Play-off statistics....

I thought I'd have a look at how teams who eventually finished in the 5th and 6th place play-off positions were doing over after 32 games of the season (as that's roughly where we're are now). So in the past 10 seasons after 32 games:

• 3 - The number of teams (Blackpool, Reading & Palace) who have had less points than Barnsley at this point in the season and still made the play-offs.

• 8 - The number of times teams have come from outside the top 6 to claim a play-off place.

• 44 points - The team (Reading) with fewest number of points to make a play-off position.

• Leeds & Sheff. W. - Have the most points for a 5th & 6th Place team after 32 games over the past 10 seasons.

So you might say that its statistically unlikely (read: very difficult but not impossible) for Barnsley to take a play-off place. Can lightening strike twice?


Edit: Apologies about the size of the images - forum is shrinking everything down. Ill try and link elsewhere.

 

This is the main issue for me, which I pointed out a few weeks ago. If teams carry on picking up points at the same rate until the end of the season, it'll take 78-80 points to finish 6th - the same number we finished runners up with in 1997. A few weeks ago I had us down to get 72-73 this season, but I'm pretty sure that won't be enough. Having looked at the fixtures again, in an optimistic scenario (which involves winning most of the "easy" games in the run in, I think we can go into the Newcastle game on 78.