Spotlight on Latics’ rivals

Bournemouth

Manager: Eddie Howe

Position last season: 2nd (League Two)

Players in: Steve Lovell (Partick, free), Marc Pugh (Hereford, free), Michael Symes (Accrington, free), Stephen Purches (Leyton Orient, free), Harry Artur (Woking, free), Mitchell Nelson (Tooting & Mitcham, free), Rhoys Wiggins (Norwich, undisclosed)

Key man: Brett Pitman

Chances: In what was arguably the story of the season in any division, Eddie Howe, the youngest manager in the Football League, worked minor miracles to get the financially-stricken Cherries promoted against a backdrop of a transfer embargo and player shortages. Success in avoiding relegation this term could depend on whether the South Coast outfit can keep hold of 28-goal top scorer Brett Pitman, who has attracted interest from Blackpool among other clubs.


Brentford

Manager: Andy Scott

Position last season: 9th

Players in: Richard Lee (Watford, free), Simon Royce (Gillingham, free), Kirk Hudson (Aldershot, undisclosed), Craig Woodman (Wycombe, undisclosed), Michael Spillane (Norwich, undisclosed), David McCracken (MK Dons, undisclosed), Nicky Forster (Brighton, free), Toumani Diagouraga (Peterborough, undisclosed)

Players out: Mark Phillips, Lewis Ferrell, Fraser Franks (all released), Ben Strevens (Wycombe, free), Nikki Bull (Wycombe, free), Ryan Dickson (Southampton, free), Danny Foster (Wycombe, free), Cleveland Taylor (St Johnstone, free), Steve Kabba (Barnet, free)

Key man: Leon Legge

Chances: A finishing position just three places outside of the play-offs — albeit 18 points adrift of Huddersfield in sixth — represented a considerable success for the Bees following promotion from League Two. Consolidation is the name of the game this time around and manager Andy Scott will look to the evergreen Nicky Forster, back at his spiritual home of Griffin Park and approaching 700 career appearances, to bang in the goals.


Brighton & Hove Albion

Manager: Gus Poyet

Position last season: 13th

Players in: Marcos Painter (Swansea, free), Michael Poke (Southampton, free), Agustin Battipiedi (Comunicaciones, free), Cristian Baz (Comunicaciones, free), Ashley Barnes (Plymouth, undisclosed), Matt Sparrow (Scunthorpe, free), Radostin Kishishev (Litex Lovech, free), Gordon Greer (Swindon, undisclosed)

Players out: Michel Kuipers (Crawley, free), Steve Brinkhurst, Josh Pelling (released), Andrew Crofts (Norwich, undisclosed), Dean Cox (Leyton Orient, free), Liam Dickinson (Barnsley, undisclosed), Jake Wright (Oxford, free), Craig Davies (Chesterfield, free), Nicky Forster (Brentford, free), Jim McNulty (Scunthorpe, loan), James Tunnicliffe (Bristol Rovers, loan)

Key man: Elliott Bennett

Chances: Highly-rated boss Gus Poyet is charged with continuing the Seagulls’ upswing to mount a play-off challenge. Home form will have to improve for that prospect to be realised but Poyet will hope to sustain a remarkable away record which saw Albion lose only five games away from the Withdean all season, a record only matched by Charlton. The move to the new 22,500 Falmer Stadium, due for completion in December, will give the club a huge morale-boost.


Bristol Rovers

Manager: Paul Trollope

Position last season: 11th

Players in: Harry Pell (unattached, free), Will Hoskins (Watford, free), Wayne Brown (Fulham, free), Gary Sawyer (Plymouth, free), Luke Daniels (West Brom, season loan), James Tunnicliffe (Brighton, season loan)

Players out: Aaron Lescott (Walsall, free), Steve Phillips (Crewe, free), Rhys Evans (Southend, free), Sean Rigg, Ben Hunt, David Pipe, Joe White, Alex Kite, James Tyrrell, Neikell Plummer, Dan Cayford, Steve Kingdon, Rob Holmes (released), Andy Williams (Yeovil, free), Mark Wright (Shrewsbury, loan), Steve Elliott (Cheltenham, free)

Key man: Will Hoskins

Chances: A canny young boss, Paul Trollope has achieved plenty with the Pirates and will target a play-off place after a slightly disappointing late slide into mid-table last season. The goals of ex-Rotherham man Will Hoskins, a talented player who lost his way at Watford, will be vital as will his partnership up front with the lively Jo Kuffour.


Carlisle United

Manager: Greg Abbott

Position last season: 14th

Players in: Sean McDaid (Doncaster, free), Craig Curran (Tranmere, free), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday, free), James Berrett (Huddersfield, free), Jason Price (Millwall, free), Francois Zoko (unattached, free)

Players out: Simon Lakeland, Gavin Rothery, Conor Tinnion, Jonny Blake, Michael Burns, Evan Horwood, Lenny Pidgeley (released), Scott Dobie (St Johnstone, free), Richard Keogh (Coventry, undisclosed), Tom Aldred (Watford, tribunal), David Raven (Shrewsbury, free)

Key man: Ian Harte

Chances: The Cumbrians performed above expectations to ease their way out of relegation trouble to a relatively safe spot in mid-table. Former Athletic loan man Jason Price will be charged with providing the goals, but Abbott will badly miss the presence of influential attacking full-back Richard Keough after his move to Championship outfit Coventry. Veteran ex-Leeds man Ian Harte’s set pieces were a vital source of goals last time out but this could be a season of struggle.


Charlton Athletic

Manager: Phil Parkinson

Position last season: 4th

Players in: Akpo Sodje (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Gary Doherty (Norwich, free), Alan McCormack (Southend, free), Johnnie Jackson (Notts County, free), Kyel Reid (Sheffield United, free), Pawel Abbott (Oldham, nominal fee)

Players out: Leon McKenzie, Chris Dickson, Dean Sinclair, Jack Clark, Tony Warner, Yassin Moutaouakil (all released), Matt Spring (Leyton Orient, free), Darren Randolph (Motherwell, free), Stuart Fleetwood (Hereford, undisclosed), Frazer Richardson (Southampton, undisclosed), Nicky Bailey (Middlesbrough, £1.4m), Lloyd Sam (Leeds, free), Izale McLeod (mutual consent), Deon Burton (Gabala, free)

Key man: Kyel Reid

Chances: Play-off disappointment has been followed by the exit of key players, none more so than energetic ex-Barnet midfielder Nicky Bailey. Tricky winger Lloyd Sam and well-travelled striker Deon Burton have also departed The Valley and manager Phil Parkinson stated in mid-July that his team were “a million miles” away from being competitive in League One. Justifying their tag as fourth-favourites could be difficult.


Colchester United

Manager: John Ward

Position last season: 8th

Players in: Andrew Bond (Barrow, free), Brian Wilson (Bristol City, free), Lloyd James (Southampton, free), Ben Coker (Bury Town, free)

Players out: Matt Lockwood, Russell Malton, Sam Corcoran (all released), David Fox (Norwich, undisclosed), David Prutton (Swindon, free), Phil Ifil (released), Scott Vernon (Aberdeen, free), Clive Platt (Coventry, nominal).

Key man: Anthony Wordsworth

Chances: A season that promised much for the Essex side faded away after Christmas and an eighth-placed finish was a disappointment. New manager John Ward, who stepped from assistant boss following Aidy Boothroyd’s mid-season switch to Coventry, has managed to keep most of the squad together and will want better things next time around from a very muscular squad of players.

Dagenham and Redbridge
Manager: John Still

Position last season: (via play-offs from League Two)

Players in: Alex Osborn (Grays, free), Danny J Green (Billericay Town, free), Stuart Lewis (Gillingham, free) Gareth Gwillim (Histon, free), Damian Scannell (Southend, free), Gavin Tomlin (Yeovil, free), Luke Wilkinson (Portsmouth, free), Oluwafemi Ilesanmi (Ashford Town, free), Duran Reynolds (Southend, undisclosed)

Players out: Alex Bentley (released), Hakeem Araba (Billericay Town, free), Mark Nwokeji (AFC Wimbledon, free), Anwar Uddin (Barnet, free), Wes Thomas (Cheltenham, £5,000), Danny Spiller (Gillingham, free)

Key man: Paul Benson

Chances: Will it bother John Still that his side are comfortably the smallest club in League One? Highly doubtful. Daggers have defied the odds for years and their achievement in defeating relatively big-spending Rotherham in the play-off final was huge. The East London side will again look to the goals of prolific striker Paul Benson to guide them to safety.


Exeter City

Manager: Paul Tisdale

Position last season: 18th

Players in: Artur Krysiak (Birmingham, free), Billy Jones (Crewe, free), Jake Thomson (Southampton, free), Daniel Nardiello (Blackpool, free), John O’Flynn (Barnet, free)

Players out: Craig McAllister, Alex Russell, Joe Burnell, Manny Panther, Neil Saunders, James Berry, Lewis Tasker, Matt ArmstrongñFord (all released), Barry Corr (Southend, free)

Key man: Ryan Harley

Chances: The Grecians finished one point and three places clear of the drop zone following promotion from League Two, which was a good effort for a club with limited resources. The achievements on the field of the Football League’s best-dressed boss Paul Tisdale attracted the reported attentions of Swansea, but he has his work cut out to take the club on to the next level. Striker Daniel Nardiello, whose brief loan at Boundary Park was cut short by injury last season, is a good acquisition.


Hartlepool United

Manager: Chris Turner (director of sport)

Position last season: 20th

Players in: Andy Rafferty (Guisborough, free)

Players out: Jonny Rowell, Julian Cherel, Mark Cook, Matty Tymon (all released), Alan Power (Rushden, free), Ben Clark (Gateshead, free), Ritchie Jones (Oldham, free)

Key man: Andy Monkhouse

Chances: An administrative error almost cost Hartlepool their League One status last time out, with Gary Liddle turning out despite being suspended. in the end, a three-point deduction meant that Pools avoided the drop by virtue of their superior goal difference to Gillingham. All is quiet on the transfer front and manager Chris Turner isn’t universally popular among fans. A poor start could lead to vultures circling Victoria Park.
Part two tomorrow + Rochdale special