The NCFC Hippy wrote:

pembsexile wrote:Someone mentioned on here some time ago that there have been some strange results for a lot of teams this season. Anyone is capable of beating anyone else on their day.

A string of bad/mediocre results and we could find ourselves in 11th/12th place. Alternatively a couple of those teams below us could string some results together and unless we match it we drop down the table. The top 10 is probably too close to call at the moment.

Surely everyone on here would take what we have right now at the start of the season. For me, then, it was getting to safety as soon as possible. As I mentioned at the start, we will have a much better idea of where we are after the 4 tough games in December. I suppose all we can do at the moment is enjoy the ride. Long may it continue.

Not having a dig, but can I ask, do you go to the games? I only say this, as if you do then surely you can see we are way better than a side who might suddenly just slide away? If I was mystic meg (and not allowing for who we lose loan wise come Jan or who we may gain) then I would say, Mk Dons, Lincoln and Bury will fill the top 3, but we will definitly make the play offs. Look at who we've beaten, Bury and Tranmere away, and a host of others. You don't end up 3rd after this number of games by accident. It takes hard work. Personally, I see good times coming, all our defenders are back, Crofts and Labs are on their way and Harris who is a top class striker for this level, can't even get a game. I think get what we can in Dec, and come Jan we will continue a proper stab at promotion. If you go, trust you eyes, trust the table and believe, there's no way we will fall away, blips yes, but we're in with a great chance of promotion.
UTC

To answer you, yes, I do go to games, not as many as some/most but I do go. I was there yesterday to see a great win. After the calamity that was Yeovil, that was a relief. Prior to yesterday, the previous three games I saw at RP, we all lost.

One of my concerns is the contrast that we see. Yeovil/Colchester for example. Yesterday's second half, we were superb, against Yeovil it was abysmal. We are 3rd and yet have a negative goal difference. As a general rule, over the years you can get a good indication of league position by a comparison with a teams goal difference. It is not absolute but it is a good indicator.

I also have concerns about the injuries we have. I just hope we don't get many more. To be this high up the table with our injuries is just superb. I hope it continues.

I agree with your comment about being where we are due to hard work. MF should take credit for that. I just wish I had your certainty regarding definitely making the play offs. As I have said several times, my point is that we will get a much better indication of our chances after our four tough games in December.

This thread proves what I've long thought. Following Newport County long term has a severe psychological effect on people. It conditions us to expect failure. We cannot cope with the possibility of success because we have been disappointed so many times in the past. So when we were near the top in August we said "Oh, it's only August!". When we were near the top in September we said "Wait till October comes!" At the end of October we were looking at November's fixtures and saying the bubble would soon burst. On the way out of RP on Saturday, after arguably one of the most complete and stylish performances for a number of years, I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!! I wish it were different, but after following the club since 1972, the days of Willie Brown and Rod Jones, I know I'm describing myself. I wish I could just 'enjoy the ride' but I can't.

Barnabas wrote:This thread proves what I've long thought. Following Newport County long term has a severe psychological effect on people. It conditions us to expect failure. We cannot cope with the possibility of success because we have been disappointed so many times in the past. So when we were near the top in August we said "Oh, it's only August!". When we were near the top in September we said "Wait till October comes!" At the end of October we were looking at November's fixtures and saying the bubble would soon burst. On the way out of RP on Saturday, after arguably one of the most complete and stylish performances for a number of years, I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!! I wish it were different, but after following the club since 1972, the days of Willie Brown and Rod Jones, I know I'm describing myself. I wish I could just 'enjoy the ride' but I can't.

I agree. We have failed so often we expect failure. 'I danced in girls toes, accepted rejection as my fate.' Newport a city of 145,000 people and supporters writing on this board without a trace of irony that a top ten finish in Tier 4 football is some sort of triumph is something we need to change.

Barnabas wrote:I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!!

First priority is to survive.

In the spirit of being a negative Newportonian, wouldn’t it be typical if we follow up the excellent win against a good Colchester team with a dire loss against Cheltenham.

That's pretty much how most fans of most clubs feel, nothing special about us in that respect, but yes it would be typical

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

Barnabas wrote:This thread proves what I've long thought. Following Newport County long term has a severe psychological effect on people. It conditions us to expect failure. We cannot cope with the possibility of success because we have been disappointed so many times in the past. So when we were near the top in August we said "Oh, it's only August!". When we were near the top in September we said "Wait till October comes!" At the end of October we were looking at November's fixtures and saying the bubble would soon burst. On the way out of RP on Saturday, after arguably one of the most complete and stylish performances for a number of years, I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!! I wish it were different, but after following the club since 1972, the days of Willie Brown and Rod Jones, I know I'm describing myself. I wish I could just 'enjoy the ride' but I can't.

I agree. We have failed so often we expect failure. 'I danced in girls toes, accepted rejection as my fate.' Newport a city of 145,000 people and supporters writing on this board without a trace of irony that a top ten finish in Tier 4 football is some sort of triumph is something we need to change.

..... but surely Stan, you'd have to agree that our situation is almost unique, in as much as, for a "newly" formed club, a finishing place that would in fact be our HIGHEST league placing since reforming, IS a triumph.....a small triumph, but a triumph nonetheless. You do see that don't you?
Football like life is about little victories. Getting to the EFL was one. Staying in the EFL was another. Occupying a current promotion place is another, and going up to the next division is yet another....and so on, and so forth.
Tell me this, proportional to the amount of time we've been reformed, how many times have Newport County been relegated?

newgroundrodney wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

Barnabas wrote:This thread proves what I've long thought. Following Newport County long term has a severe psychological effect on people. It conditions us to expect failure. We cannot cope with the possibility of success because we have been disappointed so many times in the past. So when we were near the top in August we said "Oh, it's only August!". When we were near the top in September we said "Wait till October comes!" At the end of October we were looking at November's fixtures and saying the bubble would soon burst. On the way out of RP on Saturday, after arguably one of the most complete and stylish performances for a number of years, I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!! I wish it were different, but after following the club since 1972, the days of Willie Brown and Rod Jones, I know I'm describing myself. I wish I could just 'enjoy the ride' but I can't.

I agree. We have failed so often we expect failure. 'I danced in girls toes, accepted rejection as my fate.' Newport a city of 145,000 people and supporters writing on this board without a trace of irony that a top ten finish in Tier 4 football is some sort of triumph is something we need to change.

..... but surely Stan, you'd have to agree that our situation is almost unique, in as much as, for a "newly" formed club, a finishing place that would in fact be our HIGHEST league placing since reforming, IS a triumph.....a small triumph, but a triumph nonetheless. You do see that don't you?
Football like life is about little victories. Getting to the EFL was one. Staying in the EFL was another. Occupying a current promotion place is another, and going up to the next division is yet another....and so on, and so forth.
Tell me this, proportional to the amount of time we've been reformed, how many times have Newport County been relegated?

We reformed 30 years ago. This is our sixth league season. Wimbledon won the Cup and finished sixth in the old first division in their ninth league season. The newly formed Wimbledon is only eight years to get back in the league, five years to League 1.

Sorry but my view is that your analysis is wrong. We are not a newly formed club. What we have a tendency to do is find excuses. I believe that we need to stop doing so.

STAN:
I believe our steady progress has in itself been a triumph. Not as triumphal as AFC Wimbledon's, but I also believe that FCUM is also a good comparison. We are somewhere between the two... I'm happy with the progress made so far.
Far and away the most important triumph we made was in qualifying for the first season of the Conference South. I said when we won the Play-Off Final. "it'll take 15 years to re-establish the name of Newport County as a league club"....we are nearly half way there.
We aren't Wimbledon, but we aren't FC of Manchester either.

I don't want to be negative on here because there is so much to be positive about this season on the playing side of things. However it would be amiss not to point out the awful habit of starting many games poorly and County finding themselves two or three goals down with less than a quarter of the game gone. Three recent clean sheets may hide the problem but the frequency of it's occurrence suggests there may be a fundamental flaw which is not purely caused by individual errors. I suspect some of those clubs mentioned above could profit from County's "slow starts".

The other dampener that needs factoring in is the habit over the past six or so years of going through a "new year slump" which no manager seems to find the answer for. So County might perform well against their fellow high flying sides in the division during December to then lose their momentum come January...

newgroundrodney wrote:STAN:
I believe our steady progress has in itself been a triumph. Not as triumphal as AFC Wimbledon's, but I also believe that FCUM is also a good comparison. We are somewhere between the two... I'm happy with the progress made so far.
Far and away the most important triumph we made was in qualifying for the first season of the Conference South. I said when we won the Play-Off Final. "it'll take 15 years to re-establish the name of Newport County as a league club"....we are nearly half way there.
We aren't Wimbledon, but we aren't FC of Manchester either.

You say it takes 15 years to reestablish ourselves as a league. Very few clubs at our level are in the same division for fifteen years. Sooner or later Newport County will be relegated. In my most optimistic it's after five jolly seasons in the Premier League, think Swansea. In my nightmares, well let's just say I'd rather relegation is not from League Two.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

newgroundrodney wrote:STAN:
I believe our steady progress has in itself been a triumph. Not as triumphal as AFC Wimbledon's, but I also believe that FCUM is also a good comparison. We are somewhere between the two... I'm happy with the progress made so far.
Far and away the most important triumph we made was in qualifying for the first season of the Conference South. I said when we won the Play-Off Final. "it'll take 15 years to re-establish the name of Newport County as a league club"....we are nearly half way there.
We aren't Wimbledon, but we aren't FC of Manchester either.

You say it takes 15 years to reestablish ourselves as a league. Very few clubs at our level are in the same division for fifteen years. Sooner or later Newport County will be relegated. In my most optimistic it's after five jolly seasons in the Premier League, think Swansea. In my nightmares, well let's just say I'd rather relegation is not from League Two.

We just need to still be in the league, with no relegations to non-league after 15 yrs, then we'll be re-established. Cheltenham looked like they'd achieved it, but then got relegated so are abck to being a "former non-league club"..... I'm talking about the way they're perceived.
What County need to do is complete 15 uninterrupted years as an EFL club, look at where they are then and push on from there. Finishing as high as we can, as often as we can is an achievement.
I'm not sure what the average annual donation from AFCW fans is, along with that of their business contacts, but I should imagine there's a bit more money flying around London than Newport...
On one hand people say "Newport is economically skint"....and on the other hand they say "the fans aren't paying enough in".... but in the light of everything, I'm happy with the progress made.
If we can finish 4 places higher each season, year on year, eventually we'll go up as champions. It doesn't have to happen overnight, as long as we just stay in the league.

Well I must say, I find the negativity incredulous!
I cannot believe that people can just be such doom monger's. Seriously if I was Flynny or the players coming on here they would pull their hair out. Somebody said survival is everything....! Look I've supported this doom laden club too long (first game as a kid 76/77) , I followed them in the non leagues, I get it, we have to be vigilant, we have to be weary. But surely you can recognise a good team and good players when you see them. How often EVER have we been 3rd in the table at the end of November. Yes we could fall away with distractions, as the F.A Cup season proved. Yes we aren't the best side in the division, yes we switch off and we get thumped now and then, but come on, we're third!!! talk about glass half empty. As I said, being realistic I don't think (at the moment) we're the top 3 teams in the division, but we're in a damn great chance of the play off's, we just beat a team who had only lost once in five and kept a clean sheet and people still quake in their boots. Get a grip people, I don't often agree with stan, but he's right when he alludes to the fact that we need to change our expectations. By all means worry when we are crap or when we're 19th or when Westley or his ilk are in charge, but ffs have the good grace to acknowledge a good team and a very good manager when you see them. sorry frustrated rant over. UTC

As I said earlier I don't want to be negative so I'll be positive. I often think if a side starts the season well then they can often keep things going for the whole season. It's something County did in their promotion season from the Conference (not outside the top five all season?) and I think there is a similar feeling about this season. What I have seen in the games I've attended is some good football from County with a few minor complaints. We have the tendency to concede too easily but enough attacking endeavour to give the feeling that in most games we can outscore the opposition. County too frequently appear to score one goal and then attempt to defend their lead as opposed to killing the game off by going for that second goal, but also have demonstrated the drive to keep going until the last kick of the match if a winning goal is needed. The defence is a worry to me but could be easily solved by use of the loan market come January and changing back to the three centre halves formation that just seems to suit County more than a flat back four. The midfield needs someone who'll compete for the ball because they can be over-run there, a fit Labadie or Crofts might solve that. The only concern with the strikers is that with Amond and Matt doing so well that Bristol City and Cardiff might decide not to allow Semenyo and Harris to stay all-season because they're not getting as many starts as they hoped...

Barnabas wrote:This thread proves what I've long thought. Following Newport County long term has a severe psychological effect on people. It conditions us to expect failure. We cannot cope with the possibility of success because we have been disappointed so many times in the past. So when we were near the top in August we said "Oh, it's only August!". When we were near the top in September we said "Wait till October comes!" At the end of October we were looking at November's fixtures and saying the bubble would soon burst. On the way out of RP on Saturday, after arguably one of the most complete and stylish performances for a number of years, I overheard two fans discussing how many more points we needed to finish above Macclesfield and Notts County! That's what being a County fan is all about!! I wish it were different, but after following the club since 1972, the days of Willie Brown and Rod Jones, I know I'm describing myself. I wish I could just 'enjoy the ride' but I can't.

My exact phrase was "a false position". We've played three times as many games and after 5 more will be halfway through - it's pretty tight behind us, but I don't think it's a false position any more, though it would be nice if we could stop getting humped every time we get close to a positive goal difference.

As for psychological - well yeah, when the club was scuffling about in the Federated Homes League I even made 90% of my decision on which University to go to based on how mediocre a football club they had. Hence being a Southampton Season Ticket holder. Didn't want any of that glory nonsense - got to suffer to appreciate the good stuff.

As it happens I nearly passed out with euphoria when O'Connor scored the clincher at Wembley.