Rightly or wrongly, I have this feeling that there are probably 24 sets of disgruntled fans in the Championship at the moment. Some, such as those at Wolves, may be at the very disgruntled end of the scale, but the fact remains that nearly every team is mixing good days with bad days.
Although the division is very close, there are only a few big movers in March. The most significant upward ones are arguably Ipswich Town, who have jumped four places and away from the bottom three, and Peterborough who have risen three places to scramble off the bottom. Birmingham, having faced a tough programme in March, have climbed six places, ending the month with a resounding win somewhere in south London.
The biggest fallers are Blackburn - they seem to be homing in like an exocet missile on relegation after dropping seven places.
The form guide reflects the mixed fortunes of most clubs. At the top, Cardiff City performed poorly against modest opposition in March whilst those big risers at Birmingham got good results against tough teams. Notts Forest continue to show good form, but for most of the rest it’s that all too familiar mixture of good and bad.
A look at the team by team form guide shows some surprises. Barnsley have now scored in their last 16 games, a streak that no other team comes near to. It’s a big week for Charlton – at present, we have the worst record in the division for the number of clean sheets at home (a feeble two) and are the only team that have not had two consecutive home wins. Charlton 5 Leeds 0, perhaps?
The next month will tell us a lot more about which sets of fans will go into May feeling disgruntled or gruntled! The table is nicely set up for a surprise or two, which is fine as long as we are not involved.
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