Adi_Dem
Well-known member
On the face of it our away form has been pretty poor and it's easy to get wrapped up in that because results are, obviously, all important. But I do think it's worth adding a bit of context. We all know we are short. The tune Wilder has got out of this group of players in terms of results, league position and the way we play has been astonishing - but only at home. Here is our away record post-Wilder:
Huddersfield (W)
Stoke (D)
Blackpool (W)
Blackburn (L)
QPR (D)
Bristol (L)
Barnsley (L)
Sheff Utd (L)
The 'home' league table sees us second with a game in hand:
The away table sees us 18th:
There is a clear gulf but it is a problem that pre-dates Wilder's arrival. Prior to his arrival we averaged a point a game away from home. We still average a point a game. There was an immediate response in the first three away games before it drifted after Blackburn.
That's not good enough of course for where we want to be but there is a bit of context to add I think. Firstly, of the four defeats, two have come against sides in the top 6. That is a function of where we are as a team I think and it is easy to forget that because of the job Wilder has done. We aren't good enough to go away to top 6 teams and win regularly. It's as simple as that.
Of the other two it is arguable that we deserved more out of both the Barnsley and Bristol games (Barnsley less so admittedly) but the main reason we didn't was poor finishing and slow starts (more on that later). The draw at QPR was less than we deserved too - in fact that was probably our best away performance against a pretty good team. We know the strikers aren't good enough as a group, we know that we have a thin squad and we know we have had injuries in the one area we can't afford them. Again, it's a function of where we are I think.
There are probably other factors at play too. Playing better teams midweek after tough home games given how thin our squad is, particularly in midfield, probably doesn't help. Playing at home might just give the players enough adrenaline to get through those games. We've had big cup games to play.
I think what I am trying to say is that the improvement under WIlder has yielded spectacular home results and an improved style of football. It hasn't yet translated itself into away form which has been consistently one point per game since the start of the season. The first three away games were excellent results before the five starting at Blackburn which have been really poor. That has coincided with injuries in midfield, cup runs and a heavy fixture list. Maybe we just have to accept where we are and not be sucked into expecting the same quantum leap we have made at home. It has to improve, no doubt at all, but I think we all probably felt when he took over that getting into the top 6 was a big ask. We are in with a shout still which is probably more than we had a right to expect but to really stake a claim we have to improve our away form and that might be too big an ask this season.
Huddersfield (W)
Stoke (D)
Blackpool (W)
Blackburn (L)
QPR (D)
Bristol (L)
Barnsley (L)
Sheff Utd (L)
The 'home' league table sees us second with a game in hand:
The away table sees us 18th:
There is a clear gulf but it is a problem that pre-dates Wilder's arrival. Prior to his arrival we averaged a point a game away from home. We still average a point a game. There was an immediate response in the first three away games before it drifted after Blackburn.
That's not good enough of course for where we want to be but there is a bit of context to add I think. Firstly, of the four defeats, two have come against sides in the top 6. That is a function of where we are as a team I think and it is easy to forget that because of the job Wilder has done. We aren't good enough to go away to top 6 teams and win regularly. It's as simple as that.
Of the other two it is arguable that we deserved more out of both the Barnsley and Bristol games (Barnsley less so admittedly) but the main reason we didn't was poor finishing and slow starts (more on that later). The draw at QPR was less than we deserved too - in fact that was probably our best away performance against a pretty good team. We know the strikers aren't good enough as a group, we know that we have a thin squad and we know we have had injuries in the one area we can't afford them. Again, it's a function of where we are I think.
There are probably other factors at play too. Playing better teams midweek after tough home games given how thin our squad is, particularly in midfield, probably doesn't help. Playing at home might just give the players enough adrenaline to get through those games. We've had big cup games to play.
I think what I am trying to say is that the improvement under WIlder has yielded spectacular home results and an improved style of football. It hasn't yet translated itself into away form which has been consistently one point per game since the start of the season. The first three away games were excellent results before the five starting at Blackburn which have been really poor. That has coincided with injuries in midfield, cup runs and a heavy fixture list. Maybe we just have to accept where we are and not be sucked into expecting the same quantum leap we have made at home. It has to improve, no doubt at all, but I think we all probably felt when he took over that getting into the top 6 was a big ask. We are in with a shout still which is probably more than we had a right to expect but to really stake a claim we have to improve our away form and that might be too big an ask this season.
