League One: Mid-Season Review

Hello and welcome to the next in our series of mid-season reviews where we’re briefly looking over the season so far in the top five divisions in English football. Today is the turn of League One.

I’m sure we’ll all be in agreement as to the over-achievers of the division so far, with Leyton Orient sitting pretty at the top of the division. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, though, as they ended last season only 3 points off the play-offs after an excellent end-of-season run. Last seasons play off runners up Brentford have got over their heartache by going on an absolutely magnificent run to leave themselves in second. The majority of football fans’ pre-season favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers are in third place and you certainly wouldn’t back against them finishing in the top 2.

Simon Grayson is doing a super job at Preston North End and having only lost 4 games all season, the same number as Wolves and Brentford, they sit inside the top 6. Two clubs not doing such a super job are Bristol City and Sheffield United. The Blades have been stuck in a bit of a rut for a couple of seasons now and will be hoping Nigel Clough can pull them out of trouble. Steve Cotterill is an experienced manager and we think he’ll pull City out of trouble.

At the very bottom of the division, Stevenage are desperately struggling with Graham Westley in charge for the fourteenth time. They certainly haven’t progressed since making the play-offs in the 2011/12 season. Have they reached their summit? Tranmere Rovers have proved their start to last season was a fluke by continuing their miserable run and they are in the bottom four along with Shrewsbury Town who are looking for a new manager after old boss Graham Turner retired.

Carlisle United started the season with a terrible run of form but the shrewd appointment of Graham Kavanagh has led to an upturn in fortunes whilst Crewe Alexandra are slowly improving although the battle at the bottom is as tight as…no, we won’t go there. Oldham appear to be struggling but Notts County have hugely improved under super-fan Shaun Derry, proving that a change in manager can result in an upturn in fortunes.

Two United’s, Peterborough and Rotherham, fill up the play-off spots as expected due to their large budgets, with smaller-budget sides Walsall and Port Vale in hot pursuit. Coventry City would be much closer to the play-offs without their 10-point penalty whilst Milton Keynes Dons and Swindon Town are lingering in mid-table whilst briefly threatening the top six (again). Colchester United are also just in the top half, although they haven’t really threatened the promotion places in the first half of the season.

Bradford City are on a poor run of one victory in 17 games in all competitions and need to change things fast to avoid dropping into a relegation scrap and the same can be said for Crawley, although they have picked up more points lately under John Gregory, one of seven managerial changes in the division already this season. Another club to change manager is Gillingham, who have given Peter Taylor another opportunity to bore football fans to death, although they did pick up a superb victory over Wolves recently and sit in 14th.

Who’s going up? We reckon that Brentford are a shoe-in to win the league with Wolves finishing second. Peterborough’s spending power will see them beat Rotherham in the final of the play-offs.

Who’s going down? The Couch Pundit thinks this one is tough. Tranmere and Stevenage we have down as definites but we’ve struggled with the other two. We’ve gone with Crewe and Oldham. Just.

The Couch Pundit team.

League Two: Mid-Season Review

Welcome to our mid-season review of Sky Bet League Two. This is comfortably the most competitive division of the top five tiers in English football this season with any of the 7 realistically thinking they have a chance of claiming major honours.

In the Skrill Premier we started with the side we felt were the over-achievers of the division. This time, we have to start with the obvious under-achievers which are last season’s play-off runners up Northampton Town. With The Cobblers having dispensed of the services of Aidy Boothroyd, they’ll be a hopeful a new manager can come in and stop them dropping out of the Football League. Bury have also struggled after their relegation from League One and will be hoping.

The top of this division is fascinating. Most would have expected the current top 7 to be fighting it out for the promotion and play-off spots but few would have expected 6 points between the septuple after 26 games. Things could get even closer with Fleetwood Town and Oxford United having a game in hand on Scunthorpe United, Burton Albion, Chesterfield and Southend United with Rochdale in second place having played a game more than the aforementioned quartet.

Newport County and Morecambe can’t be discounted as they chase a play-off place in the hope that one of the promotion chasers slip up and The Exiles season has been most impressive given it is their first season in the football league since 1988.

Beyond these sides, you could argue the remainder are all locked in a relegation battle. Last seasons strugglers Dagenham & Redbridge and Plymouth you might think look rosy in 10th and 11th respectively, but they’re only 8 points clear of 23rd place Torquay United. Bristol Rovers have had too many seasons like the one they’re having this season to suggest they’re under-achieving. On paper, they appear to have a strong squad for the division but no matter who the manager, they tend to struggle.

The club nobody had a clue about this season was Portsmouth. With a squad assembled essentially from scratch, they were the dark horses of the division but unfortunately for them they’ve struggled. Staying down on the South Coast, Exeter started the season relatively well but have struggled over the past couple of months and they are stranded in mid-table, along with newly-promoted Mansfield Town and yoyo side Hartlepool United.

Accrington Stanley are having a solid season under the under-qualified James Beattie and AFC Wimbledon look likely to have another season battling against relegation. More surprisingly, Wycombe Wanderers under Gareth Ainsworth are having a poor season and are only a couple of points above the drop zone.

There is usually one surprise in every division and the team quietly going about their business is York City. On a very good run of form, York could surprise a few. They were drawing too many games but are turning these into wins.

Who’s going up? We reckon Rochdale will win the league with Scunthorpe and Fleetwood joining them automatically. We’re going with our outside pick of York to win the play offs.

Who’s going down? The Couch Pundit thinks Portsmouth and Torquay will drop in a miserable season for the southern-based clubs.

The Couch Pundit team.