The Sports Analytic Machine (SAM) designed by Ian McHale, a professor at the University of Salford, has made predictions for all of the remaining matches in the Championship this season. This has enabled the professor to draw up an estimate of what the final table will look like – and it isn't good news for Aston Villa fans.
The machine that calculates outcomes based on a number of complex factors has given the Villans a 6% chance of making the playoffs this season. According to SAM's table, Steve Bruce's men will end in 12th place on 64 points. The machine is predicting that Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion will ease to the automatic promotion spots, while a number of other teams including Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday will battle it out for positions in the top six. In the fierce struggle for promotion to the Premier League, Villa's terrible start to the season has left them seemingly out of the running.
Taking into account recent performances, SAM is probably close to the mark. Villa are in a sorry state of affairs and big moves need to be made in the January transfer window. Ross McCormack has been a failure, and the club needs to offload the misfiring striker for as much as possible, as soon as possible. Betting sites are favouring the Scottish forward for a move back to Fulham, a mere six months after he departed Craven Cottage for £12million. The 30-year-old has only notched 3 goals in the Championship this season in 20 appearances for his new club. This is a long way off his output for Leeds three seasons ago when he managed to put away 28 goals and win the Golden Boot. Now the once clinical striker is at 200/1 in the Championship betting odds to end the season as top scorer, highlighting just how drastically the player has declined.
According to reports, Middlesbrough have already rejected two bids for Jordan Rhodes (see video above), a player who Bruce has earmarked as the perfect man to revitalise Villa's season. But if the McCormack sale goes through then this will free up funds to go in with an improved offer, possibly in excess of £10million. Rhodes has been prolific in England's second tier in the past, and surpassed 20 goals in two successive seasons during his stint at Blackburn Rovers. The Villans are also said to be on the brink of singing the Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane and his teammate James Bree in a £6million double swoop.
Villa fans should not despair just yet. SAM's calculations are based on the information available to it at the present moment in time. It doesn't take into account a number of other factors such as Villa signing more players, players from other teams leaving or getting injured, and drastic changes in form. Even so, if Bruce is to turn his struggling squad into a side worthy of promotion, he needs to act fast. Villa fans will be desperately hoping their manager will use the transfer window to fix the gaping holes in the team before it's too late.
