Some big clubs have entered the League Two fray; the likes of Plymouth and Swindon, for instance, as well as the emergence of a club in Crawley Town who haven’t held back in recent years when it comes to flexing their financial muscles, which make League Two an intriguing and highly competitive division – although the bookmakers clearly have a different opinion.
Last season’s Conference National champs, Crawley, are overwhelming favourites to make it back-to-back promotions under Steve Evans, despite the fact the club are set to embark on their first ever forage into the Football League in their 115-year history. The Red Devils finished a staggering 15 points above their closest pursuer, which just so happened to be an AFC Wimbledon side who’ll also be making their Football League débuts following victory in the play-off final over Luton.
The expectations within the terraces are sky-high at Broadfield Stadium, home of the West Sussex side, with the club having kept the main bulk of the squad that steamrollered their way to promotion last season, more notably the prolific Matt Tubbs up top. He’ll be joined by a number of what would appear shrewd forward summer signings – Wesley Thomas and John Akinde among them – as Crawley set out to replicate their scoring antics from last season, when they notched 93 goals in 46 league games.
Paolo Di Canio’s first spell in English management with Swindon has been well publicised – he’s a charismatic sort who the media simply cannot get enough of, and the general consensus is that his passion for the sport will rub off on his players. That could well be the case, but a number of his summer recruits look worryingly suspect on paper, with the Italian having signed nearly half-a-dozen players from abroad with absolutely no Football League experience.
Another managerial appointment which has ignited optimism within the faithful has been Paul Buckle’s switch from Torquay to Bristol Rovers. Talk of promotion straight back to League One has been rife all summer long, especially as Buckle wasn’t shy with regards to the transfer market, even having the audacity to recruit Chris Zebroski and Scott Bevan from his former employers – but those were just two of more than a dozen players Buckle brought in to bolster Rovers’ strong promotion claims.
One team who have been thereabouts in recent times when it comes to promotion is Shrewsbury – seventh in 2008-2009 and fourth in 2010-2011, missing out on automatic promotion by a solitary point last season. Bradford and Southend are two interesting teams at long odds, with the former having recruited heavily in the summer, ditching plenty of the deadwood from a dismal 2010-2011 term, whereas the latter are a club who appear to have found some stable footing under Paul Sturrock – while the capture of former Millwall favourite Neil Harris could prove a stunning piece of business.
However, my money is going firmly on Bristol Rovers, a team that won’t be shy in front of goal this season. Manager Paul Buckle knows this division well and has a massive squad, one which on paper should be far too good for most opposition in this company – especially in the final third. Forward Matt Harrold joined from league rivals Shrewsbury in the summer, as did Leyton Orient veteran Scott McGleish, whose experience will come in handy alongside the powerful front duo of Joe Anyinsah, a summer signing from League One Carlisle, and former Gull Chris Zebroski.
At the other end of the League Two spectrum, Macclesfield and Barnet are once again amongst the favourites for the drop. Barnet have evaded the drop by the skin of their teeth in recent seasons but may not be so lucky on this occasions, especially as there aren’t too many poorer teams than them in the division.
Cheltenham fared better than many initially envisaged but did concede by the bucket-load and after they were unable to prevent top-scorer Wes Thomas from seeking pastures new, The Robins look certain to be involved in a relegation dogfight – and the bookies have a similar opinion.
Despite the fact Hereford are considered to be one of the favourites for relegation, I’m willing to stick my neck on the line and predict a tidy season for The Bulls, who finished just three-points clear of the relegation spots in 2010-2011. Manager Jamie Pitman won’t have an unsettled squad when the season starts, as summer acquisitions were seldom. Stuart Fleetwood’s goals should help them tick along quite nicely.
Plymouth Argyle are still a club in administration; still a club in free-fall as well following back-to-back relegations. Manager Peter Reid, to his credit, has decided to stay-put despite seeing his squad decimated since joining last summer. Another gruelling campaign is to be expected; after all, this is an unsettled squad that reportedly still isn’t being paid the correct amounts in a timely fashion, but there is definitely enough of something amidst the clutter and off-pitch fiascos to at least put the brakes on their relegation slide, and possibly even mount a surprise play-off bid – or is that pushing it?
Betting Picks
To Win League Two: Bristol Rovers @ 12/1 WilliamHill
To Be Promoted: Bradford @ 6/1 VCbet
E/W Value: Plymouth Argyle (Outright: 33/1 Bet365; Promotion: 6/1 SkyBet)
To Be Relegated: Cheltenham Town @ 10/3 BetFred
