The 1 to 24 prediction competition

[AdamStag]

i hate it when folks say that though (i’m not saying bradford or swindon fans say this) but the like of “this club shouldn’t be in this league, they’re too big”

Well, actually they’re there for a reason so they do deserve to be there, they’ve not just magically reappeared in a different division for no reason.

 

[Kauto Star]

i hate it when folks say that though (i’m not saying bradford or swindon fans say this) but the like of “this club shouldn’t be in this league, they’re too big”

Well, actually they’re there for a reason so they do deserve to be there, they’ve not just magically reappeared in a different division for no reason.

I think we all have a perception as to where our club should be. I genuinely think with our facilities, fanbase and potential, we should be in the Championship.

However, due to 5 years of mismanagement at the top, we are where we deserve to be right now, and that's rubbing shoulders with our local neighbours Harrogate in league 2.

Hopefully my club has got its act together now, and I have genuine optimism that Mark Hughes will kick start the climb back up the leagues sooner rather than later.

 

[Spanishstag]

I think we all have a perception as to where our club should be. I genuinely think with our facilities, fanbase and potential, we should be in the Championship.

However, due to 5 years of mismanagement at the top, we are where we deserve to be right now, and that's rubbing shoulders with our local neighbours Harrogate in league 2.

Hopefully my club has got its act together now, and I have genuine optimism that Mark Hughes will kick start the climb back up the leagues sooner rather than later.

Optimism is a wonderful feeling unsure about lots of teams this season

 

[ForzaCounty]

i hate it when folks say that though (i’m not saying bradford or swindon fans say this) but the like of “this club shouldn’t be in this league, they’re too big”

Well, actually they’re there for a reason so they do deserve to be there, they’ve not just magically reappeared in a different division for no reason.

'Bigness' and irresponsible management are completely different things.

You might feel differently about the matter if you'd watched your lot nosedive into regional football for several years.

 

[AdamStag]

'Bigness' and irresponsible management are completely different things.

You might feel differently about the matter if you'd watched your lot nosedive into regional football for several years.

The conference was bad enough.

But it’s almost as if commentators think the relevant club shouldn’t be there, well yes, it should, it’s how football works.

If football was done on size you wouldn’t have bournemouth in the premier league and bradford in league 2, morecambe in league 1 but notts county in the conference.

It’s just a lazy statement.

As i said originally i’m not saying folk from supposedly bigger clubs in this league are saying it, just a lazy statement

 

[loz]

i hate it when folks say that though (i’m not saying bradford or swindon fans say this) but the like of “this club shouldn’t be in this league, they’re too big”

Well, actually they’re there for a reason so they do deserve to be there, they’ve not just magically reappeared in a different division for no reason.

I hate it when someone puts a different interpretation on what has actually been said. I gave an opinion as to why I think Swindon will figure well this year. Nowhere have I said that them or us are too big for the division. We are here on merit due to poor administration and instability, exactly the same reason why Mansfield dropped out of the league a few years back. Hope you are able to understand this and take it at face value.

 

[AdamStag]

I hate it when someone puts a different interpretation on what has actually been said. I gave an opinion as to why I think Swindon will figure well this year. Nowhere have I said that them or us are too big for the division. We are here on merit due to poor administration and instability, exactly the same reason why Mansfield dropped out of the league a few years back. Hope you are able to understand this and take it at face value.

did you read what i originally said? eg this isn’t at bradford or swindon etc fans and it’s commentators who say it - it’s bollocks, absolute rubbish.

I don’t recall bradford fans at all being “were billy big bollocks” - despite it being potentially easy to do.

Size is irrelevant.

 

[loz]

did you read what i originally said? eg this isn’t at bradford or swindon etc fans and it’s commentators who say it - it’s bollocks, absolute rubbish.

I don’t recall bradford fans at all being “were billy big bollocks” - despite it being potentially easy to do.

Size is irrelevant.

Sorry, like my old algebra days, I missed the brackets. I used to tell my girlfriends, size is irrelevant, most disagreed.

 

[AdamStag]

Sorry, like my old algebra days, I missed the brackets. I used to tell my girlfriends, size is irrelevant, most disagreed.

haha. i did wonder.

It would be easy to be like that but never got it from any in this league recently,

you got some like luton or oxford who were awful.

 

[Ninety Per Cent]

Its spread by lazy Journalism who aren’t really interested in the lower leagues.

Swindon, Tranmere, Bradford, Notts County, oh they did this or that once.

Where as us fans know the real story. Then you get the ones who hang on to attendances as some kind of trophy “looks up A180”

 

[Indian Dan]

I suppose what they really mean is clubs with a bigger potential than being in L2. We all know some clubs will never, ever make it beyond L1.

 

[Son of Cod]

Where as us fans know the real story. Then you get the ones who hang on to attendances as some kind of trophy “looks up A180”

Brave of you to bring that up. Average away attendance last season of 258. Worse than Barrow and Newport. Only 5 better than FGR. Only just 100 better than Salford. Absolutely terrible support.

 

[loz]

Brave you to bring that up. Average away attendance last season of 258. Worse than Barrow and Newport. Only 5 better than FGR. Only just 100 better than Salford. Absolutely terrible support.

It must be difficult for players to dig in when they have little support though I couldn't believe the numbers a couple of teams brought to us last year. Hartlepool on a Tuesday night when they hadn't won an away game. They sang all evening and bet they were singing on the way back after they had beaten us. Last game of the season with nothing to play for following a disappointing season, think Carlisle sold out their allocation.

 

[Son of Cod]

It must be difficult for players to dig in when they have little support though I couldn't believe the numbers a couple of teams brought to us last year. Hartlepool on a Tuesday night when they hadn't won an away game. They sang all evening and bet they were singing on the way back after they had beaten us. Last game of the season with nothing to play for following a disappointing season, think Carlisle sold out their allocation.

Last season was mad for attendances, 7-10k in the National League when the BELTs played each other became the norm. Remember going to Southend away on a Tuesday in March when their season was done and dusted and they had over 6.5k in the home ends and it was absolutely bouncing. You're not the first to mention the Hartlepool fans being very good last season. It always amazes me how well Carlisle and Plymouth travel too.

 

[Ninety Per Cent]

That's the reply i was expecting Son of Cod, Thanks.

One thing i noted from last season, as there's been a stay away boycott for some time.

Our must win game v Oldham where all and sundry got fans to go, just over 5,000 turned up.

Grimsby had a home game v Woking where they did all sorts of special offers and they only got 600-700 more than their crowd at the time.

 

[Son of Cod]

That's the reply i was expecting Son of Cod, Thanks.

One thing i noted from last season, as there's been a stay away boycott for some time.

Our must win game v Oldham where all and sundry got fans to go, just over 5,000 turned up.

Grimsby had a home game v Woking where they did all sorts of special offers and they only got 600-700 more than their crowd at the time.

I don't know what your point is here? Your biggest match of the season when loads turned up was about 700 lower than our average for the season in the division below and that was with over 1500 Oldham fans at your place for that one. We had 5500 vs Woking with 73 away fans. You've really got me banged to rights there.

 

[Ninety Per Cent]

I don't know what your point is here? Your biggest match of the season when loads turned up was about 700 lower than our average for the season in the division below and that was with over 1500 Oldham fans at your place for that one. We had 5500 vs Woking with 73 away fans. You've really got me banged to rights there.

Point is your lot treat attendances like a trophy. We've always had small crowds even when we went up to the Championship. Didn't stop us competing though.

 

[Agombar stool]

Any chance this tedious attendance nonsense and those that are remotely bothered can bugger off and discuss it in the relevant thread that is appropriately named?

Edit - actually it's the away support thread but probably could be renamed the attendance thread if anyone can be arsed or is bothered.

 

[Son of Cod]

Point is your lot treat attendances like a trophy. We've always had small crowds even when we went up to the Championship. Didn't stop us competing though.

You can spin it like that if you want, the way I see it though is that you lot don't back your team when the chips are down. I know which side I'd rather be on. I don't think we treat home attendances like a trophy either as they've never been that great. Percentage of home fans taken away though, that's a different story.

Any chance this tedious attendance nonsense and those that are remotely bothered can bugger off and discuss it in the relevant thread that is appropriately named?

Looking forward to using this back at you whenever you next go off on a tangent. Will be watching your posts like a hawk now.

 

[Ninety Per Cent]

You can spin it like that if you want, the way I see it though is that you lot don't back your team when the chips are down. I know which side I'd rather be on.

Or we know not when to back an owner who's taking us nowhere? It took one of your well known fans to start the ball rolling to remove Fenty, everyone else was still paying in.

Agombar stool that's the last i'll say on this.

 

[Son of Cod]

Or we know not when to back an owner who's taking us nowhere? It took one of your well known fans to start the ball rolling to remove Fenty, everyone else was still paying in.

Agombar stool that's the last i'll say on this.

As yes, back him when he's pumping a ludicrous amount of money in to enable a string of absurdly unsustainable squads and then stop backing him when you tumble down the divisions and he stops bankrolling you.

 

[Salvador]

I suppose what they really mean is clubs with a bigger potential than being in L2. We all know some clubs will never, ever make it beyond L1.

Or if they do, they won't last too long in the 2nd tier nowadays. Not without an owner with very deep pockets able to compete with Prem parachute money or club owners throwing millions at wages and transfers with an aim of grabbing a play off place.
Scunny, Burton, Wycombe, Yeovil are good recent examples of the sort of club (fanbase, infrastructure etc) that can't consolidate up there. Rotheram and Posh too (though I'd argue they're better suited at that level than the other four). They go up, they come down again the year after. Don't get me wrong I'd love to see Dale do that, even once. But after a while, it must get a bit tired going up and then almost certainly coming straight back down.
This is why I don't get the "we're going to get to the Championship again" aim from some owners and fans of some clubs who used to be alright back in the day. A) is it even a realistic aim? And B) what then? You come down and start again? Getting into and being competitive in the 2nd tier 20 odd years ago was a lot easier than now I'd argue.
I think I'm just fed up with the state of the pyramid and the gulf between the top two leagues an the rest of the clubs in this country. Rose tinted specs but I'd love it if we still had scenarios where a club could go from 4th to 1st tier without throwing billions at the cause. But the world has moved on.

 

[Koumas’Right-Boot]

Being a yo yo club is much more exciting than stagnating at one particular level.

Im not too sure the size of the club or past achievements have too much bearing these days though. Half of league one is “smaller” than half of league two and some of the national league.

It’s more recency, finance, positive momentum. Future plans.

 

[Conker]

Maybe just focus on getting out of L2, the rest can be worried about after

 

[Koumas’Right-Boot]

Maybe just focus on getting out of L2, the rest can be worried about after

As fans for sure.

But can’t see any club being successful if they plan one season at a time.

 

[loz]

As fans for sure.

But can’t see any club being successful if they plan one season at a time.

Hereford were a prime example of that. They had few players of their own.

 

[Limerick Mariner]

Feck attendances and even predictions this is what matters

Come on then, pray tell is your season points "price" too low too high or about right...

 

[Carver]

I work for every major betting company in the UK and for 442 magazine.

I don't know anything about L2 just the Premier league and I don't have time to go through this lot so let's quickly look at this shitty little league.
Hmm Bradford are the biggest club so therefore they'll finish top like they were supposed to last season and oh Salford are owned by the class of 92 so they'll go up too!

1.Bradford
2.Salford

Dont care about the rest, whoever goes down will probably be some benefits chav infested inbred seaside town in the North of which there are 3..

 

[F!RTHY]

Hmm …

 

[ForzaCounty]

Grimsby fans sighing with relief since they're from the midlands...