Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number (The Challenge of the Ages)

[HD]

Brm. Brrrrm. Brrrrrrm. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Scotty Black hadn't stopped doing car noises since landing the manager's job at Vauxhall Motors two hours earlier. His wife was fed up with it, his kids were fed up with it (except baby Justin who loved it), in fact if he was honest Scotty himself was fed up with it. So he stopped.

His interview had been a great success. The chairman was not the most 'with-it' sort of a guy and as a result he had somehow mistaken Scotty's determination to flood the squad with over-30 year old Scottish rejects for a masterplan for success. Selling the under 25s was another key component and Scotty got right to work on that.

A middle aged gentleman who may or may not have been on the board had the nous to query it, but he lost any air of competence when he happily accepted Scotty's reasoning of "the Bob said to do it". Few who read that sentence will do so without cringing at it's construction.

And so it was the Motormen came to be the Old Fat Scottish Motormen, a moniker I've invented myself. Surely there could be no question that glory was but a heartbeat away?

[HD]

Brm. Brrrrm. Brrrrrrm. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Scotty Black hadn't stopped doing car noises since landing the manager's job at Vauxhall Motors two hours earlier. His wife was fed up with it, his kids were fed up with it (except baby Justin who loved it), in fact if he was honest Scotty himself was fed up with it. So he stopped.

His interview had been a great success. The chairman was not the most 'with-it' sort of a guy and as a result he had somehow mistaken Scotty's determination to flood the squad with over-30 year old Scottish rejects for a masterplan for success. Selling the under 25s was another key component and Scotty got right to work on that.

A middle aged gentleman who may or may not have been on the board had the nous to query it, but he lost any air of competence when he happily accepted Scotty's reasoning of "the Bob said to do it". Few who read that sentence will do so without cringing at it's construction.

And so it was the Motormen came to be the Old Fat Scottish Motormen, a moniker I've invented myself. Surely there could be no question that glory was but a heartbeat away?

[BobBev]

Any story with old fat Scotsmen in it is OK with me

[HD]

Fortunately for Scotty you never have to travel far before finding a fat unemployed Scotsman. The following (which includes a couple of English wannabes) found gainful (questionable, Ed) employment amongst Scotty's mob of lovable losers:

Goalkeepers (sic)

Jonathan Gould - Two international caps for Scotland say more about the paucity of talent around the turn of the century than anything else. Bags of experience with Celtic, Preston, Coventry and Bradford, but importantly old, fat and Scottish.

Nicky Walker - Two international caps for Scotland say more about the paucity of talent in the 80s and 90s than anything else. Bags of experience with Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen, but importantly old, fat and Scottish. Also took on a coaching role.

Defenders

Michael Hall - Time spent with Stenhousemuir, East Stirling and latterly East Fife yielded little indication that Hall possesses any footballing ability. Importantly old, fat and Scottish.

Ian Baines - Signed from Marine for no fee. English, but really, really old.

Andrew Jeffrey - Formerly with Cambridge and Kilmarnock, the fullback is not a real talent, but is importantly old, fat and Scottish.

John Alllison - Old, fat, Scottish and with a long service record at clubs like Forfar, Raith and East Fife.

Allan Davies - Signed from Ilkeston after years at Worcester and Burton, Davies is old, old, old. An Englishman though, so unlikely to feature.

Neil Hudson - Also signed from Ilkeston, also English, also old. Very much his own man however, though evidence of this will be tough to find. Lives in Allan Davies' basement.

Hugh Houston - The ex-Irvine Meadow player looks amongst the best of the defenders acquired. He is old, fat and Scottish, so more than adequate for a starting berth.

Tony Smith - Another familiar face after years spent with Airdrie, Hearts and Dundee United, Smith is now old, fat and Scottish. He was also available which made him an intuitive addition.

[HD]

Midfielders

Peter Atkinson - Guiseley's left sided midfielder can also play at left back and versatility is always a bonus. English, but pretty damn old.

Carl Spellman - Scotty inherited three 30+ players, Spellman was one of them. He's hopeless, more or less.

Steve Circuit - The English wide man arrived on a free, but has the required advancing years to play a role.

David Robinson - Yet another Englishman, but at just 30 is the baby of the squad.

Steve Fulton - The former Falkirk, Hearts and Kilmarnock pie eating fatboy is now even fatter, older and equally Scottish.

Carl Nesbitt - Another inherited squad member, Carl is OK, no more, no less.

Derek Rae - Old, fat, Scottish, well travelled, competent. What more can a manager ask for?

Dougie Coulston - The right winger has spent much of his career bouncing around the lower Scottish divisions after failing to break through at Livingston. Old, fat, Scottish, checks all the boxes.

Paul Crompton - Another English addition, his age is pretty much all he has going for him.

Stuart Mackay - Inverness Clack, Alloa, East Fife, Peterhead and Stenhousemuir have all tired of this fat, old Scots midfielder. Scotty loves him.

Forwards

Peter Cumiskey - The last of the inherited players, Cumiskey is a burly, veteran forward.

Barry Lavety - Old, fat, Scottish junkie who spends more time off his face than training. Or at least that's the perception. In fact he's just old, fat and Scottish. No drugs in this squad, except the occasional betablocker.

Jason Young - Another veteran striker added for his wiles and FMS pedigree. Old, fat, Scottish, perfect.

Steve McCormick - Old, Scottish, and yes - fat. Steve has plyed his trade all over and is now ready to find his spiritul home somewhere between Chester and Liverpool, wherever it is Vauxhall Motors play.

They'll be dancing on the streets of Vauxhall tonight.

[Peacemaker7]

Yay \o/

[Peacemaker7]

Haven't seen JY in the new game is he really bad now? (He was never that good!)

[Spav]

I'm glad to see someone else is doing the 30+ challenge. This looks like it will be fun too.

I might just drive my pie-van up to your home ground and park outside. I think it looks like there will be a few customers from your playing staff.

[HD]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Peacemaker7:

Haven't seen JY in the new game is he really bad now? (He was never that good!) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

He's done OK so far, grabbed a couple of goals, starting when fit.

[HD]

Scotty glanced nervously at the Conference North table. After six games of the season his side had one once and drawn once for a total of four points. Since then four consecutive wins and a disappointing draw at bottom side Alfreton had lifted them into the playoff mix.

It had all gone badly wrong for his strikers Lavety and Young from the off. Three 1-0 defeats and a goalless draw in the first four weeks hadn't been a glowing mark on their resumés, but when the defence finally gave up two in a game they responded with three to grab the team's first win. Defeat the next week was a setback, then losing to St Albans in an FA Cup replay subdued the support, but the good times were about to roll.

Jason Young opened the scoring at Worcester, but with five minutes of the game remaining the sides were locked at 1-1. Nothing that had gone before could have prepared the crowd for what followed though as Carl Nesbitt fired what seemed sure to be an 86th minute winner. It was not to be. Leon Kelly levelled two minutes into injury time, and as the Worcester support made for the exits happy to have grabbed a point from their underrated visiors 41 year old Tony Ellis, signed days earlier from Hyde, pounced to hand Scotty's men the points.

That dramatic finale really fired the team up and Ellis' old side were made to pay as they visited the Vauxhall Sports Ground a week later. Young, Andrew Jeffrey, Ellis and Stuart Mackay guiding the Motormen to an easy 4-0 win. Kettering were expected to return the upstarts to reality at Rockingham Road, but Ellis grabbed his fourth goal in five substitute appearances to hand Scotty a third consecutive win. Nuneaton suffered a 5-0 reverse when they came to call, Nesbitt (2), Young (2) and an own goal making the difference before the winning stopped abruptly at bottom side Alfreton, Young twice equalising, the second occasion deep into stoppage time, to secure a point.

The upsurge in form had been welcome, but for all the goals, it was the form of newly acquired Ian Brightwell from Macclesfield that steadied the ship. At 37 he is past his prime, but that's how Scotty likes them. And at least Brighty has his 4 England u21 caps to remember from a long and unsuccessful career.

[HD]

Injuries not only to Walker and Gould, but emergency signing Simon Bishop in goals led to the likes of Andrew Jeffrey and Steve McCormick actually starting games between the posts. Injuries to Brightwell and Young meant Scotty was left with no defence and no goals. One win in ten games later and relegation was once more a real possibility as the season reached its climax.

With Nicky Walker back from hip replacement surgery the side hoped to rally, but he was almost as bad as the outfielders had been, so Jonny Gould was jushed back into the starting XI as soon as he was half fit. That occasion coincided with a game at Stalybridge which started well enough with Jason Young converting an early penalty and Stalybridge being reduced to ten men before the interval. Still it was 1-1 soon enough as Gould couldn't react quickly enough to a header and 1-2 shortly thereafter. A triple substitution at half time included the return of Walker to goalkeeping duty, but without a second goal even his best efforts were worthless. Fortunately a second goal came when the ball bounced off captain Dougie Coulston's arse and found the top corner. A point was saved and a new dawn was hailed by the three guys who travelled to support the team.

Still, with five games to go Scotty's side were tied for second-bottom place on 42 points from 37 fixtures. Harrogate were next up as Gould approached something like full fitness. Pleasantly his clean sheet was never seriously threatened and the side picked up a valuable point. Eleven shots on goal were produced by the two teams. Not on was on target.

Droylsden handed out a 2-0 beating on the next matchday and suddenly sole possession of a relegation spot had been achieved. Jonathan Gould re-injured his hamstring and brought his season to a close.

With money syphoned away to pay the wages for Scotty's own new contract the board decided to prevent my attempts to add further salaries to next season's wage bill. With some deals already done it wasn't terminal, but this was not looking like a club on the up and up.

It was Brightwell who made a comeback in the next fixture - a home game with Leigh RMI. If Gould had been fit it would seem likely a strong defensive performance would follow, but with Walker, who knew. A red card for Michael Hall on the hour should probably have killed of Vauxhall Motors, but less than fifteen minuets later it was 10-a-side and Tony Ellis' ninetieth minute goal handed Scotty's side a sensational victory.

Victory at home to Hucknall would put the seal on survival, with the only other achievable target Jason Young's pursuit of 20 goals - he needed three from the final two fixtures. Losing a goal just before half time though put Scotty's men on the back foot, but Young equalised with twenty minutes to go, giving new life to both challenges.

One more game, one more chance. With Young needing two goals to hit twenty and only a point needed against third placed Hednesford to stay up it had the potential to be a good day. Eight minutes in it had the potential to be a nightmare as Hednesford took the lead. The game ended 1-0 so it was time for an anxious wait to see firstly if either Stalybridge or Worcester had won and next if either had achieved a superior goal difference over the course of the season.

Tick tock.

Redditch 3 Worcester 1, hurrah.

Tick tock.

Stalybridge 1 Barrow 1, YES!

Scotty had done the impossible and kept Vauxhall Motors in the Conference North.

Well, I say impossible because it sounds better. In actual fact he'd simply managed to gather sufficient points early on to survive a near-disasterous collapse. Next year would be a new story.

[Peacemaker7]

Jason Young rules. I wonder if he knows this.

[HD]

I suspect not.

[HD]

Year Two - The Start

Year Two started unspectacularly with three draws and two defeats in the opening five matches, but it was then Scotty's career was to take an unexpected twist as Torquay United came in with a lucrative offer of management.

Naturally he accepted and though the squad was a nice mix of youth and experience he quickly set about discarding the former and augmenting the latter.

[HD]

Fortunately for Soctty, as it was outside the transfer window, Torquay had eleven players aged 30+. Unfortunately two of them were goalies.

So it was that 6'3", 15st Lee Jones came to play up front in a 2-1 loss at Southend. He was abysmal, grading out at 1 out of 10 on any respected scorecard. He was lucky not to get a 0.

The addition of a handful of free agents to boost the pool allowed Jones to relax on the bench the following week. One of those, Adrian Littlejohn, took his place in the side and scored after forty seconds. When Hereford were reduced to ten men and then nine before half time it seemed that Torquay must win, but somehow the nine men levelled, leaving Scotty puzzled and saddened.

Defeat by the solitary goal at Chesterfield left Torquay in 21st place in League Two with twelve points from twelve games, and just one from three since Black had arrived. A late penalty led to another 1-0 loss, this time at home to Bury, and it was grim fare. Black had to do something, but with his legion of new faces not arriving until January 1st 2007 it was going to be tough to achieve short-term success enough to placate the support.

[HD]

After hanging on to his job by the skin of his teeth until January, Black saw his transfer moves pour in. Goalkeeper Mark Crossley signed on, along with Vauxhall Motors trio Jason Young, Simon Grayson and Derek Ferguson, Paul Murray of Barnsley, Partick Thistle's Mark Roberts, Eoin Jess and Martin Smith of Northampton, Leo Fortune-West, 'Sir' Les Ferdinand, Jack Lester of Forest, Bobby Petta, Paul Warhurst, former Ayr United greats James Grady and Glynn Hurst, Scott Minto, Fabian Wilnis, Junior Mendes - ex of St Mirren, Ashley Westwood and Riccardo Scimeca from West Brom. £4,000 was shelled out, two on Wilnis and one each on Ferdinand and Scimeca.

Draws in the first two games of the new year were encouraging, but left Torquay still rooted to the foot of the division. Eleven league games without a win is never a good sign, but the signs were more promising now. Then they lost at home to Port Vale.

Oh dear.

[HD]

After leading 3-0 at half time at Notts County the loss of both goalkeepers to injury and three second half County goals devastated the squad, having looked set to break the long winless run in style.

Torquay sat eight points adrift at the foot of the table and it was not a pretty picture whatsoever. Something had to happen to turn this around, just what that something was, however, was not yet clear to Scotty or his backroom staff.

The deadline day additions of Spanish winger Francisco De Pedro, Jamaican Frank Sinclair and Norther Ireland internation Jim Magilton seemed panic moves, but all three played a part in the streak-killing 1-0 home win over Southend three days later.

[HD]

That one win became a ten game unbeaten run, featuring seven victories and definite progress up the table. Even the defeat at home to Wycombe that ended the streak was unlucky. Somehow Scotty Black had found that something. Les Ferdinand's thirteen goals in his first thirteen games for the club might have had something to do with it, one suspects.

The Torquay board were concerned at the haemorrhaging of cash though and Black was offered a take-it-or-leave-it 12 month rolling contract to stay beyond the end of the season. After some arguing and demanding a fixed term deal, Scotty signed.

The Gulls displayed true bouncebackability a week after the loss to Wycombe with a fine 3-0 home win over Wrexham, but defeat at a poor Lincoln side a week later was thoroughly disappointing.

With three games left to play Barnet sat bottom on 44 points, with Exeter on 47, Notts County on 48 and Black's Torquay on 49.

Next up was a home game with Mansfield, sitting 6th, and Black took the unfathomable decision to sit Les Ferdinand and start Jason Young, who had to date made three short, unimpressive substitute appearances. The choice, though, paid dividends as the veteran Scot fired a 39th minute equaliser to send the sides in level. Despite a red card for the visitors' Michael Mabs the game ended 1-1.

Two games now stood between Torquay and survival, but unlike the year before at Vauxhall, this time it was Black's men who were the form side looking to pull clear. A win in either of the final two fixtures would probably suffice, but a trip to league leaders Darlington was not the ideal matchup.

Ferdinand returned in place of Young, experiment over, but he couldn't net as Torquay created a number of early openings. Black's side dominated a scoreless first half, but after the interval it was expected that the champions-elect would take advantage of still being in the game. They didn't though, and in the end hung on to deny Torquay the win that would have guaranteed survival.

So it was that Carlisle came to town looking to clinch a playoff place, knowing that Torquay still needed a point to secure their spot in the Football League, though given the goal difference it seemed entirely unfeasible that Black's side could now be relegated.

In the end goals in the second half from Ferdinand and Frank Sinclair, who netted an 85th minute penalty, gave Torquay a comfortable 2-1 win and a nice 19th place finish. Onwards and upwards, eh. Vauxhall Motors were relegated to obscurity on the last day of the season.

[HD]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Darlington | | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 77 | 55 | +22 | 78 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | P | Chesterfield | | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 87 | 71 | +16 | 78 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | P | Wycombe | | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 80 | 56 | +24 | 73 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | Pl | Oxford | | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 70 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | Pl | Port Vale | | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 57 | +10 | 69 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | Pl | Mansfield | | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 69 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | Pl | Carlisle | | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 59 | 60 | -1 | 69 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Stockport | | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 59 | 50 | +9 | 68 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Leyton Orient | | 46 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 66 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Bury | | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 55 | 62 | -7 | 66 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Southend | | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 62 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Boston Utd | | 46 | 14 | 19 | 13 | 69 | 71 | -2 | 61 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Rotherham | | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 67 | 69 | -2 | 61 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Wrexham | | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 52 | 54 | -2 | 59 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Rochdale | | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 55 | 68 | -13 | 59 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Lincoln | | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 64 | -4 | 58 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Hereford | | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 61 | 75 | -14 | 57 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Cheltenham | | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 56 | 70 | -14 | 56 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | *** | Torquay | | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 54 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Notts Co | | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 57 | 62 | -5 | 54 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 21st | | Rushden | | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 50 | 57 | -7 | 54 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 22nd | | Bristol Rovers | | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 56 | 64 | -8 | 54 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 23rd | R | Exeter | | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 54 | 60 | -6 | 51 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 24th | R | Barnet | | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 50 | 68 | -18 | 50 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

[HD]

The addition of 25 free agent contracts to an already overflowing wage budget could have crippled Torquay, and it may yet, but the quality added - Andy Cole, Paolo Di Canio, Miroslav Stevic, Ugo Ehiogu, Neil Lennon to name but four - should lead to promotion. It's inevitable. Probably.

Les Ferdinand added Assistant Managerial duties to his playing commitments in return for a generous pay cut of £100 per week to £1000. With finances looking dreadful it was going to take some squirming to fit all the new faces under the board's budget without a tremendously successful season.

Many of the new arrivals were promptly transfer listed as Black looked to recoup a few grand and shave the wages by a similar amount. The good performance of the team at the end of the previous campaign meant there were few qualms about sticking by the majority of the players in situe.

That's not to say that some change wasn't inevitable. James Grady had played OK, but nothing spectacular, he was made available for transfer. There were some queries about the defence, but Frank Sinclair and Riccardo Scimeca were solid in the middle, Paul Hurst had been a sensation for a midget (5'4") at left back and Fabian Wilnis could hardly be faulted for his trobules on the other flank due to injury.

Neil Lennon and Stevic were the main contenders for the DM role, with Stone and Paul Murray - successful last year - manning the midfield. Up front it looked set to be all change as Cole, Di Canio and Ian Moore were clearly the cream of the crop.

Pre-season injuries and announcements of impending retirals dominated the local sports news, but what do you expect from a team bursting from all the veteran leadership?

[HD]

When I say "but four" i of course mean to say "but five". Dummy.

[HD]

Early season form was encouraging enough to suggest a potential playoff run, and certainly no danger of relegation, but the occasional slip left Black wondering if he was really getting his money's worth. Sure these guys were better, but last year's mob managed 24 points in one ten game stretch, so it wasn't as if the squad was deficient.

The loss of Andy Marriott for an extended period meant that John Achterberg deputised in goal, but that alone wasn't enough to pin the poor results on. Andy Cole was blowing hot and cold whilst Di Canio was out hurt, leaving Noel Whelan to blunder his way through games up front. It was all-in-all an underwhelming experience.

[HD]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Crewe | | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 11 | +16 | 25 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Carlisle | | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 23 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Gillingham | | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 22 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bristol City | | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 21 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Stockport | | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 20 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Notts Co | | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 19 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Boston Utd | | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 16 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Rochdale | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 15 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Cheltenham | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 15 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | *** | Torquay | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 14 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Wrexham | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 14 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Swindon | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 14 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Mansfield | | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 12 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | York | | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 11 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Cambridge | | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 10 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Leyton Orient | | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 10 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Rotherham | | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 26 | -7 | 10 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Bristol Rovers | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 19 | -1 | 9 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Hereford | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 9 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Bury | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 9 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 21st | | Port Vale | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 22nd | | Rushden | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 23rd | | Lincoln | | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 8 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 24th | | Southend | | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 6 |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>