2023/24 League Two Promotion Thread

[JJ1990]

88 - Average Champions
87 - Predicted Champions
86 -
85 -
84 -
83 -
82 - Average Automatics
81 - Predicted Automatics
80 -
79 -
78 -
77 -
76 -
75 -
74 -
73 -
72 - Average Play Offs, Mansfield(38)
71 -
70 -
69 -
68 - Predicted Play Offs
67 - Stockport(36), Wrexham(38)
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67 - MK Dons(39)
66 -
65 -
64 - Crewe(38)
63 -
62 -
61 - Barrow(37)
60 -
59 -
58 -
57 - AFC Wimbledon(38)
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56 - Walsall(38), Gillingham(39)
55 -
54 - Crawley(36)

Mixed week for most of the teams at the top. Mansfield have a great week and move into a commanding position to both secure a top 3 spot and potentially the title. Stockport are also in a good position, but need to make their 2 games in hand count, starting on Monday at Crawley. Wrexham a losing a bit of form, 2 home games with 1 point and 0 goals to show for it isn't great.

MK Dons are looking very dangerous and could break into the top 3 soon, they are on great form after a comfy 3-1 home win over Crewe. The Alex are still in a good position, but that's 1 win from 4 ahead of 2 tough games against the sides in 7th and 9th. Barrow get 2 draws, but it could have been more. Wimbledon have a mixed run in their 2 home games with only 3 points. In the top 7 though and a 2 point gap to the teams below them.

Walsall get a couple of solid draws, got some favourable games to finish the season on it looks like. Their home games look to be against sides with nothing to play for, could be to their advantage. Gillingham, well same old, same old. Can't score, won't score. Still in with a shout though. Crawley are now into the top 10 and have games in hand, but some tough opponents are coming up. Sink or swim time for them with teams below them waiting to move up.

1st - Mansfield, 72 points, GD 42: Colchester(H), Wrexham(A), Accrington(H), Crawley(H), Forest Green(H), MK Dons(A), Gillingham(H), Barrow(A)
2nd - Stockport, 67 points, GD 30: Crawley(A), MK Dons(H), Forest Green(A), Wimbledon(H), Sutton(A), Colchester(A), Morecambe(H), Notts County(A), Accrington(H), Wrexham(A)
3rd - Wrexham, 67 points, GD 20: Grimsby(A), Mansfield(H), Doncaster(A), Colchester(A), Crawley(H), Forest Green(H), Crewe(A), Stockport(H)
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4th - MK Dons, 67 points, GD 14: Stockport(A), Walsall(H), Notts County(A), Forest Green(A), Mansfield(H), Harrogate(A), Sutton(H)
5th - Crewe, 61 points, GD 12: Wimbledon(H), Gillingham(A), Forest Green(H), Accrington(A), Morecambe(A), Grimsby(H), Wrexham(H), Colchester(A)
6th - Barrow, 59 points, GD 12: Newport(H), Grimsby(H), Morecambe(A), Swindon(H), Bradford(H), Gillingham(A), Doncaster(A), Mansfield(H)
7th - Wimbledon, 57 points, GD 11: Crewe(A), Harrogate(H), Stockport(A), Salford(H), Swindon(A), Tranmere(A), Walsall(H)
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8th - Walsall, 56 points, 5 GD: Swindon(H), MK Dons(A), Salford(H), Tranmere(A), Doncaster(A), Notts County(H), Bradford(H), Wimbledon(A)
9th - Gillingham, 56 points, GD -9: Morecambe(A), Crewe(H), Harrogate(A), Bradford(H), Barrow(H), Mansfield(A), Doncaster(H)
10th - Crawley 55 points, 1 GD: Stockport(H), Tranmere(A), Doncaster(H), Newport(A), Mansfield(A), Wrexham(A), Colchester(H), Barrow(H), Sutton(A), Grimsby(H)

Next weeks fixtures:

Monday 18th March
Crawley Town v Stockport County

Saturday 23rd March
Mansfield Town v Colchester United
Barrow v Newport County
Crewe Alexandra v AFC Wimbledon
Grimsby Town v Wrexham
Morecambe v Gillingham
Tranmere Rovers v Crawley Town
Stockport County v Milton Keynes Dons

Interesting game on Monday with implications for both the top 3 and top 7. Then next weekend, 2nd v 4th and 5th v 7th are 2 really tasty games to keep an eye on. Not many easy games now with teams picking up random results all over the shop. Not sure I see a definite win amongst them, Mansfield aside perhaps. The rest look tricky for every team in their own way.

 

[Conker]

Mansfield up. That's one place gone.

Until we unexpectedly lose again, one game at a time still plenty to play for.

 

[Master D]

Until we unexpectedly lose again, one game at a time still plenty to play for.

You're better than us trust me. Even Clough can't fail to get a promotion on the CV from here.

 

[Conker]

You're better than us trust me. Even Clough can't fail to get a promotion on the CV from here.

I genuinely believe we are the best side in the division and have done for some time, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have it in us to fuck it up!

 

[GTFCfish]

#yearofthestag

 

[WhiteRussian]

I think we are for the payoffs. We have played more games than anyone else and we are absolute shite away.

 

[northstandexile]

I think we are for the payoffs. We have played more games than anyone else and we are absolute shite away.

Brown envelopes?

 

[AdamStag]

You're better than us trust me. Even Clough can't fail to get a promotion on the CV from here.

He’s already got a few tbh pal!

 

[AdamStag]

Plenty of twists and turns before now and the end of the season, the game of next week will be stockport against MK.

If we were to draw against colchester (on early kick off) we’d be 6 clear and a win 8 clear with a better GD, they’d be real pressure on them.

MK seem to be gathering form at the right time.

 

[WhiteRussian]

Plenty of twists and turns before now and the end of the season, the game of next week will be stockport against MK.

If we were to draw against colchester (on early kick off) we’d be 6 clear and a win 8 clear with a better GD, they’d be real pressure on them.

MK seem to be gathering form at the right time.

I don't see how you can say that when we were beaten by Grimsby and AFC. Yes, we beat you and Crewe but we are so inconsistant away from home it's untrue.

 

[AdamStag]

I don't see how you can say that when we were beaten by Grimsby and AFC. Yes, we beat you and Crewe but we are so inconsistant away from home it's untrue.

you’re 2nd in form table last 10, and even with those 2 losses you’ve still gained more than stockport and wrexham in the last 5

 

[mightyshrimp]

Tough game for Morecambe today at Salford ,a win will put us in 8th on goal difference, think we have well over achieved this season especially after getting rid of the whole team when we got relegated last season.Always favourites for relegation the Shrimps

 

[Tinpot and proud]

Tough game for Morecambe today at Salford ,a win will put us in 8th on goal difference, think we have well over achieved this season especially after getting rid of the whole team when we got relegated last season.Always favourites for relegation the Shrimps

I would say I’ve been surprised by yourself and Crawley and ourselves the most this season......over achieved definitely not, just happily surprised.

 

[Conker]

I’d take a guess our run in is the most difficult too, got Barrow, Wrexham and MK to play away.

Good news is that’s it for away games, rest are at home.

 

[Crewelad87]

Injuries starting to pile up again for us, not quite at the level of the crisis in December where we didn't win a game, but we're getting close again, we're down to 1 fit striker and half the midfield out injured aswell.

 

[woburn]

We've got a few key playersw coming back now, which could be perfect timing, Max Dean in particular, it's our away form however which is likely to keep us in the playoff spots.

 

[Son of Cod]

We owe wrexham for that really, they rested all their players for that game which helped us win the title. A certain David artell got sent off in that game late on for wrexham

We lost 2-1 at wrexham that season, another wrexham/mansfield stat is that had we won that game we’d have set a conference record of 13 straight wins, but had to settle for just the 12, it was on a thursday night as everyone was trying to cram in fixtures.

Proper sliding doors stuff that last day of 2012/13. If Wrexham had have gone for it they might have won and handed the title to Kiddy. We also played Newport who rested their entire team and we played our full strength team to comfortably turn them over before they did us in the playoffs. If that match had have also panned out differently it could have been us v you in the playoffs and Wrexham v Newport. Could have been completely different decades following that for each club.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Reckon we’d have been up shit creek if we’d not gone up then. I know Radford had bought the club by then but we spaffed some serious £££ going for it that season, glad it paid off and then we had 3/4 seasons cutting back in the league until appointing Evans at least!

Luton absolutely pissed it the year after aswell I think so doubt we’d have won it then and we’d have still lost Matt Green who was instrumental in getting us up that season and easily better than Liam Hearn!

 

[Son of Cod]

Reckon we’d have been up shit creek if we’d not gone up then. I know Radford had bought the club by then but we spaffed some serious £££ going for it that season, glad it paid off and then we had 3/4 seasons cutting back in the league until appointing Evans at least!

Luton absolutely pissed it the year after aswell I think so doubt we’d have won it then and we’d have still lost Matt Green who was instrumental in getting us up that season and easily better than Liam Hearn!

Yeah that Luton side was obscenely good for that level. Probably the only team that could have gone toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side. You lot being in the division would have just made it more difficult for several seasons. Agreed that you did the right honourable thing by going up when you did, the year we went up and the year that Barnet and Bristol Rovers went up definitely didn't need Mansfield getting in the way.

 

[AdamStag]

While we were beating your weakened side a full strength side kidderminster won 4-0 at home that day, in the process relegating a certain stockport county to the conference north….

Odd how these things pan out.

 

[Less than a mile (WAFC)]

Yeah that Luton side was obscenely good for that level. Probably the only team that could have gone toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side. You lot being in the division would have just made it more difficult for several seasons. Agreed that you did the right honourable thing by going up when you did, the year we went up and the year that Barnet and Bristol Rovers went up definitely didn't need Mansfield getting in the way.

Not true, we went toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side getting 98 points and just missing out and our promotion winning team of last year are definitely better than our side that year.

They also robbed us of Lee Fowler in January which potentially swung it in their favour.

 

[Pilot_Phonic]

Not true, we went toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side getting 98 points and just missing out and our promotion winning team of last year are definitely better than our side that year.

They also robbed us of Lee Fowler in January which potentially swung it in their favour.

Aye, robbing our best player in the midfield, and their fraud money tipped them ahead of us. Should never have lost the league in the way we did, but here we are.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Not true, we went toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side getting 98 points and just missing out and our promotion winning team of last year are definitely better than our side that year.

They also robbed us of Lee Fowler in January which potentially swung it in their favour.

You weren’t that good, we did the double over you that season and we both fucked it in the PO’s

 

[Son of Cod]

Not true, we went toe to toe with that Vardy Fleetwood side getting 98 points and just missing out and our promotion winning team of last year are definitely better than our side that year.

They also robbed us of Lee Fowler in January which potentially swung it in their favour.

Correct, you went toe to toe with them and lost and then lost in the playoffs. Decent side I agree but not one of the best of that era and some way off that Luton side from the season after.

This was also back when teams didn't play at home to Dover every week too like your team last season.

 

[GTFCfish]

Correct, you went toe to toe with them and lost and then lost in the playoffs. Decent side I agree but not one of the best of that era and some way off that Luton side from the season after.

This was also back when teams didn't play at home to Dover every week too like your team last season.

That’s an unfair jibe i’ve checked last seasons fixtures and Wrexham alternated home games against Dover and Maidstone.

 

[Conker]

Our title winning side was so basic, get it to the wings ASAP and let Briscoe, Meikle and Green do the rest. The mentality they had was superb mind, Matt Green was ridiculously good that season.

 

[AdamStag]

I still love the idea of winning a conference so great that luton didn’t even make the playoffs

 

[Pilot_Phonic]

That’s an unfair jibe i’ve checked last seasons fixtures and Wrexham alternated home games against Dover and Maidstone.

We didn't go up when we last played Dover, thanks...

It was Maidstone and Scunny when we went up!

 

[GTFCfish]

We didn't go up when we last played Dover, thanks...

It was Maidstone and Scunny when we went up!

I remember that year the awful Hyde side were in it and we only scraped two 1-0 wins against them.

 

[Less than a mile (WAFC)]

I remember that year the awful Hyde side were in it and we only scraped two 1-0 wins against them.

We lost 2-0 there once.

Awful ground and insanely narrow pitch.