JJ1990
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- Crewe Alex
I hope I haven't stolen Alfie's thunder on this one, but I thought it was worth starting a thread up. So, who you got coming out of these 4 teams?
MK Dons
The Dons probably could have gone up automatically had they gone for Mike Williamson last summer rather than wasting 10 odd games under Graham Alexander, who was the never the right fit for them. They've been in excellent form since Williamson came in, going 19-5-9 under him. They've undoubtedly for me got the best midfield out of the 4 teams. Gilbey, Payne, Kemp and Bate are an absurd group. Also got Max Dean in great form as well, with dangerous depth behind him in Tezgel, Harrison and Dennis(if he's fit). The big question marks will be over their defence, as they let in 68 goals, including 19 in their last 7 games.
At home, they'll be tough to knock off, having only lost twice under Williamson. But away from home, they could be vulnerable, as they are prone to a few wobblers. I'd still have them as the slight favourites to get promoted, but their play-off curse is real and it might come back to haunt them once again.
Doncaster Rovers
The most inform team for sure. Their season was a disaster as late as early February after barely scraping a 1-1 draw at Sutton in game 31. Did the fans not turn on McCann because they thought he could turn it around or was it because there were no better options out there? Either way, the fans didn't turn, the board didn't fire him and it paid off. Of course everyone focuses on the 10 game winning run, but their good form goes back further. They are 13-4-1 in their last 18 games, which a ridiculous run. Since their 5-1 hammering against Stockport, they've won 8 straight at home. They seem to have gotten key players at the right time. Matty Craig and Owen Bailey look solid in the middle, they arguably have the best defensive pairing in the league in Anderson and Wood and their front 3 of Luke Molyneux, Joe Ironside and Hakeem Adelekun are in stupid good form.
They'll feel confident of progress to the final given their form, but losing Lo-Tutala for the 1st leg might complicate things. And how many times have we seen the in form team come a cropper in the play-offs?
Crewe Alex
Nobody gave them a chance of the top 7 back in August, but they've sat in the play-offs since early September and only dropped out of them briefly at the turn of the year. They are the opposite of Doncaster though in that whilst Donny started off injury prone and recovered players, the Alex have seen injuries/absences to key starters pile up. They hit a terrible skid in March and April after looking like automatic contenders at the end of February. 2 wins from their last 12 games and only 7 goals scored in that time is a big concern, as is their home form, as they are 2-2-5 at Gresty Road since late January.
Still, their away form has been solid. They lost to both Donny and MK Dons, but aside from that, they've been good on the road, going 5-5-2 since Boxing Day and conceding just 10 goals in that span. We look more comfortable away from Gresty Road, so being level or slightly behind after the 1st leg might not be game over. Although I do think we need to be leading after the 1st leg. Regardless of what happens though, it's been a fantastic season for the Alex and Lee Bell. We've got a dangerous striker in Elliott Nevitt, solid all round players in Demetriou and Adebisi and others in Tabiner, Holicek, Kirk, CBR and Long who can be threats on their day.
Nobody will give us a sniff, which should work in our favour. But it's hard to see a path to the final at this point. However, when we've been written off before, we've responded with our best performances of the season. We'll need more of that once again.
Crawley Town
The shock of the season no doubt. Everyone had they tipped to go down, so to reach the top 7 is one of the greatest achievements in League Two that we've seen in the last 5 or so years. Scott Lindsey, the rightful manager of the season, oversaw a fire sale of the likes of Dom Telford, Jack Powell and James Tilley and actually improved. They took a rag tag team of misfits and lower league players and moulded them into a unit. Danilo Orsi(and his stupid celebration) scoring 19 goals, a guy nobody had heard of before this season in Klaidi Lolos banging in 13, Liam Kelly having a bounce back after a shocker at Rochdale, guys plucked from the non-leagues becoming key contributors. It's been an incredible story.
But, is there an element of fortune about them? 18 defeats for a top 7 is a crazy high amount. They seem very boom or bust. The xG table(if you take it seriously) says they massively overachieved. Still, they are where they are for a reason. They seem like a plucky group who don't give up and will go into the play-offs like Crewe with low expectations placed on them, which they clearly have used as a motivational tool all season. They'll be written off against MK Dons, but they've surprised everyone all season. Why can't they do that again in the play-offs?
1st Leg
Monday 6th May
Crawley Town v Milton Keynes Dons(15:00)
Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers(17:30)
2nd Leg
Thursday 9th May
Milton Keynes Dons v Crawley Town(20:00)
Friday 10th May
Doncaster Rovers v Crewe Alexandra(20:00)
So, who you got coming through? Logic says MK v Donny in the final, but wouldn't a Crewe v Crawley final be so typical of L2?
MK Dons
The Dons probably could have gone up automatically had they gone for Mike Williamson last summer rather than wasting 10 odd games under Graham Alexander, who was the never the right fit for them. They've been in excellent form since Williamson came in, going 19-5-9 under him. They've undoubtedly for me got the best midfield out of the 4 teams. Gilbey, Payne, Kemp and Bate are an absurd group. Also got Max Dean in great form as well, with dangerous depth behind him in Tezgel, Harrison and Dennis(if he's fit). The big question marks will be over their defence, as they let in 68 goals, including 19 in their last 7 games.
At home, they'll be tough to knock off, having only lost twice under Williamson. But away from home, they could be vulnerable, as they are prone to a few wobblers. I'd still have them as the slight favourites to get promoted, but their play-off curse is real and it might come back to haunt them once again.
Doncaster Rovers
The most inform team for sure. Their season was a disaster as late as early February after barely scraping a 1-1 draw at Sutton in game 31. Did the fans not turn on McCann because they thought he could turn it around or was it because there were no better options out there? Either way, the fans didn't turn, the board didn't fire him and it paid off. Of course everyone focuses on the 10 game winning run, but their good form goes back further. They are 13-4-1 in their last 18 games, which a ridiculous run. Since their 5-1 hammering against Stockport, they've won 8 straight at home. They seem to have gotten key players at the right time. Matty Craig and Owen Bailey look solid in the middle, they arguably have the best defensive pairing in the league in Anderson and Wood and their front 3 of Luke Molyneux, Joe Ironside and Hakeem Adelekun are in stupid good form.
They'll feel confident of progress to the final given their form, but losing Lo-Tutala for the 1st leg might complicate things. And how many times have we seen the in form team come a cropper in the play-offs?
Crewe Alex
Nobody gave them a chance of the top 7 back in August, but they've sat in the play-offs since early September and only dropped out of them briefly at the turn of the year. They are the opposite of Doncaster though in that whilst Donny started off injury prone and recovered players, the Alex have seen injuries/absences to key starters pile up. They hit a terrible skid in March and April after looking like automatic contenders at the end of February. 2 wins from their last 12 games and only 7 goals scored in that time is a big concern, as is their home form, as they are 2-2-5 at Gresty Road since late January.
Still, their away form has been solid. They lost to both Donny and MK Dons, but aside from that, they've been good on the road, going 5-5-2 since Boxing Day and conceding just 10 goals in that span. We look more comfortable away from Gresty Road, so being level or slightly behind after the 1st leg might not be game over. Although I do think we need to be leading after the 1st leg. Regardless of what happens though, it's been a fantastic season for the Alex and Lee Bell. We've got a dangerous striker in Elliott Nevitt, solid all round players in Demetriou and Adebisi and others in Tabiner, Holicek, Kirk, CBR and Long who can be threats on their day.
Nobody will give us a sniff, which should work in our favour. But it's hard to see a path to the final at this point. However, when we've been written off before, we've responded with our best performances of the season. We'll need more of that once again.
Crawley Town
The shock of the season no doubt. Everyone had they tipped to go down, so to reach the top 7 is one of the greatest achievements in League Two that we've seen in the last 5 or so years. Scott Lindsey, the rightful manager of the season, oversaw a fire sale of the likes of Dom Telford, Jack Powell and James Tilley and actually improved. They took a rag tag team of misfits and lower league players and moulded them into a unit. Danilo Orsi(and his stupid celebration) scoring 19 goals, a guy nobody had heard of before this season in Klaidi Lolos banging in 13, Liam Kelly having a bounce back after a shocker at Rochdale, guys plucked from the non-leagues becoming key contributors. It's been an incredible story.
But, is there an element of fortune about them? 18 defeats for a top 7 is a crazy high amount. They seem very boom or bust. The xG table(if you take it seriously) says they massively overachieved. Still, they are where they are for a reason. They seem like a plucky group who don't give up and will go into the play-offs like Crewe with low expectations placed on them, which they clearly have used as a motivational tool all season. They'll be written off against MK Dons, but they've surprised everyone all season. Why can't they do that again in the play-offs?
1st Leg
Monday 6th May
Crawley Town v Milton Keynes Dons(15:00)
Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers(17:30)
2nd Leg
Thursday 9th May
Milton Keynes Dons v Crawley Town(20:00)
Friday 10th May
Doncaster Rovers v Crewe Alexandra(20:00)
So, who you got coming through? Logic says MK v Donny in the final, but wouldn't a Crewe v Crawley final be so typical of L2?
