It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it...........Away to Man City SAT 20th Dec 3pm

Lukerz

The thing is you can’t just keep being blindly positive & hopeful for the sake of it. We’ve won 3/17 games, Nuno has 9 points from 12 games, we have no decent CB, no decent striker. Reality needs to hit.

10 losses out of 17.

thornburyiron

We are 5, probably 6 by the end of the weekend, points adrift and if our current form continues for even a few games more will have a huge points gap to overcome. This has effectively been 2 calendar years of vastly underperforming as it started in January 2024.

claretandbluesky

This match against City is not going to change any season, we always lose to City away. If we get 9 points from the next four matches we will be in a decent position, It's a huge ask with our AFCON players missing but not impossible. Wolves are very poor, we have beaten Forest away already and so if we can get a result against Fulham at home it's not impossible. I am not down playing the task but a lot of people are ending the season at game 17 not game 38. If you look at it this way I don't think it looks quite so impossible.

In the next 21 matches can we get 7 points more than Leeds?
In the next 21 matches can we get 6 points more than Forest ?
In the next 21 matches can we not get 3 points less than Burnley
In the next 21 matches Can we not get 12 points less than Wolves?

We would need meet only three of those four targets.

This is definitely possible in my view, but it does start in the next four matches.

Lukerz

The issue is, people start saying ‘well we only need two wins to get back in it’ - we’ve won 3 times in 5 months. If we get 9 points from 4 matches. 3 wins out of 4 when we’ve won 3/17 all season. It’s not likely at all. It won’t happen. Leeds are hitting some great form, & anybody from Forest up, sadly, are not going to go down. We can try & convince ourselves they’ll get ‘dragged in’, but they won’t. In any case, it doesn’t matter, as we don’t win. When we played fairly well against Brighton & Villa, we took 1 point. That should have been 4. So when we play ok, we don’t keep clean sheets or win. When we then play badly or face a side much better than us, we lose too.

alderz

Personally, I don’t think it’s particularly likely that we’ll string results together, but it was also unlikely that Leeds would have done so a month ago. It was also unlikely that Bournemouth would go 7 without a win, or that Arsenal would be pegged back from an 8pt lead so quickly. It’s too early to be so certain of anything, IMO.

buffybegood

Personally I think our performances have improved recently, and that it's tough to take too much from yesterday's performance; there's a gulf in class between the two clubs. The disappointing thing is that, just as we were starting to get a settled team and see some improvement, we then lose both FBs to the AFCON. Without doubt the next 4 games are extremely important, as if we do poorly in them then we really will start to be adrift of safety.

So I've not given up all hope just yet, but it'll be a tough job to survive this season. On the plus side, the only time Sullivan dips into the transfer kitty in January is when we're in trouble, so it's likely we'll see a signing or two; as to whether they'll be any good, that's a different matter altogether.

Pengeman

Disappointing game though there was a slight improvement in the second-half. MANC seemed to be cruising and we were chasing shadows for most of the game.

Nuno has major problems for the next game. Scarles isn't an EPL player, KWP is rusty and Kilman is a liability. Paqueta has one good game in six and is too inconsistent and liable to give the ball away in dangerous positions. Bowen is wasted as a centre-forward.

Nuno has limited squad depth but needs to find answers.

steve

So !looks like Fullkrug will be off ,Not even on the bench ,But where are Guilherme Earthy,Marshall does Nuno not fancy them Earthy and Marshall were surpose to be near the first 11 but no sign of them even on the bench ,And what was the point of Igor coming to us

IronHerb

Lukerz said:

The issue is, people start saying ‘well we only need two wins to get back in it’ - we’ve won 3 times in 5 months. If we get 9 points from 4 matches. 3 wins out of 4 when we’ve won 3/17 all season. It’s not likely at all. It won’t happen. Leeds are hitting some great form, & anybody from Forest up, sadly, are not going to go down. We can try & convince ourselves they’ll get ‘dragged in’, but they won’t. In any case, it doesn’t matter, as we don’t win. When we played fairly well against Brighton & Villa, we took 1 point. That should have been 4. So when we play ok, we don’t keep clean sheets or win. When we then play badly or face a side much better than us, we lose too.

Seeing as you can foresee the future so well do you ave the Lottery numbers please?

For supporters to give up so early is not a good look. Why not look for the few positives? Yes, we've only won 3 games but Bournemouth, Forest and Leeds have won only 5. That is something that can be reversed. It's not that straightforward I know but to give up so early is poor.

Lukerz

It’s just based on the evidence. I can’t foresee the future (it’s a forum after all, otherwise we’d shelve the predict the score game users take part in), but based on evidence of all 18 games this season, I can’t see us surviving. Do I know we will go down? No. Do I think it likely based on all football I’ve seen from us & other teams? Yes. Have I given up? No. But I do feel relegation is inevitable & it’s frustrating a club as big as us after recent success in the last five years is now closer to the Championship when we should be trying to emulate sides like Villa.

Even if we stay up, the side we have assembled - quality wise - is probably the weakest since the Avram Grant season. How has that happened?

IronHerb

I think we all know how that has happened.

EXETERHAMMER

I am concerned. However, we win the next two games and things will feel different.