Spotlight on rivals (part 2)

Huddersfield Town

Manager: Lee Clark

Position last season: 6th

Players in: Scott Arfield (Falkirk, undisclosed fee), Joey Gudjonsson (Burnley, free), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, free), Lee Croft (Derby, loan until January), Jamie McCombe (Bristol City, undisclosed), Ian Bennett (Sheffield Utd, free), Joe Garner (Nottingham Forest, six-month loan), Graham Carey (Celtic, loan until January)

Players out: Phil Jevons (Morecambe, free), Chris Lucketti, Dean Heffernan, Robbie Williams, Lewis Nightingale, Taser Hassan, Andy Butler (all released), Simon Eastwood (Oxford, free), Joe Skarz (Bury, undisclosed), James Berrett (Carlisle, free), Michael Collins (Scunthorpe, undisclosed), Tom Denton (released), James Spencer (Morecambe, six-month loan), Leigh Franks (Oxford, loan), L Ainsworth (Shrewsbury, undisclosed)

Key man: Anthony Pilkington

Chances: Chairman Dean Hoyle has once again demonstrated he has big pockets this summer, funding deals for a number of players who don’t come cheap. Manager Lee Clark was generally reckoned to have produced a par round last season by taking Town into the play-offs, but automatic promotion is seen as the goal this time around. To manage that, Clark will need to stiffen the spine of last season’s often out-muscled side.


Leyton Orient

Manager: Russell Slade

Position last season: 17th

Players in: George Porter (Cray Wanderers, free), Alex Revell (Southend, free), Terrell Forbes (Yeovil, free), Aaron Brown (Aldershot, free), Elliot Omozusi (Fulham, free), Dean Cox (Brighton, free), Stephen Dawson (Bury, free), Matthew Spring (Charlton, free), Lee Butcher (Tottenham, free)

Players out: Sean Thornton, Andrew Cave-Brown, Loick Pires, Harry Baker, James Scowcroft (all released), Stephen Purches (Bournemouth, free), Jason Demetriou (AEK Larnaca, free), Luke Ashworth (Rotherham, free), Tamika Mkandawire (Millwall, free), Glenn Morris (Southend, free)

Key man: Ben Chorley

Chances: Orient flirted with relegation for most of the season, but a six-match unbeaten run which ended in February ultimately saved their collective League One skins. Manager Geraint Williams lost his job in early April and was replaced by former Brighton boss Russell Slade — who, in only his second game in charge, guided the O’s to a memorable 2-1 win over eventual champions Norwich City. This season could be another struggle for the Brisbane Road outfit.

Milton Keynes Dons

Manager: Karl Robinson

Position last season: 12th

Players in: David Martin (Liverpool, free), Gary Mackenzie (Dundee, free), Lewis Guy (Doncaster, free), Dietmar Hamann (free), Angelo Balanta (QPR, season-long loan)

Players out: Sol Davis, Darren Powell, David King, Dean Morgan (released) Lewis Gobern (Grimsby, free), David McCracken (Brentford, undisclosed)

Key man: Dietmar Hamann

Chances: Ambitious owner Pete Winkelman expected better than to bisect the League One table last season. It will be interesting to see if 2010-11 turns out more brightly for a club who boast plenty of talent among their playing staff, while the addition of ex-Germany and Liverpool midfield general Dietmar Hamann, coaxed out of retirement for a player-coach role, is intriguing.

Notts County
Manager: Craig Short

Position last season: 1st (League Two)

Players in: Rob Burch (Lincoln, free), Stuart Nelson (Aberdeen, free), Ben Burgess (Blackpool, free), John Spicer (Doncaster, free), Jon Harley (Watford, free), David Grof (unattached, free), Krystian Pearce (Birmingham, free)

Players out: Russell Hoult, Kevin Pilkington (released), Jamie Clapham (Lincoln, free), Matt Hamshaw (Macclesfield, free), Ben Fairclough, Ade Akinbiyi (released), Sean Canham (Hereford, free), Delroy Facey (Lincoln, free), Kasper Schmeichel (Leeds, free), Johnnie Jackson (Charlton, free)

Key man: Ban Davies

Chances: Former Athletic favourite Lee Hughes fired County to the League Two title with 30 goals in what was an astonishing season at Meadow Lane.

Sven-Göran Eriksson’s arrival was surreal but reality hit come the turn of the year and soon after the former England boss was gone, his dream of turning the Magpies into a Premier League club

unfulfilled. Despite the upheaval behind the scenes, new boss Craig Short has a decent squad at his disposal and a play-off place will be the goal.

Peterborough Utd

Manager: Gary Johnson

Position last season: 24th (Championship)

Players in: Dave Hibbert (Shrewsbury, free), Grant McCann (Scunthorpe, free), Mark Little (Wolves, free), James Wesolowski (Leicester, undisclosed), Kelvin Langmead (Shrewsbury, undisclosed), Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Wolves, season-long loan), Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi (Chelsea, free), Arron Davies (unattached, free)

Players out: Alfie Potter (Oxford, undisclosed), Danny Andrew (Cheltenham, free), Billy Crook, Sam Gaughran (released), Danny Blanchett (Crewe, free), Jamie Day (Rushden, free), Tom Williams (released), Shaun Batt (Millwall, undisclosed), Scott Rendell (Wycombe, undisclosed), Craig Morgan (Preston, £400,000), Kwesi Appiah (released), Sergio Torres (Crawley, £100,000), Liam Hatch (Darlington, loan), Toumani Diagouraga (Brentford, undisclosed)

Key man: George Boyd

Chances: Last season didn’t go according to plan at all, but Peterborough’s squad still contains the same tried and trusted attacking triumvirate — Aaron McLean, Craig Mackail-Smith and George Boyd — that did so much to propel them to the heady heights of the Championship in the first place. Gary Johnson is a good manager and Posh have a decent chance of making it back up via an automatic promotion place. 

Plymouth Argyle

Manager: Peter Reid

Position last season: 23rd (Championship)

Players in: Rory Patterson (Glentoran, undisclosed), Bondz N’Gala (West Ham, free), Anton Peterlin (unattached, free)

Players out: Jamie Mackie (QPR, undisclosed), Lloyd Saxton (Bradford, free), David McNamee (released), Yoann Folly (Aberdeen, free), Simon Walton (Sheffield United, loan), Ashley Barnes (Brighton, undisclosed), Alan Gow (released), Gary Sawyer (Bristol Rovers, free), George Donnelly (Stockport, loan)

Key man: Carl Fletcher

Chances: With a manager as experienced as Peter Reid on board, the Pilgrims will be fairly confident of enjoying a positive first season back in League One since winning the title in 2004. The former Sunderland and Thailand boss, who had most recently been working as Tony Pulis’s assistant at Stoke City, will hope that one-time Mossley striker Rory Patterson can bang in the goals.


Sheffield Wednesday

Manager: Alan Irvine

Position last season: 22nd (Championship)

Players in: Chris Sedgwick (Preston, free), Jon Otsemobor (Southampton, free), Paul Heffernan (Doncaster, free), Daniel Jones (Wolves, free), Giles Coke (Motherwell, free), Gary Teale (Derby, free), Neil Mellor (Preston, season-long loan), Clinton Morrison (Coventry, free)

Players out: Akpo Sodje (Charlton, free), Michael Gray (retired), Leon Clarke (QPR, free), Frank Simek (Carlisle, free), Etienne Esajas, Francis Jeffers (released), Lee Grant (Burnley, undisclosed), Sean McAllister (Shrewsbury, free), Nick Wood (Tranmere, free)

Key man: Neil Mellor

Chances: Last-day heartache saw the Owls, rather than Crystal Palace, demoted to League One. Judging by the calibre of signings former Preston boss Alan Irvine has made, though, it could be the briefest of stays. Former Athletic loan men Daniel Jones and Paul Heffernan have both committed themselves to the Hillsborough club and new duo Clinton Morrison and Neil Mellor should both get goals at this level. Wednesday appear to be good bets for the play-offs at the very least.

Southampton

Manager: Alan Pardew

Position last season: 7th

Players in: Ryan Dickson (Brentford, free), Frazer Richardson (Charlton, undisclosed), Danny Butterfield (Crystal Palace, free)

Players out: Oliver Lancashire (Walsall, free), Chris Perry, Wayne Thomas, Graeme Murty, Jamie White, Kyle McLaggon, Tom Dunford, Jack Boyle, Lee Molyneux (all released), Jake Thomson (Exeter, free), Jon Otsemobor (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Michael Poke (Brighton, free), Simon Gillett (Doncaster, free), Lloyd James (Colchester, free), Garyn Preen (Burton, free)

Key man: Rickie Lambert

Chances: Heavy favourites for the League One title — and for good reason. Throughout his squad, boss Alan Pardew has the sort of quality that most other clubs at this level can only dream about. Still, Saints will need former Rochdale striker Rickie Lambert to continue his long-running purple patch in front of goal, while it will be interesting to see if young winger Adam Lallana can blossom into the exciting talent he promises to be.


Swindon Town

Manager: Danny Wilson

Position last season: 5th

Players in: Michael Rose (Stockport, free), David Prutton (Colchester, free), David Ball (Manchester City, loan)

Players out: Kurt Hammonds, Mark Marshall (both released), Billy Paynter (Leeds, free), Alex Henshall (Man City, undisclosed), Lloyd Macklin (Torquay, free), Craig Easton (Swindon, free), Gordon Greer (Brighton, undisclosed)

Key man: Charlie Austin

Chances: If not written off completely, the bookies apparently have their doubts as to whether the Robins can recreate last season’s heroics and reach the play-off final at Wembley. They came unstuck in a 1-0 defeat at Millwall on the big day and have since lost loan winger Danny Ward, who has returned to parent club Bolton, and striker Billy Paynter who has joined Leeds. But David Ball should make for the loss of Ward, while David Prutton will be very influential in midfield. Town are a dangerous side and should feature around the play-offs again.

Tranmere Rovers

Manager: Les Parry

Position last season: 19th

Players in: Joss Labadie (West Brom, free), Timothy Cathalina (FC Emmen, free), Gunnar Nielsen (Manchester City, loan until January), Enoch Showumni (Falkirk, free), Nick Wood (Sheffield Wednesday, free)

Players out: Bas Savage, Chris Shuker, Gareth Edds, Charlie Barnett, Josh Macauley, Kithson Bain (all released), Craig Curran (Carlisle, free)

Key man: Zoumana Bakayogo

Chances: Les Parry did well to guide Rovers away from trouble following an awful start to the

season and the physio-manager will need his team to add up to more than the sum of its parts to stay out of trouble this time around. The loss of forward Craig Curran is a blow but giant Ian Goodison, now 37 years of age, is still going strong in the heart of Tranmere’s defence.


Walsall

Manager: Chris Hutchings

Position last season: 10th

Players in: Jonny Brain (Macclesfield, free), Paul Marshall (Manchester City, free), Julian Gray (free), Dave Bevan (free), Oliver Lancashire (Southampton, free), Aaron Lescott (Bristol Rovers, free)

Players out: Clayton Ince (retired), Rhys Weston, Sam Parkin (St Johnstone, free), Netan Sansara, Peter Till, Sam Adkins, Richard Davies (all released), Mark Bradley (Rotherham, free), Josh O’Keefe (Lincoln, free), Dwayne Mattis (Chesterfield), Rene Gilmartin (Watford, undisclosed), Jamie Vincent (Aldershot, free), Mark Hughes (North Queensland Fury, free)

Key man: Troy Deeney

Chances: Last season didn’t really go anywhere fast for Chris Hutchings’ side, with a 2-1 win at Elland Road against Leeds being the highlight of a very average campaign. Keeping hold of striker Troy Deeney — reportedly a target for Championship club Watford — is important if the Saddlers are to retain hopes of a finish in upper mid-table this time around.


Yeovil Town

Manager: Terry Skiverton

Position last season: 15th

Players in: Luke Ayling (Arsenal, free), Luke Freeman (Arsenal, loan until December), Andy Williams (Bristol Rovers, free), Ed Upson (Ipswich, free), Paul Huntington (Stockport, free), Rob Kiernan (Watford, loan)

Players out: Aidan Downes, Scott Murray, Richard Martin, Andre McCollin (all released), Terrell Forbes (Leyton Orient, free), Gavin Tomlin (Dagenham, free), Kieran Murtagh (Wycombe, free)

Key man: Dean Bowditch

Chances: The Glovers ended up finishing 15th in League One last term, a point clear of Athletic and three above the relegation zone. Rarely in danger of the drop throughout last season, Skiverton has been tasked with rebuilding his central defence following the loss of Terrell Forbes and last season’s player-of-the-year, England under-19s centre-back Steve Caulker, the latter returning to parent club Tottenham. Still, Town look solid enough to stay in this division and ex-Ipswich man Dean Bowditch should continue to provide plenty of goals.

Compiled by MATTHEW CHAMBERS