League 2 General Chat Thread

[valefan16]

And money from decent fairly decent cup runs I think?

Brown is just trying to deflect away from his own inability, the big orange gas bag.

However to your point about managing Swindon for peanuts, I’m pretty sure that’s relatively accurate. Our budget is around 1.5-1.8 million I think it was mentioned. I think most of the budget went on Diagouraga and Doughty. Over 20 centre backs had turned us down before we signed Sid Nelson on loan from Millwall for one reason or another (low wages offered it was suspected)

Gone are the Di Canio days of massive budgets, we have cut our cloth massively and running on pretty much break even now. It’s boring, but given our financial history, necessary.

1.5 Million - 1.8 Million isn't a small budget for this level to be fair... Outside the obvious 3 big spenders that will surely be up there as one of the highest.

 

[Indian Dan]

Lincoln are far and away the best team in this league. The rest of us are all pretty meh. Exeter were no great shakes, MK were OK. Lincoln aside, we’re all a couple of suspensions or long term injuries away from being bang average. We’ve been poor for quite a few games now and, yet, are only4 points off 7th.

Truth is - we’re all 4th division shite.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Basically Lincoln are the tallest midget! Or the cleverest Aussie.

Still would rather be that obviously than the rest of us but you should always remember we are alone Division 4!

 

[Tranmerewhite]

Basically Lincoln are the tallest midget! Or the cleverest Aussie.

Still would rather be that obviously than the rest of us but you should always remember we are alone Division 4!

Be glad you weren't outcast for 3 years into the wilderness, oblivion, Woking.. etc etc

 

[Conker]

Mansfield have the second best defence so far, are unbeaten away and have only lost once all season yet we are still shite, work that out.

 

[Tranmerewhite]

Mansfield have the second best defence so far, are unbeaten away and have only lost once all season yet we are still shite, work that out.

I actually thought you were pretty decent at Prenton Park, whilst Lincolns 45 mins first half was the best I've seen, your 90 minute performance was better. Possibly missing a striker though?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Mansfield have the second best defence so far, are unbeaten away and have only lost once all season yet we are still shite, work that out.

Easy, not enough wins. Oh and a average at best manager

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Be glad you weren't outcast for 3 years into the wilderness, oblivion, Woking.. etc etc

I am TW, every single season#stain

 

[Conker]

I actually thought you were pretty decent at Prenton Park, whilst Lincolns 45 mins first half was the best I've seen, your 90 minute performance was better. Possibly missing a striker though?

I was taking the piss a bit, we have been playing the best football I have seen by Mansfield for years and years but we have a serious problem taking chances (players fault) and not holding on to the lead (manager/player fault)

We are a striker short, Danny Rose is the only one playing well currently - Tyler Walker and to a lesser extent Craig Davies are just not cutting it at the moment.

We are in a false position, got two games in hand and obviously all these draws. I think we will start to turn enough draws in to wins to mount a serious play-off challenge but it should be a automatic challenge and I'm not sure if the manager is up to the task.

The squad is definitely good enough to finish in the top three, huge amount of talent in the squad.

 

[GTFCfish]

Be glad you weren't outcast for 3 years into the wilderness, oblivion, Woking.. etc etc

3 years in non league you say?

You poor bastards.........

 

[Laker]

I am TW, every single season#stain

You’re not a proper lower league club if you’ve not been relegated to non league at some point. You have to experience the sheer despair of not only having to play the likes of Bath, Farsley, Dorchester, Hayes, Histon etc but then going on to lose against them. It’s character building.

The only true clubs in this division are us, Mansfield, Grimsby, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Exeter, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Tranmere. Everyone else is tinpot.

 

[Habbinalan]

You’re not a proper lower league club if you’ve not been relegated to non league at some point. You have to experience the sheer despair of not only having to play the likes of Bath, Farsley, Dorchester, Hayes, Histon etc but then going on to lose against them. It’s character building.

The only true clubs in this division are us, Mansfield, Grimsby, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Exeter, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Tranmere. Everyone else is tinpot.

I can't accept the convoluted criteria of "relegated but got back up" as a basis to allow non-league Cheltenham and Yoyo Macc into the "True Club" club when they belong much more comfortably alongside the likes of Morecambe, Satanage and Crawley. I'd probably accept reformed Newport 1989 ahead of that bunch.

 

[Laker]

I can't accept the convoluted criteria of "relegated but got back up" as a basis to allow non-league Cheltenham and Yoyo Macc into the "True Club" club when they belong much more comfortably alongside the likes of Morecambe, Satanage and Crawley. I'd probably accept reformed Newport 1989 ahead of that bunch.

You know, I did toy with not including Cheltenham and Macclesfield in the “True Club” club and, as keeper of the keys, am more than happy to remove them if they are deemed unsuitable members. Ultimately, it’s about going through the trauma of losing to utter fodder that you have to experience to be in the club - Macclesfield and Cheltenham probably aren’t so ashamed of it as a member of the “True Club” club should be.

Therefore I agree with you. We have seven League 2 members:
Cambridge
Mansfield
Lincoln
Grimsby
Tranmere
Exeter
Carlisle

And our comrades in League 1 are:
Luton
Shreswbury
Doncaster
Bristol Rovers
AFC Wimbledon (honoury members as they had to go through the pain of it all through a means tens times worse than relegation)

 

[Habbinalan]

You know, I did toy with not including Cheltenham and Macclesfield in the “True Club” club and, as keeper of the keys, am more than happy to remove them if they are deemed unsuitable members. Ultimately, it’s about going through the trauma of losing to utter fodder that you have to experience to be in the club - Macclesfield and Cheltenham probably aren’t so ashamed of it as a member of the “True Club” club should be.

Therefore I agree with you. We have seven League 2 members:
Cambridge
Mansfield
Lincoln
Grimsby
Tranmere
Exeter
Carlisle

And our comrades in League 1 are:
Luton
Shreswbury
Doncaster
Bristol Rovers
AFC Wimbledon (honoury members as they had to go through the pain of it all through a means tens times worse than relegation)

We're getting there but are you sure that Carlisle and Bristol suffered enough to be admitted to full membership?

The Cumbrians' only season started with a 0-0 at home to Canvey and they lost at Tamworth but were unbeaten to mid-October and otherwise their only non-league defeats were to FGR, Stevenage (twice!!), Barnet, York, Crawley, D & R and Exeter.

The Gas were even more dominant. Although they made a traditional(ish) start and their first win only came in late August, they only lost 5 - Altrincham, Eastleigh, Braintree, Barnet and FGR.

By the way, I'm happy to go with your judgement and leave Oxford out of the club as I can't consider a club whose ground only has 3 sides to be a comrade.

 

[joethegill]

You know, I did toy with not including Cheltenham and Macclesfield in the “True Club” club and, as keeper of the keys, am more than happy to remove them if they are deemed unsuitable members. Ultimately, it’s about going through the trauma of losing to utter fodder that you have to experience to be in the club - Macclesfield and Cheltenham probably aren’t so ashamed of it as a member of the “True Club” club should be.

Therefore I agree with you. We have seven League 2 members:
Cambridge
Mansfield
Lincoln
Grimsby
Tranmere
Exeter
Carlisle

And our comrades in League 1 are:
Luton
Shreswbury
Doncaster
Bristol Rovers
AFC Wimbledon (honoury members as they had to go through the pain of it all through a means tens times worse than relegation)

What about us? Southern League in the 40s mate.

 

[Vanni]

Is this the League 2 version of the NL's Brotherhood? Can't speak for you people but I find the latter much more appealing.

'Proper' clubs. LOL.

 

[Habbinalan]

Is this the League 2 version of the NL's Brotherhood? Can't speak for you people but I find the latter much more appealing.

'Proper' clubs. LOL.

Looking at the cast list, it's developing into the sort of "Club" or more accurately "Register?" that I'd want to keep quiet about myself.

As for the Non-League Brotherhood, my own criteria are more nostalgia driven (probably like my taste in music) and focus on the 60's and 70's but I enjoy seeing our Yorks and Welsh brethren trying to keep the upstarts (like Bill Leivers' U's in my earlier Div 4 days) in line.

 

[Conker]

You’re not a proper lower league club if you’ve not been relegated to non league at some point. You have to experience the sheer despair of not only having to play the likes of Bath, Farsley, Dorchester, Hayes, Histon etc but then going on to lose against them. It’s character building.

The only true clubs in this division are us, Mansfield, Grimsby, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Exeter, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Tranmere. Everyone else is tinpot.

Histon were really good for a year or two when we orginally got relegated, for that level anyway.

They were so close to being in the league, that would have been a bigger insult than FGR, Fleetwood etc coming up.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

What the hell is a Histon?

 

[Richard Cranium]

I remember having to equalise in the 93rd minute at home to Histon once and they’re directors all started on our fans afterwards in our end

Glory days

 

[Habbinalan]

What the hell is a Histon?

 

[Tranmerewhite]

Again apologies for allowing FGR into the greatest league on earth, but at least we prevented Boring Wood and by giving them a man advantage to level the playing field.

 

[GTFCfish]

The Gas were even more dominant. Although they made a traditional(ish) start and their first win only came in late August, they only lost 5 - Altrincham, Eastleigh, Braintree, Barnet and FGR.

By the way, I'm happy to go with your judgement and leave Oxford out of the club as I can't consider a club whose ground only has 3 sides to be a comrade.

The Gas weren’t as dominant as you think, Barnet won the league that year although granted they did fall over the line as opposed to flying over it, and Rovers got very lucky in the final against us due to a shocking referee who admitted afterwards that the reason he didn’t send off their keeper for hand ball outside the box was because he ‘didn’t want to spoil the game’.
Despite that I’m gonna sound contradictory here and say I do think Rovers deserved to go up that year though, by far the best team to come to Blundell Park that season and gave us a footballing lesson despite it only being 1-0, but by the time the play off final came around we were better than them on the day.
But hey ho that’s football I guess.

 

[Dan_Macclad]

Us and Stevenage won the league and weren't allowed up!

Only to go and win it again. We are fucking awesome...


Only to go down again. Its painful.

 

[Dan_Macclad]

You know, I did toy with not including Cheltenham and Macclesfield in the “True Club” club and, as keeper of the keys, am more than happy to remove them if they are deemed unsuitable members. Ultimately, it’s about going through the trauma of losing to utter fodder that you have to experience to be in the club - Macclesfield and Cheltenham probably aren’t so ashamed of it as a member of the “True Club” club should be.

Therefore I agree with you. We have seven League 2 members:
Cambridge
Mansfield
Lincoln
Grimsby
Tranmere
Exeter
Carlisle

And our comrades in League 1 are:
Luton
Shreswbury
Doncaster
Bristol Rovers
AFC Wimbledon (honoury members as they had to go through the pain of it all through a means tens times worse than relegation)

Colchester? Wigan? Wycombe?

 

[Laker]

Colchester? Wigan?

Nah they were league clubs in the early 90s which is the barometer I’m sticking to, and they’ve not been relegated since.

Oxford is correct though, despite their three sided ground. Forgot about them being a true club.

 

[GTFCfish]

Again apologies for allowing FGR into the greatest league on earth, but at least we prevented Boring Wood and by giving them a man advantage to level the playing field.

Letting FGR into the football league should result in a 5 year expulsion from the football league in my opinion, although stopping Boreham Wood getting in repairs the damage slightly so maybe just a 1 or 2 year expulsion would be fairer?
Pip Lincoln to the automatics this season though and we’ll call it quits ok?

 

[Laker]

What the hell is a Histon?

We had great fun with them 10 years ago. They did their best to kill us off. As it was, we were both beaten in the play offs by Torquay so neither went up.

 

[Si Robin]

How can you lump us in with Crawley and Fleetwood - we certainly weren't backed to the hilt in getting promoted. In fact, our two promotions resulted in us preventing well-backed clubs from getting up (Rushden in 1999 and FGR in 2016), although in both cases those teams came up two years after us.

Sadly, I can see the link to Stevenage. We should (but for our one season down) be lumped with them, Wycombe and Yeovil. Traditional non-league teams that won promotion without having to spend stupid money and then consolidated their position in the Football League rather than dropping back and never returning.

 

[Casey]

Sorry to join in your "true club" love feat but I remember Histon with much horror.

We used to joke they were "Land of the Giants". I think Josh Simpson (who later played for us and Plymouth) was the shortest player there and he was around 6ft. They used to smash through everyone and then claim they were a great footballing team. Shudder.

It's a little village outside Cambridge and they had some serious backing for a while and the coach/manager had a great reputation. There were rumours of a falling out between the money and the coach and the money won but then got bored. Rumours only though.

Casey