I Wrote It. I Stand By It???

When I was writing my preview for Birmingham City, I felt they would stay up.  This is what I wrote;


Will they go down? Probably not. But I think they will be in or near the bottom three all season, and if they survive it will be by a scant point or two, possibly even on goal difference. They will end up with a point total in the high 30's...


Currently, with two matches to go, Birmingham City are 16th.  They have 39 points, 3 above the relegation zone, and a goal difference of -18.  I get to pat myself on the back for this one.



...players, such as Christopher Samba, David Dunn, Vince Grella, and Steven Nzonzi, have to continue to perform at an extremely high level for Blackburn to be successful. If they manage to do that, 10th place. If not, 15th, or worse.


This was my verdict of Blackburn's chances, at least it was when Sam Allardyce was their manager.  Given Big Sam's strength was getting the most out of players, especially aging players, his departure certainly reduced the chances of these players performing at a high level.  As a result, Blackburn sit 15th, on 39 points.  I am beginning to plan a trip to Vegas...


...one second thought, maybe not;


I think they will put up more of a fight than Blackpool, and they might have a chance if other clubs pick up some injuries and struggle, but I can't see this team getting more than 35 points at the most, and they will probably be closer to 30.


They are currently 13th, on 43 points.  Much better than I predicted.  There is a caveat though.  I wrote;


This club has a likable, yet inexperienced manager in Roberto Di Matteo. I don't have the statistics at my fingertips, but I am fairly certain that promoted clubs led by young managers with no Premier League experience tend to have a rather steep learning curve.


When Matteo was fired, WBA sat 16th, with 26 points from 25 matches, a scant 2 points above the relegation zone.  West Brom brought in Roy Hodgson, an older experienced manager who has beat the drop before.  They have taken 17 points from the ten matches since Hodgson took over.  So I was wrong on this one, but there are extenuating circumstances.


A couple more, I thought Stoke would finish 14th, they are currently 12th.  I predicted 11th for Sunderland, and they are...11th.  Woohoo!