Stacey West Predictions – How Did You Do?

At the beginning of the season, you may recall, we did the prediction league, looking at where teams might finish this season.

The article that gave the overview is here, but I’m sad to say as a collective, we did poorly. Of the two automatic spots, we got one right, and we got it spot on – Ipswich to finish second. However, we had Sheff Weds as champions, and they’re having to fight through the play-offs.

Speaking of the play-offs, we predicted Peterborough, Derby, Portsmouth and MK Dons – that didn’t work out so well for three of those teams. Posh qualified, and to be fair, we had Bolton and Barnsley in seventh and eighth, so we were on the right track. We got Plymouth, deserving champions, in 13th, and shockingly, nobody predicted they’d go up as title winners.

At the bottom, we did just as badly. We predicted Port Vale, Fleetwood, and Cheltenham to go down, none of which did. We did get Morecambe, although as a collective, we had them finishing bottom of the table, not 22nd as they did. We had Forest Green 20th, Accrington 15th, and MK Dons sixth. As for the Imps, we had ourselves 14th.

Who performed the best out of you lot? Well, there is a margin for error as I’ve been working things out using Excel and different colours, but Swiss Imp, Frankie Volley, and Andy Bulley all got three teams spot on – now, I’ve only worked this out using the top six, bottom four, and Lincoln. I can’t go into who got 14th right, for instance, so the maximum score would be 11. A further 11 of you got two spot-on. For each of those, I’ve awarded two points.

It’s also worth mentioning those who got the right team promoted or relegated, just in the wrong positions. Hats off to Pete Summers (typical), who was the only person to get both automatic spots right, just the wrong way around. Altogether, he got five outcomes right, joined by Roy Thomson and Chris Steadman; A further seven of you got four.

Swiss Imp and Gerry Brown deserve a special mention for getting the Imps in 11th.

Based on my points system, one for an outcome, and two for perfect, Andy Bulley is the winner, with nine points. Andy got Barnsley (4th), Morecambe (22nd), and Forest Green (24th) right, with Ipswich promoted and both Bolton and Posh in his play-off mix. The second place goes to Harry Winkworth, Peter Grant, Jo, Hugh MacPherson, and Swiss Imp.

As for me, it’s a pitiful finish, I’m afraid. I was 44th out of 56, with just three outcomes right – Sheff Weds in the play-offs and Morecambe going down with Forest Green. A big shout out to Robert Haddon and Tyler Baker, with just one right each.