Mid-Term Report

Scheduling - rather than the weather - has given the club a two-week hiatus which in turn gives me the chance to break out of the cyclical preview-report-roundup routine and cast an analytical eye over the season thus far.

At the time of writing we sit in an unremarkable-but-not-disastrous 12th spot with 21 points from 20 matches having won 6, drawn 6 and lost 8. In total we've netted 41 times but have conceded slightly more at 45, so our goal difference isn't going to cause us much ruin as things stand. Not that I'm too concerned on that front because we've only received one severe shoeing this season - away at you-know-where - so if final places are decided on GD then we should be in fine fettle and it might be worth an extra rung on the ladder once the shake-up is complete at the end of April.

The difference between our home and away records is impossible to compare and contrast at the moment as we have played two-thirds of our games on the Park Road baize. With only four games left to play on home turf our season is evidently going to be made or broken on the road where, to be honest, our record thus far in all competitions this season has been mildly encouraging: only five defeats, and two of those were to Northern Premier League opposition (one of those was in the last minute of extra-time!).

Going back to league position and our annual holy grail of a top-ten finish looks a long way off if you take "possible points" into consideration. However, closer inspection will tell you that wins over Holker, Daisy Hill, Eccleshall and Darwen - all forthcoming matches with Daisy' home and away yet to come - will completely change that particular picture. All is definitely not lost.

One slightly worrying aspect is that we seemed to have lost the habit of virtually guaranteeing non-defeat when we have scored first. This particular - and quite handy - quirk that had been evident over the past two seasons has departed us; we have scored-first-and-won 8 times in total but have also scored-first-but-lost 8 times and all. The reverse situation where we tend to not-win if we concede first still applies - we have only conceded-first-but-still-won 2 times - but there's plenty of matches left to rectify that.

One particular stat that Steve might want to pick up on is the particular time within matches where we concede goals. If you want to score against us then it seems the final 15 minutes of each half is the best time to do it; nearly half of the goals against us have gone in during the 30-45 and 75-90 minute periods. As for when we score the most then the stats make for very un-Cheadle reading: we have netted the most frequently in the last fifteen minutes of a match. In the same vein you're pretty safe from missing a Cheadle goal if you're late to return from your half-time pie or pint: we have scored only 5 times in the opening fifteen minutes of the restart.

So there you have it so far, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Let the show recommence in February...