Joining League Two for 24/25

[joethegill]

League 1 just looks scary

Probably as weak as it's been for a decade to be fair. Hit a height about 5 years ago with some properly big clubs in there, now most of the so-called 'big names' are pretty nondescript. Outside Birmingham and Bolton, I wouldn't be comfortable putting money on a top 6 finisher for next season. You'd expect Rotherham and Posh to be up there but neither should be viewed with any sort of fear. Even if you consider 8/10 clubs that probably won't have to worry about relegation at all, there's still at least half the league that are certainly beatable.

 

[AdamStag]

Probably as weak as it's been for a decade to be fair. Hit a height about 5 years ago with some properly big clubs in there, now most of the so-called 'big names' are pretty nondescript. Outside Birmingham and Bolton, I wouldn't be comfortable putting money on a top 6 finisher for next season. You'd expect Rotherham and Posh to be up there but neither should be viewed with any sort of fear. Even if you consider 8/10 clubs that probably won't have to worry about relegation at all, there's still at least half the league that are certainly beatable.

Yeah i’ve heard a few say that, but still when you’re used to what’s in league 2 that’s a lot of big clubs. Remarkable story for crawley will be interesting to see how the 4 of us go about things.

Anyway back to league 2, id say looks a properly open league to me.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Probably as weak as it's been for a decade to be fair. Hit a height about 5 years ago with some properly big clubs in there, now most of the so-called 'big names' are pretty nondescript. Outside Birmingham and Bolton, I wouldn't be comfortable putting money on a top 6 finisher for next season. You'd expect Rotherham and Posh to be up there but neither should be viewed with any sort of fear. Even if you consider 8/10 clubs that probably won't have to worry about relegation at all, there's still at least half the league that are certainly beatable.

Think Huddersfield will do significantly better than Bolton next season with their new owner who is keen to invest significantly into the club. Rhys Healey is an excellent striker for this level too and could be an outsider for the golden boot I feel. I certainly don't feel it's the weakest it's been in years with the amount of teams now bankrolled in it! The days when the likes of Burton finished 2nd and Walsall 3rd in League One with minimal spend seem to be long gone now.

 

[valefan16]

Obviously I can't predict next season, but it was shite last season. It's the one thing that made relegation such a disappointment.

That we weren't cut adrift after the first 11 games, and then managed to still take it to the last day of the season despite only 3 wins in the last 15 games really does show how bad it was.

Shrewsbury, Burton and Cambridge were absolutely terrible, get relegated any other year (bar probably 2 years ago).

So still a chance but realistically unless you have a big budget your likely scrapping to survive, the issue is a lot of smaller clubs such as Swansea, Hull, Brentford, Bournemouth etc who rattled around here have gone to the top two levels with new money coming in and thats pushed out some of the more traditional larger clubs so seem to get more of them in the third tier nowadays, for eg if badly run, hit a bad patch.

 

[IzzyFook]

Shrewsbury, Burton and Cambridge were absolutely terrible, get relegated any other year (bar probably 2 years ago).

Yet Shrewsbury played us off the park when we played em in the cup...

 

[chipmunx]

The full 24 teams then...View attachment 20302

now imagine what it would look like in 25/26 IF say MKD and the Wombles are the only 2 southern teams left - the rest either having been promoted or relegated and replaced by say 2 of Oldham/ Gateshead/ Rochdale/ Alty/ Hartlepool/ Halifax from below and Burton, Wigan, Rotherham and Huddersfield from above......

 

[Scum.]

now imagine what it would look like in 25/26 IF say MKD and the Wombles are the only 2 southern teams left - the rest either having been promoted or relegated and replaced by say 2 of Oldham/ Gateshead/ Rochdale/ Alty/ Hartlepool/ Halifax from below and Burton, Wigan, Rotherham and Huddersfield from above......

Would suggest moving AFC 50 miles up the road in such a situation to mitigate travel distances.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Yet Shrewsbury played us off the park when we played em in the cup...

Honestly, Burton and Shrewsbury were 2 of the worst two teams I have seen at that level. I'm still aghast as to how bad we must have been to finish below them. If either of them are not relegated next season I'll be amazed. Absolutely bossed Burton at their place just a couple of months ago....we just couldn't beat anyone else!

 

[ShrimpsMeltdown]

Open Letter to Bond Group, from the Board of Directors of Morecambe Football Club

The Board of Directors at Morecambe Football Club have written the following open letter to Bond Group.

www.morecambefc.com

Oh dear.

 

[JJ1990]

Never quite understood why owners, who clearly don't have the cash to fund clubs, don't just sell up and be done with the hassle. It's like they get a kick out of it or something. See it everywhere, from Dai Yongge to Ron Martin, to Whittingham. It's bizarre.

 

[BigDaveCUFC]

Because you d imagine they want a profit and on top of that who is responsible for the e debts.

I’ve always felt what would be the best change for football is a law making owners personally responsible for any debt incurred during their time at club.

Therefore if people want to mass spend they can but it isn’t loans and them who can it mass spend will rope it in and control their finances.

Too many get away with loans which in early days get ‘written off’ or changed for stocks or shares to cover it but once owner suddenly loses interest (and as we all know that can frankly be at a sudden whim) it’s just loans……with interest.

Also think authorities should be able to take a club off someone’s hands if they fail to pay 3-4 bills and the debt kept with previous owner.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Because you d imagine they want a profit and on top of that who is responsible for the e debts.

I’ve always felt what would be the best change for football is a law making owners personally responsible for any debt incurred during their time at club.

Therefore if people want to mass spend they can but it isn’t loans and them who can it mass spend will rope it in and control their finances.

Too many get away with loans which in early days get ‘written off’ or changed for stocks or shares to cover it but once owner suddenly loses interest (and as we all know that can frankly be at a sudden whim) it’s just loans……with interest.

Also think authorities should be able to take a club off someone’s hands if they fail to pay 3-4 bills and the debt kept with previous owner.

I think it's much more complex than that and it goes beyond the club and football itself. I think it's the same reason owners in the 70s, 80s and 90s got involved. They didn't give a shit about the football, they just wanted the land the stadium was on so they could sell it off and make a ton. The complexity with international owners though is that clubs are also a tax dodge for them too.

Agree with the middle three paragraphs but it'll never happen for many reasons. The red cartel in the PL would shit themselves at Boehly, the Sheikhs at City and the Saudis spending more than they possibly could so it's a non starter straightaway. It also would deter investment from well intentioned people like Tony Bloom at Brighton, who has rightly taken a deserved repayment this season from the club after spending hundreds of millions of his fortune to turn them into a Top 10 club in the country. At the end of the day, football isn't a charity and owners shouldn't have to spend hundreds of millions to prop up football clubs. But if one does it then most of the rest follow to keep up.

The latter point I understand the sentiment and I'm all for the repossession of clubs if bills aren't paid. But I'm heavily against debts kept with the previous owner. When fans are simping for foreign or bankrolled ownership and giving it large to other clubs that they can spend, spend, spend then I'm afraid they reap what they sow when it all goes tits up. If a club undergoes a repossession or an ownership change, then they should do what they do in other countries and forcibly relegate that club a division. There has to be a punishment for clubs still else there's no incentive towards running a club sustainably like some still try to do in this toxic era of bankrolled football. If you don't penalise clubs, the league suddenly becomes the Wild West. An unregulated money pit that would just get worse and worse each year.

I still laugh at L1/L2/NL clubs going cap in hand to the government when COVID happened saying they were skint and needed bailing out only for the spending to increase significantly beyond what was being spent before COVID since lockdown ended. The pandemic successfully managed to get Championship clubs to rein it in but lower down it's an even bigger mess than it was before COVID.

 

[shoddycollins]

Yeah i’ve heard a few say that, but still when you’re used to what’s in league 2 that’s a lot of big clubs. Remarkable story for crawley will be interesting to see how the 4 of us go about things.

Anyway back to league 2, id say looks a properly open league to me.

some big names departing this season but there'll be more to replace them... you spent about as long in League Two as us and make no mistake, it's a big step up. From the outside it looks like a weak division when you're watching established League One teams play established League One teams, but if you go into it without strengthening, as we did then everyone else is just sharper. Even Fleetwood, who finished second bottom in the end, when we played them opening day looked significantly sharper and fitter than anyone we'd played over the previous season.

 

[AdamStag]

some big names departing this season but there'll be more to replace them... you spent about as long in League Two as us and make no mistake, it's a big step up. From the outside it looks like a weak division when you're watching established League One teams play established League One teams, but if you go into it without strengthening, as we did then everyone else is just sharper. Even Fleetwood, who finished second bottom in the end, when we played them opening day looked significantly sharper and fitter than anyone we'd played over the previous season.

Very true. That’s what we’ve been told.

Thankfully in nigel we’ve one of the better managers in the lower leagues and he knows what’s needed, lee gregory to start with which is a great signing.

Certainly be keeping my eyes peeled on the likes of carlisle and vale.

 

[CFC91]

We have an extra year option on Chey Dunkley which I reckon the club will trigger. If Dunkley isn’t with us next season, he’ll be at a fellow League One club. All due respect, there’s no chance he’s dropping down to League Two just yet.

Don’t know how you can be linked to players yet anyway as managers aren’t allowed to speak to players until the transfer window is open unless they talk to the club first. Can imagine what Hurst would tell Cook already if that was the case.

Have you heard anything your end? Expect us to sign him still, potentially as early as tomorrow