The return of the Football is almost here, and so is our 2019-20 EFL League Two Season Preview.
Having already done a Championship and League One preview, it would be rude if we didn’t offer up our thoughts on the fourth tier.
We love the fourth division as much as the upper three, even if we don’t get to spend enough time thinking about it. But it is worth the effort, as you just never know where the next great football story will come from.
We’ll try and convince those who aren’t that interested yet with our Who Cares 2019-20 EFL League Two Season Preview, like everything here at The Gurgler, giving just enough information to be dangerous.
STORIES OF INTEREST AHEAD OF THE 2019-20 EFL CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Here’s a few of the more interesting things for those who don’t have the time to properly care about the upcoming 2019-20 EFL Championship Season just yet.
LEYTON ORIENT EXPRESS TO LEAGUE TWO
London based Leyton Orient are back in the football league, after going from playoff final losers in League One in 2014 to Non League by 2017.
They will start the season off without the manager who took them up as well, and for once it is not because he had been poached or sacked. Sadly Leyton Orient boss Justin Edinburgh died in June from a heart attack, and so start the season off with a heavy heart instead of the pure joy of gettibg back into the Football League.
Leyton Orient have suffered enough in recent years, another victim of an owner who ran the club terribly before and led them out of the Football League, and having to deal with the behemoth that is West Ham’s Olympic Stadium on their doorstep.
Last year’s promotion was the start of the good news, and hopes for them it is not the last the season.
SALFORD CITY LIMITS
Back when Leyton Orient were just a better penalty kick away from the Championship, Salford City were in the Premier League Division North, the eighth tier of the English Football pyramid. So different pathways for the two teams promoted last season from Non League.
It does help of course when some famous ex Manchester Utd players from a certain early 90’s period invest in the club, as the promotions were brisk from that point on. But also better used to those players being mentioned every time Salford do
So it is the first brand new club for the Football League since Forest Green Rovers two seasons ago.
FOREST GREEN ROVERS
The world’s most eco-friendly club remain in League Two for another season and are primed to go better than their playoff semi finals loss last season.
Forest Green Rovers are as green as a club can be, they were declared as the first carbon neutral football club in the world, and even had grand plans of a new stadium made out of sustainable wood. Why any team would want to move from a ground called the New Lawn is beyond us. They were also the first vegan football club in the world.
All that off field interest aside, they should be right up there again, and doing it in a jersey that looks like a radioactive zebra.
HOW WILL THE RELEGATED LEAGUE ONE TEAMS GO?
Some biggish names from League One dropped down to the fourth tier from the 2018-19 season, and at least a couple of strong claims to go straight back up.
Plymouth Argyle is the most fancied to go straight back up, they have the promotion winning manager from Bury from last season, and a number f fine layers, and their team name is the greatest.
Scunthorpe have the most valuable team in League Two, according to Transfermarkt. And have manager Paul Hurst, who know how to get a side going well in League Two. He’ll be hoping to make a better fist of things than his ill fated time at Ipswich last year.’
Bradford City and Walsall came down too, and these two sides were the two worst sides at the end of League One last season. From January 2019 both teams won just 4 games and scored 15 points and 17 points each in 21 games.
No team is screaming out for promotion, but League Two is quite the lottery most seasons. Even more so than the famed Championship some years.
AND THE TEAMS IN BETWEEN?
Mansfield should be strong this season, as should be Forest Green Rovers, both teams that didn’t quite get through the playoffs last season.
We like Carlisle for no good reason this season too. And at the other end of the country, Exeter will probably be top half as they usually are in League Two. One can imagine that road trip.
But what would we know, follow our Super Computer’s tips below, and then our much less mathematically calculated guesses.
MANAGER TURNOVER
A whopping 15 of the 24 managers have been in their position for less than a year, the highest of any of the four leagues.
Alternatively, League Two sees the longest serving manager in the Football League at Morecambe.
HOW CAN AUSTRALIANS WATCH THE 2019-20 EFL LEAGUE TWO?
Sadly for League Two you have to wait for an International break to see any action.
But when the top two divisions do take a break, there is usually three games between League One and League Two to sample.
And all of the playoffs in May.
It can be found for Australians on BeIn Sports via Foxtel.
Who Cares 2019-20 EFL League Two Season Predictions
THE SUPER-JEFF 3000 SELECT-A-TRON
We put in 20 data fields and ranked each team per category, and totaled the points to come up with a reasonably data driven way of selecting the winners and losers of the upcoming season.
We’ve even put the teams in order from 1-24 with potential points scored.
Here are the results….
Data sources are (prev season unless obvious) : AvgLast3SeasonsPyramid, ChangePyramid, Last6Form, PostXmasForm, GoalsScored, GoalDifference, AwayGoalsScored, Home&AwayDifferential, Shots, WhoScoredRating, ManagerLongevity, Squad Value, Squad Value Change, %Crowd, PlayerLoyalty, Odds, PenaltiesWon, PenaltyConv%, CleanSheets
THE GURGLER SELECTIONS
Who are we to argue against the SUPER-JEFF 3000 SELECT-A-TRON?
It would be foolish to, but we are going to anyway.
Here’s our selections which requires more arrogant self belief than data.
WINNERS: Plymouth Argyle
PROMOTED: Mansfield, Northampton, Carlisle
RELEGATED: Grimsby, Crawley
Who Cares 2019-20 EFL League Two Season Bits & Pieces
Not enough barely interesting, who cares information for you? Have some more.
We find some great tidbits about the season ahead, and more reason for you neutrals to get behind someone or something for the 2019-20 EFL League Two Season ahead.
SQUAD VALUE CHANGE
GREAT RIVALRIES
Here’s a few games for the neutrals to keep an eye out for.
EXETER CITY v PLYMOUTH ARGYLE – A west country derby that resumes after Plymouth’s relegation.
SALFORD v EVERYONE – Salford have rubbed some teams up the wrong way on their way through the divisions, so a lot of the more traditional clubs will want to put the newcomers in their place.
CREWE ALEXANDRA v PORT VALE – the A500 Derby gets so fiery in had led to arrests for violence.
SCUNTHORPE UTD v GRIMSBY TOWN – a local rivalry that has been waiting a few years to happen. It has been 15 seasons since these teams were in the same division. Although have met in cups twice since.
FIVE FAVOURITE NICKNAMES
There are some great nicknames throughout the Football League, and here are our five favourites for the season ahead.
THE RAILWAYMEN – CREWE ALEXANDRA
THE VALIANTS – PORT VALE
THE BANTAMS – BRADFORD CITY
THE COBBLERS – NORTHAMPTON TOWN
THE IRON – SCUNTHORPE UTD
FIVE GREAT MASCOTS
Mascots are part of the gameday experience, and some are better than others.
OLGA THE FOX (Carlisle)
ROCKIN’ ROBIN (Swindon)
SCUNNY BUNNY (Scunthorpe)
GRESTY LION (Crewe Alexandra)
FIVE GREAT GROUND NAMES
Below the Premier League, and unlike most Australian sport, the Football League teams still have some great ground names, and they are all not <Insert Sponsor Here> Stadium. Here our favourite five for the season.
VALLEY PARADE (Bradford City)
BRUNTON PARK (Carlisle)
THE NEW LAWN (Forest Green Rovers)
BRISBANE ROAD (Leyton Orient)
MOSS ROSE (Macclesfield)
