The Offside Yap #11 – Who’s had the best season in the Football League?
With the English Football League season drawing to a close and play-off's on the horizon, we asked the team:
Which club has had the best season in the Football League?
Leicester secured the Championship title with 102 points
Championship | Derby County (3rd )
Morgan Hammond –Steve McLaren’s done a great job there this season to get them into the play-offs – they’re my tip for promotion
Championship | Blackburn Rovers (8th)
Mark Young – A club that was seemingly destined to be a Championship club for as long as the owners could be bothered to fund it. The club has had a magnificent 2014 where goals have not only come from Jordan Rhodes but Rudy Gestede and Tom Cairney. I read the other day that it is a club that is succeeding despite its owners and not with them. I couldn’t agree more and tip Gary Bowyer’s team as this term’s overachievers.
Yet Sarah doesn’t necessarily agree…
Sarah Dawkins – I’m not entirely sure Rovers ‘overachieved’ this season. Not a lot separated the top half of Championship clubs this season and the squad definitely deserved a chance in the play-offs but wasteful, lacklustre 0-0 draws with clubs like Yeovil did them no favours in the push for a spot. However…the second half of the season was positive! Rovers have an exciting young squad with the likes of Gestede and Cairney and for the first time in a long time, I’m actually looking forward to next season!
League One | Brentford (2nd)
Greg Helmich – After the disappointment of losing in the play-off final last season it was a great achievement to pick themselves up and secure automatic promotion this year. Any club that has a pub in each corner of the ground has to be worth of a place in the top leagues!
Brentford’s Griffin Park is the only football club in the country with a pub on every corner
League One | Peterborough United (6th)
Jess Martin – They comfortably qualified for the playoffs, with Britt Assombalonga scoring 23 league goals! To top this all off they also won the Johnsons Paint Trophy in March!
League One | Bristol City (12th)
Michelle Owen – Bristol City fought back from the brink to secure another season in League One. In December they found themselves rooted at the foot of the table, but a solid if not spectacular turn around saw them climb out of trouble to 12th and finish unbeaten in their last 6 games!
Rebecca Coles – When Steve Cotterill stepped in as manager in early December a second demotion appeared possible as they had only won 2 of their 18 fixtures with the previous manager Sean O’Driscoll. The fans were miserable and the players were at an all-time low with losing every week. Fast forward to the end of the season and finishing at a flattering 12th along with Sam Baldock winning the Sky Bet League One Golden Boot
League One | Coventry (18th)
Tom Simmonds – A club finishing 18th in their division might look underwhelming on the surface. however, when that club was resold to the consortium that had put them into administration over the summer, and then relocated 35 miles south of their perfectly serviceable ground to Northampton, the prognosis for Coventry was bleak in summer 2013. Add a 10 point deduction and a severe reduction in crowds and gate money, and things really did look hopeless for the Sky Blues. However, Steven Pressley’s rag tag and bobtail outfit, made of rough diamonds like Callum Wilson and experienced lower division heads like Franck Moussa acquitted themselves fabulously in 2013/14. They would have finished 9th but for the deduction, and still survived relatively comfortably, despite a big late season dip. Coventry weren’t expected to survive the summer, let alone relegation. They have exceeded all expectations.
Who gets your vote for Football League best season? Leicester for securing the Championship title? How about Wycombe Wanderers for securing their Football League survival on the last day of the season?
See the rest of our Offside Yap debates here!
The Offside Rule 
Leave a comment