Cod Army can be fleet of foot in promotion race

IN EACH of the last four seasons, a team coming up into League One has managed to gatecrash the top six, writes MATTHEW CHAMBERS.

Last time out, it was Rotherham — who made it all the way into the Championship through the play-offs.

Before them, Swindon, Stevenage and Bournemouth all made a successful leap from the basement division to the promotion mix in the third tier in successive campaigns.

The question is, which promoted team is best-placed to make it five play-off qualifications in a row for successful newcomers in 2014-15?

Scunthorpe went 28 games unbeaten on the way to promotion last term but they have lost top scorer Sam Winnall to Barnsley and he will be difficult to replace adequately.

Rochdale, similarly, have lost their main striker in Scott Hogan, who has gone to Brentford in a big-money deal.

As for Chesterfield, the League Two champions have a stable squad with star performers like Gary Roberts, but pre-season injury woes and a budget that hasn’t increased won’t help their cause.

Fleetwood (8-1, Bet365, for promotion) are the team I’m going for to shake up the division.

Experienced performer Keith Southern will anchor the midfield and Jamie Proctor looks an astute signing in attack, adding to an already-strong squad at a club blessed with large financial resources.

The Cod Army are definitely worth a punt.

At the top of the division, it is difficult to look beyond the credentials of Bristol City (10-1, Marathonbet), who have been chucking around serious cash.

Korey Smith left Athletic to join the Robins, who have brought in quality players all over the pitch under the guidance of manager Steve Cotterill.

In such an open division, the relegation picture is not easy to predict.

But Coventry look vulnerable. They only won two of their last 13 matches last term and since then, three of their best players have left. They will badly miss Cyrus Christie’s surges from right-back, Callum Wilson’s goals and Franck Moussa’s drive from midfield.

The price of 7-1 on relegation (Ladbrokes) is an attractive one for a club which, in still playing in Northampton away from its natural home, could sink into the doldrums relatively quickly given a bad start.

On the top-scorer market, given the improvements they have made in general it is difficult to see past Bristol City’s Sam Baldock (8-1, BetVictor), provided he steers clear of injury and the clutches of sides in the Championship wanting to buy him.

Last season was a difficult one for the club, yet he still managed to find the net 26 times. Expect more this time around.

An interesting outside chance worth a few pennies each way is Notts County’s Ronan Murray (100-1, Coral).

He managed eight goals in 16 starts last term for the Magpies and the striker will be tasked with providing goals in a front line missing injured Jimmy Spencer, who is out for the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Athletic’s own Jonson Clarke-Harris (100-1, Betfred) is definitely value as well, having netted six times in pre-season.

Odds —

Title: Sheff Utd 5-1, Bristol City, Preston 8-1, Peterborough 12-1, Leyton Orient 13-1, Barnsley, MK Dons 16-1, Athletic 50-1.

Promotion: Sheff Utd 7-4, Preston 5-2, Bristol City 10-3, Peterborough 7-2, Leyton Orient 5-1, Doncaster, Barnsley, MK Dons 11-2, Athletic 16-1.

Relegation: Crewe 13-8, Colchester 7-4, Port Vale 2-1, Gillingham 5-2, Athletic 11-4, Rochdale 3-1, Crawley 7-2.

Top scorer: Britt Assombalonga 7-1, Sam Baldock 8-1, Joe Garner 10-1, David Mooney, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas 16-1, Nicky Ajose, Will Grigg 20-1, Jonson Clarke-Harris 100-1 (BetFred), Amari Morgan-Smith, Danny Philliskirk 150-1 (BetFred), William Gros 200-1 (BetFred).