League 2 table predictions 1-24

This is why i take no notice of super computer predictions. This is ridiculous...

but id take it

https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/s...ield-oldham-athletic-and-grimsby-town-5170200

 

That would be marvellous if it happened.
I definitely think we can challenge this season but I don’t really have a handle on how strong we are vis-à-vis the other teams in this league and I won’t until we play a few matches.

 

This is where I’m struggling with how confident Barnet fans seem from podcasts & posts I’ve seen online over the last few weeks (bloke from beespod on Gab Suttons channel especially!!!). Until you’ve got a real handle & understanding of the level of this division, I don’t understand how you can be so confident of going again.

There is no doubt you’ve had a brilliant couple of seasons in the NL, and you’ve got something very important which is continuity from having the same gaffer at the helm for a good few years now. But there is a real & genuine step up, and when I look at your squad I don’t think to myself ‘oh yeah that’s top 7 L2 level’ at all, never mind top 3. It’s not to say it won’t happen as of course it could, this is L2 and anything can bloody happen, but I personally think some Barnet fans need to wind it in a bit until you see the level week in week out.

 

This competition has been cancelled this season as this thread has been started too late.

 

I too think barnet may struggle. Thats not to say i think we will do better. I just think the standard of signings we have both made are disappointing so far, and i think it could be the most disappointing season for promoted teams in a while.

Id actually say we are weaker now than 3 weeks ago, and leading into the play offs we were no where near promotion standard.

As for barnet i think its a huge risk relying heavily on national league players for all your signings. If it pays off then fair play, and i actually hope you do well, but id be surprised if either of us finish top half next season

 

Suspect Barnet will ride the crest of the wave long enough to be fine, even if they'll drop off as the season goes on.

 

I think Oldham will struggle, they’re up there in my opinion as one of the worst sides to come up in recent memory. If you add the fact your season was extended a month and with the current recruitment I think you would take 22nd if it was offered to you.

But that’s just my opinion and it doesn’t really matter.

 

I'll have a stab at this properly when I've a bit more time, but I think Barnet will be more than fine too. They have a very particular way of playing that involves a really high line and swamping teams, and it might just take a while before teams suss it. I'm thinking County when they first came up vibes, I remember them slapping a few teams before opposition figured it out and they fell away into mid table.

 

I get the ‘let’s shoot the Barnet fans down for being cocky’, because from other teams perspective its quite annoying. It’s the same when we were in the national league and some traditional EFL club comes down and think they’re going to ‘piss the tinpot league’.

But I think us Barnet fans deserve to plump our feathers and beat our chests as for the first time in a VERY long time, we’ve actually got a side we can be proud of. We’ve been pretty turgid for 20 years.

We’re no different to the other national league champions who have come up, I bet chesterfield thought they’d go back to back?

We’re riding the crest of a wave and yeah we’ll probably get smacked back down to earth after 5/10 games but we’re going to enjoy it until then.
Up the bees

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of enthusiasm and confidence at all, especially after years of being shite so I completely understand it. And yes many of us Chesterfield fans were confident of doing well when we came back up & we’re accused of maybe being too optimistic about our chances (& yes it annoyed me reading that just as much as I’m sure it does you), but we did back that up in the end by achieving play offs (there’s a good argument that it could have been an even better season had we not gone through that ridiculous injury crisis either).

All I was saying in the original post, is to not get too carried away with the expectation, and that there should be a bit of caution when thinking that next season will just be a repeat of last year. I’ve seen many Barnet fans saying there’s barely anything between the NL & L2 teams and that’s what gives them confidence they will just go and do it again, but I can assure you, there absolutely is. The tactical approach, organisation, physicality, quality of players, quality of managers/coaching, financial backing across the board (not just the one or two heavy hitters like in the NL) etc all goes up a notch as you’d expect. You’ll also be surprised at how many teams show very little ambition in games, the vast majority we faced last year happily sat in their shape for 90 minutes with occasional effective counter attacks, and that included teams like Port Vale & Wimbledon who ended up going up!

I like Barnet as a club and have already said on here what I think of your gaffer, and I do hope you do well. Just be aware (as I’m sure you are, but some people like that bloke on the podcast I referenced definitely aren’t) that there will absolutely be a step up in what you’re facing week in week out.

 

As things stand, Notts are going to struggle next year. We need decent quality reinforcements and fast.

I don’t really care how anyone else does.

 

Let's not forget that the last 20 times Barnet have been in this division they have finished 22nd on no less than 19 (nineteen!) occasions. A great bunch of little fans though and a fabulous London day out for everyone, a mere 1hour50min walk from the nearest tube stop.

 

Barnet fans are allowed to feel optimistic, their squad doesn’t look remotely strong enough to challenge but who knows, they’ll be riding a bit of optimism around the club which is more than can be said for a lot of clubs currently.

I’m still hoping/expecting Notts’ best recruitment is yet to come (assume the same of other clubs too), so predictions seem a bit pointless currently

 

Being completely honest i agree with you. I had hoped we would sign quality but in the cold light of day we have signed better at NL level than we have so far.

There Is still time, and i may well be singing a different tune come august, but i dont see us being remotely competitive, whereas initially i was hoping play offs.

 

The play off schedule has been awful for you. A full month lost of prep on us and your players will have had a really short summer break.

 

Lets be honest, while our play off campaign was almost perfect, our season as a whole was poor. Just being here is a bonus because i personally feel like we used a cheat code.

 

I do sometimes think fans get blinded by clubs signing 'names'...most of the time I've never heard of them anyway. I'd never heard of the players Barnet have signed so far, the same was last season. It's about the collective. As to how Barnet get on, think a crack at playoffs is a reasonable expectation. Season depends upon key players not getting injured for a start. The promotion wasn't a flash in the pan, it's been building that goes with recruitment and staff identifying a type of player.

I have zero knowledge of teams were playing next year, so it will be interesting to see how we do.

 

We need to recruit some class. Still time but we've lost McGoldrick, Crowley and Abbott who turned out to be great and replaced with a Championship player who is a good player but injured, 32 and on the way down, a hopeful in Iopenda who could go either way and a striker from Carlisle who is L2 standard but not necessarily a top end one. It's also the first transfer window for our new recruitment man so there's a bit of the unknown as well.
If the season started tomorrow I'd not be shocked at a bottom end of the table scrap but confident-ish we'll strengthen in the next week or two.

 

I still don’t see a team anywhere near relegation - we’ve got a front line of Jones, Jarvis and Jatta (admittedly they all need to be fit and in form but same can be said for every league 2 player) and Bass, Platt and Bedeau at the back. That alone shouldn’t be scrapping relegation even if the season started tomorrow.

clearly lacking a bit of quality and depth to be convincing enough of improving on last season though, and that’s without factoring in the belief the division as a whole should be stronger.

(I’m also still steadfast in my belief Maynard was a horrific manager and the players got a playoff spot in spite of him - but we’ll see how correct that is I guess)