League Two Preview by Harry Clark
With my beloved Yeovil getting relegated last season, I will only have one eye on the goings on in England’s fourth tier, that doesn’t mean I can’t have a go at a well-informed League Two preview…
The joys of League Two and the EFL in general is that literally any team can cause a shock and get promoted/relegated and in the grand scheme of things, it would be just one of many to occur in the EFL over the past decade or so. In the preview I will be selecting my promoted teams, play off contenders and unfortunate relegated sides, so let’s get straight into it.
Top of the league- Bradford City
The once Premier League side are obviously too big of a club to be rotting away in League Two and I believe Gary Bowyer will promote them as Champions at the first opportunity. Their striking options of Clayton Donaldson, Eoin Doyle and James Vaughan would do a job in League One for sure, so if Bowyer can get these firing, then Bradford fans shouldn’t be worried at all.
Second- Plymouth Argyle
Another relegated team I know but another team who will certainly feel this league is below them. It was an ugly end to Derek Adams tenure but now Ryan Lowe has taken over they can look up. Lowe managed to promote a Bury side who weren’t even getting paid, so imagine what he could do with more motivated players. The loss of Graham Carey to Bulgaria was a tough and usual one to take, but the signing of Jose Baxter will help fill the void. The attacking midfielder is still only 27 would you believe, and should tear up League Two.
Third- Newport
Grabbing the final automatic promotion spot is Newport. They finished seventh in the league last season but failed at the final hurdle in the play-offs against Tranmere at wembley. I believe they’ll go one better this time round and secure promotion without the need of extra games. A long with the above, they’ve also strengthened in the summer. A signing that caught my eye was Tristan Abrahams from Norwich. Abrahams played his football at Yeovil last season and put in some stellar performances, in a poor Yeovil side.
Play-offs:
Mansfield– Once again a play off place for the Stags who finished in the exact position last season. They certainly have the squad to compete, but it’s a different story on the pitch.
Crewe– A bold choice but David Artell’s men finished strongly last campaign and you can always rely on them bringing through some great talent through their academy.
Scunthorpe– The third and final relegated team to at least make the play-offs. Paul Hurst knows what it takes to get promotion in the EFL and with Lee Novak up front, they will cause problems.
Exeter– The Grecians seem to be League Two’s equivalent to Derby, always up there but never promoted. I certainly think they’ll be up there once more but this year could finally be their year.
The teams likely to just miss out would be the likes of Colchester and Stevenage as they always seem to be in the play-off hunt and I feel Forest Green will have another solid season under Mark Cooper.
Bottom- Macclesfield
I think it is pretty clear cut as to who will finish bottom of the Football League this season. They barely survived it last time around, and have now been forced to let go of their best players to make ends meet. Scott Wilson being one of them, who scored some vital goals last season, but was forced to make a move to fellow League Two club, Oldham, it would be a miracle if they stayed up.
Second bottom- Morecambe
The second bottom position was a tough one, but a team who normally finds themselves in a relegation battle is Jim Bentley’s Morecambe. He has done a fantastic job for the Shrimps, becoming the longest serving manager in the Football League, but after this season, he could lose that accolade. A lot his players are aging, none more than Kevin Ellison who hit his forties during last season. The club cult hero has played over 300 times for them, but this season might be his last and Morecambe’s last in league football.
Top Scorer- James Vaughan
It was a tough decision deciding between the Bradford trio but I have opted for their club captain, James Vaughan. Despite being 31 years old he’s comfortably younger than Donaldson and just a couple of months older than Doyle. He’s also a proven goalscorer from his time with Bury, but has struggled recently. A move to the fourth tier might just help him rediscover his form which saw him in the 2016/17 PFA League One Team of the Year.
Full table:
- Bradford
- Plymouth
- Newport
- Mansfield
- Crewe
- Scunthorpe
- Exeter
- Colchester
- Stevenage
- Forest Green
- Walsall
- Carlisle
- Salford
- Swindon
- Oldham
- Northampton
- Leyton Orient
- Crawley
- Grimsby
- Cheltenham
- Port Vale
- Cambridge
- Morecambe
- Macclesfield
Who do you think will rise or fall in League Two next season? Let us know by tweeting us @4TLOTG. No doubt by October, Bradford would be on to their third manager and Jim Bentley masterminds Morecambe to ten straight victories, but that’s why we love football…
For the love of the game 