Things are not going right for Southend
Southend have not managed to build upon what was a very promising start. Three wins in the first three games left ‘the Shrimpers’ in a very strong position, but one win in five has meant they have spiralled down to 14th. A late Anton Forrester goal on Saturday denied them an away win against Bury and provoked Phil Brown into slamming his team as “naive” and “unprofessional”. Southend face a tough run of matches in the coming weeks (which includes away trips to Oxford and Burton) so their poor run of form looks set to get worse before it gets better.
Play-Off hangovers continue to worry Northampton and Cheltenham
Two teams who would have hoped to hit the ground running after unsuccessful Play-Off campaigns last season, Cheltenham and Northampton, have done the exact opposite and sit 21st and 23rd respectively. Both have only won one game so far this season and both defences are leaking goals at an alarming rate. Cheltenham haven’t won in four games but are approaching a run of games that they will be confident of beginning to pick up points whereas Northampton haven’t won in six and face their most difficult run of the season so far in the coming weeks.
Portsmouth are not finding League 2 as easy as they would have hoped
Many tipped Portsmouth to win the League at a canter this season and for the first time in years it appeared that everyone at the club was pulling in the right direction. Cue Oxford United. A humiliating 4-1 opening day defeat at the hands of Chris Wilder’s men was the lowest point of what has been a very frustrating start for the south coast club. With only two wins in eight matches, Pompey have not found life in League 2 as simple as many predicted and lots of improvement is needed for them to catch up with the likes of Chesterfield and Fleetwood.
Mansfield could be set to emulate Stevenage and Crawley
Upon their return to The Football League many thought Mansfield would have been contented with a steady, consolidating season but ‘the Stags’ have roared their way to 5th place. After a slow start, they picked up the pace with wins over Wycombe and Dagenham, and they now look fully settled after recording wins over York and Northampton. Unbeaten since the first day, Mansfield could be set to emulate the likes of Stevenage and Crawley and achieve back-to-back promotions at the end of the season.
Wimbledon’s fantastic start is showing no sign of slowing
After being locked in a relegation battle for much of last season, Wimbledon’s revival at the start of this season has been very impressive. Neil Ardley made some very shrewd additions to his squad in the summer and so far the team has looked very strong. ‘The Dons’ have chalked up some very important wins, most noticeably against Fleetwood, and have won five out of eight thus far. With matches against four of the bottom five coming up (along with an away game against Morecambe) Wimbledon’s very good start shows no signs of abating.
