Recovered from yesterday? Neither have I. The Premier League season concluded yesterday in the fashion that nobody really expected. I don't want to delve in too much on how brilliant top flight until the second part of this mini-series of blog posts but for those who have been faithful readers to "The World as I see it", cast your minds back eleven months ago when the football league fixtures were announced for the 2011/12 season. I immediately thought I would be Jonathan Cainer for four blog posts and see how well, or not so well I'd predict each football league table. Here is how I did:
League Two
It is very clear of the predictions I have right and the others completely wrong - more of the latter. One which is clearly different is Plymouth Argyle. I underestimated the situation there and should have realised that being in the red financially can affect the morale of a football club. They almost suffered a triple relegation after going down two divisions in consecutive seasons. They managed to have survived but only by a very small margin. Which way would they be going next year, your guess is better than mine but I'd say now that they have survived and will be playing in the football league next season, they would be higher than 21st. May not be as high as first but more towards mid-table would be realistic.
Bradford City finished lower than I predicted and same applied to Cheltenham Town, Hereford and Macclesfield where the both latter teams relegated but a team which has surprised me, in a good way, is Crawley Town who have promoted to League One after being in the football league for just one season. It comes as a habit now as teams in the past such as Rushden and Diamonds, Stevenage and now Crawley have fled the non-football league nest and are excelling. Stevenage this year is competing in the play-offs in League One and I could see Crawley doing the same thing. Their manager departing six weeks ago to join Rotherham bothered them a lot and that does not surprise me but they've defied all odds and deserve promotion - same applies to Shrewsbury and Swindon Town too. Swindon, I did predict to promote and they did it in style finishing the season with 93 points. Manager Paolo Di Canio has ensured them to be in the headlines after his side beat Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup and we have all enjoyed his mini rants.
Port Vale has had an unfortunate season. This season has seen their finances getting the better of them and consequently entered administration and ten points were taken off them. My predictions could not be able to detect that but if it did, the side would have finished in 18th, and not 14th. The biggest shame is that I hadn't got any teams correct with regards to positioning. I usually get at least one which I am pleased with but it shows how unpredictable League Two can be.
Championship
The Championship never disappoints. It has been regarded one of the most popular and talked about leagues in Europe and that is hardly a surprise. There were some outstanding additions to the league this season with West Ham relegating from the Premier League while Southampton promoted from League One. I said they would both do very well and didn't they just? Southampton have done one better than I thought as they managed to produce a fantastic double promotion. West Ham finished third but when writing this, they are to compete in the play-off final against Blackpool.
My top six have generally been correct with the exception of Blackpool, in which I underestimated them by a long way and Leeds United, whom I thought would perform very well but they have struggled this season. They fired their manager, Simon Grayson when they were close to the play-off places and hired Neil Warnock. He is a perfectly capable manager with a superb reputation but he was given the job at the wrong time which showed as they slipped to 14th. Next season, I can see Warnock doing what he did with QPR and Sheffield United in the past and get them in the promotion places.
At the bottom, it might have been on the cards to see Doncaster struggle and Coventry to go down (as I correctly predicted), it was hard and upsetting to believe the misfortunes of Portsmouth. Like Port Vale, Pompey suffered a ten point deduction as they entered administration. If this didn't happen, Portsmouth in reality would have been safe and not be playing in League One next season but unfortunately for them, it is the case. They are no strangers to this as they were in the same situation in 2010 which saw their time at the top flight numbered. In the case of my predictions, the ten points docked meant they would be 12th and not 11th.
With regards to the positions, I fared better in the Championship. I correctly said Middlesbrough would finish 7th but I gave them four points more than what they actually had. In other places, I was close such as Peterborough. They finished 18th but I said they would finish 17th. Same applies with Ipswich where one position made the difference and Derby County where I said they would be 11th (as Portsmouth had the deduction in points) but they finished 12th.
Next season should be a fine season in the Championship. We would be looking forward to see Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers seeing life in the second tier for the first time in a very long time. They would be playing games we would not expect to see at that level. As a Cardiff fan myself, seeing them travel to the Welsh capital may feel like a Premier League game. Unfortunately, it would not be the case. Also with Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday returning to the Championship, next season would be the closest yet.
Part two of this mini-series would show my prediction performances in League One and the Premiership. This is expected to be released by the end of the week.
League Two
 |
| (Image: BBC Football) |
It is very clear of the predictions I have right and the others completely wrong - more of the latter. One which is clearly different is Plymouth Argyle. I underestimated the situation there and should have realised that being in the red financially can affect the morale of a football club. They almost suffered a triple relegation after going down two divisions in consecutive seasons. They managed to have survived but only by a very small margin. Which way would they be going next year, your guess is better than mine but I'd say now that they have survived and will be playing in the football league next season, they would be higher than 21st. May not be as high as first but more towards mid-table would be realistic.Bradford City finished lower than I predicted and same applied to Cheltenham Town, Hereford and Macclesfield where the both latter teams relegated but a team which has surprised me, in a good way, is Crawley Town who have promoted to League One after being in the football league for just one season. It comes as a habit now as teams in the past such as Rushden and Diamonds, Stevenage and now Crawley have fled the non-football league nest and are excelling. Stevenage this year is competing in the play-offs in League One and I could see Crawley doing the same thing. Their manager departing six weeks ago to join Rotherham bothered them a lot and that does not surprise me but they've defied all odds and deserve promotion - same applies to Shrewsbury and Swindon Town too. Swindon, I did predict to promote and they did it in style finishing the season with 93 points. Manager Paolo Di Canio has ensured them to be in the headlines after his side beat Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup and we have all enjoyed his mini rants.
Port Vale has had an unfortunate season. This season has seen their finances getting the better of them and consequently entered administration and ten points were taken off them. My predictions could not be able to detect that but if it did, the side would have finished in 18th, and not 14th. The biggest shame is that I hadn't got any teams correct with regards to positioning. I usually get at least one which I am pleased with but it shows how unpredictable League Two can be.
Championship
 |
| (Image: BBC Football) |
My top six have generally been correct with the exception of Blackpool, in which I underestimated them by a long way and Leeds United, whom I thought would perform very well but they have struggled this season. They fired their manager, Simon Grayson when they were close to the play-off places and hired Neil Warnock. He is a perfectly capable manager with a superb reputation but he was given the job at the wrong time which showed as they slipped to 14th. Next season, I can see Warnock doing what he did with QPR and Sheffield United in the past and get them in the promotion places.
At the bottom, it might have been on the cards to see Doncaster struggle and Coventry to go down (as I correctly predicted), it was hard and upsetting to believe the misfortunes of Portsmouth. Like Port Vale, Pompey suffered a ten point deduction as they entered administration. If this didn't happen, Portsmouth in reality would have been safe and not be playing in League One next season but unfortunately for them, it is the case. They are no strangers to this as they were in the same situation in 2010 which saw their time at the top flight numbered. In the case of my predictions, the ten points docked meant they would be 12th and not 11th.With regards to the positions, I fared better in the Championship. I correctly said Middlesbrough would finish 7th but I gave them four points more than what they actually had. In other places, I was close such as Peterborough. They finished 18th but I said they would finish 17th. Same applies with Ipswich where one position made the difference and Derby County where I said they would be 11th (as Portsmouth had the deduction in points) but they finished 12th.
Next season should be a fine season in the Championship. We would be looking forward to see Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers seeing life in the second tier for the first time in a very long time. They would be playing games we would not expect to see at that level. As a Cardiff fan myself, seeing them travel to the Welsh capital may feel like a Premier League game. Unfortunately, it would not be the case. Also with Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday returning to the Championship, next season would be the closest yet.
Part two of this mini-series would show my prediction performances in League One and the Premiership. This is expected to be released by the end of the week.
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