FAO stags, newport & Gashead posters

and anyone else who's been watching league 2 on a regular basis
would be grateful for your thoughts on the standard of football in League 2 and if you've found it very different to the conference. Seems to be 2 very different sachools of thought.

First one is that the top 8-10 in the conference wouldn't have the any trouble in surviving in league 2 and it s the same hit and hope , 100 mile an hour, tackles flying football that we see in non league
second school says that league 2 has improved in the 6 years we've been away, that the pitches and standard of player has improved.also more teams play football and there's a little more time in leagues 2

Gas here. Overall the standard is higher in that the bottom half of conference is poor. The top half of conference would be probably be ok. But because we were in Conference two years ago and met you lot in final, having had a good day at Wembley and talked to a lot of your fans I have watched a lot of conference football this season and IMO it's not been that good except Cheltenham who looked good. Watched all the play off matches and they were very poor and standard was woeful. Even Braintree who all the pundits said were good were a poor attacking team. The football was all about not losing! Even when you won at Braintree and when FGR and Dover played it wasn't good and most League teams would have beaten all teams. Most league teams will have a few players who are half decent and any team can beat another. Apart from Northampton who were the stand out team most of the top teams have been very similar. There will be some poor teams that you will need to beat. Despite Newport beating us 4-1 in October, them and Yeovil were poor teams and just about survived. With most League 2 teams doing one year contracts I am sure recruitment will be very important because 1 or 2 really good players who don't get injured will make a difference. Overall I think it's a much better league and the thought that most conference teams might do well comes  from the teams in the conference, not those in the league. Yes you will get some very physical teams which set up not to lose and will hope to get a 1-0. You will see a big difference overall but there will be teams that try to play football and who will want to win with some class, Plymouth, Pompey and I think Cambridge might come into that bracket. Some over achievers such as Accrington, AFC Wimbledon, Morecambe and Exeter will play it the right way. Others such as Mansfield, Crawley, Notts Co, are very physical, even nasty teams, who will play for a point but hope to sneak a 1-0 but can play football if their manager allowed them.  Barnet will depend upon Akinde falling over and getting a penalty but you've got the sign over them so that's 6 points for you!!!
TBH it's more about you and what you do. You will need to recruit well because we gave all our players a new contract and most accepted with only Monky and a few fringe players going. We have done the same this year but you haven't, you've let a few go so you will need to get better players if PH doesn't think they are good enough. In the first half of the season we worried too much about other teams. DClarke changed and fiddled about with systems to counter other teams. I just think half way through he realised that we were as good as most and better than a lot and then started to use our strengths and concentrated on what we did. We then realised that when we play to our strengths it will be a very good team that beats us. Come the end we were just playing to our strengths and 5/6 games out most were confident about going up auto, other teams were a bit frightened of our attack and even 5 mins before end of D/R match were confident about getting a win. But you will need to be a strong, close squad. In the last match 8/11 players were with us in the conference and after subs at full time 10/11 players had been with us in the conference. Only Billy Bodin for Andy Monkhous was the change. In fact of the keeper and the back four that got us relegated 4 played against D/R which is amazing when you consider it. Togetherness meant everything because when we had problems in the Autumn the squad was strong, stuck together and the fans stayed behind the manager and team. A few keyboard warriors like all clubs were calling for change but the feeling was "in DC we trust." And when we had to dig out a few results when we were 1 or even 2-0 down we did because it was such a together team and group.
I would say don't worry about the others get yourselves prepared. Istm that your Paul H is a good manager, a quiet and reflective guy who will get the team working as a functional team who will win more than they lose. You know more than me but half your fans seem not to like him, even after what he did this season. Quite amazing and you will need to get behind him when the bad runs that all teams get occur. Whatever, I hope you have a good season and wouldn't it be good to be the opening fixture in 2017-18 in League 1? Good luck.

Thanks very much - interesting that league 2 sides are also only offering 1 year contracts. i think hurst has a pretty good record at recruitment and has good contacts so we will keep our fingers crossed for the summer

Quoted from eadiee1973

You know more than me but half your fans seem not to like him, even after what he did this season. .

Seems like half on here but looking elsewhere I think vast majority are behind him!

Yes the Fishy is a poor representation of pro versus anti Hurst, most of the anti came across last Sunday to the correct position regarding because he proved them wrong, however I strongly suspect when we sign an unknown (Clay, Nolan, Amond) they will all creep out of the woodwork again.

Quoted from Trent_Mariner1

Seems like half on here but looking elsewhere I think vast majority are behind him!

Yes. I am sure you are right. Forums not always the most representative sample but sometimes the most vocal. Interesting isn't it that in his interview post FGR PH mentioned the criticism which means he either looks ar forums or was aware of it. Sure that with a few good signings that go straight in team and not just squad you could challenge near the top. Good luck.

Firstly, many congratulations. If we'd got our acts together a bit better three seasons ago we could both have got promoted and left Mansfield# behind...

Stating the obvious, IMO, but the 4th Division IS of a higher standard than the 5th Division. It's a gap you'll have little trouble bridging, though and are more likely to feature at the right end of the table. Your current managerial and playing set-up, plus momentum, will see to that. Summer recruitment will be key, as you'll need 18-20 first-team quality players. League teams seem on the whole to contain players who are both bigger and quicker. There are far fewer comedy mistakes. We spent our first two seasons in and around (but ultimately, both times, outside) the promotion places. Last year, Sweet Jeesus. Having slowly evolved the Conference side for two years, we changed just about everyone, with near-disastrous consequences. LJL became a terrace hero, even so. Rodman far more Marmite, tearing Bristol Rovers' left-back a new one one week, skilfully hiding the next (his ability to place an opponent directly between himself and the Newport man in possession when he doesn't want to know is of the very highest order) .

The gap between top and bottom is much less than in the Conference. Of the six teams relegated the past three seasons, we only did the double over one, Torquay, failed to beat Tranmere and Dagenham and got thrashed by Rovers and York. Conversely, of the eleven* teams promoted in the same period, not one did the double over us, and we beat Rochdale, Chesterfield, Burton, Bury, Southend and Rovers, as well as drawing twice with Scunthorpe and Oxford.

It's true that the likes of Accy and (especially) Exeter play some really nice, watchable stuff as, generally, do the sides who win promotion to League One. The difference between those who go up and the Accy/Exeter nearly teams does have a lot to do with balancing out the footballers with a few big illegitimates, though.

Good luck, but I fear we'll need that more than you.

# to be fair, Mansfield, having continued both to look much worse than us and to clog for the first two seasons, became far more watchable and successful last season.

*If Plymouth, rather than Wimbledon, become the twelfth, they'll spoil this record!

thanks newport. glad to hear the shop is held in high esteem.

hurst's summer recruits are going to be exceptionally important

Interesting that Bristol Rovers started moving up League 2 when they started concentrating on their own strengths rather than worrying about the opposition.

We are world leaders at bigging up the opposition publically and then changing formations to match them.  Oh dear.