October 2024 was another month punctured by an international break (ugh), but that hasn’t stopped us nearly reaching the third-way mark. In fact, you can consider 30% of our league fixtures now done and dusted. If the last three of those are anything to go by, we’re not sure we fancy the remaining 70% too much. Of course, that would be defeatist and alarmist. A lot of football still needs to be played. And the last month won’t define the campaign… at least, that’s what we hope. Shall we see if history can give us anything to embrace or fear?
League One comparison at this stage
Now, we made a mistake in our last monthly round up (September 2024); including one too many games. So, for October, we actually squeezed in six fixtures. Wins indoors against the Hollywood heroes of Wrexham and again at Mansfield bumped the points count. But you’re not going to need us to tell you that three straight defeats have clouded matters. And, as a result, we’re now five points worse off compared with this stage last campaign.
FACT:
By virtue of goal difference, our current season is now our fourth-best effort in League One after 14 fixtures. We also have a negative goal difference, which is only the second time this has been the case at this stage of the season. We’re only one goal better off than the other time we had a negative goal difference: our ill-fated 2013-4 season. The main reason for the deficit? A dire Goals For tally that is, at best, five goals down on our past League One efforts.
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 2012-3 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 29 | 8 |
| 2023-4 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 3 |
| 2011-2 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 3 |
| 2024-5 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 17 | -5 |
| 2013-4 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 14 | -6 |
Are there any notable lookalike seasons?
To be on 17 points after 14 games is not a new thing for us, given that there are five previous seasons when that has also been the case (including the 2011-2 one referenced above).
FACT:
Apart from the obvious Goals For contrast you can see in the table below, there’s not a huge amount we can otherwise call out. We were in a similar place after this many matches of the 2014-5 League Two season – and we went on to make the playoffs. But we’re rather putting a box of chalk up against a case of cheese on that one. There were at least no real disasters to befall us when on this number of points at this stage of the season.
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 2016-7 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 22 | 17 | -1 |
| 1997-8 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 20 | 17 | -3 |
| 2014-5 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 22 | 17 | -4 |
| 1992-3 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 27 | 17 | -8 |
The best and the worst after 14 games
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1993-4 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 14 | 35 | 16 |
| 1990-1 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 12 | 33 | 25 |
| 1991-2 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 16 | 32 | 13 |
| 2022-3 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 32 | 9 |
The early 1990s were a boom time for Boro’, which is imprinted by the fact that our three top returns after 14 fixtures came in 1993, 1990, and 1991 respectively. A notable inclusion in that little cabal, though, is our 2022-3 League Two campaign; on a par with 1991-2 Diadora League Division One times. To lose just one or two in 14 is mightily impressive. So too is to be rolling along at 2.64 goals per game as we were in 1990.
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1981-2* | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 0 |
| 2020-1 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 10 | -5 |
| 2019-20 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 9 | -9 |
To include the 1981-2 season in the above trio is harsh given that it was two points for a win back then. Indeed, it is one of the worst for points alone – but it’s actually another lookalike with this campaign. So, let’s gloss over that and notice how our worst returns after 14 games were in consecutive campaigns. The 2020-1 season was the last in which Alex Revell started a campaign as Boro’ boss and, well, the scoring return is much the same.
As for the 2019-20 season, we finally registered a win by this point. And, compared with what we’d managed after nine games, we only lost one in five – winning one and drawing three.
Main photo: Jim Steele/Stevenage FC
