With the season now just two days away, last seasons' League Two champions Walsall and playoff finalists Yeovil Town complete the League One preview series.
Walsall
Nickname: The Saddlers
Ground: The Bescot Stadium
Capacity: 9,000
Manager: Richard Money
KEY PLAYERS: Tommy Mooney’s signing from Wycombe will provide Walsall with bags of experience up front while Martin Butler is another goal threat after hitting eleven in League Two last season. New signing from Port Vale, Danny Sonner can also be influential coming forward.
TRANSFERS IN: Danny Sonner (Port Vale) FREE , Paul Hall (Chesterfield) FREE, Tommy Mooney (Wycombe) FREE, Carlos Carneiro (Panionios FC) FREE, Paul Boertien (Derby) FREE, Eddy Sonko (Xanthi Skoda) FREE, Rhys Weston (Port Vale) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Tony Bedeau (Torquay) FREE, Craig Pead (Brentford) FREE, Kris Taylor (Hereford) FREE, Hector Sam (Notts County) FREE, Mark Wright (MK Dons) FREE, Chris Westwood (Peterborough) FREE, Dean Keates (Peterborough) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Clayton Ince, Bertrand Bossu, Rene Gilmartin
DEFENDERS: Rhys Weston, Daniel Fox, Anthony Gerrard, Ian Roper, Michael Dobson, Scott Dann, Allan Picken, Paul Boertian, Mark Bradley, Netan Sansara
MIDFIELD: Danny Sonner, Darren Wrack, Paul Hall, Ishmel Demontagnac, Emmanuele Smith, Edrissa Sonko
FORWARDS: Martin Butler, Tommy Mooney, Carlos Carneiro, Alex Nicholls, Troy Deeney, David McDermott
LAST SEASON: Walsall finished as League Two champions last term and will be confident of more progression as 2007/08 kicks off.
The Saddlers began last season as one of the favourites for promotion and began to show early signs that they were living up to that billing. Starting off with a single goal victory at Rochdale, they went on to lose just once in their opening 21 league games- a 2-1 reverse at Grimsby.
Swindon claimed the honour as the first side to take three points from the Bescot Stadium with a 2-0 win in December and a few draws over Christmas kept Walsall within reach of the chasing pack.
Following a decent start to 2007, they were held back by a poor month of February, losing to Hartlepool, Lincoln and Stockport in succession. But the Saddlers weren’t to be denied promotion and fought back with a nine game unbeaten run that set them up in style for the run-in. After winning promotion in their final home league game with a 1-0 win over Wrexham, Walsall drew at fellow promotion hunting Swindon Town on the final day to clinch the League Two Championship.
Yeovil Town
Nickname: The Glovers
Ground: Huish Park
Capacity: 9,400
Manager: Russell Slade
KEY PLAYERS: The exits of key players such as Paul Terry and Aaron Davies could be a major blow to The Glovers this term but they’ve brought well with Marc Bircham a key figure in the middle of the park. His signing from QPR on a free transfer could turn out to be one of the deals of the summer in League One. Marcus Stewart is another who catches the eye and scored at Sixfields in Yeovil’s 1-1 draw last season.
TRANSFERS IN: Paul Warne (Oldham) FREE, Gary Dempsey (Aberdeen) FREE, Darryl Knights (Ipswich) FREE, Marc Bircham (QPR) FREE, Jerahl Hughes (Crystal Palace) FREE, Lloyd Owusu (Brentford) FREE, Curtis Ujah (Reading) FREE, Marvin Williams (Millwall) FREE, Lee Peltier (Liverpool) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Jean-Paul Kalala (Oldham) FREE, Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) FREE, Aaron Davies (Nottingham Forest) FREE, Paul Terry (Leyton Orient) FREE, Andy Lindegaard (Cheltenham) FREE, Anthony Tonkin (Forest Green) FREE, Wayne Gray (Leyton Orient) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Steve Midenhall, Darren Behcet
DEFENDERS: Mark Lynch, Nathan Jones, Terry Skiverton, Scott Guyett, Matty Rose, Terrell Forbes, Craig Alcock
MIDFIELD: Gary Dempsey, Anthony Barry, Paul Warne, Marvin Williams, Lee Peltier, Marc Bircham, Jerahl Hughes, Ishmael Welsh, Stephen Maher
FORWARDS: Lloyd Owusu, Marcus Stewart, Lee Morris, Darryl Knights, Tom Clarke
LAST SEASON: Yeovil agonisingly missed out on a place in the Championship last season after a playoff final defeat to Blackpool.
The Glovers had an up and down start and didn’t fully get into gear until September where four wins in a row shot them up into contention at the right end of the table. A 2-0 home defeat by fellow high flyers Scunthorpe at the end of October didn’t do too much to halt their run and the club went unbeaten over Christmas and New Year.
As 2007 kicked in, Town were still in a strong position and good wins away at Bradford, Carlisle and Bournemouth set them up for a playoff charge. They just weren’t good enough to break into the top two but four wins in their final five games ensured a playoff berth against Nottingham Forest.
Not many gave Yeovil a chance after a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg against Forest but the incredible fight back at the City Ground as they ran out 5-2 winners after extra time was the highlight of their season before the disappointment of defeat to Blackpool at Wembley in the final.
WalsallNickname: The Saddlers
Ground: The Bescot Stadium
Capacity: 9,000
Manager: Richard Money
KEY PLAYERS: Tommy Mooney’s signing from Wycombe will provide Walsall with bags of experience up front while Martin Butler is another goal threat after hitting eleven in League Two last season. New signing from Port Vale, Danny Sonner can also be influential coming forward.
TRANSFERS IN: Danny Sonner (Port Vale) FREE , Paul Hall (Chesterfield) FREE, Tommy Mooney (Wycombe) FREE, Carlos Carneiro (Panionios FC) FREE, Paul Boertien (Derby) FREE, Eddy Sonko (Xanthi Skoda) FREE, Rhys Weston (Port Vale) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Tony Bedeau (Torquay) FREE, Craig Pead (Brentford) FREE, Kris Taylor (Hereford) FREE, Hector Sam (Notts County) FREE, Mark Wright (MK Dons) FREE, Chris Westwood (Peterborough) FREE, Dean Keates (Peterborough) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Clayton Ince, Bertrand Bossu, Rene Gilmartin
DEFENDERS: Rhys Weston, Daniel Fox, Anthony Gerrard, Ian Roper, Michael Dobson, Scott Dann, Allan Picken, Paul Boertian, Mark Bradley, Netan Sansara
MIDFIELD: Danny Sonner, Darren Wrack, Paul Hall, Ishmel Demontagnac, Emmanuele Smith, Edrissa Sonko
FORWARDS: Martin Butler, Tommy Mooney, Carlos Carneiro, Alex Nicholls, Troy Deeney, David McDermott
LAST SEASON: Walsall finished as League Two champions last term and will be confident of more progression as 2007/08 kicks off.
The Saddlers began last season as one of the favourites for promotion and began to show early signs that they were living up to that billing. Starting off with a single goal victory at Rochdale, they went on to lose just once in their opening 21 league games- a 2-1 reverse at Grimsby.
Swindon claimed the honour as the first side to take three points from the Bescot Stadium with a 2-0 win in December and a few draws over Christmas kept Walsall within reach of the chasing pack.
Following a decent start to 2007, they were held back by a poor month of February, losing to Hartlepool, Lincoln and Stockport in succession. But the Saddlers weren’t to be denied promotion and fought back with a nine game unbeaten run that set them up in style for the run-in. After winning promotion in their final home league game with a 1-0 win over Wrexham, Walsall drew at fellow promotion hunting Swindon Town on the final day to clinch the League Two Championship.
Yeovil TownNickname: The Glovers
Ground: Huish Park
Capacity: 9,400
Manager: Russell Slade
KEY PLAYERS: The exits of key players such as Paul Terry and Aaron Davies could be a major blow to The Glovers this term but they’ve brought well with Marc Bircham a key figure in the middle of the park. His signing from QPR on a free transfer could turn out to be one of the deals of the summer in League One. Marcus Stewart is another who catches the eye and scored at Sixfields in Yeovil’s 1-1 draw last season.
TRANSFERS IN: Paul Warne (Oldham) FREE, Gary Dempsey (Aberdeen) FREE, Darryl Knights (Ipswich) FREE, Marc Bircham (QPR) FREE, Jerahl Hughes (Crystal Palace) FREE, Lloyd Owusu (Brentford) FREE, Curtis Ujah (Reading) FREE, Marvin Williams (Millwall) FREE, Lee Peltier (Liverpool) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Jean-Paul Kalala (Oldham) FREE, Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) FREE, Aaron Davies (Nottingham Forest) FREE, Paul Terry (Leyton Orient) FREE, Andy Lindegaard (Cheltenham) FREE, Anthony Tonkin (Forest Green) FREE, Wayne Gray (Leyton Orient) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Steve Midenhall, Darren Behcet
DEFENDERS: Mark Lynch, Nathan Jones, Terry Skiverton, Scott Guyett, Matty Rose, Terrell Forbes, Craig Alcock
MIDFIELD: Gary Dempsey, Anthony Barry, Paul Warne, Marvin Williams, Lee Peltier, Marc Bircham, Jerahl Hughes, Ishmael Welsh, Stephen Maher
FORWARDS: Lloyd Owusu, Marcus Stewart, Lee Morris, Darryl Knights, Tom Clarke
LAST SEASON: Yeovil agonisingly missed out on a place in the Championship last season after a playoff final defeat to Blackpool.
The Glovers had an up and down start and didn’t fully get into gear until September where four wins in a row shot them up into contention at the right end of the table. A 2-0 home defeat by fellow high flyers Scunthorpe at the end of October didn’t do too much to halt their run and the club went unbeaten over Christmas and New Year.
As 2007 kicked in, Town were still in a strong position and good wins away at Bradford, Carlisle and Bournemouth set them up for a playoff charge. They just weren’t good enough to break into the top two but four wins in their final five games ensured a playoff berth against Nottingham Forest.
Not many gave Yeovil a chance after a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg against Forest but the incredible fight back at the City Ground as they ran out 5-2 winners after extra time was the highlight of their season before the disappointment of defeat to Blackpool at Wembley in the final.
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