Last summer we brought you 'The Terrace Trash Bluffers Club by Club Guide
to the DML Western Division'.
It seems only fair to open ourselves up
to more humiliation by looking at how we did. Was it a big fat Jemini nul points
for spelling, singing and dancing? Or was it a triumphant belly dancing
Eurovision Turkish triumph? Let's be honest - it doesn't start well when moments
after posting the article on the website people are emailing in to point out
that Taunton isn't in Devon, and is the county town of Somerset thank you very
much. That got changed pretty smartish, and you can compare the original
article here
Atherstone United
We said:
"in Sheepy Road they have the coldest and most godforsaken ground in the
league"
It is difficult to see much other than
mid-table struggle for them in this campaign. Difficult times
ahead.
Despite City being
a considerably stronger side the away trip has been something of a recurring
nightmare for us. You can expect much the same sort of results this season."
T-Ender Prediction: 16th
Odds: 16-1
They did:
20th
The Adders went through a financial
collapse, failed to play players and ended up missing the drop on goal
difference by winning on the final day of the season. We may not have predicted
the full enormity of their financial plight but we didn't do too badly - we were
always going to be right about Sheepy Road though.
City will be more sorry than most to see the Adders survive. They remain our
bogey side, ruining the season start by beating us at home and despite their
poor form holding us in another violent 1-1 match in the away league fixture.
The Trophy tie did see us start on our glorious run though.
Bedworth United
We
said:
"Bedworth will be looking to improve on last season's
inconsistencies
"may surprise a few people next season with some
one-off results.
"City can only
improve against them this campaign and will hopefully pick up some points."
T-Ender Prediction: 10th
Odds: 12-1
They did:
18th
We thought Bedworth were good, they
thought they were good. Everyone was wrong as injuries and loss of confidence
saw the Greenbacks struggling for air in the relegation mire. Ended up a nervy 3
points from the drop and disappointed when they tied to kick City off the pitch
at Meadow Park having played us off it the previous season. We did get some
revenge for humiliation the previous season with a 4-1 home win.
Bromsgrove Rovers
We said:
"It's hard to see them being quite
ready for a push back to the DML Premier.
Upper mid-table would seem a realistic goal."
T-Ender Prediction: 9th
Odds: 33-1
They did:
3rd
This is why you must not listen to us.
Spectacularly wrong as Bromsgrove roared to the top and set the pace for the
first half of the season. Ultimately lacked the bottle to see the job through
and had to settle for 3rd, but none the less an impressive return to the DML.
City rather improbably did the double over them too.
Cinderford Town
We
said:
"Cinderford's aspirations may well flounder
as they have little flexibility in their finances and the relationship between
manager Tony Hopkins and the club is volatile and may yet unravel.
"still have the problems with
drainage that usually creates an end of season fixture pile-up"
T-Ender Prediction: 14th
Odds: 66-1
They did:
15th
Oh come on, what do you want blood?! One
place off being spot on and their manager did go, and they did have fixture
backlog again. Didn't see our 4-0 thrashing at The Causeway coming though did
we.
Cirencester Town
We said:
"may well find that teams on
the park don't automatically follow bricks and mortar and it's
difficult to see
them managing anything more than mid-table
"the loss of Ray Baverstock from
the set-up may mean a difficult settling in period for Ciren"
T-Ender Prediction: 18th
Odds: 12-1
They did:
14th
Ciren did a little better than we
suggested, but we were closer in our prediction than the bookies who seemed
overly impressed with the new stadium.
Clevedon Town
We said:
"A promotion challenge would be a lot
to ask at present, and mid-table respectability
would seem more of an achievable goal
"the manager is once again left with the unenviable job of
trying to make contenders out of not very much quality."
T-Ender Prediction: 15th
Odds: 33-1
They d
13th
A late season rally took them a little
higher than predicted, but the gist of our comments came true with a mid-table
finish following some nervy months looking over their shoulder.
Evesham United
We said:
"will do well again
this season, but will always be just that little bit off the pace
"The club itself claim to be 'developing youth' - not smacking
of confidence about this season."
T-Ender Prediction: 12th
Odds: 40-1
They did:
12th
If only I'd put my mortgage on this lot
finishing 12th for the second consecutive year I'd be on a Mediterranean cruise
right now instead of stuck at this keyboard. Evesham are waiting for ground
development - allowing us a chance to get some very revenge for recent seasons,
a double including a 6-1 drubbing at Meadow Park.
Gresley Rovers
We
said:
"lost a few players as a result of
the change at the helm and that may set their promotion timetable back at least
a season.
"Likely to be
a lot better than some may expect, but probably just a little bit short of
promotion material this time around. Tough opposition and likely to be difficult
to beat at the Moat, but not enough to get their hands on the shield."
T-Ender Prediction: 3rd
Odds: 12-1
They did:
9th
Didn't do as well as I'd expected and
slipped back from the previous season. However they produced some good results
in patches and I still think they'll be back in the hunt soon.
Mangotsfield United
We
said:
"the Mangos are a strong outfit now and
still have potentially one of the freest scoring attacks in our division. If
everything clicks into place they could even be an outside promotion bet."
T-Ender Prediction: 7th
Odds: 10-1
They did:
6th
Got the free scoring bit right then, not a
lot else you can say about a side who score 106 league goals. Were in the
chasing pack for much of the season but ended up narrowly missing out, perhaps
partly because of the two four goal defeats by City who finally put the ghost of
past defeats to bed.
Merthyr Tydfil
We said:
"Despite all the history of the club it
is difficult to see them bouncing straight back up as Halesowen did the previous
year."
Expect a
top six finish but nothing more."
T-Ender Prediction: 5th
Odds: 5-1
They did:
1st
We totally underestimated Merthyr, but by
the time they beat us on Boxing Day they already had the look of Champions.
Their manager did wonders on a limited budget and a group of young players who
worked very, very hard. I thought I'd been quite generous predicting 5th too! Oh
well, at least we beat them in the Trophy.
Racing Club Warwick
We
said:
"You'd like to say they could expect better this season, but yet again
you can only predict a bottom two finish."
T-Ender Prediction: 21st
Odds: 16-1
They did:
22nd
After so many years of struggling to keep
their heads above water Warwick finally sank, and sank without trace with a
meager three wins. Not a prediction that you can take too much joy from. City
helped them on their way with a six goal win on their bumpy pitch. And the
bookies - what were they thinking of ?
Redditch United
We said: 
"Likely to improve on last seasons rather dismal performance.
"likely to be back in the top half of the table next spring, expect more of quiet improvement rather than trailblazing
glory.
"Will easily avoid any relegation worries
but Redditch are another side going through a 'transitional' period."
T-Ender Prediction: 11th
Odds: 40-1
They did:
7th
We expected a rally from the Valley, but
Redditch improved even more as the season went on to do much better than
expected. Will be looking forward to next season while City found them awkward
opponents and lost twice to them.
Rocester
We
said:
"Another likely favourite to struggle this season after only
winning a relegation reprieve last
time out following the demise of Bilston and Bloxwich.
"may well be playing at a level they will find difficult to
perpetuate for too much longer.
T-Ender Prediction: 22nd
Odds: 80-1
They did:
21st
That they managed to finish one place
higher than predicted will give the Romans little comfort as it was still enough
to send them back to the Midland Alliance. Had a poor season and could not
summon something extra when it mattered, a draw on the last day enough to send
them down on goal difference. Despite a bad campaign City couldn't beat them in
two attempts.
Rugby United
We said:
"Unlikely to threaten but also unlikely to get pushed around -
it looks like a season of mid-table consolidation for Rugby."
T-Ender Prediction: 13th
Odds: 14-1
They did:
8th
Didn't really know what to expect from
Rugby but they got stronger as the season went on and finished a highly credible
8th. Could well shift up another gear next season and we found them tricky
enough in this campaign, getting only a point from them.
Shepshed Dynamo
We said:
"without Kirk Masters it
may be that they'll be anxiously looking over their shoulders. Too good to
really struggle, not good enough to take it easy."
T-Ender Prediction: 19th
Odds: 40-1
They did:
16th
Ended up only 5 points from the drop but
the division was so tight that it was enough for 16th place. however Shepshed
are still hit by financial problems and know they need to do a lot to progress
next season. Like to think our defeat at their place in April played a crucial
role in their survival.
Solihull Borough
We said:
"you can expect
Solihull to be slugging it out with Weston for promotion and their settled squad may prove the
decisive factor."
T-Ender Prediction: 1st
Odds: 7-2
They did:
4th
Another desperately disappointing season
for Solihull. Suffered under the burden of expectation and never managed the
long unbeaten runs that are needed to get the title. Still played attractive
football but just lacked a little bit of metal when needed most. City's victory
against them at Meadow Park was crucial in our own revival.
Stourport Swifts
We
said:
"while we think they'll slip from last
season's form they'll still comfortably avoid any relegation worries."
T-Ender Prediction: 17th
Odds: 16-1
They did:
17th
Particularly proud to have predicted the
Swifts struggle this season as the previous year they finished high up the
table. the only thing we got wrong was the comfortable bit, in the end they
survived by just 4 points. Still had enough to take advantage of a slack City
day to elbow and dive their way to a win at Meadow Park. what would you do when
you were this desperate?
Sutton Coldfield
We said:
"Likely to provide strong opposition, but perhaps not quite strong enough to be
placed amongst the favourites"
T-Ender Prediction: 8th
Odds: 8-1
They did:
11th
We got the idea just about right but
Sutton Coldfield will be disappointed not to have done a little better after the
previous season looked like a breakthrough year for them. We like to have them
about though, we seem to have the happy knack of grinding out wins against them.
Swindon Supermarine
We said:
"the gap they need to make
up remains immense and Supermarine don't appear to have the players or resources
to do much more than survive this season. There are teams likely to be weaker
this season, but not many - so likely to be another long scrap of a season for
them."
T-Ender Prediction: 20th
Odds: 12-1
They did:
19th
Ray Baverstock ended up inspiring an
incredible escape for Supermarine who did much the same thing the previous year.
They'll have been disappointed to have survived in such a nerve jangling
fashion, but they beat the drop by a point and that's all that will matter.
Taunton Town
We said:
"undoubtedly have the power to move straight into the higher reaches of the
division it is questionable if they will adjust to facing serious opposition
week in week out."
T-Ender Prediction: 4th
Odds: 16-1
They did:
10th
The world seemed to expect Taunton to race
through the division so we felt 4th was a safe bet as we had reservations.
Should have backed instinct a little more as Taunton did find the jump to the
DML a little harder than many has hoped. A very welcome addition to the division
though, a good club and 6 points for City!
Weston-Super-Mare Town
We said:
"everyone's pre-season title favourites following a
frenetic summer that has seen boss Frank Gregan sign nearly every available
player in Dorset and Somerset.
"don't be too surprised if this is one of
those fixtures that brings out the best in our team."
T-Ender Prediction: 2nd
Odds: 7-2
They did:
2nd
Got their position right, even if we got
the champions wrong. we were also wrong about the way they'd win promotion. They
certainly had the metal but not the class, judging by their bruising
over-bearing tactics against us. We were also beaten twice by the Seagulls when
we'd hoped for a more passionate display.
Gloucester City
We said:
"trying to be realistic
I'd expect us to improve significantly without necessarily quite setting the
world alight.
"many of our
younger players grew in stature as last season went on.
"I reckon we can hit top six with a bit of luck, although by that I probably
mean sixth."
T-Ender Prediction: 6th
Odds: 40-1
We did:
5th
Not far off, and we're ecstatic we did so
well as top six was aspiration as much as belief. Those young players did
improve again, but this time really came on leaps and bounds, while the addition
of Jimmy Cox gave us a genuine cutting edge. Had the season started better the
season could have held even more, but we look to the next season with real
ambition for the first time in a long while.
So overall not a bad field, we got one
promotion side and both of the relegated teams right and were only a position
off on our own finish.
Merthyr and Bromsgrove really surprised us all, and at least we've learnt
exactly where Taunton is. Now we're looking forward to being right about City
doing even better next season.
