With the new football season just two weeks away, here is an article I wrote for the June edition of When Saturday Comes reviewing the 2010/11 League Two season.
Given the controversy over Notts County the previous season, colossal point deductions for Luton, Rotherham and Bournemouth the year earlier, and the odious presence of MK Dons for two seasons before, this year’s League Two seemed quiet and conventional in comparison. True, there were some minor point deductions and an almost farcical number of management changes, but in the main headlines were derived from where it really matters – on the pitch.
Encapsulating this new era of saneness was Chesterfield’s title victory – exactly a decade on from their last ascent from this division being overshadowed by financial irregularities. The club appeared reborn at the delightful B2Net Stadium – genuinely one of the finest new grounds of recent years – with attendances doubling and Craig Davies and Jack Lester piling in the goals. Arguably Chesterfield’s optimum moment was a televised 5-0 thrashing of near-neighbours Rotherham in March, which prompted Sky’s Don Goodman to declare them the best League Two team he’d ever seen.
That it came over Rotherham was also telling. This was a season where the more-fancied League Two sides failed miserably. The Millers, financially well-backed these days, faded during the second half of the season; Port Vale initially impressed, but losing manager Micky Adams to Sheffield United saw form plummet; Gillingham were no longer so dominant at Priestfield – all missed out on the play offs. Even bigger flops were Bradford and Northampton: considered to have the largest playing budgets, both came closer to relegation.
Instead the so-called lesser lights stole the attention. Bury clinched 2nd – reward for several years sound management under Alan Knill, though he wasn’t around to finish the job after quitting for Scunthorpe in April. The under-hyped Wycombe immediately bounced back to League One by taking the third automatic spot, with 39-year-old Gareth Ainsworth enjoying an Indian summer. Their promotion saw controversy, however, after Ainsworth was awarded a goal at Shrewsbury that didn’t cross the line in a 1-1 draw. The one point Wycombe gained from it was the same margin that they pipped Shrewsbury to promotion.
Alongside Shrewsbury was a play off line up no one would have predicted – Stevenage, Accrington and Torquay. A memorable first Football League campaign for Stevenage ended in a second successive promotion, via Old Trafford; though their physical approach was less admirable. Torquay – deducted one point for fielding an ineligible Jake Robinson – and Accrington produced wonderful passing football in comparison. Stanley boss John Coleman’s summer trip to the World Cup saw him import a low-rent version of Spain onto a dreadful pitch in East Lancashire, with stunning results. They became formidable at home, backed by the passionate Accrington Ultras. Rarely has a football club looked so united.
At the bottom Stockport dropped straight through the division on their return from League One, conceding at least four goals in a game on 11 occasions. For much of the season it seemed Barnet would be joining them, but manager number three of their campaign, Martin Allen, sparked an unlikely revival before astonishingly quitting for Notts County after just 19 days in charge. Yet Barnet regrouped under Giuliano Grazioli – climbing out of the bottom two on the final day.
Their place was surprisingly filled by Lincoln. Although bottom in January, under Steve Tilson they hit superb form in late winter to spark talk of a late play off charge. But then they hit the buffers, taking just one point from their last 10 games to slide out of the league. Hereford (deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player) and Macclesfield (who for a second season were in mourning, following the shock death of midfielder Richard Butcher) struggled on. The best side I saw was Crewe – twice they destroyed my team – yet despite been the league’s top scorers and possessing golden boot winner Clayton Donaldson (29 goals), they only finished mid-table.
And that probably summed up League Two this season for those of us who didn’t go up or down. There was a surprising amount of flair and attractive football around the division, but the relative shortfall of quality was evident in a general lack of consistency. Every year we fans declare “it’s a poor league” and reflect on minnows succeeding as further reason to slate our own team’s failures. But as the dubious arrival of Crawley threatens to steal next season’s headlines and leave the rest of us crying foul over their mysterious financial might, perhaps we’ll look back on the 2010/11 season with fondness over the fact that, occasionally, football really is all about football.
