Cheltenham Town kick off their season this Saturday August 18th at home against Dagenham and Redbridge, a side against which Cheltenham recorded one of their best results and performances last season with a 5-0 victory away from home. All in all, last season was hugely successful for The Rubies as for most of the season we were in the playoff places and were even in top spot during February. So much for being relegation favourites at the beginning of the season! However last seasons success brings with it more expectation and pressure for the season ahead.
On paper, most would say that Cheltenham's squad is even better this season than last. A rock solid defence has been boosted by the arrival of highly rated left back Billy Jones and the only absentee is last season's loan sensation Jack Butland. However current number one Scott Brown is more than capable of stepping back into the first team, in fact, I would say that Brown is even better thanks to the arrival of Butland, as was proven in the playoff semifinals against Torquay. In the middle of the park Luke Summerfield has departed in order to obtain League One football with Shrewsbury Town. A midfielder who had not only plenty of energy but technical skill too and will be sorely missed at Whaddon Road. On the upside, Mark Yates decided to replace Summerfield with former Barnet midfielder Sam Deering and going by his performance at the weekend against MK Dons, and against us last season, he is more than capable of stepping into Summerfield's shoes. Up top I would say that we look very dangerous as their is enough to speed to challenge Usain Bolt for his 100m title! Kaid Mohamed and Jermaine McGlashan can frighten any defence with their skill and ability and the arrival of Chris Zebroski only adds to this. Again, another player who has always played well against us, but after a rather disappointing season at Bristol Rovers he is looking to bounce pack, something which the gaffer often looks for in a player. These players should provide plenty of goals for the team, and this is only enhanced when you throw Daryl Duffy, and new loan signing Shaun Harrad who scored goals for fun at Burton Albion, into the mix.
Even though a playoff place and ultimately promotion is the aim, it won't necessarily be as straight forward as that. Season after season League 2 seems to get tighter and tighter and I predict that this year it could be the closest yet. The league contains the likes of free spending Rotherham who could be favourites for the title after undergoing a radical overhaul at the club following the appointment of Steve Evans as manager. York City and Fleetwood Town will also look to continue the tradition of clubs arriving from non-league challenging for Promotion. The teams that have come down from League 1, Exeter, Wycombe, Rochdale and Chesterfield, all look strong enough to push for promotion too. Add to that the likes of Northampton, Bradford, Gillingham, Oxford and Bristol Rovers who will seek to make up for a disappointing last campaign, and last seasons playoff semifinal losers Torquay and Southend, you can really see why it is so difficult to determine who will go up.
Another realistic possibility this season would be to go for the Johnstone Paint Trophy. Another Wembley appearance would do wonders for the club, however when you look at the fixtures this season it may be more of a hinderance. Due to the Olympics, the season has kicked off a week later than normal, and it also finishes in April this year too. This has resulted in more mid-week games, and even more in the JPT would surely just lead to fatigue and injury. Throw in a few inevitable postponements during the winter months and you could end up with as many Tuesday games as you have at the weekend.
The aim this season is at least the playoffs, however in order to do this I think a couple more additions are needed. Another central midfielder is a must, especially if we play 4-3-3, but Yates has admitted there is a signing in this position that could be on the horizion. I would also like to see another natural winger arrive at the club. This is unlikely though as Zebroski would play here if needed but I am not a fan of players not playing in their natural position. I would also like to see another versatile defender too. We do have seven defenders on the cards, but this does include Danny Andrew who is on the transfer list and who personally I do not rate. This could leave us short following one or two injuries which could possibly make or break the campaign. Again, however, this is unlikely due to the clubs limited finances.
All in all, the overall aim is promotion this season, but I think we will do well to reach the playoffs in what is a very close and strong league. Unfortunately I do think we may just miss out. I am hopeful that Mark Yates will also add another face or two to the swuad but this is more likely to be in the form of loans as the season goes on. All will be revealed in time...
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