The pressure is on, can we cope.......

[gilford]

I think we'll learn a lot tonight about our true aims this season. The pressure is increasing and will get worse.

If we have any ambition of challenging for the title, we have to overhaul a rag 9pts lead and and Arsenal 4pts lead (subject to Beek's auditory agreement). Consider that we have an inferior goal diff and we are in danger of losing touch with the top unless we start to go for it.
We are about to learn a lot about our manager, our players and the club's mindest.

Couldn't have put it better myself mate!

[johnny crossan]

That Zigic is a big lad - I think Jolo would be better than Kolo to sort him out

[Douglas Higginbottom]

That Zigic is a big lad - I think Jolo would be better than Kolo to sort him out

The way Brum will set up from the start isn't likely to have Zigic in.He will be their Plan B if they are losing with 20/25 to go.

I just hope we don't need a Plan B.

[Ted Hughes]

What did we get last season; 63 points was it? 70 isn't many more but I suppose Mancini can argue he needed time to get half a dozen new players to gel and had long injuries to three of them; Kolarov, Boateng and Balotelli which didn't help. Anyway I'm not sure we'll get many more than that but if we do manage 70 we'll be in the top four.

Do you really think we can manage 80?

I don't know what we can manage really but when you consider Les got the chop for not being on target for 70 points last season, with a supposedly vastly inferior squad, it will be desperately disappointing if we don't better it considerably this season. I'm hoping that when Balotelli gets fit, him & Dzeko will give us the extra goal scoring power to get us some wins we may have failed to get with last season's team.

[Ted Hughes]

That Zigic is a big lad - I think Jolo would be better than Kolo to sort him out

The way Brum will set up from the start isn't likely to have Zigic in.He will be their Plan B if they are losing with 20/25 to go.

I just hope we don't need a Plan B.

I don't know why they don't play Zigic. Obviously he's a bit of a clumsy fucker at times & a bit hit & miss but without him they don't seem to actually have a forward line. I'll be much happier if he doesn't play.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

That Zigic is a big lad - I think Jolo would be better than Kolo to sort him out

The way Brum will set up from the start isn't likely to have Zigic in.He will be their Plan B if they are losing with 20/25 to go.

I just hope we don't need a Plan B.

I don't know why they don't play Zigic. Obviously he's a bit of a clumsy fucker at times & a bit hit & miss but without him they don't seem to actually have a forward line. I'll be much happier if he doesn't play.

Same here Ted. Although if they play to do some attacking with 2 up front it will give us more room and we might benefit from that.It's also why I hope we can be 2 ahead with 20 minutes to go so that when he does come on a scrambled goal might not cost us.

[Michigan Blue]

I don't know what we can manage really but when you consider Les got the chop for not being on target for 70 points last season, with a supposedly vastly inferior squad, it will be desperately disappointing if we don't better it considerably this season. I'm hoping that when Balotelli gets fit, him & Dzeko will give us the extra goal scoring power to get us some wins we may have failed to get with last season's team.

The current 5-game stretch is critical in improving on last year's results. Last season Les took only four points from Villa (A), Brum (A), Hull/WBA (H), Munes (A), and Fulham (H). We've got zero so far this season with 12 still on the board.

After that it gets a little trickier. Of our final ten games, we took 20 points in the corresponding fixtures last season. That will be difficult to improve on much.

Relying on Spurs to fuck up would be regrettable.

[blues2win]

At the moment we're getting fewer than two points a game and so we're on course for around 70 points in a full season which I think would do the trick as far as the CL is concerned.

Can we improve our form so far in the run in? Can we cut out the silly dropping of points at home to teams like ahem Birmingham? Let's hope so. Can we cut out the disappointing losses away from home to teams like Wolves and Sunderland? Ditto. What worries me is that we've lost our Plan B in the form of AJ. If things get sticky in a match how can the manager shake things up to change the course of a match? SWP could surprise us all and show some form. Jo could surprise us even more and bang in a few goals from the bench. And perhaps, as you suggest, the manager can change the shape of the team using our existing 'first 11' by playing Kolarov further forward.

Obviously I hope we'll get through this season having at least achieved our minimum objective. It would be nice to do better and make third avoiding a potentially awkward CL qualifying tie at an early period of our season's preparations. What our current predicament shows in my opinion is that a priority for the next season's transfer window should be a decent wide player with pace and preferably who is two footed.

I also agree that Birmingham should play Zigic tonight. I'll be amazed if they don't, especially as we don't look exactly commanding in the air defending on set pieces. I just hope we really come flying out of the blocks tonight and shut the crowd up. Please no lethargic start which puts us under pressure straightaway.

[gilford]

Well, it's official, we cannot seize the day to save our lifes!

Hats off to Richards and dejong, but Vieira giving the pen away was a disgrace at this level when we are meant to be challenging for the league.

A scrap to 4th it is, and with the dippers finding form, well...........

[Nick]

no can we fuck. we knew this.

we need to play at the same time as our rivals.

we also play better when people have written us off and no 'title' pressure.