2022/23 Relegation Thread

[Luke Imp]

Never a good time to get relegated obviously, but with the high chance that Wrexham and Notts get out of there, it doesn't strike me as a decent league next season or one full of decent sized clubs? Certainly no bottleneck like there have been in recent years.

Chesterfield a decent sized one at that level, Oldham might get their act together who knows, Southend are a decent size as well but there's always something happening there and then beyond that you're into your Barnet, Dagenham, Aldershot (maybe), types.

 

[coronakopite]

Be a lot of long distance trips potentially but guess St Albans are the most northern NLS team ?

Braintree is the northernmost ground.

I think Hemel Hempstead and Oxford City's grounds (but possibly not Oxford United's current ground until they move to Kidlington) are just North of St Albans and Chelmsford.

 

[AdamStag]

Notts County are gonna end up on 100+ points and not win the league, given what absolute ball bags their fans are on Twitter I think it’s funny as fuck.
They will then go and bottle the play offs again too.

The most entitled deluded fans going.

Did you know they were only 1 season away from being in the premier league? haha

 

[AdamStag]

Our 2 next home games are crawley and rochdale so possibly something to add i guess, especially given our dodgy home record.

 

[Chief Rocka]

Our 2 next home games are crawley and rochdale so possibly something to add i guess, especially given our dodgy home record.

Aye no pressure like!

 

[Casey]

Our 2 next home games are crawley and rochdale so possibly something to add i guess, especially given our dodgy home record.

Please keep the dodgy home record going for few more days.

Casey

 

[chipmunx]

Our 2 next home games are crawley and rochdale so possibly something to add i guess, especially given our dodgy home record.

win both them and;-
1) Rochdale are Out Out, and
2) you've a real fighting chance of staying up

 

[GTFCfish]

win both them and;-
1) Rochdale are Out Out, and
2) you've a real fighting chance of staying up

Gonna stick my neck on the line here and say Mansfield will definitely stay up

 

[Chief Rocka]

Always fun (or not) having a stab at the Fishy Prediction Calculator thingy HERE when things get towards the sticky end of the season, just went on results didn't fret with the GD changes, went up to and included Harrogate and really tried using my objective head which can be hard, I got the following.

Pools beating Swindon (H), Crawley (H), Barra (H)
Pools drawing Grimsby (A), Newport (A),
Pools losing Stevenage (H), Salford (A), Stockport (A)

19	Harrogate Town	46	-12	48
20	Newport County	46	-12	48
21	Colchester	46	-12	47
22	Hartlepool	46	-26	43
23	Crawley Town	46	-18	41
24	Rochdale	46	-26	29

Easy as that lads!

 

[BarraMatt]

Rochdale and Colchester for me, Clive. The latter always seem to get dragged towards the bottom and the second half of the season and it'll bite them on the arse this time I reckon.

 

[chipmunx]

Gonna stick my neck on the line here and say Mansfield will definitely stay up

why was I thinking a Poolie had wrote that post...

 

[joethegill]

Bottom 8 looking like this from my predictions:

 

[AdamStag]

Gonna stick my neck on the line here and say Mansfield will definitely stay up

I’d like to think so!

 

[Salvador]

Never a good time to get relegated obviously, but with the high chance that Wrexham and Notts get out of there, it doesn't strike me as a decent league next season or one full of decent sized clubs? Certainly no bottleneck like there have been in recent years.

Chesterfield a decent sized one at that level, Oldham might get their act together who knows, Southend are a decent size as well but there's always something happening there and then beyond that you're into your Barnet, Dagenham, Aldershot (maybe), types.

If Notts and Wrexham both go up the NL does look weaker, thank god. Not for one minute do I expect to bounce straight back. Fans of enough ex league clubs have had egg on their face from a "we'll piss NL" mindset. I can't see many of our fans taking that stance. What I am hopeful of if we can get the stability of the right manager and a full pre season to prepare is to settle around top 10. Tbf if we just avoid Scunny and Oldham's shite start to NL life and that'd be good. To just stop being utterly woeful at home would be a nice change too. At the start of this season I think only Wimbledon had a worse home record in the EFL over last 5 years, that must be our crown now.

 

[RiftHouseLad]

If Notts and Wrexham both go up the NL does look weaker, thank god. Not for one minute do I expect to bounce straight back. Fans of enough ex league clubs have had egg on their face from a "we'll piss NL" mindset. I can't see many of our fans taking that stance. What I am hopeful of if we can get the stability of the right manager and a full pre season to prepare is to settle around top 10. Tbf if we just avoid Scunny and Oldham's shite start to NL life and that'd be good. To just stop being utterly woeful at home would be a nice change too. At the start of this season I think only Wimbledon had a worse home record in the EFL over last 5 years, that must be our crown now.

The most IMPORTANT thing yous will need is a manager that
Knows his way around the NatLge, We have ours thank god.

Nat Lge is a strange beast, A lot of promising young players who never quite
Made it for one reason or another.

I say again the manager is the most important!!!!!

 

[joethegill]

The most IMPORTANT thing yous will need is a manager that
Knows his way around the NatLge, We have ours thank god.

Nat Lge is a strange beast, A lot of promising young players who never quite
Made it for one reason or another.

I say again the manager is the most important!!!!!

Staff who know the level is key. The manager yes, but also recruitment staff who understand how to be successful at Nat League level, rather than make the mistake of doing what most ex-league sides do and fill the side with experienced players who end up in the knackers yard before the end of the season.

It's pretty easy to build a good National League side, you just need a bit of knowledge and nous.

 

[Luke Imp]

Although ironically enough, neither Wrexham or Notts have a manager with a history of managing in the NL - the leveller there being the amount of money in both sides.

But yes, the general rule of thumb is appointing a manager with a non-league background gives you by far and away the best chance, which is why Hartlepool, whilst they don't want to go down, have that sort of manager in place already.

 

[GEORGE]

The most IMPORTANT thing yous will need is a manager that
Knows his way around the NatLge, We have ours thank god.

Nat Lge is a strange beast, A lot of promising young players who never quite
Made it for one reason or another.

I say again the manager is the most important!!!!!

Exactly -- We were very lucky to have Darrel Clarke.

 

[Monkey Tennis]

Staff who know the level is key. The manager yes, but also recruitment staff who understand how to be successful at Nat League level, rather than make the mistake of doing what most ex-league sides do and fill the side with experienced players who end up in the knackers yard before the end of the season.

It's pretty easy to build a good National League side, you just need a bit of knowledge and nous.

That applies to pretty much any relegated side in any division - presuming some old cloggers who have done it in the league above will be enough to get you up is a recipe for disaster.

In our time in the National League, Bristol Rovers and Orient are the two teams that stand out who came down and went back up without too much fuss - I think they managed to keep the core of their team together and added some of their own youngsters. I’m not sure there was a lot of non-league experience among their players or staff?

Edit: forgot it was Darrell Clarke in charge ^^
It seemed like the main thing he did was clear the dead wood rather than pick up a load of non-league talent.

 

[GEORGE]

That applies to pretty much any relegated side in any division - presuming some old cloggers who have done it in the league above will be enough to get you up is a recipe for disaster.

In our time in the National League, Bristol Rovers and Orient are the two teams that stand out who came down and went back up without too much fuss - I think they managed to keep the core of their team together and added some of their own youngsters. I’m not sure there was a lot of non-league experience among their players or staff?

Edit: forgot it was Darrell Clarke in charge ^^
It seemed like the main thing he did was clear the dead wood rather than pick up a load of non-league talent.

What Rovers did was A) Released a lot of the dead wood B) Added some pretty good Non league payers ( Out of contract )such as Matty Taylor , Jamie White ( who was a disaster ) Stuart Sinclair , Lee Mansell ( That penalty ) & Andy Monkhouse. Then as the season progressed we added some ex FL players in Jermaine Easter, Chris Lines & Lyle Della - Verde. That is how we managed to obtain promotion at the first attempt.

 

[Casey]

We struggled in the NL for the most part. We had decent managers often enough but dodgy/skint/mad owners.

We went full time weeks before the season started one season which meant our star striker couldn't train with the rest of the team. Plus all the penny pinching meant we were fighting for scraps out of the dogs bowl After the table gad been cleared.

Some good times though but I'd rather be here.

Casey

 

[Boz]

Took Rovers 3 years to get back. Agree that getting the right manager in is crucial, plus building a squad of players proven at NL level but with potential to develop. Assuming Wrecsam and Notts come up, there are still a few moneybags teams lurking, but NL unlikely to be as strong next season.

 

[Salvador]

The most IMPORTANT thing yous will need is a manager that
Knows his way around the NatLge, We have ours thank god.

Nat Lge is a strange beast, A lot of promising young players who never quite
Made it for one reason or another.

I say again the manager is the most important!!!!!

Absolutley. I've watched a few games at NL/NLN level and below for the last few years. Mostly ground hopping when Dale had shit away games I'd already done. So it won't be a huge culture shock to me at least.


If i had to pick a shortlist of potential managers it'd probably be

Mellon - NL promotions with Fleetwood and Tranmere.

Altrincham's Parkinson - Has had them overachieving on a small budget. Promotions from NPL - NLN - NL. Knows our best player in Mullarkey, seemed to get Sinclair firing whilst on loan.Would also continue the piss boil of Alty fans who seem to dislike us. Due to signing Mullarkey and avoiding the drop at their expense about 40 years ago during re-election.

Jim Gannon - Knows the level well and had success during a period of less affluent ownership at County. Seems happy without stress of management though.

Keith Hill - Obvious links to us and would take him back. Didn't go well at Scunny but they seem fooked off the pitch. I think he was harshly sacked by Tranmere and still has a point to prove that he can still do it. Maybe nostalgic bollox.


Whether any are realistic targets or not I've no idea.

 

[Salvador]

Although ironically enough, neither Wrexham or Notts have a manager with a history of managing in the NL - the leveller there being the amount of money in both sides.

But yes, the general rule of thumb is appointing a manager with a non-league background gives you by far and away the best chance, which is why Hartlepool, whilst they don't want to go down, have that sort of manager in place already.

If Hartlepool go down can see them challenging to bounce back due to Askey. Still fucked off we stuck with Bentley for months whilst Askey was without work.

 

[Chief Rocka]

If Hartlepool go down can see them challenging to bounce back due to Askey. Still fucked off we stuck with Bentley for months whilst Askey was without work.

I honestly think he was brought in for that reason and if he does keep us up bonus, he wasn't going to be without a club for long, Curle had just signed a 18 month contract in December, was binned in February and we've jumped at the chance before he got sorted elsewhere, Askey said himself he was on his way to manage another club before he got a call about Pools.

 

[E10rifle]

In our time in the National League, Bristol Rovers and Orient are the two teams that stand out who came down and went back up without too much fuss - I think they managed to keep the core of their team together and added some of their own youngsters. I’m not sure there was a lot of non-league experience among their players or staff?

Actually we went down as a complete and utter shambles under Mad Frank. Released what remained of the entire squad aside from the youth team and had to build everything back from the ashes. Did help that our youth team contained Dan Happe annd Josh Koroma, mind. Our first managerial appointment was Steve Davis who had brief tenure in non-league before his days of ruining Crewe. Then we brought in Justin who had been at Fisher, Grays and Rubbish & Dustbins before winning the conference with Newport.

But other than that you were spot on

 

[Bone Idle]

Actually we went down as a complete and utter shambles under Mad Frank. Released what remained of the entire squad aside from the youth team and had to build everything back from the ashes. Did help that our youth team contained Dan Happe annd Josh Koroma, mind. Our first managerial appointment was Steve Davis who had brief tenure in non-league before his days of ruining Crewe. Then we brought in Justin who had been at Fisher, Grays and Rubbish & Dustbins before winning the conference with Newport.

But other than that you were spot on

We actually won the playoffs 2-0 against rectum!! Mansfield came up as champions that season, oh and i just thought i should mention we beat Grimsby 1-0 in both legs of the semi

 

[AdamStag]

We actually won the playoffs 2-0 against rectum!! Mansfield came up as champions that season, oh and i just thought i should mention we beat Grimsby 1-0 in both legs of the semi

And here we both still are, a decade later hah

 

[Bone Idle]

And here we both still are, a decade later hah

Indeed!! we actually finished 3rd Grimsby 4th Wrexham 5th, Kidderminster were 2nd but somehow contrived to lose to the gogs in their semi.

 

[Sestonpoolie]

Absolutley. I've watched a few games at NL/NLN level and below for the last few years. Mostly ground hopping when Dale had shit away games I'd already done. So it won't be a huge culture shock to me at least.

I still think you’ll be in for a shock mate,it’ll be different when your watching it every other week or so.
The ‘gamesmanship‘ from a lot of teams is beyone ridiculous & I got sick to the back teeth of it by the third season.