Well it only seems like yesterday that Yeovil defeated Brentford to close the 2012-13 League One season - well 61 days to be exact. But already the ball has started rolling for the beginning of the new 2013-14 League One season.
And as part of my build up for a new season where i will be covering as many of the Gillingham games as I physically can, I have recruited fans from all 24 clubs from League One and get their options for their clubs as the new season starts on August the 3rd.
Today we continue with looking at two sides who had really struggled towards the end of last season. And both clubs are looking for a better season this time around in order to avoid the drop to League Two. I'm talking about Oldham Athletic and Colchester United.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC
Name: Simon Farraday
Occupation away from
supporting your club:
Refrigeration
Engineer
How long have you been a
supporter of Oldham and how did you start supporting them?
Since 1983,free tickets
handed out in school
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
Promotion or a trip to Wembley. (Or both a fella can still dream)
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Relegation
Our own fans think our team
is…
Still in the premiership.
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
Relegation fodder
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
Seems to have really dragged. We looked good on Saturday
against Macclesfield.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Maybe a little young for me but he is appealing
to fans with his usage of social media.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Jonson
Clarke Harris looks great,young powerfull striker.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)..
Carl
Winchester always injured!
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Anyone playing for Tranmere
Name an opposition player
you would love to have at your club?
Kevin Davies,still premiership quality.
If I was to visit your club
on an away trip this season, name one thing I must do in your town? (Can be
anything, football-related or otherwise... from visiting a famous sight, to
making sure you don’t park your car somewhere, to find a certain drink in a pub
or a nice place to eat)
Take a trip up to Saddleworth,great views and pubs a
plenty.
Onto other important matters:
You got rid of Paul Dickov
in February last season; if you kept him do you think you would have been
relegated to League Two?
Yes he had no
back room staff and he had lost the support of the team.
You had a great cup run
last year, how important is it to use that as a springboard for success this
season?
Hard to say,as we will only have 2 or 3 players that played Liverpool.
Can you avoid the drop this
season?
Yes,no doubt. Keep the faith
And now onto the really important stuff:
Who do you think will be
the top 6 at the end of the season?
Wolves
Sheff Utd
Peterbourough
Brentford
Bristol City
Preston
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
Bradford
Port Vale
Coventry
Crewe
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
11th
COLCHESTER UNITED
Name: Duncan Stonehouse
Occupation away from supporting your club
I’m now holding the glamorous title of House Husband, having
had many jobs such as Double Glazing Salesman, Caravan Salesman, Advertising and
I was also a Customer Services Supervisor for 8 years.
How long have you been a supporter of Colchester United and
how did you start supporting them?
As I’m nearly 30 now it must be 25 years...that’s a sobering
thought. I’ve seen plenty of highs and lows. The club is in my blood, my Dad
went to games with his Dad and now I’ve introduced my 5 year old to the club,
he’s got the Col U bug already.
Let’s get this
ball rolling:
What would be your dream season?
I think it goes without saying that promotion would be the
dream season for most if not all clubs, last season was the first one where we hadn't finished in the top 10 for a while and despite bookies tipping us to
struggle as always, I’d hope for a playoff challenge.
And what will make it a nightmare season for you?
Last season was a bit of a nightmare to be fair; the worst
start to a league season and also a club record 9 consecutive defeats. The only
thing that would have made the season worse would have been relegation, and we
got pretty close to that, only securing league one status on the final day.
Our own fans think our team is...
Pretty frustrating at times, we love to pass it about, like
a lower league Arsenal – and you can often hear shouts along the lines of
“SHOOOOT” from the stands, when it appears we are more concerned with passing
the ball into the net, looking for a perfect goal. Having said that, we have
changed our style of play to a paceier attractive attacking brand of football
than under recent managers, so the fans are certainly happier than when led by
John Ward, under whom the team appeared to lack a bit of desire.
Other teams’ think our team is...
Easily beatable judging by what I overhear while walking to
the ground or read on message boards etc! I often hear rival supporters saying
things that rather belittle us, as if the game is a formality. I understand a
bit of confidence but I find it more disrespectful. Also, it seems a few people
think Aidy Boothroyd is still our manager with comments like ‘land of the
giants’ ‘wear your tin hats’ and describing our football as direct; it couldn’t
be further from the truth.
How has pre-season been for you this time around?
The players reported back earlier than normal and the manager’s
hope is that they will be fitter and sharper because of it. As for the games
played, the traditional round of local non league outfits saw us coming out on
top in all of the matches, against varying opposition and perhaps more
noticeably, varying standards of playing surfaces. The most concerning thing to
come out of the run of games was a serious looking ankle injury to new signing
Craig Eastmond, who was wiped out by a dreadful challenge in our match at
Heybridge Swifts. Hopefully, Eastmond will be back sooner rather than later. As
I write this, we have just started our games against higher profile teams, losing
2-1 to West Ham and played well to draw 0-0 with Tottenham in a 10,000 sell
out.
The new season:
Have you got the right manager and how popular is he?
Joe Dunne truly is Colchester United through and through –
having given everything as a player before retiring early due to Injury, Dunne
has coached at every level at the club and his contagious enthusiasm shines
through in the way the team plays and conducts itself on and off the field. The
Irishman was a real fans favourite on the pitch and is very popular with the
fans now, there is always a few doubters of any manager and he even doubted
himself when overseeing the 9 straight defeats – offering his resignation for
the good of the club – but chairman Robbie Cowling talked him round, and we are
all expecting better things from him and his team this season.
Are there any new signings that you are excited about?
Joe Dunne has worked wonders in the transfer market since
getting the job, totally dispelling the negative comments by previous manager
John Ward about how it was difficult to attract players to Colchester, In fact,
the 3 major permanent signings this summer were all loan arrivals that were originally
made on the day Dunne was appointed last September. Sanchez Watt and Craig
Eastmond from Arsenal are both exciting young talents who were instrumental in
our few successes on the pitch last season, in fact the end of their loan
spells, and both prematurely ended due to injury – were the start of the
nightmare run of form. Jabo Ibehre finished joint top scorer and player of the
year last season, despite only playing half the games so we were all obviously
pleased when he agreed his 2 year deal. Most recently, we have added 2 loan
signings from Chelsea, the formidable and popular ‘7 ft tall’ Sam Walker, a
real hits with the fans in the second half of last season, and big Defender
Daniel Pappoe who has impressed in his outings so far.
Name the player you would happily drive to his next club?
To be honest, it’s tough to choose anyone but being harsh,
I’ve got 2 nominees for this ‘award’ – Andy Bond, a fairly ineffectual
midfielder these days, and Mark Cousins, who started last season as first
choice Goalkeeper. Apologies to them both, but if we want a better season than
last time out, we need quality all over the pitch. When Bond first arrived from
Barrow, he was lauded as the ‘non league Lampard’ – however, his goals and form
have dried up, meaning now he doesn’t offer much to the side. If he were to
regain his long range shooting and eye for goal then he could be an asset. He
scored with a decent finish in our victory at Braintree so perhaps the tide has
turned. With regards to Cousins, for me he’s a liability – he doesn’t breed any
confidence, quite timid and quiet, he rarely comes off his line and despite
playing over 50 first team games still has the general demeanour of a young lad
making his debut, he’s made some great saves in the pre season games but also
some big errors, and I expect he’ll warm the bench behind Walker.
Name an opposition player you despise...
Alan Lee – whenever I’ve seen him play he’s been the same,
backing in, elbows up, pulling defenders down over him and constantly moaning,
also he hits the deck pretty easily for a big man. I remember him goading our
fans when we played Ipswich and it’s like pouring petrol on a BBQ. I can’t
stand the guy. We were linked to him one transfer window and I hoped to God
that it was a wind up. I would struggle to cheer him in a U’s shirt.
Name an opposition player you would love to have at your
club?
Currently we have no
Left Backs so I’d say Zoumana Bakayogo.
He’d fit pretty well into our system, although we do have Ryan Dickson
on trial at Left Back currently and I’ve rated him when I’ve seen him play, but
we could do with cover!
If I was to visit
your club on an away trip this season, name one thing I must do in your town?
(Can be anything, football-related or otherwise... from visiting a famous
sight, to making sure you don’t park your car somewhere, to find a certain
drink in a pub or a nice place to eat)
If you’re into your history, Colchester, being the Oldest
Recorded Town, is a more than decent visit with its Roman Castle and stunning
castle park. Outside the Town centre, the main visitor attraction is without
doubt the Zoo, which I believe is the second biggest in the UK, it’s a truly
great day out. However, for me, Gnome Magic was the funniest visit by Frankie
Fryer on Soccer AM’s away days feature, even though I’ve never been there
personally.
Onto other
important matters:
Considering what happened to John Ward last season, do you
think that you are lucky to still be in League One?
I wouldn’t say lucky no, over the course of the season, the
league table doesn’t lie. We had some bad luck during the season and some
dubious decisions going against us, as I’m sure every team did, but we deserved
to stay up.
You relied on Jabo Ibehre in the latter part of the season,
how important will he be?
It’s easy enough to suggest we relied on Jabo as he was
joint top scorer, but he was joint top scorer with Freddie Sears, who in my
opinion will be equally important. Most teams will point to their strikers as
the important men as they get the goals, but I’d say in order for us to have a
good season, Eastmond and Watt have the ability to light up League One, so we
need them fit and firing. Magnus Okounghae and Tom Eastman have a good
understanding at Centre Back also.
Craig Eastmond returned to the club during the summer, are
you pleased that you signed him on a permanent deal?
Most definitely, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, he can run the
midfield for us, dropping off and linking up. He’ll be crucial to us; I hope
he’s fit in time for the curtain raiser at Gillingham.
And now onto the
really important stuff:
Who do you think will be the top 6 at the end of the season?
Wolves, Sheff Utd, Peterborough, Bristol City, Brentford and
MK Dons
Who do you think will go down to League 2?
Port Vale, Carlisle, Oldham and Shrewsbury
And finally, in all honesty, where do you think you will
finish this season?
I recon we will finish in between 8-10th.
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Over the next few days, more fans from clubs in League One will be given their chance to speak out on the new season which begins soon.
To be continued...
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