Tuesday, May 31, 2011

League Two Club By Club Review Part Two: Stevenage the Play-off Heroes

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Stevenage celebrate their play-off winChesterfield were worthy champions, Bury, Wycombe and Stevenage were good enough to join them in League One next season but Lincoln were relegated, after Stockport had suffered a similar fate to end a 106-year association with the Football League.

Stevenage also marked their first season as a league club with a run in the FA Cup that saw them beat Premier League Newcastle 3-1 in front of their own fans, with Burton Albion beating Middlesbrough of the Championship in the third round as well.

M



Macclesfield Town
Finished:
15th
Highlight: Winning 4-1 at local rivals Stockport.
Lowlight: The death of midfielder Richard Butcher.
Star asset: Tyrone Barnett, plucked from Hednesford Town in the Zamaretto League, marked his first season with 13 goals.
The lowdown: Butcher's death meant it would inevitably a tough season for all at Moss Rose but manager Gary Simpson led them through it, although a habit of conceding late goals prevented them from rising higher.
Mark out of 10: 5

Morecambe
Finished:
20th
Highlight: Beating Shrewsbury home and away
Lowlight: Getting hammered 7-2 at Port Vale
Star asset: Goalkeeper Barry Roche is a big presence between the sticks.
The lowdown: The Sammy McIlroy era ended on a low note after five years and now Jim Bentley will try to keep the Shrimps up with virtually a whole new team having released nine first teamers and seen another retire.
Mark out of 10: 3

Northampton Town
Finished:
16th
Highlight: Knocking Liverpool out of the Carling Cup on penalties at Anfield
Lowlight: An 18-game win-less run
Star asset: Shaun Harrad contributed 19 goals to the cause.
The lowdown: Their final league position disguises the fact that the Cobblers were in real fear of dropping out of the Football League until very near the end and boss Gary Johnson has a major rebuilding job on his hands.
Mark out of 10: 3

Oxford United
Finished:
12th
Highlight: Thrashing League One Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the Carling Cup and then giving West Ham a game in the next round.
Lowlight: Losing 5-0 at Bradford and the next four games too.
Star asset: Striker James Constable, who signed a new deal last month.
The lowdown: A steady if unspectacular return to the Football League for the U's, who started poorly but improved after winning at Chesterfield at the end of November.
Mark out of five: 5

Port Vale
Finished:
11th
Highlight: Micky Adams' reappointment as manager.
Lowlight: The bust-up on the bus down to Aldershot between then-boss Jim Gannon and number two Geoff Horsfield that proved the promotion push was well and truly off the rails.
Star asset: Marc Richards netted 16 times for Vale.
The lowdown: Vale were vying for promotion when Adams left for Sheffield United in December. He is now back at the helm, having been fired by the Blades, but the season had gone spectacularly wrong in his absence.
Mark out of five: 4

Rotherham United
Finished:
9th
Highlight: Winning 6-0 at Lincoln
Lowlight: Not winning any of the next seven, which blew the play-offs
Star asset: Goal machine Adam Le Fondre, who will be in a higher division next term, possibly with Scunthorpe.
The lowdown: Last season's play-off finalists faded badly this time around, with Ronnie Moore fired in March after five winless games that included a 5-0 thrashing by Chesterfield. Ex-Brentford boss Andy Scott was his eventual replacement.
Mark out of 10: 6.5

Shrewsbury Town
Finished:
4th
Highlight: Reaching play-offs.
Lowlight: Losing in the semis to Torquay.
Star asset: Captain Ian Sharps was the player of the season.
The lowdown: The Shrews were pre-season promotion favourites but lacked an out-and-out goal-scorer and dropped too many points in January
Mark out of 10: 7

Southend United
Finished:
13th
Highlight: Moving to a point off the play-offs
Lowlight: A mediocre March that put paid to those promotion hopes.
Star asset: Bilel Mohsni has proved to be useful at both ends of the pitch.
The lowdown: Paul Sturrock's Shrimpers were a hastily-assembled team at the start of the season but quickly proved they were too good to go down but not quite strong enough to challenge for the play-offs, which is not bad considering the Scot inherited only four players.
Mark out of 10: 6

Stevenage
Finished:
6th
Highlight: Knocking Newcastle out of the FA Cup was good but winning the play-offs was even better.
Lowlight: There weren't any - apart from being accused of gamesmanship by Accrington, and others.
Star asset: Darius Charles, the left back turned striker.
The lowdown: Stevenage rid themselves of their Borough suffix to mark their Football League debut campaign and that ended gloriously thanks to John Mousinho's play-off final winner.
Mark out of 10: 9

Stockport County
Finished:
24th
Highlight: Beating Bury home and away.
Lowlight: Almost all the rest of it really...
Star asset: Greg Tansey netted 11 from midfield including a cracker at Northampton to delay the inevitable.
The lowdown: County's 106-year spell as a Football League club came to a sorry end just months out of coming out of administration (and being in League One) and Ray Mathias faces a tough ask bringing them back.
Mark out of 10: 0.5

Torquay United
Finished:
7th
Highlight: Reaching the play-off final.
Lowlight: Losing the play-off final - and probably manager Paul Buckle, to Bristol Rovers, as a result
Star asset: Jake Robinson has impressed this term
The lowdown: So near and yet so far for the team that clocks up more miles than most each season. Losing by the only goal at Old Trafford was a bitter blow, especially as Buckle confirmed afterwards it was probably time for him to move on.
Mark out of 10: 7

Wycombe Wanderers
Finished:
3rd
Highlight: Winning at Bury in the penultimate game to keep on course for automatic promotion.
Lowlight: Three straight losses in January.
Star asset: Top scorer Scott Rendell, who played on despite the death of his baby son and ended up with 19 goals.
The lowdown: Gary Waddock's side didn't look like contenders at the start but soon became just that and although they fell behind in five of their last ten games they did not lose any of them.
Mark out of 10: 8.5

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/05/31/league-two-club-by-club-review-part-two-stevenage-the-play-off/

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