Two Minutes With... Aldershot Town

Tuesday night saw last season’s other relegated side, Aldershot, visit The Hive. Shots’ fan Rhys (@rhys9emberson) gives his thoughts in the latest instalment of Two Minutes With...

Tuesday 21^st January 2014
Barnet v Aldershot Town
10^th        20^th
Previous game:
Chester  2-1 Barnet
Gateshead 0-0 Aldershot Town

Pre-match

How did you get to the game?

I got to The Hive by train and then the underground

What did you make of The Hive?

It seemed to be a bit of a weird place to place a football ground, although it was quite modernised. However, I enjoyed the away end.

If you went to Underhill, how did The Hive compare?

Underhill was a lot more traditional, with pubs close to the ground. It had more of a football ground feel. Whereas The Hive was a lot more out of the way, with a strange walk en route, in the middle of nowhere. But given such short time Barnet had to build The Hive, it could've been a lot worse.

Match

What did you make of the game?

Some incredible goals, good forward play, and for once a strong away performance.

Who (from either side) impressed you?

Bradley Bubb – one goal and one assist. Since the last time he played for us, his forward movements have sharpened and there's a lot more composure about him; early days however as it's only his second game since re-signing.

Who (from either side) could have done better?

I'm still not sure how our first goal went in, so possibly the Barnet defence.

Post-match

Was the score line a fair reflection on the game?

From what I got to see of the game it was a fair reflection.

Who do you play next and how do you think you’ll do?

Halifax at home and given our free scoring home form I'd like to think we'll win scoring a few goals along the way.

Ratings

Price of match day ticket

6/10

Purchases made at the ground

5/10

View

8/10

Quality of football

8/10

Overall experience

6/10

Total = 31/50

Post Match

Table – Barnet 10^th / Aldershot 19^th

Following game

Barnet v Southport

Aldershot v FC Halifax

Thanks Rhys!

If you’ve been to The Hive this season, give me a shout and you can be your club’s voice. Additionally, if you know you’re heading down for your game, let me know - @Luuuce_x

2013/14 Season Preview - Part One

2012/13: 24^th in League Two – “a complete mess”

Aldershot Town

With relegation came administration and that removed any hope of retaining players for next season. However, the players who were out of contract in the summer would have left the club anyway. It came as a surprise to many of us that the majority of players who were in contract for next season would be made ‘redundant’ by the administrators, leaving us with around six players left on our books. Peter Vincenti (Rochdale), Danny Hylton (Rotherham) and Troy Brown (Cheltenham) are three who will be missed. Danny Rose (Oxford) and Sonny Bradley (Portsmouth) were both loanees but nonetheless, will also be missed. All of these players, when fit were ever present. As it stands we are still in administration, so we cannot sign anyone but one player we have kept hold of is midfielder Craig Stanley – who we missed last season through injury.

Andy Scott has been given a mammoth task this summer – to build a squad from scratch from little money with the objective to simply survive the drop this season. This will be no easy task. Many managers would have packed their bags and left by now but Scott has stuck by us in this difficult situation and is deserved credit no matter what happens. In my opinion, he is the right man for the job.

The Recreation Ground – atmosphere and character.

Fixtures

At last we can enjoy a proper local derby… Aldershot vs. Woking! I am also looking forward to visiting Barnet’s new ground.

Predictions

To get promoted: Forest Green Rovers and Grimsby

To get relegated: Salisbury City, Southport, Welling United and Tamworth.

Aldershot’s finish: 18^th

Lewis
@LewATFC
http://theshotsblog.wordpress.com/

 

2012/13: 13^th in Conference

Alfreton Town

 

2012/13: 23^rd in League Two – “Finally we’re relegated”

Barnet

Our star player Ricky Holmes has unfortunately left for Portsmouth, but with his talent it’s no surprise he’s left us. Luckily we’ve kept our spine of Stack, Stephens, Davids and Hyde. Along with the signing of Welling defender Acheampong and Elliot Johnson breaking through from the academy last season I think we’re going to have a really strong defence. Hopefully Jake Hyde, who has been transfer listed, will stay, because he’s more than capable of bagging us 20+ goals this season. But we do still next half a dozen more players to bulk up the squad in all areas.

I know it’s been spouted a hundred times but if Edgar Davids had been our manager from the start of the season we would have been just off the League Two play-off places. After a string of managers who we’ve been quite frankly terrible under, having Davids in charge is a welcome change.

Even Barnet fans haven’t been to our ground yet! We left Underhill at the end of the season after a decade of nonsense with the council and moved to our newly built 5000-ish seater stadium by our training ground. I believe the seats came from the basketball arena from the Olympics. It’s really nice but won’t have the same charm as Underhill. Hopefully we can make it a fortress for the new season.

Fixtures

Luton Town at home on Boxing Day and away on New Year’s are the highlights given the rivalry between the clubs. Also looking forward to Gateshead to see Liam Hatch again who was with us when we won the Conference in 2005 and whom the fans still adore.

Predictions

To get promoted: Forest Green Rovers (Champions) and Kidderminster (Play-offs)

To get relegated: Salisbury, Southport, Hyde and Gateshead

Barnet’s finish: 5^th

Adam
@adamshellard

 

2012/13: 9^th in Conference

Braintree Town

 

2012/13: 14^th in Conference – “Not good enough”

Cambridge United

The signing of Adam Cunnington will be fantastic to go alongside Tom Elliott up top. Every club is searching for a goal scorer and hopefully he'll help us to be up near the higher places in the league come the end of the season. Greg Taylor and Ryan Donaldson are two players I've admired for a long time too. I'm disappointed with the departure of Tom Shaw to Alfreton and also disappointed with our manager’s decision to release our player of the season Rossi Jarvis.

I'm not convinced at all by our manager. Last season I spent most of it cringing at his dreadful press conferences, pitiful repetitive poor excuses and persistently playing players out of position. But hopefully with his own squad this season, things may be different.

The Abbey is your typical old school lower league ground – not one of those boring four squares, all-seater and no atmosphere grounds. It's got a lot of character. I love it.

Fixtures

Luton is always an exciting one for our supporters, although a few idiotic ones seem to class it as a derby because they signed a few of our players four years ago! From a personal point of view, living in north Wales I will be looking forward to the Wrexham and Chester games to renew rivalries with friends.

Predictions

To get promoted: Forest Green Rovers (Champions) and Wrexham (Play-offs)

To get relegated: Salisbury, Southport, Hyde and Lincoln

Cambridge’s finish: between 7^th and 10^th

Ben
@BenValentine91

 

2012/13: 1^st in Conference North – “Exciting, Entertaining, Champions.”

Chester

Our biggest loss will be Antoni Sarcevic. He was voted our player of the season, and recently scored on his England C debut. The complete midfielder, but our loss is Fleetwood's gain. Was also disappointed in seeing the likes of Matty McGinn, Wes Baynes and Tony Gray (who all recently joined AFC Telford United) and Dominic Collins (to Hereford) leave, as I feel that they would have been more than comfortable in the Conference Premier; due to work commitments, they couldn't stay. But, as good as players they were, there have been players coming in with a very good pedigree. Jamie Reed is one that stands out, joining his hometown team, and had a good spell at York, when they won promotion to the Football League via the play-offs and won the FA Trophy. Reed was an integral part of that side, and having him at Chester is a huge plus for us. Jason Jarrett ran the show for Halifax against us in our league encounters last season, and Gareth Seddon scored against us in an FA Cup tie last season. Danny Harrison was playing League One football with Tranmere last season too, and brings a wealth of experience. Kevin McIntyre, who played for Chester City during our Conference Winning campaign of 2003/04 is back, and Lee Pugh is a young lad, signed from Clitheroe, but sounds a very exciting, pacey full back.

Without a doubt, Neil Young is the right man for the job. His record at Chester speaks for itself. He was brought in as manager when the club reformed in May 2010, and without a single player on the books. In three seasons, he has managed to guide us to three championship titles, and back where Chester City were when it went pop. He gets the team playing good football, but it's his ability to mould teams together, plus with an astute knowledge of the non league transfer market, he wheels and deals, and always gets the right results. I don't know how he's done it. It's nothing short of remarkable. He's dismantled three squads but has always rebuilt them with quality, and look where it's got us. The same is happening this season, and I'm sure it will all lead to another positive campaign at the Exacta Stadium. Put simply, Neil Young is an absolute genius, and he will guide us to the Football League one day, no doubt about it.

Whilst it doesn't have the "wow" factor, the Exacta is functional and tidy. It's a small ground, but since the club was taken over by the fans, tiny improvements have been made to make the place a bit more colourful. Away fans will be seated in the corner of the Centurion Community Stand (west stand) - for larger away followings the Swansway Peugeot End (south stand) will be opened, again though, this is seated. The Exacta doesn't produce a very good atmosphere, due to the low roofs on the stands. Refreshments are not the best either, I have to be honest. You'll always get a warm welcome though!

Fixtures

Looking most forward to Wrexham – we have our derby back, and after years of them goading us after our decline, we are back on a level playing field. Also looking forward to the games against the likes of Luton, Grimsby, Lincoln and Hereford. Reminders of our encounters during our Football League days. First up is Barnet, and that is one I'm also very much looking forward to: ex Football League team, a brand spanking new ground to visit, and there is the Edgar Davids factor too!

Predictions

To get promoted: Luton (Champions) and Barnet (Play-offs)

To get relegated: Aldershot, Southport, Welling and Gateshead

Chester’s finish: a respectable 14^th

James
@Cestrian_Jim

Down to the wire...

Following last night’s defeat to Torquay, the Bees find themselves back in the drop-zone with two games remaining. I used the league predictor on the BBC website to see where I think we’d finish and this is what my guesses reveal:

*I’d like to point out I was correct last season, with us finishing 22^nd and Hereford joining Macclesfield in the Conference.

Our rivals in the relegation dog fight:

24^th Aldershot

Played 44, Won 10, Drawn 15, Lost 19

Goal difference -17 ~ Current points 45

Last 5 games: L L D W D

Final fixtures: Dagenham & Redbridge (h) and Rotherham (a)

* Win for Dagenham & Redbridge would guarantee safety, Rotherham will want an automatic promotion finish (if available).

23^rd Barnet

Played 44, Won 12, Drawn 12, Lost 20

Goal difference -11, Current points 48

Last 5 games: L L W D D

Final fixtures: Wycombe (h) and Northampton (a)

* Wycombe have nothing to play for, Northampton will want an automatic promotion finish (if available).

22^nd AFC Wimbledon

Played 44, Won 13, Drawn 10, Lost 21

Goal difference -23, Current points 49

Last 5 games: D L L L W

Final fixtures: Gillingham (a) and Fleetwood (h)

* Gillingham already promoted but can be crowned Champions, Fleetwood could mathematically still make the play-offs.

21^st York

Played 44, Won 10, Drawn 19, Lost 15

Goal difference -12, Current points 49

Last 5 games: W D W D L

Final fixtures: Southend (h) and Dagenham & Redbridge (a)

* Southend could mathematically make the play-offs, Dagenham & Redbridge could be safe by then.

20^th Torquay

Played 44, Won 12, Drawn 13, Lost 19

Goal difference -9, Current points 49

Last 5 games: W L L L W

Final fixtures: Morecambe (a) and Bristol Rovers (h)

* Morecambe have nothing to play for, Bristol Rovers have nothing to play for.

19^th Accrington

Played 44, Won 13, Drawn 12, Lost 19

Goal difference -15, Current points 51

Last 5 games: W D D W L

Final fixtures: Bristol Rovers (a) and Oxford (h)

* Bristol Rovers have nothing to play for, Oxford have nothing to play for.

18^th Dagenham & Redbridge

Played 44, Won 13, Drawn 12, Lost 19

Goal difference -5, Current points 51

Last 5 games: L W L D L

Final fixtures: Aldershot (a) and York (h)

* Aldershot need maximum points to avoid relegation, York could possibly still be relegated.

Of those teams, I’d suggest that Aldershot have the worst final two fixtures with both opponents needing points for differing reasons. A win for Dagenham in their penultimate game would most likely see them safe and while Rotherham are guaranteed at least a play-off place, they will want the final automatic promotion spot if possible.

The easiest fixtures belong to Torquay and Accrington who face teams with nothing to play for. While their opponents won’t want to finish the campaign with defeats, there are more important games both weekends.

My final two predictions:

Barnet 1-1 Wycombe

Northampton 2-1 Barnet

Two minutes with… Aldershot Town

Aldershot were the first team to travel to Underhill in 2013 with the traditional New Year’s Day game. Shots’ fan Rhys takes part in this instalment of ‘Two minutes with...’

Pre-match

Had you been to Underhill before?

Yes I have.

How did you get to the game?

I got the train.

The match

Whereabouts in the ground did you sit/stand?

I stood in the East Terrace.

What did you make of the game?

It was a very scrappy and gritty game.

Who (from either side) do you think deserved to be man of the match?

Aldershot’s Danny Rose.

Post-match

Was the score line a fair reflection on the game?

No, I think a draw would have been fair.

Who do you play next, and how do you think you’ll get on?

We played Rotherham in the FA Cup last Saturday. It was a game I thought we'd struggle with but we ended up winning 3-1 and play Middlesbrough in the next round. [Aldershot host Accrington in the League at the weekend]

Ratings

Cost of match day ticket

 ––– 2/10

Purchases made at ground

I bought a hot dog and thought it wasn’t very nice ––– 3/10

View

––– 7/10

Quality of football

––– 5/10

Overall experience

Due to the search a few of my friends and I had to have outside the ground it slightly dampened the experience ––– 5/10

Total ––– 22/50

And you can follow Rhys on Twitter @rhys9emberson

Fans’ season preview 2012/13 – part one

Accrington Stanley

Mel – @melstanley01

14^th in League Two – “Could do better”

We haven’t lost any major players, luckily we managed to keep hold of the likes of Amond, Nasalia and Hatfield –players I believe to be key this season. New signing Shepherd looks good.

I’m positive for this season and have fairly high expectations. I’m hoping for a push for play-offs or, at worst, a top half of the table finish.

The main game to look forward to is Rochdale’s return to League Two – for obvious reasons. In terms of moving forward, they’ll prove to be a test as they have a lot of our former players and management. From my point of view (like others), I think that’ll prove to be the most interesting game.

AFC Wimbledon

Rob

16^th in League Two – “Baptism of fire”

In the close season we released Jack Turner, Chris Bush, Fraser Franks, Gareth Gwillim, Bret Johnson, Jamie Stuart, Reece Jones, Ricky Wellard, Kieran Djilali; in addition to Ryan Jackson, Lee Minshull, James Mulley and Max Porter who were all told in January that they would be leaving. Replacements include a Venezuelan goalkeeper Jaimez-Ruiz, left-back Warren Cummings from Bournemouth and right-back Curtis Osano. We have permanently signed centre back Pim Balkestein, who was on loan last season as well as Angus MacDonald (defender) on loan from Reading.

I expect our Goalkeeper Seb Brown to have a good season along with Jack Midson who will hopefully top the goal scoring league. I expect this season to be very tough and anywhere outside the relegation zone would be nice and fancy a decent run in the FA cup.

I’m looking forward to a better trip to Barnet this season without the rain and thumping defeat. Wycombe is a ground I went to with Wimbledon FC so fancy a day out there too!

Aldershot Town

Rhys – @rhys9emberson

11^th in League Two – “Record breaking season”

We have lost our captain, fans’ player of the season and player of the season, Darren Jones, to Shrewsbury; as well as Straker to Southend. Our replacements – Sonny Bradley and Troy Brown – both were on loan last season. Troy has signed permanently and Sonny is on a season long loan from Hull City. We have signed Tonkin from Oxford as a replacement for Straker.

We have broken our transfer record this summer, signing Craig Reid from Stevenage and have so much strength in depth. In other years it’s been easy to predict the starting 11, but this season it is very difficult. My season expectations are to finish in the top half and once again challenge for the play-offs. I think we can sneak into the play-offs and maybe finish 7th.

On a personal level, my aim is to do 20 away games this season. The fixtures I looked for when they were released were Oxford away Wimbledon away as their both excellent away days normally; as well as the first and last game which are Plymouth and Rotherham away. Wycombe at home is always a home game to look forward to as it’s the return of Gary Waddock the man who guided us into the football league. Exeter is the first home game and I am looking forward to once again being on my beloved East Bank chanting for 90 minutes. I am also looking forward to York away and hitting The Stone Roses bar – and York will be a new ground for me.

Barnet

22^nd in League Two – “No real surprise”

We released a fair few players at the end of last season, most of which, were out of contract. Whilst a lot of players in May, the remaining players to depart left once the new manager (Mark Robson) took over. The stand-out players, for me, to leave would be McLeod, Mark Hughes and Sam Deering (who’s now at fellow League Two club, Cheltenham). We all knew McLeod would leave, and despite his goals in the first half of the season, he didn’t really seem to have his heart in the club anymore. We were all surprised to see Mark and Sam leave though, as both were influential last campaign, and Hughesy was our skipper (who kept us in the League with that winner at Burton!). Whilst we’ve not really found that 20-goal a season striker to replace McLeod, we have signed Jon Nurse (ex-Dagger) and Jake Hyde has returned to the club after a stint up in Scotland. We’ve also signed the majority of West Ham’s former youth squad, with the pick of the bunch probably being Ahmed Abdulla, who’s had league experience after brief loan-spells with Swindon and Dagenham.

I really don’t know how we will get on this season, but it’s fair to say, I don’t set my expectations very high after the last three seasons. Part of me expects a similar performance, riding chances and maybe even running out of luck! I’d be happy with anything above 18^th, to be honest. New manager, new squad and new philosophy, what could go wrong? It’d be nice to end our football at Underhill on a high, and have something to be happy about for once.

Like every other season, I’m looking forward to Northampton away – even though it’s on the final day! Our penultimate game is our last at Underhill, so I’m looking forward to that, although part of me will feel sad as I’ve grown up with the stadium for the last 18 years or so. York and Fleetwood, both promoted last season, will be new grounds and should be fairly good weekends, in very different parts of the country! Living in Essex, I suppose I have to mention the local games in Southend and Dagenham as well – not that we ever have much luck at either!

Bradford City

Tim – @tjroche

18^th in League Two – “Nearly a disaster”

It was sad to see Dave Syers and Simon Ramsden depart for Doncaster and Motherwell respectively. Both players were popular amongst the fans but unfortunately injuries meant they didn't get a chance to shine last season. The pair were offered new deals but on heavily reduced terms, so it was understandable that they decided to move on. I feel we have brought in some good replacements in Gary Jones and Nathan Doyle though, the latter is an especially popular signing after an impressive loan spell in 2006-2007. Our marquee signing is undoubtedly Andrew Davies. Having spent much of last season at Valley Parade on loan from Stoke City, it looked inevitable that his future lay much higher than League Two. However to our surprise he opted to stay with the Bantams, signing a one-year deal. He is a cut above at this level and will look to continue his central defensive partnership with last season's Player of the Year, Luke Oliver.

Despite our brush with the relegation zone last season, I believe that we possessed the nucleus of a potentially good team. We very rarely got beat by more than the odd goal so it makes sense that rather than making wholesale changes, Phil Parkinson has focused mainly on adding to the existing squad. For the first time in a few seasons we have not seen a large-scale 'clear out' of the squad so I feel that continuity could be a crucial factor in any success we have this season. Most of our fans seem to be enthused by the signings we have made and there is an air of positivity around the club once again. We have sold nearly 9000 season tickets and our supporters seem excited for the new season. Bearing all this in mind, I predict a finish of 5th for Bradford City.

League Two seems to have a more 'Northern' feel about it than in recent seasons, so there will be a nice selection of local trips for our fans. I am particularly looking forward to Fleetwood Town and York City. An early meeting with our old friend Steve Evans at Rotherham United is another to whet the appetite!

Bristol Rovers

Henry – @HJBurridge

(Henry J Burridge Journalism)

13^th in League Two – “Praise Lord McGhee”

Most of the players that we’ve cut were either loans or deadwood, the only real loss being winger Mustapha Carayol, who left for Middlesbrough after some Twitter shenanigans. Of the players Mark McGhee has brought in, David Clarkson looks the pick; assuming we can keep him fit he should rack up a decent goal tally in League Two.

Scottish centre back Garry Kenneth also looks a quality acquisition on paper after he was released by Dundee United, but we could still do with another player in central defence. The main issues are up front, we look very light on options and lack somebody with enough pace to frighten the opposition. McGhee has said he’s still in the market for another four players, and some experience in midfield would be especially handy, but he’s cutting it quite fine!

I’d like to say we’re going for promotion, but without some quick recruits I expect us to fall short. It’s difficult to see where the goals are coming from and we look rather flimsy in the middle but, with the right additions, a play-off spot would please most supporters.

As I’m at university in Plymouth, Argyle away was the first fixture I scoured the list for, and hopefully we might beat them for once so I can avoid more ridicule!

With Swindon going up last season Rovers have lost all their traditional local rivals, which is a bit of a disappointment, leaving Cheltenham as our closest opponents. It doesn’t quite have the same edge that games against Bristol City or Swindon do, but it’s a great day out and we’ll be sure to pack the away end.

The modern day footballer: a role model?

I remember a time when footballers did all their talking on the pitch and the media didn’t pick up on their behaviour off it. I’m not sure, but it must be a generation thing as when I was growing up, all the boys in my class at school idolised the star players in their supported teams. The players then warranted the shirts on their backs, gave their all and played with the passion that fans love to see. Today, footballers are being seen in a totally different light. Now it’s all about who’s earning the most money and causing the most controversy. It seems we are in an age where footballers are spending more time on the front pages of newspapers for their behaviour off the field, as opposed to the back pages for their footballing achievements.

When I was at primary school, with the likes of the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000, all the boys looked up to players such as David Beckham and Michael Owen – players representing the country at the top levels. All the Arsenal fans idolised the likes of Thierry Henry and the handful of Newcastle fans (yes, I never understood it either, although they did actually go to games!), Alan Shearer. Now who have kids got to look up to – the likes of Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll; no thank you!

So I asked a couple of people which footballers they idolised growing up and here are some of the responses:

“Paul Merson” (an Arsenal fan)
“Gary Mabbutt and Tony Adams for defensive and leadership qualities as a defender myself, and Bees Paul Wilson for toughness, effort and leadership”
“Paul Merson, ‘Gazza’, Gary Bull, Darren Currie, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright”
“David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry and Lee Frecklington” (a Lincoln City fan)

As figures in the public eye, I can’t help but think footballers should know they are looked up to by children, and thus, should behave accordingly. Obviously, they are only human and although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the Christmas or end of season party; as well as social events with partners, family or friends, the media will watch and scrutinise their every move in order to create a sensationalist story.

And now to the reason for writing this piece, the Barnet link. Last Saturday saw us finally win a match – a 2–1 home win against Aldershot Town. But talk wasn’t about the much-needed three league points, nor was it about the Kabba penalty, or the winner by an in-form Ricky Holmes – it was all about what occurred at the final whistle. I probably wouldn’t need both hands to count how many times I have witnessed incidents like this at Underhill; after all we are branded and prided in being a family club. But the 22-man brawl made for some entertaining viewing, particularly given we’ve not had much to celebrate or be remotely happy of, of late. Now I don’t know the reasoning for why this took place, but there were incidents throughout the match that must have fuelled the fire. Rumours continued all weekend as to what happened – verbal abuse, racism, physical contact and spitting – and this week some light has finally been shed on events.

One of our players, Charlie Taylor has been given a three-match ban for admitting to an allegation that he spat at one of the Shots’ players (following an altercation regarding remarks to Clovis Kamdjo and Steve Kabba); as well as both clubs being handed a £1000 fine for failing to control their players. I don’t think it matters whether you’re a footballer or not, but spitting is disgusting – whether that be intentionally at someone or just in its general act. He’d been on the pitch for only a couple of minutes anyway, so was there really any need for him to get involved? It makes no difference as to whether you’re playing in the top flights or anguishing in the lower leagues or below, the kind of behaviour is just not on and completely unnecessary. What sort of message is it sending out to kids that are watching? Although in this case the incident was only picked up after analysis of the match dvd – the referee and officials didn’t see so I can only imagine, neither did anyone in the crowd – that but that’s besides the point! We may not be of a similar stature of the clubs and players often in the papers for their ‘bad’ behaviour, but I’m sure there are fathers that take their kids to Underhill who do idolise the squad – I remember when I was younger, a lot of my favourite players were Bees! In my opinion, the FA have reacted accordingly, and really we can have no complaints about the repercussions.

I know it’s nowhere near the same scale, but the incident reminded me of the several El Hadji Diouf has committed throughout his career: in 2002, when we accused at spitting at a West Ham fan whilst warming up for Liverpool, or 2003 when during a televised Champions League fixture, he spat at a Celtic fan. Then there’s the two incidents in 2004 whilst playing for Bolton, he spat at an 11-year old Middlesbrough fan and then went on to spit in the face of Portsmouth player Arjan de Zeeuw. Then there’s the other altercations he’s been involved in – racism to a ball boy, taunting QPR’s Jamie Mackie whilst lying on the floor with a broken leg and then numerous driving offences. Then there are the players who constantly cheat on their partners, whether it be for money, random girls out of the spotlight or other players’ partners. Why would anyone growing up aspire to be a ‘player’ or ‘animal’? Surely these overpaid prima donnas realise it’s not only their club’s reputation on the line, but their own as well? Why some of them go out of their way to tarnish their names despite their footballing ability is beyond me. If I was a young boy growing up in this era, there is no way I’d want to emulate the modern day football. I haven’t even mentioned Joey Barton, but there is yet another example (or lack of it)…

Which leads me on to the poll for this piece. After the success of the previous one, I asked readers this time round: Are today’s footballers role models? The results are shown below.

I don’t think it’s any real surprise the general consensus is a resounding ‘no’. What with several incidents highlighted above and all those we don’t yet know about, it is obvious that footballers aren’t the well-respected figures they once were.

League 2 season preview - part one

I thought I’d do something a little different and after completing the Twitter92 a month or so ago, I thought it’d be apt to see what my fellow League 2 supporters thought about their aspirations and expectations for their teams in the coming season. Here is part one (of four):

Accrington Stanley

Mel – Twitter

“I think we will finish mid table at least. Although I still think we could do another push but will play safe.

Key players: Winnard, Coid and Barnett.

Looking forward to the local derbies, although not many this season. Games to look forward to: Morecambe & Macclesfield; as well as AFC Wimbledon, Port Vale, Torquay & Bradford. Not looking forward to playing Crawley.

We've started from scratch, but as always Coleman can turn nobodies into football players; no ownership battles this season is a plus. Hoping for decent referees this season, ones who keep the flow, keep on pitch & have decent eyesight - yes it may appear a bias whinge but this has been a big blight on our promotion pushes”.

AFC Wimbledon

Matt Griffin – Twitter

“Our manager seems to have made it clear that getting the 50 points to ensure survival is the priority. Anything else would be a bonus for us in our first season back in the football league, although I don’t think a mid-table finish would disappoint or surprise many fans.

Again we’re strong at the back, with Dons fan and playoff final hero Seb Brown between the sticks. New captain Jamie Stuart is enjoyable to watch and alongside him in defence is steady defender Brett Johnson who’s also likely to get a few goals. There are also a couple of youngsters worth keeping an eye on in Reece Jones and Brendan Kiernan.

Looking forward to a couple of decent London derbies again – the long trips across town to Dagenham and Barnet. Also personally wouldn’t mind stuffing Creepy Crawley.

Can’t wait for the new season to start. Just 9 years ago we were in the Combined Counties League so looking forward to some more great memories and fun away days out for this strange little SW London club”.

Aldershot Town

Laura Chiverton – Twitter

“Realistically I think this league will be fairly tough. I would like to think we will make the playoffs. The team has looked incredibly strong during pre season & are looking as strong as the end of last season.

Adam Mekki & Alex Rodman are the players to look out for and are both great players from Conference roots. Bradley Bubbs scored 40 goals last season & has set a target for this season’s campaign.

I’m looking forward to playing AFC Wimbledon. Terry Brown, our former manager was a true legend & gent. He left the club to care for his terminally ill wife before Waddock led us to promotion as champions.

I’m hoping that all clubs this season will spend & budget more wisely to ensure their football league status”.

Barnet

Ben Kentish – Twitter

“Who knows how we’ll fare this season! We've got what is on paper the best manager and backroom team we've had in quite a while, and we've kept most of the squad that played so well at the end of last season, but as ever with Barnet it's impossible to predict. I'd say lower mid-table has to be the minimum aim, and with a few more good signings and a bit of luck with injuries etc, a play-off push is a definite possibility.

Mark Marshall is probably the biggest threat to defenders, but new signings Mark Byrne and Sam Deering are both pretty skillful and will set up a fair few goals, plus score a few themselves I would imagine. McLeod and Kabba (when fit) up front must on their day be one of the best strike partnerships in the league, and in defence we've got a couple of good, solid centre-backs. We've actually got the backings of a pretty good side. 

For some reason I'm quite looking forward to playing AFC Wimbledon. It's a shame we've lost the Stevenage derby for this season, although I'm sure we'll be playing them against next year! But Pompey away in the Carling Cup should be a good one”.

Bradford City

Tim Roche – Twitter

“After the debacle of last season, when the hapless Peter Taylor very nearly led City into non-league, a mid-table finish would represent an improvement. New boss Peter Jackson has brought in a varied selection of youngsters and a couple of more experienced heads, so while the play-offs may just be beyond us in what is likely to be a transitional season, a finish of 9th place would be acceptable. This being our 4th season in League 2, our fans are now more accustomed to the reality that promotion might not always be a realistic target.

 Ross Hannah banged in a staggering 52 goals for Matlock Town last season, so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the step up to League 2 football. Mark Stewart, a striker from Falkirk, has also looked impressive in pre-season so City will be very hopeful of improving on last term’s dismal goals scored tally. Of the youngsters we have signed, the 16 year old Scott Brown from Clyde looks to be the most exciting prospect. Although he was brought in with the newly formed Development Squad in mind initially, there is every chance we will see him in the first team sooner rather than later as Jackson rates him as the ‘one of the best 16 years olds (he has) seen in a long time’. No pressure then!

 With the majority of League 2 teams being southern-based there will be some lengthy away trips for the City faithful. AFC Wimbledon should be a particular highlight, as away days in the capital are always fun and it’s a new ground to visit. There’s also the Carling Cup tie away to our dear friends Leeds United to look forward to in the first week of the season – it would be nice to get one over on them, especially as the game will be live on Sky”.

Bristol Rovers

Richard Crew – Twitter

“As it’s Bristol Rovers first Season back in League Two it’s hard to tell, but pre-season has gone well and I've got a lot of confidence in Mr Buckles ability. The signings we've made appear to be sound and the vibes coming out are positive so I have a sneaky suspicion we'll make the play-offs or better if everything gels quickly.

Gill, Zebroski, Virgo, Carayol and McGleish will be the key figures to look out for. I believe we'll be a team that entertains; Mr Buckle has an eye for attacking football judging by the signings and tactics he's employed so far.

AFC Wimbledon stands out for me as the big one, not because of any rivalry but simply because of Wimbledon’s history. I feel it’s an honour to be the club they play first on their League return. I hope it’s a classic for the present Sky Cameras. Of course the Derby games against Swindon, Hereford, Cheltenham and Torquay will hold some added spice as well”.