Coca-Cola League Two: 13th Jan

[kompressaur]

13 Jan 15:00 Barnet v Macclesfield 2.30 3.20 2.75
13 Jan 15:00 Chester v Wycombe 2.30 3.20 2.75
13 Jan 15:00 Darlington v Peterborough 2.40 3.20 2.62
13 Jan 15:00 Hartlepool v Milton Keynes Dons 2.10 3.20 3.20
13 Jan 15:00 Hereford v Mansfield 1.90 3.30 3.60
13 Jan 15:00 Lincoln City v Shrewsbury 1.80 3.30 4.00
13 Jan 15:00 Rochdale v Bristol Rovers 2.25 3.20 2.87
13 Jan 15:00 Stockport v Boston Utd 1.90 3.30 3.60
13 Jan 15:00 Swindon v Wrexham 1.57 3.50 5.50
13 Jan 15:00 Torquay v Bury 2.50 3.25 2.50
odds from bet365

[Quandram]

I await the more knowledgeable L2 heads but Bury look interesting to me initially.

They've not won in thier last 3 but with the exception of Accrington they were against teams who have been on good little runs.

Torquay haven't won in 18 and haven't even managed a draw in 7.

Torquay recruited to kids last week from Cardiff (1 who got 1 goal in 4 when at Bristol Rovers earlier this season) and will be looking to get more i reckon as their manager thinks that the way to solve an unhappy dressing room is to add more players to it (according to the BBC).

Bury looking to fend off MK Dons interest in one of their midfielders. If they do i fancy them to take this one.

One to keep an eye on for the rest of the week i fancy.

[bosman]

Yes, Bury is the good call this week. Their manager
don't want to sell the best players:

Casper has rejected bids for midfielder Dwayne Mattis from Barnsley and MK Dons and is expecting the interest to build in the coming weeks.

"The phone has been burning with the transfer window open," Casper told the club's official website. "I suppose it's down to being successful and having good players in your side.

"Clubs always want to take your best players and we've had to deal with that, although I would hasten to say any deals that are done, are done by the directors.

"Managers contact me to see if a player is available and if a bid comes in, then it goes to the boardroom. I don't want to lose my best players but at the same time, we are in a pecking order and we have to be realistic.

"I'd like to see my players in a higher division, but in a Bury shirt. Whether that will happen this season, I don't know."

Torquay form is really terrible,and I don't see them stopping Bury.

[daikoku]

A bit of Torquay info. Former manager Colin Lee has returned to 'assist' current manager Lubos Kubik. Lee will be working at the club 3 days a week including match days.

The full article can be found here .

Checked the forums and the fans are not happy with the 3 players signed this week. There is also talk of a fans boycott of the Bury game.

Forum link here

[kompressaur]

barnet v Macclesfield looks like an over 2.5 to me. MK Dons to bring Harltlepool down to earth?

Mansfield, Stockport and bury i would be interested in too.

[bosman]

Swindon at 1.57 is not great, but looking at Wrexham problems
should be a safe one. Betting against Wrexham at home is a very brave decision,
but their away form is not the best one.
Last round it was injury troubles, now they sacked their manager:

League Two side Wrexham have sacked manager Denis Smith and his assistant Kevin Russell.

The club said in a statement on their website: "Nobody has wanted Denis and Kevin to succeed more than the Directors of the club.

"However, we feel we have no option at this time but to make a change to allow us time to turn things around."

Brian Carey has been installed to take over first-team duties as Wrexham aim to pull clear of the relegation zone.

The statement went on to say: "This is a club that is making good progress off the field. We are extremely ambitious and want and need to be in a position to challenge in the league.

"We hope that a dawn of a new era will bring just that."

Former York, Sunderland and Bristol City manager Smith succeeded Brian Flynn as manager in 2001.

Wrexham striker Lee McEvilly has questioned the decision to dispense with Smith's services.

McEvilly scored the final goal of Smith's long reign during last weekend's FA Cup third-round defeat at Derby.

He said: "I've only been here for 18 months but I think it's harsh - they could have waited until the end of the season and see where we ended up.

"The transfer window is open now. They could have given the man a bit of money and see what he could have done."

[Frodo]

Further to the Bury shout, they have now sold their 'best player' Mattis to Barnsley. However all is not lost, Torquay have brought in two loan players with league experience but have followed that up with a trio of what I'd call bizarre signings. Hopefully be back with more thoughts tomorrow.

Peterborough have spent £860k so far in this transfer window which is a hell of alot for a L2 club. Expect lots of changes from their recent sides. They might be worth a sly thought against a mis-firing Darlo. Although Darlo have been linked with a move for highly rated Sunderland striker Chris Brown.

[kompressaur]

cheers frodo. Just looking at any team news of note poss from soccernet.......

nah there's none looks like a funny old weekend with teams playing new signings, bad pitches and wind it could be a time to keep stakes low.

[Bigkegman]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Peterborough have spent £860k so far in this transfer window which is a hell of alot for a L2 club. Expect lots of changes from their recent sides. They might be worth a sly thought against a mis-firing Darlo. Although Darlo have been linked with a move for highly rated Sunderland striker Chris Brown.

This could explain the price drop in the Posh - thanks Frodo

[Bigkegman]

Agreeing with everybody so far as I fancy Bury to beat a poor Torquay and with details listed above I see nothing to stop me.

I also like Notts County away to Accrington - Accringtons honeymoon period has long gone and are struggling and even although Notts County aren't doing too great (form is very similar to each other) I fancy the away team here and they won the reverse fixture 3-2.

Home wins for Stockport and Swindon for by..........

[bosman]

Notts County looks really great. Take a look at this:

Accrington Stanley's history record is against them for the 13th January as they take on Notts County at the Fraser Eagle Stadium.

Stanley have failed to record a win on 13th January in their last 7 games.

1923 Crewe Alexandra H 0-0
1934 Millwall A 0-3
1951 Bradford Park Avenue A 0-3
1993 Southport H 2-2
1996 Leek Town H 0-0
2001 Emley ? 0-3
2004 Colchester United A 1-2

Overall playing record for 13 January: Played 7, Won 0, Drawn 3, Lost 4, Scored 3, Conceded 13.

History not looking good, no chance for Stanley, ha, ha.

[bosman]

Barnet v Macclesfield - no idea !

Chester v Wycombe - Wycombe happy after Chelsea draw,maybe narrow home win ?

Darlington v Peterborough - Posh very busy on transfer market, I'll try away win

Hartlepool v Milton Keynes Dons - two teams in form, the best option is over 2.5

Hereford v Mansfield - looks like home win, but I don't trust Hereford

Lincoln City v Shrewsbury - easy home win, odds are good enough

Rochdale v Bristol Rovers - no bet, but Rovers away at this odds....

Stockport v Boston Utd - anything other as home hin would be a big suprise

Swindon v Wrexham - home win

Torquay v Bury - even without Mattis, Bury should beat Torquay.

[Frodo]

13 Jan 15:00 Barnet v Macclesfield - Unless you're perhaps interested in the overs this is a huge no bet!! Both sides could be without their first choice keepers and I know for a fact our second choice keeper is rubbish, also Calamity Charles could return to the defence.

13 Jan 15:00 Chester v Wycombe -Difficult to work out how Wycombe will react after tuesday's game, difficult to work out which Chester will turn up and whether they'd have half an eye on their FA Cup replay. Wycombe very drawy. No bet.

13 Jan 15:00 Hartlepool v Milton Keynes Dons - Game of the day. 2 on form sides, tough to pick a winner. Hartlepool's have lost Jon Daly to Dundee United but replaced him with Ritchie Barker who's a proven goalscorer at this level. Thought the Dons looked good against Lincoln on monday although they almost lost they did miss 2 penalties. With Dons sometimes hit and miss away from home I think the odds are about right here. Not sure why you're so keen on the overs here Bosman when Hartlepool haven't had an over in their last 9.

13 Jan 15:00 Hereford v Mansfield - Mansfield have signed two new strikers to replace the departed Ritchie Barker. Hereford at under evens lacks appeal I'd advise folks to listen to Kop onthis one though.

13 Jan 15:00 Lincoln City v Shrewsbury - Both sides form are similar. Team news marginally favours Shrewsbury IMO. No bet.

13 Jan 15:00 Rochdale v Bristol Rovers - Dale inconsistent, Rovers last away was a good draw at Walsall. Would give Rochdale the edge but not with a great deal of confidence.

13 Jan 15:00 Stockport v Boston Utd - Could've been interested in Stockport but they had the weeks FA Youth Cup game against Southampton switched because of appalling pitch conditions. Think this one will be off but if not it'll favour Boston's hoofball style. No bet.

13 Jan 15:00 Swindon v Wrexham - Wrexham have fired the popular management duo and are potential without 6 players including the influential Mark Jones, to be honest Iwouldn't read too much into the other outs as they've not played much in the last few months anyway. Do Swindon convince me enough at home though, not really. No bet for me.

Three more games to come....

[Frodo]

13 Jan 15:00 Torquay v Bury

On paper, on form an easy away win. However it’s not as easy as that with Bury losing their best player Dwayne Mattis the Shakers fans are concerned about their potential lack of bite in midfield. Also this time last season when they got rid of their best players they slumped so potential warning signs there.

Torquay can’t score at the moment and have a young keeper who seems to gift the opponents a goal a game and could give league debuts to as many as 6 new signings!!

Hapgood - A striker who’s done the rounds, was doing reasonably well at Clevedon (3 levels below L2) though most of his goals were penalties. He didn’t make it in the football league before and I struggle to say why I should believe he’ll do it this time.

Baxter - Unknown to me, from Canada, my first impression would be he smacks of someone who’d write to L2 clubs and they’d all reject him.

Simpson - can’t get into the St.Albans team.

McKoy & Easter – The loan pair from Cardiff. The latter was on loan with Bristol Rovers and scored on his debut. Didn’t hear much of him after that though

Dickson – On loan from Plymouth, on paper he looks a decent player although one who’s short of match practice.

Also losing Adam Murray to Macclesfield is a bizarre move and a big blow and his loss will cause a loss of bite in the Torquay midfield too. Captain Kevin Hill is also missing through injury.

After 2 weeks without a game Bury should be fresh and chompnig at the bit to get a Torquay side who perhaps won’t be familiar with each other and even if they were I’d raise doubts to their qualities anyway.

However there’s one other thing to throw into the mix. Then appointment of Colin Lee in a coaching capacity. I’ve a feeling he’ll have a heavy input on a Czech manager who is quite frankly dieing on his arse. Colin Lee has had one spell in charge of Torquay before where he inspired a condemmed team to avoid relegation at Barnet’s expense. Being a Barnet fan I do not need to be told of the impact he could have however I just don’t think there’s the quality or continuity at Torquay at the moment for Lee to have an immediate impact. 2.7 on the away win is good value but this one may be a bit closer than you think.

[Frodo]

Darlo v Peterborough

Darlo boss Dave penney appears to have moved to halt Darlo’s recent defensive woes and with Peterborough giving league debuts to numerous new signings there’s just too many uncertainties in this one to sway me. Cummins is also back to sure up the Darlo midfield however I would give a slight edge to Posh though no result would surprise me.

Accy v N.County –

I liked County in this one but Accy should be better off than recent games. There are doubts in my mind about whether the County defence would enjoy playing against someone with the pace of Stanley’s returning striker Rommy Boco. Former Forest defender Alan Rogers should also be a good signing for Stanley if they can motivate him. With County’s drop off in form I can’t call this one.. Those who are keen to back County should probably look to the head to heads with County being 3-0 up at home against Stanley only to concede 2 in the last few mins to flatter the visitors.

In conclusion, probably only Bury for me but not with massive stakes as I'm wary of Colin Lee despite my brain trying to tell me otherwise.