Plymouth – 20th with 47 points from 44 matches
The signs are not good at Home Park. Manager Derek Adams has been losing popularity all season and they’re currently in disarray.
Just this week star striker Freddie Ladapo, a 26-year-old with 18 goals to his name, was left out of the squad. He apparently ‘ruled himself out’, but he took to Twitter to dispute this claiming he didn’t. It seems all is not well between manager and players, with Graham Carey and Ruben Lameiras having not signed new deals yet either.
At one stage the talented squad looked to have pulled away from trouble, but in a tight league a few bad results leave you right back in the mix. Plymouth have won one in ten and are on a run of four consecutive defeats, having conceded ten goals and scored one.
They’re out of form, low on confidence and have a tough trip to Accrington this weekend. John Coleman’s men moved on to 51 points with victory against Doncaster last night and they’re a good bet to do Plymouth, meaning it all hinges on the final game of the season.
They face Scunthorpe and the winner of that tie will most likely stay up.
Can they stay up?
It’s a case of which of the two sides are worst, not best. both teams are awful at present and Plymouth are in such a state off the field that you wouldn’t put it past them struggling to get a result.
I can see them getting one over on Scunthorpe, relegating the Iron and sadly, staying up. I say sadly because we’re bound to get them on a Tuesday night, as we did in the 2013 FA Cup replay. it’s a long way to go to get your ass handed to you 5-0. We owe them.
The last time we scored away at Plymouth was in 2001, courtesy of Gavin Gordon. The last time we won there was 1982, courtesy of Derek Bell and Gordon Hobson.
We definitely owe them.
Scunthorpe – 22nd with 46 points from 44 matches
Depending on who you ask, we either definitely want Scunthorpe in our division next season, or we want them to go down so we’re the Pride of Lincolnshire.
Personally, I fall into the latter category. I feel the Iron have spent a long while in an elevated status because of the benevolence of one man and recently they’ve become complacent. The sacking of Graham Alexander was laughable and this season, in my opinion, they’ve paid the price. I’ll not be fussed one bit if they go down, even if it means further to travel for an away day.
They’ve been utterly abysmal recently. Stuart McCall looked to be on the right track after replacing Nick Daws, who went after just four matches. The trouble with the Iron is they sold their top performers in the summer and brought in average players.
They’ve picked up six points from a possible 36, winning one and drawing three of their last 12 matches. They’ve scored three times in 643 minutes of football and have gone three matches without a goal.
To put it bluntly, they’re in the shit.
The only saving grace is they face already-relegated Bradford City this weekend, then travel to Plymouth for a real six-pointer on the final day.
Can they stay up?
I don’t think so, no. They might get a point against Bradford, but unless something changes drastically they’re going to be in League Two next season. They’re not creating, they can’t defend and that trip to Plymouth really is a winner takes all.
I can see Bradford springing a surprise too. They’re moving forward, too late of course, but Scunthorpe are going one way.
Southend – 19th with 47 points from 44 matches
Southend are a perfect example of what a basket case this league has been. They were mid table at Christmas with no thoughts of relegation, then a horrible run of 15 winless matches, during which they picked up just six points from a possible 45 saw them plunged into the bottom four.
Just when it looked as though they were doomed, they pull an Easter Monday win out of the bag, their first since January 19th. Even more remarkable was that it came against Burton Albion, who had recent derailed both Barnsley and Sunderland’s automatic promotion hopes.
Sunderland are the visitors on the final day of the season, which means there’s a lot riding on their next match with Rochdale. Dale have recently secured their League one status, or have moved on to 51 points which is pretty much safe, so whether they’re going to be easy to take or not is another issue entirely.
Remember though, both Plymouth and Scunthorpe are below the Shrimpers and therefore can’t both win that final game.
Can they stay up?
If you’d asked me on Good Friday I would have said no, but right now I think they can.
It all hinges on their match with Rochdale. If they win that, they stay up. Failure to do so gives either Plymouth, Wimbledon or Scunthorpe a lifeline.
Next page – Imps heroes could face us next season, both in the dugout and on the field.