lost that loving feeling - And so, the end is near...

It’s quite amazing to look at the fixture list and see there are only seven games to go, and probably two wins out of those will perhaps possibly see us safe. Then we look at the opponents – the old enemy Sheffield United head up the list and realistically I fear the worst from our imminent visit to Bramall Lane. But having said that, fearing the worst isn’t exactly an alien emotion for me at the moment (although I did think Crewe would beat us, but do have a winning betting slip in my pocket for correctly predicting the score – how’s that for schizophrenia?!).

Casting my eye down our remaining fixtures the picture doesn’t look much brighter – however, if you wrestle with fixtures for long enough, then you can convolute your way to something to cheer you up. Whilst many of our relegation-fodder compadres have what on paper look to be easier fixtures, they’re all against each other – or teams pushing for play-off/automatic places.

Sheffield United certainly falls into the category of pushing for promotion. The Blunts’ results have been somewhat shoddy of late, which, of course, means they’ll perform well just to get on my nerves. Stoke are just about out of the play-off hunt now, and not threatened by relegation – which could be interpreted as not having anything to play for now.

Preston are in a similar boat to Stoke, although the trip there is hardly likely to be easy. Millwall are firm play-off contenders and on great form so their visit to the City Ground, along with their charming followers, is likely to be a tough one, but I for one thought that when Crystal Palace came to see us (except for the charming followers bit).

By this point there are only three games left. Ipswich are still sniffing around the periphery of the play-off zone. By the time this fixture is underway we will have a better idea of whether or not they’re likely to get there or not – they may be battling desperately for points to scrape into the top six, may be there already comfortably, or have dropped out completely. Certainly, recent visits to Ipswich have always been eventful, so with this much at stake for both teams, I don’t expect this one to be any different.

Wigan are in a remarkably similar position to Ipswich, so their visit to Trentside on Mayday could prove a tense affair for both sets of fans, but with only one win in the last five (including a nil-nil draw when visiting Bradford!), maybe it won’t be quite so scary. And, of course, a trip to West Brom awaits us for the end – which certainly won’t be easy, although the Baggies could well have automatic promotion assured by then, and be in party mode (okay, maybe not).

Either way – as Coldplay once sang – nobody said it was easy. We have a difficult run-in, but not an impossible one, especially if Marlon II can keep up the momentum of his performance against the Railwaymen and Johnno can keep the pressure on him from the bench as he returns to full fitness. With Rogers back from suspension and Evans and Gerrard keeping up the good work from their debuts, there’s no reason why we can’t feel reasonably confident going into the final phase of the season.

It’s been a bloody hard slog this year, and it’s been particularly hard to take as a fan when your hopes are built up so dramatically by the play-off finish last season. Add to that the season ticket price hikes coupled with Nigel Doughty’s ‘delusions of grandeur’ rhetoric to justify it as we all reached further into our pockets, and it’s miraculous that we’re something like fourth in terms of average attendance gates this season. Hats off to you, fellow fans, you really have done us proud this season.

Which leaves us with a summer of probably disappointment in Portugal, followed by what will hopefully be a better year. It will be the season in which we can properly start to see what kind of ride we’re going to have under Joe Kinnear. There’s one thing I can predict with conviction – I bet they don’t put my season ticket price down again after this season’s worth of misery. Not to worry, up the mighty Reds! Perhaps Joe will make us great again – but making us average would be a start...