After being relegated from League Two last season, English club Chesterfield have not fared well on their first stint in non-league football since 1921.
The Spireites are currently mired in the relegation zone, fourth-bottom of the National League and without a win in 18 matches.
However, a reason to lift the doom and gloom at the Derbyshire club is the revelation that, as dismal as things might sound, their form is actually historically good.
Well, sort of.
Having crunched their numbers, statistician Jonny Blain noticed a peculiar quirk brought about by Chesterfield's patchy start to the 2018-19 campaign.
The curious case of Chesterfield (continued):
— Jonny Blain (@jonoblain) 25 November 2018
Now 18 League matches without a win, equalling the club record.
Now drawn 8 consecutive League matches, equalling the club record.
Unbeaten in last 11 matches in all comps, best run for 12 years.
A dreadful run of 18 league matches without a win has equalled a long-standing club record, as has their recent run of eight straight draws.
However, the fact that Martin Allen's team are now also 11 matches unbeaten in all competitions means that the Spireites are currently embarked upon both awful and brilliant runs of results.
The run has created a paradox in the club's record books that is almost unfathomable, to the point where we fear a rip may emerge in the space-time continuum if this continues much longer.
Looking at those contradictory records, it's hard to know what to believe anymore. Is down really up? Is time going backwards? Who even knows anymore?
Chesterfield are due to play at home against Bromley on Wednesday evening. We can only hope they break the run, one way or another -- the fate of the universe might just depend on it.
