Ian Royal I think I'm right in saying that excluding Those Games, our best 8 game form this season was 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. So that was a pretty dramatic improvement.
If we'd just lost one and drawn one in that run... which would still have given us the best run of form all season, we'd have been relying on our GD to make it into the play offs. Match our previous best form and we'd be in 8th on 68... exactly where a lot of people were saying we were most likely to finish.
Personally I am delighted to be proved wrong, but just outside the play offs really was the most sensible place to expect us to finish based on the majority of our season. Just shows what a huge impact a good run of wins can have, changing a season from one of not quite there disappointment, to playing Premier League football next season (possibly).
You weren't just a little bit wrong, Ian. You got 10/12 WRONG, that's 83.33% completely wrong
and your predictions had us tenth, a fair way off the play-offs.
If all there was to forecasting was saying, "Oh we averaged X points per game for the last 34 games
and we'll do exactly the same for the last 12 games" life wouldn't be very interesting, would it?
We could stop the title race after 23 games and just double everyone's points.
A lot of people MAY have agreed with you, but others looked beyond the mere averages.
They saw.
Elwood solidifying the midfield and helping defence, improving every game.
Elwood allowing us to play 4-4-2, at which we are better.
Elwood bringing out the best in Karacan.
Noel Hunt improving, getting fitter, ready to score more goals.
Shane Long getting better and better, scoring more goals
The Long-Hunt partnership becoming a very good partnership likely to increase the goals scored by both.
The purchase of Manset increasing competition for places and giving us something different.
The return of Zurab.
Competition for the keeper's jersey making both keeps' step up their game.
The simple fact we had played a lot of the best sides, had got both games v QPR and Swansea and Norwich and Cardiff out of the way.
the fact that our closet rivals were weakening, Leeds erratic, Forest on an appalling run (meaning we had great chances of points off them)