Northampton
It was a miserable
season last time out for the Cobblers of Northampton. The club struggled for
vast amounts of last season and going through 3 different managers in one
season is never a good sign. Both Justin Edinburgh and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
were sacked during the course of the season and the club finished the campaign
with current boss Dean Austin. Despite some encouraging performances under
Austin, the club were ultimately relegated. However, the fans and owners will
expect promotion at the first attempt in the new season and their squad is more
than good enough at this level. The likes of John-Joe O’Toole, Matt Crooks,
Aaron Pierre, Ash Taylor and Daniel Powell are all excellent players at this
level and should Northampton continue how they finished the previous season,
they have every chance of competing for promotion. However, the common issue for
any relegated team is adapting to their new league and Northampton will have to
adapt quickly if their season is to end with success. Dean Austin has brought
in new faces to freshen up the squad and his new recruits include proven goal scorers
Andy Williams and Junior Morias as well as goalkeeper Lewis Ward and full back
Hakeem Odoffin. Both Williams and Morias add much needed fire power to a pretty
goal shy Northampton attack. Austin will be confident he can get a tune out of his
new strikers. The promotion pressure will be on with the fans expecting promotion
and Austin must have a good start to the season to install that belief into the
players and fans.
I think Northampton
will try to compete for promotion but like many relegated sides, adapting to a
new league takes time and I feel Northampton will finish in mid-table this
season and fall short of competing for a play-off spot.
My Predicted Finish:
13th
Notts County
It was an encouraging
first full season in charge for Kevin Nolan after Notts County finished in the
play-offs but lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners Coventry. Fast Forward
3 months and with a new squad and an incoming new manager following Kevin Nolan’s
sacking, Notts County will feel their chances of promotion are much stronger
this time around. County owner Alan Hardy has put his money where his mouth is
after promising to bring Notts County back to where it should be and has recruited
excellent players at this level including Enzio Boldewijn, Nathan Thomas, Kane
Hemmings, Kristian Dennis and David Vaughan. Boldewijn joins after an excellent
2 seasons at Crawley and will be confident his good form can continue. While
proven goal scorers Kane Hemmings and Kristian Dennis add dangerous firepower
to Notts County and will both be crucial to their chances at promotion. Many of
last seasons play-off semi finalists remain at the club with the likes of
Richard Duffy, Matt Tootle and Jon Stead all hoping this season can bring the
promotion they missed out on. The Notts County fans are optimistic, and promotion
is no doubt high on their agenda. With a new manager on the horizon, the appointment
must be spot on and keep that belief in the fans.
I would of said Notts
County for automatic promotion had Kevin Nolan stayed in charge because he
built an extremely strong squad but a poor start cost him and the new manager must
hit the ground running to give Notts the best chance of keeping automatic promotion
alive. I think Notts County will come good if the right manager is appointed
and I still expect them to be finishing in the automatic promotion places.
My Predicted Finish:
2nd
Oldham
It has been a fall
from grace for Oldham. The club has sunk to the 4th tier of English
football after consecutive fights against relegation in League 1 and now the
club must rebuild and go again. The club begins the new season with a club
legend as their new boss. Frankie Bunn has Oldham flowing through his veins and
he will be determined to get Oldham back up at the first attempt. However,
Oldham are taking a calculated risk with Bunn because this would be his first
job as a manager of a football club having worked on the coaching staff of
other clubs like Huddersfield and Manchester City. Oldham are in transition as much
of the relegated squad has left the club with the likes of Craig Davies, Ryan
McLaughlin, Aaron Holloway, Anthony Gerrard and Brian Wilson all leaving for
new clubs and Bunn has had to completely build a new team to make Oldham
competitive. Bunn has recruited 11 new faces so far in the transfer window and
the likes of Jose Baxter, Andy Taylor, Chris O’Grady, Giles Coke and Ishmael
Miller have signed up this season. Oldham fans want a football team to be proud
off and just win some football matches. Too many draws, and poor defeats saw
them relegated and the long-suffering fans just want to see a winning football
team. Oldham will have expectations of being promoted at the first attempt and play-off
spot would be the minimum expectation this season and anything less is a poor
season for the club. Frankie Bunn will be confident he can deliver but like
every new manager he must make a good start to give the fans and players he is
the right man to lead them forward this season. The pressure is on the Lactics
to perform this season and promotion will no doubt be the prime objective this
season.
I think Oldham will
be competitive this season and will be trying to compete for a play-off spot. However,
I feel there are much stronger squads in the league and it is difficult to
install a winning mentality, so I feel this is a transition season for Oldham
and I expect them to finish in mid-table this season.
My Predicted Finish:
15th
Port Vale
It’s fair to say it
has been a difficult couple of seasons for the Valiants. Relegated from League 1
and narrowly escaping relegation from League 2 last season, the club has
underperformed for too long and the club will want to be competing at the right
end of the table. Neil Aspin is Port Vale through and through and he will be
desperate to get Port Vale challenging for a play-off spot and even promotion
this season. Aspin has completely stripped the squad from last season with 11
departures and a total of 13 new faces have joined aiming to get Vale up the higher
echelons of the table. However, not all last season’s squad have departed with
the likes of Tom Pope, Michael Tonge and Anthony Kay still at the club and
these three will be determined to get Vale competing for promotion. Pope has
been brilliant for Vale over two spells at the club and he will be vital for
Vale chances of success this season. As noted earlier, Aspin has brought in new
faces and these include Luke Joyce, Ricky Miller, Louis Dodds, Leon Legge and
Tom Conlon. All join with good experience at this level Both Joyce and Dodds know
the club well and will be determined as ever to improve Port Vale’s league
performances. As well as proven League 2 players, Aspin has also added non-league
talent and young players such as Connell Rawlinson, Emmanuel Oyeleke, Idris
Kanu and Mitch Clark. All join hungry to showcase their skills this season and
it could be an exciting blend of players assembled by Aspin. The fans and Aspin
will demand improvement from the Vale players this season and they will be demanding
a minimum top half finish and hoping to push on for a spot in the play-off
places and who knows where things could go from there.
I think Port Vale will
be much improved this season and will be competing for a spot in the play-off
places. However, I feel they will just miss out on the play-offs this season, but
they could be a surprise package this season if they do get everything together
nicely.
My Predicted Finish:
9th
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