“I don’t care if we don’t win a game, as long as we have a bloody good go!” I was that guy last summer - then we had that start to the season, and we all began to wonder what might be possible.
Regardless of Saturday’s perhaps inevitable defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley (aka The Christopher Schindler wonderland) things are looking pretty good.
After 29 games we find ourselves outside the relegation places, having averaged just over a point a game. All this despite predictions pre-season that we’d break Derby County’s unenviable record and gain the fewest points of any team in Premier League history.
Put simply, our fate is in our hands, with nine games to go. If you’d have said this to a neutral before the start of the season, the majority would have laughed at you or asked you if you’d suffered a recent head trauma.
So, with 30 points on the board, and 27 still to play for, what can we expect? Our fixtures (as if you need me to tell you) are:
I look at this list and I see nine games we can expect points from. Here’s why (with my prediction):
Swansea City – they’re on good form but so are we. If we play at our best, we can expect something from the game. 1 point.
Crystal Palace – we beat them away and they’re in bad form, missing key players. 3 points.
Newcastle United – we beat them at home this year, away last year. We know them well. 1 point.
Brighton & Hove Albion – we’ve beaten them the last two times we’ve faced them. Tricky away fixture though. 1 point.
Watford – we beat them convincingly away, and if we get at them, should win. 3 points.
Chelsea – Antonio Conte seems to be trying to get sacked. Plus, I’m in London to run the marathon that weekend, so a good omen. (Yes, I’m clutching at straws a bit) 1 point.
Everton – Their away form is a disgrace, given their squad. 3 points.
Manchester City – They’ll have won the league and will have an eye on the last part of their treble. 1 point.
Arsenal – Wagner > Wenger. Anything Brighton can do…. 3 points.
Somehow, I’m predicting 17 points from the last 27 and a nine match unbeaten run.
I’m beginning to question my own sanity, and realise I am now open to massive ridicule. This is clearly a flight of fancy, and will never happen….
But then again, we were going to get relegated last year, weren’t we? And then we were going to miss out on the play offs… then blow the final… then we’d be down before the Christmas tree….
You never know….UTT
Graeme has been a Town fan since the "Young Guns" promotion season 2003/4, and enjoys attending games with his father-in-law, Richard, and his eight-year-old son, Archie (who is regularly warned that "it won't always be this good" and reminded that "you don't know you're born, son").
Graeme is running this year's London Marathon to raise funds for Cancer Research in memory of his mum and to celebrate his wife beating cancer last year. If you want to sponsor him then visit his Just Giving Fundraising Page .
