There are plenty of sides with the potential of bossing League Two from the outset, and one of the more eye-catching encounters on the opening day of the season will be how Doncaster Rovers fare away to last year’s surprise package Accrington Stanley.
Whilst the Crown Ground isn’t the most glamorous of locations to sell a division’s whole potential season upon, Stanley have proved their doubters wrong time and again since their re-entry to the Football League a full 10 years ago – they deserve a bit of a praise and easily could have gone up to the rarefied heights of League One last season, only missing out on the feat by goal difference.
Ferguson’s Doncaster are some bookmakers’ favourites for the League Two title – Photo: Steve Parkin / Offside.
Doncaster, on the other hand, took the unwanted final relegation place from League One and experienced manager Darren Ferguson will want to bounce straight back up to the third-tier with the minimum of fuss. They have the resources, the backroom staff and the staunchest of support which will help on the cold Tuesday nights at the Keepmoat Stadium, but this first assignment away at one of League Two’s stronger outfits could be an interesting test of their credentials.
Portsmouth were also edged out at the semi-final stage of last season’s play-offs, they are bound to be there or thereabouts this time around, as you would expect from a club of their history and achievements. A home assignment against Carlisle United is not the easiest beginning though.
The Cumbrians finished tenth last season and might had done better had they not been the victims of torrential and unprecedented flooding at Brunton Park. A new pitch laid at the start of this year will no doubt allow them to express their talents more freely – and in manager Keith Curle, they have a brilliant yet uncompromising gaffer patrolling the touchline. This is definitely a game to watch!
Pompey finished one place behind Plymouth Argyle last year, and indeed it was the Pilgrims that ended Portsmouth’s charge in the play-offs. If Argyle can manage to hold on to their better players and avoid injuries, you would expect them to be near the top of the pile at the business end of the season.
The Green Army begin at home against Luton Town. The Hatters will want to build on their 11th placed finish last time around – and whilst their resolve and passion is never to be questioned, you wonder if they have the quality in their ranks to sustain a promotion charge.
Leyton Orient missed out on the play-offs last time, and have endured a couple of tough years since long-time benefactor Barry Hearn sold the club back in 2014. Twenty-fifteen saw them slip down to League Two, whilst last season much effort and investment was made to try and not only halt the slide, but propel them back in the other direction.
Defending National League champions Cheltenham – Photo: Paul Roberts / Offside.
The O’s are an easy to like bunch, but maybe last year was their big opportunity – boss Andy Hessenthaler has the experience, guile and sheer hard-nosed will to win though, so write them off at your peril. A trip to Cheltenham Town lays ahead for the East Londoners and the Robins were nothing short of emphatic last season, storming out of the National League with a remarkable 101 points.
If anyone can get the best from Town back in the Football League, it’s Gary Johnson – a streetwise tactician who would love to upset the odds yet again with a largely unheralded side.
Johnson’s former side Yeovil Town seem to have plateaued since his departure, but the fellow West Country boys will know (thanks to the vagaries of alphabetical order) that from kick off at 3pm on Saturday, the only way is up.
They will host Notts County at Huish Park, a side who also struggled last time out. Expect a thumping battle and a real statement of intent from both clubs – it’s not a game either will want to lose.
If Cheltenham’s 2016 points tally was staggering, the same could be said of Crewe Alexandra – but for entirely different reasons.
The Railwaymen finished plum bottom of League One last year with a dismal 34 points amassed – they play Stevenage at Broadhall Way knowing that the Hertfordshire side are unlikely to be as poor as they were last year. Stevenage will want to get as many points in the bank as quickly as possible, if Crewe slip up the games won’t get any easier for them.
Blackpool have suffered back-to-back relegations and will know their long-suffering fans deserve better – the question is whether they can turn the ship around. Exeter City are the first team into the Tangerine cauldron and if the Grecians conjure up an unlikely win, a low on confidence Blackpool could be sent spiralling into an early season panic. They will not want to secure a third consecutive demotion that would leave them in the footballing wilderness.
The last of the relegated sides from League One, Colchester United, make the long journey to Hartlepool United. Craig Hignett’s Pool will not want to get sucked into the wrong half of the table again, and they certainly have the potential to threaten the play-offs this time out – they’ll want to show those around them that this is a squad to be feared and maybe a visit from a U’s side rebuilding and regrouping will be the perfect tonic.
The division’s other U’s, those that hail from Cambridge, will be looking to push on this season after a steady previous campaign that finished disappointingly outside the play-offs. Journeyman midfielder Shaun Derry has taken the reigns and will be looking to instil a cutting edge to go with their workmanlike efforts.
They are likely to be top-half finishers and could easily navigate a way into the promotion places. First visitors to the Abbey Stadium are the Bees of Barnet, whose first goal will be to secure their league status, second will be to finish in the top-half of the table if they can and third (arguably most importantly) finish above county rivals Stevenage. Any sort of positive return today against Cambridge will be seen as a good start – anything less could lead to a relegation scrap.
Allen has recently signed a contract extension as Barnet boss – Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside.
Newport County finished one place above the danger zone last time, but in fairness, they were well clear of the bottom two of marooned Dagenham & Redbridge and York City. They’ll be getting twitchy feet though if faced with similar struggles this season. Mansfield Town are the first to travel into Welsh territory, and even though the national side will have left many feeling proud and optimistic of what’s possible, I can’t see anything but an away win for the Stags and a long old season on the horizon.
Morecambe finished just above Newport in the relegation dash last season and will be well aware that anything less this time will spell bad news ahead. They face National League play-off victors Grimsby Town at Blundell Park – the Mariners returning to the Football League for the first time since 2010. Whoever loses this shootout will leave with a blank ledger that might take some filling – but a win might just open new horizons.
Crawley Town are in a similar position to Morecambe, finishing just one place above them in 2015/2016 and will also want to lay good foundations, whilst they still can. Dermot Drummy will be delighted if the Red Devils can play like their Manchester namesakes, but in reality would take the guarantee of League football in 2016/2017.
They will hope Wycombe Wanderers will succumb to the well-worked set pieces and plans that have been devised over preseason at the Broadfield Stadium, because if they don’t work today then when will they?
So; in summary, expect the battle lines for League Two to be drawn early. Pacesetters striding away at one end and strugglers treading water at the other. There are bound to be some upsets, but who can hold it together consistently for the duration of the season? That’s the question.