One Defeat Away From Calamity - Could The Mirror Be Right?

[bluem0ng]

The mirror is a shithouse rag tabloid who happily printed pictures of a dead MVF on the front page. I can't believe any blues still read it.

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

I don't think we're one defeat away from calamity, but certainly a bad defeat away from calamity and a whole load of blues turning on Hughes

I don't think that we're even a bad defeat away from calamity, personally, and the use of that word in the Mirror article and headline is journalistic exaggeration. We're a defeat away from questions starting to be asked more seriously than they have been to this point, and, the worse the defeat is, the more that scrutiny will be magnified.

Awrite maybe not calamity, but if we fail to beat Liverpool and then went on to lose to Hull at home I think you could see a very nasty turn towards Hughes and the media pressure would be colossal, it's already building to a crescendo now.

But at the same time we could beat Liverpool tomorrow and be right back on track. Like I said in another we'll know a lot more about where we stand by this time next month, but it really is coming up to crunch time IMO

 

[Dyed Petya]

Very good post, Dyed, as usual. I also don't fancy us tomorrow and would be ecstatic if we won. But his overall point is correct - that this season is hanging in the balance now.

A defeat tomorrow will have have us all on here panicking but in reality by Christmas we should know how the season is going to pan out.

But his point about 5th not being good enough is correct. I guess if we were a very close fifth and did very well in the cups it might just be acceptable to the owners.

The season is in the balance, certainly. However, if we lose tomorrow, it's still retrievable. Lose tomorrow and fail to make it up in fixtures between now and Christmas and it won't be, especially if Arsenal beat us as well. And a defeat tomorrow will certainly lead to serious questions starting to be asked given that we play the team we look like having to finish in front of if we're to finish top four.

I agree that the comments about top six being the target were for public consumption and that the aim is top four in fact. And people are naive if think that the owners will regard it as job done if we limp into sixth, fifteen points, say, off fourth purely on the basis that sixth was publicly stated as the minimum target. If we miss out on the top four, then I agree with you that Hughes will survive only if either we win a domestic cup or we give the top four a really good shot and come up narrowly short.

 

[Dyed Petya]

Awrite maybe not calamity, but if we fail to beat Liverpool and then went on to lose to Hull at home I think you could see a very nasty turn towards Hughes and the media pressure would be colossal, it's already building to a crescendo now.

But at the same time we could beat Liverpool tomorrow and be right back on track. Like I said in another we'll know a lot more about where we stand by this time next month, but it really is coming up to crunch time IMO

Definitely. If we lose tomorrow and don't beat Hull then it will be seven without a win, including home games with Burnley and Hull. Hughes can expect enormous stick if that ends up being the case. As you say, six points from the next two - or even a draw at Liverpool and a win over Hull - and we look like viable top four contenders again.

I hope for the latter, obviously. But as I said somewhere further up the thread, until Hiddink's future is clarified, then I think it will intensify speculation about Hughes should things not go well.

 

[BurnCK]

They have drawn five successive games – four of them against teams that any side with top-four pretensions would expect to win.

Chelsea Lost to Wigan & Villa
Liverpool lost to Fulham, drew with Brum
Rags lost to Burnley.

I'm sure these teams expected to win, does that mean they won't finish top 4?

I doubt Chelsea, Liverpool and Utd would fail to beat at least one of those 4 teams though....well maybe Liverpool, but only 'cos they've been even worse than us at times so far this season.

 

[M24-CRC]

If this..........If that...........

lets just wait and see........and more importantly support them !!

 

[salfordblues]

fucking rag tosser.

Why would it be a calamity if we lose tomorrow?

We're going to a top four side away from home who are gonna be pumped up like you wouldn't believe with a few of their top players returning.

For me i'd take a draw with both hands

 

[mancity89]

ummm 2 loses and still in the top 8.

Not bad from a team who wouldnt even gel/play well till about the january

 

[murtaz]

Blastphemy
Fuck the rag obsessed mirror
Read the thread about the bluemoon book and you will understand how they tried to shaft us with bullshit attendance stories
Also reminds me of how good we have got it these days

 

[The Fat el Hombre]

ummm 2 loses and still in the top 8.

Not bad from a team who wouldnt even gel/play well till about the january

Yes but we've just blown what should have been some very straight forward games. In the next 5 games we've got Chelsea at home and Liverpool, Bolton and Spurs away. Going off our previous 5 games how do you expect us to do in the next five? They are considerably tougher.

Time will tell and we'll have to wait and see, but I'm not confident