End of 2017 Points Projection: Some thoughts.
So we are at the end of 2017 and this is how the points projection is looking. It’s very clear that things are sadly levelling off to the normal finishing position of somewhere between 12th - 9th position (if I was to guess). The average points per game have dipped below 1.5, now at 1.44, this sees a finishing points total of about 66 which is outside of the 10 year average for getting into the playoffs (73.6pts). After that initial burst of 4 wins and then a bit of a win-lose-win-lose pattern it seems to have flatlined to no real consistency. There have been good wins against the top teams such as Derby, and then some less than convincing losses, such as Derby on the return fixture!
The midfield injury nightmare doesn’t help, and the potential of losing Adam Webster for some time too is just another potential nail in the coffin for this season. There were high hopes that maybe this could be another underdog season, but right now if that was to happen it would be nothing short of a miracle. And don’t get me wrong, I’ll be over the moon if that happens, however, I just don’t see how this team can reverse its fortune having started so well.
So what do I see happening in 2018? Well, January signings need to be made in order to bolster the sparse midfield. It seems very likely this will happen, but as ever it will be the loan market. I have no problem with this, however, at this point in the season, I do wonder if loan players have the same desire to perform as well as they would over the course of a full season loan, especially at a team that probably isn’t going to be pushing for promotion. I may well be very wrong, this is just my opinion with some players I’ve seen come in on loan at various clubs. But you know what, as long as we don’t get another Leon Best character we probably won’t do too bad in finding the right players.
Ramble over. I want to see the team somehow work some magic in the New Year and go on a great run to have a push for the playoffs but ultimately I think the season will have run out of steam but the end of February and the hunt for a new manager will be well underway. If the magic does happen though, we can expect to see Mick get another 2-year deal I’m sure!
