Football Season Guide

There is little doubt that, alongside Oldham, Stevenage are the biggest unknown of the league, going into the new League One season. First of all, it is extremely difficult to determine just how good the Boro were last time around. They played the first half of the season like strong promotion challengers would, only to dramatically drop off in the second half and ending up barely surviving in the division. Graham Westley took over for his third spell with the club near the end of the previous season, and the list of the players that he allowed to leave makes complete sense, except for Mark Roberts, who was the bedrock of the Boro's defence in the last few seasons. The factor that further increases the difficulty of judging their potential is their list of signings, given the fact that Jimmy Smith and Oumare Tounkara, who are both average players at League One level, as the only two summer signings they have brought in that have significant experience of playing in the third tier. One thing that is quite clear is that Stevenage do not have the playing squad to be able to realistically expect to push for a top ten finish, but Westley is known for being able to get the Boro punching significantly above their weight, so even a surprisingly good season for them cannot be completely dismissed as a possibility. However, they seem to be far more realistic to continue to struggle, given that they have not solved any of their existing problems (such as the ones in defence, or the lack of goals), and it is hardly a surprise that they are among the bookies' favorites to go down.