Carlisle United, Cheltenham Town and Crewe Alexandra come into focus in the latest League One preview as the 2007/08 season grows ever closer!
Carlisle United
Nickname: The Cumbrians
Ground: Brunton Park
Capacity: 16,651
Manager: Neil McDonald
KEY PLAYERS: The loss of Karl Hawley to Preston could hit Carlisle as they prepare for the coming season. The likes of Kevin Gall and Danny Graham, a free transfer from Middlesbrough, will be expected to bag the goals. Meanwhile, Chris Lumsden is an important figure in midfield having made over 100 appearances for the club.
TRANSFERS IN: Danny Graham (Middlesbrough) FREE, Danny Carlton (Morecombe) Nominal fee, Marc Bridge Wilkinson (Bradford) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Karl Hawley (Preston) FREE, Anthony Williams (Wrexham) FREE, Kevin Gray (Chesterfield) FREE, Paul Murray (Gretna) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Keiran Westwood, Adam Bradley, Chris Howarth
DEFENDERS: David Raven, Zigor Aranalde, Danny Livesey, Paul Arnison, Dan Kirkup
MIDFIELD: Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Chris Lumsden, Paul Thirlwell, Luke Joyce, Jeff Smith, neale McDermott, Simon Hackney, Shaun Vipond
FORWARDS: Kevin Gall, Danny Graham, Danny Carlton, Steve Hindmarch
LAST SEASON: After winning the League Two title in 2005/06, Carlisle started out with a first day win over Doncaster Rovers. Their home form would remain impressive and it took until October before Millwall became the first side to take all three points from Brunton Park.
The away form was holding them back from a serious playoff challenge though and a 5-1 reverse at Crewe at the end of September was a low point. Carlisle bowed out of the FA Cup in Round One at Swindon and again conceded five on the road at Swansea in December.
The second half of the season saw an improvement on their long travels with good wins at Brighton, Doncaster, Cheltenham, Tranmere and Port Vale keeping them in with an outside chance of the playoffs. But United lost their final three games of the season to promotion chasing sides and remain in League One after a solid season.
Cheltenham TownNickname: The Robins
Ground: Whaddon Road
Capacity: 6,550
Manager: John Ward
KEY PLAYERS: Former Cobblers Jerry Gill still fills the right-back slot at Whaddon Road and his solid assurance is a big plus for Cheltenham. David Bird has been a major player since coming through the Robins’ youth academy and has now made over 100 league appearances for the club. Up top, the Robins have yet to replace Kayode Odejayi but Damian Spencer’s pace can cause problems while Steven Gillespie also has an eye for goal.
TRANSFERS IN: Andy Lindegaard (Yeovil) FREE, Aaron Ledgister (Bristol City) FREE, Ben Gill (Watford) FREE, Lee Ridley (Scunthorpe) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: JJ Melligan (Orient) FREE, Craig Armstrong (Gillingham) FREE, Steve Guinan (Hereford) FREE, Shane Paul (Halesown) FREE, Kayode Odejayi (Barnsley) £200,000
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Shane Higgs, Scott Brown
DEFENDERS: Jerry Gill, Shane Duff, Gavin Caines, Lee Ridley, Michael Tonwsend, Michael Wylde
MIDFIELD: John Finnigan, Scott Brown, David Bird, Ben Gill, Adam Connolly, Andy Gallinagh, Sam Foley, Sosthene Yao, Andy Lindegaard
FORWARDS: Damian Spencer, Steven Gillespie, Paul Connor, Ashley Vincent
LAST SEASON: After promotion from League Tow via the playoffs, Cheltenham were always outsiders to stay up but following a relegation scrap survived by seven points.
The Robins began with two impressive wins, at Swansea and at home to Tranmere Rovers. In fact, they won four of their first six games and stood in the higher reaches of the table early on. But a mid-season slide pulled Town into a relegation battle following ten defeats from eleven games in one desperate period.
The league double over Swansea was completed in February but consistency was a problem and it wasn’t until late on when The Robins finally eased fears of the drop straight back to League Two. Taking the points at Oldham in a 1-0 Boundary Park win just about sealed their safety.
Crewe AlexandraNickname: The Railwaymen
Ground: Gresty Road
Capacity: 10046
Manager: Steve Holland
KEY PLAYERS: Taking over from the irreplaceable Dario Gradi is a massive task for new boss Steve Holland. Despite the £2 million move by top scorer Luke Varney to Charlton Athletic, The Alex can still boast a strong forward line with Nicky Maynard starring last season. Steven Schumacher can score goals from midfield and his signing from Bradford could turn out to be an excellent purchase.
TRANSFERS IN: Steven Schumacher (Bradford) Nominal fee, Chirs McCready (Tranmere) FREE, Eugen Bopp (Rotherham) FREE, Billy Jones (Exeter) £65,000
TRANSFERS OUT: Darren Moss and Darran Kempson (Both Shrewsbury) FREE, Billy Jones (Preston) FREE, Jon Otsemobor (Norwich) FREE, Paul Bignot (Kidderminster) FREE, Michael Higden (Falkirk) FREE, Luke Varney (Charlton) £2,000,000
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Stuart Tomlinson, Owain fon Williams
DEFENDERS: Julian Baudet, Cavell Coo, Neil Cox, Adam Dugdale, Chris McCready, Danny Woodards,
MIDFIELD: Eugen Bopp, Mark Carrington, Lee Bell, Chris Flynn, Gary Roberts, Antony McNamee, Michael O’ Connor, Ben Rix, Steven Schumacher, David Vaughan
FORWARDS: Rodney Jack, Ryan Lowe, Nicky Maynard, Lee Matthews, Shaun Miller, Tom Pope, Pavol Suhaj, Mat Bailey
LAST SEASON: Crewe finished in 13th place last season, just one place above the Cobblers in the final standings. Their season started against us in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Gresty Road. Alex had to wait until the end of August to claim their first victory but when it came it was emphatic- a 4-1 win at Brighton.
Their League Cup campaign saw the Railwaymen claim the scalp of Premiership side Wigan Athletic before bowing out to Manchester United.
It was an up and down season and inconsistency kept them away from the playoff chase. The shock announcement that Dario Gradi would retire at the end of the season after 24 years at the club stunned the clubs fans but it was a decent end to Gradi’s career as he guided his side to finish in a comfortable position in League One.
A new era now beckons for Crewe Alexandra and it’ll be interesting to see how things are different as Steve Holland takes the reigns.
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