It’s that time of year where you get the impression that things are getting serious. So, how does February 2026 compare with previous years? The short answer is a simple one: better than some, worse than others and comfortably nowhere near being the most rubbish. That would be a cop out on our part, however. We do have the detail and we sort of have time to dive into it. And what you have here is what we found out.
We came into the month in a bit of a rough state. Gladly, things picked up towards the back end of the month. And we can tell you now – for a FACTOID – that 2026 was by no means the worst February we’ve seen. Let’s take February 1988 as a horrendous example, shall we. Now, look past a Knights Floodit League win over Royston Town that year. In the league, we lost an awful six on the spin – conceding 19.
Bizarrely, 1988 was a leap year so February had an extra day. And, with it, we ended that six-match run of league defeats with a victory over Staines Town. Still got relegated that year.
There are several other Februaries that have been fruitless too.
League One comparison at this stage
The three straight home wins we crammed in during the second half of the month means it looks very rosy in the League One comparison stakes. Well, points-wise. Boro’ are currently ahead of the 2011-12 season – where we ultimately made the playoffs. But we’re behind the 2023-24 season to the tune of eight points. And we ended up missing out on the top six that year after such a promising push. Proof that you can take whatever you want from data.
FACT:
It was a catastrophic February for Gary Smith‘s Class of 2012-13. One win and six defeats was the return that month. And it really started to ramp up the pressure on the gaffer. And it now means that season starts to trail the rest… except our relegation season of 2013-14.
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 2023-4 | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 48 | 34 | 59 | 14 |
| 2025-6 | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 35 | 51 | 2 |
| 2011-2 | 31 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 46 | 30 | 49 | 16 |
| 2024-5 | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 32 | 44 | -2 |
| 2012-3 | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 46 | 43 | -7 |
| 2013-4 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 29 | 50 | 28 | -21 |
Are there any lookalike seasons?
We’ve had a bit of a flip-reverse with the current campaign. At one point, we were looking as if we were lagging behind many others. But now we’ve edged ahead. Part of the reason is the fact that, in many of our non-league campaigns, it seems as if February was a quiet month in the league. The only two other years in which we’d completed 33 games by the start of March are 2015 and 2023; both of which saw us in promotion hunts.
Of course, we lost out in the 2014-15 playoffs and secured automatic promotion in 2022-23 – and the difference in points sort of shows that. In 2026? Well, we’re ahead of 2015…
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 2022-3 | 33 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 46 | 13 | 59 | 15 |
| 2014-5 | 33 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 48 | 43 | 49 | 5 |
The best and worst at the end of February
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1990-1 | 29 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 73 | 19 | 75 | 54 |
| 2009-10 | 32 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 53 | 22 | 66 | 31 |
| 1991-2 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 61 | 29 | 65 | 32 |
By now, we have a fair ol’ idea of how the season is going to pan out for the best and worsts. If you’re soaring at the start of March, it’s going to be a good season. Indeed, the top three at the end of February all ended in title successes. The 1990-91 campaign was ridiculous. We do not see how we’ll ever have a season as good as it. But you never know. It’s not as if 2009-10 or 1991-92 were shabby though, was it?
| Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
| 1981-2 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 34 | 43 | 27* | -9 |
| 2002-3 | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 41 | 26 | -4 |
| 2019-20 | 35 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 47 | 22 | -24 |
We’ll gloss over the 2019-20 season as we know how rubbish that was. February 2020 saw us put all sorts of nails into our coffin. Mind you, it was the last full month we’d get through (as we all know). What else? Well, again let’s skip past the 1981-82 campaign simply because the PPG is actually our seventh or eighth worst – whereas our points tally is third worst. It’s only there because it means we don’t have to talk about the 2013-14 campaign again.
A note on the 2002-03 season before we go, however. Things were still looking rather iffy by the time March 2003 rolled around. But February 2003 was the month in which a certain Mr Westley took charge at the club. And we only had two Conference fixtures that month, both ending in draws. Come back again at the end of March and you’ll see the transformation. Or rather you won’t because it’s unlikely to be as low in the rankings as it is here.
February 2026 vs. Averages
It’s a look at average numbers at the end of February over the years: games played, goals scored, points won. That kind of thing. Boro’s +/- for 2025-6 is seen in brackets and all values are rounded up/down.
Games Played: 33 (+2)
Games Won: 14 (+1)
Goals Scored: 37 (-9)
Goals Against: 35 (-2)
Points Won: 51 (+4)
Main photo: X/Stevenage FC