saintant

I think our badge is one of the worst in professional football and should be scrapped for something less like an amateurish childish design that is long overdue an update with none of its features retained..

They'll likely be battling to be champions so won't ease off the gas.

As the remaining matches get less and less I reckon nerves will start to kick in big time because of the magnitude of what is at stake. It'll be all about which sides deal best with the pressure. We have a side with a fair few players who have experienced the run-in to the play-offs before so that may work in our favour. Right now it looks as though it's going down to the wire. It's made for an exciting season because at one stage we looked to be out of contention but we've now built up some momentum with 20 points out of 24.

Potential banana skin avoided. In truth it was a fairly comfortable routine win achieved without busting a gut. All we can do is keep winning our games and see where that takes us.

So as well as being hard work it's dangerous too!

Hard work this walking football you know 🙂

Following on from this I was thinking we have scored 4 goals in periods of 30 minutes or less on 3 occasions now - Charlton, Leicester and QPR. Proof that this team can rattle in the goals if they stay on the front foot and don't go into pass for passing sake mode. Need to show this ruthlessness more often because its in our wheelhouse.

Centre backs for me always perform better as a pair in a back four. Get two who gel together and they will grow into a strong partnership the more games they play as a pair. We are seeing this with Stephens and THB both of who struggled as one of three centre backs but are now going from strength to strength helping make us far harder to score against. Have to admit I'd written off Capt Jack but he's turning in some consistent performances alongside THB.

Can't argue with that. Considering his age and lack of experience his record to date is remarkable. He has the potential to manage at the highest level if he continues turning in these numbers. Probably a bit early to know what the future holds for him but you can't question his record with us so far.

He's surprisingly good in the air as he showed last night and I think he also scored another good header in another match...maybe the Doncaster cup tie. Has a decent spring on him.

You think we can afford not to? The Play-Off Final is among the richest prizes in football.

Agree and it can be frustrating. It's a common trait that we score a goal then are happy to sit back rather than go for the jugular. I get that we want to keep it tight after taking the lead but this only gives the impetus to the opponents. We'd be far better pushing for more goals to finish teams off. As we proved at Leicester when there was no choice but to keep going for goals we can be quite formidable when we don't put the handbrake on. Should have gone hell for leather at Charlton as soon as we scored but let them back in. We are a good side when in full cry but seem afraid to cut loose so it rarely happens.

I think we suffered from making so many changes for the FA Cup game against Leicester. I get the idea of giving players a break but it rarely leads to a good performance in the next game - a bit like when we always look sluggish after an international break. Should have rested a couple but not the whole side. No need for it.

Controversial view but I think Cam Bragg is the guy who makes us tick in midfield and should be starting more games. He's good now but would benefit from a run of games. IMO he's the crucial link and the brightest midfielder we have but we're wasting his talents.

Charlton have had a real mixed bag of results but there have been some good victories. For example they beat Ipswich 3-0 at Portman Road. Doesn't help us but teams are generally not going to just roll over against us. We're a decent side but not that good that we should routinely expect to beat every team that rocks up at St Marys. We've seen that it's been a season full of upsets and unexpected results. We're not exempt from dropping points when we all expect a win. There are still play-off places up for grabs - if we play to our potential we have a decent chance of continuing to be one of those challenging but all teams will drop points in a disappointing fashion.