England > BlueSQ Prem 2009-10 Antepost

[FleetFanatic]

Originally Posted by kevshat

Hopefully that misconception is the view of the other 23 BSP teams because it's massively wrong. I keep on hearing it from fans of other clubs because it's the easy thing to do and just add 30pts to our total. The lazy thing if you like but I personally think you can stick 15-20pts on top of that total of 56pts because I think that's the minimum that we lost by having to set up with stupid formations having to win every game we played. Of course we'll never know for sure but I believe in a normal season we would've picked up a lot more points than we did purely because of the pressure of each match. Just 15 more points would've seen us in the playoffs without the deduction.

Instead I prefer to look at games where there was no pressure on us - notably the cups. We beat a Championship side, 4 League one sides and the League 2 champions with no league pressures on us in the cup last season and as was seen at Wembley, we played terrific football with it. Now I'm clever enough to know that a lot of that was because we were underdogs but the way we beat those sides spoke volumes, and it's why I think we'll be fine next season. Whether we are good enough to go up next season remains to be seen but I am very confident it will take a pretty good side to stop us.

I respect what you're saying but teams rarely come down & go straight back up. And as for using cup form, cup matches are one-offs, as you say, there was no pressure.

Burnley have beaten a few Premiership sides in cup matches, it doesn't make them Premiership quality and capable of doing it week in, week out.

Granted, the situation with Luton is different, but with only 1 automatic place, and 46 "cup finals" (personally, for me, it's Luton Town? Big Deal, we've played the likes of Nottingham Forest & Aston Villa), I think the play-offs is where Luton will be. Oxford will tell you, where they looked to be walking away with it in their first season down, only for their unbeaten run to end away at our place. It was all downhill for them that season after that. Torquay had to get up through the play-offs, Cambridge Utd are still here, along with York, who show no signs of improving and will be here for a few years yet. Wrexham? who knows. Then of course there's AFC Wimbledon, although staying part-time next season, there's no doubt they will be pushing for the football league in a couple of years.

However, you can take heart. Look at Doncaster Rovers (they were the club with the chairman Ken Richardson was sent to prison after he tried to set fire to the Belle Vue ground in hope of being able to pay off the club's debts with the insurance), down and out in the conference, to the point where they were recruiting pub players just to get their fixtures played at one point. Now they're consolidating themselves in the Championship at a new ground. Carlisle & Exeter both dropped down to the conference, now to both be League 1 sides.

All I am saying is that I don't think your return will be neccessarily straight away.

[Belly77]

Barton makes a great point about Setanta ruining your plans. Don't bother to book any travel in advance. I missed out on so many away games last year due to Setanta changing things at the last minute. Wrexham away being a prime example when they moved the game to a Thursday night and wiped a good 300 away fans off the gate. They also made us play Forest Green away on a Thursday night. Really is a p1$$ take when you think it's non league football.

[Labrador]

Originally Posted by bartonbank

I wouldn't touch us at the moment but would prefer Oxford, especially if they get an experienced defender in.

Don't forget they have signed Kidderminster's skipper, Mark Creighton, who is outstanding at this level.

Oxford must be on everybody's shortlist for promotion next season

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by FleetFanatic

I respect what you're saying but teams rarely come down & go straight back up.

Equally teams rarely come down with 56pts. Whether we go up next season or we don't, my main point is from a betting point of view we should be looked at differently from every other club that has come down because we wasn't one of the worst two sides in the league last season and as I say we came down with 56pts. Whether that means we'll go up or it doesn't we'll only truely know in May next year but talk of just adding 30pts to our total last year and no other team has gone straight back up is pointless on this occasion because it's clear to see we're no other team.

I'd like to think we've got 3/4 advantages. We'll be the best supported side in the league I'm pretty sure, the league is easier to research opponents now with Setanta's involvement, we've got a sound financial platform after Wembley, and so far we've kept our squad in tact in terms of those we want to keep and no word has been mentioned of any of those wanting to go.

For the record, I won't be backing us at 4/1. It's too short but I do believe anyone who bets in this division this season needs to appreciate that if a side is ever going to go straight back up, for the reasons I've outlined above we've got a better chance than anyone else.

[bartonbank]

I respect that view, Kev, but in some respects it is too simplistic for a league where the top 8 teams in it could finish at least safely midtable in L2. In L2, until a couple of season ago, the safety target was 50 points so an extra six is only a couple of more wins.
Support means little because, for many away games, the opposition won't have the room to take them. In any event, Gateshead away on a Thursday night in Decemberis not going to have you hammering up the A1 in the thousands, is itYou may keep the players you want but two things come to my mind about that........have any league clubs come in for them because, if they do, you can be sure that that may change their outlook. In addition, players like Craddock may have the potential to score a shitload but some hairy-arsed clogger of a defender WILL aim to get him.
You have got a better chance than anyone else of bouncing straight back up but I still wouldn't make you favourites.

Enjoy!! And remember to post on here the day after you have watched the pitchside antics of the Crawley management team!

PS
Don't we need a BSP banter thread stickie'd on the footie and sports banter thread now?

[clarky101]

Enjoy!! And remember to post on here the day after you have watched the pitchside antics of the Crawley management team!

One of the highlights of the season at Eastbourne was watching Raynor get sent off, having a go at the supporters then trying to get free from a steward who was escorting him back to the dressing room to go back & have another pop, then at the end watching Evans go ballistic...funny as the proverbial..

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by bartonbank

I respect that view, Kev, but in some respects it is too simplistic for a league where the top 8 teams in it could finish at least safely midtable in L2. In L2, until a couple of season ago, the safety target was 50 points so an extra six is only a couple of more wins.
Support means little because, for many away games, the opposition won't have the room to take them. In any event, Gateshead away on a Thursday night in Decemberis not going to have you hammering up the A1 in the thousands, is itYou may keep the players you want but two things come to my mind about that........have any league clubs come in for them because, if they do, you can be sure that that may change their outlook. In addition, players like Craddock may have the potential to score a shitload but some hairy-arsed clogger of a defender WILL aim to get him.
You have got a better chance than anyone else of bouncing straight back up but I still wouldn't make you favourites.

Enjoy!! And remember to post on here the day after you have watched the pitchside antics of the Crawley management team!

PS
Don't we need a BSP banter thread stickie'd on the footie and sports banter thread now?

I appreciate all of that mate. It may only have been 6 more points but nonetheless it was 6pts which nobody else got. And the last few seasons teams when down on 42 and 43pts. How many points we got is irrelevant anyway, we start on 0 next season. That's the thing though. We start on 0. I think everyone knows had we started on 0 this season we wouldn't be in the BSP next season, which is the point I've tried to make.

League clubs have come in for a couple of players. But luckily for us, the players they want are the ones we want rid of except Keano who Millwall were turned away from. When Craddock signed for us, he turned down Huddersfield on the same day and for the likes of Kevin Gallen who is out of contract with us, to commit his future with us next season speaks volumes about what we've got down here.

I'm under no illusions that it will be a tough division next season. I'm well aware it will be tough but it will be an awful lot easier than starting a season 30pts behind everyone else. I've never said we'll win the league or walk the league or anything else. I don't think we will but the potential is there, for the reasons I gave earlier, that we could storm this league.

I've seen the Crawley management team in action when we played Boston in the league cup a few years ago. I doubt there's too much I've not seen in this division already given the amount of clubs we've played in the past be it in the league or in cups. As I say I'm looking forward to it immensely whether we end up 1st or 21st.

BSP banter thread up and running

[Belly77]

I choose to sit right behind the dug outs. Evans tried to tell me that his house was worth over a million quid, I asked him how many clubs he had to kill to pay for it. How him and Raynor manage to spend even half the season in the dugout is a mystery to me. I used to like Raynor as a player as well :-(

[Yak]

The standard of referees at this level is shocking, absolutely shocking. I have supported Stevenage for donkeys now and I can safely say the standard of officiating was better when we were in the Isthmian leagues. Luton fans will know all about Amy Raynor. Unfortunately she referees a lot in this division and gives about 2/3 penalties a game! Very frustrating, yet we all know the FA will not do anything about it simply because of her gender. And for the person who said Singh was a good referee, he is utter dangleberries!

[bartonbank]

Originally Posted by Yak

The standard of referees at this level is shocking, absolutely shocking. I have supported Stevenage for donkeys now and I can safely say the standard of officiating was better when we were in the Isthmian leagues. Luton fans will know all about Amy Raynor. Unfortunately she referees a lot in this division and gives about 2/3 penalties a game! Very frustrating, yet we all know the FA will not do anything about it simply because of her gender. And for the person who said Singh was a good referee, he is utter dangleberries!

He was comparing him to Darren Deadman tho!

[WHUPUNTER]

After reading all your comments I can safely say I wouldnt want West Ham to be in the BSP lads !!

[bartonbank]

Originally Posted by WHUPUNTER

After reading all your comments I can safely say I wouldnt want West Ham to be in the BSP lads !!

We wouldn't mind you there.....Wrexham have a decent record against you!

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by bartonbank

We wouldn't mind you there.....Wrexham have a decent record against you!

So do Luton .

[Belly77]

I remember when you relegated us out of the old division one.

We beat you at home though and Devon White scored the winner.

[bartonbank]

Well, the Wrexham accounts for the season we were relegated have just been posted on the club website...........and no wonder we went down! When in admin we were in profit....the chancers took over and, within two years, that had turned into a loss of £940,000, although our much vaunted Centre of Excellence broke even despite and whacking great increase in costs (money diverted to make that happen?), and it is obviously just a coincidence that one of the chancers had two kids there and wants to keep it going even in the BSP.
In addition, these owners were getting a very healthy 6% of interest on loans they had given to the club and 6% is still being paid now on any loans left.
In addition, far from supporting firstly, Denis Smith, in an effort to gain promotion into L1, and then Brian Carey, out of 60% maximum of turnover they could put into the playing staff...they put in a whopping 46%.

Do NOT back us for promotion next season

[WHUPUNTER]

Originally Posted by bartonbank

We wouldn't mind you there.....Wrexham have a decent record against you!

All small clubs have a decent record against us !

That goes to you too Kevshat , less of it please lads

[bartonbank]

Originally Posted by WHUPUNTER

All small clubs have a decent record against us !

The word "small" wasn't needed for the above sentence to make sense, mate.

[WHUPUNTER]

Originally Posted by bartonbank

The word "small" wasn't needed for the above sentence to make sense, mate.

Too true to be honest.........

[Shipsupstreets]

Coral have come out with some BlueSQ Prem promotion odds. Nothing to get too excited about, although 14/1 Crawley Town will see some business.

On the outright market, Luton are continuing to come in, along with Oxford, even though both are painfully short. The best of 10/1 about Stevenage has gone - that was the price I was aching to take when Bet365 first issued their book last month. The 9s available is pretty decent and still in acceptable EW territory. Squad wise they don't look to be that inferior to Oxford United and I'd say they have the better manager. I have had a couple of bites at Luton down to 7/2. That's not the best price in the world, but I maintain that they come into this division better equipped to bounce back than any side in the past few years.

I'm still, however, mostly keeping powder dry for the match betting. There should be some great opportunities there.

[PRENTICE]

Saw your picture in the Non League paper collecting your 2k Ships,nice work.
Luton and Oxford look way too short for me and Stevenage are defo value at 9-1.Finished season well and despite loss of morrison,have recruited well and kept most of a strong squad.Have been knocking on the door for a few seasons now and think this could be their year.Up the Boro!!!!