Relegation Thread 2019/20 (sponsored by Steve Dale)

Who will be relegated? (you can change your vote as the season progresses)


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shoddycollins

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Let's get this going shall we? We're just a handful of games now from the halfway point of the season and I think we know already who's going to be involved down here. There's only one place (assuming Macclesfield don't go and render this whole discussion moot) just like old times; managerial changes are afoot; we don't have a club rooted to the foot of the table amidst a storm of poor management already looking for a miracle, and Jim Bentley is nowhere to be seen.

There's a few teams around mid-table who've threatened to join the fun at the bottom but for various reasons you wouldn't expect them to, in no small part because with only one relegation place and so many woeful teams around and about it you can't really see the likes of Mansfield or Salford finishing the season in last place, even if they do finish in the bottom half. Cambridge, Crawley and Macclesfield have been on the decline following decent starts to the season but the former two surely have the quality not to finish bottom... as for Macclesfield, I think they're in this thread, things are just going from bad to worse for them and the cushion they built up in the opening third of the season might not be enough to save the division's only real basket case.

From Leyton Orient down, questions have to be asked.

Leyton Orient - From such promising beginnings, this has been a very sad, and slightly concerning year for Orient. The appointment of Carl Fletcher could not possibly have gone worse and while the board acted quickly, the penny on the track that Fletcher left could still derail the Orient Express. Back under the leadership of Ross Embleton they need to put things right and their Conference-winning squad might lack the right equipment to do so. If they are to make another permanent appointment then they need to make the right one; that said there are many worse teams than the O's.

Grimsby Town - Grimsby have three games in hand on most teams, so theoretically could be in the play-offs if all goes well for them; they also have a neutral goal difference. However they have only taken one point from the last four games and have just sacked their manager. Fenty isn't exactly known for his ability to select the right man for the job and you don't have to suspend disbelief to imagine them appointing someone who isn't up to the job and dropping like a stone. Looking at their squad though, you would expect them to have too much to get dragged in and they may still harbour greater ambitions for this season.

Scunthorpe United - Unbeaten in four, the Iron are moving in the right direction following a dreadful start to the season. Still, it's been a slow rise, mostly built on being difficult to beat, as only the bottom three have won fewer. They're still a long way from being clear of the woods and avoiding a second successive relegation is still the focus for them. Based on performances so far it's difficult to see them getting to put their feet up and relax any time soon, Scunthorpe are down here for the long haul.

Carlisle United - The division's worst defence started the season looking like they could at least score the goals to balance it out, but those have quickly dried up and now that defence is coupled with the fewest chances created per game. Their squad has been almost entirely rebuilt from last season and now the man who built it has left the building. The cash-strapped Cumbrians now face the challenge of finding someone who can take on the squad and mold them into something more solid. Avoiding relegation isn't going to be easy for Carlisle.

Walsall - Another team relegated from League One staring down the barrel of exiting the league entirely. Their rookie owners now face their biggest challenge yet and a six-game losing run recently ended with a win hasn't helped matters. Darrel Clarke made an outburst against his players during that run but he and the owners may still feel he's the best man for the job. No doubt his experience when trying to keep Bristol Rovers up (a relegation he wasn't at fault for) will be called upon but this time he will be left carrying the can should Walsall sink.

Oldham Athletic - Oldham have struggled under the ownership of Abdallah Lemsagam whose managerial appointments and subsequent influence over those managers has left fans perplexed and frustrated. Laurent Banide didn't last long as manager and was replaced on the same day as being sacked with Westley-lite Dino Maamria. Only three wins all season, both against clubs in the bottom four doesn't bode well for the Latics, and with Lemsagam in charge you would expect more twists and turns for them this season. They do have a game in hand on most of the clubs around them.

Morecambe - Everyone's favourite plucky survivor will have to do it without Jim Bentley this season, and even before Jimbo's departure most bookies had them down as relegation favourites. Usually they've benefited from clubs around them imploding and so far it doesn't look like anyone will do that, at least not to the extent of teams like Notts County and Chesterfield in previous seasons. Bentley was an expert at taking a tiny budget and assembling squads of seasoned battlers and talented unknowns and then getting the absolute best from them in terms of work ethic and togetherness. That job now falls to Derek Adams, a surprisingly experienced manager for the Shrimps to appoint. That appointment may well prove the best decision Morecambe have ever made, but it'll be a long time before we can answer that.

Stevenage - Only two wins all season and only twelve goals, it's a good job they're 'OK' at defending, but they're still right at the foot of the table. Maamria sacked and replaced with former England women's manager Mark Sampson has only seen a slight upturn in fortunes. They beat Morecambe with a late goal to record their second win and have a game in hand. It's likely to be a long battling season for them and if the clubs above them manage to sort themselves out then they may just run out of options. Still, you can see it going right down to the wire for them.
 

valefan16

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We've played all bar Scunthorpe and Walsall so cant comment on them.

Stevenage looked ok against us and Morecambe were alright until getting a red card.

Oldham were meh, no goals in them and are a carbon copy of us in 2016/17 just a league lower.

Carlisle on Saturday couldn't defend crosses at all which is a worry, they conceded during their only decent patch of the game in the last thirty and in reality we had chances to be 3 or 4-1 up by HT.

Orient seem a bit a mess this season, poor start, then a decent run looking to get clear then sacked another boss and are dropping again.

Hard to call and Walsall or Scunny may change my mind in the meantime but I would say one of Oldham or Carlisle based purely on what i've seen.
 

Indian Dan

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I’ve gone for Morecambe and Stevenage. Of the other teams that I’ve watched they all have ‘something’ about them.

Carlisle looked pretty good at the CG - couple of very decent players.
 

BlackHaddock

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I’ve gone for Morecambe and Stevenage. Of the other teams that I’ve watched they all have ‘something’ about them.

Carlisle looked pretty good at the CG - couple of very decent players.
Only one club leaving in a downward direction this season, hopefully Stevenage. They get my vote.
 

valefan16

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Only one club leaving in a downward direction this season, hopefully Stevenage. They get my vote.

I know they'd voted on it but thought it wasn't confirm 100% yet?
 

BlackHaddock

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I know they'd voted on it but thought it wasn't confirm 100% yet?
Defo only one going down, but can't find a link for you to confirm it. Only three coming done from above, with four going up. Conference sending two up but because of Bury the EFL are relegating only one team from or division.
 

Buxton Vale

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Its hard to look past Macc given their current off the field crisis, but I would expect Morecambe, Stevenage and maybe Oldham to struggle alongside them. Grimsby and Orient will be ok once they appoint, and Carlisle had enough about them to suggest they will pick up points. Walsall and Scunny surely have enough quality to avoid the bottom 3?
 

darren gregory

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Again as per other posters can only go on what you have seen. I'd guess a few Grimsby fans might say us, but we aren't on the list.

On what i have seen by far the worst were Oldham, absolutely terrible side with terrible tactics , and we still couldn't beat them !!!

Macc have a decent cushion but undoubtedly could get dragged in depending on strikes etc.
Carlisle were ok in midfield and up top. Thought were dodgy at the back but they'll be comfortable.
Stevenage were Stevenage and i'd say Morecambe might of beaten us but for a moment of stupidity by their player.

So Oldham for me.
 

valefan16

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Again as per other posters can only go on what you have seen. I'd guess a few Grimsby fans might say us, but we aren't on the list.

On what i have seen by far the worst were Oldham, absolutely terrible side with terrible tactics , and we still couldn't beat them !!!

Macc have a decent cushion but undoubtedly could get dragged in depending on strikes etc.
Carlisle were ok in midfield and up top. Thought were dodgy at the back but they'll be comfortable.
Stevenage were Stevenage and i'd say Morecambe might of beaten us but for a moment of stupidity by their player.

So Oldham for me.

Stevenage actually looked decent second half I thought, that said after 18 games you can only assume it was a rare performance.

Macc is a weird one as they've still scraped results despite the situation and are well clear currently... administration or points deductions due to the current EFL charge obviously could change all that.
 

Gladders

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No idea not really been looking downwards, but I'd be shocked if we are in this thread this season, Fenty would have to get the appointment drastically wrong. Should hopefully be comfortable mid table for us.
 

Bottega Don

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We range from being absolutely awful to sometimes okay. We are an unbelievable first half team, we've only been trailing twice at half time. No clue what Hurst says to them at half time as we transform into a different team.

I thought we were destined for relegation earlier this year as we seemed rotten to the core. The team has improved a lot since the reintroduction of Kevin Van Veen and getting a few players back from injury. Were still prone to a collapse though, see Crawley in the FA Cup.

Morecambe and Carlisle are the worst teams I've seen apart from us of course. Morecambe we just walked through and won easily. Carlisle didn't have an attack until about the 60th minute in which they scored and somehow beat us.
 

Vanni

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I tend to do well when predicting promotion winning sides, but otoh I'm seemingly inept at guessing the two sides to end up in the vanarama. Not only that but my two nominees generally prove me wrong by having a good year (see Port Vale this season for evidence of this).

Therefore, Orient get my vote only because I want them to stay up.
 

The Terminator

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After our inevitable loss to FGR on Saturday, we won't play in the league again for two weeks. It will give our board and staff some time to clear their heads and decide on what to do next.

We all love Ross Embleton, Danny Webb and Jobi McAnuff - But they aren't experienced enough or have the nous to take a side like ours and ensure they can stay safe. We just leak goals for fun and have no defensive structure, going forward we've actually punished teams on a number of occasions this season and in the main caused teams problems at the back.

We need an experienced manager in, just to get us over the line. Otherwise we are in for a long bumpy season.
 

Andy Proctor

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Scunthorpe wont go down there a decent side they will end up top half maybe even make the play offs.
Morecambe are always down there but tend to stay up just about. I'd like stevenage to go down but its most likely going be macclesfield unless they can get this mess there in sorted quickly.
 

Boletus Edulis

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At the moment I am looking at Stevenage. Some might say because of their form, others because of their kit. Macclesfield will get into the mix if they go into administration and get a twelve point penalty.
 

valefan16

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Scunthorpe wont go down there a decent side they will end up top half maybe even make the play offs.
Morecambe are always down there but tend to stay up just about. I'd like stevenage to go down but its most likely going be macclesfield unless they can get this mess there in sorted quickly.

But are Scunny that decent side that won’t go down like Notts County and Chesterfield of the past two seasons?
 

shoddycollins

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At the end of the week, the team with the most votes will be relegated to the Vanarama national league and the season will end for the rest of the teams named in this thread. SPL style, the top half of the table will continue to play towards promotion.
 

Essex2Wessex

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Oldham were absolutely embarrassingly piss poor and abysmal and dire against FGR. The only counterbalancing point that might serve in their favour was that it was the first match of the season. The others named we have faced were merely unimpressive. Given they also have troubles off the pitch, I'm not sure I'd bet against them going down, though of course they're not alone in this.
 

Grumpy Grecian

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Surprised you haven't included Plymouth in the list - the worst side I've seen this season by a (West)country mile!
(Mind you, I guess Cambridge could have said the same about us...well, at least until tonight)
 

Simpo

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Apparently it's really bad at Oldham this season. I've not watched us though, not worth it.
 

Valeite

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Walsall need a good January otherwise I can see their young side struggling.
 

Chris FGR

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Walsall looked good against us so will probably go down. It's never the teams that look shit when you see them that end up going.
 

Agombar stool

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Surprised you haven't included Plymouth in the list - the worst side I've seen this season by a (West)country mile!
(Mind you, I guess Cambridge could have said the same about us...well, at least until tonight)

Are you aware how league tables work? :)
 

Agombar stool

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For me, I reckon Stevenage will be taking the plunge. We only beat them with a late goal at the CG earlier this season but they didn't seem to have any redeeming features about them. They defended fairly well so all their 0-0 draws could help I guess.
 

shoddycollins

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I've added another option as quite a lot of people have voted for Macclesfield and it wasn't clear whether this was because they thought Macclesfield would finish bottom or because they thought Macclesfield would be expelled altogether.
 

Chris FGR

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Can you add Bradford too.
 

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