ucandomagic
Well-Known Member
First of all Sydie Peck!!
When Blaster came to sit by us in the South Stand with a support boot on and told us about doing his ankle in training we thought here we go again -Shirecliffe Sniper! But whoever put the 21’s team together that brought Blaster, Peck and Brooks through deserves to double whatever they are paid. Peck was just Blaster in disguise! Brooks was better than JRS again although, ironically, JRS’s best moment was just before he was taken off – setting up Alfie G, I think, for a good shot on target.
Generally, another highly professional win all round - 4 wins and 2 draws now - Anel and Souttar are like a brick wall and Gus is a shooting machine. I watched him warm up before the game and he put 10 in a row past the keeper. He needs to explain to Kieffer Moore that Number 9 is allowed to shoot as well!! I understand the value of a big outball target-man, who can hold the ball up and lay it off, but I wish he would pull the trigger more often himself. Souttar was built to be a Blade – it feels as though, Gulliver-like, the Earth shakes when he pounds forwards!
So 3 clean sheets in a row - won 4 drawn 2 - what do the graphs and charts look like?
Graph 1 compares our progress against 3 benchmark sets of results. I've taken each match and created 3 sets of results to achieve 3 points totals, which should represent Automatic Promotion, Playoff Certainty and Playoff Possibility. My benchmarks take account of who our opponents are each week. Compared to my benchmarks we are exactly on my 12- Point target at this stage for Automatic Promotion. 12 points from 6 games with a 2-point deduction is a tremendous start.
Graph 1:
You may have noticed an additional line on Graph1. Last week mattbianco1 and ThirdGenBlade asked me to include our city rivals’ results on this graph. Clearly they are wallowing in the mire at present, well below any Playoff Possible line! (Happy as Pigs in Shit?!)
Graph 2 compares this season against our last 3 successful promotions from this level (all in second place), in 2005/06, 2018/19 and 2022/23. These earlier season results are the results from the same game day – not the same opponents. On 12 points (even with a 2-point deduction) we are level with the 12 points that we had in 2018/19 under Wilder. We are now 1 point ahead of Hecky in 22/23 and still 3 points behind Warnock in 05/06.
Graph 2:
Next, the coloured annotated up-to-date League Table, which highlights where our strengths and weaknesses are against opponents’ league positions. (I’ve posted this before the Sunday game between Preston and Blackburn). Blades are in 4th and, without the deduction, we would actually be 3rd, just 2 points off the top. Let’s hope Hecky’s Preston can stop Blackburn from sneaking above us in Sunday’s game.
League Table:
I previously posted my predicted league positions for the end of the season. I am now posting a review of my performance each week in the form of each team’s current position relative to my end of season forecast position – this may be an indication of a team’s over/under performance, or it may just be an indication of my ineptitude as a forecaster! (Melbourne Blade and jono_t2000 asked me to include my pre-season prediction table as well and that is also included below).
Over/Under Performance Tables:
Oxford, Blackburn and Derby continue to be the most over-achievers compared to my predictions – but we certainly clipped the Rams’ horns a little and reduced the size of that overachievement!
I have also been asked to do a regular review of performance and position against XG stats, which I will post on Tuesday evening again, after all the data is in.
So another great week, which showed the depth of quality in our developing squad.
Speaking of depth - most of my 100-mile drive home would have been better performed in a submarine!
UTB & Slava Ukraini!
When Blaster came to sit by us in the South Stand with a support boot on and told us about doing his ankle in training we thought here we go again -Shirecliffe Sniper! But whoever put the 21’s team together that brought Blaster, Peck and Brooks through deserves to double whatever they are paid. Peck was just Blaster in disguise! Brooks was better than JRS again although, ironically, JRS’s best moment was just before he was taken off – setting up Alfie G, I think, for a good shot on target.
Generally, another highly professional win all round - 4 wins and 2 draws now - Anel and Souttar are like a brick wall and Gus is a shooting machine. I watched him warm up before the game and he put 10 in a row past the keeper. He needs to explain to Kieffer Moore that Number 9 is allowed to shoot as well!! I understand the value of a big outball target-man, who can hold the ball up and lay it off, but I wish he would pull the trigger more often himself. Souttar was built to be a Blade – it feels as though, Gulliver-like, the Earth shakes when he pounds forwards!
So 3 clean sheets in a row - won 4 drawn 2 - what do the graphs and charts look like?
Graph 1 compares our progress against 3 benchmark sets of results. I've taken each match and created 3 sets of results to achieve 3 points totals, which should represent Automatic Promotion, Playoff Certainty and Playoff Possibility. My benchmarks take account of who our opponents are each week. Compared to my benchmarks we are exactly on my 12- Point target at this stage for Automatic Promotion. 12 points from 6 games with a 2-point deduction is a tremendous start.
Graph 1:
You may have noticed an additional line on Graph1. Last week mattbianco1 and ThirdGenBlade asked me to include our city rivals’ results on this graph. Clearly they are wallowing in the mire at present, well below any Playoff Possible line! (Happy as Pigs in Shit?!)
Graph 2 compares this season against our last 3 successful promotions from this level (all in second place), in 2005/06, 2018/19 and 2022/23. These earlier season results are the results from the same game day – not the same opponents. On 12 points (even with a 2-point deduction) we are level with the 12 points that we had in 2018/19 under Wilder. We are now 1 point ahead of Hecky in 22/23 and still 3 points behind Warnock in 05/06.
Graph 2:
Next, the coloured annotated up-to-date League Table, which highlights where our strengths and weaknesses are against opponents’ league positions. (I’ve posted this before the Sunday game between Preston and Blackburn). Blades are in 4th and, without the deduction, we would actually be 3rd, just 2 points off the top. Let’s hope Hecky’s Preston can stop Blackburn from sneaking above us in Sunday’s game.
League Table:
I previously posted my predicted league positions for the end of the season. I am now posting a review of my performance each week in the form of each team’s current position relative to my end of season forecast position – this may be an indication of a team’s over/under performance, or it may just be an indication of my ineptitude as a forecaster! (Melbourne Blade and jono_t2000 asked me to include my pre-season prediction table as well and that is also included below).
Over/Under Performance Tables:
Oxford, Blackburn and Derby continue to be the most over-achievers compared to my predictions – but we certainly clipped the Rams’ horns a little and reduced the size of that overachievement!
I have also been asked to do a regular review of performance and position against XG stats, which I will post on Tuesday evening again, after all the data is in.
So another great week, which showed the depth of quality in our developing squad.
Speaking of depth - most of my 100-mile drive home would have been better performed in a submarine!
UTB & Slava Ukraini!
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