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A quickish guide to the upcoming League Two season

Roar Guru
1st August, 2015
5

There’s nothing in sport like the English football pyramid – no other sporting competition on Earth has so much interest and loyalty in the fourth level of their sport and below.

There are so many teams with such history and passionate fans, and it’s all part of a Saturday afternoon tradition in the UK.

With the new Football League season kicking off this coming weekend, it’s time to have a look at the three lower divisions of English Football, starting from the bottom of the pyramid.

League Two, as it is called these days, is the fourth and last division of the Football League, and is a mix of fallen stars, up and comers, and some teams who have just found their natural place in the football world.

Below is a guide to the upcoming season to give the dangerous amount of information for the year ahead – just a little.

Who is new?
Promoted from the depths of non-league’s top division (now called National League Premier) are champions Barnet and Bristol Rovers.

Both teams were regular fixtures in League Two and above, and in the case of Bristol Rovers their relegation to the non-league was the first in a 100-plus year history. Bristol Rovers did what no team has done for the last 10 seasons and went straight back up. In fact Barnet are lucky to come up too after two seasons in non-league, as just six teams in the last 10 seasons have bounced back at all. A handful of those clubs no longer exist as the same entity.

Going in the other direction, the four teams coming down from League One are Notts County, Crawley Town, Yeovil Town and Leyton Orient. Last time Notts County, who are the oldest professional football team in the world, were in League Two they had no less than Sven-Göran Eriksson as their football director.

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Leyton Orient were one game off the Championship a year ago, and just over a year ago Yeovil Town were in the Championship. Crawley Town have returned to League Two after a good run in the third division after a lifetime in non-league.

Who’s notable
On the manager front, League Two has been a bit of a nursery for aspiring former players in recent years. Some are very successful, like Paolo di Canio taking the title with Swindon and Jimmy Floyd Hasslebank’s success with Burton Albion last year. Some don’t quite work out, like James Beattie at Accrington Stanley last year.

This year there are some big names plying their trade in League Two. Former Spurs and Man United striker Teddy Sherringham is in charge of Stevenage, and former Sydney FC manager Terry Butcher is in charge of Welsh side Newport County.

On the playing front, there’s no one in this division that captures the imagination like Adebayo Akinfenwa from AFC Wimbledon. The biggest man in English football, who looks far more suited to a rugby maul than the six yard box, gave Liverpool plenty to think about in their FA Cup tie last year, and his hulking appearance and underestimated silky skills are to be marvelled at.

AFC Wimbledon themselves are a story, after being moved to Milton Keynes loyal started out again from the lowest possible division and in less than 10 seasons made it back to League Two.

Another interesting point is the fact a team in this division won the FA Cup just seven years ago as a regular EPL side. That side is Portsmouth, who despite this slide are lucky to still be in business given previous financial trouble.

Who’s better, who’s best?
Now it’s time to put the money where my mouth is, and pick the potential winners and not so lucky teams for the upcoming season.

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Portsmouth are the favourite to go up to League One, but there’s more value to be had. Bristol Rovers ($17) are another big club which would be hoping that their one year outside the Football League will be as low as they get, and there is a good record of teams going up again soon after arriving in league football.

Wycombe Wanderers ($21) somehow didn’t manage to go up last year despite being around the top for most of the year. They are a quintessential yo-yo team between Leagues One and Two.

There are four promotion spots up for grabs from League Two, three automatic and one via the dreaded playoffs (one could argue, given some of the teams that remained in the EPL last year, that four up and down would be a good idea all round). So aside from Bristol Rovers ($4) and Wycombe ($6), there’s chances for Luton Town ($3.20) whose previous life was spent up further in the pyramid, and same with Plymouth Argyle ($5)

Going down to the abyss of the National League, we have a choice of three for the two spots. Two of the sides have been in the non-league division less than four years – York City ($10) and Mansfield Town ($7.50) One came up a decade ago, but has recently been as far as the Championship. But after back-to-back relegations there is the worry that Yeovil could be headed for a third straight relegation.

Some interesting stats
(From last 10 seasons)

  • Longest serving manager – Paul Tisdale (Exeter) nine-plus years (second overall, all four tiers)
  • Average lifespan of League Two manager – 1.55 years
  • Teams promoted within year of relegation from League One (last 10 years) – eight
  • Teams promoted within two years of relegation from League One – five
  • Team promoted within three years of promotion from non-league – five
  • Longest serving team in League Two – Accrington Stanley, 10th season
  • Average League Two crowd 2014-15 – 4,679
  • Three highest clubs averages:
    Portsmouth – 15,242
    Luton Town – 8,702
    Plymouth Argyle – 7,412
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