Given the club’s severely limited budget, and their relatively miniscule attendance average, Accrington Stanley did reasonably well to end the campaign in 16th place.
True, the majority of clubs in League Two were helped by the points deductions handed out to
Luton,
Bournemouth and
Rotherham, but John Coleman’s men still finished nine points above the drop-zone if you remove the deductions.
And there is little doubt that the
Accrington Stanley supporters will think things could have been different last season, had lady luck gone their way.
Namely, what if they had been able to sign striker
Terry Gornell on-loan until the end of the season after he started to hit form, but was then recalled by his parent club
Tranmere?
What if they hadn’t conceded late goals against
Bradford,
Brentford and
Wycombe?
What if they didn’t have to spend money on developing the ground, and could have invested in a striker they so badly needed instead?
And, what if they had converted all five penalties awarded to them this season – instead of missing four of them?
If all the above had gone their way, an unlikely play-off place could probably have been in Accrington’s grasp. Then again, every club in the division will look back at the season with a list of hard luck stories.
There is still good reason for the fans to feel satisfied though, as this was the club’s fourth season in League Two. Coleman deserves credit for continuing his trend of bettering himself each year since he took over at the club 10 years ago.
However, improving on 16th place next season could be a tall order given the financial constraints at the club. Appearance record holder
Paul Mullin has turned down the offer of a new contract, and Coleman admits he may struggle to keep highly-rated goalkeeper
Kenny Arthur.
Furthermore, Coleman says that some of his transfer targets for next summer could be ‘out of my reach’ due to cut-backs. All things point to another tough campaign next year.
Shaily's verdict on Stanley's season
Accrington were second favourites to be relegated before the start of the season, so fair play. 7/10.
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