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As always it (hopefully) seems that football magazine 4-4-2 are way off regarding us. Their prediction table looks like this:

1. Stockport
2. Wrexham
3. Notts County
4. Gillingham
5. Doncaster
6. Salford
7. MK Dons
8. Bradford
9. Mansfield
10. Swindon
11. Barrow
12. Grimsby
13. Accrington
14. Forest Green
15. Colchester
16. Tranmere
17. Wimbledon
18. Walsall
19. Crewe
20. Morecambe
21.Newport
22. Harrogate
23. Sutton
24. Crawley

Thoughts?

Not a betting man but I'd say 9th if I had to put money on it

Quoted from geir

As always it (hopefully) seems that football magazine 4-4-2 are way off regarding us. Their prediction table looks like this:

1. Stockport
2. Wrexham
3. Notts County
4. Gillingham
5. Doncaster
6. Salford
7. MK Dons
8. Bradford
9. Mansfield
10. Swindon
11. Barrow
12. Grimsby
13. Accrington
14. Forest Green
15. Colchester
16. Tranmere
17. Wimbledon
18. Walsall
19. Crewe
20. Morecambe
21.Newport
22. Harrogate
23. Sutton
24. Crawley

Thoughts?

How are they way off? I'd put us about 10th with the top 9 being their picks. Obviously it'll look nothing like that, but without the internal over optimism, there are a lot of clubs with much bigger budgets.

Assuming they have looked in depth at the squads, the players retained and any new signings and the manager's career record at each club, that is as good as any other guess.

Who knows till we are well underway?

Quoted from pen penfras

How are they way off? I'd put us about 10th with the top 9 being their picks. Obviously it'll look nothing like that, but without the internal over optimism, there are a lot of clubs with much bigger budgets.

I would like to think that we will improve greatly with the recruitment Hurst has done before the season. We may have had the best transfer window for many years, and at least a play-off place would be expected. If we can win more games at home than last year, it shouldn`t be impossible.

Total conjecture and I take no notice of these predictions.

Some pundits had Carlisle and Stevenage down as relegation candidates last season, and most had us down as bottom 6.

No way of knowing if it’s way off any more than than there’s no way of knowing how good the new signings are.
We’re dealing in ‘hopes and expectations’ really. I hope we’ll be competing in the play off picture. I can’t say I predict or expect that we will.

Swindon is way off , they have signed Dan Kemp but thats it and a lot of trouble in their ranks with ownership ,suspect bottom half .

Walsall seem to have recruited well , suspect they are an out the box option for top 7 much like us .

The rest Is quite realistic tbf ,I would put us 8th or 9th .

A better question is - out of that top 9 who will underachieve quickest and which manager will go first ?

No way all 9 are surviving until Xmas .

As a Town fan this looks to be somewhere between realistic and pessimistic to me. I won’t comment on Town as we all have our hopes and expectations. It’s covered elsewhere.

There are a few curious ones for me. Have a hunch Wrexham and Notts County will find it harder than many expect. Last year most games were a mismatch for them, this year most weeks will be a scrap. Not saying that one of them can’t whistle through to League 1 but think it’s unlikely both will go up. Given that FGR are still well backed financially have a hunch they could finish above us. That’s balanced by changing managers and finishing so poorly last year. Never know what to make of Walsall, in my mind could finish anywhere between 4th and 24th. I have a hunch they’ll be weaker as thought Flynn is a good manager and know nothing about the new guy. Feel Sutton deserve a bit more respect despite being hollowed out this summer. Have done well up until the last 4 months of last year. And suspect Harrogate have made good signings and may finish a bit higher (18/19th?). God knows about Newport.

It’s all guess work. A squad might click, a forward might get hot, a manager might work. All I know is I’m happy being a Town fan at the moment and wouldn’t swap with any other team in our league (or higher).

[quote=212]

1. Stockport
2. Wrexham - lower
3. Notts County - lower
4. Gillingham - lower
5. Doncaster
6. Salford
7. MK Dons
8. Bradford
9. Mansfield
10. Swindon - higher
11. Barrow
12. Grimsby - higher
13. Accrington
14. Forest Green
15. Colchester
16. Tranmere
17. Wimbledon - higher
18. Walsall
19. Crewe
20. Morecambe
21.Newport
22. Harrogate
23. Sutton
24. Crawley

However the season pans out, I don’t see the top 3 teams all being recent ex NL. I know they are favourites in the betting.

Town are still 33/1 to win it with Skybet, so they think mid table as well. As others have pointed out we're battling 20 years of under achievement in the eyes of the wider football audience, and the odds are a reflection of where they're putting their money
Still think it looks like we've recruited pretty well so if we can improve our goal scoring record top third should be on

Morecambe to be bottom
Notts County top
Doncaster nowhere near the top ten.
Town to sneak in to the playoffs.

Quoted from buckstown

Town are still 33/1 to win it with Skybet, so they think mid table as well. As others have pointed out we're battling 20 years of under achievement in the eyes of the wider football audience, and the odds are a reflection of where they're putting their money
Still think it looks like we've recruited pretty well so if we can improve our goal scoring record top third should be on

At the end of the day, the bookies will look at two statistics for town - when were they last champions of anything, and when were they last promoted in the league - the answers are frightening when you think about them. I was there for the 2nd one, but I have never seen us as champions, and I guarantee I’m seen as an old timer by a good chunk of town fans.

I think it's easy to get carried away with our top half finish. In reality there was a big group of mid table teams with a large chasm to the play off chasers.

That's a big gap to jump and while we've recruited well, so have most teams above us so it'll still be a big challenge to get in the top half again.

Quoted from Mariner93er

I think it's easy to get carried away with our top half finish. In reality there was a big group of mid table teams with a large chasm to the play off chasers.

That's a big gap to jump and while we've recruited well, so have most teams above us so it'll still be a big challenge to get in the top half again.

Doig talked about our transfer business "so far", so I expect a couple more in, quite possibly game changing signings like Murphy from Newcastle rather than squad fillers. We definitely seem to have a much more solid squad, and it will probably need to be just to maintain a top half position. It's how it gels that will determine if we can push for promotion like Stevenage and Carlisle did. Outside the top seven favourites a lot of clubs' fans think their transfer business has been decent, the likes of Walsall, Tranmere, Sutton, Doncaster etc. Still think we need a forward, a midfielder and possibly a left sided defender and maybe all three of them having a chance to improve our starting eleven, to round our squad off, and get us into the promotion mix. I'm really happy and hopeful with the summer we've had so far but also realistic enough to accept that this is going to be the highest quality League Two seen in years..

We could quite easily be a better side than last season and finish in a similar position. This league is so hard to call. We should revel in the fact we have a strong league 2 and see where it takes us, looking forward to the competition in front of us. Also a prediction is just that , guesswork from someone sat in an office. When has this game been that predictable?

We were unfancied last year, but if our home form had been better we would have been in the playoff mix. It looks to me that those predictions follow the big budget clubs with little thought to anything else at a club.

They have easily forgotten that little Grimsby with a solid team spirit and excellent fan base proved them all wrong in our promotion year from the NL. Wrexham and Notts Cty have only just got promoted and along with Stockport, Bradford and Salford will be many teams ' Cup Final Match', so they will have tough games most of the season.

If not in an automatic promotion spot I certainly see us in a playoff spot. Hurst is good at spotting talent to form team spirit and that shows with his early signings. Positive things are happening at BP and 1878 have mainly got it right so let's get behind the team and look forward to another promotion year.

UTM

Personally think people are over egging how well notts county will do. Their style of football being very tippy tappy and leaving themselves so exposed at the back can work well against a lot of the tinpotters in NL, but they will be up against much better defences week on week and sides who will be able to take advantage of getting behind them because they play such a high line.

Only my opinion but I think Wrexham will probably make the playoffs and think notts will be mid table.

Absolutely not going to make any predictions for town!!!!!

UTFM

We have a good team and probably one of the best managers in the league .

I honestly think how well we do depends on keeping Eisa and Rose fit - Eisa is a class above IF we can keep him fit - pace,power and ability - we just have to hope he's not another Scannell . It seems like we are well stocked in all other positions ; with Hurst teams you know we will always give anyone a game ,he knows how to setup to frustrate against the best of teams at the lower levels . I don't fear for us at all but the one game I worry about a bit is that first one, Wimbledon.You imagine they will come and setup to frustrate us so we will see if lessons have been learnt from last seasons struggles at home ,against potential fodder for a beating ; let's hope it's been rectified and the added quality shines through .