us picking up any points.

Firstly, I don't believe we'll be relegated. But, I do have to say that I also believe that it'll be other teams who save us. Like you, I've lost some faith in our manager. Additionally, I've lost faith in our team to put in a 90 minute fight. It's a switch they turned off at some point in the season that I have my doubts can be turned back on this late.

I do have an additional question for those that have defended Berbatov by resurrecting memory of Haynes' similar behavior at the sight of errant play. Did Haynes at any point recognize that he was not going to get what he wanted all of the time and decide to motivate positively on the pitch and get behind his teammates? I think that is what is required of Berba in this time. Enough with the arm flopping and hanging head. Let's see more fist pumping, clapping, and shouts of encouragement. The displays of disappointment haven't worked. He's the one player who could turn this team at the last. Needs to take a page from the Danny Murphy book.

This is where we have a problem with our Captain, great player that he is, for me he just does not gee up his team, people go on about JOl not motivating, but on the pitch surely that is the captain's job, what we need is a Senderos, ok no need to go on about his play, i am talking about his attitude he is always shouting and encouraging, now if he could pass some of that on to Brede then it may be different.

[BestOfBrede]

What makes me laugh is that saying that we couldn't beat/get a point from a relegated team! If Reading had still needed points the result on Sat probably would never have happened! Because they had nothing to lose they played with complete freedom and without fear. If they had beeded points they would never have attacked us the way they did - they would have tried to hold on to their lead from a dubious pen.

Also, if someone has already pointed this out then I apologise, Other than the pen - I'd like to know what Schwarzer was doing for all 3 goals - he never made a real attempt at any of them, just half hearted!!

Oh, and we still won't go down!  

[ToodlesMcToot]

I have been looking at the predictor too and assuming we get the famous 'NIL POINTS'
then I assume wigan will beat swansea and Villa lose to chelsea on saturday.
Arsenal then play Wigan during the week and assuming arsenal win, whichj I believe they will then because Villa play wigan on the last day barring catastrophe we stay up on goal difference under any result in the wigan villa match.
So we must break the habit of a lifetime and support chelsea on saturday and arsenal during the week, it is temporary I know but necessary. All this can be avoided if we break the poor run and beat liverpool but I have so little faith in our esteemed manager that I cannot see us picking up any points.

Firstly, I don't believe we'll be relegated. But, I do have to say that I also believe that it'll be other teams who save us. Like you, I've lost some faith in our manager. Additionally, I've lost faith in our team to put in a 90 minute fight. It's a switch they turned off at some point in the season that I have my doubts can be turned back on this late.

I do have an additional question for those that have defended Berbatov by resurrecting memory of Haynes' similar behavior at the sight of errant play. Did Haynes at any point recognize that he was not going to get what he wanted all of the time and decide to motivate positively on the pitch and get behind his teammates? I think that is what is required of Berba in this time. Enough with the arm flopping and hanging head. Let's see more fist pumping, clapping, and shouts of encouragement. The displays of disappointment haven't worked. He's the one player who could turn this team at the last. Needs to take a page from the Danny Murphy book.

This is where we have a problem with our Captain, great player that he is, for me he just does not gee up his team, people go on about JOl not motivating, but on the pitch surely that is the captain's job, what we need is a Senderos, ok no need to go on about his play, i am talking about his attitude he is always shouting and encouraging, now if he could pass some of that on to Brede then it may be different.

This is what I'm getting at. Yes, Brede is captain, officially. But, the only vocal presence that anyone seems to pay attention to is Berba. And he goes about it the wrong way. Many earlier in the season thought his arm waving harkened back to the leadership Haynes had. This team hasn't responded positively to it.

If Berba would just see that this tactic isn't working with his teammates and be more positive, I believe it would do wonders for their resolve and fight. Just needs to stop getting down on his team and instead get behind them.

[NorfolkJim]

I did a very pessimistic predictor and we stayed up on goal difference finishing 17th. I don't see us getting any more points this season

[Lighthouse]

What makes me laugh is that saying that we couldn't beat/get a point from a relegated team! If Reading had still needed points the result on Sat probably would never have happened! Because they had nothing to lose they played with complete freedom and without fear. If they had beeded points they would never have attacked us the way they did - they would have tried to hold on to their lead from a dubious pen.

Also, if someone has already pointed this out then I apologise, Other than the pen - I'd like to know what Schwarzer was doing for all 3 goals - he never made a real attempt at any of them, just half hearted!!

Oh, and we still won't go down!  

Yes the point about the relegation side has been made before. But I still think that we have a set excuse for all our results. Team fighting for relegation wanted it more, a team already relegated could relax,Team at the top just too good, team in the middle could relax. There was much to complain about against Reading from tactics to performance of some players. As for not going down, nobody wants to imagine it and results need to go against us. But then this is Fulham and we shouldn't even be in a position to debate about relegation.

[Enter the Frei]

What makes me laugh is that saying that we couldn't beat/get a point from a relegated team! If Reading had still needed points the result on Sat probably would never have happened! Because they had nothing to lose they played with complete freedom and without fear. If they had beeded points they would never have attacked us the way they did - they would have tried to hold on to their lead from a dubious pen.

Also, if someone has already pointed this out then I apologise, Other than the pen - I'd like to know what Schwarzer was doing for all 3 goals - he never made a real attempt at any of them, just half hearted!!

Oh, and we still won't go down!   

Yes the point about the relegation side has been made before. But I still think that we have a set excuse for all our results. Team fighting for relegation wanted it more, a team already relegated could relax,Team at the top just too good, team in the middle could relax. There was much to complain about against Reading from tactics to performance of some players. As for not going down, nobody wants to imagine it and results need to go against us. But then this is Fulham and we shouldn't even be in a position to debate about relegation.

on the topic of how teams reacted to their position nearing the end of the season we reacted in completely the wrong way. The past two years we have got ourselves safe and then pushed on from mid table, this year we have got ourselves safe then fallen asleep.

[MJG]

What makes me laugh is that saying that we couldn't beat/get a point from a relegated team! If Reading had still needed points the result on Sat probably would never have happened! Because they had nothing to lose they played with complete freedom and without fear. If they had beeded points they would never have attacked us the way they did - they would have tried to hold on to their lead from a dubious pen.

Also, if someone has already pointed this out then I apologise, Other than the pen - I'd like to know what Schwarzer was doing for all 3 goals - he never made a real attempt at any of them, just half hearted!!

Oh, and we still won't go down!   

Yes the point about the relegation side has been made before. But I still think that we have a set excuse for all our results. Team fighting for relegation wanted it more, a team already relegated could relax,Team at the top just too good, team in the middle could relax. There was much to complain about against Reading from tactics to performance of some players. As for not going down, nobody wants to imagine it and results need to go against us. But then this is Fulham and we shouldn't even be in a position to debate about relegation.

on the topic of how teams reacted to their position nearing the end of the season we reacted in completely the wrong way. The past two years we have got ourselves safe and then pushed on from mid table, this year we have got ourselves safe then fallen asleep.

Jol to blame. He said himself he finds it hard to motivate the team once it reached 40 pts. to quote him It is not easy when you have 40 points to motivate yourself and each other truly pathetic

[Burt]

I would maintain that we played well v. Chelsea (until they scored) and Arsenal (after Sidwell got sent off).

The worry was how we caved in against Reading twice, having twice hauled ourselves back in to contention.

I am hoping that the team will be up for a fight, because whilst we are 5 points from 9th we are also 5 points from the relegation zone. Having spent the majority of the season seemingly safe we are now in a last-gasp scrap and whilst the odds are in our favour the only sure way of guaranteeing safety is by taking the fight to Liverpool and Swansea, rather than hoping the others beneath us slip up.