Your reading a pre 2010-11 archived article
It has become one of those money imposed idiocies that real football, defined as the old divisions 2, 3 and 4, kick off the new season earlier than the bloated, stolen, rebranded division 1. 72 football clubs relighting the flames of hope amongst the most loyal and stoic of supporters.
As 2009-10 kicks into life the media and blog world will ring out a series of guides to the new season, focusing on the team’s spending money, some recklessly and making usually widely inaccurate predictions. What gets lost in this frenzy of opinion are those clubs who are actually progressing well (but will be tarred with the slur “require more ambition/investment”). Sometimes you need to look beyond the promotion contenders and see which clubs are putting together the golden key of a progressive manager, stable finance, decent football and bringing back genuine hope for a few years ahead. Such clubs are the shining beacon in a sea of greed, over-ambition and stupidity, they don’t try and con the taxman, they aren’t owned by off-shore trusts of off shore trusts of off-shore trusts. They should be cherished, lauded even. I outline 6 of the better ones, none of whom I expect to get promoted this season but who will continue to develop in the right direction.
Derby County.
Here we have a club more in the Aston Villa line of American owners than the Manchester United or Liverpool (or even Chester) mode. With the steadying hand of Adam Pearson the owners are intent on building up incrementally towards the Premier League, utilising the fan-base and Pride Park, two things that allow them a regular income stream. On the footballing side Nigel Clough is building a squad based around playing decent attacking stuff, with a supporting development squad also feeding new talent to the fore. This development squad also allows Clough to take a gamble on some non-league players or ex PL academy cast-offs. Derby look like the club to watch in 2010-11.
Doncaster Rovers.
In some senses this story is already known, a fantastic climb from Conference to CCC with a detour to a new community stadium. John Ryan may grate a touch but in terms of his decision making he can’t be faulted. Sean O’Driscoll deserves great praise for sticking to his footballing principles whilst they struggled in the early part of their first CCC season. Add a goalscorer to the ball-passing team they are and they could threaten the play-offs. The impending sale of Mills to divisional rival Reading might suggest money is still a bit tight, to me it shows a maturity that serves them well. Will one day have their “Barnsley/Swindon” style day in the sun.
Huddersfield Town.
Some clubs base a whole culture around having to live in the shadow of bigger neighbours (and in some cases despite once being more successful). In Huddersfield’s case the bigger rival has its own issues; this allows the Galpharm club to reinvent itself. With Lee Clark at the footballing helm a real sense of momentum is happening, players are actively choosing to play there and the fans can utilise a pioneering and forward thinking scheme devised to sell season tickets at a discounted rate. I expect them to compete for automatic promotion within 3 years. Meanwhile 15 miles down the M62 east lives a so called bigger neighbour.
Exeter City.
The miracle team of the South west in recent years, unfashionable and recently on the brink, Exeter City are on the rise. Two promotions in 2 seasons based on playing decent football in leagues its claimed you have to slug your way out of (although finding examples of teams that have successfully slug their way up two divisions is almost impossible). Having built his managerial career from Team Bath up to Exeter, supported by the Director of Football Steve Perryman, Paul Tisdale is clearly destined for the top with a eye pleasing style, both in the teams he picks and his media profile. Another season of “Lisa will be pleased” comments from Jeff and the boys.
Burton Albion.
The new kids on the block returning league status to a brewery town: nice. With the Pirelli stadium providing a modern (minimalist) look to a club with footballing principles it looks like despite the intense competition of local clubs Stoke City and Derby County the county of Staffordshire has a new attraction. Following on from the firm foundations of Nigel Clough (and a touch of Roy McFarland) new manager Paul Peschisolido has his work cut out to achieve quickly but is likely to get the time to challenge over the next few seasons.
Cheltenham Town.
It might seem strange to praise a team just relegated but in this case its deserved. The board at Cheltenham seemed to have accepted their fate well in advance and given manager Martin Allen a clean start for 2009-10. The ex Leicester manager and his teams robust directness might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it disguises some decent stuff when attacking. Whaddon Road is a touch quaint but anticipate it becoming a fortress as Cheltenham settle for mid-table whilst Allen shops for frees and kids.
So there we have it, the clubs kicking off a new season on Saturday who hopefully have fans who appreciate “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and a touch of deferred gratification never did anyone any harm. Of course for every 1 of the FL clubs with a refreshing mentality are 3 making a right cock up of things, and that article is imminent!
August 09
