This season has been very inconsistent to say the least, but one major stat show just how inconsistent we have been.
Back in October we could not do anything other than lose, obviously we as fans want the win, but within that run, we couldn’t even muster a draw. More recently, we lost three on the bounce before beating Forest Green at the weekend. But looking back at our form, we either win or lose, we never draw.
Our last draw came on December 21st, away at Exeter. All season we have only drawn 6 games in the league, and I for one, feel we have missed out on lots of opportunities to hold on for a point, or fight back to get the point, that may have seen us looking closer at those play-off’s.
Time for some stats. We have got the least amount of draws in the league, levelled only by Plymouth and Swindon, both of which are fighting it out for automatic promotion. The most depressing stat is that we are 3rd highest in the losses charts, with only Stevenage and Morecambe losing more games than us. However, we are 11th in the wins chart, with the 10 above us all being in the top 10. So on that we are doing well.
We all know that we have lost far too many games this season, and just a handful of draws instead of losses would have really changed our outlook with 14 games left to play.
When we look at those games that we have drawn, there have been three 0-0’s, one against Colchester and Newport, both of which are understandable in a way, the other was a winnable game against Stevenage. 2 of the draws have been 1-1 where we have trailed, once on the opening day against FGR (unbeaten this season against the vegan army) and the other against Macclesfield. The only time we have lost a lead to draw was against Exeter, who despite their position, should not have been allowed back in that game. We have lost games where we have been in-front, but I shall save that stat for another day.
Darrell Clarke wants a promotion push for next season, and the main way to do this is obviously to win more games, but to lose less is vitally important. The 13 teams above us have lost at least 4 games less, and below us, like I said, only the bottom two have lost more. A few draws instead of losses can boost a season, we have to hold or fight for every single point if we want to get out of this division.
