That's why we love it!

 

Having said that, it doesn't particularly bode well for the teams that do go up. Like this season, all 3 promoted sides could really struggle...

Yeah that's true, Leicester and Burnley were comfortably the best in the league by the end of the season and even they can't seem to escape relegation. So when the gap in quality seems to be much tighter this year, it doesn't fill you with confidence like you say!

 

March seems to have lots of the top 8 teams playing each other (at least Derby are playing 4 of the top 8 over the next 4 matches), so I can see things maybe start to spread out - but knowing this league, probably not!

Only one team is top atm, Bournemouth. Let's have none of this "joint top" nonsense :P

Yeah fair enough :lol: even the GD is incredibly close too, how gutting would it be to miss out on automatic promotion due to something like goals scored!

This is interesting. I've had a look at how many matches each of the top five have to play against other teams currently in the top five.

 

Bournemouth - 1

Derby - 3

Watford - 2

Middlesbrough - 4 (all away!)

Norwich - 2

I wonder who will finish in the top two?

 

For me, I think Middlesbrough and Bournemouth and Derby will throw it away. What does everyone else think?

Based on form. I would say the Top 2 will be Norwich City and Watford.

 

Although I would like to see Bournemouth and Brentford to get promoted based on against all the odds.

 

 

If the Bournemouth players have seen some of the derogatory remarks on Twitter describing them as "a small club", that might give them an incentive to prove the naysayers wrong. As I said above, they also only have one match against their closest rivals in the final ten games; that has to be an advantage. They recently went five games without a win. If that proves to be their "wobble", it's looking very good for my local team. If they make it, it would complete a remarkable transformation since Eddie Howe began his first spell as manager.

If Stuart Pearce was someone else we'd have been massive contenders, certainly for the play-offs if not automatic. Having said that we still have to play five of the 8 teams above us having recently beaten the other three so we'll have a big say in it anyway, I just think we were/are too far off for top 6 to be realistic.

If Stuart Pearce was someone else we'd have been massive contenders, certainly for the play-offs if not automatic. Having said that we still have to play five of the 8 teams above us having recently beaten the other three so we'll have a big say in it anyway, I just think we were/are too far off for top 6 to be realistic.

 

Gotta admit when you tipped Forest to go down about 6 weeks ago I was tempted as you were in freefall.. looks like Dougie Freedman has done an excellent job though. Play-off push not out of it though, I think maybe a little too late in the year with other teams in good form too. Plus not sure Boro/Derby/Ipswich/Bournemouth will drop off that much even though all are being/have been slightly inconsistent of late.

Gotta admit when you tipped Forest to go down about 6 weeks ago I was tempted as you were in freefall.. looks like Dougie Freedman has done an excellent job though. Play-off push not out of it though, I think maybe a little too late in the year with other teams in good form too. Plus not sure Boro/Derby/Ipswich/Bournemouth will drop off that much even though all are being/have been slightly inconsistent of late.

After we played Millwall I was utterly convinced Pearce would take us down, we'd been getting progressively worse and that left us 7 points above relegation with 3 wins in 23 matches, playing like we had no idea or tactical plan. 40/1 was a ridiculous price. I was delighted he was sacked later that day, I was convinced the win at Derby would've kept him in the job for the rest of the season. Anyone else and he'd have gone much earlier, only because it was Pearce did he have fans backing for so long.

 

It's not out of it but we've just taken 19 points from 8 games and only closed the gap to 6th by 4 points. Think we're too far away but you never know. We're pretty much going to have to win at Ipswich and Brentford though as they're the two most catchable teams.

I think I may have found my predictions for the 2013/2014 season I did with my sisters and cousins in Florida. If anyone is interested I can post them.

A strange disallowed goal for Bournemouth at Cardiff last night. The goalkeeper kicked the ball into the back of Bournemouth's Callum Wilson. It looped back over the 'keeper and hit the bar. Wilson then put the rebound into the net, but it was disallowed. There's no way Wilson could be said to have fouled the 'keeper, so surely the goal was OK.

 

http://www.afcb.co.uk/news/article/is-this...ty-2343092.aspx

 

Surely nobody below the top 7 will get promoted now!? Don't think Wolves will get into the play-offs.

 

Derby seem to be stuttering badly at the moment, they really should have won last years Play-Off final.

I think they'd have bombed straight back down had they did (same for Palace in fairness but Tony "Saviour" Pulis came to the rescue).

 

I'd like Bournemouth to go up of the teams up there now. Punching above their weight much like Blackpool were on their promotion season & could spring a few surprises in the top tier. Plus I believe they're the only one of the competing teams who have never been in the PL (possibly Brentford too? :unsure:)so it would be a fresh face.

Brentford have never been in the Premier League but they have played in the top tier. They finished as high as fifth a couple years before WWII. Bournemouth would be the first team from Dorset to play in the top tier.

Looking like the play-offs again for Derby Country and possibly Wolves have a chance of a play-off place.

 

 

Blackpool have been relegated from the Championship thanks to Rotherham beating Brighton 1-0.

 

 

Confirms the inevitable tbh. Would like to see Wigan and Millwall join them - shame Fulham can't drop too.

 

More interesting at the top - Bournemouth seem favourites for promotion to me, especially after the comeback today. Smallest club ever to be promoted to the Premier League? Could argue Wigan were smaller when they went up - but they had a 25k stadium compared to Bournemouth's.

I keep expecting Bournemouth to falter, but today's comeback makes me think they could be heading for the Premier League. When Eddie Howe had his first spell managing the club, I thought he might make it to the Premier League one day. However, I didn't think it would be with Bournemouth.