Evening all,
Well it only seems like yesterday that Yeovil defeated Brentford to close the 2012-13 League One season - well 58 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 are relativity new to League One over the past two season and both sides have been performing above expectations and looking for even more this time around. I'm talking about Shrewsbury and Stevenage.
SHREWSBURY
STEVENAGE
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 are relativity new to League One over the past two season and both sides have been performing above expectations and looking for even more this time around. I'm talking about Shrewsbury and Stevenage.
SHREWSBURY
Name: Sam Ridgway
Occupation away from
supporting your club: Student Studying Sports Turf
How long have you been a
supporter of Shrewsbury and how did you start supporting them?
I went for my 6th
Birthday so 12 years
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
Getting promoted either through the automatics or the play
offs.
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Getting relegated
Our own fans think our team
is…
Short on quality players especially for a league 1 outfit
and this could see us struggle
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
Punching above our weight and that we aren’t good enough to
be in this league but hopefully we can prove them wrong
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
There’s been a good test against Galatasaray and we were
actually quite competitive despite losing 3-0 but it was a good test for the
players, we also played TNS behind closed-doors which also proved to be another
decent test and what I’ve seen we are a decent side but we need a few more
games yet to gel.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Graham turner is very popular due to his first spell at the
club in the 80s and he’s going a good job this time around with getting us
promoted and staying in this league in our first season so yes he definitely id
the right man for the job.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Not really, we haven’t signed many and the ones we have seen
average but I’m sure the managers got something lined up though.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
If I had tom pick one it would be Tom Bradshaw just because
he isn’t a league 1 player and hasn’t done anything since he first burst onto
the scene
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Think it would have to be Lee Hughes at Port Vale because of
what he’s done in the past and it makes it worse that he plays for Vale
Name an opposition player you
would love to have at your club?
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)
Recommend taking a walk through the town and stopping off at
a few pubs on your way down to the ground
Onto other important matters:
How much have your club
learn from playing football back in League One after a 15 year absence?
It’s a huge step from league 2 and we underestimated it last
season with our lack of quality players but hopefully we will be more prepared
this season
You relied on a few loan
players towards the end of last season including Tom Eaves; would you be trying
to call him back on loan?
Tom Eaves was a big hit with the fans and gave us some
important goals to help us survive and the manager seemed very keen to have him
back at the club so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a blue and amber
shirt next season
You let go one of your best
strikers in Marvin Morgan, Do you think that he can be replaced in order to
help keep the goals coming in for Shrewsbury?
Marvin was a fans favourite and worked tirelessly for the
team and he will be a big miss but there are plenty more players out there that
can bring similar attributes but his goals and spirit will be missed.
And now onto the really important stuff:
Who do you think will be
the top 6 at the end of the season?
Wolves should walk the league really so ill go for:
Wolves
Bristol City
Sheffield
Utd
Brentford
Peterborough
Notts County
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
Walsall
Leyton
orient
Colchester
Port Vale
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
It will be a difficult season but if the new signings work
out I could see us finishing mid table
STEVENAGE
Name: Will Pickworth
Occupation away from
supporting your club: Student
How long have you been a
supporter of Stevenage and how did you start supporting them?
Since I was 4 and through my dad taking me to some games.
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
Westley works a miracle and gets us promoted.
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Players don’t get on with Westley and don’t buy in to his regime, resulting in relegation.
Our own fans think our team
is…
Hard working, disciplined, creative and underappreciated.
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
Big, strong and physical.
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
Very good – a few interesting signings and a couple of great early friendly victories including QPR.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Yes, definitely. When Smith was sacked there was only one man for the job. Westley and Stevenage are meant to be just like Wenger and Arsenal and Ferguson and Man Utd.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Sam Wedgbury who we signed
from Macclesfield seems to be held in very high regard by their fans and has
impressed in his first few games for us.
Also, Oumare Tounkara, who is a bit of an unknown quantity having only
played 4 games for Bristol Rovers last season and scored 2. Released by Sunderland as a teenager, he has
impressed in early pre-season.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
I was about to hire a minibus to take the 7 or 8 that I
could easily think of but Westley has beaten me to it.
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Ryan Lowe
Name an opposition player
you would love to have at your club?
George Boyd would be welcomed back any time, but more
realistically, I’ve got a lot of time for Steven Schumacher who recently left
Bury for Fleetwood.
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)
Hide. Or have a drink
in the Roebuck Inn.
Onto other important matters:
How important is for
Stevenage to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle this season?
Very – most fans would be satisfied with another season in
League 1 but if we get off to a bad start, even though Westley is a legend with
the majority of fans, a minority didn’t want him back, and that unrest could
spread quickly.
You club had a poor run of
form towards the end of the season, which cost Gary Smith his job. Was it the
right decision considering the start of the season you had?
Definitely, Smith brought in a lot of players on 3 year contracts
which has never really happened before at the club. They seemed to not be motivated and didn’t
really care possibly as a result of these long contracts –whatever way it was
poor management from Smith. A lot of them started well, hence our good start,
but then most of them had poor seasons.
Furthermore, when we were struggling, Smith didn’t know what to do and
even admitted it. He also played a poor
style of football and changed what was the best defence in League 1 pre-Smith
to one of the worst.
Winger Lucas Akins did
really well for you last season, are you hoping that he stays injury free in
order to have a successful season?
Akins is a frustrating player to watch. On his day he can be unstoppable, but he can
be quite inconsistent. He had a very
poor second half of the season after starting brilliantly. However, he has the potential to be a key
player so it is important he stays fit.
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. Bristol City 3. Preston 4. Sheffield
Utd 5. MK Dons 6. Swindon Town
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
Tranmere, Coventry,
Carlisle and Crawley
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
A season of mid table mediocrity in 15th as we
rebuild under Westley.
------------
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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