EFL League Two or division 4 as many of us will still fondly remember it as is underway and once again it looks like being very competitive both at the top and the bottom. Stockport County finally returned as Conference Champions last season, and they will bring sizable crowds, while the likes of Doncaster & Gillingham will be looking to bounce back at the first attempt. Add into this mix Salford with their links to the Class of 92 and straight away you have a shortlist of front runners. Speaking of Manchester connections how about Mark Hughes managing Bradford? City!!
So will it be one of the obvious contenders or will a team come out of right field and surprise us all? Ask us again in about seven months and we will tell you for sure. Until then here is the Five Minutes Football Brain Trust’s best guess as to how things will end up.
EFL League Two Winners
Image: Stadium Sixfields, /Shutterstock.com
We can make a case for at least half a dozen teams but given we have to choose one we are plumping for Northampton Town who were a tad unlucky not to be promoted last season. They lost out on automatic promotion last season thanks to a crazy final day which saw Bristol Rovers win 7-0 to pip them on goals scored!
There has been a bit of turnover in the squad, but they actually look a little better for it. We particularly like the signing of Danny Hylton from Championship side Luton. He is a proven goal scored at this level. Overall they look to have amassed a decent mix of youth and experience and manager Jon Brady has been with the team since 2016 managing their U16 & U18 sides before stepping up.
Automatic Promotion
Stockport County will be full of confidence following their impressive season last year and it’s not unusual for the Conference Champion to figure. They will have plenty of backing and they have managed to retain manager Dave Challinor who was instrumental in their success. They have added depth to the squad, mainly via free transfers, however, they did pay £45k for Welsh CB Joe Lewis. That looks like a bargain and they should have a bit of money available in January if needed too.
With a summer under his belt, we expect Mark Hughes to have got Bradford’s squad the way he wants it and with their huge home crowds (well for league two) they should finally stop underachieving.
Playoff Contenders
Mansfield reached the playoff final last year but failed to put in much of a performance, losing 3-0 to Port Vale. However, they have a quality manager in Nigel Clough and plenty of experience in the squad. They should make the playoffs and could push for automatic promotion. Salford has added a former Manchester United coach as manager which is either a shrewd move or nepotism. Time will tell but they again should be in the top half.
Gillingham was relegated on the last day and even this was on goal difference. They were quite hard to beat last season and they have added a couple of goalkeepers which should help with those odd-goal defeats
How Will the Newly Promoted Teams fare?
The gap between the National League and EFL League Two is not great and we fully expect Stockport to give a good account of themselves. However, Grimsby might find things a bit hard and they were maybe a tad lucky to get promoted. They should stay up but a bottom-half finish is likely and a relegation struggle is possible.
EFL League Two Relegation candidates
Hartlepool have had some painful losses staff wise and we can see them struggling to adjust in such a short space of time
Colchester United, Barrow and newly promoted Grimsby loo like being in the relegation dog fight.
Anyway here is how we see the table finishing…
EFL League Two Final Table Prediction
1 Northampton Town
2 Stockport County
3 Bradford City
4 Mansfield Town
5 Salford City
6 Gillingham
7 Walsall
8 Leyton Orient
9 Tranmere Rovers
10 Carlisle United
11 Newport County
12 Sutton United
13 AFC Wimbledon
14 Doncaster Rovers
15 Swindon Town
16 Harrogate Town
17 Crawley Town
18 Stevenage
19 Rochdale
20 Crewe Alexandra
21 Grimsby Town
22 Barrow
23 Colchester United
24 Hartlepool United
Playoff Final
Mansfield Town beating Gillingham
So there we have it, our predictions for 2022-23. Why not check out our most recent EFL League Two posts while you are here, or have a go at one of our growing bank of Football Quizzes.
You can check last year’s prediction here too if you are curious.
Scotty ✅
