Rage Online

...getting nervous?

I know I am.

I'm feeling remarkably calm. I just keep thinking back to May 1996 going into that last day game against Peterborough, to which our current situation feels similar. A talented, confident team have their destiny in their own hands, and know that they can win promotion by beating, at home, a side who have nothing for which to play. I doubt it'll be as easy as it was against Peterborough, but we have good grounds for optimism:

- We've won our last two relatively comfortably and without conceding;
- We have key players coming back from injury;
- We have consistently shown an ability to prepare well for big games;
- Wycombe, by all accounts, looked as though they had one eye on the beach during the game last weekend;
- It's (almost) impossible to envisage us not scoring if you look at our record this season;
- We have a packed house who will give the players all the support they need.

This isn't complacency or hubris at all. I simply think that if we look at the cold, hard facts, we have to be strong favourites.

Nervous? No. Excited? Very.

If we were going to bottle it, Carlisle away would have been the place. All the pressure's on Bristol now (despite Clarke's hilarious claim otherwise and we've had good form all season long.

As I've remarked elsewhere, occasionally pessimists are pleasantly surprised, but optimists face frequent crushing blows ... assume development in the form of the pomaceous fruit of the genus Pyrus.

Of course we're favourites. But I still fear the worst, mainly for the reasons outlined by Ancient Colin. And it's Wycombe. Not that I give a shit about their club, but they seem to care about us so much. And our record against them isn't the best.

I'm also relatively calm about the situation, possibly because I don't see ending up in the Play-offs as a failure. Sure it would feel like under-achievement knowing how good this team can be, but it would also indicate our best finish for a decade and a half. Let's hope it doesn't come to it, but if we do fall short on Saturday I hope the crowd still gives a massive cheer and encouragement for the exciting mini-season ahead rather than eg angrily invading the pitch and confronting the gloating Wycombe fans.

Anyway, I'll be abroad on Saturday. As I was for that Peterborough game. Probably the only two times I've not been in the country for the last game of the (regular) season. So there's an omen for you...

Spoke with someone yesterday who know the league and the Wycombe team very well. He said a few interesting things, including the fact that they rarely score more than one goal. But they also don't let many in. They've lost a long run of game and he thinks the only motivation for them to win on Sat will be so they don't go out on a losing streak. Aside from that they're really quite poor. But then it is a local derby, so you just never know.

He was saying, however, Stanley are excellent but he thinks Daggers could do it against Rovers, who have form for chocking on the last day of the season...

The one thing that makes me nervous is Wycombe's reputation for anti-football. Our record this season against teams like that is not the best. If we score first, then we should go on and win. But if they get the first goal, then things could get really tricky. I also hope we get a decent ref, because I hate to imagine how bad Wycombe's spoiling tactics are going to get as the game wears on.

I agree with this last point. I am feeling surprisingly confident, but I can just see Danny on the end of some rough stuff and a couple of dodgy decisions, and the Wycombe players knowing just what to do to get him sent off.

I agree that this might be the case if WWFC were looking for the points, but I just don't see why they should put so much effort in, tbh. At their gaff, they did everything they could to stop us, throwing their bodies around and risking bookings, to get the points. They even decided to not cut the grass on their pitch so our passing game was inhibited. I just don't see the sum of those parts coming together for the game on Sat. Our biggest enemy on the day will be ourselves, if we try too hard, over play etc.

I don't care how we win on Sat, so long as we win.

GodalmingYellow wrote:...getting nervous?

I know I am.

yes!

for me, a victory over wycombe to secure promotion is pretty much what I would script if I could. wycombe have always been the main rival for me growing up in bucks. defeat taking it away from Us doesn't bear thinking about...

completely agree with recordmeister's analysis of the away game. the referee will dictate the outcome to a large degree I think. if I see him allowing the little digs, niggles, shirt pulling, and 'game management' they indulged in at adam's park, I will be even more nervous. if the referee clamps down on that straight away i'll be feeling much more positive that we'll show we're the better team and get the victory I think we deserve.

COYY!

Womble has posted elsewhere that the referee will be Keith Stroud of Bournemouth.

He seems quite experienced and this is his record this season ...

http://www.soccerbase.com/referees/refe ... ree_id=885

He dealt with Wycombe at Dagenham in February when each side was shown a red.

Oh! And I've lost sleep already!

I lived near High Wycombe for almost 30 years until last year, so have had considerable stick from the locals at times. (My son's father-in-law is a Wycombe fan. The right result on Saturday would delete it all from my memory banks.

To answer your question GY, given the importance of the game, our home form and our record against Wycombe I am VERY nervous!

Dr Bob wrote:The one thing that makes me nervous is Wycombe's reputation for anti-football. Our record this season against teams like that is not the best.

Seconded.

And, for me, this is probably the biggest negative for this season. Right from Day One against Crawley we have shown ourselves to be largely incapable of breaking down sides who come with that sort of game plan. After that match I said to several people that it's no good bemoaning the oppositions' "anti-football" approach because that's how 75% of League 2 clubs will set their stalls out at the Kassam; we need to find a way to counter that. We've failed to do so, hence the poor home record.

I really hope that we put this right on Saturday. A couple of goals early doors will certainly help!

Excellent thread. Agree with you all. I'm feeling unusually positive. But I do feel we need to pick a 'robust' team initially, to counteract the inevitable rough stuff that Ainsworth will no doubt encourage his team to dish out.

This could mean Bowery in the starting line up......

Myles Francis wrote:Seconded.

And, for me, this is probably the biggest negative for this season. Right from Day One against Crawley we have shown ourselves to be largely incapable of breaking down sides who come with that sort of game plan. After that match I said to several people that it's no good bemoaning the oppositions' "anti-football" approach because that's how 75% of League 2 clubs will set their stalls out at the Kassam; we need to find a way to counter that. We've failed to do so, hence the poor home record.

think that's a bit harsh myles. I definitely agree it's an issue for Us, particularly if the referee allows those teams to play in the way they want to. but I remember starting to feel optimistic about the season after the home games against notts county and yeovil, who both came to play that way and we despatched them reasonably efficiently. wimbledon away is the obvious more recent example, and the home games against daggers and york to a certain extent.

don't get me wrong, it's an issue and I worry about it on saturday. but I wouldn't say we were 'largely incapable' of dealing with it - in the way that I would of many united squads of recent years!