New Year Predictions

[Gullscorer]

With 22 matches played we are almost at the half-way stage of the season and it seems an appropriate moment to take stock of the season so far and to look at the prospects for the New Year onwards.

Despite our poor results since the start of the season, if you look at the form table over the last eight games, we currently have the form of a mid-table side (http://weekendfootball.co.uk/analysis/f ... mescount=8). So I believe we can look back on the first few months of our season as history, and although he has had his critics, we should congratulate Alan Knill and the squad for surviving that period and for setting us up for a more satisfying time in 2014. If we carry on as we have been doing recently, we should easily escape the relegation zone.

Beyond our current form, if we can step up a gear by improving our confidence, teamwork and resilience in games, we might even have a chance of making a late play-off challenge. Certainly we have a long way to go to achieve that, but perhaps it's now time for us to begin looking on the bright side..

As for more immediate predictions, I know local derbies are often unpredictable, but Sunday seems an ideal time to take three points against Exeter. Their current form is woeful..!!

Apart from Exeter, Mansfield's recent form has been atrocious, as has Portsmouth's, but surely Portsmouth are too big a club to go down..?? Whether or not they are relegated, we could well be playing Luton in League Two again next season!

Argyle's recent form is even better than ours, and they will be buoyed by their Boxing Day win at Oxford, a result which matches our achievements against Southend and Dagenham. But anybody can beat anybody in League Two this season, and the match at Home Park on New Year's Day is one I'm really looking forward to.

How about you..??

[wivelgull]

A slight improvement has been noticed, but that is all. We are on track for the now all too familiar end-of-season relegation drama. One of the seasons we will lose that drama and -farewell King!

[Swanny]

I think the new look formation of 4-5-1 and with Pokey back in goal, we should concede a lot less goals. That should imply we pick up more points in the second half of the season and our goal difference does not get too much worse. However I cannot see us scoring too many either so it will be a case of grinding out enough points to survive. I think we will just survive but it will be a close call again like last season. Again, like last season I don't think we can rely on other teams to fall away so we need 50+ points. It's going to be tense and nervy again but that's nothing new following the Gulls!

[tomogull]

With 22 matches played we are almost at the half-way stage of the season and it seems an appropriate moment to take stock of the season so far and to look at the prospects for the New Year onwards.

Despite our poor results since the start of the season, if you look at the form table over the last eight games, we currently have the form of a mid-table side (http://weekendfootball.co.uk/analysis/f ... mescount=8). So I believe we can look back on the first few months of our season as history, and although he has had his critics, we should congratulate Alan Knill and the squad for surviving that period and for setting us up for a more satisfying time in 2014. If we carry on as we have been doing recently, we should easily escape the relegation zone. How about you..??

How about me? I will happily congratulate the players on recent improved and more determined performances but I will not congratulate Mr Knill. We should not be in a relegation fight - we are there because of his insistence for most of the first half of the season to play a two-man midfield when it was blatantly obvious to most of us fans that week after week we were being overrun in midfield. It is only in recent games when he has seen the light and played a three-man midfield of Mansell, Mozika, McCourt (or Craig) that we have looked like a side that won't be turned over every match. Naturally, I sincerely hope we do pull away from a relegation dog-fight but two 1 - 0 wins and a draw doesn't mean we're going to set the league alight and (quote) 'make a late dash for a play off place'.