There’s ten games to go, so it’s time to fasten your seatbelts and get ready for another nerve-wracking run-in. With two shows a week, a match report from every game, and plenty of other audio and written content, UTAS will be here to cover it all. Whether we want to or not.
As we head into these last ten games, we thought we’d stick our collective necks on the line by brewing up a few hot takes. We’ve tasked each member of the Under The Abbey Stand team to come up with one prediction for the run in, and alongside that, predict the scores for every team in the relegation battle to come up with what they think will be the final table.
If our pre-season prediction pods are anything to go by, you can safely go ahead and totally ignore any sort of logic in the below explanations. But, for now, you can hold us to these.
Leave a comment below with your prediction and where you have the U’s finishing this season:
Jack Swindlehurst
I think we'll score 8 more goals this season. They'll all be scored by Taylor and Kach, and will keep us up. Just.
Trying to channel my optimism here as I'm feeling pretty wretched about our chances right now. But harking back to the fight shown at the back end of last season, our strike force will come good. Here’s hoping the boys can get it done again.
Owen Kiernan
Same but different: Jack Lankester will step up and be our saviour.
We don’t have Smith or a fit Dunk to save us this season, but from what I’ve seen recently Jack Lankester is going to be that man. I’ve been critical of him this season, and his decision making isn’t always the best, but when he plays with a fire in his belly he’s one of the best players in this side. We know what quality he has and I think he’s going to be the player to drag us up from the predicament we’re currently in.
Tom Walker
A pyrotechnic related controversy will seriously impact the result of at least one of our remaining games.
We’ve seen a lot of smoke bomb related incidents at our games recently - most notably stopping play at Stevenage in injury time when chasing a goal - and it’s something that’s becoming a bit of a regular occurrence. Nothing screams Cambridge United more than something like that actually impacting our season. Don’t wear your Ugg boots.
Julian Roberts
We will go to Port Vale on the final day needing points.
I’m not committing to that being a win necessarily, or if a point and results going our way would be enough, but there will be a very nervy Amber Nation on some very early trains up to the Potteries, and one thing I feel certain of is we’ll be playing an already relegated side needing to win, or hope things go our way. Spooky similarities.
Matt Caspell
Lyle Taylor won’t score for the rest of the season.
It’s a prediction that I made before the Cobblers game - and I am desperate to be wrong. He didn't look great against Northampton, but please god I hope I am just being pessimistic and I'm wrong (not for the first or last time)
Jordan Worland
We'll pick up an unlikely win.
Let's face it, there's not a lot of fixtures left where 3 points are screaming at you. So to be safe, we'll need to pick up at least one win from an unlikely source. That is exactly my prediction and my god, as fans, we're due one this year.
Why is my gut saying this? It's (perhaps blind) faith that Monk will find a way to get the team clicking. And obviously, those clocks are changing soon!
Where will this happen? Wigan at home or Bristol Rovers away catch my eye.
So only one of us has us to go down, but most have us staying up by a place or a couple of points at most - and in some places just a few goals.
It’s going to be interesting…
We stay up - just - by avoiding defeat at Port Vale having won just one of our remaining games to an on-the-beach Wycombe.
We stay up - just - by avoiding defeat at Port Vale having won just one of our remaining games to an on-the-beach Wycombe.