division two
What's going on?
The newboys - probably
Every season we welcome seven new teams to this division. I have taken a quick look here at just who those might be this time and focus on the possible away trips.
COMING DOWN? Five candidates - West Brom, Crewe, Walsall, Port Vale and Swindon. I’d say that Swindon and Port Vale are now doomed but I can’t decide between the three.
Swindon: Surprisingly, Swindon were in the Premier League in it’s early days, yet this will be the second time they’ve been in Division Two since then. The last time they bounced straight back up with competition getting tougher every year, nothing can be certain. Visiting Swindon, we are likely to be given an uncovered seating area behind the goal.
Port Vale: Vale have managed to narrowly escape relegation for a number of seasons now. However, this time it will take some turnaround to get out of trouble. On our last trip to Vale park we suffered a 3-0 defeat in their Promotion Season. Since then, their ground has come on nicely and they are now home to a fairly impressive stadium.
Walsall: An immediate return looks on the cards, but so many times this season Walsall have dug in to grind results out of nothing. If they are to survive they will have to show this fighting spirit to the end. A short trip to the Midlands, and a small compact ground (if you went to Scunthorpe this season, it’s exactly the same but in Red). Michael Ricketts has come on a long way since his wonder-goal at the Racecourse and he could take this division by storm.
Crewe: Like Port Vale, they have also managed to hold their own for the last couple of seasons, which is quite a feat for a side who only got promotion via the play-offs. They have been forced to sell key players such as Robbie Savage and Danny Murphy (to Leicester and Liverpool respectively) and their squad now looks bare. Since our last visit, a huge stand has been constructed that towers over the rest of the tiny ground. With the journey their taking hardly 30 minutes, we always get a good following at this fixture.
West Brom: They’re not safe yet and face Crewe and Walsall breathing down their necks in the closing weeks of the season. Lee Hughes could well provide the goals they need to survive, but I can’t imagine how many he’d bag in this division. A relatively short trip to the midlands, and a tidy ground.
COMING UP? I think that the automatic promotion places are certain - Rotherham, Swansea and Darlington but the play-off spots aren’t even vaguely sorted yet. As I fancy Peterborough to do it, I’ll just focus on these four teams.
Rotherham: Currently top and will be looking to cling on for the title. In Leo Fortune-West they have a potential goalscorer at a higher level and if they could give him the service they could maintain their place in our division. As for the away trip, not a bad journey but not a pleasant ground!
Swansea: With the one and only Steve Watkin, I think they will bypass Rotherham to take the Division 3 Championship but, like Cardiff, they could well struggle with the step up. They play a lot of attractive football but don’t score a lot of goals. As for the Vetch, that’s no Old Trafford either.
Darlington: After a poor start to the season they have now found their form. With Marco Gabbiadini still capable of knocking in goals for fun, they will also be capable of staying up. Gabbiadini’s goals were helped along by Neil Wainwright in a successful loan spell, let’s hope they don’t sign him permanently. Their pitch was recently voted the worst in the football league but their ground is made that bit more respectable with a fantastic new stand. Alternating between black seats, white writing, white seats, black writing it spells out Darlington FC.
Peterborough: Wrexham fans’ main memories of London Road have come in the F.A. Cup - some good, some bad. Whatever yours are, this should be our last visit for a while because I think that whoever comes up through the play-offs will bounce straight
Daniel Jennings