National League - Predict the League

[dan_wrexhamafc]

1 Dagenham
-------------------------------------
2 Tranmere
3 Leyton Orient
4 Aldershot
5 Wrexham
6 Hartlepool
7 Barrow
-------------------------------------
8 Eastleigh
9 Fylde
10 Gateshead
11 Macc
12 Ebbsfleet
13 Sutton
14 Dover
15 Torquay
16 Halifax
17 Maidenhead
18 Boreham Wood
19 Maidstone
20 Guiseley
-------------------------------------
21 Woking
22 Chester
23 Bromley
24 Solihull

 

[E10rifle]

Then again being the least popular team in London must give you an inferiority complex.

Nice try. But, y'know. Millwall and all that.

As for 'wailing', well the club has had six weeks to recover from being deliberately dismantled and sabotaged over the course of three excruciating years. I think they've made a decent fist of it on the surface, but knowing as little as I do about the players and clubs in this division, I'll happily take opinions from proper non league fans such as yourself on board.

 

[E10rifle]

What exactly are you basing your 'fucking turgid' opinion on?

It's undoubted ability to get a significant proportion of your fans' backs up?

 

[PoolieTom]

I think you need to get out more mate

 

[Soup Ladle]

Not a peep out of the Orient fans when they were bottom of L2 all season, getting the blood drained out of the club. In fact they seemed like a decent bunch.

Then they get a new owner, Steve Davis (lol) and sign a few journeymen from L1 and 2 and suddenly think they're the dog's bollocks. They weren't crowing a few weeks back

 

[DarkSithLord]

It's undoubted ability to get a significant proportion of your fans' backs up?

E10rifle. Can we please refrain from constant wumming and any clear attempts to wind people up otherwise I will issue you with a warning.

 

[EnglishRed]

Nice try. But, y'know. Millwall and all that.

As for 'wailing', well the club has had six weeks to recover from being deliberately dismantled and sabotaged over the course of three excruciating years. I think they've made a decent fist of it on the surface, but knowing as little as I do about the players and clubs in this division, I'll happily take opinions from proper non league fans such as yourself on board.

Dodgy owners trying to kill your club? Join the club mate....that's the reason we are a mid table non league club nowadays.

It's hard to say how Pools and Orient will do really. You lot have definitely signed some good players but it's all been fairly recently (understandably) so might put you at a disadvantage against clubs like Tranmere and Aldershot who have continuity from last season. Even Daggers who is expected to be up there (shit pre season notwithstanding)

Hartlepool have retained some players who have previously done well down here. And signed others like Donaldson who again have been stars at this level. They've also signed some real shit like Like George and have a manager with terrible hair (which calls into question his judgement) so who knows.

It'll be a tight league this year. Enjoy it! Apart from the stigma of being outside of the FL it's actually a fairly enjoyable league for the most part. I just wish we could get out!

 

[E10rifle]

I think you need to get out more mate

The one time I've been out of the house in the last 10 days, I got savagely bitten by a donkey. True story.

 

[E10rifle]

E10rifle. Can we please refrain from constant wumming and any clear attempts to wind people up otherwise I will issue you with a warning.

Yes'm bwana.

 

[E10rifle]

Dodgy owners trying to kill your club? Join the club mate....that's the reason we are a mid table non league club nowadays.

It's hard to say how Pools and Orient will do really. You lot have definitely signed some good players but it's all been fairly recently (understandably) so might put you at a disadvantage against clubs like Tranmere and Aldershot who have continuity from last season. Even Daggers who is expected to be up there (shit pre season notwithstanding)

Hartlepool have retained some players who have previously done well down here. And signed others like Donaldson who again have been stars at this level. They've also signed some real shit like Like George and have a manager with terrible hair (which calls into question his judgement) so who knows.

It'll be a tight league this year. Enjoy it! Apart from the stigma of being outside of the FL it's actually a fairly enjoyable league for the most part. I just wish we could get out!

To be honest, bud, snarky one liners aside, the vast majority of Orient fans are just glad that Voldemort has fucked off. Mid-table obscurity and some willy-waving about how unbelievably massive we are will do just fine for me, though my instincts suggest we're going to do a little better. (As long as we don't finish below Halifax, which would be the ultimate embarrassment).

 

[Luke Imp]

NLP Part 1 - http://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/features/columnists/19817/the-nlp-predicts-part-one/

Not a standing predictions. Maybe that's Part 2.

 

[Pablosammy]

Yes'm bwana.

Hakuna matata.

 

[Luke Imp]

NLP Part 1 - http://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/features/columnists/19817/the-nlp-predicts-part-one/

Not a standing predictions. Maybe that's Part 2.

Nope, not in Part 2 either!

http://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/19820/the-nlp-predicts-part-two/

 

[Etienne Vermeer]

Nice try. But, y'know. Millwall and all that..

 

[Mark kavanagh]

The one time I've been out of the house in the last 10 days, I got savagely bitten by a donkey. True story.

Micky adams would have signed it for us

 

[The Terminator]

1.Tranmere Rovers - Have the best squad and manager, should win the league.
2.Dagenham and Redbridge - Reckon they'll win the playoffs if they keep their best players.
3.Hartlepool United - Depends on how quickly their manager adapts to this league, but they have one of the stronger teams on paper.
4.Aldershot Town
5.Eastleigh - Surely they can't continue to achieve nothing with their budget? Not sure about Richard Hill though myself.
6.Wrexham
7.Ebbsfleet United - They have a tidy squad and are well back money wise & made some very good signings. Suprise package.
8.Macclesfield Town
9.Maidstone United
10.Barrow
11.Gateshead
12.AFC Fylde - Think they will push on in years to come.
13.Dover Athletic
14.Sutton United
15.Boreham Wood
16.Bromley
17.Chester
18.Leyton Orient
19.FC Halifax Town
20.Maidenhead United - Alan Devonshire worked wonders at Braintree in the same circumstances, so who knows.
21.Guiseley
22.Woking
23.Solihull Moors
24.Torquay United

Ling & Davis have had to work hard to put a squad together in just 5 weeks as we only had 10 youngsters to begin with, they've done well to do that. We may be slow starters, but I believe this will be a year of learning for the club. We need to put further plans in place and to repair more damage left by the Italians.

 

[Semi-skimmed Silk]

Have Alger and Virgo done theirs predictions yet?

Alger's done his, with Tranmere to win the league, and Dover to go down: https://blog.betway.com/football/national-league-201718-preview-top-tips-for-all-outright-markets/

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

I'd be very surprised if Maidstone dropped. I'd be quite surprised if Leyton Orient got promoted.

 

[The_Boss]

Alger's done his, with Tranmere to win the league, and Dover to go down: https://blog.betway.com/football/national-league-201718-preview-top-tips-for-all-outright-markets/

He's only picked 5 play off teams!

 

[Leewilson]

Alger's prediction looks shocking as usual. If Maidstone keep Piggott fit they'll be fine. Dover won't drop. I think they could be bottom half but there will be 4 worse than them. I'd even say Guiseley is a poor pick as they look much better off than before.

 

[Luke Imp]

"Performance-wise, the National League has been weak for a number of seasons - you’re probably already shouting at your screen disagreeing by stating Sutton and Lincoln’s FA Cup exploits.

Both were great to see, but one-off cup matches against almost B-teams does not prove a case for a whole division."

I'm not having that. Brighton, I'll give him, because they made 8 changes or so (even though their replacements had played in the Euro's/Internationals/England U21's etc) but the others were pretty much full strength sides.

We put Alger's predictions in on our forum game and he was well, well down (40 out of 42). Basically got nothing right.

 

[Benfcht]

(As long as we don't finish below Halifax, which would be the ultimate embarrassment).

Nothing embarrassing about that...

 

[GuiseleySteve]

"Performance-wise, the National League has been weak for a number of seasons - you’re probably already shouting at your screen disagreeing by stating Sutton and Lincoln’s FA Cup exploits.

Both were great to see, but one-off cup matches against almost B-teams does not prove a case for a whole division."

I'm not having that. Brighton, I'll give him, because they made 8 changes or so (even though their replacements had played in the Euro's/Internationals/England U21's etc) but the others were pretty much full strength sides.

We put Alger's predictions in on our forum game and he was well, well down (40 out of 42). Basically got nothing right.

He's a delusional Gunner, what more can you expect?!!

 

[TRFC_Fan]

1. Dagenham
--------------------------
2. Aldershot
3. Tranmere
4. Leyton Orient
5. Hartlepool
6. Wrexham
7. AFC Fylde
--------------------------
8. Eastleigh
9. Barrow
10. Macclesfield
11. Bromley
12. Ebbsfleet
13. Sutton
14. Gateshead
15. Dover
16. Torquay
17. Maidstone
18. Halifax
19. Chester
20. Boreham Wood
---------------------------
21. Guiseley
22. Maidenhead
23. Woking
24. Solihull Moors

Top 5 the easiest to call on paper, rest of the league was just guesswork to be honest most of the teams seem very close.

 

[MTFC_07]

1) Tranmere
----------------------
2) Dagenham
3) Eastleigh
4) Leyton Orient
5) Hartlepool
6) Ebbsfleet
7) Wrexham
-----------------------
8) Aldershot
9) Barrow
10) Sutton
11) Macclesfield
12) Boreham Wood
13) Fylde
14) Gateshead
15) Dover
16) Bromley
17) Guiseley
18) Chester
19) Halifax
20) Maidstone
-------------------------
21) Torquay
22) Maidenhead
23) Solihull
24) Woking


It's a much better quality league this season than it has been for the last few years with almost all top half teams from last season strengthening going into this season with the notable exception of Dover, and perhaps also Gateshead.

I would argue the league is split into four or five different sections in terms of quality. The first of which is the top two teams, who both have proven managers and squads at this level, with a mixture of solid defences, strong attacks and deep squads. Both these teams have 3 or 4 proven goalscorers, and I fully expect Tranmere and Dagenham to be the top two (not sure on order) at the end of the season, with the winner probably needing to break 100 points.

The next set of teams would be Eastleigh, Leyton Orient and Hartlepool who should all have enough quality within their squads to make the play offs. All these teams have recruited heavily from the football league and Eastleigh should finally realise their potential under the steady management of Richard Hill, the last man to take them to the play offs.

The next set of teams, which covers from 6th to 14th is probably the most interesting this season. Here, there are lots of fairly equal teams, typically either well backed (Ebbsfleet, Fylde), well managed (Aldershot, Macclesfield) who all seem to have squads capable of challenging for a play off place. It's pretty much impossible to guess these positions but I went for Ebbsfleet because of the quality and depth of their squad, as well as their financial ability to improve the squad during January, as well as Wrexham, who seem to have recruited very well, even if there are question marks over the manager. I put Fylde and Gateshead in the bottom half because the former's team does seem to still have elements which have Conference North feel about it and the latter seems to be significantly weaker at central defense after the loss of Hogan and Smith.

Then, it is the bottom 9 teams. Dover seem to have gone backwards pretty quickly, but I think any talk of relegation is a bit daft and they still have a quality manager as well as several strikers capable of 15-20 goals. Chester's defence looks worrying, but they have plenty of quality in midfield and upfront. Guiseley seem to have improved their squad a lot and I actually think they may survive relatively comfortably. I went for Torquay in the bottom 4 because they seem to always just about survive, and whilst they have seemingly improved their squad, there just doesn't seem to be something quite right there. For me, Maidenhead, Solihull and Woking look like the worst teams on paper and I was equally unconvinced by the management teams of Solihull and Woking.

Having said all this, I'll probably get it completely wrong.

 

[Master D]

"Performance-wise, the National League has been weak for a number of seasons - you’re probably already shouting at your screen disagreeing by stating Sutton and Lincoln’s FA Cup exploits.

Both were great to see, but one-off cup matches against almost B-teams does not prove a case for a whole division."

I'm not having that. Brighton, I'll give him, because they made 8 changes or so (even though their replacements had played in the Euro's/Internationals/England U21's etc) but the others were pretty much full strength sides.

We put Alger's predictions in on our forum game and he was well, well down (40 out of 42). Basically got nothing right.

He was ok when Blue Square used to sponsor the league, but over the years he's started seeing himself as some sort of celebrity. He's well out of touch with the Non League scene these days. Behaves like a right child on Twitter too.

 

[Shotsfan1993]

1. Dagenham and Redbridge
--------------------------------------------
2. Tranmere Rovers
3. Hartlepool United
--------------------------------------------
4. Wrexham
5. Aldershot Town
6. AFC Fylde
7. Leyton Orient
--------------------------------------------
8. Ebbsfleet United
9. Barrow
10. Eastleigh
11. Gateshead
12. Sutton United
13. Maidstone United
14. Dover Althletic
15. Macclesfield Town
16. Maidenhead United
17. Woking
18. Bromley
19. Torquay United
20. Halifax
---------------------------------------------
21. Chester
22. Boreham Wood
23. Guiseley
24. Solihull Moors

 

[Mark kavanagh]

Tranmere

Daggers
Pools
Eastleigh
Aldershot
Fylde
Orient

Maidstone
Sutton
Wrexham
Ebbsfleet
Barrow
Macc
Gateshead
Boringwood
Dover
Fax
Torquay
Guiseley
Bromley

Chester
Tory maidenhead
Woking
Moors

Eastleigh will be more of a force then last season and i was impressed with maidstone at our place hence their high placings.

If i had done this a fortnight ago i would have had shots as champs but i think they will miss kanu and benyu.

Hannah will be the difference for chester if he fires they will stay up but last season they finished the season like norwood one on one with the keeper..... shocking. Apologies to maidenhead i dknt know enough to place you any higher, i really hope you prove me wrong

 

[Luke Imp]

He was ok when Blue Square used to sponsor the league, but over the years he's started seeing himself as some sort of celebrity. He's well out of touch with the Non League scene these days. Behaves like a right child on Twitter too.

He'd be better off getting Matt Badcock, Adam Virgo others putting something together for him.

 

[Blue Lion]

1. Dagenham
2. Aldershot
3. Tranmere
4. Leyton Orient
5. Hartlepool
6. Eastleigh
7. Ebbsfleet
8. Wrexham
9. Fylde
10. Barrow
11. Macclesfield
12. Gateshead
13. Sutton
14. Guiseley
15. Maidstone
16. Bromley
17. Boreham Wood
18. Dover
19. Torquay
20. Halifax
21. Maidenhead
22. Chester
23. Woking
24. Solihull