Thetownend.com

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_3909221,00.html

 :cry:

Underestimated, excellent. Bring it on.

Underestimated? I'll take great joy in mailing them that at the end of the season.

I could careless what the "experts" say.  Don't remember anyone tipping Luton or Plymouth to run away with it when they went up.  League 1's like the grand national, to hard to predict who'll get the title.

"And the world may not be shaking yet,
but you may prove them wrong,
even long shots make it....

...so go then, out into history,
and show them how easy it can be
you might not believe it yet,
but pretty soon you'll see
even long shots make it....."

23rd? KAMARA!

More worryingly - key man - A. McNamee.

our secret is out!

WTF?! 23rd?!

I'll have great pleasure in ramming that back down their throats at the end of the season.

I agree about strength in depth..slightly, but I think that could be tempered by the likes of Joyce, Kennedy, Alan etc coming through this season

Although if Mcnamee & Cox get's injured for a prolonged period we may have a problem

I can't see how they can on the one hand say we'll struggle as we've not added to a squad, when we've added 3 (they've also missed Timlin), and lost Boube, the Minge and fringe crap and BEST shite; and on the other hand put those Franchise fuckers at 10th when they've added only 2 players to their LEAGUE 2 squad, and lost 8 players.

That free transfer from Chesterfield and the Austrian fellah are obviously fucking worldbeaters that no-one else has ever noticed.

they have a point.
i can see this all going horribly wrong and malpas being wanted out by xmas.


stranger things have happened, i thought we might have a sniff at playoffs that year we went down, but we errrrm went down.

It's a shame SkyBet doesn't reflect this bloke's opinions. This morning we were at about 12s to go up, that's clearly not the odds given by someone who on the other hand says we're coming 23rd.

Being an underdog is much better than being an underachiever.

I'm slightly insulted - we finished above many of the teams above with this squad - I don't think any team has significantly improved their squads this summer either.

It's their opinion and we might just struggle as this league is so open... but to slap us in 23rd on the basis of transfer frustration is typical of SkySports and the fact that they 1) Don't know and 2) Don't care about anything really beyond the Championship.

Feck em.

About Scunthorpe they say
"It perhaps came as no surprise that Scunthorpe suffered relegation last season and after losing Martin Paterson to Burnley may find it hard to challenge"

and then predict them as 4th :banging:

And Southend also, they only have about 13 players!  Basically as above its sky reading the sun for non prem news etc. At the end of the day its only one persons opinion, and odds on hes a pox or shitty fan!

http://www.footballforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=175985

Not a a football journalist (although probably could be) but not every neutral expects us to do badly.

I like him better than Mr. SkySports that's for sure.

Aldershot away?  :bye: :D

Good read that, certainly the most objective review i've read.

http://www.thefootballforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=151108

Another unbiased review, seems most of our rival league one fans do not have us down as relegation fodder.

That's probably because they have actually seen us play.

Not sure about us finishing 8th, but I think we'll be closer to that than 23rd!

Well on ITV "The West" tomorrow night they are going to be looking at Swindons chances in the new season - they did Yeovil tonight.

Points West's one on Monday was pretty tosh but at least they did an interview with Fitton on air. Don't expect anything good from that cunt Pitman.

No not soccer night IOB, on the actual 6pm news "the west tonight" they're doing it (tomorrow)!

Least they give us some cover unlike BBC!

Pitman does the ITV news a lot, I think that's what he meant. I take it he isn't doing it at the moment?

Ohhh I see.  I don't think he did it tonight though!

Thank fuck, he still cracks his shit jokes throughout the news. Mind you I avoid local news wherever possible.

I think 10th-12 in my heart, I still believe if we lose Cox we are fucked (doesnt mean relegation) and don't see where we are going to score goals.

Points West are now doing the Yeovil round up too.

I must note its quite interesting that many news outlets pick us to go down and we can get 3/1 on us being relegated.... doesnt look good but fuck it! No expectation then really (apart from a lot of our fans who seem to think we have a realistic chance at the playoffs). I really wish people would stop saying playoffs and say something like "we are looking to improve on last season" I understand you need to aspire for something but playoff talk was around our downfall last season...

That was a bit different as the damage was already done and the club instantly regretted making such comments. This season hasn't started yet - people can dream.

Some days I think we'll struggle, some days I don't. My problem is that I just can't see us getting promoted because there are clubs in this division that are much better than us.

All I ask is that we give it a real go.

Im fully hoping for playoffs!  Im just optimistic thats all, don't really see it as our downfall!

Anyone who says they are hoping for a top half finish is a mug.

If you cant have blind optomism the week before a game has been played when can you?

Automatic Promotion or nothing..

Shit the club are trying to sell season tickets they have to talk about the target being the play-offs. I don't see that as being a problem. And I don't think many are saying "play-off's or sack the bloody lot of them", people seem quite realistic but are daring to dream a bit. If you can't so that in the week before the season kicks off I'm suprised you can be arsed to even go to the games.

Rubbish. Not picking up points away from home was our downfall.

If we are not at least in the mix for the play offs come to mid april then it is another wasted season. If we get ourselves enough points to be in the mix and then mess up, then fair enough. But if our season is finnished in february again then that is a total waste.

Pah, what we've got here is the best squad we've had for certainly three seasons now, maybe four - our play-off season squad was decentish but relied heavily on two 20+ goal scorers, Sammy Igoe, Brian Howard, Matt Heywood and Rhys Evans.

We've got 1 20+ goal getter in Cox - maybe two if, as we hope Corr can be fit all season - we've got a winger who looks better at his job than Howard, potentially Betsy on the right where Igoe played, an actual cenral midfield (Hewlett?? and Robbo) in Timlin, Nalis and Easton, a better defense and two very capable goalkeepers.

While there are some much bigger sides in L1 these days I think we should be looking to beat most at home and picking up 7 or 8 wins away, which given some sides in L1 shouldn't be too far fetched.

Obviously if Cox or Macca gets injured then we may be a bit screwed but a good start would see us good with the odd decent loan in to cover if needs be.  I can see us finishing between 5th and 8th this season and sticking it to the Times and Sky - fuck 'em!! :toughguy:

just been reading the stan James racing and football outlook 2008/2009

i was slightly gobsmacked in how accurate it was considering most bookies dont have a fucking clue about division 3........

Swindon Town

In each of the last 3 League 1 seasons a club has made the top 4 in their second year after promotion, and Swindon look likely to build on a strong first campaign back in the division.

The Robins acquitted themselves well to finish just outside the top half last year and the future looks bright after their Janruary takeover by local businessmen Andrew Fitton.

Fitton is backing manager Maurice Malpas- a Janruary appointment- in the transfer market with Swansea's Kevin Amankwaah their first signing and Wolves defender Charlie Mulgrew an ambitious target.

The Robins took 29 points from 22 games under Malpas compared to 32 from the previous 24, and its never easy to come in halfway through a season. Given time to make his m ark the scot can guide swindon to a play off spot.

outlook forecast 4th

Talk about glass half full - didn't hear alot of that from our lot did we.

4th would be amazing.

WE ARE GOING UP! :)

I think I prefer the bad media predictions. Not sure I trust the other sort.

Saying that, I'm pretty optimistic.

the players and manager reckon we should be aiming for promotion,and have said so publicly.i agree with them.anything less than at least being there, or there abouts will be a failure imo.the play offs shouldn't be seen as an unrealistic target.

Just seen the League One prediction by Gary whatshisface (ex-Forest) on SSN.

Leicester and Leeds to be promoted (yeah, what a surprise), plus Franchise and Peterborough (are you havin' are laugh).

Nicely put, but you're forgetting migs, who i'd pick over any of those three and betsy hasn't actually signed yet.

I am forgetting Migs, you're right - but the rest still makes sense to me, hopefully Betsy will be a Town player - fingers crossed.

exactly.

that exactly why you'll lose interest after 2 weeks you old beast.

I think Playoffs have to be the minimum aspirations of any town fan. We don't know just how good we or anyone else are, so lets aim high(ish)

a workmate has taken this as gospel so i now have a tenner bet with him that we'll stay up. he's convinced we're going down because, and i quote, "we havent improved the team, malpas is clueless and we should've got a bigger manager. i wont go until malpas is gone"

i made the point we have improved the playing squad, it should be a more settled squad this year, big managers dont always work out at all well (i used roy evans as an example), then i asked what manager he would've wanted, and he said "Martin Allen". i told him he knew fuck all about football, and stopped talking to him. i look forward to being ten pounds richer at the end of the season.

I'd have Malpas over Martin Allen any day of the week. Your friend is entitled to his opinion but so am I - my opinion is that your friend in a numpty who is a victim of the SkySports generation. What they say goes.

If Martin Allen is our manager I hate to say it but I may turn into a "I wont go to the CG until Allen is gone" supporter.  Although I doubt I could stay away to be honest.

if martin allen was our manager, i'd sit in the arkells and shout "aaaaaaaalllleeeeeeeeeennnnnnn, aaaaaalllllleeeeeennnnnnn" in a really high voice just to piss him off, i did it when he was Mcdongs boss and i will continue to do so every time i see the cunt.

Allen's one of those ex-players that, like Macmahon and Wise, you think you might be able to warm to when they come to your club, in that "he might be a cunt but he's our cunt" kind of way. Which works out all right when the teams winning and doing well, but when things start going wrong it slowly comes back to you that the sight of his face makes you want to stab him repeatedly with a broken bottle.