League Two Play-off preview

Can long-serving Accrington boss John Coleman achieve a fourth promotion?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

The battle for the fourth and the final promotion spot in League Two begins this weekend with the beginning of the Football League Play-offs.

On Saturday, Torquay host Shrewsbury Town, while the following day sees Stevenage take on Accrington Stanley at Broadhall Way.

The semi-finals conclude with both second legs taking place on Friday week with a place in the final at Old Trafford up for grabs on Saturday 28th May.

The favourites of the quartet will be a Shrewsbury side that battled impressively for an automatic promotion spot, only to be denied by Wycombe Wanderers on the final day.

But Graham Turner’s side have built up real momentum having won seven and drawing two of their last ten league games.

Turner knows what it takes to get a team out of League Two, as he managed it with former club Hereford Town back in 2008.

A great run of form breeds confidence, and in the likes of the club’s player of the year in Mark Wright and striker Matt Harrold, the Shrews are the team to beat.

But they will face a Torquay side that are bidding for back-to-back promotion after an excellent first season back in the Football League.

Paul Buckle has ensured the squad have coped with the expectations at the Devonshire club.

They have lost just one of their final dozen games, although they have struggled in recent wins with four draws in five games.

Defeat on the final day at Rotherham put their top seven spot in doubt; however, Gillingham’s defeat at chanpions Chesterfield handed the Gulls a reprieve.

Much will depend on Chris Zebroski to fire the goals to gain promotion, while player of the year Guy Branston will provide the defensive backbone despite not yet being offered a new deal at Plainmoor.

The other semi-final sees two teams that have won many plaudits over the past few campaigns.

If Torquay’s attempts at back-to-back promotion is impressive, then the efforts of  Stevenage to do the same is all the more remarkable.

This is Boro’s first ever season in the Football League, as manager Graham Westley looks to improve his burgeoning reputation in management.

Their form has been indifferent in the run-in, with just one win in their last six matches, although that preceded an impressive six wins on the spin.

Their consistency has been built on a solid foundation, such as the experienced ever-present goalkeeper Chris Day and the likes of Scott Laird, Lawrie Wilson and John Mousinho providing the necessary structure to the Hertfordshire outfit.

But in their opponents Accrington Stanley, they come up against a manager that has contined to take his team to new heights in his 12 years in charge.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have been in charge longer than Accrington boss John Coleman, but he has performed great things on a different scale to his long-term counterparts.

Since the 48 year-old took over at the Lancashire side in 1999, he has taken the club from the Northern Premier League Division One to the brink of League One.

With Stanley going for their fourth promotion under Coleman, they have the momentum to make another great step in the history of the club.

Accrington are unbeaten in 13 matches, and hope the likes of Phil Edwards and Sean McConville can continue their excellent form. 

The question that remains now is this; just who will join Chesterfield, Bury and Wycombe in promotion to League One in 17 days time?

So what do you think? Which of the four teams will secure promotionto League One? Will this be the hardest fought of all the play-offs? Let us know your thoughts

Stevenage settling into League Football nicely

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Whenever a team comes up into the Football League, the main aim is to make sure that they settle into life in League Two and consolidate their status amongst the top 92 clubs in the country.

This year, it was the turn of Stevenage Borough and Oxford United to try and adapt to life above the Blue Square Premier. But while Oxford are used to life at this level, for Stevenage it was a whole new chapter in their history.

When they secured promotion by winning the title last May, they did so knowing that the following season would bring league football to the club for the first time in their 34 year existence.

So there would be no better way to celebrate their 35th anniversary by doing themselves and the fans proud by maintaining a league status that they’ve worked so hard to achieve – and so far so good for the Boro.

They currently sit in 12th position, just inside the top half of the table, and closer to the play-off positions (seven points) than they are to the bottom two (nine points.)

So much credit for where Stevenage find themselves now must go to manager Graham Westley. But his success is a strange one in footballing terms.

This is the 42 year-olds second spell in charge, and when he was re-appointed as manager in the summer of 2008, he returned just two years after his contract was not renewed by Chairman Phil Wallace despite a three and a half-year spell that saw him revive the fortunes of the club within non-league football, getting them to within one game of promotion to the Football League.

So having left the club without achieving what he wanted to, Westley was

Outstanding: Westley has done a fantastic job at Broadhall Way

 given the chance to resume unfinished business at Broadhall Way, and he’s done so in terrific fashion.

Despite selling star man Steve Morison to Millwall in 2009, Westley was able to develop a squad capable of getting the club into the Football League. Stevenage won the FA Trophy in his first season back in charge, and the following campaign saw them secure that historic promotion.

So why have they settled into life in league football so well? The hugely experienced Chris Day has led by example in goal, and Scott Laird has impressed at full-back, helping the Boro form a resilient defence, in particular alongside Jon Ashton, Mark Roberts and Ronnie Henry.

In fact, resilient is quite an understatement; they have the best defensive record in League Two, having conceded just 22 goals.

There have been three players in the middle of the park that have stood out for Stevenage this season. Despite being just 24 John Mousinho has used his valuable experience from his days at Wycombe and Brentford to help anchor the midfield.

Lawrie Wilson deserves huge credit for recovering so well from a horrific injury that saw him have both a dislocated ankle AND a broken leg to add a creative spark from the right of the midfield, while Michael Bostwick has partnered Mousinho well in the heart of the team.

Up front, and Stevenage certainly don’t lack attacking options. They have 8 strikers on their books, and the majority of these have played a part in chipping in with the goals. Chris Beardsley has been the standout forward with Peter Winn supporting well, although Charlie Griffin and Yemi Obudabe have since moved on.

The only issue for Stevenage is that while they know how to prevent goals, they aren’t scoring enough. While they have options up front, they do not contain a prolific striker that can propel them to the top-end of the division.

If they find that, or one of the striking options that they have runs into form, then there’s no reason why Stevenage can’t push on. They have the best defence in the league, a settled midfield, and in Graham Westley, a manager that has the confidence of the fans and players to take the club forward.

I haven’t even mentioned their famous win over Premier League Newcastle in the FA Cup last month! Life in the Football League may be new to Stevenage, but the fans have every reason to believe they will get used to it over the coming years.

So what do you think? Stevenage fans, how excited are you about the future of the club? How good is Graham Westley? What is needed to push this squad on further? Let us know