The Big Relegation Thread

[hk blues]

On 06/03/2023 at 00:15, Lex said:

That Livi United game at Almondvale game midweek looks huge for the basement battle and the top six crunch.

Both sides in poor form, if United lose it’s hard to see a route to 10th for them.

I'd love that to be true but any win in the next 2 or 3 games will make things a whole lot different.  Given 10th and 11th  are on the same points, if Utd are capable of catching 11th place then they're just as capable of making 10th.

I'm not fooled by the defeatist attitude from Utd fans - I suspect most of them don't think they will go down.  

[Swello]

15 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

Know folk dont always like these, but this guy generally gets the positions spot on from December onwards. Points wise i cant remember.

United all sorts of doomed.

 

Hmmm - it's a table that follows one cast iron rule of our league (motherwell can't get relegated) but breaks another one (st mirren can't finish in the top 6).

I'm sceptical. 

[Pull My Strings]

2 hours ago, hk blues said:

I'd love that to be true but any win in the next 2 or 3 games will make things a whole lot different.  Given 10th and 11th  are on the same points, if Utd are capable of catching 11th place then they're just as capable of making 10th.

I'm not fooled by the defeatist attitude from Utd fans - I suspect most of them don't think they will go down.  

I don't know anyone who thinks we'll stay up. Opinions vary from we've no chance to we have a slight chance but we'll probably go down. We  can't score goals, we can't defend, the keepers are all rubbish, even when we play well we still get beat. There's nobody on the bench who could come in and make a difference. We are classic doomed.

[hk blues]

Just now, Pull My Strings said:

I don't know anyone who thinks we'll stay up. Opinions vary from we've no chance to we have a slight chance but we'll probably go down. We  can't score goals, we can't defend, the keepers are all rubbish, even when we play well we still get beat. There's nobody on the bench who could come in and make a difference. We are classic doomed.

Despite all that you're only 4 points adrift with a game less played (the game in hand's probably not worth much I'll concede) so surely a very slight improvement is not out of the question?  

I wouldn't bet on any of you guys, County or Killie at this stage.  

 

[Kapowzer]

Few things from that predicted table:

Livi has the easiest run in the league to the split now, I expect to see them in 4th at that time. (Dundee United, Ross Country, St Mirren, Motherwell, St Johnstone, Dundee United).

Top 6 will be down to who does better between St Mirren and Aberdeen, both face Hearts and the Hunnorum. They also don't play each other again. Robinson Robson fight.

My own team face Hibs away and still have to play both the OF. With the break of a fortnight now, momentum lost but you're hoping to make to to the spilt in a place to where pushing on for 7th is a good possibility. Each league place is £130k which for anyone outside the city clubs is a starter at the top end of your wage scale.

I can't see Goodwin doing much with Dundee United other than steadying the ship which he did with Aberdeen and better players last season but they weren't rock bottom. Are we suddenly going to see a surge up the table.

I think Killie are toast too, Hearts and Celtic at home, their pitch and subsequently form there are dealt a blow with their easier remaining fixtures are on the road where they're awful, bar St Johnstone.

Hibs within 2 points of Hearts at season end .... ontae plums with that.

[Pull My Strings]

23 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Despite all that you're only 4 points adrift with a game less played (the game in hand's probably not worth much I'll concede) so surely a very slight improvement is not out of the question?  

I wouldn't bet on any of you guys, County or Killie at this stage.  

 

Yeah, the other teams down here are shite too but we took the bizarre step, whilst bottom of the league and on a run of dreadful form, of punting 11 (I think?) players out on loan in January leaving the squad paper thin and completely bereft of confidence. We're in a death spiral now. There was a significant improvement in intensity on Saturday and we probably deserved to win and yet still managed to get well beaten. I can't see them repeating that performance in enough games between now and the end of the season and, even if they do somehow manage to play well, some bell-end will inevitably do something ridiculous to cost us the game.

[Sortmeout]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

Despite all that you're only 4 points adrift with a game less played (the game in hand's probably not worth much I'll concede) so surely a very slight improvement is not out of the question?  

I wouldn't bet on any of you guys, County or Killie at this stage.  

 

Wouldn’t bet against Motherwell either although they should be far enough clear now. I’m sure one of us 3 at the bottom will win two games in a row at some stage but I doubt all 3 of us will.

If we go down then we can’t have any complaints the season has been a disaster. I don’t think McInnes will be here next season either way.

[Allroy for Prez]

Had to dig 3 pages back for this thread which was surprising.

What are folks thoughts on how this end of the table will pan out now?

[deadasdillinger]

3 minutes ago, Allroy for Prez said:

Had to dig 3 pages back for this thread which was surprising.

What are folks thoughts on how this end of the table will pan out now?

Frustratingly, we have to write off the next two games, due to one being away against a good side (we don't do points away from home) and one being against Celtic (we don't do points v Celtic)

That takes our 4 and 6 point cushions and probably reduces them somewhat, assuming United and County manage to find some sort of points in the coming weeks. 

St Mirren away after that, again, not optimistic of anything there. 

So, I think post-split we will be right in about it, and needing to win away to United and at home to County. 

The maddening thing is that if we could just sneak a win in the next fortnight, say against Aberdeen, we would be 7 and 9 ahead and almost safe at that point. 

[Sarto Mutiny]

We haven't won since the 2nd of January. It defies logic that we are still within striking distance of anyone.

Still think we'll go down, mind you

[Matty-RCFC]

We have Celtic, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Hearts up until the split. There is a genuinely likely possibility that we go onto the split on our current 24 points. I certainly don’t see us accumulating 4 points between now and the split, meaning we will go into the last 5 in 11th at best. We then go into the split due to play both Killie and United away. We will also be due to play one more away game in the split. At the moment, I firmly believe it’ll be us for the drop. I don’t see a world where we don’t finish at least 11th.

[Dons_1988]

20 points ahead of the playoff spot, I think I can now formally withdraw from this thread. 

God speed, all of you. 

[Munoz]

5 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said:

20 points ahead of the playoff spot, I think I can now formally withdraw from this thread. 

God speed, all of you. 

We're 19 points ahead of the biggest spending Utd team in years. 

Are we safe yet?

[Coventry Saint]

1 minute ago, Munoz said:

We're 19 points ahead of the biggest spending Utd team in years. 

That's just on the managers.

[Dons_1988]

6 minutes ago, Munoz said:

We're 19 points ahead of the biggest spending Utd team in years. 

Are we safe yet?

No 

[RandomGuy.]

On 05/03/2023 at 16:02, RandomGuy. said:

Aswell making this a race to the play off thread? Maybe not yet.

38 still the cut off i like to have, never know whatll happen when mid table sides start taking their eye off the ball...

Aberdeen now officially safe from all chance of relegation. St Mirren and Livi just 1 result away so should be safe by the end of the month. 

Then youre down to 5.

I still think we're safe but our next game is away to Kilmarnock and if we lose its panic stations as its our away results that are keeping us safe.

As expected, we're now down to 5. St Mirren and Livi both tip over the 38pt boundary. 

Ross County play Celtic today, obviously. 

Next week massive.

Winnable fames for County and United. Feels very much like if they want to stand a chance of avoiding their relative current positions, they need to be winning these types of games.

My confidence we're safe is eroding a bit, and will disappear entirely if we lose v County, but i still maintain we should be fine.

Remaining fixtures are...

Motherwell (33) - Livi (A), United (H), Celtic (A)

Saints (32) - County (H), Livi (A), Hibs (H)

Killie (28) - Aberdeen (A), Celtic (H), St Mirren (A)

County (24) - Celtic (H), Saints (A), Aberdeen (H), Hearts (A)

United (22) - Hibs (H), Motherwell (A), Livi (H)

Edited April 2, 2023 by RandomGuy.

[Sarto Mutiny]

We have an easier run in to the split than Ross County, theoretically. When you're as crap as we are, no game is a gimme.

There has been an improvement since Jim Goodwin came in, but I am not sure it will be enough. Our squad is utter dreck. I'm also starting to think we'd lose a playoff if we somehow snuck into 11th.

[Wee Jock Poopong McPlop]

I notice we’re on 41 points after 30 games and it’s sort of acknowledged we’ve a chance of the top 6 after the split at 33 games. Last season at 33 games Dundee United were 4th on 41 points and both Motherwell and Ross County made top 6 on 40 points. 

[Mark Connolly]

1 hour ago, Wee Jock Poopong McPlop said:

I notice we’re on 41 points after 30 games and it’s sort of acknowledged we’ve a chance of the top 6 after the split at 33 games. Last season at 33 games Dundee United were 4th on 41 points and both Motherwell and Ross County made top 6 on 40 points. 

Big Top 6 Thread for this pish

[Sugar_Army]

1 hour ago, Wee Jock Poopong McPlop said:

I notice we’re on 41 points after 30 games and it’s sort of acknowledged we’ve a chance of the top 6 after the split at 33 games. Last season at 33 games Dundee United were 4th on 41 points and both Motherwell and Ross County made top 6 on 40 points. 

Which shows how rotten everybody from 3rd down were last season.  We stumbled to 4th on the back of the fact everyone  else kept cutting each other's throats and not taking advantage when we slipped up.

Kinda like last season in reverse for us now.  When those directly above do not take full points we are still incapable of taking advantage.

Hence the reason the stench of relegation has hung around United all season.

I see bottom two being between us and County as Killie seem able to pick up those points where not expected to (see yesterday).  As somebody mentioned, even if we made the play-off position I am not the slightest bit confident we have the ability to rise to the occasion.

I hope I am wrong.