Leyton Orient

League position: 8th – 61 pts

Form: 21st

Remaining fixtures: Exeter (a), Peterborough, Carlisle (a), Tranmere, Plymouth (a)

Three daunting away trips remain, each deliciously idiosyncratic…Exeter are in form and nipping their heels…sojourns to greater Cumbria drain on several levels…and Plymouth could be trying to repel consecutive relegations…get a good return on their travels and the O’s can bridge the gap to sixth

Bournemouth

League position: 7th – 63 pts

Form: 23rd

Remaining fixtures: Notts County (a), Yeovil (a), Bristol Rovers, Hartlepool (a), Rochdale

A pair of serious relegation contenders could be enough to sate the woeful form that has seen the south-coasters squander a comfortable playoff position…tricky trips to Yeovil and Pools could well negate any momentum gained however…then there’s the small matter of a potential sudden death match with…

Rochdale

League position: 6th – 64 pts

Form: 3rd

Remaining fixtures: Brentford, Carlisle, Charlton (a), Peterborough, Bournemouth (a)

Up the Dale indeed…they’ve been the ones to profit handsomely from Bournemouth’s slip…surely there’s plenty of cautious optimism around Spotland given the buoyant form and generous upcoming fixtures against sides with nowt to play for…the final day tilt at Dean Court already promises to feature as a prime end of season storyline

MK Dons

League position: 5th – 68 pts

Form: 4th

Remaining fixtures: Swindon (a), Huddersfield, Plymouth (a), Notts County, Oldham (a)

The uncertainty surrounding the future of Karl Robinson has meant naff all it would seem…if there is to be a club to improve their stead late on it’s this lot: three matches against the bottom four – Huddersfield at home – cautious misstep by the Posh and bang, they’re up a few spots

Peterborough

League position: 4th – 71 pts

Form: 9th

Remaining fixtures: Plymouth, Leyton Orient (a), Yeovil, Rochdale (a), Dag & Red

Darren Ferguson not only went back, he tore the fucking place apart…well not literally, but the turnaround has been eyecatching…is it too late for his purple pops to impart some wisdom on the art of blagging big away wins, cos they’ll need them for where they want to go…

Huddersfield

League position: 3rd – 74 pts

Form: 2nd

Remaining fixtures: Charlton (a), MK Dons (a), Dag & Red, Brighton (a), Brentford

The league darlings – thanks to their positive play and admirable display against Arsenal – have it all to go for…the heavy goal deficit to Southampton can be overcome with a brisk run to cap the campaign and get Lee Clark’s side up in the Championship

Southampton

League position: 2nd – 74 pts

Form: 5th

Remaining fixtures: Bristol Rovers, Brighton (a), Hartlepool, Brentford (a), Plymouth (a), Walsall

With the title already decided, it’s the Saints who have a temporary target on their smart striped strip…will the ignominy affiliated with the recent rapid descent dissipate? Imagine what kind of gig Nigel Adkins can wangle if he finishes the job – Pardew got the Geordie job, but then again there aren’t 60 odd other Mike Ashley’s around being so daft with their quid…

Brighton

League position: 1st – 90 pts

Form: 1st

Remaining fixtures: Walsall (a), Southampton, Colchester (a), Huddersfield, Notts County (a)

Job well done…look forward to your new American-corporation branded ground next term

There isn’t much prognostication required here, bar for a bit of reach…

6. Rochdale

5. Peterborough

4. Huddersfield

3. MK Dons

2. Southampton

1. Brighton

Brighton – already up – will be joined by Southampton. MK Dons and Peterborough will meet at Wembley…the manufactured middling metropolis gets better football come August

Nickname(s): The Magpies, The Toon, Fucking Geordie Scum

Ground: St. James’ Park

From Boro: entirely too close – 45 miles

Kit: the usual home black and white stripey strip is timeless if not dull; the new away kit for this season though: bold, adventurous, and utterly vile…

Toon Army: look at these tits…

The State They’re In: hmmm…no manager, an embargo on transfer activity, ridiculous wage bill (even by Premier League standards), rudderless, directionless…Mike Ashley continues to hold out and unnecessarily parse each legitimate offer tendered for controlling ownership of the storied club – £100m is the ask price, w/ the sportswear magnate resigned to losing around 33% of his total investment