DangerousSausage

The points from yesterday's round aren't even counted yet, and it's already time for the last proper midweek round of the season! These matches all kick off at 7.45pm on Tuesday - good luck and don't forget your joker! Northampton Town v Blackpool Shrewsbury Town v Exeter City Wycombe Wanderers v Wigan Athletic AFC Wimbledon v Gillingham Newport County v Morecambe Walsall v Barrow Halifax Town v Oldham Athletic Maidenhead United v Hartlepool United

I didn't realise until the news app of my preference sent me a push notification saying Facebook was down, as if it were major news or something. A reminder for us all to get away from social media!

Enjoy your fancy Sunday dinner! I bought a bicycle yesterday and took it on a maiden voyage home, then I had go go out and buy a suit (my other suit is six years old and has been worn precisely once, and appears to have shrunk in the wardrobe...).

The best website on the internet (apart from PON of course) is https://engrish.com/ - which focuses on bad English translations, mainly from the Far East Another good one is the English Companions' website, a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon history. Apart from that, I usually read the Guardian online and always read Martina Hyde's column and I sometimes lurk on an SV Waldhof forum.

Winning is everything in football - string three wins together and everyone is smiling again. It is that simple. People will always go over the top in their criticism, sometimes they're emotional and sometimes they get a kick out of it. But not all criticism is unjustified - we've gathered four points in eight games under SM, and our points average was very poor before that as well. We're relying on the points we gathered in September and October to keep us out of a relegation fight. To put that into perspective, since promotion was introduced from the Conference in 1987, no team has EVER gone straight back down. In fact, several have gone up again. Staying in League Two isn't an achievement, it's the barest of bare minimums. This isn't a blip, we've had relegation form for half a season now. Stuart Maynard's job is to find a way to get us picking up points regularly, which in turn would give us something to build on for next season. It doesn't matter what he or anyone else says in interviews, when you reach a certain point you've heard it all before. Only wins will save his job and turn things around again.

I missed yesterday's game so I can't go into specifics too much. However, I suspect it was much the same game that I've seen several times already this season. I think many people are doubting whether we've appointed the right man. I think in many ways Stuard Maynard has been an unlucky general. We've always been competitive, we haven't been humiliated and we may well have picked up more points if it weren't for individual mistakes (which he can't do anything about). In addition, he's correctly identified our weaknesses and has been more proactive in addressing them than LW was. I've never had the feeling he's watched a different game to me. However, at some point results don't lie. As the losses stack up the owners need to ask themselves whether SM can lift the team we've got and make the right calls during games to get results. I think we're all having doubts. I just want to see us win again.

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Plymouth Argyle Millwall 2-0 Birmingham City Port Vale 1-2 Shrewsbury Town Reading 3-1 Wycombe Wanderers Accrington Stanley 1-2 Bradford City Sutton United 1-1 Grimsby Town Aldershot 0-2 Oldham Athletic Kidderminster Harriers 3-1 York City (joker)

These fixtures all kick off at 3pm on Saturday, and you get a joker each. Good luck! Blackburn Rovers v Plymouth Argyle Millwall v Birmingham City Port Vale v Shrewsbury Town Reading v Wycombe Wanderers Accrington Stanley v Bradford City Sutton United v Grimsby Town Aldershot v Oldham Athletic Kidderminster Harriers v York City

Sam left us 18 months later @liampie, so he had another full season after that one. We struggled after we went up. We suffered an injury to a key player (Sean Farrell) and couldn't score. But in the end we stayed up comfortably after bringing in a series of strikers (including Stallard) and did well the following season. To put it in the right context, we hadn't played in the fourth division for 30 years until that promotion season. Dropping that far seemed almost as unimaginable as falling into the National League a few years back, and it was really important to the club to bounce back quickly. So it was all the more depressing when things went downhill again after Sam left.

The results: Preston North End 0-0 Hull City Swansea City 2-1 Blackburn Rovers Cheltenham Town 0-0 Burton Albion Leyton Orient 0-1 Bristol Rovers Crawley Town P-P Barrow Grimsby Town 1-0 Forest Green Rovers AFC Fylde 4-1 Maidenhead United Woking P-P Kidderminster Harriers --- @william1984 is this round's top scorer - congrats! @william1984 - 6 @Dan, @Fan of Big Tone - 5 @Chris, @gtownjohnno, @magpiejue, @Robbie - 4 @cheeky~k8, @DangerousSausage, @Megan_Elizax, @super_ram - 3 @4everapie, @Harry Buckley - 1 @ARLukomski - nul points --- We have a new leader, as with ten rounds to go @gtownjohnno goes a point ahead of @ARLukomski! But the final word hasn't been spoken. Besides, I'm planning on winning the league after docking you all 100 points on the final day. gtownjohnno - 177 ARLukomski - 176 william1984 - 161 cheeky~k8 - 158 magpiejue - 153 super_ram - 152 4everapie - 151 Fan of Big Tone - 151 DangerousSausage - 146 Dan - 141 nottsnutter - 125 Megan_Elizax - 124 DonnyNotts - 116 Chris - 115 liampie - 104 upthepies - 90 Joshua - 82 allardyces tash - 70 KingWilliams - 66 TheSkipper - 64 CliftonMagpie - 55 Robbie - 51 thommo - 49 OoooooTommy - 45 NottsCountyKev - 41 JIMBO - 40 jimbob - 38 Nocturnal-Magpie - 38 AmericanPie - 36 Harry Buckley - 35 KB1862 - 22 George L - 6 Canadian - 4 --- The fun continues on Wednesday, when I'll be posting Saturday's fixtures. I'll see you then - have a good week!

What a complete farce that was, I feel sorry for everyone who had a wasted trip. Some decided to see Bradford Park Avenue instead. Pretty telling that their pitch was OK yet City's wasn't. The moment I saw the Valley Parade pitch I knew it wasn't playable, and it probably hadn't been for quite some time. So what were the officials doing? I'm not sure I'd blame the ground staff though. A few weeks ago a German cup tie at Saarbrücken was postponed at the last minute (with the teams in the tunnel and all the stands full!) and their pitch looked identical to Bradford's. Saarbrücken recently had their ground rebuilt, and because the costs had spiralled, the council decided to save money on drainage. Maybe Bradford have drainage issues too. If the water's standing on the pitch every time there's a bit of rainfall, there's only so much the ground staff can do... But whatever the reasons, that doesn't change the fact that postponing a game so late is an absolute outrage.

I think leap year day should be a bank holiday. I did an extra day's work on Thursday without any extra pay, and we even had to do actual work and not just muck around all day. It's just not on. Also, I went to school with someone born on leap year day, so by my count she'll be about ten now.

Also very true. We're currently 14, so we have to outperform at least seven of the teams above us to make it. I can't see it, but it's certainly not impossible.

Preston North End 2-1 Hull City Swansea City 2-1 Blackburn Rovers Cheltenham Town 3-1 Burton Albion Leyton Orient 2-0 Bristol Rovers (joker) Crawley Town 2-0 Barrow Grimsby Town 1-2 Forest Green Rovers AFC Fylde 1-1 Maidenhead United Woking 1-1 Kidderminster Harriers

I disagree with the OP in one thing - it really is as simple as winning games. The trouble is, we can't because we're always giving the opposition a head start! Stuart Maynard has already pointed out that you defend as a team. However, we've spent years recruiting players who are good on the ball but not so strong off it. This gave us a soft underbelly under Burchnall, and now those problems have come back to bite - except this time the opposition is better able to exploit it. As @Chris, Jones and Nemane barely exist in a defensive sense. Part of our troubles is that we've been playing them as wing backs, giving defensive responsibility to players who aren't up to that task, leaving the back three exposed frequently. A head coach has to work with the players he's given with all their strengths and weaknesses, so surely the logical thing to do would be to play a back four so they each have a full back behind them, allowing them to concentrate on their attacking play. SM has recognised this too, but we haven't seen the full benefit yet as he's switched formations during games a bit too often. The defence has been poor and definitely needs strengthening, but they've suffered from being exposed as I just described, as well as from having three different goalkeepers behind them (none of whom have covered themselves in glory). In light of all that, I'm not convinced that just changing the personnel of our back line would have made much difference.

It's not going to happen. We might only be four points adrift, but the number of teams in with a chance of a play-off spot is huge and it'll be those with the best form between now and the end of the season that will make it. What does our form look like? I know things can change quickly in football, but I think we've got too many problems to solve. We've got no business in League One until we fix them.

It's prediction league time again. These matches all kick off at 3pm on Saturday, and don't forget your jokers! Preston North End v Hull City Swansea City v Blackburn Rovers Cheltenham Town v Burton Albion Leyton Orient v Bristol Rovers Crawley Town v Barrow Grimsby Town v Forest Green Rovers AFC Fylde v Maidenhead United Woking v Kidderminster Harriers

I remember it well, and I remember the game against Colchester too! That day was a bit of a damp squib, a 0-0 draw and I can't remember whether we'd have gone up with a win. Luckily we were at home the following week too, and we just needed a win to claim the title. Fun fact: that season Lincoln won automatic promotion on just 75 points, some 24 behind us.

Have a great birthday @super_ram!

What a total nightmare. I didn't seriously think we'd be in the race for automatic promotion, but I never thought we'd be dependent on the points gathered in September and October to keep us out of a relegation fight. I was at least encouraged by the reaction each time we feel behind, we worked really hard to score our goals. So how demoralising must it be for the players to see a hopeful cross causing chaos in our box, or to witness Sutton's striker (who has the first touch of a Sunday League player) slaloming through half our defence. As well as being exhausting for us to chase the game, it gives teams like Sutton - who need every point they can get - extra motivation. If we go 2-0 up in a game like that and hold on to the ball, the opposition's heads drop and we get the points. Possession-based football can work just fine as long as you do the basics at the back. You can prevent the opposition creating chances by starving them of the ball ("if they cannae get the ball, they cannae score a goal"). Unfortunately we were often sloppy in possession alongside the chaos at the back. I'm at a bit of a loss right now and Maynard probably is too. We all know we're not good enough at the back and I don't think any manager will have us keeping clean sheets regularly. That's not his fault, but I don't think chopping and changing positions and formations so often is helping. If a player isn't sure where he should be standing or what his job is, he'll be nervous, he'll overthink in some situations and that causes hesitation and mistakes. The gung-ho football of the Burchnall/Williams years is no longer working and the team needs to evolve. In the meantime, SM needs to find a way to win with the players he's got now, otherwise that'll be someone else's job next season.

That's football fans for you @Chris, some players are untouchable while others quickly become scapegoats. The problems start when the manager thinks that way too.

What's the scores, George Doors? Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Norwich City Cardiff City 2-1 Stoke City Barnsley 2-1 Derby County Blackpool 4-1 Bolton Wanderers Accrington Stanley 0-1 Crawley Town Barrow P-P Bradford City Dagenham & Redbridge 0-1 Halifax Town Southend United 4-1 Aldershot --- Unfortunately, this round's teams had the cheek not to play the way we thought they would and we didn't get many points. But congrats to this week's joint winners @magpiejue and @DonnyNotts! @DonnyNotts, @magpiejue - 5 @Harry Buckley, @Robbie, @william1984 - 4 @4everapie, @allardyces tash, @cheeky~k8, @liampie - 3 @Chris, @Fan of Big Tone, @gtownjohnno, @nottsnutter, @super_ram, @TheSkipper - 2 @Megan_Elizax - 1 @ARLukomski, @Dan, @DangerousSausage - nada, nichts, zilch. --- It's fair to say we've got a title race now, while my play-off prospects are looking as bleak as Notts'... ARLukomski - 176 gtownjohnno - 173 cheeky~k8 - 155 william1984 - 155 4everapie - 150 magpiejue - 149 super_ram - 149 Fan of Big Tone - 146 DangerousSausage - 143 Dan - 136 nottsnutter - 125 Megan_Elizax - 121 DonnyNotts - 116 Chris - 111 liampie - 104 upthepies - 90 Joshua - 82 allardyces tash - 70 KingWilliams - 66 TheSkipper - 64 CliftonMagpie - 55 thommo - 49 Robbie - 47 OoooooTommy - 45 NottsCountyKev - 41 JIMBO - 40 jimbob - 38 Nocturnal-Magpie - 38 AmericanPie - 36 Harry Buckley - 34 KB1862 - 22 George L - 6 Canadian - 4 --- Our next round is on Saturday, so expect the fixtures to appear tomorrow. Thanks for playing everyone!

I totally agree, at the time I thought he'd come back from his injury too soon as he didn't look right. He hasn't looked the influential player we know he can be since then. We need to make some changes just to freshen things up, him and McGoldrick always play when they're fit and I think they're running on empty right now.

I think SM is trying to do that already to be fair. Luke Williams tended to stick to his favoured team and formation, and after a while the opposition knew exactly how we were lining up. SM has tried to switch things around - but do that too many times and you'll end up with confused and nervous players in unfamiliar positions.

I can't say too much about the match as I only saw the end of it when it was already done and dusted. Under LW we could gloss over days like yesterday as we'd had a good start to the season and were sitting near the top. Now the table tells a more realistic story. We had a soft start to the season that probably led many of us to think we're better than we are. But as soon as we started playing the current top six or seven we started to struggle, and it hasn't changed. We are just not effective enough at either end of the pitch to decide tight games in our favour. We've won just four games by a single goal this season. It's not a new problem, but it''s one that Stuart Maynard hasn't got to grips with yet. We seem to have missed an opportunity to strengthen our back line over the last couple of transfer windows. But the root of the problem goes back further: Ian Burchnall inherited a team that looked terrified to leave our half of the pitch and placed a lot of focus on being braver and taking more risks. Since then, every time we've signed a player (even defenders), the feedback from fans of their previous clubs has been the same: "he's great going forwards, but a bit dodgy at the back". It's given us a few years of brilliant football, but now we're lacking players who simply focus on the bread and butter of preventing the opposition scoring. We should definitely mix it up more during games to keep the opposition on their toes, but trying to turn into a long ball team with our skillful but physically weak team is a recipe for disaster. Until last season we played with a target man in Kyle Wootton - it would be handy to have an option like him again for League Two, but that ship has sailed this season sadly.