2025-26 Relegation thread

[Tom]

Charlton got a battering, granted they are a lofty 4 points above us but still 

[Tom]

Oxford winning is desperate for us, need Leicester to get back in that 

[sharpysharps86]

Leicester are supposedly going to be deducted 10 points soon, which would drop them right into it.

[AvRover]

Well, I'm looking at the table and Portsmouth have two games in hand on level points. Norwich could pick up something from their game in hand. We're 2/3 points adrift already.

Unfortunately, unless something changes, I think we're down. The vibe around the club is just wrong, gloomy and declinist. It's the culture of the whole organisation. It's not a club battling to survive and pulling together.

Edited 19 hours ago by AvRover

[G Somerset Rover]

Surprised it’s so quiet on this one. I said in the match thread that IMO things will be worse by Monday evening - I fear resignation seems to be setting in. We’ll be adrift before long - we simply cannot win a football match.

Edited 19 hours ago by G Somerset Rover

[AvRover]

3 minutes ago, G Somerset Rover said:

Surprised it’s so quiet on this thread. I said in the match thread that IMO things will be worse by Monday evening - I fear resignation seems to be setting in. We’ll be adrift before long - we simply cannot win a football match.

Exactly my thoughts. Hopefully relegation this time means the end of the regime.

[davulsukur]

A draw was comfortably the worst result for us today. Keeps the pressure off VI but doesn't give us much for the relegation battle.

A loss, might (although I'm doubtful) have ended Ismaels reign. A win would have given us an obvious boost.

[DE.]

I just don't know who people are expecting us to beat to get ourselves out of trouble. We've already proven we can't beat the teams around us - we have literally not taken three points from any of them. The idea that we'll somehow beat the better teams in the league to stay up seems very fanciful. We may get the odd shock win and some draws here and there, but that isn't going to be enough. We looked utterly doomed as things stand. 

[alcd]

They were averaging only a point a match even when a virtually full squad was avaliable until mid-October. No reason to suppose it'll be even as good as that in the second half of the season. 

[davulsukur]

The manager (and club presumably) think the season will last forever.

"There are still 20 games, 60 points to play for"

"There are still 19 games, 57 points to play for"

"There are still 18 games, 54 points to play for"

And yet, games keep passing us by without a win.

[MarkBRFC]

15 hours ago, sharpysharps86 said:

Leicester are supposedly going to be deducted 10 points soon, which would drop them right into it.

I think even if Leicester get deducted 10 points, I would fancy them to get more points than us over 18 games until the end of the season.

I dont see either Portsmouth or Norwich winning over the next couple of days though.

I thought Oxford were done for but a great result yesterday. 

2 from Oxford, Portsmouth, Rovers & Charlton would be my guess, and I think it will go to the wire.

 

[philipl]

Between last Friday and mid February, 11 players are due to become available - 4 yesterday.

The youngsters have all given good accounts of themselves which means Ismael will have 28 genuine contenders for selection or thereabouts assuming the pitch/lurgy/injury/transfers don't reduce the fit squad 

Ismael will have a selection headache, formation choices and absolutely no excuse.

[Mercer]

53 minutes ago, philipl said:

Between last Friday and mid February, 11 players are due to become available - 4 yesterday.

The youngsters have all given good accounts of themselves which means Ismael will have 28 genuine contenders for selection or thereabouts assuming the pitch/lurgy/injury/transfers don't reduce the fit squad 

Ismael will have a selection headache, formation choices and absolutely no excuse.

Don't worry, Ismael will find at least one further excuse:

• Clubs ask silly fees in the Jan. window and we couldn't secure all our targets
• The lads coming back from injury need time and games to get their rhythm
• Further injuries happen - I've never known such a season
• The games just keep coming, we have 6 alone in Feb
• The pitch isn't helping (used already yesterday)

and no doubt there will be more!

[Waggy76]

1 minute ago, Mercer said:

Don't worry, Ismael will find at least one further excuse:

• Clubs ask silly fees in the Jan. window and we couldn't secure all our targets
• The lads coming back from injury need time and games to get their rhythm
• Further injuries happen - I've never known such a season
• The games just keep coming, we have 6 alone in Feb
• The pitch isn't helping (used already yesterday)

and no doubt there will be more!

The players are not good enough is not an excuse , it is the truth ! 

 

[JHRover]

Big one today with Portsmouth at home to Southampton in the derby.

Back into the bottom three if Portsmouth avoid defeat and they will still have a game in hand either way.

[MarkBRFC]

1 hour ago, JHRover said:

Big one today with Portsmouth at home to Southampton in the derby.

Back into the bottom three if Portsmouth avoid defeat and they will still have a game in hand either way.

There game in hand is away at Charlton, which i don't think has a date put in yet.

Could be huge when that comes around.

[simongarnerisgod]

portsmouth much the better side so far,if they had a bit of qualty up front they`de be ahead

[MarkBRFC]

Looks like we'll be out of the relegation zone for the next week at least.

Portsmouth are really poor.

[G Somerset Rover]

13 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Looks like we'll be out of the relegation zone for the next week at least.

Portsmouth are really poor.

They still beat us! You said the same about Charlton and they’ve taken 4 points off us too (should have been six). There is a recurring theme.

Edited 1 hour ago by G Somerset Rover

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

1-1 into bottom three we go.

[MarkBRFC]

3 minutes ago, G Somerset Rover said:

They still beat us! You said the same about Charlton and they’ve taken 4 points off us too (should have been six). There is a recurring theme.

They are both really poor.

I'm not comparing them to us, i know how bad we can be, just based on what I have seen from them.

Both of them are right in it with us and its impossible to say who stays and who goes out of those 3.

1 minute ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

1-1 into bottom three we go.

Turned it off and they go and equalise!

Edited 1 hour ago by MarkBRFC

[JHRover]

Full time 1-1, another week in the bottom 3

[Rogerb]

3 hours ago, Mercer said:

Don't worry, Ismael will find at least one further excuse:

• Clubs ask silly fees in the Jan. window and we couldn't secure all our targets
• The lads coming back from injury need time and games to get their rhythm
• Further injuries happen - I've never known such a season
• The games just keep coming, we have 6 alone in Feb
• The pitch isn't helping (used already yesterday)

and no doubt there will be more!

Listening to match of the day last night talking about Bournemouth after they had beaten Liverpool, how they had lost their best player and were dealing with numerous injuries and had been on a bad run of results since November. No excuses just getting on with it. 

The polar opposite of our lot every excuse under the sun.

[simongarnerisgod]

plenty of battle and running in the portsmouth side,they lack any real quality but make up for it in effort

[G Somerset Rover]

18 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

They are both really poor.

I'm not comparing them to us, i know how bad we can be, just based on what I have seen from them.

Both of them are right in it with us and its impossible to say who stays and who goes out of those 3.

Turned it off and they go and equalise!

The difference would seem to be they can beat the odd team in and around them. We just cannot seem to do that. Beating Sheff Weds at home would be a start.