Promotion or not?

[Since71]

We could go up of course. But only Bass, Bedau, Platt ( I'm disgusted with any criticism of him on this board) and McGoldrick can definitely play at that level
The rest including Jones will struggle. The one thing they all have in common is lack of physicality and intensity in their games. Too many wannabe ballers and not enough competitors.

[upthemaggies]

One home game two away we're crap at home very good away so get through next sat and it's a yes from me..

The final would probably feel more like a home game though if we get through. Notts should outnumber Chesterfield or Walsall - to the point it's very obvious.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Head says no, heart says yes.

Doncaster showed us that we are not ready for league one yet. That does not mean that there is not an opportunity or chance right now that it would be madness to give up on and hand it to Wimbledon, Walsall or Chesterfield. They have hardly tore this league apart and bar Chesterfield their form recently has been no better if not worse than ours. Plus you just never know anything can happen in football especially if the football gods are on our side.

If we get promoted we need to be good enough to stay at that level and be competitive otherwise what’s the point? As others have said Mansfield have struggled and they were a really decent side last season. I fear we could do a Forest Green Rovers with the current squad and that could set the club into reverse as we would likely lose far more games at home than we have done this season. Also there are a string of clubs in the past five years who have fallen straight through league two to the National League after being relegated from League One. Carlisle being the latest victim along with Forest Green Rovers, Southend and Rochdale previously. It would not surprise me either if one of Shrewsbury, Cambridge, Crawley Town or Bristol Rovers end up in a relegation battle next season either.

If however there was investment in our midfield and we added some fire power to our front line along with a sprinkling of physicality and pace we maybe able to hold our own at League One level. Regardless of what league we will be in it’s a big summer ahead recruitment wise whether that’s for survival in league one or automatic promotion and title contenders in league two.

[legs77]

What we dont know as it has not happened is how much would our owners put aside for a league one campaign ?

I dont expect a full on Chelsea style window but they arent stupid people and will know we need much better quality in the squad.

[upthemaggies]

Maynard has only lost two games by more than two goals since he's been here (Stockport home and Salford away, both lost by a margin of 3), so a scenario where the promotion door closes by HT or well before the final whistle would be out of character. We shouldn't get humiliated or thrashed as some are suggesting.

Curiously, we've never drawn a play off match at home, though we have gone to extra-time.

Wembley aside, we've never won a play off match away. We'd drawn all of the non-final away ties since the first one back in 1988 until the most recent loss to Torquay in extra time.

Every play off game we've been involved with since the 1996 semi-finals has had at least 2 goals. Never had a 0-0.

[jacobncfc]

Its unlikely. Weve built a season on routinely beating the teams near the bottom, but were not allowed to go up against them in the play offs.

But I do think weve got a pretty kind semi-final against a team struggling for form and confidence as much as we are. That feels like pretty much a coin flip, and then in a one off game you never know.

[SwalePie]

Saying we're not ready for League One is pretty pointless really. If we go up we'll sign players appropriate to that level rather than relying on our League Two team to 'step up'. I'd imagine that lesson was well learned after the promotion from NL to here.

[legs77]

Saying we're not ready for League One is pretty pointless really. If we go up we'll sign players appropriate to that level rather than relying on our League Two team to 'step up'. I'd imagine that lesson was well learned after the promotion from NL to here.

Exactly its clear as day this squad would get destroyed in L1 so we'd have no choice.

[nw6pie]

Exactly its clear as day this squad would get destroyed in L1 so we'd have no choice.

That assumes the owners have the money to invest in such a squad. There’s also this new rule coming into effect next season:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/c36e4068113o

[jackal2]

Saying we're not ready for League One is pretty pointless really. If we go up we'll sign players appropriate to that level rather than relying on our League Two team to 'step up'. I'd imagine that lesson was well learned after the promotion from NL to here.

Yes and no.

Any team that gets promoted will need to strengthen with a better calibre of player, but you can only recruit so many in one summer, and in any case it takes new signings time to bed in, even if every one comes off. Revolution in terms of recruitment rarely works unless you've got ridiculous money to spend and can afford to absorb any signings that just don't come off. Most teams have to evolve, a few signings at a time, and that takes more than a season. Indeed, we've been evolving over the past two years.

I would argue you still need a strong enough base of players who have proved themselves too strong for the league they are leaving and good enough to at least cope in the next league up, and that's why teams who finish in the highest positions generally tend to adapt best. If there isn't enough quality in that base - and you have to wonder about a team that finished sixth, three places down from automatic promotion - then you're going to need a very strong summer of recruitment and more than a bit of luck in the league above. We're improving in terms of squad quality, but we're not ready yet, imho.