Cabrone

Well at least they know that they have to win pretty much every game now. No messing around with formations etc - just play the best 11 and let's see how far we get. PNE are decent but I think we will win.

Of course, we strive for top 2 and while there is a chance we have to keep on going but odds are we won't make it up. Looking at Ipswich's fixtures - the next 3 should be wins and then they have a more testing run. Standouts are us at home and Norwich (a). We must beat them and I fancy Norwich to beat them, local rivalry + Norwich are looking decent now. They also have Boro(h), Cov(a), Hull(a) which will be tough so it's not quite over yet. Trouble is then we have Leeds - like Ipswich the next 3 should be wins and then they have a more challenging run Hull(h), Cov(a), Sunderland(h), Boro(a), QPR(a) (which might be a trickier proposition than we think) and us on the last day - again there is a chance. Looks like Boro\Cov and Hull have a big say in all of this. IMO we need to win 9/10 out of 11 to be in the mix, 3 of them are away to the top 3 and there are a bunch of tricky home games in there too. It could be that you need 100+ to get autos, crazy but not this season it seems. Not impossible but it's a very tall mountain now.

When we lost 4 in Sept it took 4 months and 20+ unbeaten to get back into it. We've just lost another 3 and only have 11 games left. Autos look gone, prepare for the playoffs.

After the last run of games we will struggle to get top 2. Ipswich have a nice run in and have put themselves back in a good position. We absolutely need to win the games at Leicester and Ipswich and I can't see it. Too many weaknesses in this team. Never say never though.

Finish like we did against Pool and we'll get a draw at best. If AA gets his scoring boots on again we'll win this.

As always in a prem v champ game the difference was the finishing. We gave it a decent go but I don't think anyone is surprised at the result. Back to the bread and butter games.

That's sad to hear, as a player he was a rock solid CB and as a manager his teams always provided fantastic entertainment. Tiss, Shearer and Rod Wallace came through under him. RIP Chris Nicholl.

I think that is that. Need to get some momentum for the playoffs, autos are looking dead now.

Got to admit autos are looking tougher now but Leeds will slip up and we need to be there to catch them. Just got to keep on winning. Ipswich are also still very much in there too.

The Leeds game may well to be to our advantage if we can stay within 3 of them and improve our g.d. It becomes our free hit rather than theirs.

It could be all 4 teams neck and neck going into the last game with Saints involved in the battle of Elland Road. I'll personally love it, that's what we support the team for after all. Nothing risked, nothing gained. You might want to turn everything off on that day.

IMO Leicester are simply not out of this. It's a reasonable bet that Leeds will beat them and we'll win the next 2. What was an 11 point gap then becomes a 5 point gap. Then we play them. We can beat them and if we do then - assuming we match each other in points elsewhere - we are 2 points behind. They have been cruising all season (not least because of our dismal September run) but the pack is putting on a lot of pressure now. I want to see how they react with us snapping at their heels and no room to screw up. They have not felt that pressure yet. The odds are they will get automatic but the game is still afoot.

I want a draw and us to pull within 6 of Leicester with us going up there in a month. I still think they could be dragged into this, they just need a little wobble and that gap could be closed. 2 from 4 is much better than 1 from 3.

Back on track, confidence restored and we've shown we can go to a top side and win. The Bristol result may turn out to be the jolt that we needed. I felt we were cruising a bit before, now we've woken up. Time to turn the screw on Leeds and Ipswich.

Hopefully Tuesday was the rocket that the team needs to get back on track. Got a sneaking suspicion we might get a win up there.

The signs that were there against Huddersfield continued this evening. If we are serious about top 2 then we must get something at WBA.

Forget Ipswich at your peril. They have Millwall(a), Swansea(a), Rotherham(h) and Brum (a). If they get their mojo back now they will climb right back into this. Also looks like Millwall, Brum and Swansea will have a big say on how we come out of this patch of games. Huddersfield was a good sparring session for us, I've felt that it's been a plain sailing for too long. We needed that game to knock out any complacency. Hopefully we'll still be 2nd at the end of these but it's just too tight to call.

That was actually a perfect game for us, up against an oppo who was up for it but not quite good enough to overcome us. If the players were starting to believe the hype then today should have been a wake up call. Play like that first half against Leicester, Ipswich, Leeds or WBA and we'll be 3-0 down with no way back. Huddersfield have given us a jolt just in time for the big games coming up, take nothing for granted in this division. Bristol then WBA(a) in 6 days, now it gets real.

A bit like Rotherham, if we get a goal fairly early they'll crumble otherwise they'll park the bus, build a concrete wall behind it, top the wall with barbed wire and erect machine gun posts all along. I think we'll win though.

Looking at the table the autos are really reaching a boil now. Leicester - on the surface they seem uncatchable with an 11 point lead over us but we have a game in hand and have to play them yet. It's not crazy to suggest that we could gain 6 on them reducing their lead to 5 which is 2 screw ups from us catching them. Odds are they will finish 1st but I haven't given up catching them yet. Also Leeds have to play them at Elland Road so Leicester are not out of this quite yet. Ipswich - I still would not underestimate them despite their bad run over the last 1-2 months. They have the quality to get back on track, have made some good signings and may yet be a real problem, esp as we have to go to Portman Road. Their next few games are West Brom (h), Millwall (a) and Swansea (a). The first will be tough and the other 2 are potential banana skins. These games may be make or break for them but if they get through with 7-9 points they are still in it. Leeds - IMO our biggest threat. Whilst our extra point + game in hand sounds good that final game at Elland road negates 3 of those points. All Leeds need to do is score 1 more point than us till that game and we may well be in a live decider (assuming Leicester\Ipswich are clear by then). Throw in the fact that we have some tough fixtures coming up and this scenario looks quite possible. GD could make a decisive difference but Leeds just need to stay within 5-6 goals of us (and visa versa) to make it competitive - which, IMO seems quite possible. As for Leeds overtaking us to the extent that the final game becomes a dead rubber they'd need to be at least 4 points ahead of us which means they'd have to put at least 5 points on us over the next 17 games. With our current form - even with our tough fixtures - I think the odds are against. That said, Leeds are capable of going on the kind of run that we are now on which would make things really tight. Saints - our big 4 crunch games are West Brom(a) 16 Feb, Leicester(a) 16 Mar, Ipswich (a) 1 Apr and Leeds (a) 4 May. These are the games that will decide it for us. IMO if we could get 5-6 points from the first 3 we might just be able to turn the the last one into a dead rubber. It's still far too tight to call though. Hold on to your hats because I think this is going to be a wild ride.

Good to finally break into the automatic positions but a long way to go yet. It's all about handling the pressure but we are looking good at the moment. Brooks looks like a good acquisition.

If we can get an early goal and disrupt them hopefully it will be routine but if we don't they'll sit back and it could get a bit hairy. Got to take those chances when they come. Also Leeds may well be 2 points ahead of us going into this game albeit having played 2 more. They are all pressure games now.

If what this Bournemouth fan thinks is anything to go by then he sounds good.

Stevie Moran showing Alan Biley how it's done, the pitch looked like a wet sponge that afternoon. I think we'll nick this one 2-1 Saints.

Anyone in the top 4 is a small wobble away from either being sucked in or being thrown out of the auto race. It's a highwire act. We had our meltdown 4 months ago and we've only just managed to get back into it. It's all about handling the pressure now. If I was a Leicester fan despite the healthy lead I'd be looking slightly nervously over my shoulder at our 21 game run. They have been on cruise control all season but now the gap is not overwhelming and the chasing pack is gaining. Obviously I'd rather be in their position, all we can do is keep on applying pressure and see if it gets to them. It's not impossible. I'm really enjoying this season, top of the champ is a knife fight to the death. We love a bit of jepardy.