Stickied League 2 Transfer Rumours/Confirmed Transfers 2024/25

[Conker]

I don't think you'll come close to those seasons in the Conference again. Wrexham finished 2nd to Fleetwood on 98 points, we were next in 3rd on 89. The season after Kidderminster finished 2nd on 93 and still didn't go up. It really should be 3 up 3 down!

The only positive to not having 3 up 3 down means Forest Green Rovers missed out last season

Agreed.

In regards to League Two I thought it had some genuinely brilliant teams in our first season back up but the last couple have been pretty awful to be fair.

It can all change in a summer though.

 

[Habbinalan]

Well it'll feel like it belongs here ..................... if it ever happens. Pass the Laphroaig.

Barry Corr ‏@BarryCorr10 13m

We will be back very soon #CUFC pic.twitter.com/gC3TVC9dqo

1 reply . 2 retweets 4 likes

 

[hellogregory]

It should never be 3 up 3 down between league 2 and conference.

The hole you drop down should be narrow, but when you drop down its disastrous and tough to get back up, then when you manage to squeeze back through the tiny hole into League 2 it's because you've had an exceptional season.

The drop out of the football league and promotion to the football league shouldn't just be like any other promotion.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

That's a load of rubbish really as you can have pretty average season in the conference right now and get up through the playoffs so the argument holds no weight. The year we lost to York in the play off final I dont think any Luton fan would tell you we deserved to be there but we ended up a dodgy offside goal away.

Wrexham, Kidderminster I can think of the top of my head had "exceptional seaons" go unrewarded because of the current system. Whilst teams who have been truly appalling in League 2 and deserve the drop get by because only 2 go down. Football is supposed to be meritocracy and that just isn't fair.

It should absolutely be 3 up 3 down.

 

[Luke Imp]

I think that reasoning is a tad unfair. That just makes it sound like you want a closed shop, which isn't far off being. The FL seem petrified of opening up extra spaces in case some tinpot part timer got up but there are always going to be a 2 or 3 ex-league Clubs vying for it. There's been a massive change in the NL and North and South divisions.

The problem is that the FL are causing the National League issues. Issues with money. With only one automatic promotion space, the FL has built it up to be the promised land and as such, Clubs throw silly money at it. As I'm typing, I suppose the NL should put some kind of FFP in, but they haven't and I doubt they have any plans to. FGR, for example, lost £2.5m last season on top of all their other losses, with a wage bill of £2.1m. Eastleigh, are another throwing money at it, unsuccessfully. Huge amounts of money floating around.

We even have regional teams going FT now. Fylde are, Kiddy are, Harrogate are next season, Salford have plans to and probably Darlington at some stage. There's a massive amount of money at that level, and the South, too. The NL has changed massively over the last 10 years and the PT times in the NL are going FT. Southport have plans to do so next season and Chester did a season or two back.

I'm sure the FL still think the NL is fully of butchers, bakers and candle stick makers but in terms of 'proper' PT teams, I bet there are less than a handful, if that i.e. only train two evenings a week.

I agree that it shouldn't be 3 up 3 down because the quality of the Conference isn't consistently good enough to warrant it. The top 5 or 6 a few years back certainly were (York, Wrexham, Luton, Grimsby were all in it IIRC). That bottle neck went, though.

Agree loosely on your point, but not sure I agree with your reasoning.

 

[PaulHaddock]

The only reasons for it not being in place are that League 2 teams are frightened should they have a bad season and the fact that the FA/FL don't want the chance of a Braintree/Boreham Wood/Sutton coming up.

 

[BeesKnees]

2 up, 2 down with third bottom joining 3-5th in a play off.

 

[AdamStag]

2 up, 2 down with third bottom joining 3-5th in a play off.

Absolutely.

Like that have in Scotland. 100pc agree.

Ultimately the stigma of the football league is that, but it makes you appreciate the league more. When you've seen us lost 4-1 to Hayes and yeading infront of 350 people it makes you respect what being in the league is, and what it's for.

Ultimately whatever side comes up deserves to, regardless of size

 

[Richard Cranium]

The only reasons for it not being in place are that League 2 teams are frightened should they have a bad season and the fact that the FA/FL don't want the chance of a Braintree/Boreham Wood/Sutton coming up.

You can't blame them for that mind.

 

[hellogregory]

It should absolutely be 3 up 3 down.

It should not.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Well I don't think anyone can argue with that reasoning...

 

[hellogregory]

That's a load of rubbish really as you can have pretty average season in the conference right now and get up through the playoffs so the argument holds no weight.

That's why it should be 1 up 1 down, but I know it well never go back to that.

We were absolutely shite in our year in the conference, maybe played well in about 5 matches, yet we got back in the football league at the first attempt via the playoffs. Yeah I was happy about it cos it was us, but it shouldn't be that easy to get league status imo.

I don't mind that between the EFL leagues because relegation from say 1 to 2 is not a disaster, where as losing your league status should be.

 

[AdamStag]

I believe it's a short sighted approach not to have it 3 up 3 down.

All those that argue about the lack of quality at the top of the conference fail to take into account the lack of quality at the bottom of league 2.

As richard mentioned, 2 seasons ago we were that bad I've no idea how we stayed up, we were just lucky somehow that tranmere and Cheltenham were worse.

The side in 22nd going into a playoff with 3rd 4th and 5th would make perfect sense.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

That's why it should be 1 up 1 down, but I know it well never go back to that.

We were absolutely shite in our year in the conference, maybe played well in about 5 matches, yet we got back in the football league at the first attempt via the playoffs. Yeah I was happy about it cos it was us, but it shouldn't be that easy to get league status imo.

I don't mind that between the EFL leagues because relegation from say 1 to 2 is not a disaster, where as losing your league status should be.

Your logic doesn't work in reverse though. You can be truely appalling and scrape staying up whilst a team that gets 98 points in a bloody tough league gets nothing.

If the league is so special, which seems to be the crux of what you are saying, why allow terrible teams to hang around?

 

[hellogregory]

Your logic doesn't work in reverse though. You can be truely appalling and scrape staying up whilst a team that gets 98 points in a bloody tough league gets nothing.

If the league is so special, which seems to be the crux of what you are saying, why allow terrible teams to hang around?

That's the pains of being non league as I believe it should be.

I think the league is special yeah. It should be a big achievement to gain your place in that 92.

 

[hellogregory]

I notice the supporters for 3 up 3 down are mainly fans of clubs who lost their league status and spent years and years trying to get back up.

Maybe I'd feel differently if we'd had to endure more than 1 season in that cesspit of a league.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

That's the pains of being non league as I believe it should be.

I think the league is special yeah. It should be a big achievement to gain your place in that 92.

I dont really see how 3 up 3 down or even the playoff idea which I think is a decent half way house if you are worried about varying quality of the conference affects that.

Conversely, if you think the league is special why do you think that its ok for awful teams, because lets face it you have to be awful to finish 22nd in this division, should be allowed to hang around? You are diluting how "special" it is by allowing poor teams to remain.

 

[Vanni]

HG - I think you're forgetting that it was a long time ago since you lot were in the Conference. Things have changed is what I'm saying. FFS, we had a truly terrible side when we went down in 2005 and yet managed a very respectable 12th place finish. Now if you look at the players we had back then, you'd understand why we thought finishing 12th was great.

 

[BeesKnees]

That's the pains of being non league as I believe it should be.

I think the league is special yeah. It should be a big achievement to gain your place in that 92.

We've done it three times. Champions every time so you'd think I would agree with you.

I don't. Take away the playoffs and the league will be almost dead with a couple of months to go, plus creating such a harsh cliff edge would be unnecessarily draconian.

 

[hellogregory]

You all disagree which is fine.

You've all spent a long time stuck down there in that hell hole so maybe there's a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on.

Nothing any of you say will change my views on 3 up 3 down.

 

[Conker]

I don't think we should have been allowed to get relegated to the Conference because Mansfield has always traditionally been a league club, nor should Crawley, Dag & Red, Morecombe, Fleetwood, Stevenage Burton etc have been let in.

Let's put in a temporary ban on any new entries until the FL can figure out what's going on.

 

[AdamStag]

You all disagree which is fine.

You've all spent a long time stuck down there in that hell hole so maybe there's a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on.

Nothing any of you say will change my views on 3 up 3 down.

Has carver hacked your account?

 

[Vanni]

I've changed my mind. Let's go back to the golden years of re-election.

'Allo? Rochdale FC? I'm Jeff, the Hartlepool chairman. Is Jimmy around?'
'Jeff! Long time no see mate. What can I do for you?'
'tis about this re-election thingy coming up.....'
'Consider it done mate, anything for you pal. So long'

 

[hellogregory]

Has carver hacked your account?

Have I called anyone a c***?

 

[PaulHaddock]

Aside from the little extra money you get, why is it special and a big deal being in L2 instead of the Conference? I remember a load of our fans were always going on about it. 'A big achievement to reach the 92'? Ok mate.

The fact that L1-L2 is 4 up/4 down takes the piss as well. Why is it half of that for NL-L2? Meanwhile, the Morecambes of the world can happily get by each season on a low points total. When a bigger team gets relegated now, they don't go into a slumber like before (Cambridge, Wrexham, us), they're challenging right away. Whilst that might suggest the Conference is now a poorer quality (it is), it pushes the rest of the teams down the pecking order because the big boys have been relegated; there's no such thing as 'serving your time' anymore.

 

[AdamStag]

I certainly think it makes you realise relegation battles are much more worrying when you've been there.

When we were down in 2007/8 we thought the conference was a bit of a joke and we were top at the end of August, it just went downhill from there.

2 seasons ago, we all worried as well all knew "what was down there". Basically a pile of crap.

Despite getting to the final that fucking FA trophy still makes me shudder now

 

[Si Robin]

I actually agree with HG, mainly because I support a traditionally non-league team.

For me, being in the Football League was the holy grail and winning promotion to it should be the hardest one. I know it's different now, with more full-time teams, but I think since they brought in the playoffs it's seen a massive increase in shit or bust teams because it's seen as being easier to get into the Football League.

I posted this when I first came onto this site in the non-league section and I appreciate no-one agrees with me, but thems my views.

 

[Gladders]

We were down there for 6 seasons and I thought it should be 3 up 3 down but that was because of the bottleneck and the amount of traditional league clubs down there
That is now changing and going back to the non leaguers falling back down the bigger clubs coming back up despite it being only 2 up 2 down.

Just look at FGR spending 2.1m on wages last season for non league players, that dwarfs most clubs in this division nevermind non league, imagine what they would have to spend on wages if they did come up, its just not sustainable, and they aren't chasing the league 2 dream they want to go further! Sure there revenue might increase but so what there spending.
A few clubs like Accrington are the exception but they managed to get up before the bottleneck happened.

 

[Conker]

Aside from the little extra money you get, why is it special and a big deal being in L2 instead of the Conference? I remember a load of our fans were always going on about it. 'A big achievement to reach the 92'? Ok mate.

The fact that L1-L2 is 4 up/4 down takes the piss as well. Why is it half of that for NL-L2? Meanwhile, the Morecambes of the world can happily get by each season on a low points total. When a bigger team gets relegated now, they don't go into a slumber like before (Cambridge, Wrexham, us), they're challenging right away. Whilst that might suggest the Conference is now a poorer quality (it is), it pushes the rest of the teams down the pecking order because the big boys have been relegated; there's no such thing as 'serving your time' anymore.

It's a lot of extra money to be fair.

 

[Luke Imp]

That's why it should be 1 up 1 down, but I know it well never go back to that.

We were absolutely shite in our year in the conference, maybe played well in about 5 matches, yet we got back in the football league at the first attempt via the playoffs. Yeah I was happy about it cos it was us, but it shouldn't be that easy to get league status imo.

I don't mind that between the EFL leagues because relegation from say 1 to 2 is not a disaster, where as losing your league status should be.

That kinda proves my point of the NL hugely changing over the last 10 years because it was 2005(?) you got promoted? I bet it was nothing like it is now, back then.

To a point, the likes of Cheltenham and Barnet were lucky the bottle neck went because they were no-where near as good as the Fleetwood, Kiddy, Wrexham's of previous years (two of whom didn't even get promoted).