It does look as if a clear gap is opening earlier than usual this season. Below the top six or seven, I suspect it's going to be a case of completely unpredictable results. Despite our poor recent run, we haven't been cut adrift.
We do tend to expect the worse these days (not surprisingly, I admit), but should we already be talking as if we're doomed?
Remember what happened with Rotherham last season? You only need to go on a mini-run and everything looks different quite quickly.
The fact is, Coyle has clearly put too many eggs in the goal-scoring basket, but he HAS been unlucky with defensive losses (Hanley & Duffy) and injuries to defenders.
I'm not contradicting the stuff on the other thread here; our position as a proper football club - in the wider sense - is still dire, but I do feel things are not as hopeless as some supporters are implying in terms of where we will finish in the table, because there really do seem to be a lot of very mediocre teams in the Championship this time around.
If we lose the next two games, it is quite possible Coyle will be gone. If not, it will be fascinating to see what he is allowed to do by the owners in the January transfer-window.