Championship thread 25/26! (152 Viewers)

Calista said:

The chances you missed the other day were beyond belief!

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Oh the chances we missed in several games are beyond belief! Both in number and level, it's amazing the massive shift in points we'd have had with a decent finisher up front who could even just stay fit for 2/3 of the season.

But if my Auntie had bollocks she'd be my Uncle and a strikers finishing ability isn't something we can pin altogether on Kim. I'm sure they practice shooting in training as every side does, only the complete absence of that would heap it on Hellberg's shoulders.

CraigSBA said:

Hes the swedish russell martin , might work for them might not

Hes on about 1.7 ppg which over the season equals playoffs

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They play good stuff and make lots of chances

To me that sounds like a team that will do well long term. Clearly some disagree

covcity4life said:

They play good stuff and make lots of chances

To me that sounds like a team that will do well long term. Clearly some disagree

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will stills stats were one of the best in the league some pundit was saying on Five Live

Calista said:

Basically the same sort of reasoned assumptions as Opta then, but without the computers.

They assume that past numbers will dictate the future, with no allowance for the variable performance of humans under pressure or the luck of the bounce. So no matter how many times they run the model they aren't going to predict the unexpected things that (thank goodness) happen in sport all the time.

Hence 99.94% success forecasted when a team has a lead of 8 points with 21 still to play for. Things will continue as they are.

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For sure, all season my optimism has been based largely on assumptions that a) we’ll continue our home form and b) our away form would pick back up. There were performance metrics that indicated that it would.

Whilst ‘past performance doesn’t predict future success’, our team has been operating at automatic promotion form since Lampard took over and our promotion rivals just haven’t put together strings of results to really challenge us.

In short, there’s just no good reason to believe 2-3 teams will win all 6-8 of their remaining fixtures whilst we crumble against relegation zone teams at home.

This season is just like last season in the sense that most people exaggerate the points needed for promotion. In reality, 87 points will be enough for automatic promotion this season and we’ll piss that.

Grendel said:

will stills stats were one of the best in the league some pundit was saying on Five Live

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I didn't watch much of soton under him so can't say

Wouldn't be writing his career off though. Done v well at a young age so far.

Grendel said:

will stills stats were one of the best in the league some pundit was saying on Five Live

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Birmingham are still 4th in the xG table and they’ve looked awful whenever I’ve seen them play. Even when they beat us, they scored all their shots on target.

Mucca Mad Boys said:

Birmingham are still 4th in the xG table and they’ve looked awful whenever I’ve seen them play. Even when they beat us, they scored all their shots on target.

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That's what I'm saying. I'm not going by stats. I personally think Boro play good football

Just think how far ahead we'd be now if we hadn't have had our 'blip'.

covcity4life said:

They play good stuff and make lots of chances

To me that sounds like a team that will do well long term. Clearly some disagree

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I’d agree with this I like Hellberg, ultimately if they’d signed Armstrong they’d probably be where we are. The luck just hasn’t fallen for them.

my only thing with Hellberg is that he doesn’t appear to have a plan b. In some respects we showed how to beat them

HuckerbyDublinWhelan said:

I’d agree with this I like Hellberg, ultimately if they’d signed Armstrong they’d probably be where we are. The luck just hasn’t fallen for them.

my only thing with Hellberg is that he doesn’t appear to have a plan b. In some respects we showed how to beat them

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No plan b was also something levelled at lampard iirc

Grendel said:

If the club fails to get promoted I suspect he will be gone pretty quickly next season - he’s an odd choice as manager

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He allowed Carrick nearly 3 years in fairness. I think Hellberg would get at least another season.

covcity4life said:

No plan b was also something levelled at lampard iirc

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Tommy conway and strelic arent good enough forwards thats the truth , a better number 9 is what they needed .

Even if they had ellis simms i imagine hed have scored 15 plus in that side as a starter

CraigSBA said:

Tommy conway isnt a good enough striker thats the truth , a better number 9 is what they needed .

Even if they had ellis simms i imagine hed have scored 15 plus in that side as a starter

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I doubt Simms would fit into their philosophy

Grendel said:

I doubt Simms would fit into their philosophy

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Theyve missed alot of box chances , snatching shots over the bar and wide

I get the footballing aspect

CraigSBA said:

Tommy conway and strelic arent good enough forwards thats the truth , a better number 9 is what they needed .

Even if they had ellis simms i imagine hed have scored 15 plus in that side as a starter

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Agreed.

@Sick Boy liked your post. Glad he's not being stubborn and coming round!

Right ready to watch about 9-10 hours of football

trevorsathispeake said:

Right ready to watch about 9-10 hours of football

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Tempted to watch Oxford Pompey over Millwall game tbh

covcity4life said:

They play good stuff and make lots of chances

To me that sounds like a team that will do well long term. Clearly some disagree

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Kim's made mistakes, but overall he's not done a hell of a lot wrong as I'll illustrate below. It's a team that will do well long term provided we bring in a player or two who can finish! Still I think Gibson is smart enough to know there will be a huge fan backlash if this isn't done over summer, so he doesn't really have a choice unless he wants attendances, etc to drop markedly for not showing any ambition.

He's hardly going to get rid of Kim easily as A) he's known as one of the most patient chairmen in the league and B) Knows most fans don't blame Hellberg for our current malaise, they blame the lack of a decent finisher, which isn't on KH's shoulders.

The rest of the squad outside the forwards of Strelec, Conway, Sene, Hanson (in the few games he's played) are also scoring numbers which are either in excess of or you would expect of players in each of their positions, (except possibly Morris under by 1 or 2, but as a defensive midfielder that's hardly his main job and main concern) so they're not the ones letting the side down either.

Take a look at our most recent goalscorers, since start of 2026;

- Fry (defender)

- BLANK

- Casteldine (midfielder)

- BLANK

- Conway (Forward)
Hackney (Midfielder)
Browne (Midfielder)
Strelec (Forward)

- Streleec (Forward)
Targett (Defender)
Targett (Defender)

-McGree (Midfielder)

- BLANK

-McGree (Midfielder)

-McGree (Midfielder)
Conway (Forward)

- Hackney (Midfielder)

-Whittaker (Midfielder)
Conway (Forward)
Conway (Forward)
Browne (Midfielder)

-Conway (Forward)
Browne (Midfielder)

-Own Goal
Silvera (Midfielder)
Burgzorg (Forward)

- Hackney (Midfielder)

-Browne (Midfielder)
Silvera (Midfielder)
Whittaker (Midfielder)
Whittaker (Midfielder)

-BLANK

17 games. 3 Goals scored by defenders, 16 by midfielders, 8 by forwards.

Now normally you would expect the numbers in those games scored by defenders to be around that level. The midfielders are actually exceeding their expected goals overall, and it's a good job because the forwards have underperformed massively.

The defence/keeper have conceded 14 goals in those league games, so around 0.82 goals per game. With that combined with their gameplay in working it Forward there's not a lot wrong there whatsoever, Brynn could be a little better, but for a side that plays an open style yet concedes at that rate is doing just fine.

Midfield, again nothing wrong, quite the opposite. They're creating a barrel-load of chances, generally protecting their defence most of the time and scoring far more than their proportion of goals.The 3 or 4 lads in midfield in games are scoring almost one and a half times the goals by the entire rest of the team, including the forwards who have it as their main job!

Kim's playing style is also reaping dividends in terms of how much we can create.

The forwards though...Dear God.

And given that we currently have Hackney, Whittaker and Casteldine out, and some have been missing for quite a few games recently, this is probably where part of our drop in form has come from. You could throw a some sheer bad luck in there too and the odd mistake from Kim perhaps, but the causes of shit strikers and injuries to midfielders are by fsr the main ones.

We could carry strikers having a shit game when all the midfield were fit in a lot of the games we played. Now they're not...our goalscoring rate has taken a big hit and the players up front are more exposed for what they are.

covcity4life said:

Agreed.

@Sick Boy liked your post. Glad he's not being stubborn and coming round!

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I said a while ago that they needed to strengthen upfront in January. Their signings were just odd.

Ipad Boro said:

Kim's made mistakes, but overall he's not doen a hell of a lot wrong as I'll illustrate below. It's a team that will do well long term provided we bring in a player or two who can finish! Still I think Gibson is smart enough to know there will be a huge fan backlash if this isn't done over summer, so he doesn't really have a choice unless he wants attendances, etc to drop markedly for not showing any ambition.

He's hardly going to get rid of Kim easily as A) he's known as one of the most patient chairmen in the league and B) Knows most fans don't blame Hellberg for our current malaise, they blame the lack of a decent finisher, which isn't on KH's shoulders.

The rest of the squad outside the forwards of Strelec, Conway, Sene, Hanson (in the few games he's played) are also scoring numbers which are either in excess of or you would expect of players in each of their positions, (except possibly Morris under by 1 or 2, but as a defensive midfielder that's hardly his main job and main concern) so they're not the ones letting the side down either.

Take a look at our most recent goalscorers, since start of 2026;

- Fry (defender)

- BLANK

- Casteldine (midfielder)

- BLANK

- Conway (Forward)
Hackney (Midfielder)
Browne (Midfielder)
Strelec (Forward)

- Streleec (Forward)
Targett (Defender)
Targett (Defender)

-McGree (Midfielder)

- BLANK

-McGree (Midfielder)

-McGree (Midfielder)
Conway (Forward)

- Hackney (Midfielder)

-Whittaker (Midfielder)
Conway (Forward)
Conway (Forward)
Browne (Midfielder)

-Conway (Forward)
Browne (Midfielder)

-Own Goal
Silvera (Midfielder)
Burgzorg (Forward)

- Hackney (Midfielder)

-Browne (Midfielder)
Silvera (Midfielder)
Whittaker (Midfielder)
Whittaker (Midfielder)

-BLANK

17 games. 3 Goals scored by defenders, 16 by midfielders, 8 by forwards.

Now normally you would expect the numbers in those games scored by defenders to be around that level. The midfielders are actually exceeding their expected goals overall, and it's a good job because the forwards have underperformed massively.

The defence/keeper have conceded 14 goals in those league games, so around 0.82 goals per game. With that combined with their gameplay in working it Forward there's not a lot wrong there whatsoever, Brynn could be a little better, but for a side that plays an open style yet concedes at that rate is doing just fine.

Midfield, again nothing wrong, quite the opposite. They're creating a barrel-load of chances, generally protecting their defence most of the time and scoring far more than their proportion of goals.The 3 or 4 lads in midfield in games are scoring almost one and a half times the goals by the entire rest of the team, including the forwards who have it as their main job!

The forwards...Dear God.

And given that we currently have Hackney, Whittaker and Casteldine out, and some have been missing for quite a few games recently, this is probably where part of our drop in form has come from. You could throw a some sheer bad luck in there too and the odd mistake from Kim perhaps, but the causes of shit strikers and injuries to midfielders are by fsr the main ones.

We could carry strikers having a shit game when all the midfield were fit in a lot of the games we played. Now they're not...our goalscoring rate has taken a big hit and the players up front are more exposed for what they are.

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Your new to this forum so you can save yourself time by simply saying covcity4life is always right!

covcity4life said:

Tempted to watch Oxford Pompey over Millwall game tbh

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Probably less stressful

covcity4life said:

Your new to this forum so you can save yourself time by simply saying covcity4life is always right!

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You do talk a fair bit of sense tbf.

Pompey beating Oxford

Hoping for a pompey or oxford win rather than a draw to keep Leicester down and if Wednesday can get something it would be even sweeter.
got to love a day of watching football on tv when your at the top and no pressure on us what so ever.
cracking game so far to watch as a neutral, both teams going for it

1-0 portsmouth

Poor goalkeeping , Leicester 4 points from safety as it stands

covcity4life said:

That's what I'm saying. I'm not going by stats. I personally think Boro play good football

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They certainly can play blow teams away and have had some impressive results but use the game we beat them at home, they had 72% possession and I still felt like we controlled the game.

Like us, Boro were fancied to be a playoff team so they’ve had a good season but a couple of things their fans will be wary of is a) losing 6 pointers v teams around them and b) bottling games at home v relegation teams. To Hellberg’s credit, he hasn’t had a preseason with the squad nor a proper summer window to sign his players but he did receive a team that was on a high and so far, has bottled a prime opportunity to get automatic promotion.

Draws v Blackburn x2, Oxford, Leicester and losing to Charlton is literally the gap between us and them this year. Bar Oxford, all games we won at home.

Always loved Norwich, Birmingham and Swansea

Ipad Boro said:

You do talk a fair bit of sense tbf.

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His head won’t fit through the door now

Nick said:

Pompey beating Oxford

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Excellent. Leicester now 4 pts less than Pompey.

Ipad Boro said:

You do talk a fair bit of sense tbf.

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Ipad Boro said:

You do talk a fair bit of sense tbf.

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Bookmarked for eternity.

Red for Pompey

Pompey player sent off for a tackle.

Not sure if it will get over turned as it looked a bit harsh. If it's 3 games will be out against us.

Captain Dart said:

Excellent. Leicester now 4 pts less than Pompey.

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If they still behind after getting their sheff wed card out the way it might make them be even more anxious on the pitch