Thetownend.com

So, League Two next season then. What do we have to look forward to?

1. Local games galore - Pox, Rovers, Cheltenham, Wycombe (maybe)

2. Playing us in a back-to-the-future style when we meet Southend

3. Some new players to replace the un-motivate-able shite we seem to have amassed

4. Reverting back to a core support - less whingers, smaller beer queues and better seats available.

Any more?  :suicide:

Bradford City away is a pretty cheapish awayday for me :)

If I'm still in the North by then... Which I probably will be.

My Saturdays will be free to do other things

Chesterfield have a new ground to visit.


oh

Hey yeah, lots of positives for next season - playing Sarfend will be ace, good to see Easton playing again, he's there captain-fantastic now don't you know.... Corr is bound to be sent off/stretchered off - but knowing our luck they'll probably get promoted and swap places with us.

Peacock will be back as manager, he had the coat for it after all, he'll bring back ice baths in wheelie bins as well..

Playing Pox really really depresses me. Thats the biggest downside to all of this....

Some decent away days to look forward to I guess. AFC Wimbledon is another possible one.

Corr will obviously score, obviously

yep, just before he gets sent off/stretchered off.

Having the derby back will be fucking special. And don't even try any of that, "you're not our real rivals" crap, it doesn't wash with me!

what positives? Losing half our season ticket holders and crowds down to 4000-not to mention potential loss of sponsors. The board have orchastrated this shambles-you do not go from wembley finalists to bottom 4 from bad luck-it is sheer incompetence

I completely agree apart from your dickhead second sentence :)

Get off my positive thread you grumpy prick.

We all know there's no real bloomin' positives! Just embrace the thread Bartholomew.

I think you missed the point of the thread.

Yes it will.  And you are our number one rivals as far as I'm concerned.

No doubt about it. I don't think anyone would say otherwise. It must be almost 10 years since we played each other in the league ???

Yeah, they are our number one rivals, thats what depresses me, they're a symbol to me of how far we've fallen, when everything couldve been so much better.

Playing Shrews (my old stomping ground and grudge match - for me- of all grudge matches) if they don't go up :smugfu:

We need the bragging rights back. Can't do it unless we play them.

I think I'm actually in shock about how bad this season has been and continues to be. I'm utterly stunned. I know there are loads of examples of teams losing in the play offs and being shit the next season but have any losing finalists actually been relegated the next season?

Oi!  :no: Positiveness!

OK. I will have a relatively medium length trip to Stevenage. And it will be a new ground. Let the good times role.

There you go!  :yay:

Swindon starting in League 2 on Football Manager. Makes progression up the leagues a bit more interesting.

Good call

Leeds in championship 06/07.

Matt Ritchie playing in league two. He'll be good.

Bart can't play pick-up-sticks or clutch at straws
Apparently he has over-sized webbed paws

Me too, although it's somewhat overshadowed by losing my home game at London Road

Burton's not far.  Woopie fucking do.

Aldershot (A) will be a local fixture for me.  Their ground is about 5 miles away, so a short taxi ride from my local pub which is a cracker.

Crewe and Shrewsbury within 25 miles of me.  Neither of them are going up are they?

Gillingscum-Oh Deep Joy!

There will be more teams that hate us in League 2 next year, than we've experienced for some time.

It could... SHOULD... bring the passion back to the stands :-)

We will be the biggest team in league 2. Bar Bradford.

We were one of the bigger sides (barring the obvious, punch-below-their-weight, remedial dunces like Southampton, Charlton etc) in this division.  That's no consolation.

Edit: In any case, being the biggest club in a division is a sign of failure, not achievement.  Always used to amuse me when Sheff Weds were giving it the big 'un on message boards when they were in League 1.  Why?  25,000 home fans says you shouldn't be in that division.  You're under-achieving...so what exactly are you proud of?  Blackpool have a lot more to crow about, if you ask me.

Failing my last point, I've always liked Northampton away for some reason

We'll be the best marketed side in the division

And with that in mind, the best team bus :nod:

I lived in Northampton for 3 years.  Its shit, but I do have an affection for it.

Cheaper tickets in a lower division, right? As an apology for this abortion of a season?

An ex-girlfriend of mine lived their years ago.  Some rubbish areas, I agree, but I did like the Victorian red-brick houses/architecture nearer the town centre.  And some of the parks are lovely.  Abington is nice.

I really need to stop drinking beer and go to bed.

Lived in the terraces just across from the old racecourse.  It was just dull in the town, but like Swindon, travel 10 minutes outside and there's really nice countryside.

There will be grounds we can stand at? It should be easier for the players to hear the abuse aimed at them. It will make Flint's transition to a pro footballer easier. It should make the majority of the other players transition out of pro football a bit easier. I'm struggling now.

Loads of southern aways?

It'll stop me having to find excuses not to attend the (potentially) FOUR away games in my city or just down the road in Chesterfield next season.

We may, just may, win a game.

Totally agree, at the end of last season on the way back from Wembley I thought that we would mount a serious challenge this year. It's been so disappointing from start to finish.

Oh, Hartlepool got relegated along with us the season after they lost to Sheffield Wednesday in the Play Off final and Leeds also in 2007 after they lost to Watford.

Nothing is good about being in league 2.

Oxford will fucking stuff us. There is a wage cap limiting the players we can sign. The grounds and away support are shite. And lastly we could be there years.

Oh and Crawley will beat us too.

At least Paul Boring Negative 451 fucking Hart won't be in charge.

Chips and gravy at accrington away

I'm looking forward to Torquay away, as long as they dont go up.

I've also never been to a Poxford game, so that should be fun!

There is nothing good about being in league 2. Nothing. It is fucking dire.

Benyon has a proven track record at League 2 level!

Maybe thats why we signed him??

I would not be to sure about that based on Fittons track record of managerial appointments I can see him getting the job whether we stay up or not

What, even if he doesnt win a single game for the rest of the season?
Surely not...

Crewe, Port Vale, Stockport, Chesterfield, Macclesfield, Bradford, Poxford, Burton, Shreswbury, and Northampton are all closer to my home than Swindon...

Cheaper travel to aways
Cheaper tickets
Hopefully some terraces at aways grounds

Things could be worse...

rovers, oxford, hereford,gillingham. 8 potential matches to enjoy the spectacle of watching violence.

:D

My first Swindon Oxford game!

And for all you old fogeys who still persist that City / Reading / Aldershot are historically our biggest rivals, coz in 1825 there was a crowd of 13,345 against city whilst the corresponding tie against Oxford pulled in 3 poeple less blah blah blah....see the youngsters are already talking about the oxford game...

It's not the same now they play at the Kebab. I used to enjoy the walk from the hospital to the ground, being spat at and abused. Then the walk down that dark alley behind the stand, with bits of rubble flying over. The FA Cup game at the Kebab was such an anticlimax!

ahhh good old cuckoo lane.

Getting promoted as champions with 105 points.

On the bright side we have five months til the start of the 11/12 season which means plenty of time to come up with a new song to abuse Poxford and that "Swindon Legend" Joey Beachamp :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

He kept Wilson even though we had gone on a run of 10 losses, 5 draws and 1 win since 7th December, I really dont think you can ever assume Fitton will do the logical thing.

There aren't any local games for me.

burton?

Northampton's closer, forgot about them. Wahey!

There are a lot more grounds in League 2 with terraces, probably about 50% of the division have standing for away fans.

Burton Albion....

Whoosh!

Anyone else genuinely worried we'll struggle next season ?

Some seem to think we'll walk it!

My worry is we could be stuck down there for quite some time.

Of course. The same thing was said when we were relegated from the Championship. QED.

4 promotion places and only 2 relegation ones!

Abit different.

I'd say league 1 is our level these days. We don't have the support, money and stadium to be considered an established Championship side. Relegation from the Championship wasn't such a massive blow.

I'm not worried that we might struggle on the pitch. I'm genuinely more concerned what impact this will have on the club. In 06, we were a laughing stock off the pitch and getting relegated wasn't really a surprise, it became inevitable after years and years of mismanagement. This time around we're off the back on a Play Off final at Wembley, our highest average attendance since we were in the Championship, having spent a fortune on fees and wages expecting to be challenging for promotion to the second tier. Couple this with all the positives off the pitch with the new board, we're finally financially secure, the huge strides to get the fantastic backing from sponsors, the proposed County Ground redevelopment.

I can't see many fans, after the failings of this season, coming back. Fans won't really be up for watching a team trying for promotion to get out of League 2 after the optimism of the last couple of years of trying to gain promotion to the Championship. The excitement which was there last time we were in League 2 won't be there this time around.

That's what i'm worried about, becoming nothing more than a stable L2 team.

League 2 is abysmal and will be rubbish football. One thing is certain we don't have the nucleus of a side to get us out of it at the moment, at least three quarters of this squad needs to go. We need someone to shake us up and dig us out of this almighty hole we are in as losing like winning becomes a habit and the trap door to the conference will open.

I think there is a danger of over analysing this...ok, there are millions of sub reasons which will afect the figures by 5 or 10%, but on the whole, if we are doing well, fans will return, if we are not they will stay away.

A team of young early 20s footballers we've signed from Celtic or premiership clubs wont hoof us out of L2, thats for sure.

We're going to need to hoofers, cloggers and work horses. The type of players we will only sign for free.

Also, not flogging the team off in January would help.

This season alone has proved that Fittons transfer policy wont work - it'll be even worse in L2.

there is no written rule stating that clubs have to hoof their way out of league 2.

I just think with all the optimism with the club over the past couple of years, and the hard work that the board have done regarding season ticket prices, getting more fans through, building the brand etc. relegation would severely set us back. We would be back to square one again. Its a shame, thats all.

I think we all agree with that...but I also think if we manage to cobble a decent team together, and there is a chance of stuffing pox at home, the cg will be packed with as big a crowd as anything this season, regardless of what has gone before.

However, the key word in that sentance is 'if'.

We are actually going to stay up this season so don't understand this thread.

Quite a few teams have played their way out of the bargain basement, I don't believe that you need to be a team of hoofers, cloggers and giants.

And people call me a senile cunt...

 Our worst ever season since 58 when Div 3 and 4 formed was 82/83, when we finished 17th in Div 4. The recipe for such crapness, was an uninspiring manager Ken Beamish.  We had decent enough front players, the sort we can only dream about right now...Quinn Rowland Mayes, good wide men Hockaday and Garry Nelson, both went on to perform creditably at Div 2 level.

 Added to this was a sense of decay about the place...small crowds and negative football.

Nevertheless we did manage to escape, as we did in 06/07...the common factor both times was the dreaded spending money we haven't actually got, thereby enabling the acquisition of staff and players we couldn't really afford.  Not going to happen this time....

Look at Crewe....bring through young players sell them on, been stuck in Div 4 for a while now.

You might want to add Bradford into the mix,because they get very good crowds,but simply cannot get it right on the pitch.

The Board will really have to decide if they want to get back to L1 ASAP,or to build again with a young side and to take
their chances.

I never really took the board seriously when they said they wanted to run STFC as a business, and despite the way weve sold key players, I still dont take them seriously. They board is top heavy with people who wont want to waste their time watching crap. They might walk I suppose, which would mean we are right back where we were 3 years ago.

I am worried about the young players policy though. Much easier to sell players in L1 than L2. We need to get back sharpish and to do that we need some unfashionable but effective players.

We also need an exciting manager. Either a wheeler dealer or an ex player, and Fitton seems to want to steer well clear of these. I still think Danny Wilson would have been the best manager available to us for a L2 season.

What are your thoughts on Trollope?  Arriba has obviously heard something, and I said ages ago that Fitton liked his work at Rovers on a much smaller budget than STFC's.

Id certainly take him over Hart.

Question marks over whether Trollope has got the contacts in the game to get us 10+ new players up to the job?

How can anyone possibly have the faintest idea who Paul Trollope knows within football?

I thought Lawrence did a lot of the signings?

Just thinking back to Dennis Wise and that summer with Bill Powers money, I think Wise was well in with the football agents, and that is never going to happen with this board.

I'd take Wilson over Trollope and, from what I've seen so far, Hart. My worry is that we'll have a crapish end to the season, but with an unlikely win or two along the way, and that will convince Fitton to stay with Hart as "he's got to know the players and the club" or some such crap. I think we need a wholesale clearout of players and management.

Out of interest why? Hart has never had a more wins than losses ratio at any club he's been at....also Trollope has more career wins as a manager than all of Hart's totalled.

Hart is reputed to be a decent coach, but shit at recruitment....not exactly what we need.

Just don't see the point of the Hart appointment.

Get a long term appointment in and let him(or her :))get on with the rebuilding job now.
Fact is all Paul Hart will be doing is papering up the cracks...all that means is more time and energy wasted and money.
Stop fucking around...there is plenty of good managers out there champing at the bit,get someone in and let him/her get on with the job in hand.

To be fair had we got something out of the last two games people wouldn't be questioning a short term appointment.

Think the 'point' of hiring him was the fact that he's kept sides up the last two seasons and was a last ditch throw of the dice to retain our league 1 status this year.

Obviously in hindsight he's not quite had the immediate impact they were hoping for.

A proper new manager could have gave us the same impetus....and got things rolling for next season regardless of results.

Who could we have got though? No one who you'd want in long term would be keen on joining a sinking ship. Even if we go down I think we'll be a more attractive prospect for managers than when Wilson went, what with a bit of money to spend and the chances of getting a quick promotion on the CV.

Still leaves time to reshape the squad for next season, providing the board get cracking as soon as this one is over.

Gary Johnson went to Northampon

I think he'd have come here.

i have had conversations with numerous people about the managerial job and trollopes name keeps cropping up.
these aint just normal stfc fans talking over a pint, but people who are involved in football or have friends-family in the game.
i'm not saying it will happen,but i aint heard 1 persons name mentioned as much as trollope's is at the moment.


i think the mounting pressure on the board might mean they go for someone more appealing to fans.

The biggest positive is that Bart will be back more often.

Trollope's success at Rovers was when Lennie Lawerence was with him. Since Lawerence left, Rovers have gone down hill.

In League 2 I personally wouldn't want Hart or Trollope.

We missed the boat with Gary Johnson.

Get Dennis Wise back!

Remind me, how has he done there in his first couple of games?

That's right, he's got one point less than Hart ;)

Only if he brings his brains & coaching ability (Poyet) with him

G J Sutton is the ref for saturdays game. Last time we had him at home resulted in 3 - 2 home win against Orient in 2009.  Clutching straws that we might actually win this saturday  ;D

I think he was thinking long term rebuilding rather than saving us?

 When we lost to D and R, back in Sept/Oct....Still described it as the biggest win in the club's history....now we're the plucky underdog, and they're the big side waiting to be shot at.

Good things about league 2 (4). Mansfield away in Luton box van. Promoted! Loved that season! 

Thing is - surely by the end of the season lots more managers will be out of work? Can't we just wait & see if someone better comes along rather than get in a stress about not getting someone that's available right now?

Just the way we like it :)

But Northampton did play top of the table Chesterfield and 4th in the table Shrewsbury, whilst we were playing 5th from bottom Walsall and Plymouth, the only fucking team below us in the table at the time.