League Two Odds: Five outside shots for promotion
The Football League returns on Saturday August 7 and last week we provided you with a run through of the top-five teams in the League Two winner market. Today we’ve taken a look at the League Two promotion odds and have focussed our attention on five outside shots who are not at the head of the betting.
It’s worth remembering that last season Derek Adams pulled off the unthinkable with Morecambe after the Shrimps were priced at 16/1 before a ball was kicked to achieve promotion. That was the biggest-price of any side in the division and with Morecambe finishing 4th in the table Sky Bet also paid out on their pre-season each-way offering of 200/1 for them to win the league at 1/4 odds.
| League Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cheltenham | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 82 |
| 2. | Cambridge U | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 80 |
| 3. | Bolton | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 79 |
| 4. | Morecambe | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 78 |
| 5. | Newport County | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 73 |
| 6. | Forest Green | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 73 |
| 7. | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 73 |
| 8. | Salford City | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 71 |
| 9. | Exeter City | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 70 |
| 10. | Carlisle Utd | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 66 |
| 11. | Leyton Orient | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 61 |
| 12. | Crawley | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 61 |
| 13. | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 60 |
| 14. | Stevenage | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 60 |
| 15. | Bradford C | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 59 |
| 16. | Mansfield Town | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 58 |
| 17. | Harrogate | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 57 |
| 18. | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 54 |
| 19. | Walsall | 46 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 53 |
| 20. | Colchester | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 51 |
| 21. | Barrow | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 50 |
| 22. | Scunthorpe Utd | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | 48 |
| 23. | Southend Utd | 46 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 45 |
| 24. | Grimsby Town | 46 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 43 |
Forest Green Rovers - 10/3
The first side in this quintet is Forest Green Rovers who have reached the play-offs in two of the last three seasons. In April Mark Cooper parted ways with the club after five years which included a memorable promotion to the Football League, with Rob Edwards now the man in charge.
Edwards was fast-tracked into management after being a successful and highly rated coach and after a sixth place-finish last season Rovers can potentially improve this time round. The club have some young talented players such as Regan Hendry and Kane Wilson and with the attacking options of Matty Stevens, Jake Young and Jamille Matt they look to have enough in the final third.
Leyton Orient 10/3
Orient finished 11th in the table in 2020/2021 and after the impressive appointment of Kenny Jackett they can improve again this season. Many were shocked that The O’s managed to secure Jackett’s services after his promotions at Swansea, Millwall and Wolves.
Stability is what’s needed after six managers in two years and this looks an excellent appointment. Jackett has also reached the play-offs twice with Portsmouth and got straight to work in looking to rebuild the squad in order to suit his direct style of play.
Port Vale - 7/2
After taking over in February, manager Darrell Clarke won eight of his 18 league matches in charge of Port Vale, including a six game win-streak. This ranked them sixth in the form table since his appointment and Clarke will bring a wealth of experience to the side who finished 13th last season.
15 players have been released from the club this summer and there is a question mark over whether Clarke will need a season to build and establish themselves, however with last year’s strong finish there’s reason to believe that they could well punch above their weight this season
Newport - 9/2
After reaching the play-off final last season, Newport will have to dust themselves off and find the strength to go again this campaign. 9/2 is the current industry top price available on Michael Flynn’s side reaching the third tier.
One huge loss for the Exiles will be Josh Sheehan. The creative midfielder was named in the League Two team of the year but has since made the switch to the North West to Bolton Wanderers. The Rodney Parade pitch has been notoriously difficult to play on over the last few years, particularly in winter. With renovations now having taken place there’s every chance that Flynn may go for a less aerial based approach with this benefiting the side in the long term.
Walsall - 11/2
There’s plenty of reasons to think Walsall can make a significant step forward this season after being underachievers for several years. Former Premier League midfielder Matthew Taylor is now the manager tasked with improving the Saddlers’ fortunes after impressing as boss of Tottenham U18s, a position he held for two years.
Goalkeeper Karl Rushworth has arrived on loan from Brighton and new centre-back Manny Monthe should help tighten things up at the back. Walsall were eighth in the table at Christmas 2020 and went on to finish 19th, but with a change in structure and some fresh faces, the West Midlands side can improve in the forthcoming season.
