Town fan Nick Judd is starting to get that sinking feeling...
If you fancy a punt, stick your money on Swindon Town to get relegated this season.
There are an increasingly large number of Town fans doing exactly that, and playing a âÂÂcash in on relegationâ game, whereby we bet on the opposition to win each week (starting with ã10) in an attempt to cheer ourselves up and possibly raise some much needed funds for players next season
ItâÂÂs thanks to the Red Army Fund, money raised by supporters, that the Robins managed to sign defender Gordon Greer until the end of the season.
You may think itâÂÂs pessimistic to believe Swindon are gone with 11 games to play, and youâÂÂd be right.
"Doomed, we're all doomed"
But this isnâÂÂt a case of Robins fan thinking our glass is half empty â there are still many who feel that because we are yet to play eight teams around us, our destiny is in our own hands.
Statisitics show that we have the worst record in the division against sides in the bottom half of the table. Slightly worrying when you consider our run in feature nine such encounters.
We play Leeds on Saturday, with logic suggesting weâÂÂll get nothing at Elland Road given their form and the fact theyâÂÂve won 12 of 19 games against teams in the bottom half of the table.
While the next nine games read as follows: Southend (11th), Hereford (23rd), Northampton (18th), Yeovil (20th), Crewe (19th), Brighton (22nd), Leyton Orient (17th), Carlisle (16th) and Bristol Rovers (14th).
YouâÂÂll find that in our previous 14 games against team in the bottom half weâÂÂve won just 14 points (three wins and five draws). ThatâÂÂs one point per game, a run of form that - if repeated - will see us playing Barnet and Bournemouth next year, not Bristol Rovers.
In fact, a look at how weâÂÂve got on against the teams weâÂÂre yet to play in the first half of the season is even more concerning (see below)... weâÂÂve won just 10 points.
When I looked at the fixture list in December, when it was becoming clearer weâÂÂd be more embroiled in matters at the bottom than the top, I didnâÂÂt fancy having to go to Peterborough on the last day of the season needing to win. Posh, of course, occupy one of the automatic promotion spots.
Peterborough: Where the sun will set on Swindon's survival bid?
Yet given our record against the top sides would put us 15th in the table â and that arguably one of our best performances of the season came against high-flying MK Dons last weekend â I think IâÂÂd rather take on the big boys rather than those scrapping around us at the moment.
We love playing the role of the underdog and not the lead role, when weâÂÂre expected to take the initiative. ItâÂÂs always been like this, too. WeâÂÂre notoriously better against the top sides. HereâÂÂs hoping itâÂÂs not a case of history repeating itselfâ¦
Upcoming fixtures... (thanks to Rich P)
March 14: Leeds [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 1-3 Leeds
March 17: Southend [H]
Reverse fixture: Southend 2-1 Swindon
March 21: Hereford [H]
Reverse fixture: Hereford 1-1 Swindon
March 24: Northampton [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 2-1 Northampton
March 28: Yeovil [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 2-3 Yeovil
April 4: Crewe [H]
Reverse fixture: Crewe 1-0 Swindon
April 11: Brighton [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 0-2 Brighton
April 13: Leyton Orient [H]
Reverse fixture: Orient 1-2 Swindon
April 18: Carlisle [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 1-1 Carlisle
April 25: Bristol Rovers [H]
Reverse fixture: Rovers 2-2 Swindon
May 2: Peterborough [A]
Reverse fixture: Swindon 1-1 Peterborough
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