Football England League Two Team of the Season 2008-09

Subs:

Paul Jones (Exeter City)
Nicky Fenton (Rotherham United)
Danny Hollands (Bournemouth)
Jamie Ward (Chesterfield)
Andy Bishop (Bury)

Manager: Andy Scott (Brentford)

Scott Shearer (Wycombe Wanderers)

Wycombe couldn’t concede a goal at all for a good chunk of the season and Shearer was a major reason for this parsimony. Consistency is perhaps the biggest asset a goalkeeper can possess and Shearer is one of the most reliable custodians outside the Premier League.

Barry Fuller (Gillingham)

Constructive player who can also operate in midfield but impressed more at right back where his sense of adventure and clever distribution offered Gillingham an extra dimension. Sound in his defensive duties.

Jim Bentley (Morecambe)

Bentley is a real lower league stalwart having given sterling service in non league for the best part of a decade before stepping into league football with Morecambe in 2007 and continuing to excel. Has all the usual qualities of an English stopper and reads the game expertly as well. Also offers a genuine threat in the opposition box.

Simon King (Gillingham)

King moved from left back to centre half at the start of this season and was equally impressive in his new role. Good enough in the air his pace and ability on the ball placed him at a different level to most defenders at this level and he should impress in League One next season.

Dean Moxey (Exeter City)

Strong, pacy full back who impressed both defensively and going forward during the 2008-09 season and was his clubs’ star turn during their promotion campaign. Is obviously ready for the next step up but he might even find himself at a higher level than League One next term having created plenty of interest with his standard of performance this season.

Albert Adomah (Barnet)

This was Adomah’s first full season in league football and he was a revelation. His height makes him awkward for full backs to handle but more important is his pace, dribbling ability and assured finishing.
A genuinely exciting prospect who will create a lot of interest if he continues to develop.

Stewart Drummond (Morecambe)

This lean, elegant midfielder was truly coming home when he re-joined Morecambe in January 2008 and his performances during 2008-09 indicated a player obviously happy and confident with himself and his surroundings.
Ten league goals was a fine effort and his probing distribution helped set up many more.

Ben Davies (Shrewsbury Town)

This chunky, extremely talented midfielder is becoming a permanent fixture in this team. Looked to be completely over the serious injury that delayed his entry into the 2007-08 season and was back to his impudent best in The Shrews midfield both scoring and assisting on a regular basis.
Probably the best set piece specialist at this level.

Sam Saunders (Dagenham & Redbridge)

Saunders is a left sided maverick who produced the goods more consistently during the 2008-09 season while remaining a genuine individual talent. Exciting to watch and always capable of the spectacular.

Reuben Reid (Rotherham United)

Having been docked points for going into administration Rotherham were playing catch up from the off in 2008-09 and the outright pace of Reid was one of the main reasons why they were able to make up the deficit with something to spare.
Fast, direct, brave and always looking for the quickest route to goal Reid looks good enough to get back to the Championship level he started at with Plymouth.

Grant Holt (Shrewsbury Town)

Holt had never really convinced during his time with Nottingham Forest but Shrewsbury still had to fork out £170,000 to bring him back into League Two. This was a considerable outlay but Holt gave value for money by hitting twenty league goals.
Not the most elaborate striker but is a reliable source of goals at this level.

Manager: Andy Scott (Brentford)

Well, we haven’t picked any of his players in this team so considering Brentford were champions of the division we have no option but to pick Scott as the manager.
Scott has worked wonders at Griffin Park since taking over, initially as caretaker, in December 2007 and has now led a club that seemed to be in terminal decline back into League One.
On the playing side there was none of the stability and continuity you expect from a title winning side as Scott managed to use 33 players during the league campaign but his side was always well organised and competitive and these were the virtues that laid the foundation for their success.
Brentford were a typical League Two side in many ways; strong, hard working and physical, but they had enough smooth edges to rise out of the pack.
It will be interesting to see if Scott can maintain his excellent start as a manager at the next level as it is likely he will have to establish a more settled side and add a dash more flair to do so. Whatever the case proves to be Brentford can be thankful to Scott for averting a serious decline and gaining them promotion in such a short space of time.