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&quotMooro&quot wrote:Sadly one look at the fixture list and you have to say the blind optimism gene will have to work overtime..

After this Saturday, 7 of Dagenhams next 11 games are against teams in the bottom 8 places, with the others being 3 relatively comfortable home games against Stevenage, Aldershot &amp Forest Green and their trip to the Kassam. Even their tough final game against GRavesend is at home as opposed to our trip to York.

On a more positive note, the number of serious playoff challengers is slowly beginning to shrink with the likes of Weymouth &amp Kiddie running out of steam.

Far too early to conclude this. Still a long way to go. I actually think we have a better run in than them.

Nonetheless my early predictions for play offs are:

Us/York/Stevenage/Exeter.

Watch Stevenage.

&quotResurrection Ox&quot wrote: Far too early to conclude this. Still a long way to go. I actually think we have a better run in than them.

Nonetheless my early predictions for play offs are:

Us/York/Stevenage/Exeter.

Watch Stevenage.

Cannot agree ours is any easier than theirs..

Apart from the head to head game, there are six games in both lists (Stafford, Stevenage, Forest Green at home, Southport, Northwich, St Albans away), which leaves six each.
D&ampR only face one playoff challenger (Gravesend at home), two midtable (Weymouth away, Aldershot home) and three basement sides (Cambridge &amp Tamworth away, Alty at home).
We face two playoff challengers (Burton at home, York away), three midtable sides (Weymouth &amp Kiddie at home, Halifax away) and only one basement side (Altrincham away).

I think our only hope lies in their next four games (Southport a, Stafford h, northwich a, St Albans a) where if they fail to win twice that brings the gap down to 4-6 points (if we win 4 from 4). If we can then hold that through our away trips to Alty and Halifax, then beating them at the Kassam would mean we were only one result from catching them and they might begin to wobble.
Personally, I dont think us winning every game from now to the end of the season would be enough..

Main thing we have to avoid is coasting into the playoff places then being unable to raise ourselves for the actual playoff games...

&quotMooro&quot wrote: Personally, I dont think us winning every game from now to the end of the season would be enough..

Main thing we have to avoid is coasting into the playoff places then being unable to raise ourselves for the actual playoff games...

I agree with this. Of course we've got to try and win every last game, but it'll take a big slip up from D&ampR. If they do slip, then great. If not, at least we'll be going into the play-offs on a great run of form.

However, the FA Trophy might now come into play as the two legs of the semi-finals are on the 10th and 17th of March and include Northwich and Stevenage who just happen to be due to play Dagenham on those dates respectively.

This can be taken a number of ways, but on the positive side it means that we'll play five games to their three up to the 17th, giving us the opportunity to reduce the gap significantly enough to perhaps induce a wobble on their behalf, especially if we then beat them on the 26th. Games in hand may not be to their advantage later on when there are few gaps left in the fixture list to fit them in and they are maybe having a wobble...

This all relies on us winning every match to put the pressure on but is still maybe the chink of light we need?

&quotMyles Francis&quot wrote:

&quotMooro&quot wrote: Personally, I dont think us winning every game from now to the end of the season would be enough..

Main thing we have to avoid is coasting into the playoff places then being unable to raise ourselves for the actual playoff games...

I agree with this. Of course we've got to try and win every last game, but it'll take a big slip up from D&ampR. If they do slip, then great. If not, at least we'll be going into the play-offs on a great run of form.

Also agree with this.

D&ampR are now around 6-1 on to win the title, so unless they do something stupid over the next 13 games or so (like we’ve just done) then it’s improbable we’re going to catch them.

Like a lot of people, before we secured those back-to-back wins I was watching the chasing play-off pack with trepidation as they got closer every week. We’d moved from being 15 points clear of 6th place on the 4th of November to only 5 points clear of chasing Burton (and we’d played two more games than Albion) after we finished the game against Cambridge United - http://www.oufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Le ... 03,00.html

However, the team has to keep believing that we can catch the Daggers, even if we realistically can’t, because missing out on the play-offs this season would I think be the final kick in the teeth for a lot of OUFC supporters.

/

Anyone know how many penalties Yemi has garnered for us this season, and if he’d been taking them then how many goals would he have scored compared to Duffy? (that snippet is exclusively for Radley Rambler!).

&quotMooro&quot wrote: Apart from the head to head game, there are six games in both lists (Stafford, Stevenage, Forest Green at home, Southport, Northwich, St Albans away), which leaves six each.
D&ampR only face one playoff challenger (Gravesend at home), two midtable (Weymouth away, Aldershot home) and three basement sides (Cambridge &amp Tamworth away, Alty at home).
We face two playoff challengers (Burton at home, York away), three midtable sides (Weymouth &amp Kiddie at home, Halifax away) and only one basement side (Altrincham away).

Although at the fag-end of the season, I'd rather be playing a team comfortably assured of a mid-table place than one fighting to avoid relegation.

It's all about pressure. If we keep winning, we could make their end-of-season very nervous indeed. I know it's a long shot, but I'm tempted to pop onto Betfair and lay that 6-1, although this will curse the U's worse than the gipsies.

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:

&quotMooro&quot wrote: Apart from the head to head game, there are six games in both lists (Stafford, Stevenage, Forest Green at home, Southport, Northwich, St Albans away), which leaves six each.
D&ampR only face one playoff challenger (Gravesend at home), two midtable (Weymouth away, Aldershot home) and three basement sides (Cambridge &amp Tamworth away, Alty at home).
We face two playoff challengers (Burton at home, York away), three midtable sides (Weymouth &amp Kiddie at home, Halifax away) and only one basement side (Altrincham away).

Although at the fag-end of the season, I'd rather be playing a team comfortably assured of a mid-table place than one fighting to avoid relegation.

It's all about pressure. If we keep winning, we could make their end-of-season very nervous indeed. I know it's a long shot, but I'm tempted to pop onto Betfair and lay that 6-1, although this will curse the U's worse than the gipsies.

Straw clutching maybe but....


I think we can catch them. We're back on track now.

Plus I do not think D and R are that special. I've seen them lose to us twice.

Plus - do they REALLY want to be promoted? I know they might pick up 500 disgruntled Hammers fans next season but are they really ready for league 2? Its a good reason for an end of season collapse.

What's the best odds I can get on OUFC automtaically going up? ?

http://www.oddschecker.com/betting/mode ... sid/919398

And Duffy at 7-1 to be top goalscorer gives a double at around 50-1

Blimey, bet365's a bit out of line with the rest. You think they've got some heavy Oxford betting sitting on their books? Maybe Smith and Merry plonked twenty grand on coming first?

&quotResurrection Ox&quot wrote:

&quotSmileyMan&quot wrote:

&quotMooro&quot wrote: Apart from the head to head game, there are six games in both lists (Stafford, Stevenage, Forest Green at home, Southport, Northwich, St Albans away), which leaves six each.
D&ampR only face one playoff challenger (Gravesend at home), two midtable (Weymouth away, Aldershot home) and three basement sides (Cambridge &amp Tamworth away, Alty at home).
We face two playoff challengers (Burton at home, York away), three midtable sides (Weymouth &amp Kiddie at home, Halifax away) and only one basement side (Altrincham away).

Although at the fag-end of the season, I'd rather be playing a team comfortably assured of a mid-table place than one fighting to avoid relegation.

It's all about pressure. If we keep winning, we could make their end-of-season very nervous indeed. I know it's a long shot, but I'm tempted to pop onto Betfair and lay that 6-1, although this will curse the U's worse than the gipsies.

Straw clutching maybe but....


I think we can catch them. We're back on track now.

Plus I do not think D and R are that special. I've seen them lose to us twice.

Plus - do they REALLY want to be promoted? I know they might pick up 500 disgruntled Hammers fans next season but are they really ready for league 2? Its a good reason for an end of season collapse.

What's the best odds I can get on OUFC automtaically going up? ?

I'm sure this is just the fan in me coming out rather than my head ruling, but I tend to agree with ResOx. I still think D&ampG will either not have the ability to sustain their lead under the significant pressure that the final run in brings, or they may look at the ground requirements to get into the league and decide a small increase in fans would not be enough to justify the additional costs and sustain themselves in the league.

I think since the signing of Corcoran to replace Willmott, we look solid at the back again so we won't concede many more goals this season. The only issue for me is will we still keep creating enough chances. I reckon we will. I also reckon there is a fair chance we will win virtually all our remaining games.

Will it be enough? I reckon we'll just nick it on the last game of the season.

I did say it was heart not head!!

&quotGodalmingYellow&quot wrote:Will it be enough? I reckon we'll just nick it on the last game of the season.

Have you booked your hotel room in York yet?

&quotResurrection Ox&quot wrote:[
Plus - do they REALLY want to be promoted? I know they might pick up 500 disgruntled Hammers fans next season but are they really ready for league 2? Its a good reason for an end of season collapse.

Unfortunately I think they do, particularly with the sense of injustice over the whole Boston affair, doubly so if our Lincolnshire friends actually look like coming down at the same time.

I suspect that, and the same blind optimism that affects us all when it comes to these things, will override any 'sensible' thoughts concerning the financials of it all.

Oh, for two automatic spots!

&quotGodalmingYellow&quot wrote: I still think D&ampG will either not have the ability to sustain their lead

on the upside they'll be very fashionably attired in the play-offs though!

&quotSnake&quot wrote:Anyone know how many penalties Yemi has garnered for us this season, and if he’d been taking them then how many goals would he have scored compared to Duffy? (that snippet is exclusively for Radley Rambler!).

i make it 4: burton away, southport home pen., grays away pen., tamworth away pen.

so if odubade had taken them (on the assumption that odubade is any good at penalties and had put them away, and that's an un-tested assumption!) he would now be on 12 goals, with duffy on 17.

&quotA-Ro&quot wrote:

&quotGodalmingYellow&quot wrote:Will it be enough? I reckon we'll just nick it on the last game of the season.

Have you booked your hotel room in York yet?

Not yet. Can you recommend anywhere?

Perhaps we could have a Rageonline Hotel.