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| Sun 18th Mar 2001 - The promotion race | |
| March Headlines |
Is the finishing line in sight? I think so, I don't want to count any chickens yet
but lets take a look at the run in. I think City will be easily promoted on 83 points. We are currently on 71, so 12 points needed in 9 games. 4 wins, thats it. To make sense of that lets go through the challengers one by one, then you will see how difficult it will be for the chasing pack to catch us. Because of the great goal difference we have any team will need to get a point more than us to get higher. So if City win 4 games from the last 9, (five of them are against teams in the bottom 9 of the division, and 4 games are at home) we will be on 83 points, the others will need 84 points to keep us out. Can they get 84 points? CHESTERFIELD. The league leaders, currently on 81 points with 8 games to go. Not allowing for their off field problems they will comfortably reach 84 points. Chesterfield to get automatic promotion. (League action excluded). CARDIFF. Second place on 71 points. Four wins from nine games will give City 83 points enough to go up in my opinion. BRIGHTON. Third place, joint on points with Cardiff but with 10 games to go. They need 4 wins and a draw to get 84 points. I don't think they will struggle and they will reach the target and join Chesterfield and City as the automatically promoted teams. HARTLEPOOL. Fourth at the moment, 61 points with nine games to go. They need 23 points to make it upto 84, thats either 8 wins (85 pts) or 7 wins and two draws, a tall order considering they have dropped a few points recently. BLACKPOOL. Fifth at the moment, 59 points with 10 games to play. They need 25 points, that 9 wins (27 pts) or 8 wins and a draw. Again a very tall order. LEYTON ORIENT. Sixth, 56 points with 10 games to go, 28 points needed, 10 wins (30 pts) or 9 wins and a draw. Now it getting to impossible levels. HULL CITY. Seventh, 55 points with 9 games to go. If they win them all they can only get to 82 points. No hopers. CHELTENHAM and SCUNTHORPE in 8th and 9th cannot get to 84 points either. ROCHDALE. Tenth at the moment. 52 points with 12 games to go, 11 wins will get them to 85 points. Come on, theres no way they will do that. So to summarize I predict that if City win 4 more games they will get promoted. In reality it would probably take less. Several of these teams have to face each other and points will be lost by all these teams. I am willing to stick my neck out and say we will be chasing the Championship for the last 3 games of the season as I reckon by then we will be promoted. Chesterfield are 10 points ahead of us, we have one game in hand and entertain the Spirites on Easter Monday, they can be caught. |
Copyright Michael Morris 2001.