Form since New Year

[BillyStubbsTears]

h/t to Dickos for pointing out some of this a couple of weeks back.

In 2026, we've had just about the most representative run of matches you could design.

7 at home, 6 away
7 against top half, 6 against bottom half.

Played 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th from top. Played 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th from bottom.

Form over those matches is:

P13 W6 D3 L4 GF17 GA19 PTS21 PPG 1.615 equivalent to 74 points over a season.

So, despite losing our new first choice striker and our best defender of the first half of the season, we've been in clear playoff form for over a quarter of the season.

It feels to me like some of the players have finally realised they can match most opponents at this level. I'm starting to feel good about our chances next year.

[GazLaz]

Don’t think you are getting 74 points in a season conceding 67 goals and scoring 60 (by your logic).

[Fal]

So in effect...

Automatic promotion form up to the middle of september
Relegation form up to New Years Day
Play off form in 2026

Makes you realise how bad that poor run of form was.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Don’t think you are getting 74 points in a season conceding 67 goals and scoring 60 (by your logic).

Don’t think you are getting 74 points in a season conceding 67 goals and scoring 60 (by your logic).

You are if you win 6 and draw 3 of every 13 games, irrespective of how badly you lose in the other 4

[adamtherover]

Don’t think you are getting 74 points in a season conceding 67 goals and scoring 60 (by your logic).

didnt huddersfield get promoted a while back with a negative goal diff?

[IDM]

Points make prizes. !!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

You only have to look at the current league table to see goal difference being very poor, nearer even values, outside the top three.

Most likely supporting the notion anyone can beat anyone.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Update: 2026 form

7 at home, 7 away
8 against top half, 6 against bottom half.

Played 2nd, 3rdx2, 4th and 7th from top. Played 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th from bottom.

Form over those matches is:

P14 W6 D4 L4 GF17 GA19 PTS22 PPG 1.57 equivalent to 72 points over a season.

Another showing tonight where the lads look like they believe in themselves.

[Chris Black come back]

And when we play players in positions that actually suit them.

[selby]

  As long as Byrne and Pearson and Bailey as back up stay fit we should be OK then.

[McCammon egg n chips]

It's funny, when people extrapolate from a bad set of results (like the relegation form pre-Christmas) they are absolutely lambasted.

Way I see it you go through ups and downs in any season. And you shouldn't pick and choose "runs" based on arbitrary dates.

Some days we look a decent side and can hold our own. Other times, we don't have much about us. Don't think it tells all that much about next season...

[BillyStubbsTears]

Update: 2026 form

P15 W7 D4 L4 GF18 GA19 PTS25 PPG 1.67 equivalent to 77 points over a season.

Another game where we've looked like a comfortable top 10 side.

McCammon. Point taken but with respect this isn't an arbitrary choice of date. It's our form since the transfer window opened and McCann was able to address the clear mistakes he made last summer. If we want to be strictly rigorous, I'd actually say to make the cut off matches since 17th Jan, which was our first league game after we made January signings. Since then, we've won 24 points in 14 games which is equivalent to 79 points over a season - clear playoff form for a third of a season since we sorted out the squad failings.

[Bessie Red]

Since the game against Bolton at home (01.01.26) we have picked up 25 points. If the table started on 01.01.26 we would be in the last play off place. That demonstrates clearly the change in form since 2025.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Update: 2026 form

P16 W8 D4 L4 GF19 GA19 PTS28 PPG 1.75 equivalent to 80.5 points over a season.

This is turning into a very, very good sustained spell. There's a good few players have come of age this past 3 months. I thought Bailey had possibly his most anonymous game in all the time he's been with us tonight. And we still dominated them.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Here's a thought.

If we'd been given that penalty at Stevenage when their defender shoved Hanlan into the next postcode, we could have been 7 points off the playoffs tonight with 7 games left.

[adamtherover]

Here's a thought.

If we'd been given that penalty at Stevenage when their defender shoved Hanlan into the next postcode, we could have been 7 points off the playoffs tonight with 7 games left.

i think you mean 8 pts off..we drew that game..?

[StocksArmy]

Here's a thought.

If we'd been given that penalty at Stevenage when their defender shoved Hanlan into the next postcode, we could have been 7 points off the playoffs tonight with 7 games left.

I’m still kicking the dog after dropping the 3-0 lead to Wigan.

[danumdon]

I'm just now thinking where we could have been if the young Everton loanee Francis had stayed fit, he showed sparks of being an intelligent footballer with an eye for being in the right position. Our good form since xmas has just lacked a true line leader, with more than the odd goal in him.

Just think where we could have been now with an ounce more luck?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Here's a thought.

If we'd been given that penalty at Stevenage when their defender shoved Hanlan into the next postcode, we could have been 7 points off the playoffs tonight with 7 games left.

i think you mean 8 pts off..we drew that game..?

2 points more to us. 1 point fewer to them. They are currently in 6th place.

[adamtherover]

Of course, my mistake.#schoolboyerror

[drfcsteve]

I'm just now thinking where we could have been if the young Everton loanee Francis had stayed fit, he showed sparks of being an intelligent footballer with an eye for being in the right position. Our good form since xmas has just lacked a true line leader, with more than the odd goal in him.

Just think where we could have been now with an ounce more luck?

Lots of what ifs. Where would we be if McCann dropped McGrath sooner? Even better where would we be if we’d kept O’Riordan. What if Gotts had been played in his best position all season? What if we’d not binned off Hanlan and persisted with Sharp up front on his own for so many games?

[LincsRover]

What if grant gets a Christmas tree and all the trimmings up in July and we play from the start how we finish each season - nailed on for automatic promotion.

 

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Play offs!? Who said play offs?

Many combinations, including us winning every remaining game, would have to fall into place for us to pull off another miracle.

By comparison to our record run after 39 games...

Then
P39 W15 D7 L17 PTS 52 Position 15th
Gap to play off place 10 pts

Now
P39 W14 D8 L17 PTS 50 Position 15th
Gap to play offs 10pts

Remarkably similar again. The equation is quite simple but it would also need a catastrophic loss of form of some other teams higher up.

[turnbull for england]

It couldn't could it?   Twice in a lifetime

[IDM]

No..  especially considering the playoffs end at 6th and not 7th place (yes I know we finished 5th) and I don’t think 71 points would be enough.

I’ll be very pleased if our end of season points total starts with a 6..  mind you, I said that that season too.!

[Janso]

Happy to eat bull b*llocks but there's no realistic chance of a repeat.

[colincramb]

We are essentially 11 points behind with GD and 6th has a game in hand. So gap could be essentially 14 with 7 games to go. It’s a non starter

[BigH]

This season isn’t proving too dissimilar to 2017/18 under Ferguson.

Then, after 39 games, we had 50 points and sat in 14th place. We went on to win one and draw 3 of the final seven games.

That season we also flirted with the bottom four. We didn’t score a right lot of goals but were tighter defensively. Certainly didn’t get tonked in the way we have been against Orient, Cardiff and Wycombe.

If it plays out as in 17/18 we’d end up on 56 points in 15th place.