 Friday, 28th Oct 2011 09:51 The first of two vital games for Saints I have always maintained that promotion is won by a two points per game average, Ok its not an exact science, but truth be told if you stick to that target it would be a rare season when it didnt see a club automatically promoted. Now Saints have to beat Middlesbrough at home to keep up that average overall and indeed over the past six games, current form is the most realistic guide of how well a team is playing, the last six games is the usual parameter for this and it shows exactly what sort of form a team is in at present. Saints are a good case of this, they sit top of the league three points clear of the chasing pack but the reason for this is in the first six not the last. In the first six games Saints earned 15 points, well ahead of that two point average, but in the last six, we have only put 9 points on the table, and when taken across the division as a whole we are only 9th in the current form guide. What that tells us is that something has to change otherwise the descent down a table wont just be in current form but in the actual league table itself, it seems some Saints fans can see no further than top of the table and the fact that we are there and are not interested in current form. A closer look at those six games also makes worrying reading, initially it doesnt look two bad, nine goals scored in those six games, but four of those were scored against Watford and in the other five games we have managed just a solitary goal in each of the games, all of which West ham aside have come late or fairly late in the game as we have been forced to chase it. On a more positive note it could be said that with four of those six games being away, that we didnt do too badly in the circumstances and to a degree I could agree with that, especially when you look at the sides that we have played, however our away form is worrying and we need to address it. The next six games on paper look a lot easier, four of them are at home and only two away and those against sides that sit in the bottom four, so we have the opportunity to make up the ground we have lost in the last tranche of games, the task therefore is simple, if we score 15 points from the next six games, not only will we have redressed the balance and kept up a two points per game average over the past 12 games but we will almost certainly still be top and more importantly probably opened up a big gap between us and third place. Nigel Adkins will know the importance of current form and will know you ignore it at your peril, the bottom half of any table is full of managers giving quotes about how unlucky his team has been and how its not representative of how the team plays, the top half is full of teams who remain focused to the task in hand and quietly go about the job of grinding out results and mainaining that two points per game average. If we hit those five wins out of the next six games then we will be capitalising on our great start, if we only get another 9 points out of six games then that great start to the season will have been wasted, promotion is well within our capabilities, the threat of West Ham is very real, with all the money they have spent, if they get their managerial appointment right then Leicester could well be steaming up behind us like a train, lets put the pressure on them now. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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