Going Up in 2020? : Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:21 am
The best odds available on League One shows the following prices for winning the league (dated 10th January 2020):Barrow 5/2
Newcastle 7/2
Dons 4/1
Keighley 8/1
Rochdale 10/1
Workington 12/1
Hunslet 12/1
London Skolars 25/1
North Wales 40/1
Coventry 66/1
West Wales 66/1
Where is the money presently going?
26% of bets staked so far have gone on Barrow. 19% have gone on Keighley with Hunslet 15%, Newcastle 14%, and West Wales 14%.
The rest (Dons, Rochdale, Workington, London, W Wales and Coventry) account collectively for the other 13%.
This suggests Dons fans either don’t fancy our chances, aren’t bettors, or are very tight and like to keep our money in our pockets!
Here's my view:
I'm very pleased we have ditched Dual Reg. Working closely with Hull seemed like a good idea in theory but it simply didn’t work in practice. We relied too much on them and didn’t take enough control ourselves.
We presently have a squad of good quality players which I believe is better than any squad we’ve had in recent seasons. I am somewhat concerned that we’re relatively short on numbers but keeping 30 players happy would equally be a thankless task. We can dip into the loan market if we need to. That worked reasonably well last year.
The backs should pose a constant threat in attack with Matty Beharrell leading the way. Rangi could return to his previous best and cause havoc. I believe Jack Logan will be a major player at full-back. Any team with aspirations to win the league needs to have a dynamic full-back. Jack Logan fits the bill.
My biggest concern is the front row. I would have liked to have seen another big barnstorming prop added to the squad. Richard Horne does seem to like mobile props rather than weighty ones. Graeme Horne could be a key asset though if he manages to stay fit.
Given fair luck with injuries, I’m quietly optimistic that we have a team good enough to finish in the top two. Now, with that barnstorming prop we might even be able win it!
What does everyone else think?
