Play Offs

[BigDaveCUFC]

Next season down here is looking as tough as I can rememebr it in recent years

Considering most people have said the last couple of weeks all the play off sides are crap, notts we’re crap in their play offs, probably Wrexham due to being in non league we’re crap, and the rest of league was by most people one of the crappest ever……….it cannot be that tough a league.

Stevenage and Carlisle just proved this seasoN you can be total and utter dross the season previous and still end up promoted 12 months later even with some clubs spending lots of money, you also had barrow almost get into play offs with a small budget.

Has to be hope there for any of the sides who failed this season for next

 

[PuB]

Considering most people have said the last couple of weeks all the play off sides are crap, notts we’re crap in their play offs, probably Wrexham due to being in non league we’re crap, and the rest of league was by most people one of the crappest ever……….it cannot be that tough a league.

Stevenage and Carlisle just proved this seasoN you can be total and utter dross the season previous and still end up promoted 12 months later even with some clubs spending lots of money, you also had barrow almost get into play offs with a small budget.

Has to be hope there for any of the sides who failed this season for next

Neither of the two sides today have been utter dross all season, it’s exactly why you’re now a league one team. Interestingly though if you notice it’s the supporters of the dross teams who didn’t make it calling the league shite.

It’s a well deserved promotion for Carlisle you guys enjoy yourselves

PS it’s also HG’s wet dream and he can predict relegation every week and might get it right, for once.

 

[Son of Cod]

Neither of the two sides today have been utter dross all season, it’s exactly why you’re now a league one team. Interestingly though if you notice it’s the supporters of the dross teams who didn’t make it calling the league shite.

It’s a well deserved promotion for Carlisle you guys enjoy yourselves

PS it’s also HG’s wet dream and he can predict relegation every week and might get it right, for once.

Yep I definitely wasn't saying Carlisle and all the other playoff teams were dross. Just not particularly great. There were just a lot of very average teams this season. Weirdly, I didn't think the two that went down were anywhere near some of the horror shows that have been relegated in terms of being poor either. It felt like a very level division this season really overall.

Having said that, I agree with BigDave that for all the talk of next year being incredibly strong it's definitely not nailed on yet. There'll be big budgets yes, but those budgets will need to be spent well and those squads will need to be well managed...and I'd say that doesn't happen as much as it does happen in L2. It's undeniable that sides can be poor the previous season and/or do well on a thrifty budget.

I personally don't see an average to weak division being transformed into a landscape of blistering total football squads all amassing 90 points in the space of one single transfer window. A good chunk of the sides looking to spend big will flop.

 

[PuB]

Yep I definitely wasn't saying Carlisle and all the other playoff teams were dross. Just not particularly great. There were just a lot of very average teams this season. Weirdly, I didn't think the two that went down were anywhere near some of the horror shows that have been relegated in terms of being poor either. It felt like a very level division this season really overall.

Having said that, I agree with BigDave that for all the talk of next year being incredibly strong it's definitely not nailed on yet. There'll be big budgets yes, but those budgets will need to be spent well and those squads will need to be well managed...and I'd say that doesn't happen as much as it does happen in L2. It's undeniable that sides can be poor the previous season and/or do well on a thrifty budget.

I personally don't see an average to weak division being transformed into a landscape of blistering total football squads all amassing 90 points in the space of one single transfer window. A good chunk of the sides looking to spend big will flop.

Completely agree with all that, but I don’t think all teams were utter dross last season and they won’t be next one either. The playoff games may have been largely shite but that’s not what got them there.

I also thought Pools and Dale were good enough to stay up when I saw them, but I guess it’s also luck/fine margins and confidence, and perhaps they play a bigger role in this division.

 

[Luke Imp]

Through the PO's, Stockport reminded me of us in 2017/18, the season after winning the NL, with being hit by injuries, completely knackered and just not quite enough depth and quality in the squad to quite get over the line.

 

[hellogregory]

Had a bit to drink, so all I will say now is FUCKING GET IN!!!!


More tomorrow. Fuck I’m happy

 

[shoddycollins]

I'm still in maidenhead... Good times!

 

[hellogregory]

I’m in Balham. A few blues around. Not bothering with bed tonight. Don’t want this day to end.

 

[Carver]

It was such a cagey match with nothing much happening and it looked like we were heading for defeat.
Then I don't know how Wright for Stockport missed that chance with the easy header, but we made some very good attacking substitutions late on after that which brought us back into it and I have to say our penalties were top draw!

There is no doubt however that if we want to hold our own in L1 then we must strengthen the team which I believe we will.

 

[Moonie]

Absolute belter of a day, finished off nicely by an unscheduled takeover of standard premium on the 18:29 out of Euston - sanctioned begrudgingly by Avanti west coast. 4 carriages of SP/1st Class all sat empty while half of Cumbria struggled to breath in the rest of the train. It's almost like Avanti didn't have a clue what they were doing. Idiots.

Commiserations to Stockport, a proper club with cracking fans. It'll be your turn next season, I hope. Now, where's that league 1 forum?

 

[hellogregory]

No chance I’m going to sleep after that

Adrenalin is still pumping

Have to say Stockport fans are a great bunch. Such a mutual respect pre and post match, both here in London and from what I’ve seen online and social media.

 

[Stocky]

Well done to Carlisle. Good luck in League One.

We should be up there next season, I think there are things we can and need to improve to get a top 3 spot, I think the division will be stronger.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Completely agree with all that, but I don’t think all teams were utter dross last season and they won’t be next one either. The playoff games may have been largely shite but that’s not what got them there.

I also thought Pools and Dale were good enough to stay up when I saw them, but I guess it’s also luck/fine margins and confidence, and perhaps they play a bigger role in this division.

I’m not trying to slate the league it’s just how many on here and elsewhere have slagged the whole lot off for the last month.

It’s league two amazingly we won’t see a bunch of Man City here and thank god as I find their games utterly boring, people may like the quality of the football but matches where one side has 70% possession and 95% of the goal chances bore me to death, the enormous gap now created is why I don’t watch top flight anymore.


Will there be a lot of good budget teams here next season……….yes, does that make it harder for the rest……..no, L2 has proven season on season with 4
Promotion places everyone has a
Chance and this season has proven money isn’t always everything here because not one of the bigger spending promotion favourites has gone up…..Salford and Bradford are constantly failing whatever they do.

This season has also showed any of the sides in bottom half this season can go up next if they can get it right this summer although them who finished with some momentum I’d have more
Hope towards.

I’d say more so it makes next season more interesting that more tougher

 

[Indian Dan]

I’ve watched us tippy tappy for 2 seasons now and I’m well sick of it. Presuming that’s out the window now we have Flynn in charge.

After watching the play offs I’d really like us to be more like Luton’s ‘style’. Pressure all over the pitch with a team of committed players being more direct. I don’t really think L2 will be that much harder - we’re all shit really, that’s why we’re there. Some teams that overachieved this season will fall back and some that underachieved will improv. There will probably be one side that is way better than the rest but everything else is up for grabs.

 

[hellogregory]

It’s starting to sink in a bit now and have got my head around what we’ve just done.

Thought Stockport started off much stronger, and probably deserved their lead despite it being such a flukey goal. We were poor all first half really although had a couple of really good chances that we should have done better with.

Second half we improved, but Stockport should have put the game to bed with an easy headed chance that Wright somehow missed. I don’t know how far from goal he was as couldn’t tell from the opposite end, but it was a sitter regardless. Big let off.
Then we proceeded to miss our own sitter, Mellish right in front of goal, easy chance, hit it straight at the one defender in front of him when either side and it’s a goal. Thankfully we scored about 30 seconds later then we ended the game well on top, Stockport hanging on.

Extra time was a bit of a nonevent apart from a couple of good saves from each keeper.

Penalties. Didn’t fancy our chances at all for 3 reasons.
1. Stockport had just won a shootout the week before.
2. They were taken at the Stockport end.
3. Stockport kicked first which I always think is an advantage.
But our or penalty takers were ice cold. So were some of Stockport’s to be fair.

A great day, a game that could have gone either way, but a fantastic unexpected promotion. The EFL playoff strap line is we stepped up. Well we really did step up, because we came into it in our worst form of the season, ended the season with 2 wins in 11 or something like that. But we upped our performance levels partly thanks to a couple of tweaks in the starting line up to be fair and did enough in both the semis and final.

We will have to bring in some more quality for League 1 in certain areas to stand a chance for sure, but we have the right manager for it. I’m not worried at all about coming straight back down. If it happens it happens, not the end of the world, we were nearly out of the football league just over a year ago. But with Simpson in charge we’ve got every chance of staying there if we keep the few players that definitely are good enough to step up and get some good quality through the door. It’s going to be interesting and enjoyable regardless.

 

[RiftHouseLad]

Well done Carlisle, Next Season County no doubt.

And after all the pessimism shown by the Carlisle fans on this season.
God only knows what will be said next season, Get ready Lge1

See you all sooner rather than later hopefully.

 

[Carver]

Well done Carlisle, Next Season County no doubt.

And after all the pessimism shown by the Carlisle fans on this season.
God only knows what will be said next season, Get ready Lge1

See you all sooner rather than later hopefully.

Hellogregory believes we're now heading for two successive relegations to the non-league.

 

[hellogregory]

Hellogregory believes we're now heading for two successive relegations to the non-league.

what is the point in making up pointless nonsense like that? What are you getting out of it?

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

We have a chance in L1 for a start Wigan and Fleetwood are in dire trouble before it even begins probably just trying to be above 2 others home form will be vital I think, improving defence also important.

Usually one of the promoted sides does come back down but it isn’t always the play off side, I find sometimes the play off winner prepares better as they have less confidence in keeping what they have and go to improve.

 

[Indian Dan]

That’s the problem with L2 next season - there aren’t any obvious headcase clubs already staring into the abyss.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Morecambe, possibly still Crawley.

And the interesting one Accrington as I want to see how they react it’s been upward direction for years with Coleman only a struggle when he left……..will they go the way Yeovil did when finally the years of great momentum finally fell flat with a relegation

 

[Kauto Star]

Morecambe, possibly still Crawley.

And the interesting one Accrington as I want to see how they react it’s been upward direction for years with Coleman only a struggle when he left……..will they go the way Yeovil did when finally the years of great momentum finally fell flat with a relegation

Morecambe owners have come out and said they will have their biggest league 2 budget next season. Sure, if won't be anywhere near some clubs down here, but not sure they are struggling basket case situation.

 

[Indian Dan]

Maybe. Did you see that video released by Morecambe stating how big their budget will be?

 

[クレイグ]

Morecambe owners have come out and said they will have their biggest league 2 budget next season. Sure, if won't be anywhere near some clubs down here, but not sure they are struggling basket case situation.

Wouldn't trust dopey Derek to spend wisely.

 

[GTFCfish]

One thing for absolute certain is we’ll be by far the worst team in the playoffs. By far.

I don’t think the 5 goal swing will happen, but we’ll get tanked in the playoffs anyway, no matter who we play. We’ve been in bottom 8 form for about 2 months now.

On form over the last 10 games we’re comfortably the big outsiders for these playoffs.

Maybe we’d compete if we started the correct team, but no we won’t win it.

My money will be on Stockport.

We won’t win either leg. We’re not good enough. We’ve picked the worst time of the season to go through this poor spell of form. 2 wins in 11 games is it? And today was absolute dross.

 

[hellogregory]

View attachment 18605

Bank holidays really are wasted on you.

 

[joethegill]

Morecambe, possibly still Crawley.

And the interesting one Accrington as I want to see how they react it’s been upward direction for years with Coleman only a struggle when he left……..will they go the way Yeovil did when finally the years of great momentum finally fell flat with a relegation

Accrington have built a lot of their game around being the underdogs, up for a scrap and taking on the perceived bigger opponents. Now they're back taking on tinpotters like Crawley, Grimsby and Sutton it'll be interesting to see how they get on.

 

[Son of Cod]

View attachment 18605

Some vintage moments on page three of the Carlisle thread too...

After being dumped out of the FA Cup today, that’s now 4 defeats in the last 9 in all comps. Only 3 wins. The decline is starting, even if most Carlisle fans will choose to ignore it. Thankfully we’re in a solid secure league position despite having a terrible goalkeeper.

The big test for us will be when the board of directors decide to cash in on the likes of Moxon, Mellish and possibly Guy. All hard to replace, so it’s going to leave Simpson with a challenge this January as I’m sure at least one of them if not more will be flogged.

I admire your optimism, but I don’t believe that for a second. These owners are short sighted idiots, they'll accept the first derisory offer that arrives, they’ve got previous for it. They never see the potential growth in value of their assets, they just sell. The fact we’re 4th will be terrifying to them, so selling one or more players may just be the kick needed to send us into the mid table promised land where they want us.

 

[クレイグ]

Some vintage moments on page three of the Carlisle thread too...

Reading all these quotes and then seeing your signature made me giggle.

 

[hellogregory]

Am I being bullied by Grimsby fans?

Do I get a badge?