LEAGUE 2 INFORMATION.........................

If Gillingham sign the right forward to replace Simeon Jackson leaving then they have every chance. The prodigal son Andy Hessenthaler has returned as manager and has Ian Hendon as his assistant so that's not a bad team in charge. Their best defender Simon King has a long term injury and Barry Fuller injured himself in their pre match friendly against Ebbsfleet so they need to strengthen at the back too.

if gillingham wernt to win league 2 who do you think would?

i dont have too much knowledge of many of the teams, players, injuries etc....

any honest thoughts/information is very much appreciated.....

I think both Northampton and Port Vale have solid claims this year.

Gillingham need to vastly improve their away form to win League 2 . The last 2 seasons it has been dreadful , probably end up in play-offs .

Could well be down to Mark Stimson who isn't in charge any more.

Bradford should be vastly improved this season due to have a far better manager than previous seasons. Peter Taylor managed to take Wycombe up 2 seasons ago , when they should have really won the league . Stuart McCall was an awful manager and only stayed in charge for so long because the fans idolised him as a player .

Bury look to have invested well

it a nightmare trying to pick a team to win this league when i have next to no knowledge about it...

gillingham
bradford
rotherham

do you think any of these will win the league or get promoted...which ones??

might go a promotions bet aswell.....

Bradford haven't made enough of an impression on League Two for a number of season and are just short in the betting because they were in the Premier League one hundred years ago. Taylor's a good manager and yes he got Wycombe promoted, but he also failed to get Stevengae promoted from the Conference when they were ready made to come up and have been promoted to LEague Two since.

Rotherham are a mixed bag really. Adam Le Fondre is a great striker at this level, but there's no one else at Rotherham who could fill his shoes so if a bigger club comes along to buy him or he gets injured then they just don't have anyone to score the goals. Alsoi'm not sure of their stadium situation, but last season they played at a temporary stadium (Don Valley) which is basically an athletic track. So the crowd are so far away they don't really have the 12th man effect like others. See Brighton for an example of this as they suffer at home with the lack of home atmosphere.

Gillingham have a good chance. Port Vale are a solid outfit and Micky Adams has had a full season in charge now to know what he wants from the team.

im really thinking of backing gillingham but ive heard a few opinions of lack of good players and a few injuries which is making me wonder...

In truth, the only thing i know about this league is how difficult it is to predict...however, here's my twopeneth worth about 2 of the betting favs in case it helps.

Bradford: i know a handful of the players (2 of them a re really good friends) and the club expectations are lower this year than previously. Certainly, 2 seasons ago there was really high sense of belief (and huge pressure from the board) to perform well enough to win the league, or at least earn promotion. The main issue this season is pretty much a repeat of last season...the squad is just not strong enough to cope with the amount of games (taking into account all of the midweek cup tournaments), injuries and suspensions. On this basis alone, the antepost price would appear to be prohibitive and i would expect them to drift out much further once we approach Nov/Dec and those injuries and suspensions start kicking in. Additionally though, the strength of the playing squad, the reduction in wages for most of the players and the general expectations would mean that this is a poor value bet at the moment

Rotherham: As an antepost bet this goes down as real non-starter for me. Again i know a couple of the lads, and the general feeling is that the team are far weaker than last season. The key weakness being that they desperately need strikers and as yet are struggling to find any kind of quality.

Hope this helps, as i say it's just my thoughts mixed with a smattering of internal info (albeit a little vague for obvious reasons!!)

Good luck

PS, Crawley look a solid value bet for the BL SQ

chesterfield usually have a dabble around the play off places, and now their new stadium is complete, they may have some cash to invest on some new signings...so they maybe an interesting choice...

any chesterfield fans who could give any info would be appreciated

fancy Stevenage for a play off spot walked the conference last year and teams that come up seam to do well.

Rotherham should be up there as so should Bury, Chesterfield, Wycombe and Shrewsbury although anybody can do it Dagenham and Exeter have both gone up from being in the conference.

Got to say Kenilworth sounds like a 'tard.

I'm surprised he's still posting on here after majorly embarrassing himself on the General Betting forum. Thread started by Loanshark36 called Bookmakers dispute over SP.

You really don't have a clue boy, do you?!

Obviously I can be accused of bias but I genuinely think Crewe have massive claims at 28/1.

We have loads of goals in us. Calvin Zola and Clayton Donaldson scored almost 30 between them last season despite missing half the season each with injury. Shaun Miller, Jordan Connerton, Jimmy McCarthy and AJ Leitch-Smith all look like decent replacements. Miller has 19 in 56 starts and is due a run in the team.

We have loads of pace out wide with Byron Moore and Joel Grant (And Donaldson if he is used wide right).

In midfield we have the brightest prospect in the division in Ashley Westwood, who was our young player of the year last season and who, im sure, will be playing Championship if not Premier League football soon enough. We also have another fine young prospect in Luke Murphy, who is in his 3rd season around the first team now, has filled out and is starting to fulfill the early promise. We have brought Lee Bell back from Macc Town to be the midfield general. He was their player of the season last year, he came through our youth system when we wee in the Championship and looked good but had some off pitch issues and never fulfilled his promise. Now matured, he is exaclty what we need.

At the back, we have what looks to be our first decent partnership in years. Pat Ada was out of favour last year, but impressed whenever he played and he links up with the great big lump we have needed at the back for the last 10 years - David Artell. Artell signed from Morecambe, and is very physical, and has come with a promise to toughen us up. I expect more clean sheets and less sloppy goals this term.

At full back we've got academy graduate Tootle who moves across from left back where he played out of position all last year, and Danny Blanchett, who has come from Peterborough, and looks quality at this level. Carl Martin, who can play in any position across the back four, and has looked like an amazing prospect, Adam Dugdale, and a couple of very promising academy graduates, should be enough to cover any gaps.

Our one weak spot is probably in goal, but we should be ok, with the jersey being contested between Rhys Taylor (loan from Chelsea), Steve Phillips (ex-Bristol City and Bristol Rovers), and Bartek Folger who looks set to sign from Polonia Warsaw after a successful trial and two clean sheets.

Positives

After two or three poor years since Dario stood aside to let Steve Holland progress as a coach/manager, and then Gudjon Thordasson tired his best to undo 25 years of progress in 12 months, Dario has finally had some time to get the squad he wants, and I think he can wave his wand again. We really didnt play as a team last year, but if we do click we really should have far too much quality and too much strength in depth for anyone in this division. It is looking good so far, and we are unbeaten in preseason (although that obviously means nothing).

Defence, which has so long been our weak link, looks much stronger this time round.

Decent looking squad, not just first XI. Should be able to drop or not start any passengers (Grant). Luxury players dont need to play the tough away games this time round.

Negatives

We had an appalling home record last season. Largely down to the home crowd's antipathy, and often disgust at the way the season was progressing. there are signs that there is more optimism this year, and given a decent start we could go really well. On the other hand, more of the same would lead to the fans once again getting on the players' back

Antipathy towards Dario. Several sections in the crowd feel it is time for Mr Gradi to go. Again, a good start is important.

Goalkeeping situation. We let our best keeper, Adam Legzins leave because we didnt offer him a long enough contract. Phillips will start as number one but we wont see him for a few weeks due to his injury. Taylor looks promising, but he is inexperienced. The Polish loanee could be the answer.

Loss of players. We sold Brayford and Bailey, a full back and a midfielder to Derby in the summer for a combined £750,000. I feel neither will be a great loss. I think they'll both do well for Derby, but neither are in any way irreplaceable. We will also do without some loanees like Simon Walton and Harry Worley. I dont think the lack of loanees is a bad thing, as they didnt really improve the team or the morale, but impeded the progress of the kids, and the sales will just mean we wont sell again unless we get offered silly money.

Overall A Poor season last year that never got going, but we simply have far more quality than most other clubs, a bigger budget and more strength in depth. The key is getting a more effective defence and getting the best out of the individuals, but I believe Dario will do just that.

Totesport go 16/1 and I would be a backer at that price, so I think the 28/1 on offer from Ladbrokes is simply stunning. The 7/1 for promotion is also a lovely price, and the 18/1 +12 points looks decent as well with Blue Rectangle. I would wait until the rest of the high street price the market up first before getting involved on the handicap, as I can see a few sticking their heads above the parapet judging by their outright prices.

Every year Bradford are favourites or very close to it but each time they dissappoint. Will Peter Taylor make the difference this time? He's won 6 (I'm pretty sure) promotions as a manager, surely very few current managers come close to that (only Southend's Paul Sturrock and Rangers' Neil Warnock spring to mind).

Dario has at least 6

Marychain...you sure? just looked on Wiki and it only mentions 4 for Dario. Feel free to correct if wrong, I'm not claiming to be right.

Mind you, it only gives Taylor 5, I could have sworn he'd won 6, just shows what I know.

actually 5 I think

Wimbledon into league from Conf
89 from Div 4
93 from Div 4
97 from Div 3
2001 from League 1

Fair enough, I think Wiki missed out the last one. Maybe it missed Talor's one out too. I've always liked Dario, I'm pleased to have met the great man and shook his hand. I remember your 97 promotion, I was at Wembley that day as a Brentford fan.

that was an unbelievable performance that day, and superb day out. Although probably not for a Brentford fan.

Never seen such a one-sided 1-0.

Yes, you certainly deserved your win that day. Danny Murphy's last game for you I think and quite probably Marcus Bent's last game for us. Good luck this season.

Im pretty sure Marcus Bent didnt play for you that season, think you had Bob Taylor and Forster up front for you.

We had Seth Johnson, Danny Murphy, Gareth Whalley Dele Adebola in the team that day. Robbie Savage couldnt even make the bench.

Marcus Bent played that day, he had a stinker and I think he was subbed. I'd bet my house on him being on the pitch that day, and that's without looking it up. If you look it up and I;m wrong,I'll bow my head in shame. And yes I always admired your ability to produce talent that would go on to play at a higher level.

Tou're right about Forster (who's just re-signed for us) and Taylor though.

Brentford: Dearden, Hurdle (Ashby, 65 ) , Anderson, Hutchings, Bates, McGhee, Asaba, Smith, Bent (Canham, 70 ) , Statham, Taylor

Crewe: Kearton, Unsworth, Smith, Westwood, Macauley, Charnock ( Lightfoot, 65 ) , Whalley, Little, Adebola, Murphy ( Seth Johnson, 70 ) , Rivers ( Garvey, 75 )

you were right