This Is How We Do It

Do you want to know how we can get back into those play-off places and above? Well, this is how we do it. Here is how I see the remaining eleven matches in League one panning out. As things stand, we are in 10th place in the table and only three points off Doncaster in 5th. This is not such a bad position to be in, given our run-in, and we are nicely poised to take advantage of any slip-ups from above. We also have two games in hand on Gillingham in 9th, and Charlton in 7th, so a win on Saturday at Wigan, and we are seriously back in the mix!

It just goes to show how inconsistent this league is proving to be and perhaps the only consistent thing is its inconsistency. For example, high-flying Peterborough lost last night by Blackpool 3-1, and lowly Northampton Town defeated Oxford United 1-0 to ease their relegation worries. This has been the story of the season for most clubs. No club is impregnable. The two teams in those automatic places have lost ten games each to date, so this season is still very far from over.

Let’s have a look then at our last eleven fixtures in more detail.

March 27th Wigan (away) We have a few injury problems and absenteeism due to international call-ups, but I would still expect the Blues to come away with a victory. (3 points)

April 2nd Bristol Rovers (home) They are in a similar position to Wigan near the foot of the table, and with home advantage, we really should be winning this one too!  (3 points)

April 5th Rochdale (away) The Dale always seem to score goals, but they seem to leak far more, and that is why they are currently bottom of the league. Another away win! (3 points)

April 10th MK Dons (home) This could be a bit more tricky but with home advantage, I could see us winning four games on the bounce! Failing that, I would take a draw.  (3 points)

April 13th AFC Wimbledon (home) They lie in 23rd place in the table as things stand. Unless there is rapid improvement here, the Blues could be on a five-game winning streak! (3points)

April 17th Charlton Athletic (away) And just in case you thought I was living in dreamland, here is where I think we will suffer our first defeat. They beat us at Portman Road too. (0 points)

April 20th Northampton Town (away) They will be fighting for their lives at this stage of the season so I expect a tough affair and perhaps the same score as at Portman Road 0-0 (1 point)

April 24th AFC Wimbledon (home) This will be less than two weeks since we last played them, and I am hoping that with home advantage, we will get a similar result! (3 points)

May 1st Swindon (away) They have always been a tough nut to crack, and at home, we lost narrowly in a high scoring game. They have had a poor season so far but are on the up. (0 points)

May 4th Shrewsbury Town (away) It is never easy to predict what they might do on their home turf, and I would be happy with a point from this encounter. (1 point)

May 8th Fleetwood Town (home) If they are still within a sniff of the playoffs this game could be difficult. If we are already safely there, then this result will not matter too much. (1 point)

To recap then, we would have accumulated another 21 points, taking our total to 75 points. No side has ever made those elusive automatic promotion places with such a small points haul.

The lowest was  Doncaster Rovers in the 2007/2008 season when they accrued just 82 points.  Even though we may have won six and drawn three of our remaining matches, it would still mean that at best, we would be planning for an extended league campaign. I hope I am wrong, but these predictions were made with a fair degree of optimism in mind.

OK then, I have said what I think might happen but what about you? How do you see the rest of the season going now that we have a new man at the helm?