In our own hands?

[Salopian]

This is a posting from the Pink site, from someone who has looked at our remaining away fixtures:

"We have played all the top 5 at their grounds, taking 10 points in the process and have just Watford to go to out of the top 9 teams. All that is left is for most of them to come to FCR where we have hopefully recovered since our early season blip. "

Even if there are some rising teams, such as Birmingham and even Brighton, it would seem that if Alex can get us playing committed and consistent football, promotion is still a possibility. It's in our own hands.

 

[eatonparkboy]

This is a posting from the Pink site, from someone who has looked at our remaining away fixtures:

"We have played all the top 5 at their grounds, taking 10 points in the process and have just Watford to go to out of the top 9 teams. All that is left is for most of them to come to FCR where we have hopefully recovered since our early season blip. "

Even if there are some rising teams, such as Birmingham and even Brighton, it would seem that if Alex can get us playing committed and consistent football, promotion is still a possibility. It's in our own hands.

And Sheffield Wednesday. The more teams that improve. the better for us. With most of the top teams coming to us, as many other teams who can deprive them of points the better.

 

[ZLF]

for me its definitely in our hands;    focus on getting on average 2pts per game and we will be very close to an auto spot,  especially if we can win most of the games against those in the top 10 around us.

Its a a very tough challenge having dropped so many simple points against teams who will finish low down in the table;   but those results and those against the top 8, incl sats,  shows that the nicey nicey approach of the manager was not applying enough pressure to get the most from this squad.

Apply ourselves to the remaining games and we can succeed.

 

[splutcho]

Technically yes it is in our hands, but we need a lot of points. To be sure of automatic, I reckon we'd need about 88 points come the end of the season. That's 48 more points from 21 games. Close to an average of 2.3 points a game.

If you were to break the rest of our games down into sections of 7 matches, from each of them we'd need 5 wins, a draw and a loss (or better than that it goes without saying). A tough ask indeed.

 

[Dubai Mark]

Its possible.......why not.....the squad IS strong enough.,.....they just need the right tactics and a good kick up the back side!

 

[Boyerboy]

Good runs are relatively common in this league. After all, Ipswich had only lost one in fourteen or something. It is entirely possible that a stinking run over the next ten games would put us right back in contention.

We will always be dependent on others of course.

Don't forget that Lambert's great run to automatic promotion succeeded in part because both the Welsh clubs imploded. Remember the delight at watching Cardiff let in three in the first twenty odd minutes against Middlesborough just before we played Porstmouth? Every promoted team needs a convergence of helpful events as well as making their own luck.

I think it's as much in our hands as it can be.

 

[Yellow Fever]

For me, it's not in our hands because there are 6 teams above us. We need those teams to falter if we are to succeed. That means it isn't in our own hands. All we can do is to work hard to get all the points we can and hope others falter enough for us to catch them. It's still possible, but it isn't exclusively in our hands.

 

[morty]

Beating the teams above us when they come to Carrow road is a good start!

I think this is doable.

 

[Yellow Fever]

IMO, the play-offs are likely and a top two finish a possibility if we can put a good run together.

 

[Personal Trainer]

Have watched enough football over the decades to know that very little in the game is predictable, except perhaps that money-bags Man City and Chelsea are automatic top four. After all I predicted Bournemouth, Blackpool and Brentford for relegation in Canary Challenge.

 

[eatonparkboy]

There is absolutely no reason I can think of why NCFC cannot embark on a long, points winning run. For instance, we have 11 home games left which is 33 points. If QPR can lose 10 away games on the trot then we can win 11 homes on the trot.

I'm not so sure that the high eighties will be necessary for automatic. 8 clubs are separated by eight points. I doubt any team will pick up two points a game. I honestly believe 82-84 will win an automatic spot.

 

[Din]

We are certainly in complete control of our own fate here. However, assuming the target is automatic promotion, we do need a little bit of luck, hoping that the likes of Derby, Bournemouth and Ipswich lose the odd game, and that when we have the chance we take it. It is vital we beat the teams above us at home though.

 

[Yellow Fever]

There is absolutely no reason I can think of why NCFC cannot embark on a long, points winning run. For instance, we have 11 home games left which is 33 points. If QPR can lose 10 away games on the trot then we can win 11 homes on the trot.

I'm not so sure that the high eighties will be necessary for automatic. 8 clubs are separated by eight points. I doubt any team will pick up two points a game. I honestly believe 82-84 will win an automatic spot.

I think that it will be tight at the top this year with teams taking points off each other. To have a chance, we need to win those 5 six-pointers at CR, which will at least close the gap, and then 2-3 wins more than the others ahead of us to have a chance at one of the automatic promotion places. To pick up on EPB's point, 82 points is the average total for the second automatic promotion place, and that is potentially within our capabilities, but it going to take full commitment and concentration in every game for us to get there. You sort of feel that Alex Neil could be just the sort of manager to be able to urge that performance out of his players. His interview on Radio Norfolk suggests that could be the case:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30834065

Let's hope so.

 

[Gorlestongirl]

Apparently the average points to beat 3rd place was 82 up to season before last, and with so many teams improving and taking' points off teams in higher places, it seems we could get automatic promotion with around 82. Also, I suppose if we were able to go from top to 11th by throwing away points we could get back up by grabbing them back. Whatever, I'm looking forward it.

 

[Gorlestongirl]

Sorry, yellow fever; should have read your post more carefully. Perhaps, I should have just said, 'I agree with Yellow Fever '.

 

[It's Character Forming]

Technically speaking it's not in our hands because if the top 2 do as well as us over the rest of the season, we can't catch them.

But in reality it's an 8 point gap with 21 games to go, which it's entirely possible for us to close.  The top 2 are both on 48 points and in recent weeks we've beaten one and drawn (having outplayed) the other at their grounds, so we know we're capable of doing better than them.  It's possible one will do well over the rest of the season but unlikely they'll both sustain the performance that has put them in the top 2 (ditto 1p5wich).

So if we go on a really good run from now on, it's in our hands whether we can do well enough to get a top 2 spot this season.

 

[eatonparkboy]

6 February 1982 NCFC were 11th in the "Championship with 28 points after 24 games,

15 May 1982 NCFC were 3rd and promoted with 71 points from 42 games.

It has been done before (yes I know 3rd is now the play offs) so I have belief that it is achievable.

The big if is whether this squad is brave enough to attempt it. I have a feeling the manager might be and listening to his interview I believe the pressure on him is less than Adams.