The ‘who is joining us from L2 next season then’ thread

[jacobncfc]

While you’re here, Port Vale, what on earth were you thinking letting us have Connell Rawlinson for nowt.

 

[karlready]

A lot would be let go in fairness and at least Clarke has been there and done it down the National League.

You’d build the squad around the young lads like Rodney, Gibbons, Smith and Taylor and probably see Pope give it a year to try and help get us back.

Obviously the interesting ones would be Worrall for example who’d probably be the best player in that level by miles, he’s under contract so would hope we’d resist losing him as he’d be key and then look at building around that, move on the injury prone lads and the useless ones like Theo Robinson.

We were well miffed when you pinched Manny Oyeleke, who was obviously far too good for this league. If you do the dreaded drop, you’ll need to do a Bristol Rovers, or you’ll lose your young talent ( and do a Luton Town ).Keep well away, this league is the Pits..

 

[EnglishRed]

Don’t mind who comes down as long as it’s not Barrow, spent enough evenings there to know it’s a dam awful place.

Just need Sutton and Borehamwood to go up, need all you big boys down here to remind us we are tinpot and not worthy, plus our fans deserve a few good days out.

Barrow away is the only fixture that is always played on a Tuesday night in Winter.

 

[AJS]

A lot would be let go in fairness and at least Clarke has been there and done it down the National League.

You’d build the squad around the young lads like Rodney, Gibbons, Smith and Taylor and probably see Pope give it a year to try and help get us back.

Obviously the interesting ones would be Worrall for example who’d probably be the best player in that level by miles, he’s under contract so would hope we’d resist losing him as he’d be key and then look at building around that, move on the injury prone lads and the useless ones like Theo Robinson.

How’s Rodney been for you? His agent did a podcast with our local paper recently and said he almost signed for us permanently before you came in

 

[valefan16]

While you’re here, Port Vale, what on earth were you thinking letting us have Connell Rawlinson for nowt.

He wasn’t really League Two level, but was played at RB on occasions which didn’t really help!

 

[valefan16]

How’s Rodney been for you? His agent did a podcast with our local paper recently and said he almost signed for us permanently before you came in

Raw but talented and could go on to bigger things. Scored 9 goals from 12 on target mostly thunderbolts but is burning out at the moment. Looks better out wide as he is probably the fastest player I’ve seen us ever have but touch and decision making are still a bit raw.

Probably the main bright spark in a poor season. Dave is a bit of a cult hero.

 

[valefan16]

We were well miffed when you pinched Manny Oyeleke, who was obviously far too good for this league. If you do the dreaded drop, you’ll need to do a Bristol Rovers, or you’ll lose your young talent ( and do a Luton Town ).Keep well away, this league is the Pits..

Manny is an excellent footballer but unfortunately for us has legs made of spaghetti so has missed virtually all but 1 game plus 9 minutes last season and has been injured nearly all this season. If he was fit we wouldn’t be in the mess we have been in but he just can’t get and stay fit for more than 2-3 games before needing months or weeks out again.

A real shame really.

In terms of keeping players we have most tied up to contracts and have great owners now for the first time in a couple of decades. Hugely community based and massive on charity (done 300k meals for poor families at the club during the pandemic) so we should be in a financial position to keep players we want. Frustratingly we’ve put the football structure in place a month or so ago that it needs with Flitcroft as DOF and Clarke manager. So we’ve done the non league reset probably three months before going down!

Under no illusions though, whilst we will come down in great shape off the field and do have some quality you have a lot of big clubs down here now, Notts County, Wrexham with their money, Stockport on the way back, Grimsby assuming they go down, Chesterfield... the struggles Tranmere and Luton had who are arguably bigger clubs than us. You’ve arguably got a stronger traditional clubs presence now than L2 so will take a lot of work to recover if we drop.

 

[Gladders]

Yep we're down, and yep were going to piss this tinpot league next season*. Finally getting rid of Fenty and whilst you are all broke pissing money away to finish the season we will spend millions

*not really serious

 

[John Still]

The nothing out of towners club Colchester and the caravan dwellers down the Thames please, purely for selfish reasons of some local games. Please not Barrow.

 

[chipmunx]

We're P8 W4 D1 L3 in 2 spells under Rob Kelly and if that continues we'll stay up.
Grimsby look in a really bad spot at present - but do have Carlisle next, who seam to have given up.
Southend are much improved since early season and their fate depends on them scoring goals.
IF Port Vale lose to Oldham on Tuesday i can really see them struggling and joining Grimsby in the drop. but saying that anything can happen.
IF we do stay up then i'm sorry NL clubs - but you can keep Boreham Wood..... we'd much rather have someone like Hartlepool come up instead.

 

[jacobncfc]

He wasn’t really League Two level, but was played at RB on occasions which didn’t really help!

He’s my favourite Notts player for ages, will be club captain if Michael Doyle ever retires and I think there’s a decent chance we’d be in League Two now if he’d been available for the play-off final. I can’t even imagine him playing at right back though haha.

 

[valefan16]

He’s my favourite Notts player for ages, will be club captain if Michael Doyle ever retires and I think there’s a decent chance we’d be in League Two now if he’d been available for the play-off final. I can’t even imagine him playing at right back though haha.

This was under Aspin so! We didn’t see much of him in his better position but with Smith coming through and Legges form I guess he was the one to miss out.

Glad he’s doing well, let’s be honest with how Aspin set us up to play it’s unfair to judge most of them!

 

[Shrimper92]

We've legally changed our name to Southend 0. We can't score

 

[TheShayWay]

How’s Rodney been for you? His agent did a podcast with our local paper recently and said he almost signed for us permanently before you came in

Did he? I haven't seen that podcast. Damn you Port Vale

 

[AJS]

Did he? I haven't seen that podcast. Damn you Port Vale

Yes, sounds like he was really keen but felt like he couldn't turn down a football league deal. Imagine a partnership of a fully fit Hyde and Rodney. That would have taken some stopping.

 

[TheShayWay]

Yes, sounds like he was really keen but felt like he couldn't turn down a football league deal. Imagine a partnership of a fully fit Hyde and Rodney. That would have taken some stopping.

It would. It's a shame it never came to fruition.

 

[Shrimper_95]

You can reserve a space for us in here.

 

[GTFCfish]

Suddenly Barrow have started winning so looking very bleak now for Southend, and for Grimsby our life support machine is now on the verge of being turned off.

 

[chipmunx]

another win today away at top of the table Cheltenham to give us a bit of breathing space.
Huge game for Grimsby tonight against Tranmere.

bottom 6 at present;-

19 Walsall P35 Points 39 GD -6
20 Port Vale P36 Points 38 GD -6
21 Colchester P35 Points 38 GD -15
22 Barrow P33 Points 35 GD -3
--------------------------------------------------
23 Southend P35 Points 30 GD -28
24 Grimsby P33 Points 26 GD -28

 

[GTFCfish]

It’s still in our own hand really as all we have to do is win our three games in hand on Port Vale, then also we have to beat Vale too when we play them and also in the process make up the 22 goal swing on them with our team that’s won once in the last 15 games and then we go above them.

Easy peasy.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Southend will be here next season, first time ever in the 5th tier of English football, good job I like non-league. We don't score goals, yes we've picked up since the embargo was lifted and we didn't just have to play an under 20s team but we can't score, we're trying to 0-0 our way to safety. Throw in Molesley bizarre use of substitutes, constant tinkering with line ups and formations and his at times utterly negative football and we've got no hope.

Whoever sees next season as a shot at going up will be glad of our presence as well, we come down a mess, Ron has given up and his pension stadium and housing dream doesn't hinge on what division Southend United are in. He's got the ball rolling now for the stadium and housing and even more housing to be built on Roots Hall, we could be down in the Isthmian and it won't matter, he'll have his money.
What I'm looking forward to with Ron is the National League AGM, what will he think of having to show full financial records and proof of funding for the season, that may be the only point he regrets mothballing us out of the sanctuary of the 'couldn't give a toss how you run things' EFL.

I think Grimsby have a chance of going straight back up, I'd take 14th right now if it was offered. Highlights to follow will of course be losing 5-0 at Kings Lynn, getting knocked out of the FA Cup 4th qualifying round by Hornchurch and seeing 2 Boreham Wood fans in the North Bank at Roots Hall, if they even bring that many.

 

[TonyM]

...I think Grimsby have a chance of going straight back up, I'd take 14th right now if it was offered. Highlights to follow will of course be losing 5-0 at Kings Lynn, getting knocked out of the FA Cup 4th qualifying round by Hornchurch and seeing 2 Boreham Wood fans in the North Bank at Roots Hall, if they even bring that many.

Even with your troubles this season I can't imagine you will come to the Walks and get nil.

From a selfish point of view and in the hope that crowds will be allowed next season (I know its a pipe dream) Grimsby and Southend look a lot more appealing than Barrow.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Hello Cods, it’ll be lovely having local away game next season, provided our laughable attempt at getting promoted doesn’t end up with us getting promoted.

The last time I went Notts fans were fighting with each other, so hopefully it’ll be an improvement on that.

 

[Wooderson]

Big win for Vale in the week, might be just the boost they required. Probably a good thing for those still down here next season. Another winless game for Grimsby last night, looks pretty much all over bar the shouting there.

 

[Luke Imp]

Barrow vs Grimsby on Tuesday I think.

 

[EnglishRed]

Away to Barrow is always a Tuesday night

 

[The_Boss]

Away to Barrow is always a Tuesday night

Pretty sure even we've got Barrow away in a couple of Tuesdays time.

 

[GTFCfish]

Big win for Vale in the week, might be just the boost they required. Probably a good thing for those still down here next season. Another winless game for Grimsby last night, looks pretty much all over bar the shouting there.

Yeah pretty much doomed now although annoyingly our last three games that were all draws we should really have won, conceded 90+3 at Carlisle and then the two 0-0 draws that followed we missed a sitter in both, John-Lewis managed to hit the bar from 2 yards against Colchester and then him again completely clean through against Tranmere and he hit it straight at the keeper.
With those extra 6 points we’d be 2 behind Barrow with us due to play them on Tuesday.

 

[valefan16]

Big win for Vale in the week, might be just the boost they required. Probably a good thing for those still down here next season. Another winless game for Grimsby last night, looks pretty much all over bar the shouting there.

About time in fairness, we’d been playing well but losing games (all against top sides) with their one shot on goal! Injuries clearing up and a huge six pointer today at Colchester where the winner is probably going to be almost safe.

 

[chipmunx]

19 Port Vale P37 Points 41 GD -5
20 Walsall P35 Points 39 GD -7
21 Barrow P34 Points 38 GD -2
22 Colchester P36 Points 38 GD -16
--------------------------------------------------
23 Southend P36 Points 31 GD -28
24 Grimsby P35 Points 28 GD -28