2019/20 L2 Final League Table Predictions

[shoddycollins]

Bit of a clusterfuck of teams around the Greater Manchester / Cheshire area, with Bradford, Walsall and Morecambe just outside. Another smaller cluster exists North of Bristol. A few teams in the South-east are a bit more spread out (travelling times down there might make it feel even more so than this map suggests). Northampton and Crawley are southern outliers, though Northampton are kind of in the middle of a few groups. Mansfield are a northern outlier, and probably more so than appears in the map since there are no direct routes between them and teh North-western cluster. Scunthorpe and Grimsby have each other for company, as do Plymouth and Exeter. Carlisle an island unto themselves, as usual.

Boxing day predictions

Plymouth - Exeter
Newport - FGR
Swindon - Cheltenham
Crawley - Orient
Cambridge - Colchester
Stevenage - Northampton
Mansfield - Walsall
Crewe - Vale
Macclesfield - Salford
Oldham - Bradford
Scunthorpe - Grimsby
Morecambe - Carlisle

 

[Crewelad87]

View attachment 11093

Bit of a clusterfuck of teams around the Greater Manchester / Cheshire area, with Bradford, Walsall and Morecambe just outside. Another smaller cluster exists North of Bristol. A few teams in the South-east are a bit more spread out (travelling times down there might make it feel even more so than this map suggests). Northampton and Crawley are southern outliers, though Northampton are kind of in the middle of a few groups. Mansfield are a northern outlier, and probably more so than appears in the map since there are no direct routes between them and teh North-western cluster. Scunthorpe and Grimsby have each other for company, as do Plymouth and Exeter. Carlisle an island unto themselves, as usual.

Boxing day predictions

Plymouth - Exeter
Newport - FGR
Swindon - Cheltenham
Crawley - Orient
Cambridge - Colchester
Stevenage - Northampton
Mansfield - Walsall
Crewe - Vale
Macclesfield - Salford
Oldham - Bradford
Scunthorpe - Grimsby
Morecambe - Carlisle

Unlike non league you don't tend to play your local rival boxing day/new year. We tend to get a club around greater Manchester.

 

[Buxton Vale]

more likely Mansfield, Oldham or Walsall than Crewe.

 

[OhGodGlovePuppet]

You are a club around Greater Manchester....

But yeah, anyway, in Cambridge terms I don't know who I'd want as a boxing day fixture. Orient, Colchester, Stevenage and Northampton all have their appeal elsewhere in the calendar.

Colchester on boxing day as part of the famous CUFC LEAGUE would be a nice enough balance for me.

 

[Indian Dan]

Fucking northern monkeys, why are you all shite at the same time, forcing us southern softies to experience all that acid rain, breathing in smog and having to witness all those children being forced up chimneys.

 

[shoddycollins]

Fucking northern monkeys, why are you all shite at the same time, forcing us southern softies to experience all that acid rain, breathing in smog and having to witness all those children being forced up chimneys.

You can maybe take comfort that you didn't get promoted

 

[shoddycollins]

Unlike non league you don't tend to play your local rival boxing day/new year. We tend to get a club around greater Manchester.

You had us a couple years back didn't you?

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Fucking northern monkeys, why are you all shite at the same time, forcing us southern softies to experience all that acid rain, breathing in smog and having to witness all those children being forced up chimneys.

Cheap bier, outstanding pies and a good away day, irrespective of the result...

 

[Conker]

Up the midlanders!

 

[Son of Cod]

View attachment 11093

Bit of a clusterfuck of teams around the Greater Manchester / Cheshire area, with Bradford, Walsall and Morecambe just outside. Another smaller cluster exists North of Bristol. A few teams in the South-east are a bit more spread out (travelling times down there might make it feel even more so than this map suggests). Northampton and Crawley are southern outliers, though Northampton are kind of in the middle of a few groups. Mansfield are a northern outlier, and probably more so than appears in the map since there are no direct routes between them and teh North-western cluster. Scunthorpe and Grimsby have each other for company, as do Plymouth and Exeter. Carlisle an island unto themselves, as usual.

Boxing day predictions

Plymouth - Exeter
Newport - FGR
Swindon - Cheltenham
Crawley - Orient
Cambridge - Colchester
Stevenage - Northampton
Mansfield - Walsall
Crewe - Vale
Macclesfield - Salford
Oldham - Bradford
Scunthorpe - Grimsby
Morecambe - Carlisle

Would not surprise me at all if they've already kiboshed that being a Boxing Day fixture. Reckon they'll give one of us Mansfield and one Bradford or one of the Mancish ones.

 

[Valeite]

boxing day ,Vale will have either Oldham or Bradford. No Christmas is complete without a trip up the M62.

 

[GTFCfish]

I miss the Non League days where we used to spoil Lincoln’s Christmas by beating them every year at Sincil Bank on Boxing Day.

 

[Son of Cod]

I miss the Non League days where we used to spoil Lincoln’s Christmas by beating them every year at Sincil Bank on Boxing Day.

"Hi yes, Lincoln here. Is that the Non-League? Please can you stop giving us Grimsby twice over Christmas every year because we would like to finish 13th instead of 16th. Thank you."

 

[GTFCfish]

"Hi yes, Lincoln here. Is that the Non-League? Please can you stop giving us Grimsby twice over Christmas every year because we would like to finish 13th instead of 16th. Thank you."

“Alfreton will do instead please as we might actually beat them.”

 

[Chris FGR]

Having no obvious local derbies in the Conference on Boxing Day/New Year meant us getting a double header against the likes of Yeovil, Hereford, Kiddy, Newport, Salisbury, Aldershot and Torquay down the years. So the league 2 system hasn't really made much difference to us.

 

[Conker]

“Alfreton will do instead please as we might actually beat them.”

Alfreton were taken though, and ironically on one Boxing Day they did us over at home

 

[GTFCfish]

Alfreton were taken though, and ironically on one Boxing Day they did us over at home

Yeah I remember that, we were top of the league at the time and due to play you 2 days later but if my memory serves me correctly there was some issue with the sprinklers that meant the game had to be postponed.....

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Alfreton were taken though, and ironically on one Boxing Day they did us over at home

I remember that result coming through and thinking about how low the Stags fans must have been after that game and wondering how much lower you could go...
Then thinking that the club must have been at a real all time low to resort to the sprinkler postponement...

 

[Indian Dan]

How sweet! All these non league minnows reminiscing about the good old days!

 

[Conker]

I remember that result coming through and thinking about how low the Stags fans must have been after that game and wondering how much lower you could go...
Then thinking that the club must have been at a real all time low to resort to the sprinkler postponement...

Well ironically that season we went on a insane run and won the title and beat Alfreton 3-0 at the ‘Impact arena’ a few days later on New Years.

So to summarise things were actually getting better that season and the one before where we lost in the play-offs - before that we were finishing 10th at best.

Sprinkler was fake btw

 

[Conker]

How sweet! All these non league minnows reminiscing about the good old days!

Slight problem, in that you cannot be a non-league minnow if ya not in the non-league - except Salford obviously.

 

[Indian Dan]

Only yanking your chain.

There but for the grace of God . . .

 

[E10rifle]

Having no obvious local derbies in the Conference on Boxing Day/New Year meant us getting a double header against the likes of Yeovil, Hereford, Kiddy, Newport, Salisbury, Aldershot and Torquay down the years. So the league 2 system hasn't really made much difference to us.

Bet those big grudge matches with Woodchester and Minchinhampton Rangers were right old ding dongs on the terraces.

 

[shoddycollins]

Don't think the final table according to the bookies has been mentioned yet, but at the moment look like this.

1. Classless of 92 FC
2. Bradford City
3. Plymouth Argyle
---------------------------------------
4. Scunthorpe United
5. Mansfield Town
6. Northampton Town
7. Forest Green Rovers
----------------------------------------
8. Walsall
9. Swindon Town
10. Colchester United
11. Leyton Orient
12. Exeter City
13. Carlisle United
14. Oldham Athletic
15. Crewe Alexandra
16. Port Vale
17. Newport County
18. Stevenage
19. Cambridge United
20. Crawley Town
21. Cheltenham Town
22. Grimsby Town
----------------------------------------
23. Macclesfield Town
24. Morecambe

That's based on odds to win the title. Odds for relegation put them in a slightly different order, with the bottom two still the same but Oldham (whose odds for the title are apparently getting longer) closer to relegation than title odds suggest, Cambridge further and Salford down to 4th since while they're the favourites, as a bankrolled team who have never played at this level before the bookies see them as slightly more likely to fuck it all up go down than more established and sustainable outfits.

For most of the teams who remain here from last season, the bookies don't expect next year to bring any great differences. The promotion picture will once again feature last year's relegated teams prominently with Mansfield and the Conference play off winners. Grimsby's upturn in form to finish mid-table hasn't swayed the bookies who think they'll struggle again. Colchester and Swindon will miss out narrowly on the playoffs again and so on.

The only real differences are that Exeter will finally fall away and finish mid-table. Newport and Stevenage will do so even more dramatically, while Northampton will progress.

Carlisle finishing 13th in this table probably isn't too different from our 11th place finish last season, though that was 11th in a close playoff race that we were still clinging on to until the last game. 13th in this table probably does mean mid-table anonymity but that's far better than we think we'll finish. Bookies are famously risk averse and don't really like predicting teams to go from a promotion push one year to a relegation battle the next.

 

[Indian Dan]

Can’t see 3 out of the 4 relegated sides bouncing straight back. Think Exeter, Newport and FGM will be weaker. Mansfield’s recruitment I haven’t been following but it’ll be hard replacing Walker’s goals.

I can see vast improvement in Vale and Grimsby. Cobblers recruitment could turn out either way.

Have a feeling that Salford may not be the force most predict - hope so.

There’s a clump of similarly shite sides who’ll do nowt.

Be a hard league this year.

 

[hellogregory]

I got us at 20/1 for relegation the other week. Great odds imo, couldn't resist it. Think they've shortened since.


I also don't think Salford will win the league or be even close. Playoffs at best.

 

[SF_]

I see a lot of people tipping Colchester to do well? Aren't they at risk of losing a lot of their better players this summer? Left back has already gone, Smzodics linked away, maybe their young centre back too?

What's the reasoning?

 

[shoddycollins]

I got us at 20/1 for relegation the other week. Great odds imo, couldn't resist it.

Literally giving money away! How much have you raked in so far this last few seasons backing us to go down?

 

[PlymouthCasual]

Salford couldn't even win the National League last year. No way on earth they will be in the top three in my opinion. 13th

 

[Indian Dan]

Salford couldn't even win the National League last year. No way on earth they will be in the top three in my opinion. 13th

Amen, brother.