With the English football season about to get underway, we take a look at all of the contenders in League Two and pick out some of our best bets for the season.
BRADFORD CITY: The big name in the division this season; so much had to go wrong (or be done badly) for them to be relegated last season and you’d have to fancy them to recover with a slightly better approach. The appointment of Gary Bowyer looks a good decision; he’s proven to be a bit better than this level and they have recruited well, with Clayton Donaldson and James Vaughan likely to score plenty. Favourites and should be challenging for the top three. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
CAMBRIDGE UNITED: Spent much of last season in and around the relegation places, perhaps surviving more due to other sides ineptitude rather than anything to do with quality. After coming in as manager Colin Calderwood did perhaps improve Cambridge slightly but they still looked pretty poor across almost every metric. A full pre-season under Calderwood may bring some improvement but they look short on quality and they’re likely to spend much of the campaign in the bottom half. PREDICTION: Bottom Third.
CARLISLE UNITED: A mid-table finish after dropping out of the play-offs during the run-in was about par for the course, though without the disruption of a managerial change they may have finished slightly higher. Steven Pressley did an okay job after coming in but results hardly set the world alight, while summer recruitment provides a similar feeling; it all points towards Carlisle having a distinctly uninspiring season.PREDICTION: Mid-Table/Bottom Half.
CHELTENHAM TOWN: Finished relatively safe in 16th place after starting the season poorly and could be a season that brings about some improvement, even if they don’t push too much further up the table. There is a bit of optimism around Michael Duff and Cheltenham look to have recruited fairly well, with the signings of forwards Reuben Reid and Tahvon Campbell from Forest Green looking positive and other good business done. Might not be much higher than mid-table but expect a more positive season overall. PREDICTION: Mid-Table.
COLCHESTER UNITED: Have looked promising for a number of recent seasons, a youth focused squad has shown glimpses of ability to challenge higher but have generally lacked the consistency to fulfil the promise. Colchester are still a young squad and that lack of consistency may still prevail, however, they do have another season behind them and have added some experience in places, so may be better placed this season. The departed Sammie Szmodics will be tough to replace, but a challenge for the top-seven is realistic. PREDICTION: Play-Off Challenge.
CRAWLEY TOWN: Finished in relative safety in 19th but did look capable of dropping into real trouble at times last season. Looked really short of quality and haven’t added too much in that department this summer, so it could be a real struggle this season for Crawley. Home form went a long way to securing survival last season; should they regress in that department they could be in real danger of relegation.PREDICTION: Relegation Struggle.
CREWE ALEXANDRA: Never really looked like getting into trouble last season but also never really looked like challenging any higher than mid-table, and I’d expect a repeat of that this season. Only two players have come in so far and they have lost Jordan Bowery, so there is potential to take a slight step backwards, but they shouldn’t be bad enough to fall into trouble. PREDICTION: Bottom Half.
EXETER CITY: Missed out on the play-offs by a single point in their first season post Paul Tisdale; not a bad return all in all but they would have been a little disappointed given that they spent the majority of the season in higher positions. The squad looks to have been strengthened and the signing of Nicky Ajose should add some extra goals, therefore a slight improvement on last term should be possible. PREDICTION: Play-Off Challenge.
FOREST GREEN ROVERS: Took a big step forward last season after a disappointing debut campaign in League Two and look well placed to improve even further. A couple of key players in Reece Brown and Christian Doidge have departed but they look to have recruited well and in Matthew Stevens may have signed someone capable of scoring plenty. It can’t be forgotten how much difference simply being a well-run club at this level can make, and Forest Green look to have the tools and set-up to challenge for promotion. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
GRIMSBY TOWN: Despite spending all of the season in the bottom half of the table, Grimsby were relatively safe in the end with a 17th place finish. Perhaps unusually for this level, they have stuck by manager Michael Jolley despite spending so much time in the lower reaches of the table; the hope is that that patience can pay-off and some improvement can be made. Home form was okay last term, so with some improvement away from home and extra quality in the squad, they may be capable of moving forward. PREDICTION: Bottom Half.
LEYTON ORIENT: National League champions last time, everything was looking so positive for Leyton Orient until the terribly sad death of Justin Edinburgh. It’s hard not to think Orient will be affected in some way by those events; it could provide some extra motivation but understandably it could also have a negative impact. They look to have a squad capable of competing and have added strength upfront; while it’s hard to predict which way they will go, there should be at least a few teams weaker in the division. PREDICTION: Bottom Half Safety.
MACCLESFIELD TOWN: A near miracle was performed to escape relegation and Sol Campbell proved quite a few people wrong with the job he did after taking over. However, there seems to be some serious financial issues at Macclesfield; players have gone unpaid, some have left and others are likely to follow, while it wouldn’t surprise to see Campbell move on to a better job given the opportunity. Players have come in and Campbell may work his magic again, but they look like relegation candidates. PREDICTION: Relegation Struggle.
MANSFIELD TOWN: Narrowly missed out on promotion and the dismissal of David Flitcroft suggested big changes may have been on the horizon, however, other than the appointment of the relatively inexperienced John Dempster, the promotion project still looks to be the plan. The signings of two golden boot contenders in Andy Cook and Nicky Maynard are real signals of intent and with the potential for goals that they have, I’d expect to see Mansfield challenging for promotion once again, especially if improving away form. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
MORECAMBE: Jim Bentley works wonders every season to somehow keep Morecambe in the Football League; every season they are tipped for relegation and somehow, they manage to escape. Little has changed; Morecambe are working on one of the smallest budgets and recruitment largely focuses on taking low-cost chances. It will again take Bentley making Morecambe greater than the sum of their parts to survive. PREDICTION: Relegation Struggle.
NEWPORT COUNTY: Mike Flynn has worked wonders at Newport, transforming them from relegation contenders into a top-seven club and going on some memorable cup-runs. Newport have added some quality and depth to their squad without losing key players from last season; they should therefore be well placed for a repeat run at the play-offs and if they can improve their away form (only won six in the league last term), they might be an outside bet for automatic promotion. PREDICTION: Play-Off Challenge.
NORTHAMPTON TOWN: A 15th place finish was a real disappointment for a side some would have fancied to mount a promotion challenge, but they got off to such a poor start there was never really any chance of fulfilling that hope. Results improved after Keith Curle came in, even if they still lacked a little consistency, and I’d expect Northampton to take a decent step forward this season. They have a manager who knows this level well and they look to have recruited well over the summer. Should be one of the many challenging for a top-seven place. PREDICTION: Play-Off Challenge.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC: The short lived reign of Paul Scholes was probably the most memorable part of Oldham’s season; there were murmurs surrounding that of interference coming from above and, even if he has previously managed Monaco, the appointment of Laurent Banide does suggest there may be a more left field decision maker in charge. It’s difficult to know what to make of recruitment with so many unknowns coming in but it wouldn’t surprise were Oldham to find themselves in real trouble. PREDICTION: Relegation Struggle.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE: I actually fancied Plymouth to make a challenge for promotion last season, after finishing the previous season so strongly, however, they were struggling for most of the season and rarely looked like escaping. Ryan Lowe has come in as manager, bringing in a host of Bury players and the hope will be that they can recreate that magic; working with players he knows should allow Lowe to have a quick impact and despite losing some quality the squad still looks decent. I wonder if they have the usual 20-goal+ striker a side usually needs, which may prevent a title challenge, but they should be in and around the promotion places. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
PORT VALE: Much of last season was a struggle but some improvement was brought with the appointment of John Askey and Port Vale eventually scraped together some late wins to pull clear of trouble. All-round improvement looks to be needed than any one area, but there is hope that a manager of Askey’s quality can improve things and summer business does appear to have provided upgrades in a few areas. Won’t be good enough to challenge the top half but should avoid a struggle this term. PREDICTION: Mid-Table/Bottom Half.
SALFORD CITY: May not be the most popular of sides given their ownership and the way they have gone about things, particularly with regards to spending, but money talks at this level and as such Salford need to be taken seriously in their first campaign in the Football League. Didn’t exactly convince in their first season under Graham Alexander, however, they had brought in many players from a higher level who may be better suited to league football, rather than non-league. Have the resources to compete and would be capable of chucking any kind of money at it were they to have a sniff of promotion come January. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
SCUNTHORPE UNITED: Not among the favourites for relegation last season but after a run of just one win in their last 14 and none in the last 9, Scunthorpe went down with a degree of ease in the end. Paul Hurst looks to be a great appointment as manager; he had plenty of success at this level and above before a brief but poor period at Ipswich and should be capable of repeating that success at Scunthorpe. Summer business has looked promising and adds to an already decent squad; they should have the tools to compete for an immediate return to League One. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
STEVENAGE: A tenth place finish, with the entire season spent in the top half represented a decent return for Stevenage and the hope would be that they are now positioned to push on for a top-seven finish. Recruitment looks to have provided some upgrades across a number of areas and the signing of Jason Cowley (who scored 74 in two seasons) from Bromsgrove is interesting, with Stevenage having previous success of signing from non-league. A play-off push could be a real possibility. PREDICTION: Play-Off Challenge.
SWINDON TOWN: A 13th place finish was perhaps a little disappointing but a poor run that led to the dismissal of Phil Brown and the fact that they just drew too many games (16) meant that anything better than mid-table wasn’t going to be possible. Converting a few of those home draws into wins would bring some improvement, however, recruitment hasn’t looked amazing and Swindon might just lack a bit of star quality to push any higher. PREDICTION: Mid-Table.
WALSALL: Relegated from League One after a terrible run which saw Walsall pick up just one win in their last ten and go on a run of six successive losses in that period. Had looked relatively secure in League One prior to that, even if they didn’t always look to have the quality or resources of some others in the division, and therefore it wouldn’t surprise were they to challenge for an immediate return. Darrell Clarke has come in as manager and that looks a good appointment based on his previous success with Bristol Rovers. Plenty of changes have been made to playing personnel, with 14 new players coming in; if they can bed-in quick enough, should be close to top-three. PREDICTION: Promotion Challenge.
VERDICT: This is a really tough league to predict with so many teams closely placed together at either end of the scale. Bradford really are a bit too big to be playing at this level and with a bit of sensible management should be well capable of challenging for the title, which makes them worthy favourites. Other big sides such as Plymouth, Scunthorpe and Walsall should also be well placed.
However, I’m prepared to give SALFORD CITY, who will be fairly unpopular winners, a chance. The gap between the top of the National League and League Two isn’t that vast, so Salford should be more than capable of settling in this division and given their level of resources, should be top half. While, were they to be in with a chance of promotion come the turn of the year, they have the resources to add further to their squad.
In the promotion market, away from those already mentioned, the likes of Mansfield and Forest Green potentially offer the most value and should mount a good challenge.
The top goalscorer market can always be a bit of a challenge at this level but with Mansfield expected to be there or thereabouts Andy Cook could offer some value. He’s scored plenty everywhere he has been and even bagged 13 for relegated Walsall in the league above last time, so should be more than capable at this level. A more left field choice might be Matty Stevens for Forest Green, he’s unproven at this level but has scored plenty in non-league and has the number nine shirt for potential promotion challengers, so might be worth a go at a big price.
In the relegation market, there are the obvious names of Macclesfield and Morecambe but better value probably lies with Crawley and Oldham, with preference for the latter at the prices.
SELECTIONS:
SALFORD CITY to win the League @ 8/1 (William Hill)
FOREST GREEN ROVERS to be Promoted @ 7/2 (Bet365, SkyBet, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral)
ANDY COOK to be Top Goalscorer @ 14/1 (¼ odds first 4 – Bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power)
MATTHEW STEVENS to be Top Goalscorer @ 40/1 (¼ odds first 4 – Bet365)
OLDHAM ATHLETIC to be Relegated @ 9/1 (SkyBet)
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