A tough month ahead.

Its going to be the most important month in the whole season Pete and it may just decide what league we are playing in next season.

We could end up guaranteed a play-off place, or needing a team to slip up for us to even get in the play-offs.We will need to greatly improve our home form and turn draws into wins and get the three points we should be getting playing at home.

I do feel we have the players who can take up back up, it just needs for them to do their bit out on the pitch, Bucks to make the changes when needed and in good time and us the fans to really get behind the team, even when things nay not be going the way we would like.

If nothing else the next month should be bloody good practice for the play-offs. Kettering is a cup final and we owe them a decent performance.

Crawley and Wrexham were shaken off this weekend. Victory next weekend should go some way to shaking Kettering off. Good luck to Woking tomorrow night at home to Cambridge. Live on Setanta for those unaware.

It sounds obvious - but it is hugely weighted towards who we manage to get our points from!
If we were to get perhaps only 1 point from Burton then it doesn't matter if we have got wins against Kettering, Crawley and Stevenage.
If we win 3 and draw 1 (and our 3 wins are against the aforementioned opponents) then it would be more valuable to us than if we beat Burton twice (as they would still only have to win 3 of their remaining 7 games to prevent us from winning the BSP - time to give that hope up!).

As Petef reminds us, our form at the end of last season (even before the "final slump" that officially began with about midway through the second half on 5th May 2008!) was fairly patchy.
We certainly got 4 wins out of 5 to start April, but then we were more or less able to rest some of the key players - whether that is right or wrong is impossible to tell, but as the result was missing-out on promotion it could be argued (not definitively) that it didn't.
After a season of decent crowds in 07/08, they seemed to slump in April - we played to just over 2000 on a few occaisions and the players looked exhausted.

With the arrival of Sturrock to give some genuine competition to forward places (and a squad that has "competition" rather than "paper-thin cover" from fringe players) , the team on an unbeaten 9 match spell and a challenge coming from behind that was never really a threat at the end of 07/08, there are plenty of things to be positive about.
We probably won't being a position to "coast-in" as we did last season and I see that as a good thing. Last season saw 4 teams fighting for 3 play-off spots with 3 games to go - I cannot see it being narrowed to so few teams at the same stage this season. Couple this with a several players who experienced the disappointment of the end of last season and are desperate to get the team into the league - Bucks has learned as a manager as time has gone-on and whoever we get in the play-offs (if we get there!) will not have a coaching set-up that experienced the play-offs last year. Tisdale certainly learned from the experience.
Someone please tell the tiny but very vocal minority that still seem to think that they can get on the backs on the players (even in some cases when they are appearing not to try or are having a stinker).

This is what football should be about - being in with a chance of the prize at this stage of the season and without having to rely upon any other team (although hopefully Wrexham can't catch us come the last day of the season - they have the certainty of 3 points against Weymuff!).
A win against Kettering on Saturday and even a point against Burton on the following Monday would really put us in a decent position for the final 5 games of the regular season, but whatever the results there is a lot of football to be played before anything is won or lost.

I agree that in a strange kind of way the end of this season will prepare us for the Play-Offs (providing we get there!) far better than last season did. We cruised in last year, and once a side has mentally relaxed in the manner we did (through no fault of anyone – mere circumstance), it’s very difficult to re-focus, and start performing again when the games require. This year will likely be a battle right to the end, meaning that when the Play-Off matches arrive, we’ll be ‘battle-hardened’ and in the right shape, mentally, to perform. The difficulty of the games coming up is no bad thing either (providing we get through them with the required amount of points obviously!) Whoever we play in the end-of-season mini cup, will be a decent side. It’s no bad thing that we’ll be well adjusted to facing that level of opposition.

So now all the in-fighting has to stop. You can be sure berating our own players isn’t going to help our cause. Our home form is where the improvement is required, so we need to do our bit to help. The very least we can do as supporters is provide the team with an enjoyable environment to play – whilst simultaneously making it a place the opposition don’t want to. If the players feel appreciated, rather than pressured, there’s more chance of the performances we need. All the other stuff is counter-productive. There’s little point making the players’ jobs harder, then moaning when they don’t achieve what we want them to!

As for the Play-Offs (‘when’ we get there) I just hope we give a good account of ourselves. It’s unfair to demand promotion, as inevitably fortune will play a part along the way. As long as we make a good fist of it, and provide a level of performance we can all be proud of, there can be no complaints.

After last nights results it looks like there are still 6 teams left with a real chance of making the play-offs. I'm leaving Burton out as they'll end up as champions. It's going to be so tough. All 6 are getting good results at the moment. There will be many twists and turns come the final whistle on sunday the 26th of april...

Hopefully Buckle and his team will get the support they deserve in these final weeks of the season starting this saturday at Plainmoor! It should really be a 3,000+ gate.

Indeed a tough month ahead with both Histon and Stevenage winning comfortably last night. Cambridge seem to be going well and another form team at the moment. I see those three plus one other in the playoffs. I think the fourth team will be us, but not in the same form as the previously mentioned three.

You never know if we beat Burton twice and results go their way, either Cambridge or Histon may go up as Champions.

I actually think saturday is a HUGE game for us in dictating the rest of the season. Win and it will be a huge boost, put Kets a long way off us and send a message out to other playoff contenders. Lose and things start to look incredibly difficult for us and could even fall apart a little. The team has to be up for a battle, and the fans must be patient.