PART TWO - CHESTERFIELD, GRIMSBY TOWN & SOUTHEND UNITED
SOUTHEND UNITED - CURRENT ODDS 8/1
The Shrimpers find themselves in non-league football for the first time since 1920 - They were playing in the 2006/07 Championship alongside Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Leicester City!
It's been a pretty grim time down at Roots Hall with two relegations in as many seasons - the fact that since 2004 only Cheltenham Town (15/16) and Bristol Rovers (14/15) have achieved promotion back at the first attempt won't make great reading for their loyal fans either.
Mark Moseley started last season in charge after moving from a very successful spell with Weymouth where he took The Terras from step 3 to step 1 of the non-league ladder. His reign only last for seven months and he left in April to be replaced by Phil Brown who return for his second term in charge in Essex. He won the 2015 League Two play-offs with the club and went close to getting them into the League One play-offs the next season where they lost out to Millwall on the final day of the campaign. He took over with six games remaining with the club six points from safety - two wins, three draws and just one defeat wasn't enough to stop them slipping out of the football league.
Brown has made a number of signings. James Dunne, 31, has joined from Barnet where he spent the last two seasons. Described as a box-to-box midfielder he came through the academy ranks at Wimbledon and Arsenal - He signed a professional contract with The Gunners in 2007 and stayed until 2009 when he joined Exeter City. He has also played for Stevenage, St Johnstone, Portsmouth, Dagenham & Redbridge, Cambridge United and Swindon Town.
Defender Josh Coulson, 32, has moved from Leyton Orient. He brings with him a huge amount of experience having played 185 National League and 124 League Two games.
Midfielder Jack Bridge, 25, will be a welcome signing for the club's fans as he was born in the town and played for The Seasiders from 2004 in the academy and from 2014 as a professional. He has since played for Northampton Town, Concord Rangers and Bromley whom he joined in January 2021 and made 28 National League appearances last term.
Former Chelmsford City striker Rhys Murphy joins after a two season spell with Yeovil Town where he netted 29 times in 58 games. Now aged 30 he came through the Arsenal academy where he was part of the squad which won the 2009 Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup - He has played for a number of other teams during his career as well as being capped at u16, u17 and u19 level by England as well as caps for Republic of Ireland at u15 and u21 level.
Goalkeeper Steve Arnold, 31, joins from Northampton Town where he made 11 League One appearances last season.
Midfielder Abu Ogogo has joined from Bristol Rovers having spent time on loan with Dagenham & Redbridge last season. The 31 year old is another player to come through the Arsenal academy and brings with him a huge amount of experience having played 374 games across League One and Two.
I don't think Southend United will top the table but their fans won't mind - I'm sure they are just pleased they will have a club to support after a number of years of financial problems and upheaval.
PREDICTION - ANOTHER ROLLER COASTER SEASON FOR SOUTHEND UNITED. THEY WILL WIN ENOUGH GAMES TO FINISH IN THE TOP TWELVE OF THE TABLE I THINK BUT WILL FIND IN DIFFICULT TO GET ANYWHERE NEAR THE PLAY-OFF PLACES.
CHESTERFIELD - CURRENT ODDS 10/1
The Spireites were relegated from the football league back in 2018 and like Southend United had two relegations in as many seasons. In 2019/20 they narrowly missed out on relegation to step two of the non-league ladder and were in real trouble last season being in 22nd place of the 23 team league table in November. The arrival of Manager James Rowe from Gloucester City saw a revival in their fortunes and they eventually finished in sixth place qualifying for the play-offs where they lost to Notts County. Had Rowe been in charge from the start of the season I think they could well of challenged at the top of the table.
Rowe has been busy moulding his squad for his first full time season with a large number of players leaving the club.
They have lost midfielder Martin Smith who has joined newly promoted to League Two Hartlepool United, Tom Whelan who only joined from Weymouth in December 2020 and Joel Taylor to rival's Notts County for an undisclosed fee along with Luke Rawson, Will Evans, Regan Hutchinson, Grant Smith, Milan Butterfield, Luke Coddington and Jamie Sharman have also departed. Jack McKay and James Montgomery have also left.
They have signed central-midfielder Saidou Khan, 25, who began his career playing for Tooting & Mitcham Untied and Dulwich Hamlet - He has also played for Carshalton Athletic, Chipstead, Kingstonian and Maidstone United where he spent some time on loan in the National League with Dagenham & Redbridge last season.
Striker Stefan Payne, 29, has joined after spending last season with Tranmere Rovers and Grimsby Town. He is another name known to non-league supporters in the London area having began his career with Croydon and also represented Sutton United, AFC Hornchurch, Ebbsfleet United and Dover Athletic.
Scottish winger Calvin Miller, 23, was registered with Harrogate Town last season but spent time on loan with Notts County. He came through the academy ranks with Celtic and made four appearances in the Scottish Premiership in 16/17 and 17/18. He has also played for Dundee and Ayr United on loan in the top two divisions North of the Border as well as being capped for Scotland at u15, u16, u17, u20 and u21 level.
Midfielder Jack Clarke, 22, spent time on loan with the club from Aston Villa last season and has now joined on a full time basis.
Right wing back Jeff King has joined from FC Halifax Town where he has been a first team regular for the last two seasons. The 25 year old did play in midfield and attack before joining The Shaymen - He has played for Bolton Wanderers and Altrincham amongst other clubs.
I think Chesterfield will be one of the teams to beat this season. I think they should be much lower than their current 10/1 odds are.
PREDICTION - TITLE CHALLENGERS
GRIMSBY TOWN - CURRENT ODDS 10/1
The Mariners are no strangers to non-league having played at Step Five from 2010 to 2016 when they beat Forest Green Rovers in the play-off final to achieve promotion back to League Two. Their current manager is Paul Hurst who re-joined the club on Wednesday 30th December following the departure of Ian Holloway who had been in charge at Blundell Park for just under a year. Hurst was the man in charge when Grimsby Town won promotion back to the football league in 2016 and has since managed Shrewsbury Town, Ipswich Town and their major rival's Scuthorpe United.
Locally born successful businessman Jason Stockwood and Andrew Petit recently took over the club purchasing it from majority shareholder John Fenty.
Hurst, most well known for his playing career with Rotherham United, has been busy signing new players for the 2021/22 campaign.
Defender Michee Efete was part of the Wealdstone team that won promotion to non-league's top division in 2020 has signed his first professional contract since he was with Norwich City from 2016 to 2018. He has also played for Maidstone United and Billericay Town.
Midfielder Ben Fox, 23, joins from Burton Albion where he made 27 League One appearances in the 2018/19 season - He made a total of 52 league and cup appearances for The Brewers between 2016 to 2021 and spent time on loan with a number of non-league clubs.
Winger Joel Grant brings with him a huge amount of football league experience. He was with Swindon Town last season and has played for Yeovil Town, Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle, Crewe Alexandra, Wycombe Wanderers, Aldershot Town and Watford where he has played in over 400 football league games including 42 at Championship level.
Defender David Longe-King, 26, is well known to football fans in cold end country having started his career with Colney Heath and also played for St Albans City, Northwood, Dunstable Town, Barton Rovers, Ware and Biggleswade Town. Capped once at England 'C' level he was with League Two Newport County last season where he made 8 football league appearances.
Centre-Forward John McAtee joins from rival's Scunthorpe United where he has been for the last two seasons scoring just 4 goals in 42 games.
Centre-Back Shaun Pearson re-joins the club for a second spell. He left to join Wrexham in 2017 - He made 261 appearances for The Mariners in his first spell with them.
Welsh right-back Ryan Sears, 22, joins from Shrewsbury Town where he has been since 2016 making just 13 first team appearances. He has spent time on loan at his home town club Newtown and also with AFC Telford United.
Portuguese midfielder Erico Sousa joins from Darlington. The 26 year old has played for a number of Northern clubs such as Hyde United, Tadcaster Albion, Accrington Stanley, Tranmere Rovers and Barrow.
Striker Ryan Taylor is another to join from Newport County. Now aged 33 he has played in over 250 football league games and counts Portsmouth, Burton Albion, Rotherham United and Bristol City as former clubs.
PREDICTION - 11th to 14th - A SEASON OF RE-GROUPING AND RE-BUILDING.
No comments:
Post a Comment