Stickied League 2 Transfer Rumours/Confirmed Transfers 2023/24

[AdamStag]

Because he is ex Mansfield and all ex Mansfield players are shite

Feel free to enlighten me on that one? Hardly the case.

 

[AdamStag]

Being lectured about the step up to L2 is almost as tiresome as the lecture we all received when we dropped down to the Conference.

Bet Cheltenham thought that too.

 

[GodsGift]

Zzzzzz.

 

[Casey]

I've just noticed Jason Banton has gone on loan to Partick Thistle for the rest of the season.

He looked a classy player earlier in the season but has gradually faded away. I don't know of any reason why though. It also strikes me how far the Scottish premier has fallen. League two players heralded at a Scots premier side seems a drop from the days they were poaching top division players.

Casey

 

[Conker]

Feel free to enlighten me on that one? Hardly the case.

Clements is not very good and they paid us a fee, that's his problem.

I don't know these other players mentioned but if they are not good enough they will not last in the league, and personally I think Arnold will have the same fate.

 

[AdamStag]

Clements is not very good and they paid us a fee, that's his problem.

I don't know these other players mentioned but if they are not good enough they will not last in the league, and personally I think Arnold will have the same fate.

Part of the reason I got irritated by Clements was that he had the ability, just didn't show it often enough or have the correct attitude.

He's got it in there, he just needs to show it more consistently. Maybe Grimsby will find that - I certainly wouldn't begrudge him that.

 

[Luke Imp]

But there isn't much of a gap between L2 and the Conference. It's closing all the time. Not much difference. At all.

 

[Vanni]

But there isn't much of a gap between L2 and the Conference. It's closing all the time. Not much difference. At all.

Correct.

Between the lower mid-table L2 sides and the top 6-7 Conference ones.

 

[PaulHaddock]

Aren't Cheltenham disproving that theory though? Obviously they've done a bit of a Leicester and their form has completely deserted them but I'd be really interested to see some L2 teams play the conference teams.

 

[AdamStag]

A conference winning side could survive just about in the league without strengthening at all.

Grimsby and Bristol rovers did well as they strengthened as soon as they went up.

As vanni says - the bottom 6 would be similar to the top 6 of the conference, but that's about it.

However, while in the conference and back in the league, I've been a big advocate of 3 up 3 down

 

[Casey]

A good conference side should be clear of danger in league 2 but if you don't strengthen you can find yourself lacking confidence and drawn towards the dogfight.

Sometimes it's the players you don't expect who make the step up and vice versa.

Jim Baker

 

[Conker]

To be fair I found it hard to understand many of our players who come across excellence in our conference title winning season were actually in the majority pretty shit at League level.

We pretty much brought any decent conference player that season too, squad had about 40 players in it.

Lincoln have quite a few former Mansfield players so much so every time I have watched them on TV this season the commentators have mistakenly called them Mansfield due to all the links

Wish Arnold all the best because he's always come across well to Mansfield being a local lad but I just think he's not got it to have a decent career in the league, love to be proved wrong.

 

[Luke Imp]

Correct.

Between the lower mid-table L2 sides and the top 6-7 Conference ones.

Yeah, that's pretty much always been the case but overall the standard is higher above that.

I always use York as an example, albeit up via the PO's, who had a good side but had to be dismantled because most of them couldn't hack it. Mansfield were the same and Cheltenham this season. Although Grimsby lost some players, it was probably a bit of a blessing in disguise. I know some perform better, but that doesn't seem to be at the regularity of a few years ago.

 

[mowgli]

Wycombe have signed our ex winger Paris Cowan-Hall on a contract up to June 2019 after Millwall released him yesterday. We now have a squad of 23 players our biggest for years.

 

[WH_Stag]

Because he is ex Mansfield and all ex Mansfield players are shite

yeah Sam Clucas is absolute shite, i mean he's only playing in the premiership

 

[WH_Stag]

But there isn't much of a gap between L2 and the Conference. It's closing all the time. Not much difference. At all.

You've not been in this league for 5 years so you can not comment. Again look at cheltenham. Ran away with the league, now one of the worst sides to play in the league for along time. Ive seen Lincoln play and they're no better, just lump it forward, to Rhead 90% of the time. I think it depends how you get our the league, lump it sides like us struggled eventually but sides like Bristol Rovers and Fleetwood that played really nice football did very well. Cheltenham's squad also has hardly any league experience in it and its really showing.

Id disagree with people saying the standard in league two is bad, its getting better every year and this year theres so many "big" clubs and a lot of good players at average clubs.

 

[Richard Cranium]

The year Chesterfield won it the standard was good. The following year was the worst L2 I've ever known. We were much worse that season than we were in 07/08 when we actually got relegated.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

The gap between the standard of League Two and the National League is big. Some of the defending we saw in our promotion year was abysmal and the lack of tactical acumen from the coaching left a lot to be desired. We'll just push up and leave a high line for Akinde to run into.

There are no real stand out teams in this league, although Doncaster and Coppinger were impressive. It's a solid league though.

 

[GodsGift]

If this Cheltenham side are so bad, why aren't they in the bottom two?

Put this current Lincoln side into League Two and we'd be safe in mid table. It's not all about the squad anyway, the Cowley's would make a massive difference as well.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

If this Cheltenham side are so bad, why aren't they in the bottom two?

Put this current Lincoln side into League Two and we'd be safe in mid table. It's not all about the squad anyway, the Cowley's would make a massive difference as well.

Because there is an overlap. I don't think anyone is suggesting that the worst side in League Two is better than the best in the National League.

 

[AdamStag]

If this Cheltenham side are so bad, why aren't they in the bottom two?

Put this current Lincoln side into League Two and we'd be safe in mid table. It's not all about the squad anyway, the Cowley's would make a massive difference as well.

They've been in the bottom 2 virtually all season and invested in January as they realised that the side they went up with wasn't good enough - which is why they struggled.

There isn't any template - you could come up and keep the same team (I wouldn't) and you might batter the league.

Ours in the first season was pretty much what we had in the conference and we finished 11th - though Cox got found out and we went on a 3 month run without a win.

 

[SF_]

Just noticed that Jamie Proctor has ended up at Carlisle, never known a striker like him before, like he genuinely doesn't want to score and a foray into the penalty area would result in him being hit by lightning.

 

[GTFCfish]

Ive seen Lincoln play and they're no better, just lump it forward, to Rhead 90% of the time.

Affraid I have to stick up for our neighbours here and say the few times I've seen them this season on tv they have played some excellent stuff and very rarely relied on the hoofing, so not sure where you've got that from.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Seeing that Rhead hasn[t scored for some time yet Lincoln are still winning (apart from their mishap at Barrow), that can't be true.

 

[Gladders]

The standard of league 2 is shite anyhow. The fact we are close to the playoffs tells you that, I haven't seen us many times this season but we have been pretty poor everytime I have. Only Donny and Plymouth are decent the rest down to about 17th aren't all that and it just takes a decent run to move up the pack, look at Exeter and Wycombe.

But that said the conference is an even worse standard, since Fleetwood went up, every season the standard has got worse and worse.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I don't think you'll come close to those seasons in the Conference again. Wrexham finished 2nd to Fleetwood on 98 points, we were next in 3rd on 89. The season after Kidderminster finished 2nd on 93 and still didn't go up. It really should be 3 up 3 down!

The only positive to not having 3 up 3 down means Forest Green Rovers missed out last season

 

[Luke Imp]

You've not been in this league for 5 years so you can not comment. Again look at cheltenham. Ran away with the league, now one of the worst sides to play in the league for along time. Ive seen Lincoln play and they're no better, just lump it forward, to Rhead 90% of the time. I think it depends how you get our the league, lump it sides like us struggled eventually but sides like Bristol Rovers and Fleetwood that played really nice football did very well. Cheltenham's squad also has hardly any league experience in it and its really showing.

Id disagree with people saying the standard in league two is bad, its getting better every year and this year theres so many "big" clubs and a lot of good players at average clubs.

It was a tongue in cheek post.

You've not taken in many games in if you think 90% of our play is lumping it up to Rhead.

 

[Luke Imp]

Seeing that Rhead hasn[t scored for some time yet Lincoln are still winning (apart from their mishap at Barrow), that can't be true.

12 games without a goal, but still our top scorer (11 goals but we've scored nearing 80 this season!). In fact our first choice pairing of Rhead and Robinson (before he left) haven't scored in the league since November I don't think.

He's actually playing more in a number 10 role this season, hence his lack of goals. Doing a brilliant job of linking the play and he's not really getting chances in the way of set pieces either. Refs would just blow up for a foul so he basically just stands there and has two guys marking him.

 

[AdamStag]

It was a tongue in cheek post.

You've not taken in many games in if you think 90% of our play is lumping it up to Rhead.

For what it's worth, your performances I've seen on Tv bar barrow have been good. The pace of the conference is worrying slow, however

 

[BeesKnees]

I just think the style of play to get promoted out of the conference isn't suited to top half league 2 and it's how promoted teams adjust that matters.
The pressure to get a win in the conference generally makes those teams vulnerable against slightly smarter attackers and tougher defences in league 2.