In the penultimate League One preview, we look at two sides that just missed out on the playoffs last term, Swansea City and Tranmere Rovers plus league new boys Swindon Town.
Swansea CityNickname: The Swans
Ground: The Liberty Stadium
Capacity: 20,500
Manager: Roberto Martinez
KEY PLAYERS: Despite the recent sale of Lee Trundle, The Swans still have plenty of fire power to gun for promotion once again. Darryl Duffy has signed on a permanent deal following a successful spell on loan at The Liberty Stadium last season where he hit five goals in five starts to fire City to the brink of the playoffs. Andy Robinson’s powerful runs and goals from midfield will once again be key while big Dennis Lawrence can be dangerous from set pieces.
TRANSFERS IN: Jason Scotland (St Johnstone) Nominal, Angel Rangel (Terrassa) Nominal, Guillem Bauza Mayol (Espanyol B) FREE, Dorus De Vries (Dunfermline) FREE, Ferrie Bodde (Den Haag) FREE, Darryl Duffy (Hull) £200,000
TRANSFERS OUT: Tom Williams (Wycombe) FREE, Andy Oakes (Darlington) FREE, Ezomo Iriekpen (Scunthorpe) FREE, Pawel Abbott (Darlington) £100,000
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Willy Gueret, Dorus De Vries
DEFENDERS: Kevin Amankwaah, Kevin Austin, Kristian O’Leary, Alan Tate, Steven Watt, Marcos Painter, Dennis Lawrence, Gary Monk, Angel Rangel, Kyle Graves
MIDFIELD: Ferrie Bodde, Leon Britton, Andy Robinson, Darren Pratley, Owain Tudur-Jones, Shaun MacDonald, Darren Way, Matty Collins, Thomas Butler, Ian Craney
FORWARDS: Jason Scotland, Darryl Duffy, Guillem Bauza Mayol, Joe Allen
LAST SEASON: Despite being one of the bookies’ favourites for promotion, Swansea began their season poorly with a shock home defeat to Cheltenham Town. An up and down start to their season meant that the early optimism was fading and the Swans faced a battle to be involved in the promotion shake up.
Defeat to the Cobblers in our first home win of the season in October was followed by a decent run of form including progression in the F.A. Cup and as Christmas beckoned, they were back in contention in a run that featured a huge 5-0 home win over Carlisle United.
Back in the F.A. Cup and the Swans upset Sheffield United in Round Three (3-0 at Brammall Lane) before going out to Ipswich in Round Four. City’s league form then dipped and defeats to Cheltenham, Oldham, Scunthorpe and Yeovil cost Kenny Jackett his job.
Former Swans player Roberto Martinez stepped in and he managed four wins in his opening five games. There just wasn’t enough in the tank though to take them to the playoffs and despite a late surge, a 6-3 home defeat to Blackpool on the final day meant that it’s League One again for Swansea next season where they will once again be among the favourites for promotion.
Swindon TownNickname: The Robins
Ground: The County Ground
Capacity: 15, 728
Manager: Paul Sturrock
KEY PLAYERS: Jamie Vincent can play in numerous positions and his versatility could be a big asset for the Robins. Craig Easton has joined from Leyton Orient and gives good experience to the midfield while up front, Christian Roberts finished as the top scorer for the club in last seasons’ promotion season.
TRANSFERS IN: Chris Blackburn (Morecambe) FREE, Miguel Comminges (Stade de Reims) FREE, Barry Corr (Sheffield Wednesday) FREE, Craig Easton (Leyton Orient) FREE, Hasney Aljofree (Plymouth) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Claude Gnakpa (Peterborough) FREE, Aaron Brown (Gillingham) FREE, Lucas Jutkiewicz (Everton) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Peter Brezovan, Phil Smith
DEFENDERS: Jack Smith, Jamie Vincent, Jerel Ifil, Ady Williams, Andrew Nicholas, Chris Blackburn, Hasney Aljofree, Miguel Comminges
MIDFIELD: Sofiane Zaaboub, Craig Easton, Andy Caton
FORWARDS: Christian Roberts, Lee Peacock, Barry Corr, Blair Sturrock, Kaid Mohammed
LAST SEASON: Swindon won promotion last season after pipping the MK Dons to the third and final automatic promotion place.
The Robins made a superb start to the season with seven wins from their opening eight games, their only defeat in that run coming at Wrexham. A run of four draws in a row in late September and early October slowed their charge down a little before they hit back by beating Grimsby 3-0 at the County Ground.
They continued their excellent form through Christmas and picked up a valuable 2-0 win at fellow promotion challengers Walsall. A new year run of four wins in a row at the start of 2007 set them up for a title challenge but it was drawing games that held them up and kept them from taking top spot. Goalless draws at Rochdale and Hereford kept the pressure on Town as the season came to its conclusion but they held their nerve and despite a late defeat to Bristol Rovers, claimed the final promotion place on the last day of the season following a 1-1 draw with Walsall.
2007/08…Swindon fan Nathan Norris gives his views on what to expect from the Robins this term…
How was last season?
Last season was satisfactory. I predicted us to finish third at the start and said anything less than the playoffs would be a disaster. Off the field it was terrible, what with our investor leaving and then a huge conflict erupting between supporters and the board, which is still on going. On the field, it wasn't really pretty to watch but a wins a win, and we won a lot last season without ever playing any good. If we had a goal scorer we would have won the league, but hey we went up so I can't complain.
Which summer signings are you most looking forward to seeing?
Craig Easton is probably the one I'm most looking forward to seeing. Orient fans really rated him so it sounds like he could do a great job for us in the middle. Apart from Easton, all our signings have pretty much been defenders! Although having said that, we've signed a right back called Miguel Comminges and everyone seems to raving about him so I look forward to seeing what he can bring to us.
What are the expectations for this season?
This season is about consolidation. We're very good at the back but up front we are lacking and currently only have 2 fit strikers. One of them Blair Sturrock, the other a young lad we've just signed from the League of Wales. The lack of goals will cost us, but I think we'll survive which at this stage is the most important thing. I'd quite happily take 20th if you offered it to me now.
Tranmere RoversNickname: Rovers
Ground: Prenton Park
Capacity: 16, 789
Manager: Ronnie Moore
KEY PLAYERS: Rovers will once again be turning to the attacking prowess of Calvin Zola, Chris Greenacre and Gareth Taylor as they front a fresh challenge for promotion. Robbie Stockdale brings a wealth of experience to the defence while Paul McLaren’s set pieces are always a danger.
TRANSFERS IN: Adnan Ahmed (Huddersfield) FREE, Anthony Kay (Barnsley) FREE, Ben Chorley (MK Dons) FREE, Danny Coyne (Burnley) FREE
TRANSFERS OUT: Danny Harrison (Rotherham) FREE, Chris McCready (Crewe) FREE, Kevin Ellison (Chester) FREE, Gavin Ward (Chester) FREE, Oliver James (Forest Green) FREE
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Danny Coyne, John Achterberg
DEFENDERS: Robbie Stockdale, Carl Tremarco, Shane Sherriff, Anthony Kay, Ben Chorley, Ian Goodison, Michael Johnstone, Danny Holmes
MIDFIELD: Paul McLaren, John Mullin, Adnan Ahmed, Steven Jennings, Paul Henry, Mike Jones, Chris Shuker
FORWARDS: Calvin Zola, Chris Greenacre, Gareth Taylor, Steve Davies, Craig Curran
LAST SEASON: Tranmere missed out on the playoffs last season despite a positive start to the season that saw them as one of the main contenders for promotion early on.
Up until the end of September, Rovers were doing well but defeats to Bradford, Port Vale and Carlisle in quick succession halted their flow. They came back with four wins in a row but an up and down Christmas period held them back from an automatic promotion challenge.
Rovers never really got into a flow where they could mount a challenge and even their playoff hopes slipped away late on and defeats to fellow challengers Carlisle and Swansea gave them little hope of fulfilling their ambitions. The club ended the season with a home win over Brentford but will be looking to have more to play for come May 2008.
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