Guiseley

[SKIPPER]

Their game postponed last night has been re-arranged for next Thursday two days after our visit. May have been better the other way round but they are certainly going to have to rotate all of Coxs' 40 signings ! As for Ebbsfleet on Saturday they are unbeaten in the last nine and it will certainly be tougher than last night but I'd settle for ahard-earned point as there is plenty of wriggle room in remaining games (relegated Chester and one-foot-in-Wembley Bromley for instance). Hope also other teams results go in our favour.

[Mark Johnson]

I was thinking about Guiseley last night actually as I was drifting off to sleep.

Surely, they know they are relegated now so their focus will probably already be on getting things in to place for next year. With that being said, would they want a (in theory) strong Barrow in their league next season - yet another team who should be up there.

It favours them for us to stay up and for the likes of Woking / Maidstone to go down.

So will they try and do us and them a favour by dropping a few main men for our game next Tuesday?

[Adam29]

Guiseley are in effect still safe. Have 18pts to play for. They would be confirmed as relegated if they lose saturday and we beat ebbsfleet.
Personally i would rather they are still safe by the time we play them tuesday because as you saw with chester last night. Once relegated, teams tend to play with no pressure and pick up wins

[barrowfan]

I was thinking about Guiseley last night actually as I was drifting off to sleep.

So will they try and do us and them a favour by dropping a few main men for our game next Tuesday?

Would that not be brought to the attention of the league?

I understood a team could have points docked if they deliberately field a weakened side.

[Mark Johnson]

I was thinking about Guiseley last night actually as I was drifting off to sleep.

So will they try and do us and them a favour by dropping a few main men for our game next Tuesday?

Would that not be brought to the attention of the league?

I understood a team could have points docked if they deliberately field a weakened side.

There is nothing stopping them dropping 2 or 3 key players (if they have any) for a few fringe players.. if their season is over it's a chance for their management team to look at players who haven't been given a look in

[Mark Johnson]

.. and if they are already relegated by then, I don't think a few docked points is gonna hurt them!

[Steelworks End]

With games on Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday it is inevitable that they will not be able to field their strongest side in all four matches; loss of form, possible injuries or suspensions, and of course sheer fatigue, will take their toll. It could be difficult for the League to argue that they were deliberately fielding a weakened side.

[Mark Johnson]

With games on Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday it is inevitable that they will not be able to field their strongest side in all four matches; loss of form, possible injuries or suspensions, and of course sheer fatigue, will take their toll. It could be difficult for the League to argue that they were deliberately fielding a weakened side.

Dag on the Thursday will definitely benefit us. Like you said, they may have to rotate whether they want to do us a favour or not.

[Suffolk Blue]

We're all in the same boat with Guiseley as we all have to play them. Their form is currently better than some and because of the size of their squad I doubt that will change much by playing frequently over a couple of weeks. I dont think they'll finish bottom.

Its all about the final points total now and for that look no further than Woking who have 45 points with games remaining against Bromley (Home), Guiseley (away) and Dover (home). So a maximum of 9 points or total of 54. Also Maidstone on 47 points with games versus Fylde (home), Chester (away) and Halifax (Home). So a maximum of 56 points. However both teams have taken only 1 point from their last five games and Woking haven't won in their last 10. They are both bottom of the form table. GD for Barrow is -11, Maidstone -15 and Woking -19.

If the target is 54 or more I think we're dead because I cant see us getting that in a month of Sundays. However there is nothing to suggest from the form table that Woking will win their last three games. If they lost all three (also very doubtful) then one point from our last 5 games would suffice given the GD. If only life were so predictable. But it shows that massive potential variation in the size of the task.

If you go with a more realistic prognosis and suggest Woking will take 5-6 points from their last three, this would put the target at 50-51. Assuming that the GD versus Woking remains positive this is probably doable though we will probably have to win 2 from 5 to achieve it and maybe take a point from one other. Maidstone really should avoid the drop. Their main fear is the fact that they face Fylde at home on Saturday and other than Macc or Tranmere, Fylde probably represent the toughest task for any team at this moment. They could quite easily lose this game and if either Barrow or Woking make up ground their position would quickly become frantic. Games against Chester and Halifax would then become very unpredictable. Again you could see their total also ending up at 50-51.

For these reasons Saturdays fixtures are massive. We must not concede ground to Woking in particular and again their fixture v Bromley is an unknown. Chester beat Bromley last night and still got relegated. Bromley do have their eye on Wembley but do tend to score goals. However if that's an advantage for Woking, It'll also be an advantage for us a week later.

So, if we all end the season by mirroring the current form table over the last 5-10 games then we would survive. There is also some mileage in the view that the team in the trap door position tends to find strength from somewhere if only for a short period and that this might have had a stiffening effect on our resolve last night. However the problem with this approach is that its based on the "least worst team" which over such a short period is highly changeable.

The performance v Eastleigh didn't entirely surprise me as before the Fylde and Orient games I thought we might win it. However Saturday was a very depressing experience and things felt really desperate. So the transformation in attitude was particularly pleasing. We now know that we can score more than one, that Luke James is not the only player allowed to score, that we can win after conceding and we can hold on to a lead at home. If these attitudes translate into performances then it might lift us enough for the remaining period.

Having looked at the Woking and Maidstone forums, its interesting to see that footie fans are essentially fatalists wherever they are. Both sets of supporters seem convinced that they are certain to be relegated. The truth of course is
that its still all up for grabs. Just as the loss on Saturday didn't means the end for us - though it felt like it- so a win last night, even though it sort of brings us back on course, in itself is just one win. We are still on the trap door. But it is still in our own hands.

[HenneysKnee]

Get some cracking theories on this forum but the idea Guiseley would try to lose so we stay up is amongst the very best

[Mark Johnson]

Get some cracking theories on this forum but the idea Guiseley would try to lose so we stay up is amongst the very best

You've never heard of long term planning then? All I'm saying is it would favour them if we stayed in this league. The CN is already strong. If they want to come straight back up, which I assume will be their ambition, then surely they will want to make that as easy as possble.

[Mark Johnson]

and I'm not suggesting they will throw the game either.

[Suffolk Blue]

With games on Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday it is inevitable that they will not be able to field their strongest side in all four matches; loss of form, possible injuries or suspensions, and of course sheer fatigue, will take their toll. It could be difficult for the League to argue that they were deliberately fielding a weakened side.

Dag on the Thursday will definitely benefit us. Like you said, they may have to rotate whether they want to do us a favour or not.

There is another possibility of course. So claggy is the Nethermoor surface that unless the sun shines for the next few days in Yorkshire, Tuesday could be called off again. That would complicate things as we'd be lining up in buses waiting for the last team to leave before getting on the pitch. Think fatigue might become an issue then.

[Suffolk Blue]

Dag on the Thursday will definitely benefit us. Like you said, they may have to rotate whether they want to do us a favour or not.

There is another possibility of course. So claggy is the Nethermoor surface that unless the sun shines for the next few days in Yorkshire, Tuesday could be called off again. That would complicate things as we'd be lining up in buses waiting for the last team to leave before getting on the pitch. Think fatigue might become an issue then.

....and if you think I'm kidding there is a more than 50% chance of rain in Guiseley every day for the next week. Sunday anyone?

[barrowfan]

Would that not be brought to the attention of the league?

I understood a team could have points docked if they deliberately field a weakened side.

There is nothing stopping them dropping 2 or 3 key players (if they have any) for a few fringe players.. if their season is over it's a chance for their management team to look at players who haven't been given a look in

Doesn't matter about their position.

If they are involved with a team still in the promotion or relegation mix they have to field a full side.

Maybe points docked wouldn't matter but a fine would.