sadlad

Well its getting close to the 'business end' of the season now as a lot of teams in League One thrust one concerted effort into either staying up or going up in the final few weeks of the season. In the lower reaches, Notts County have managed stage one of their 'Great Escape' by reaching the dizzy heights of 19th thanks to back to back wins over Colchester, Crewe and Carlisle, giving County fans something to cheer about. Stage two for them will be to stay out of the relegation zone. Stevenage have that doomed look about them with just one win in eight games. They have drawn too many of late and have a poor goal difference. Shrewsbury had a similar March as Stevenage with four drawn games. Crewe's misery continues with just one win from seven and Carlisle complete the last of the drop zone spots who failed to win and didn't even score in four games. Of the teams above them, Tranmere's only success was against Notts County, Colchester squeezed nine games in-but could only win one of them as did Oldham from their eight. Crawley obtained three wins and still have four games in hand over most so it looks like they could be safe-eventually. Up in 15th spot Bristol City continued their climb with four wins which included a 5-0 thumping of Port Vale. Gillingham had a steady three wins from six whilst Coventry continued their indifferent form. Moving into the top half then, Bradford City and Port Vale had mixed fortunes whilst Sheffield United continued their previous month's good form with three wins..but ended March with three defeats! MK Dons had a terrible month at home with four defeats yet obtained three away victories! The Sorry Saddlers went six games without a win then won their last two so Walsall are still chasing 6th spot. Swindon had a right old mixed bag as did Peterborough. Rotherham went from strength to strength with five great wins whilst Leyton Orient started the month off well then let it slip a bit. Brentford and Wolves still look likely to go up. Brentford still managed four wins whilst champions-elect Wolves won six from eight and nothing will surely stop them now. April should be very interesting throughout the division.

Notts County endured a disappointing February with 0-2 defeats at Preston and Wolves and a 2-3 reverse at Shrewsbury but did chalk up a 3-0 home success over Coventry City. Shrewsbury only had that win V. Notts County to shout about with a draw and two defeats to complete their month. Crewe excelled themselves with two wins which were against Sheffield United (3-0) and at Port Vale (3-1). Meanwhile Stevenage and Tranmere had similar months with both teams chalking up two wins apiece. Carlisle suffered three 1-2 defeats but managed to take three points of Bradford City and Coventry. Oldham recorded two wins and a draw but were defeated twice and Bradford City has a mixed bag by winning two, drawing two and lost two. Crawley only played two games all month which were both away due to games being postponed on their own pitch but were unbeaten with a win at Walsall and a draw at Swindon. Colchester had a quite terrible month with just one point and one goal scored in their five games. There was two wins in the month for Gillingham as was the case for Bradford City. Coventry had a bad February with just one win to show for their efforts however it was a different story for ever-improving Sheffield United with four wins from five which rightfully earned Nigel Clough the manager of the month award. Port Vale suffered a disappointing February with just a single win. Walsall played just three games which resulted in two defeats and a draw at Peterborough. Swindon could only muster a single victory from their five games and it was a mixed bag for MK Dons whilst Peterborough won two of their three games. Rotherham's fine form continued with three wins and a draw and Preston's three wins and three draws cemented their play off dream would continue. Brentford only played three games and only won the once whilst Leyton Orient stuttered a little but still secured two more wins. Wolves won their three games with out conceding a goal and look good bets for an automatic place.

Looking back over January, the foot of League One is as tight as ever, with no relegation certainties but a cluster of clubs who are in trouble as they search for improved form and more importantly results to clear away from danger a little. Stevenage were dragged into it as playing just three games in the month they secured just a single win, a somewhat surprise 2-0 win over Swindon Town. It was a terrible month for Sheffield United who in December had shown an improvement but last month saw them draw two and win two, not what manager Nigel Clough had bargained for. Notts County enjoyed wins against Sheffield United and Bradford City at home and a single goal win at Stevenage with a 3-4 defeat at Peterborough and a bizzare 1-5 thumping at home to in-form Walsall where former County players Febian Brandy (with his first senior hat trick) and Craig Westcarr tormented their previous employers. Shrewsbury Town had a rotten month with no less than four defeats and just the one success which saw the parting of the ways with manager Graham Turner. Bristol City had to make do with with just two points return from their four games which saw two 1-3 defeats. Crewe managed two wins in five against Carlisle and MK Dons to give them a welcome six points for the month whereas Carlisle's poor season continues with just one win in their four games which included a 0-4 thumping at leyton Orient. Tranmere managed a win and two draws whilst Crawley only played two games in January, both 2-2 draws. Oldham enjoyed a remarkable comeback to somehow beat Peterborough at Boundary Park by an amazing 5-4 scoreline after being 0-3 down. Colchester were unbeaten in their three games with good wins against Gillingham and Carlisle. Bradford City had to make do with three draws to go with their heavy defeat at Notts County whilst Coventry City had just the one defeat in their four games. Out of the teams in mid table Swindon continue to win at home but can't do likewise on away soil. Port Vale recorded just the one win and Gillingham and MK Dons showed indifferent form. Moving on to the clubs in the top six, Walsall had a good month with three wins and three draws the highlight being a 5-1 win at Notts County. Rotherham's season continues to roll with just the one defeat, a surprise 1-3 slip up against Coventry City. Preston and Leyton Orient continue to impress and pick up plenty of points whilst Wolves and Brentford seem to be the teams to watch out for for automatic promotion.

With the busy Christmas and New Year games schedule on the horizon it is perhaps time to look at the clubs in League One who are at the foot of the table and see who has made any green shoots of recovery and those who are seemingly in freefall. The four clubs who are presently in the dropzone are Bristol City on 15 points, then come Crewe and Notts County on 17 points with Stevenage sitting in 21st spot with 18 points. Then just six clubs are separated by two points and goal difference, with clubs facing four games over the holiday period. There could be many changes to the league table than at present, on current form Sheffield United and Notts County are the two big clubs amongst the pack who are showing positive signs that after dreadful starts-and changes of management-are getting their acts together and moving in the right direction. Since Nigel Clough took over at Bramall Lane, the Blades have been picking up a steady flow of points and have climbed up to 19th following their 1-0 win over Swindon at the weekend. Notts County, meanwhile, found results hard to come by even when Shaun Derry was given the nod to try his hand in management but Notts last two outings -a 3-1 home success over Gillingham and a superb 4-0 win at Colchester United - has given real hope to the Meadow Lane faithful. I expect both these clubs to climb steadily over the next few weeks. So who has not been doing very well? Bristol City only relegated in the summer, have had a torrid time with just two league wins in their first 20 games. That really is a poor show from the Ashton Gate men and they can only hope that new manager Steve Cotterill can produce an upturn in their fortunes. Another suprise down at the bottom is Crewe. They have managed four wins but have by the far the worst goal difference than anyone. To be on -25 at this stage is shocking but they are now two games unbeaten so maybe they are on the way up. Stevenage have only managed one win in their last five. Tranmere have suffered two bad away defeats in a row - 1-4 at Carlisle and 0-5 at Peterborough - so again they need to sort themselves out. A cluster of teams above Sheffield United have a bit of breathing space but by New Year's Day the whole picture could change and so it will be interesting to see how the bottom 10 teams are looking after the next four games.