With the start of the season little over a week away, here is my rough and ready guide to teams contesting League Two this season, and where my money will be going.....
Accrington
Stanley won two of their first three games last season but a poor run of form between August and September, in which they lost seven from eight, dragged them down into the lower reaches, from which they never escaped. 19th at Christmas, they finished in 16th position and could never force their way into the top-half of the table.
Over the summer Michael Symes (Shrewsbury) and Luke Joyce (Carlisle) have been brought in. Jimmy Ryan, Phil Edwards and Chris Turner have all signed new contracts, although Kenny Arthur has left for Rochdale.
Off the field developments have seen Eric Whalley, chairman for 14 years, step down and move on to take up a director of football role at Chester. Local businessman David O’Neill, who has already invested £150k in the club, has replaced him as chairman and despite initial concerns the club may be wound up over an order issued by HM Revenue and Customs, those fears have been allayed and John Coleman’s side will line up away at Rotherham on the opening day of the season.
Aldershot
Last season was the first back in the League for the Shots, who went bust in 1992. They surprised a lot of people and their excellent home record in the first half of the season guaranteed their survival. They enjoyed a terrific run of form in November in particular, winning four on the spin and then went into the New Year with the play-offs within reach. However, their form nosedived thereafter as the surprise factor worse off and they played out the remainder of the season comfortably in the bottom half of the table, finishing 15th.
John Halls (unattached), Adam Hinshelwood (unattached), Ben Herd (Shrewsbury) and Clark Masters (Southend) have moved in with Rhys Day moving outwards to Oxford. The club’s fans have rallied around to build up a transfer kitty for manager Gary Waddock, believed to be around the £40k mark, which may help bring in further reinforcements.
One issue that remains confusing to the outsider though is the situation regarding goalkeeper Nikki Bull. There were rumours that Bull was prepared to give up the game full-time and go semi-pro, spending more time on his other interest, property, and that led to the club signing Clark Masters. However, there is a statement doing the rounds in which Bull has rubbished the suggestions he wants to quit, in which he maintains he wants to play at as high a level as possible because he is reaching his peak at the age of 27. It will be interesting to see who lines up between the sticks in their opener at home to Darlington.
Barnet
The Bees started last season in terrible fashion, losing eight of their opening nine fixtures and were fortunate that Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham all started the season with hefty points deductions, propping up the table and keeping them clear of trouble. Consistently down the wrong end of the table, a poor run of results meant manager Paul Fairclough moved into a directors role mid-way into the season, allowing Ian Hendon to take charge on a caretaker basis. The London side were only six points off the drop zone after a March defeat to Darlington, but three wins and a draw from their next four pulled them clear of danger for a 17th placed finish. Several inspired loan signings, in particularly the capture of veteran striker, Paul Furlong, were responsible for the upturn in fortunes, and Hendon was offered a two year contract in reward.
Experienced midfielder Micah Hyde has signed as captain and ‘keeper Jake Cole (Q.P.R) has also been brought in along with Yannick Bolasie, who joins on loan from Plymouth and is the cousin of Lomana LuaLua. Outbound are Max Porter (Rushden) and Cliff Akurang (Rushden, loan). Adam Birchall, Michael Leary, Nicky Nicolau and Ran Kadoch have all been released, whilst Henson will no longer be available for selection, making the decision to hang up his boots. Gary Breen has signed a new deal to become player/assistant manager.
Bournemouth
The Cherries were docked 17 points last season for failing to satisfy league rules for exiting administration so were behind before they had even kicked a ball. Up until Christmas they were still in danger of dropping out of the league but some good form in January and February saw them close the gap to safety, and with Chester and Grimsby struggling, they leapfrogged them around March time, ending the season in a rich vein of form by winning all of their last three games, and finishing nine points away from 23rd spot.
Survival must have been a huge relief to their supporters after a series of managers came and went to add to the off the field turmoil that had been holding the club back. Kevin Bond started the season as boss but was sacked in September and his replacement, Jimmy Quinn, also left the club after a short stay with Eddie Howe taking over and becoming the youngest manager in the league at 31. It was under Howe that the Cherries played their best football and were able to pull clear of relegation.
Off the field, events at Dean Court have resembled a soap opera. Adam Murry failed in an attempt to buy 50 % of the club’s shares from Paul Baker in late 2008, after missing a deadline, but during the summer his takeover, as part of a consortium with Jeff Mostyn, Steve Sly, Eddie Mitchell and Neill Blake, has finally been completed. Mitchell has been appointed chairman and has temporarily fended off HM Revenue and Customs, to whom monies are owed. His task is now to persuade the Football League to lift the transfer embargo that has been in place at the club.
Danny Hollands is likely to miss the start of the season with a knee injury, along with captain Kevin Cooper, who is sidelined for six months. Karl Broadhurst is training with the club and is interested in re-signing after being released by Hereford, and there are rumours that Harry Redknapp may do the club a favour by sending several youngsters out on loan before the season starts. Time is running out for Howe to assemble his side before the season starts and the eleven men that are thrown out onto the field at Bury on the 8th August may well be a collection of strangers.
Bradford
The Bantams made an explosive start to the last season, winning five of their opening six fixtures with veteran striker Peter Thorne in rampant mood, rocketing to the top of the goalscoring charts. Stuart McCall’s side proved tough to beat at home, losing only twice at Valley Parade all season, but they failed to replicate that form away from home and an injury to their main creative force, Omar Daley, knocked them for six. An inability to break down teams at home also meant points were squandered an having been in contention for an automatic promotion place for the first half of the season, their form gradually faded away and they even missed out on the play-offs, with a wretched run stretching between March and April, in which they picked up just three points from a possible twenty seven on offer, chiefly responsible. Locked in a battle at the top with Bury, Brentford and Exeter behind leaders Wycombe at Christmas, Bradford ended up finishing in 9th position, two points out of the play-offs.
Failure to win promotion has forced McCall into cutting his player budget and Paul McLaren (Tranmere) and skipper Graeme Lee (Notts County) have been pushed out of the door along with Kyle Nix (Mansfield), Paul Heckingbottom (Mansfield), Barry Conlon (Grimsby) and Rhys Evans (released). Paul Arnison has had his contract cancelled by mutual consent and is training with Darlington.
The decision to release Evans has baffled many fans with no experienced backup stopper on the club’s books and McCall has taken a gamble in bringing in Huddersfield Town’s young ‘keeper Simon Eastwood on loan to battle with Jon McLaughlin (who has played only one senior game for the club) for the goalkeeping jersey.
Key men Nicky Law and Dean Furman, on loan last season, have also decided to further their careers elsewhere, joining Rotherham and Oldham respectively, which has left Bradford’s engine room looking very week, especially since Oldham also pipped them to the signature of Andy Holdsworth who had looked set to sign from Huddersfield.
However, McCall has managed to persuade Zesh Rehman (Q.P.R) to make his loan deal permanent and Gareth Evans (Macclesfield), Jon Bateson (Blackburn) and Simon Ramsden (Rochdale) have also signed. McCall has also dipped into non-league circles to snap up centre-half Steve Williams (Bamber Bridge) and striker James Hanson (Guiseley). Experienced hitmen Michael Boulding and Peter Thorne have agreed to take paycuts to remain at Valley Parade and their experience will benefit those youngsters desperate to make a career in the game, but until the central midfield issue is resolved, their squad doesn’t look any more capable than a top ten finish, perhaps sneaking into the play-offs for seventh spot.
Burton
Burton started last season under Nigel Clough and took a while to find their stride. However, once they did, their promotion juggernaut was unstoppable and by winning all five league games in November they were catapulted from outside the play-offs to the top of the division. Thereon in their promotion never looked in any doubt. League sponsors Blue Square paid out all bets on them for the title early in March after they were nineteen points clear, and although they took their foot off the gas once Clough had left for Derby, they still finished two points clear of Cambridge. Caretaker manager Roy McFarland departed before the end of the season and was replaced by Paul Peschisolido, who had been managing St Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland, but the jury is out as to whether he is right man for the job – afterall, the club were already promoted when he came in.
Over the summer they have increased the capacity of their Pirelli Stadium by 10 % to 6,912, and the possibility of extra revenue will help support the new signings that have been made with Paul Boertien (Walsall), Richard Walker (Bristol Rovers), Jacques Maghoma (unattached) and Martin Butler (undisclosed) arriving. It is believed that Peschisolido has also broken the club’s record transfer in bringing in Russ Penn from Kidderminster (undisclosed) whilst they have beaten off competition from Torquay to land experienced defender Guy Branston (Kettering, undisclosed), the lynchpin of the tightest defence in the conference last season. Shane Redmond (Forest) and Robin Shroot (Birmingham) have come in on loan, with Lee Morris (Hereford) and player of the year Jake Buxton (Derby) moving on to pastures new.
Bury
Before the arrival of Alan Knill the mood around Gigg Lane was rather depressing. Forced into entering administration at the turn of the decade, the Shakers were relegated into the bottom tier in 2001-2 and appeared to be going nowhere fast under Chris Casper, Keith Alexander or Chris Brass. However, the club has been moving in the totally opposite direction under Knill, who took over mid-way through the 2007/8 season and guided them from third bottom to thirteenth come the end of the season. The former Rotherham boss continued to make great strides last season and his team were in with a fighting chance of automatic promotion all season. However, they narrowly missed out by virtue of inferior goal difference to Wycombe (agonisingly it was one goal) and were knocked out in the play-offs in the semi-finals by Shrewsbury on penalties to compound their misery.
They have managed to keep hold of prized asset Andy Bishop, who has now scored 50 goals in 127 starts for the club, and although he is expected to miss the first month of the season having recently undergone a double hernia operation, they have signed well over the summer by bringing in Danny Carlton (Carlisle), Damien Allen (Morecambe) and Ryan Lowe (Chester) and should manage in the meantime. Ben Futcher and Richie Baker have extended their deals, although Paul Morgan (Macclesfield) and Steven Haslam (released) have departed, along with Glynn Hurst, who has retired.
Cheltenham
The Robins endured a miserable season in League One last season, capped off with relegation and financial uncertainty. They were consistently battling the drop and their inability to string together a sequence of wins consigned them to the drop. 22nd at Christmas, that is where they finished at the end of the season. Manager Keith Downing was replaced soon into the season but his replacement Martin Allen did not enjoy a honeymoon period like so many other new managers benefit from. His team helped set a new club record of fifteen games without a win and although the club avoided administration they were forced to put all of their players up for sale and there is still a grey cloud hanging over the club financially with talk of a possible £100k loan from the council materializing to ease cash flow problems.
Paul Connor (Lincoln), Ian Westlake (Wycombe), Shane Higgs (Leeds), Damian Spencer (Ketting), Lloyd Owusu (Adelaide) and John Finnegan (Kidderminster) have all moved on with David Hutton (Tottenham), Michael Pook (Swindon), Barry Hayles (Leicester), Julian Allsop (free), Tom Denton (Huddersfield, loan), Oliver Bozanic (Reading, loan) and Justin Richards (Kidderminster) all arriving at the Abbey Business Stadium.
Chesterfield
The Spireites underachieved again last season as they finished tenth, six points adrift of the play-offs, and that has led to the decision not to renew the contract of former manager Lee Richardson. They started the season around the top ten but had dropped down to mid-table by Christmas and ultimately gave themselves too much ground to make up. Former Oldham boss John Sheridan is now in charge and has brought in Drewe Talbot (Luton), Mark Allott (Tranmere) and Ian Breckin (Forest), whilst the club have also managed to keep hold of prolific forward Jack Lester, who was subject of a £50k bid from the league’s rich boys, Notts County. Gregor Robertson, Derek Niven and Aaron Downes have also extended their deals.
It looks an exciting time to be a Chesterfield fan again with work on a new £13m stadium already underway and with former Sheffield Wednesday chairman David Allan now the majority shareholder at the club and able to pump in finances. With Lester guaranteed to provide goals and Ian Breckin returning to the club they have some very good players for this level, although Sheridan is still looking for another striker and a winger before the season begins.
Crewe
The Railwaymen started the season with some good progress in the cup competitions but that seemed to hinder their performances in the league and they were in the drop zone at the end of September. Bottom of the table at Christmas, they did manage to drag themselves out of trouble with a flurry of wins in February but a failure to win any of their last ten saw them relegated by four points, in 22nd place.
Although Dario Gradi has now been moved upstairs into a technical directors capacity, the emphasis on young players will remain at Gresty Road and assistant Steve Davis has identified Ashley Westwood, Luke Murphy and Byron Moore as three players that may break into Gudjon Thordarson’s first team this season. The half a million strike pairing of Antony Elding and Calvin Zola remain at the club and have been joined by David Button (Tottenham, loan), Mat Mitchel-King (Histon) and Patrick Ada (Histon, undisclosed) although the majority of transfer activity over the summer has seen players depart. Rotherham had picked off Tom Pope (150k) and Mark Carrington (MK Dons), Colin Daniel (Macclesfield), Michael O’Connor (Scunthorpe, £250k), Dan Woodwards (MK Dons), Julien Baudet (Colorado Rapids) and Eugen Bopp (released) have also moved on.
Dagenham & Redbridge
The Daggers joined the League for the first time in 2007/8 and thus managed their highest ever finishing position when 8th last term. They thrashed Chester 6-0 on the opening day and their talented young squad surprised many in the early stages of the season as they flirted with automatic promotion and the play-offs. 7th at the end of September, they had dropped to 10th by Christmas, and it was around the top ten they remained for the remainder of the season, missing out on the playoffs by a point. Plenty of their young players were being coveted though and Brentford have raided Sam Saunders, Danny Foster and Ben Strevens. Jonathon Boardman (Woking) and Glen Southam (Hereford) are two other names that have moved on, although their fans will be delighted that 21-goal Paul Benson has rejected a move to Shrewsbury to remain at Victoria Road. He will be joined by new arrivials Abu Ogogo (Arsenal), Will Antwi (Wycombe), Joshua Scott (Hayes & Yeading) and Stuart Thurgood (Grays) this season. Colourful keeper Tony Roberts has signed a new one year deal and will one again line up between the sticks.
Darlington
Big things were expected of Darlington last season and they overcame a slow start with a strong run of form around November that took them to the top of the table. However, with the league being so fiercely contested last season, a few defeats sat them slip into the play-offs at Christmas, and when they entered administration in February, the ten points deduction that incurred knocked them down into mid-table. They ended the season in twelfth position, seven points off seventh placed Shrewsbury.
Things have been messy at the Northern Echo Darlington Arena over the summer with the club attempting to exit administration. They have found a buyer, Raj Singh, but there were recently false rumours that the club had been closed down and many of the staff had been sacked. Singh is still locked in talks with the administrators as he attempts to finalise a deal, but The Quakers recently had to cancel a pre-season friendly with Middlesbrough because they didn’t have enough players. Colin Todd, who managed Bradford under similar circumstances five years ago, has replaced Dave Penney (who has moved to Oldham) as manager and has brought in Dean Windass as player/assistant manager. Captain Steve Foster has remained but was one of only three players Todd inherited when he took charge of the club. Pawel Abbot (Oldham), Ryan Valentine (Hereford), Neil Austin (Released), Alan White (Luton), Robin Hulbert (Barrow), Ricky Ravenhill (Notts County) and Rob Purdie (Oldham) have left. Todd has replaced them with Chris Lumson (Carlisle), Lee Thorpe (Rochdale), Gary Smith (Brentford), Jeff Smith (Carlisle) and David Knight (Middlesbrough).
Grimsby
The Mariners were similar to Barnet last season in that they were fortunate that there were three teams that started the season with points deductions. They struggled really badly and had picked up only two wins from twenty one games by Christmas. By March things still hadn’t picked up and they had dropped into the relegation zone, but the loan signing of Barry Conlon from Bradford kept them up as the bald-headed assassin lashed in five goals in eight games and they survived by four points, at the expense of Chester.
Over the summer Mike Newell has made Barry Conlon’s loan move from Bradford permanent and Chris Jones (Swansea), Nick Colgan (Sunderland), Michael Leary (free), Peter Sweeney (Leeds), Adrian Forbes (Millwall) and Joe Widdowson (West Ham) have also moved to Blundell Park. Lewis Emanuel will not be joining from Luton though, despite being given an opportunity to link up again with Newell – who took him to Luton in 2006.
Peter Till (Walsall)and Andy Taylor (released) have left, although the club have rejected an initial bid from Peterborough for 19-year old captain and defender Ryan Bennett.
Hereford
The Bulls finished rock bottom of League One last season with an awful away record to blame. They lost 17 on their travels, and finished 16 points adrift of safety, so it is little wonder John Trewick has gutted his side over the summer. Lee Morris (Burton), Darren Dennehy (Cardiff, loan), Glen Southam (Dagenham), Adam Bartlett (Kidderminster), Ryan Green (Bristol Rovers), Keith Lowe (Kidderminster), Leon Constantine (Northampton), Ryan Valentine (Darlington), Marc Pugh (Shrewsbury), Kenny Lunt (Sheff Wed), Jamie Tolley (undisclosed) and Darren Jones (forest Green Rovers) have all arrived. Nigerian International striker Benedict Akwuegba is on trial.
Heading out of the exit door were Dean Beckwith (Northampton), Steve Guinan (Northampton) and Toumani Diagouraga (Peterborough). Jose Veiga’s contract ended and Richard Jackson, Steven O’Leary, Simon Johnson, Kris Taylor, Jack McLeod, Michael D’Agostino, Clint Easton and Karl Broadhurst have all been released.
Off the field, their ground has failed a health and safety inspection and will face a reduced capacity this season until matters are resolved.
Lincoln
The Red Imps talked the talk last season but failed to walk the walk and finished down in 13th. They didn’t get going until October but after winning five of six that month, marched up from 19th to 10th and within a point of the play-offs. However, that was pretty much the highlight of their season, which was also rocked when manager Peter Jackson was diagnosed with throat cancer, from which he has now fully recovered. The former Huddersfield Town boss has signed a new contract after being given the all clear but they have been priced out of a move for Peterborough striker Rene Howe, who made a favourable impression on loan at Rochdale and Morecambe in the last two seasons, and the player their fans are eager to see signed up instead is journeyman crock Michael Bridges.
Star man Dany N’Guessan has jumped ship to join Leicester along with another integral member of their side, Lee Frecklington, who has been snapped up by fast-improving Peterborough. Ben Wright (Macclesfield), Lee Beevers (Colchester), Ayden Duffy (Corby) and Adrian Patulea (Leyton Orient) have also departed. Moving to Sincil Bank are Cian Hughton (Tottenham), Jamie Clarke (Rotherham), Chris Fagan (unattached), Richard Butcher (Notts County), Paul Connor (Cheltenham) and Joe Heath (Forest loan) but it is questionable whether their side is now as strong as that which started last season.
Macclesfield
Macclesfield never looked in danger of going anywhere last season and Keith Alexander’s side were comfortable in lower mid-table. 14th at Christmas, they slid down to 20th at the end of the season, but with plenty starting on minus points, they were still safe by ten points.
Over the summer Izak Reid has penned a new two year contract and Hanza Bensherif (Forest), Ross Draper (Hednesford), Colin Daniel (Crewe), Paul Morgan (Bury), Carl Tremarco (Wrexham), Ben Wright (Lincoln), Steve Reed (Weymouth), Kyle Wilson (FC United of Manchester) and Nat Brown (Wrexham) have arrived. Gareth Evans has joined Bradford, Simon Yeo has retired and Richard Walker, Francis Green, Jordan Hadfield, Jamie Tolley, Danny Thomas, James Jennings, Ahmed Deen, Rikki Bains, Neil Harvey, Christian Millar, Matt Towns and Chris Hirst have all been released.
Morecambe
The Shrimps struggled in the first half of the season and at the end of October were lingering in the lower half of the division. Although 16th going into the New Year, they did improve in 2009 and ended the season in 9th, although they never really looked as though they were good enough to make the play-offs. Had their early seen form (10 pts from first 14 games) matched their later form (53 points in 32 games) and been maintained over the course of the season, they would have made the top seven, so a better start is needed this time around.
As the club plays their last season at Christie Park – work began on the proposed site of their new stadium in spring 2009 and is expected to be completed next summer – they will be without Rene Howe whose loan from Peterborough expired. Sammy McIlroy will start the season with injury concerns over Neil Wainright and Jim Bentley whilst Adam Yates has left for Port Vale and Damien Allen for Bury, but Ian Craney (Huddersfield, loan), Phil Jevons (Huddersfield, loan) and Laurence Wilson (Chester) have arrived and under McIlroy they should punch above their weight once more.
Northampton
The Cobblers started last season in League One reasonably well and were tenth at the end of October. Even going into the New Year they were in mid-table, but the seven point gap to the drop-zone shortened in the following months and despite tonking Crewe 5-1 at home, their form nosedived, they lost four on the spin, and became involved in a relegation scrap. Even going into the last day of the season they had a chance of surviving but a 3-0 loss to Leeds at Elland Road sealed their relegation – in 21st place by a point.
Jason Crowe was offered a new deal but rejected and has moved on to Leeds. Mark Hughes (Walsall), Liam Dolman (released), Ikechi Anya (Sevilla), Leon Constantine (Hereford) and Courtney Cameron (Aston Villa, undisclosed) have also moved on whilst the club are involved in a dispute with Motherwell over Giles Coke. The SPL club have announced Coke as their new signing, although Northampton claim he agreed to a contract extension with them.
Billy McKay (Leicester), Dean Beckwith (Hereford) and Steve Guinan (Hereford) have arrived along with former Man Utd defender John Curtis, who ended last season at Wrexham.
Notts County
The Magpies struggled last season and never looked like they’d win promotion to League One. 17th at Christmas, their decidedly average side was rarely out of the bottom half of the season and they finished the season in 19th, closer to relegation than the play-offs.
However, the mood around the club has lifted over the summer and Ian McParland’s side are now the talk of the division following considerable investment from a Middle-Eastern Consortium. Peter Trembling and Peter Willett, with the financial backing of Munto Finance Ltd, head the consortium and have taken over control of the club from the club’s supporters trust. Following confirmation of their takeover in July, former Lazio, England and Man City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed their director of football, bringing with him sidekick Tord Grip, who has taken up a position as general advisor.
At least for the time being, McParland remains in charge and has signed Lee Hughes (Oldham), Graeme Lee (Bradford), Luke Rodgers (Yeovil), Ben Davies (Shrewsbury), Ricky Ravenhill (Darlington), Craig Westcarr (Kettering) and Brendan Moloney (Forest loan). Winger Matt Richie, who spend last season on loan at Dagenham, is a loan target from Portsmouth.
Leaving Meadow Lane are Myles Weston (Brentford) and Richard Butcher (Lincoln).
Port Vale
The Valiants won their league opener at Luton but mainly struggled under Lee Sinnott and a poor run of form in September, in which they lost six on the spin (which led to Sinnott’s sacking), kept them rooted down the bottom of the table. They could never really make in inroads on those above them, were in the lower reaches going into the New Year, and finished in 18th. Dean Glover was appointed Sinnott’s replacement but resigned towards the end of the season with the club still struggling. Micky Adams was appointed his replacement in June.
Doug Loft (Birhgton), Adam Yates (Morecambe) and Tommy Fraser (Brighton) have all arrived. Geoff Horsfield – who has contracted swine flu recently – has been appointed their assistant manager but it is finances rather than the virus that is preventing further signings. Trialisits Stuart Tomlinson, Kris Taylor and Lassana Sidibe all played in a friendly win over Wolves but the club cannot afford to sign any of them.
Rochdale
Last season was an all too familiar story for Dale. They played some attractive football, fully deserved their spot in the top seven, but once again came up short in the play-offs. Keith Hill’s side often flirted with automatic promotion in a league that was tightly knit at the top, but they finished the season in 6th and hopes of a promotion to League One were dashed by Gillingham.
Rochdale won’t need to improve their side much to figure again this season and there has been little transfer activity at Spotland. Captain Gary Jones has signed a new two year deal and Kenny Arthur (Accringon) and Matthew Edwards (Leeds) have arrived, with right-back Simon Ramsden moving across the Pennines to Bradford.
Talks with Oldham about a possible ground share are only in the early stages and still very informal.
Rotherham
The Millers started last season with a -17 points deduction, for failing to satisfy league rules for exiting administration, but soon made a dent into that by winning all of their first three league games. With Bournemouth and Luton beginning their seasons sluggishly, Mark Robins’ side soon pulled clear of relegation and up the table. They ended the season in 14th, 11 points adrift of 7th place.
Due to a dispute with the landlords of their traditional home Millmoor, Rotherham will once again play their home games at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield next season. However, since Tony Stewart took over the club are in a much stronger position financially and have been able to splash the cash over the summer bringing in Tom Pope from Crewe (£150k) to equal their previous club record signings. In Nicky Law (Sheffield United) they have also secured the services of one of, if not the, most talented midfielders in the division. Paul Warne (Yeovil), Jamie Anderson (Sheffield United) and Kevin Ellsion (Chester) have also signed with Jamie Clarke (Lincoln), Alex Rhodes (Oxford), Steven Cann, Peter Holmes, Omar Garcia, Jamie Yates, Marc Newsham, Andy Todd and Tom Cahill (all released) moving in the other direction. Marc Burchill has returned to Scotland to sign for Kilmarnock and Reuben Reid – who has attracted interest from Blackpool, MK Dons and an unnamed Premiership club – may also be heading out of the exit door, with a £200k price tag believed to have been slapped on his head.
Shrewsbury
The Shrews started the season well and maintained an excellent home record throughout the year, losing only three at the Pro Star Stadium all season and winning fourteen. However, they drew a remarkable twelve away games (winning just three) and that was the difference between automatic promotion and the play-offs (they finished 7th). Although they overcame Bury on penalties in their play-off semi-final they were beaten 1-0 by Gillingham in the final.
Lewis Neal (Carlisle), Craig Disley (Bristol Rovers), Chris Neal (Preston, nominal) and Dean Holden (Falkirk) have joined over the summer and Omer Riza, Kelvin Langmead and Steven Leslie have extender their deals. The most notable departure is that of top-scorer Grant Holt, who has joined Norwich for an undisclosed amount. The Shrews have been knocked back in their attempts to sign Paul Benson from Dagenham as his replacement though. Ben Herd (Aldershot), Grant Holt (Norwich, undisc), Chris Humphrey (Motherwell), Michael Symes (Accringon), Ben Davies (Notts County) and Marc Pugh (Hereford) are others to have departed. Michael Jackson could be out of action for another three months with a knee injury.
Torquay United
The Gulls finished 4th in the Blue Square Premier last season and were promoted back into the Football League, after a two year absence, after beating Cambridge 2-0 in the play-off final.
Paul Buckle has brought in Ben Joyce (Swindon) and Scott Rendell (Peterobrough, loan) for the forthcoming season with Steve Woods and Roscoe D’Sane being released after their contracts expired. Striker Matt Green has joined Oxford on a year long loan.
Verdict
This is my 100 % book of what I feel the true prices for each team should be. The best prices currently available are bracketed.
Stanley won two of their first three games last season but a poor run of form between August and September, in which they lost seven from eight, dragged them down into the lower reaches, from which they never escaped. 19th at Christmas, they finished in 16th position and could never force their way into the top-half of the table.
Over the summer Michael Symes (Shrewsbury) and Luke Joyce (Carlisle) have been brought in. Jimmy Ryan, Phil Edwards and Chris Turner have all signed new contracts, although Kenny Arthur has left for Rochdale.
Off the field developments have seen Eric Whalley, chairman for 14 years, step down and move on to take up a director of football role at Chester. Local businessman David O’Neill, who has already invested £150k in the club, has replaced him as chairman and despite initial concerns the club may be wound up over an order issued by HM Revenue and Customs, those fears have been allayed and John Coleman’s side will line up away at Rotherham on the opening day of the season.
Aldershot
Last season was the first back in the League for the Shots, who went bust in 1992. They surprised a lot of people and their excellent home record in the first half of the season guaranteed their survival. They enjoyed a terrific run of form in November in particular, winning four on the spin and then went into the New Year with the play-offs within reach. However, their form nosedived thereafter as the surprise factor worse off and they played out the remainder of the season comfortably in the bottom half of the table, finishing 15th.
John Halls (unattached), Adam Hinshelwood (unattached), Ben Herd (Shrewsbury) and Clark Masters (Southend) have moved in with Rhys Day moving outwards to Oxford. The club’s fans have rallied around to build up a transfer kitty for manager Gary Waddock, believed to be around the £40k mark, which may help bring in further reinforcements.
One issue that remains confusing to the outsider though is the situation regarding goalkeeper Nikki Bull. There were rumours that Bull was prepared to give up the game full-time and go semi-pro, spending more time on his other interest, property, and that led to the club signing Clark Masters. However, there is a statement doing the rounds in which Bull has rubbished the suggestions he wants to quit, in which he maintains he wants to play at as high a level as possible because he is reaching his peak at the age of 27. It will be interesting to see who lines up between the sticks in their opener at home to Darlington.
Barnet
The Bees started last season in terrible fashion, losing eight of their opening nine fixtures and were fortunate that Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham all started the season with hefty points deductions, propping up the table and keeping them clear of trouble. Consistently down the wrong end of the table, a poor run of results meant manager Paul Fairclough moved into a directors role mid-way into the season, allowing Ian Hendon to take charge on a caretaker basis. The London side were only six points off the drop zone after a March defeat to Darlington, but three wins and a draw from their next four pulled them clear of danger for a 17th placed finish. Several inspired loan signings, in particularly the capture of veteran striker, Paul Furlong, were responsible for the upturn in fortunes, and Hendon was offered a two year contract in reward.
Experienced midfielder Micah Hyde has signed as captain and ‘keeper Jake Cole (Q.P.R) has also been brought in along with Yannick Bolasie, who joins on loan from Plymouth and is the cousin of Lomana LuaLua. Outbound are Max Porter (Rushden) and Cliff Akurang (Rushden, loan). Adam Birchall, Michael Leary, Nicky Nicolau and Ran Kadoch have all been released, whilst Henson will no longer be available for selection, making the decision to hang up his boots. Gary Breen has signed a new deal to become player/assistant manager.
Bournemouth
The Cherries were docked 17 points last season for failing to satisfy league rules for exiting administration so were behind before they had even kicked a ball. Up until Christmas they were still in danger of dropping out of the league but some good form in January and February saw them close the gap to safety, and with Chester and Grimsby struggling, they leapfrogged them around March time, ending the season in a rich vein of form by winning all of their last three games, and finishing nine points away from 23rd spot.
Survival must have been a huge relief to their supporters after a series of managers came and went to add to the off the field turmoil that had been holding the club back. Kevin Bond started the season as boss but was sacked in September and his replacement, Jimmy Quinn, also left the club after a short stay with Eddie Howe taking over and becoming the youngest manager in the league at 31. It was under Howe that the Cherries played their best football and were able to pull clear of relegation.
Off the field, events at Dean Court have resembled a soap opera. Adam Murry failed in an attempt to buy 50 % of the club’s shares from Paul Baker in late 2008, after missing a deadline, but during the summer his takeover, as part of a consortium with Jeff Mostyn, Steve Sly, Eddie Mitchell and Neill Blake, has finally been completed. Mitchell has been appointed chairman and has temporarily fended off HM Revenue and Customs, to whom monies are owed. His task is now to persuade the Football League to lift the transfer embargo that has been in place at the club.
Danny Hollands is likely to miss the start of the season with a knee injury, along with captain Kevin Cooper, who is sidelined for six months. Karl Broadhurst is training with the club and is interested in re-signing after being released by Hereford, and there are rumours that Harry Redknapp may do the club a favour by sending several youngsters out on loan before the season starts. Time is running out for Howe to assemble his side before the season starts and the eleven men that are thrown out onto the field at Bury on the 8th August may well be a collection of strangers.
Bradford
The Bantams made an explosive start to the last season, winning five of their opening six fixtures with veteran striker Peter Thorne in rampant mood, rocketing to the top of the goalscoring charts. Stuart McCall’s side proved tough to beat at home, losing only twice at Valley Parade all season, but they failed to replicate that form away from home and an injury to their main creative force, Omar Daley, knocked them for six. An inability to break down teams at home also meant points were squandered an having been in contention for an automatic promotion place for the first half of the season, their form gradually faded away and they even missed out on the play-offs, with a wretched run stretching between March and April, in which they picked up just three points from a possible twenty seven on offer, chiefly responsible. Locked in a battle at the top with Bury, Brentford and Exeter behind leaders Wycombe at Christmas, Bradford ended up finishing in 9th position, two points out of the play-offs.
Failure to win promotion has forced McCall into cutting his player budget and Paul McLaren (Tranmere) and skipper Graeme Lee (Notts County) have been pushed out of the door along with Kyle Nix (Mansfield), Paul Heckingbottom (Mansfield), Barry Conlon (Grimsby) and Rhys Evans (released). Paul Arnison has had his contract cancelled by mutual consent and is training with Darlington.
The decision to release Evans has baffled many fans with no experienced backup stopper on the club’s books and McCall has taken a gamble in bringing in Huddersfield Town’s young ‘keeper Simon Eastwood on loan to battle with Jon McLaughlin (who has played only one senior game for the club) for the goalkeeping jersey.
Key men Nicky Law and Dean Furman, on loan last season, have also decided to further their careers elsewhere, joining Rotherham and Oldham respectively, which has left Bradford’s engine room looking very week, especially since Oldham also pipped them to the signature of Andy Holdsworth who had looked set to sign from Huddersfield.
However, McCall has managed to persuade Zesh Rehman (Q.P.R) to make his loan deal permanent and Gareth Evans (Macclesfield), Jon Bateson (Blackburn) and Simon Ramsden (Rochdale) have also signed. McCall has also dipped into non-league circles to snap up centre-half Steve Williams (Bamber Bridge) and striker James Hanson (Guiseley). Experienced hitmen Michael Boulding and Peter Thorne have agreed to take paycuts to remain at Valley Parade and their experience will benefit those youngsters desperate to make a career in the game, but until the central midfield issue is resolved, their squad doesn’t look any more capable than a top ten finish, perhaps sneaking into the play-offs for seventh spot.
Burton
Burton started last season under Nigel Clough and took a while to find their stride. However, once they did, their promotion juggernaut was unstoppable and by winning all five league games in November they were catapulted from outside the play-offs to the top of the division. Thereon in their promotion never looked in any doubt. League sponsors Blue Square paid out all bets on them for the title early in March after they were nineteen points clear, and although they took their foot off the gas once Clough had left for Derby, they still finished two points clear of Cambridge. Caretaker manager Roy McFarland departed before the end of the season and was replaced by Paul Peschisolido, who had been managing St Patrick’s Athletic in Ireland, but the jury is out as to whether he is right man for the job – afterall, the club were already promoted when he came in.
Over the summer they have increased the capacity of their Pirelli Stadium by 10 % to 6,912, and the possibility of extra revenue will help support the new signings that have been made with Paul Boertien (Walsall), Richard Walker (Bristol Rovers), Jacques Maghoma (unattached) and Martin Butler (undisclosed) arriving. It is believed that Peschisolido has also broken the club’s record transfer in bringing in Russ Penn from Kidderminster (undisclosed) whilst they have beaten off competition from Torquay to land experienced defender Guy Branston (Kettering, undisclosed), the lynchpin of the tightest defence in the conference last season. Shane Redmond (Forest) and Robin Shroot (Birmingham) have come in on loan, with Lee Morris (Hereford) and player of the year Jake Buxton (Derby) moving on to pastures new.
Bury
Before the arrival of Alan Knill the mood around Gigg Lane was rather depressing. Forced into entering administration at the turn of the decade, the Shakers were relegated into the bottom tier in 2001-2 and appeared to be going nowhere fast under Chris Casper, Keith Alexander or Chris Brass. However, the club has been moving in the totally opposite direction under Knill, who took over mid-way through the 2007/8 season and guided them from third bottom to thirteenth come the end of the season. The former Rotherham boss continued to make great strides last season and his team were in with a fighting chance of automatic promotion all season. However, they narrowly missed out by virtue of inferior goal difference to Wycombe (agonisingly it was one goal) and were knocked out in the play-offs in the semi-finals by Shrewsbury on penalties to compound their misery.
They have managed to keep hold of prized asset Andy Bishop, who has now scored 50 goals in 127 starts for the club, and although he is expected to miss the first month of the season having recently undergone a double hernia operation, they have signed well over the summer by bringing in Danny Carlton (Carlisle), Damien Allen (Morecambe) and Ryan Lowe (Chester) and should manage in the meantime. Ben Futcher and Richie Baker have extended their deals, although Paul Morgan (Macclesfield) and Steven Haslam (released) have departed, along with Glynn Hurst, who has retired.
Cheltenham
The Robins endured a miserable season in League One last season, capped off with relegation and financial uncertainty. They were consistently battling the drop and their inability to string together a sequence of wins consigned them to the drop. 22nd at Christmas, that is where they finished at the end of the season. Manager Keith Downing was replaced soon into the season but his replacement Martin Allen did not enjoy a honeymoon period like so many other new managers benefit from. His team helped set a new club record of fifteen games without a win and although the club avoided administration they were forced to put all of their players up for sale and there is still a grey cloud hanging over the club financially with talk of a possible £100k loan from the council materializing to ease cash flow problems.
Paul Connor (Lincoln), Ian Westlake (Wycombe), Shane Higgs (Leeds), Damian Spencer (Ketting), Lloyd Owusu (Adelaide) and John Finnegan (Kidderminster) have all moved on with David Hutton (Tottenham), Michael Pook (Swindon), Barry Hayles (Leicester), Julian Allsop (free), Tom Denton (Huddersfield, loan), Oliver Bozanic (Reading, loan) and Justin Richards (Kidderminster) all arriving at the Abbey Business Stadium.
Chesterfield
The Spireites underachieved again last season as they finished tenth, six points adrift of the play-offs, and that has led to the decision not to renew the contract of former manager Lee Richardson. They started the season around the top ten but had dropped down to mid-table by Christmas and ultimately gave themselves too much ground to make up. Former Oldham boss John Sheridan is now in charge and has brought in Drewe Talbot (Luton), Mark Allott (Tranmere) and Ian Breckin (Forest), whilst the club have also managed to keep hold of prolific forward Jack Lester, who was subject of a £50k bid from the league’s rich boys, Notts County. Gregor Robertson, Derek Niven and Aaron Downes have also extended their deals.
It looks an exciting time to be a Chesterfield fan again with work on a new £13m stadium already underway and with former Sheffield Wednesday chairman David Allan now the majority shareholder at the club and able to pump in finances. With Lester guaranteed to provide goals and Ian Breckin returning to the club they have some very good players for this level, although Sheridan is still looking for another striker and a winger before the season begins.
Crewe
The Railwaymen started the season with some good progress in the cup competitions but that seemed to hinder their performances in the league and they were in the drop zone at the end of September. Bottom of the table at Christmas, they did manage to drag themselves out of trouble with a flurry of wins in February but a failure to win any of their last ten saw them relegated by four points, in 22nd place.
Although Dario Gradi has now been moved upstairs into a technical directors capacity, the emphasis on young players will remain at Gresty Road and assistant Steve Davis has identified Ashley Westwood, Luke Murphy and Byron Moore as three players that may break into Gudjon Thordarson’s first team this season. The half a million strike pairing of Antony Elding and Calvin Zola remain at the club and have been joined by David Button (Tottenham, loan), Mat Mitchel-King (Histon) and Patrick Ada (Histon, undisclosed) although the majority of transfer activity over the summer has seen players depart. Rotherham had picked off Tom Pope (150k) and Mark Carrington (MK Dons), Colin Daniel (Macclesfield), Michael O’Connor (Scunthorpe, £250k), Dan Woodwards (MK Dons), Julien Baudet (Colorado Rapids) and Eugen Bopp (released) have also moved on.
Dagenham & Redbridge
The Daggers joined the League for the first time in 2007/8 and thus managed their highest ever finishing position when 8th last term. They thrashed Chester 6-0 on the opening day and their talented young squad surprised many in the early stages of the season as they flirted with automatic promotion and the play-offs. 7th at the end of September, they had dropped to 10th by Christmas, and it was around the top ten they remained for the remainder of the season, missing out on the playoffs by a point. Plenty of their young players were being coveted though and Brentford have raided Sam Saunders, Danny Foster and Ben Strevens. Jonathon Boardman (Woking) and Glen Southam (Hereford) are two other names that have moved on, although their fans will be delighted that 21-goal Paul Benson has rejected a move to Shrewsbury to remain at Victoria Road. He will be joined by new arrivials Abu Ogogo (Arsenal), Will Antwi (Wycombe), Joshua Scott (Hayes & Yeading) and Stuart Thurgood (Grays) this season. Colourful keeper Tony Roberts has signed a new one year deal and will one again line up between the sticks.
Darlington
Big things were expected of Darlington last season and they overcame a slow start with a strong run of form around November that took them to the top of the table. However, with the league being so fiercely contested last season, a few defeats sat them slip into the play-offs at Christmas, and when they entered administration in February, the ten points deduction that incurred knocked them down into mid-table. They ended the season in twelfth position, seven points off seventh placed Shrewsbury.
Things have been messy at the Northern Echo Darlington Arena over the summer with the club attempting to exit administration. They have found a buyer, Raj Singh, but there were recently false rumours that the club had been closed down and many of the staff had been sacked. Singh is still locked in talks with the administrators as he attempts to finalise a deal, but The Quakers recently had to cancel a pre-season friendly with Middlesbrough because they didn’t have enough players. Colin Todd, who managed Bradford under similar circumstances five years ago, has replaced Dave Penney (who has moved to Oldham) as manager and has brought in Dean Windass as player/assistant manager. Captain Steve Foster has remained but was one of only three players Todd inherited when he took charge of the club. Pawel Abbot (Oldham), Ryan Valentine (Hereford), Neil Austin (Released), Alan White (Luton), Robin Hulbert (Barrow), Ricky Ravenhill (Notts County) and Rob Purdie (Oldham) have left. Todd has replaced them with Chris Lumson (Carlisle), Lee Thorpe (Rochdale), Gary Smith (Brentford), Jeff Smith (Carlisle) and David Knight (Middlesbrough).
Grimsby
The Mariners were similar to Barnet last season in that they were fortunate that there were three teams that started the season with points deductions. They struggled really badly and had picked up only two wins from twenty one games by Christmas. By March things still hadn’t picked up and they had dropped into the relegation zone, but the loan signing of Barry Conlon from Bradford kept them up as the bald-headed assassin lashed in five goals in eight games and they survived by four points, at the expense of Chester.
Over the summer Mike Newell has made Barry Conlon’s loan move from Bradford permanent and Chris Jones (Swansea), Nick Colgan (Sunderland), Michael Leary (free), Peter Sweeney (Leeds), Adrian Forbes (Millwall) and Joe Widdowson (West Ham) have also moved to Blundell Park. Lewis Emanuel will not be joining from Luton though, despite being given an opportunity to link up again with Newell – who took him to Luton in 2006.
Peter Till (Walsall)and Andy Taylor (released) have left, although the club have rejected an initial bid from Peterborough for 19-year old captain and defender Ryan Bennett.
Hereford
The Bulls finished rock bottom of League One last season with an awful away record to blame. They lost 17 on their travels, and finished 16 points adrift of safety, so it is little wonder John Trewick has gutted his side over the summer. Lee Morris (Burton), Darren Dennehy (Cardiff, loan), Glen Southam (Dagenham), Adam Bartlett (Kidderminster), Ryan Green (Bristol Rovers), Keith Lowe (Kidderminster), Leon Constantine (Northampton), Ryan Valentine (Darlington), Marc Pugh (Shrewsbury), Kenny Lunt (Sheff Wed), Jamie Tolley (undisclosed) and Darren Jones (forest Green Rovers) have all arrived. Nigerian International striker Benedict Akwuegba is on trial.
Heading out of the exit door were Dean Beckwith (Northampton), Steve Guinan (Northampton) and Toumani Diagouraga (Peterborough). Jose Veiga’s contract ended and Richard Jackson, Steven O’Leary, Simon Johnson, Kris Taylor, Jack McLeod, Michael D’Agostino, Clint Easton and Karl Broadhurst have all been released.
Off the field, their ground has failed a health and safety inspection and will face a reduced capacity this season until matters are resolved.
Lincoln
The Red Imps talked the talk last season but failed to walk the walk and finished down in 13th. They didn’t get going until October but after winning five of six that month, marched up from 19th to 10th and within a point of the play-offs. However, that was pretty much the highlight of their season, which was also rocked when manager Peter Jackson was diagnosed with throat cancer, from which he has now fully recovered. The former Huddersfield Town boss has signed a new contract after being given the all clear but they have been priced out of a move for Peterborough striker Rene Howe, who made a favourable impression on loan at Rochdale and Morecambe in the last two seasons, and the player their fans are eager to see signed up instead is journeyman crock Michael Bridges.
Star man Dany N’Guessan has jumped ship to join Leicester along with another integral member of their side, Lee Frecklington, who has been snapped up by fast-improving Peterborough. Ben Wright (Macclesfield), Lee Beevers (Colchester), Ayden Duffy (Corby) and Adrian Patulea (Leyton Orient) have also departed. Moving to Sincil Bank are Cian Hughton (Tottenham), Jamie Clarke (Rotherham), Chris Fagan (unattached), Richard Butcher (Notts County), Paul Connor (Cheltenham) and Joe Heath (Forest loan) but it is questionable whether their side is now as strong as that which started last season.
Macclesfield
Macclesfield never looked in danger of going anywhere last season and Keith Alexander’s side were comfortable in lower mid-table. 14th at Christmas, they slid down to 20th at the end of the season, but with plenty starting on minus points, they were still safe by ten points.
Over the summer Izak Reid has penned a new two year contract and Hanza Bensherif (Forest), Ross Draper (Hednesford), Colin Daniel (Crewe), Paul Morgan (Bury), Carl Tremarco (Wrexham), Ben Wright (Lincoln), Steve Reed (Weymouth), Kyle Wilson (FC United of Manchester) and Nat Brown (Wrexham) have arrived. Gareth Evans has joined Bradford, Simon Yeo has retired and Richard Walker, Francis Green, Jordan Hadfield, Jamie Tolley, Danny Thomas, James Jennings, Ahmed Deen, Rikki Bains, Neil Harvey, Christian Millar, Matt Towns and Chris Hirst have all been released.
Morecambe
The Shrimps struggled in the first half of the season and at the end of October were lingering in the lower half of the division. Although 16th going into the New Year, they did improve in 2009 and ended the season in 9th, although they never really looked as though they were good enough to make the play-offs. Had their early seen form (10 pts from first 14 games) matched their later form (53 points in 32 games) and been maintained over the course of the season, they would have made the top seven, so a better start is needed this time around.
As the club plays their last season at Christie Park – work began on the proposed site of their new stadium in spring 2009 and is expected to be completed next summer – they will be without Rene Howe whose loan from Peterborough expired. Sammy McIlroy will start the season with injury concerns over Neil Wainright and Jim Bentley whilst Adam Yates has left for Port Vale and Damien Allen for Bury, but Ian Craney (Huddersfield, loan), Phil Jevons (Huddersfield, loan) and Laurence Wilson (Chester) have arrived and under McIlroy they should punch above their weight once more.
Northampton
The Cobblers started last season in League One reasonably well and were tenth at the end of October. Even going into the New Year they were in mid-table, but the seven point gap to the drop-zone shortened in the following months and despite tonking Crewe 5-1 at home, their form nosedived, they lost four on the spin, and became involved in a relegation scrap. Even going into the last day of the season they had a chance of surviving but a 3-0 loss to Leeds at Elland Road sealed their relegation – in 21st place by a point.
Jason Crowe was offered a new deal but rejected and has moved on to Leeds. Mark Hughes (Walsall), Liam Dolman (released), Ikechi Anya (Sevilla), Leon Constantine (Hereford) and Courtney Cameron (Aston Villa, undisclosed) have also moved on whilst the club are involved in a dispute with Motherwell over Giles Coke. The SPL club have announced Coke as their new signing, although Northampton claim he agreed to a contract extension with them.
Billy McKay (Leicester), Dean Beckwith (Hereford) and Steve Guinan (Hereford) have arrived along with former Man Utd defender John Curtis, who ended last season at Wrexham.
Notts County
The Magpies struggled last season and never looked like they’d win promotion to League One. 17th at Christmas, their decidedly average side was rarely out of the bottom half of the season and they finished the season in 19th, closer to relegation than the play-offs.
However, the mood around the club has lifted over the summer and Ian McParland’s side are now the talk of the division following considerable investment from a Middle-Eastern Consortium. Peter Trembling and Peter Willett, with the financial backing of Munto Finance Ltd, head the consortium and have taken over control of the club from the club’s supporters trust. Following confirmation of their takeover in July, former Lazio, England and Man City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed their director of football, bringing with him sidekick Tord Grip, who has taken up a position as general advisor.
At least for the time being, McParland remains in charge and has signed Lee Hughes (Oldham), Graeme Lee (Bradford), Luke Rodgers (Yeovil), Ben Davies (Shrewsbury), Ricky Ravenhill (Darlington), Craig Westcarr (Kettering) and Brendan Moloney (Forest loan). Winger Matt Richie, who spend last season on loan at Dagenham, is a loan target from Portsmouth.
Leaving Meadow Lane are Myles Weston (Brentford) and Richard Butcher (Lincoln).
Port Vale
The Valiants won their league opener at Luton but mainly struggled under Lee Sinnott and a poor run of form in September, in which they lost six on the spin (which led to Sinnott’s sacking), kept them rooted down the bottom of the table. They could never really make in inroads on those above them, were in the lower reaches going into the New Year, and finished in 18th. Dean Glover was appointed Sinnott’s replacement but resigned towards the end of the season with the club still struggling. Micky Adams was appointed his replacement in June.
Doug Loft (Birhgton), Adam Yates (Morecambe) and Tommy Fraser (Brighton) have all arrived. Geoff Horsfield – who has contracted swine flu recently – has been appointed their assistant manager but it is finances rather than the virus that is preventing further signings. Trialisits Stuart Tomlinson, Kris Taylor and Lassana Sidibe all played in a friendly win over Wolves but the club cannot afford to sign any of them.
Rochdale
Last season was an all too familiar story for Dale. They played some attractive football, fully deserved their spot in the top seven, but once again came up short in the play-offs. Keith Hill’s side often flirted with automatic promotion in a league that was tightly knit at the top, but they finished the season in 6th and hopes of a promotion to League One were dashed by Gillingham.
Rochdale won’t need to improve their side much to figure again this season and there has been little transfer activity at Spotland. Captain Gary Jones has signed a new two year deal and Kenny Arthur (Accringon) and Matthew Edwards (Leeds) have arrived, with right-back Simon Ramsden moving across the Pennines to Bradford.
Talks with Oldham about a possible ground share are only in the early stages and still very informal.
Rotherham
The Millers started last season with a -17 points deduction, for failing to satisfy league rules for exiting administration, but soon made a dent into that by winning all of their first three league games. With Bournemouth and Luton beginning their seasons sluggishly, Mark Robins’ side soon pulled clear of relegation and up the table. They ended the season in 14th, 11 points adrift of 7th place.
Due to a dispute with the landlords of their traditional home Millmoor, Rotherham will once again play their home games at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield next season. However, since Tony Stewart took over the club are in a much stronger position financially and have been able to splash the cash over the summer bringing in Tom Pope from Crewe (£150k) to equal their previous club record signings. In Nicky Law (Sheffield United) they have also secured the services of one of, if not the, most talented midfielders in the division. Paul Warne (Yeovil), Jamie Anderson (Sheffield United) and Kevin Ellsion (Chester) have also signed with Jamie Clarke (Lincoln), Alex Rhodes (Oxford), Steven Cann, Peter Holmes, Omar Garcia, Jamie Yates, Marc Newsham, Andy Todd and Tom Cahill (all released) moving in the other direction. Marc Burchill has returned to Scotland to sign for Kilmarnock and Reuben Reid – who has attracted interest from Blackpool, MK Dons and an unnamed Premiership club – may also be heading out of the exit door, with a £200k price tag believed to have been slapped on his head.
Shrewsbury
The Shrews started the season well and maintained an excellent home record throughout the year, losing only three at the Pro Star Stadium all season and winning fourteen. However, they drew a remarkable twelve away games (winning just three) and that was the difference between automatic promotion and the play-offs (they finished 7th). Although they overcame Bury on penalties in their play-off semi-final they were beaten 1-0 by Gillingham in the final.
Lewis Neal (Carlisle), Craig Disley (Bristol Rovers), Chris Neal (Preston, nominal) and Dean Holden (Falkirk) have joined over the summer and Omer Riza, Kelvin Langmead and Steven Leslie have extender their deals. The most notable departure is that of top-scorer Grant Holt, who has joined Norwich for an undisclosed amount. The Shrews have been knocked back in their attempts to sign Paul Benson from Dagenham as his replacement though. Ben Herd (Aldershot), Grant Holt (Norwich, undisc), Chris Humphrey (Motherwell), Michael Symes (Accringon), Ben Davies (Notts County) and Marc Pugh (Hereford) are others to have departed. Michael Jackson could be out of action for another three months with a knee injury.
Torquay United
The Gulls finished 4th in the Blue Square Premier last season and were promoted back into the Football League, after a two year absence, after beating Cambridge 2-0 in the play-off final.
Paul Buckle has brought in Ben Joyce (Swindon) and Scott Rendell (Peterobrough, loan) for the forthcoming season with Steve Woods and Roscoe D’Sane being released after their contracts expired. Striker Matt Green has joined Oxford on a year long loan.
Verdict
This is my 100 % book of what I feel the true prices for each team should be. The best prices currently available are bracketed.
Notts County 8/1 (6/1), Rotherham 8/1 (8/1), Bury 10/1 (16/1), Rochdale 12/1 (20/1), Shrewsbury 14/1 (14/1), Chesterfield 14/1 (16/1), Bradford 18/1 (14/1), Crewe 18/1 (20/1), Morecambe 22/1 (39/1), Northampton 25/1 (14/1), Hereford 25/1 (33/1), Lincoln 28/1 (34/1), Bournemouth 28/1 (16/1), Darlington 33/1 (39/1), Grimsby 33/1 (33/1), Cheltenham 40/1 (28/1), Burton 50/1 (50/1), Dagenham & Redbridge 50/1 (33/1), Port Vale 50/1 (40/1), Aldershot 80/1 (66/1), Barnet 100/1 (74/1), Torquay 150/1 (28/1), Macclesfield 200/1 (100/1), Accrington 250/1 (125).
With recent happenings at Meadow Lane, I make Notts County the favourites for the division. In a league that lacks mega money, the Magpies are at an obvious advantage over many of the sides in the division but Rotherham also have money to spend and for that reason I make them joint-favourites with several eyecatching signings also been made over the summer. Whereas Notts County must improve drastically from last season to figure here under Ian McParland, the Millers had the backbone of a good side last term and without a points deduction they can hit the ground running this year. However, I feel the value bet of the season is Bury, who I make a 10/1 chance on my tissue but who are currently available at 16/1 with Skybet. Alan Knill’s men gave a good account last season and were in the play-off or automatic promotion places throughout. They look to have enviable firepower upfront and look overpriced. I think Rochdale are overpriced too and have each-way possibilities although I doubt they have enough in their team to win the division. I think some of the relegated sides from League One are underpriced (Bournemouth and Northampton especially) so should be avoided along with Bradford, who need to sign a new central midfielder before they can think of reaching the play-offs, and according to my book, Torquay represent the worst value. Maybe I have overlooked something there I’m not sure. However, if looking for an outright League Two winner bet, my recommendation is Bury at 16/1 with Skybet.
My other assorted bets for this season:
I am also backing Bury on the handicaps with Coral (+12 pts, 18/1) and Skybet (+7, 20/1) - see each bookmakers site for the full list of handicap points they have allotted.
Skybet are also doing novelty group betting in which one of teams from each group have to be picked with the winner determined by who accrues the most points. My suggested accumulator is as follows:
Group 1: (Rotherham, Shrewsbury, Bradford) - Rotherham
Group 2: (Notts C, Northampton, Chesterfield) - Notts County
Group 3: (Bury, Bournemouth, Crewe) - Bury
Group 4: (Rochdale, Cheltenham, Dagenham) - Rochdale
Group 7: (Morecambe, Aldershot, Barnet) - Morecambe
The accumulator offers combined odds of 69.47/1 with Skybet.
With regards to top goalscorer betting, I think Michael Boulding is overpriced at 33/1 for Bradford. He has knuckled down well in pre-season, has endeared himself to everyone with his fantastic attitude and plays for one of the highest scoring sides in the division. 33/1 Blue Square, each way betting on the top four places at a quarter of the odds.