Relegation Thread 2017/18

[valefan16]

Yeah, I think we're going have to remove Akinde pen and replace it with Grimsby pen. Do they ever score from anything or than a penalty?! Terrible call in that game.

Morecambe, from looking pretty safe, are all of a sudden dragged back in a little today, although that obviously depends on Barnet.

Am I right in thinking Barnet v Morecambe next weekend... although if Morecambe win mid week it’s them safe.

Job done for us thanks to the Popes last minute equaliser in a dire performance... time to start ensuring we don’t end up in this thread again... although in fairness under Aspo we’ve got 42 points in 33 matches which would equate to mid table form so just need to sort the key areas out.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Morecambe were dire today. We were on the beach and there for the taking and they played for their usual preference of a point. It backfired once we made the subs which gave the team the rocket up the arse they needed and we then scored late on to add to their predicament.

I fancy Morecambe to draw with Cambridge but that Barnet game just became huge for them, I don't think they'll settle for a draw next week unless they manage to beat a Cambridge side on the beach in midweek.

Glad Grimsby appear to be staying up for now, can see Barnet winning both their remaining games but think Grimsby will get the win they need to stay up. For me, if Morecambe beat Cambridge I think it's curtains for Barnet.

Commiserations to Chesterfield as well, a sad day to see a good traditional club similar to ourselves go down at the hands of dire ownership, a squad that don't care and a succession of ill-fated managerial appointments. Hope you bounce back stronger Spireites.

 

[ShrimpsMeltdown]

Ok, I'm a bit worried now. We have to come and try to beat Cambridge on Tuesday which I think Jimbo is too scared to do. Either way, these last games are massive. I didn't even realise that we've actually won less games than Barnet. Based on that, we deserve to go down.

 

[GTFCfish]

Grimsby fans have officially lost any right to say anything about Akinde pen after their last three matches! Today's call was a joke - how is THAT given??

We blew Newport away today for the most part. But we're down now I reckon.

I couldn't actually believe it when I saw it, he trips over his own leg then appeals.

Gotta be honest though, I don't give a shit if it keeps us up.

 

[JJ1532]

51 - Safety 2013
50 - Safety 2014
49 -
48 -
47 - Safety 2017 Guaranteed Safety 2018
46 - Yeovil(43), Forest Green(43)
45 - Safety 2012, Grimsby(44)
44 - Morecambe(44)
43 -
42 - Safety 2015 Predicted Safety 17-18
41 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 - Barnet(44)
39 -
38 -
37 -
36 -
35 - Safety 2016, Chesterfield(41)

Forthcoming fixtures:

19th Yeovil(43) - 46 points. Forest Green(H), Mansfield(H), Lincoln(A)
20th Forest Green(42) - 46 points. Yeovil(A), Luton(A), Grimsby(H)
21st Grimsby(44) - 45 points. Notts County(H), Forest Green(A)
22nd Morecambe(43) - 44 points. Cambridge(H), Barnet(H), Coventry(A),
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23rd Barnet(44) - 40 points. Morecambe(A), Chesterfield(H)
24th Chesterfield(43) - 35 points. Wycombe(H), Newport(H), Barnet(A)

Right, thankfully we can slim this bad boy down. Crewe and Vale punch their tickets for League 2 next season. They are out.

Chesterfield are down. They'd need to win all their remaining 3 by a hefty margin and pray all the other results go their way to stay up. Simply not happening, not the way they've crumbled in so many winnable games in the last few weeks. It's sad to see them go and mostly because of bad ownership decisions. Mad to think that it was only 3 years ago when they made the L1 play offs. Amazing how far they've fallen and how quickly. Hopefully they bounce back quickly, got a lot of time for their fan base.

Barnet keep themselves alive, although results elsewhere were a killer for them, keeps their survival odds slim. They've given themselves a chance though, just have to pray Cambridge beat Morecambe on Tuesday. Speaking of Morecambe, they were dire against the Alex, but they know that even if they lose on Tuesday, a draw against Barnet keeps them up. They hold the cards, but their inability to win has to be a concern.

Grimsby aren't far away from safety, they've done well to pick up the points when it really mattered, fair play to them. Still got to get over the line, which won't be easy given their next 2, which are both tricky. FGR and Yeovil are virtually safe, both sides could help keep each other with a draw on Tuesday.

So, Morecambe could relegate Chesterfield on Tuesday with any sort of result, regardless of what Chesterfield do. They could also render their game with Barnet next Saturday null and void. Part of me wants them to lose on Tuesday and then again on Saturday, need a bit of drama going into the final day. What do we think then? Can Barnet pull it off? Will Morecambe or Grimsby choke?

 

[Hooped Wizard]

Morecamble will join Chesterfield

 

[Clarkey_GTFC]

Morecambe losing to Cambridge will do it for us I think, they'll go into the Barnet game knowing they need a result and hopefully step it up. Even if they lose both, we would have to match their result with an easier game. Obviously easier said than done but on paper we're looking the most comfortable we have since the turn of the year.

Great result for us with a stroke of luck regarding the soft penalty, but I'm a believer in making your own luck and we have definitely been doing that since Jolley's arrival. All it has taken is a little belief and desire to get in the right areas. I can't decide if Jolley is a miracle worker or if Slade really was one of the worst managers in the history of English football.

 

[Dan_Macclad]

Gutted for Chesterfield. Always a good local game and I like their stadium.

 

[Optipez]

Sorry to see Chesterfield go down. You can't argue with a league table but the drop from this division feels enormous, far worse than just being relegated from Div1 to 2.
Hope Barnet stay up as I've a massive amount of time for Martin Allen.

 

[CFC91]

Wasn’t gutted yesterday. Just angry. The way the fans turned towards the end I’ve never seen anything before. Can’t say those on the end of the abuse didn’t deserve it

 

[LondonOrn]

I can't decide if Jolley is a miracle worker or if Slade really was one of the worst managers in the history of English football.

Well, he did nearly get you promoted during his previous spell, and it was downhill since he left. No idea where things went wrong second time round though.

 

[Indian Dan]

Yeah, I think we're going have to remove Akinde pen and replace it with Grimsby pen. Do they ever score from anything or than a penalty?! Terrible call in that game.

Morecambe, from looking pretty safe, are all of a sudden dragged back in a little today, although that obviously depends on Barnet.

Just how can the so called officials get it so wrong.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jiff1967/status/987705041233547264

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Have to hope Cambridge can do us a favour and give us something to play for next weekend. Not sure I could stomach Ellison scoring the goal that sends us down.

As I can't see Grimsby losing at home to Notts County next week, I'll be cheering on Forest Green against Yeovil.

 

[mowgli]

Just how can the so called officials get it so wrong.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jiff1967/status/987705041233547264

Probably the worst penalty decision of the season that i've seen.

 

[dedwardp]

Can see Barnet winning both of their games, so a lot hinges on Morecambe's result on Tuesday night. Don't think Grimsby will be out of it before the final day though.

 

[spireite]

Wasn’t gutted yesterday. Just angry. The way the fans turned towards the end I’ve never seen anything before. Can’t say those on the end of the abuse didn’t deserve it

I can't even bring myself to be angry. I just feel empty, confused and despondent We've gone out of the football league without even a whimper.

 

[BeesKnees]

Just how can the so called officials get it so wrong.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jiff1967/status/987705041233547264

That is unbelievably poor. Hope the player gets a ban for it.

 

[AdamStag]

Lol

That was a penalty?

What?

 

[dedwardp]

Surely Lester has to go for Chesterfield?

I know you can say he came into a bad situation, but the season was only 10 games old so plenty of time to turn it around, but he's picked up 30 points in 33 games so still bottom two form. They signed a tonne of players in January but nine of the starting line up yesterday were already there before him whilst five of his signings made up the seven subs - so his recruitment must have been poor too if most of his additions can't even displace the already failing side?

By all accounts they've shown next to no fight in recent weeks too which is the least you'd expect in their scenario. What has he got going for him other than scoring a lot of goals for the club a few years ago?

 

[spireite]

Surely Lester has to go for Chesterfield?

I know you can say he came into a bad situation, but the season was only 10 games old so plenty of time to turn it around, but he's picked up 30 points in 33 games so still bottom two form. They signed a tonne of players in January but nine of the starting line up yesterday were already there before him whilst five of his signings made up the seven subs - so his recruitment must have been poor too if most of his additions can't even displace the already failing side?

By all accounts they've shown next to no fight in recent weeks too which is the least you'd expect in their scenario. What has he got going for him other than scoring a lot of goals for the club a few years ago?

I'd let him go, yea. He'll always be a legend, but we need a manager who knows the league. We could do worse than sign someone like Paul Cox imo. Get rid of most of the squad and fill it with 6ft lads. Try and sign Matt Rhead or someone like that and kick our way out of the conference. It's how it seems to be done. Lester wants to play football, and you can't do it down there. Forest Green looked massive compared to us yesterday, outmuscled us everywhere. Story of the season.

I can't think of many of the current squad I'd want to keep.

 

[Luke Imp]

You might have the money for Paul Cox, but not the 50 players a season he gets through and the squad size he likes to carry. Two per position is a luxury for most managers, but not Paul. He wants 3 per position.

 

[PaulHaddock]

Stole 3 points yesterday. We were lucky not be 3-0 down in the first half after some bad finishing by Swindon and a goal that was disallowed for handball. Then Cardwell goes clear, goes down and the penalty is given. I was slightly uncertain as I was right at the other end of the pitch but the highlights that that wasn’t a penalty, though it’s probably the only wrong penalty decision we’ve had all season! Mitch Rose showed his balls of steel and then goaded the Swindon fans for good measure, even if it was unnecessary.

We put in an almost perfect second half performance. After getting sliced open in the first half, we sat back off the ball, meaning they could only play long balls, which we mostly dealt with. We also made a few chances for ourselves, as we’re becoming more and more dangerous at set pieces.

Jolley has got this squad playing to their strengths and deserves some credit. We’re tighter defensively (barring the Lincoln and Coventry games) and as Clarkey says, we’re making our own luck to get the penalties. That’s 4 in 8 since Jolley has arrived!

That Morecambe defeat is massive. If they lose to Cambridge on Tuesday, it puts all the pressure on them to play for a draw against Barnet next Saturday. Even if they do lose to Barnet, meaning Barnet would be within 1 and 2 points of us and Morecambe respectively, Morecambe have to go to Coventry on the last day, an incredibly tricky game. Obviously I’m hoping for at least a draw in the Morecambe-Barnet game on Saturday but a Barnet win isn’t the end of the world. This hinges on Morecambe losing to Cambridge though. Come on the U’s!

On saying all that, we have two chances to get 3 points or even 2, which will leave us safe. Whatever happens, I can’t wait for this shitshow of a season to be over.

 

[dedwardp]

You might have the money for Paul Cox, but not the 50 players a season he gets through and the squad size he likes to carry. Two per position is a luxury for most managers, but not Paul. He wants 3 per position.

To be fair, they've got through about 50 players this season haven't they?!

 

[Agombar stool]

Even though that was probably the worst penalty decision I’ve ever seen I can’t put any blame on the ref. Our management and players just haven’t been good enough this season. Our home form is just a joke. Had we even shown any semblance of consistent Home form we’d have got into the play offs easily.

Fair play to Grimsby, they have done the double over us and brought good numbers yesterday.

 

[Habbinalan]

Have to hope Cambridge can do us a favour and give us something to play for next weekend. Not sure I could stomach Ellison scoring the goal that sends us down.

As I can't see Grimsby losing at home to Notts County next week, I'll be cheering on Forest Green against Yeovil.

The bad news (good news for ShrimpsMeltdown) is that we've recalled our better youngsters from loan and had a few on the bench yesterday but none got on the pitch.

With no Uche (Jambo) or Jabo and Barry Corr probably only fit for 30 minutes or so once a week, Matt Foy and Tom Knowles may well get a run out on Tuesday - possibly Harry Darling and/or Little Leon Davies as well.

I thought you might make it at the expense of Grimsby but didn't envisage Morecambe failing to reach 50 points.

The most likely result from our day on the beach and visit to Happy Mount Park is a draw - which leaves the onus on you and Mad Dog to win the last two. I think/hope Jim Bentley will probably send you down on saturday - after all, he once bought me a pie and a pint.

 

[Hatter86]

Just how can the so called officials get it so wrong.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jiff1967/status/987705041233547264

That is outrageous. Christ. Killed Swindons playoffs hopes but got to be devastating for Barnet fans that...

 

[Buxton Vale]

Morecambe are doing their best to get relegated, but Ive always thought it would be Chesterfield and Barnet, and I still do. Sorry to see what has happened to the Spirites, as it could happen to any badly run club, and there are plenty to choose from (including us).

 

[darren gregory]

Genuinely sad at the demise of Chesterfield despite the fact we always lose there.
4 of last 5 away games have been Vale, Grimsby, Morecambe and FGR. One point speaks volumes about the characters or rather lack of in their side.
Could so easily of been ourselves, felt that Good Friday with 10 men was our saviour.
Hopefully they'll be back soon but it's bloody difficult as we all know

 

[Indian Dan]

That is outrageous. Christ. Killed Swindons playoffs hopes but got to be devastating for Barnet fans that...

That didn’t finish our play off hopes. We managed that quite nicely ourselves. I reckon, at our worst, we were the worst team in this league. Luckily that wasn’t that many times that we were in danger of doing a Chesterfield.

We’ve been turned over by some right old crap this season.

 

[valefan16]

Would agree that Barnet look likely still, the issue is as well as they have done of late and 7 points from 9 I believe? Is a good return but they haven’t really made much headway as results have gone against them with Grimsby picking up the same, FGR getting six from six and Morecambe having a head start of those.

If Morecambe lose on Tuesday though it would be a massive opportunity for Barnet heading there with Morecambe going to Coventry last game.