The table

[Statto]

It's not all doom and gloom, but you've probably got your head in the sand if you don't have concerns.

Sums it up
+1

[Jim©]

I'm really not sure how that's exaggerating if one shows concerns when you look at the curve, and some of the results/stats mentioned above. I could understand if people were saying we're going to finish mid table or less but the concern is in finishing top 2.

I reckon we're yet to really hit full stride with this squad and there's no one to be scared of.
The best thing about the Championship is how open it is, 100 times more watchable in that respect, my "concern" is more like "intrigue" as to how the season will pan out.

[FFC1987]

I'm really not sure how that's exaggerating if one shows concerns when you look at the curve, and some of the results/stats mentioned above. I could understand if people were saying we're going to finish mid table or less but the concern is in finishing top 2.

I reckon we're yet to really hit full stride with this squad and there's no one to be scared of.
The best thing about the Championship is how open it is, 100 times more watchable in that respect, my "concern" is more like "intrigue" as to how the season will pan out.

I do agree with that but there's always the possibility we'll hit our stride too late as others have mentioned, or we'll drop too many points to secure 2nd etc so that's always the concern which I think is valid. You can also be an optimist but concerned. In this league, I think everyone should be somewhat cautious. Its tough and extremely competitive.

[MJG]

I'm really not sure how that's exaggerating if one shows concerns when you look at the curve, and some of the results/stats mentioned above. I could understand if people were saying we're going to finish mid table or less but the concern is in finishing top 2.

I reckon we're yet to really hit full stride with this squad and there's no one to be scared of.
The best thing about the Championship is how open it is, 100 times more watchable in that respect, my "concern" is more like "intrigue" as to how the season will pan out.

I do agree with that but there's always the possibility we'll hit our stride too late as others have mentioned, or we'll drop too many points to secure 2nd etc so that's always the concern which I think is valid. You can also be an optimist but concerned. In this league, I think everyone should be somewhat cautious. Its tough and extremely competitive.

I'm not that concerned about being in top 2 if I'm honest. Maybe I'm a bit complacent but I think we will be in playoffs just with our attacking ability and if we make top 2 then fine.
Although as I said earlier, its best to stay within touching distance of it just in case.

[FFC1987]

I'm really not sure how that's exaggerating if one shows concerns when you look at the curve, and some of the results/stats mentioned above. I could understand if people were saying we're going to finish mid table or less but the concern is in finishing top 2.

I reckon we're yet to really hit full stride with this squad and there's no one to be scared of.
The best thing about the Championship is how open it is, 100 times more watchable in that respect, my "concern" is more like "intrigue" as to how the season will pan out.

I do agree with that but there's always the possibility we'll hit our stride too late as others have mentioned, or we'll drop too many points to secure 2nd etc so that's always the concern which I think is valid. You can also be an optimist but concerned. In this league, I think everyone should be somewhat cautious. Its tough and extremely competitive.

I'm not that concerned about being in top 2 if I'm honest. Maybe I'm a bit complacent but I think we will be in playoffs just with our attacking ability and if we make top 2 then fine.
Although as I said earlier, its best to stay within touching distance of it just in case.

I was wrong last time, but I'll stick to my guns again, I think playoff finish, with this squad and investment is underachieving and to be honest, I'm terrified of them. Its an absolute lottery and such a deflation if you fail in them. I think we need a top 2 but that's just my glass half empty outlook.

[Statto]

I think playoff finish, with this squad and investment is underachieving

+1

[MaidenheadMick]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

[FFC1987]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

[MaidenheadMick]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

There's too many doom and gloom merchants on here. Supporters of every team in this league will be concerned about throwing points away, not just us. West Brom are top but they were given a footballing lesson at the Cottage. If I was a betting man, I would lump on Fulham to be in the Premier League next season and not via the playoffs.

[Woolly Mammoth]

If we end up in top two, great all well and good, but I would hope we can finish in the top six. We really need to win our home games, especially against an improving Hull City team.
Not forgetting that we need to win as many away games as possible, as coming away empty handed or with one point only, may not be enough at the end of the day.
There are many teams who will fancy their chances of reaching top six, so there is not just an elite group up there stretching their lead, it's fairly tight, and dog will eat dog.

[FFC1987]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

There's too many doom and gloom merchants on here. Supporters of every team in this league will be concerned about throwing points away, not just us. West Brom are top but they were given a footballing lesson at the Cottage. If I was a betting man, I would lump on Fulham to be in the Premier League next season and not via the playoffs.

That's fine and all but as I summed up earlier, its not doom and gloom, but there are legitimate concerns about how we're doing, backed up by stats and performance curves. Its all well and good pointing at the low hanging fruit suggesting concerns shouldn't exist because we're so much better than everyone else and on the flip side, people thinking we might finish mid table or worse. Whether you like it or not, there's 100% criticisms that can be levied on this team, and praise for that matter, but we can't ignore the slightly below par start to the season. There's definitely room for improvement.

[Sting of the North]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

I am not a betting man, but I will say this: if I for some reason had to put my mortgage on any team finishing in the top 2 my first choice would be Fulham. I believe we have a superior squad to possibly all other teams, and although we have been too inconsistent so far I am very encouraged by only being 3 points from automatic as well as from how we have performed in our good spells. We have almost played a third of the league, and I truly believe that this will end up being our worst third.

With that said, I would never encourage anyone to bet serious money on the Championship, as it is such a closely contested league with very little between success and failure.

[FFC1987]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

I am not a betting man, but I will say this: if I for some reason had to put my mortgage on any team finishing in the top 2 my first choice would be Fulham. I believe we have a superior squad to possibly all other teams, and although we have been too inconsistent so far I am very encouraged by only being 3 points from automatic as well as from how we have performed in our good spells. We have almost played a third of the league, and I truly believe that this will end up being our worst third.

With that said, I would never encourage anyone to bet serious money on the Championship, as it is such a closely contested league with very little between success and failure.

I appreciate your outlook and prediction but you know I wasn't endorsing someone to actually bet, it was to make the point that there's an element of doubt/concern over whether we will finish in top 2. Particularly to the poster who claimed there was no doubt whatsoever.

[Sting of the North]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

I am not a betting man, but I will say this: if I for some reason had to put my mortgage on any team finishing in the top 2 my first choice would be Fulham. I believe we have a superior squad to possibly all other teams, and although we have been too inconsistent so far I am very encouraged by only being 3 points from automatic as well as from how we have performed in our good spells. We have almost played a third of the league, and I truly believe that this will end up being our worst third.

With that said, I would never encourage anyone to bet serious money on the Championship, as it is such a closely contested league with very little between success and failure.

I appreciate your outlook and prediction but you know I wasn't endorsing someone to actually bet, it was to make the point that there's an element of doubt/concern over whether we will finish in top 2. Particularly to the poster who claimed there was no doubt whatsoever.

I know that, and didn't try to imply you encouraged someone to bet. My last sentence was just meant to reflect that in my opinion one should never feel certain about anything in the Championship.

[FFC1987]

We're three points off an automatic promotion spot (3pts!!) with 32 games to play. No concerns on my part about getting there. This squad is head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of quality and come the end of the season it will show.

Honest question then. Would you put your mortgage on finishing top 2 right now? I wouldn't personally as there's some doubt even if I 'think' they will.

I am not a betting man, but I will say this: if I for some reason had to put my mortgage on any team finishing in the top 2 my first choice would be Fulham. I believe we have a superior squad to possibly all other teams, and although we have been too inconsistent so far I am very encouraged by only being 3 points from automatic as well as from how we have performed in our good spells. We have almost played a third of the league, and I truly believe that this will end up being our worst third.

With that said, I would never encourage anyone to bet serious money on the Championship, as it is such a closely contested league with very little between success and failure.

I appreciate your outlook and prediction but you know I wasn't endorsing someone to actually bet, it was to make the point that there's an element of doubt/concern over whether we will finish in top 2. Particularly to the poster who claimed there was no doubt whatsoever.

I know that, and didn't try to imply you encouraged someone to bet. My last sentence was just meant to reflect that in my opinion one should never feel certain about anything in the Championship.

Fair enough. I agree with that which is kind why I tried to make the point that I can concerns really.

[bahay18]

I guess the point of my original post was that no team has put down a marker yet and its there for someone to take control of. Having watched weds v leeds , swans v cardiff and the first 10 mins of QPR this evening there doesn't seem too much to worry about . The only concern would be of the 3 fixtures against the bottom 3 we have 1 point and we have beaten no one in the top half .

[toshes mate]

Is the ratio of drawn games in the Championship so far this season slightly higher than is usual over a whole season?   

its lower, last year 29.34% of games were a draw and this year 28.9%

Thank you for that, MJG.

I was drawn, no pun intended, to the number of teams that have a high number of one point games but I guess we will have to wait and see how it pans out over the whole season.  I'd also almost forgotten we started our promotion campaign with three drawn games, and then how the draws bulked up our unbeaten run.  Perhaps this year we'll be better resolved, equipped and sharper minded to turn more of these into three pointers, or not as the case may be.