Thursday 16 August 2012

League One focus!

Time for the League One low down!!


BOURNEMOUTH

Manager: Paul Groves
Position last season: 11th
Nickname: The Cherries
Ground: Goldsands Stadium
Capacity: 10,700
Players in: Josh McQuoid (Millwall, player exchange), Lewis Grabban (Rotherham, undisclosed), Frank Demouge (FC Utrecht, undisclosed), Eunan O'Kane (Torquay, undisclosed), Miles Addison (Derby, undisclosed), Richard Hughes (Portsmouth, free)
Players out: Warren Cummings (AFC Wimbledon, free), Mathieu Baudry and Michael Symes (Leyton Orient, free), Lyle Taylor (Falkirk, free), Jordan Seabright (released), Shaun Cooper (Crawley, free)
Key man: Harry Arter
Chances: Groves will embark on his first full season in charge at Bournemouth bidding to steer the club towards another top-half finish. They were on course to make the play-offs last season before a late dip in form.

BRENTFORD

Manager: Uwe Rosler
Position last season: 9th
Nickname: The Bees
Ground: Griffin Park
Capacity: 12,763
Players in: Harlee Dean (Southampton, free), Adam Forshaw (Everton, free), Farid El Alagui (Falkirk, free), Tony Craig (Millwall, undisclosed), Stuart Dallas (Crusaders, free), Leon Redwood (Brighton, free)
Players out: Karleigh Osborne (Millwall, free), Marcus Bean (Colchester, free), Liam Bellamy (Ebbsfleet, free), Sam Wood (Wycombe, free), Craig Woodman (Exeter, free), Pim Balkestein (AFC Wimbledon, free)
Key man: Sam Saunders
Chances: The Bees flirted with the play-offs last season and manager Rosler will be expecting a genuine promotion tilt this term. Craig will bring some much-needed experience to the defence while winger Dallas could prove a shrewd capture.

BURY

Manager: Peter Shirtliff (caretaker)
Position last season: 14th
Nickname: The Shakers
Ground: Gigg Lane
Capacity: 11,840
Players in: Trevor Carson (Sunderland, free), Lateef Elford-Alliyu (West Brom, free), Marcus Marshall (Rotherham, free), Adam Lockwood (Doncaster, free), Craig Jones (TNS, undisclosed)
Players out: Patrick Cregg (St Johnstone, free), Andy Haworth (Falkirk, free), Ritchie Branagan, Zachary Rothwell, Danny Hudson (all released), Mike Grella (Scunthorpe United, free), Shaun Harrad (Cheltenham, season-long loan)
Key man: Steven Schumacher
Chances: Impressed many by staying up with reasonable comfort on their return to the third tier last term and survival will once again be the primary aim.

CARLISLE

Manager: Greg Abbott
Position last season: 8th
Nickname: The Cumbrians
Ground: Brunton Park
Capacity: 18,202
Players in: Mike Edwards (Notts County, free), Danny Cadamarteri (Huddersfield, free)
Players out: Craig Curran and Stephen O'Halloran (released), Francois Zoko (Notts Co, free)
Key man: Lee Miller
Chances: The Cumbrians went close to the play-offs last season and boss Abbott will be targeting a top-six finish.

COLCHESTER

Manager: John Ward
Position last season: 10th
Nickname: The U's
Ground: Weston Homes Community Stadium
Capacity: 10,084
Players in: Marcus Bean (Brentford, free), Freddie Sears (West Ham, free), Clinton Morrison (Sheffield Wednesday, free)
Players out: Kayode Odejayi (Rotherham, free), Steven Gillespie (Fleetwood, undisclosed), Ashley Vincent (Port Vale, free), Lloyd James (Leyton Orient, free), Ben Williams (Hibernian, free)
Key man: Anthony Wordsworth
Chances: Colchester have made useful additions to their squad as they attempt to build on last season's 10th-placed finish. The signings of Sears and Morrison have signalled the intentions of manager Ward who will be targeting a play-off place.

COVENTRY

Manager: Andy Thorn
Position last season: 23rd in Championship
Nickname: Sky Blues
Ground: Ricoh Arena
Capacity: 32,609
Players in: Stephen Elliott (Hearts, free), John Fleck (Rangers, undisclosed), Kevin Kilbane (Hull, free), Kevin Malaga (Nice, free), William Edjenguele (Panetolikos, free), Callum Ball (Derby, season-long loan), Reece Brown (Manchester United, season-long loan), Adam Barton (Preston, undisclosed)
Players out: Clive Platt (Northampton, free), James McPake (Hibernian, free), Martin Cranie, Sammy Clingan, Hermann Hreidarsson and Danny Ireland (all released), Gael Bigirimana (Newcastle, undisclosed), Freddy Eastwood (Southend, free), Richard Keogh (Derby, undisclosed), Gary Deegan (Hibernian, undisclosed)
Key man: Gary McSheffrey
Chances: Coventry will be vying for an automatic promotion place following last season's relegation from the Championship. Manager Thorn has overseen a busy summer of 18 players moving in and out of the Midlands club who will be reliant on McSheffrey.

CRAWLEY

Manager: Richie Barker
Position last season: 3rd in League Two
Nickname: The Red Devils
Ground: Broadfield Stadium
Capacity: 5,996
Players in: Paul Jones (Peterborough, free), Mat Sadler (Walsall, free), Nicky Adams (Rochdale, undisclosed), Mark Connolly (Bolton, free), Shaun Cooper (Bournemouth, free)
Players out: Scott Shearer (Rotherham, free), Dean Howell (Fleetwood, free), John Dempster (Mansfield, free), Richard Brodie (Morecambe, loan), Pablo Mills (released), Glenn Wilson (Gateshead, free)
Key man: Kyle McFadzean
Chances: An odd summer in Sussex as new boss Sean O'Driscoll came and went without taking charge of a single match. The big spenders were anticipating a second promotion push but the managerial uncertainty will not have helped their chances.

CREWE

Manager: Steve Davis
Position last season: 7th in League Two
Nickname: Alex, the Railwaymen
Ground: Gresty Road
Capacity: 10,153
Players in: Mark Ellis (Torquay, undisclosed), Gregor Robertson (Chesterfield, free), Mathias Pogba (Wrexham, nominal), Abdul Osman (AO Kerkyra, free), Michael West (Ebbsfleet, nominal)
Players out: Nick Powell (Manchester United, undisclosed), David Artell (Port Vale, free), Shaun Miller (Sheffield United, undisclosed), Lee Bell, Carl Martin, Jordan Brown, Danny Shelley, Jason Oswell, Caspar Hughes, Michael Koral, Danny Ting, Jordan Connerton (all released)
Key man: Mathias Pogba
Chances: Rookie manager Davis surprised many by leading the Alex to League Two play-off glory and his vibrant young squad will have the odds stacked against them once more.

DONCASTER

Manager: Dean Saunders
Position last season: 24th in Championship
Nickname: Rovers
Ground: Keepmoat Stadium
Capacity: 15,231
Players in: David Syers (Bradford, free), David Cotterill (Barnsley, free), Robbie Blake (Bolton, free), Rob Jones (Sheffield Wednesday, free)
Players out: Sam Hird (Chesterfield, free), James Hayter (Yeovil, free), Adam Lockwood (Bury, free), El-Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, Simon Gillett, John Oster, Fabien Robert, Giles Barnes, Oscar Radford and Habib Beye (all released), George Friend (Middlesbrough, undisclosed), James O'Connor (Derby, undisclosed), James Baxendale (Walsall, free)
Key man: James Coppinger
Chances: Banked on ex-Premier League players to keep them in the Championship last season but it did not work. The likes of Diouf, Chimbonda and Beye - as well as other key players - have left the Keepmoat meaning boss Saunders has had to rebuild and they could find the going tough.

HARTLEPOOL

Manager: Neale Cooper
Position last season: 13th
Nickname: Pools
Ground: Victoria Park
Capacity: 7,856
Players in: Jonathan Franks (Middlesbrough, free), Simon Walton (Plymouth, free), Steve Howard (Leicester, free)
Players out: Gary Liddle (Notts County, free), James Brown (Gateshead, free), Adam Boyd (Celtic Nation, free), Colin Larkin, Steve Haslam, Callum Hassan (all released), Nolberto Solano (retired)
Key man: Peter Hartley
Chances: Decent summer signings suggest Pools can mount a play-off challenge if the youngsters can repeat last season's form.

LEYTON ORIENT

Manager: Russell Slade
Position last season: 20th
Nickname: The Os
Ground: Brisbane Road
Capacity: 9,271
Players in: Gary Sawyer (Bristol Rovers, free), Anthony Griffith (Port Vale, undisclosed), Mathieu Baudry and Michael Symes (Bournemouth, free), Ryan Allsop (Millwall, free), Ryan Brunt (Stoke, loan), Nathan Clarke (Huddersfield, free), Lloyd James (Colchester, free)
Players out: Dean Leacock (Notts County, free), Matt Spring (Wycombe, free), George Porter (Burnley, free), Terrell Forbes (Chesterfield, free), Jamie Smith (Dover, free), Jonathan Tehoue, Jamie Cureton, Tom Lovelock, Mike Cestor (released)
Key man: Dean Cox
Chances: Boss Slade has overseen a summer clear-out after last season's struggles, and he must get his new-look squad to gel quickly if they are to avoid a repeat.

MK DONS

Manager: Karl Robinson
Position last season: 5th
Nickname: The Dons
Ground: stadium:mk
Capacity: 22,000
Players in: Jon Otsemobor (Sheff Weds, free), Alan Smith (Newcastle, free), Ryan Lowe (Sheffield Wednesday, undisclosed)
Players out: George Williams (Fulham, tribunal), Tom Flanagan (Gillingham, loan)
Key man: Dean Bowditch
Chances: After play-off heartache in three of the past four campaigns, many feel this will be the season when MK Dons finally gain promotion. Robinson has kept last season's squad together and added the likes of Smith and the club could go up as champions.

NOTTS COUNTY

Manager: Keith Curle
Position last season: 7th
Nickname: The Magpies
Ground: Meadow Lane
Capacity: 20,229
Players in: Enoch Showunmi (Tranmere, free), Bartosz Bialkowski (Southampton, free), Gary Liddle (Hartlepool, free), Dean Leacock (Leyton Orient, free), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Bristol City, free), Joss Labadie (Tranmere, free), Manny Smith (Walsall, free), Yoann Arquin (Hereford, free), Francois Zoko (Carlisle, free)
Players out: Ishmel Demontagnac (Northampton, free), Ben Burgess (Tranmere, free), Mike Edwards (Carlisle, free), Stuart Nelson (Gillingham, free), Charlie Allen (Gillingham, free), Stephen Hunt, Sam Sodje, Liam Chilvers, Karl Hawley, Robert Burch, Jude Stirling, John Spicer, Jon Harley, George Nicholas (all released)
Key man: Lee Hughes
Chances: Narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season. Curle's first full campaign in charge will surely see them challenge for at least a top-six spot again, with automatic promotion a possibility.

OLDHAM

Manager: Paul Dickov
Position last season: 16th
Nickname: The Latics
Ground: Boundary Park
Capacity: 10,638
Players in: Connor Brown (Sheffield United, free), Daniel Taylor (Newcastle, free), Jonathan Grounds (Middlesbrough, free), Lee Croft (Derby, season loan), Liam Jacob (Manchester United, free), Cliff Byrne (Scunthorpe United, free), Jordan Slew (Blackburn, loan)
Players out: Ryan Brooke (Altrincham, free), Kieran Lee (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Keanu Marsh-Brown and Reuben Reid (Yeovil, free), Chris Taylor (Millwall, free), Zander Diamond (Burton, free), Paul Black (Tranmere, free), Djeny Bembo-Leta, Matt Carr, Phil McGrath, Josh Parker, Shefki Kuqi, Filipe Morais (all released)
Key man: Dean Furman
Chances: Expected to struggle near the wrong end of the table, but Dickov insists his streamlined squad have enjoyed an impressive pre-season campaign including a 2-1 win over Manchester City.

PORTSMOUTH

Manager: Michael Appleton
Position last season: 22nd in Championship
Nickname: Pompey
Ground: Fratton Park
Capacity: 21,100
Players in: Simon Eastwood (free)
Players out: Jason Pearce (Leeds, £500,000), Joel Ward (Crystal Palace, £400,000), Stephen Henderson (West Ham, undisclosed), Kelvin Etuhu (Barnsley, free), Hayden Mullins (Birmingham, undisclosed), Marko Futacs (Leicester, undisclosed compensation), Ricardo Rocha, Benjani Mwaruwari (both released), Jamie Ashdown (Leeds, free), Erik Huseklepp (SK Brann, free), Luke Varney (Leeds United, free), Greg Halford (Nottingham Forest, free), David Norris (Leeds, free), Aaron Mokoena (Bidvest Wits, free), David Kitson (released), Richard Hughes (Bournemouth, free), Liam Lawrence, free)
Key man: Ashley Harris
Chances: If Portsmouth are still in existence by the time the season kicks off it will be a triumph. But they will start on minus 10 and, with hardly any senior players, another relegation looks inevitable.

PRESTON

Manager: Graham Westley
Position last season: 15th
Nickname: The Lilywhites
Ground: Deepdale
Capacity: 24,500
Players in: John Welsh (Tranmere, free), Shane Cansdell-Sherriff (Shrewsbury, free), Nicky Wroe (Shrewsbury, free), Paul Huntington (Yeovil, free), David Buchanan (Tranmere, free), David Amoo (Liverpool, free), Richard Wright (Ipswich, free), Scott Laird and John Mousinho (Stevenage, free), Lee Holmes (Southampton, free), Jeffrey Monakana (Arsenal, free), Keith Keane (Luton, free), Lee Trundle (Neath, free)
Players out: Nicky Hunt (Rotherham, free), David Gray (Stevenage, free), Paul Parry (Shrewsbury, free), Barry Nicholson (Fleetwood, undisclosed), Paul Coutts (Derby, undisclosed), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood, free), Sean Clucas (Bristol Rovers, free), Scott Leather (Altrincham, free), Jamie Douglas (Dungannon Swifts, free), George Miller (Accrington Stanley, free), Daniel Devine, Ian Ashbee, Michael McLellan, Alex Billington, Andreas Arestidou, Iain Turner, Dominic Comrie, Aaron Brown, Richard Wright and Juvhel Tsoumou (all released), Neil Mellor (retired), Adam Barton (Coventry, undisclosed)
Key man: Thorsten Stuckmann
Chances: The Deepdale faithful will expect results following Westley's ruthless overhaul although a radically altered line-up may need time to knit together and find themselves off the pace.

SCUNTHORPE

Manager: Alan Knill
Position last season: 18th
Nickname: The Iron
Ground: Glanford Park
Capacity: 9,088
Players in: James Severn (Derby, free), Callum Kennedy (Swindon, free), Josh Walker (Watford, free), Christian Ribeiro (Bristol City, free), Mike Grella (Bury, free), David Mirfin (Watford, free)
Players out: Michael O'Connor (Rotherham, free), Andrew Wright (Morecambe, free), Sam Togwell (Chesterfield, free), Josh Lillis (Rochdale, free), Cliff Byrne (Oldham, free), Garry Thompson (Bradford, free), Jordan Robertson, Eddie Nolan, Ashley Palmer and Aron Wint, Scott Matthews (all released)
Key man: Sam Slocombe
Chances: Injuries scuppered their chances last season and Knill has brought in several strong signings to challenge for a play-off finish this time around.

SHEFFIELD UNITED

Manager: Danny Wilson
Position last season: 3rd
Nickname: The Blades
Ground: Bramall Lane
Capacity: 32,702
Players in: Darryl Westlake (Walsall, tribunal), Tony McMahon (Middlesbrough, free), Matt Hill (Blackpool, free), Shaun Miller (Crewe, undisclosed)
Players out: Connor Brown (Oldham, free), Seamus Conneely (Sligo Rovers, free), Marc Warren (Airdrie United, free), Ched Evans, Steve Simonsen, James Beattie, Johnny Ertl, Andy Taylor, Jack Adams, Corey Gregory, Shane Murray (all released)
Key man: Chris Porter
Chances: Blades expect to challenge for automatic promotion and will be one of the teams to beat, but need to find a new goalscorer.

SHREWSBURY

Manager: Graham Turner
Position last season: 2nd in League Two
Nickname: The Shrews
Ground: Greenhous Meadow
Capacity: 9,875
Players in: Asa Hall (Oxford, free), Aaron Wildig (Cardiff, free), Darren Jones (Aldershot, free), Ryan Doble (Southampton, free), Luke Summerfield (Cheltenham, free), Rob Purdie (Hereford, free), Paul Parry (Preston, free), Chris Weale (Leicester, free), Joe Anyon (Lincoln, free)
Players out: Shane Cansdell-Sherriff and Nicky Wroe (Preston, free), James Collins (Swindon, free), Ian Sharps (Rotherham, free), Lionel Ainsworth (Rotherham, free), Chris Neal (Port Vale, free), Carl Regan, Lionel Ainsworth and Ben Smith (released)
Key man: Terry Gornell
Chances: Shrewsbury may face the tough reality of life in League One after riding high on last season's promotion success. The Shrews were the second-best side in League Two last season, and Turner will be hoping that confidence will lead to early points.

STEVENAGE

Manager: Gary Smith
Position last season: 6th
Nickname: Boro
Ground: Broadhall Way
Capacity: 6,546
Players in: Anthony Furlonge (Southend, free), Greg Tansey (Inverness, free), James Dunne (Exeter, free), Steven Arnold (Wycombe, free), Anthony Grant (Southend, free), David Gray (Preston, free), Bondz N'Gala (Yeovil, free), Lee Hills (Crystal Palace, free), Lucas Akins (Tranmere, undisclosed)
Players out: Scott Laird and John Mousinho (Preston, free), Stacy Long (AFC Wimbledon, free), Darren Murphy (Port Vale, free), Jennison Myrie-Williams (Port Vale, free), Ronnie Henry (Luton Town, free), Michael Bostwick (Peterborough, undisclosed), Darren Murphy (Port Vale, free), Peter Winn (Macclesfield, free), Alan Julian (Newport County, free), Ben May, Phil Edwards (both released), Craig Reid (Aldershot, undisclosed)
Key man: Mark Roberts
Chances: Losing Bostwick was a blow and manager Smith needs his new signings to make their mark quickly if they are to challenge for the play-offs again.

SWINDON

Manager: Paolo di Canio
Position last season: 1st in League Two
Nickname: The Robins
Ground: County Ground
Capacity: 15,728
Players in: Gary Roberts (free), James Collins (Shrewsbury, free), Andy Williams (Yeovil, free), Alan Navarro (Brighton, free), Jay McEveley (Barnsley, free), Tommy Miller (Huddersfield, free), Troy Archibald-Henville (Exeter, undisclosed)
Players out: Billy Bodin (Torquay, undisclosed), Alan Connell (Bradford, free), Jonathan Smith (York, undisclosed), Callum Kennedy (Scunthorpe United, free), Mehdi Kerrouche (CS Constantine, free), Lukas Magera (Mlada Boleslav, free), Etienne Esajas, Abdul Said, Phil Smith, Mark Scott, Lander Gabilondo, and Mattia Lanzano (all released)
Key man: Matt Ritchie
Chances: Di Canio will be bidding for successive promotions to enhance his growing managerial status. The Italian has bolstered his squad with some shrewd signings this summer and they will be looking to challenge at the top end of the table.

TRANMERE

Manager: Ronnie Moore
Position last season: 12th
Nickname: Rovers
Ground: Prenton Park
Capacity: 16,567
Players in: Ben Burgess (Notts County, free), Danny Harrison (Rotherham, free), Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (Rochdale, free), James Wallace (Everton, undisclosed), Jason Mooney (Wycombe, free), Liam Palmer (Sheffield Wednesday, six-month loan), Paul Black (Oldham, free), Jake Cassidy (Wolves, six-month loan), Joe Thompson (Rochdale, undisclosed)
Players out: John Welsh (Preston, free), David Buchanan (Preston, free), Robbie Weir (Burton, free), Enoch Showunmi (Notts County, free), Joss Labadie (Notts County, free), Mustafa Tiryaki (1461 Trabzon, free), David Raven (Inverness, free), Andy Coughlin (Wrexham, free) Martin Devaney (released), Lucas Akins (Stevenage, undisclosed), Ben Burgess (retired)
Key man: Andy Robinson
Chances: Moore returned to Prenton Park in a blaze of glory to banish relegation worries last term, but the loss of captain Welsh and player-of-the-season Buchanan have made it a difficult summer on the Wirral.

WALSALL

Manager: Dean Smith
Position last season: 19th
Nickname: The Saddlers
Ground: Banks's Stadium
Capacity: 11,300
Players in: Ashley Hemmings (Wolves, released), Florent Cuvelier (Stoke, six-month loan), Dean Holden (Rochdale, free), Febian Brandy (Panetolikos, free), James Baxendale (Doncaster, free), Ben Purkiss and Nicky Featherstone (both Hereford, free)
Players out: Alex Nicholls (Northampton, free), Mat Sadler (Crawley, free), Ryan Jarvis (Torquay, free), Olly Lancashire (Aldershot, free), Kevan Hurst (Southend, free), Jamie Tank (Wolves, undisclosed), Connor Deards (Redditch, free) Jon Macken, Anton Peterlin and Jonny Haynes (released), Emanuel Ledesma (Middlesbrough, free), Darryl Westlake (Sheffield United, tribunal)
Key man: Andy Butler
Chances: Walsall continue life in League One after successfully battling against relegation for the second successive year last season. Manager Smith has seen a large turnover of players at the club as he hopes to find a winning solution.

YEOVIL

Manager: Gary Johnson
Position last season: 17th
Nickname: The Glovers
Ground: Huish Park
Capacity: 9,665
Players in: Keanu Marsh-Brown (Oldham, free), Sam Foley (Newport County, free), Reuben Reid (Oldham, free), Jamie McAllister (Bristol City, free), James Hayter (Doncaster, free), Lewis Young (Northampton, free), Nathan Ralph (Peterborough, free), Gozie Ugwu (Reading, six-month loan), Byron Webster (Northampton, free), Marek Stech (West Ham, free), Rohan Ince (Chelsea, six-month loan)
Players out: Andy Williams (Swindon, free), Paul Huntington (Preston, free), Billy Gibson (Cambridge, free), Kieran Agard (Rotherham United, free), Rhys Baggridge, Lewis Clarke and Rob Clowes (released), Bondz N'Gala (Stevenage, free)
Key man: James Hayter
Chances: Johnson enjoyed a successful first spell in charge at Yeovil, winning the FA Trophy in 2002 as well as securing Football League status for the first time in the club's history. He then led them to the League Two title in 2004-05 but another season of struggle beckons for the Glovers.

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