Well it only seems like yesterday that Yeovil defeated Brentford to close the 2012-13 League One season - well 65 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 look at two sides who finished outside of the Playoff zone last season and fans from both clubs are hoping that last season was a stepping stone in the right direction as new season starts. We are of course talking about Crewe Alexandra and MK Dons.
CREWE ALEXANDRA
Name: Sam Christie
Occupation away from
supporting your club:
News Journalist
How long have you been a
supporter of Crewe Alexandra and how did you start supporting them?
14 years.
Back then we were in the old First Division. £3.50 a ticket to watch
second-tier football – what’s not to love?
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
Somehow mounting a promotion
charge, beating rivals Port Vale on the last day of the season to the final
automatic promotion spot.
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Relegated by Christmas.
Our own fans think our team
is…
Free-flowing dynamite.
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
Overrated s****.
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
Overshadowed by seven
players being arrested in connection with an alleged rape of a woman while on a
pre-season tour in Cornwall. This has
been followed up a loss to Blackburn and a draw away at Chester. Not ideal.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Yes. Steve Davis is god in the eyes of Alex
fans. Was one-time favourite for Burnley job earlier this summer.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Looking forward to watching striker Vadaine Oliver who we signed from Lincoln.
Heard good things about the lad.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
Not a big
fan of Mark Ellis. Far too slow.
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Lee Hughes, for obvious reasons.
Name an opposition player
you would love to have at your club?
Would have loved super Kevin Davies but
he’s joined Preston.
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)
Pubs close to the ground. Rare these
days. Nothing much else to do in Crewe other than drink!
Onto other important matters:
You finished mid tale on
your return to League One last season and you won the Football League trophy,
is that a good springboard to have a good season this time around?
It should
be, but since we’ve lost our skipper and best player Luke Murphy to Leeds, I
can’t see us emulating last season’s achievement.
You manage to keep Steve
Davis away from the Wolves Job; will you still keep him should the Wolves ‘Head
Coach’ role become vacant during the season?
Yeah, don’t think he’ll want that
role.
Crewe has always had a
great reputation on brining in and playing academy players, any good ones to
watch out for the new season?
The stage is set for striker Max Clayton to have
a blinding season.
And now onto the really important stuff:
Who do you think will be
the top 6 at the end of the season?
Preston, Sheff United, Wolves,
Peterborough, Notts County, and Bristol City.
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
Coventry, Rotherham, Oldham and Swindon.
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
19th
MK DONS
Name: Roy Everett
Occupation away from supporting your club:
How long have you been a supporter of the MK Dons and how
did you start supporting them?
for Wimbledon F.C.
Let’s get this ball
rolling:
What would be your Dream season?
My dream season would be
promotion to the Championship, not interested in a cup run this year as I
believe the cup run last season affected our league form....
And what will make it a Nightmare season for you?
My Nightmare season would
be finishing in mid-table with nothing to play for; at least if you are at the
top or the bottom you have the excitement. And the result matters so
what.
Our own fans think our team is…
Our fans think our
team/club is making history rather than living in history like a lot of clubs
do these days!
Other teams’ fans think our team is…
Other fans think our club
is stolen, that would be all!
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for you this time around?
The training camp
in Ireland was a success, but ultimately friendlies are what they say they are.
Friendlies are for players not for fans really. But we have signed some
promising young talent this summer, so hopefully the good mixture of youth and
experience we have can push us that extra mile we were missing last
season!
Have you got the right manager and how popular is he?
Karl Robinson is the right
man to lead MK Dons to the championship, as he plays football in the right way.
And he is extremely supported by the fans but the fans wish that the club would
invest more on the team as Robbo is doing a great job on a very limited
budget!
Are there any new signings that you are excited about?
Absolutely, Ben Reeves who we
signed from Southampton looks a promising young player, but have also heard
some great things about Jason Banton who we have on a half season loan from
Crystal Palace.
Name the player that you would happily drive to his next
club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
Purely for his inconsistency
I would say Daniel Powell, goes for amazing to awful in a hiccup... But he is
young so has a lot to learn still.
Name an opposition player you despise...
Clayton Donaldson (Brentford)
purely for the fact every time he plays against us he scores.
Name an opposition player you would love to have at your
club?
William Grigg, but as he has
just signed for Brentford I believe I could be waiting a long time for that to
happen. But I would also like Stuart Beavon who currently plays for
Preston North End.
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)
Willen Lake is great place to
visit for the family and a great day out.
Onto other
important matters:
Many of the fans I have been talking to agree that the MK
Dons are not far off being a championship club, do you agree with this
statement?
We have a Championship
stadium and we are ticking the right boxes, but as I said earlier you need to
invest in your squad. Great players get you promoted not a great stadium; I
understand Pete Winkleman is building a foundation for this club to have a
staying power in the Championship. We need to get there first...
Your club managed to keep hold of promising manager Karl
Robinson last season despite being linked to a number of higher profile
managerial jobs; do you think you can do the same again this season?
I believe that Karl Robinson
is a fantastic manager, and he believes that everybody in this club is pushing
in the right direction. Having said that he has made mistakes, mistakes that
have been unnoticed because he is not at a "Big club" and he can
afford to make them mistakes at MK Dons....
You have some very promising young players coming though the
side at present, do you think that is the blueprint for future of Football in
Milton Keynes?
Of course, that should be the
blueprint for every club at this level really. Walsall for me is a great
example for developing young talent at this level. They made history last
season by fielding a whole team of players that have come through their youth
system. And not just MK Dons but the whole of the football league should follow
their lead.
And now onto the
really important stuff:
Who do you think will be the top 6 at the end of the season?
1. Wolves
2. Brentford
----------------------
3. Sheff Utd
4. MK Dons
5. Bristol City
6. Peterborough
Maybe not in that order: :•D
Who do you think will go down to League 2?
Maybe not in that order: :•D
Who do you think will go down to League 2?
Stevenage, Oldham, Shrewsbury
and Port Vale...
And finally, in all honesty, where do you think you will
finish this season?
Playoffs this season, after
the disappointment of missing out on them last season!
------------
We haven't got that many fans from clubs in League One left to ask but the four remaining sides will be given their chance to speak out on the new season which begins on Saturday.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment