division two

What's going on?

The 10 big stories

WYCOMBE WIN AT WOLVES: After trailing 1-0 from the home leg, Wycombe travelled to Wolves with a mountain to climb. Their trip to the Midlands proved worthwhile in the end as two goals from Jermaine McSporran, a brilliant strike from Sean Devine and an own goal by Kevin Muscat helped them to a 4-2 win on the night and a famous 4-3 aggregate victory. Their long-ball style won’t get them far in the league, even with the pace of McSporran, although it might lelad to further cup success.

OLDHAM OFF TARGET: Despite the figures ‘PLAYED 5, WON 0, DRAWN 0, LOST 5’, Oldham supporters must feel a little hard done by. Since Junior Agogo’s loan spell ended, Oldham have really struggled upfront. Although they are currently in the lower reaches of the Second Division, they have only conceded seven goals in five games - so credit must be given to their defence for a better defensive record than some teams in the top half of the table possess. Scott McNiven has recently broken the scoring duck with a goal two minutes from time against Gillingham in a 2-1 defeat. Oldham are a good footballing side and maybe this will be the turning-point in their season.

BIGGER GATES AT BURNLEY: Burnley have started off the way they finished last season - winning! They have always been a big club and still manage to draw in average crowds of 10,500 season after season, despite consistently finishing in the bottom half of the table. At the moment they are playing very well and already looking very promising in 2nd place. Burnley are another good footballing side whose attractive style hasn’t paid off in the division. If they carry on their run of good form we could well see even bigger attendances come the end of the season!

WELSH DERBY DRAWN: The first leg of the Welsh derby was played at Ninian Park in front of an 11,500 crowd. A lively Cardiff side took the lead through Jason Bowen in the first half, but a fighting Wrexham team equalised early in the second half through Ian Stevens. Wrexham had Gareth Owen sent off for two yellow cards but they hung on for a point. The ‘Best Team in Wales’ crown will now be decided at the Racecourse on Saturday 22 January.

SCUNTHORPE STRUGGLING: After their promotion via the play-offs last season, Scunthorpe have not had the best of starts in the higher division. They have only netted four times in six games, picking up just four points. Like Cardiff, they look a good team and should pull through this bad spell.

BRENTFORD BUZZING: Being promoted as Champions, the London side have had an encouraging start to their campaign. They have been in this division many times before and after their surprise relegation two seasons ago, they are back and playing even better than before. They have games in hand on most teams and they’re a good outside bet for the play-offs.

STRIKE DUO TAKE ROVERS TOP: Jason Roberts and Jamie Cureton look set to take the Second Division by storm this season. The Pirates’ forward partnership are both scoring goals for fun at the moment and have got Rovers off to a good start. They share top spot with Burnley and are well above rivals City. The ‘Yorke and Cole’ of the Second Division could lead Rovers to the Championship in this vein of form - something that Bristol City were tipped by many to do.

STOKE STILL STUMBLING: The Potters haven’t got off to a flyer this time around as their consistently inconsistent form has seen them jumping all about the table. Last season Stoke stormed to the top after an impeccable start but fell away after Christmas. They have a squad of players capable of performing wonders at this level but their inconsistency will once again be their downfall.

SEASIDERS DROWNING: After an opening-day victory, Blackpool fans were optimistic about the nine months ahead. Since then, two draws and three defeats have seen them edge closer and closer to the relegation zone. All of Blackpool’s hopes surely rest on Brett Ormerod who is scoring goals despite the lack of service. A poor squad of players who don’t look good in defence or midfield - they will carry on struggling.

FAVOURITES FAULTLESS: Wigan have got off to a flyer. They are one of only a few teams still unbeaten in the division. They have already defeated Preston, who were many people’s tip for the title. They still have plenty of money to spend if it needs to be, but they shouldn’t need to. A very entertaining side with a lot of fantastic individuals - they shouldn’t really slip up.

Daniel Jennings