Chapter 64: The Promotion Battle
March 2012 had arrived with Bristol Rovers sitting at the top of League Two, their systematic approach having created an almost insurmountable lead over their closest competitors. With eight matches remaining in the season, the promotion battle had become less about whether Bristol Rovers would achieve automatic promotion and more about how dominant their championship victory would be.
The Memorial Stadium had become a fortress where opposing teams came not with hopes of victory, but with the modest ambition of limiting their defeat. The systematic football that had once seemed experimental and risky had proven itself under the ultimate pressure of a promotion campaign.
The system interface displayed the remarkable dominance that had been achieved:
League Two Standings: March 2012
Bristol Rovers: 89 points (38 matches played)
Swindon Town: 76 points (38 matches played)
Shrewsbury Town: 74 points (38 matches played)
Points Gap: 13 points (virtually insurmountable)
Matches Remaining: 8 (automatic promotion certain)
Championship Probability: 97.8% (mathematical near-certainty)
Record Points Projection: 104 points (League Two record)