Division Three Review 2003-04 - The Expert View

Last updated : 28 April 2004 By Leon Britton, Swansea City

Leon Britton
Boston United
A decent mid-table side who are very hard to beat at home. They're poor away form has prevented them of a higher league finish. Two players have stood out the two times I have played them, they are under fire striker Stuart Douglas who is an under-rated attacking threat and Paul Bastock is a very capable goalkeeper.

Bristol Rovers
Another difficult season for the pirates with not many bright points to talk about. Former Swan Christian Edwards seems to be a good signing in the centre of the defence while Junior Agogo seems to be a potent attacking threat as he scored a wonder goal against us in the 2-1 defeat at the Memorial Ground.

Bury
A decent side who's average home and away form has lead to their mid table finish. Harpal Singh, on loan from Leeds United has had a great season and is definately on to watch.

Cambridge United
A dissapointing season for a Cambridge side who posess one of the most famous managers in the division Claude Le Roy. A leaky defence has seen the U's battle for their league status. a positive to come out of the season is Luke Gutteridge who is a very talanted player who I believe has attracted interest from Premiership Charlton.

Carlisle United
Another season at the bottom for Carlisle which has become an all to familiar scene in Div 3. A team which lacks any real creativity and pace with no players of any outstanding quality. Despite a spirited fightback towards the end of the season it seemed it was their destiny to sink into the conference this season and in my opinion will probably be a while before we see them in the football league again.

Cheltenham Town
A good season for Cheltenham who have entertained and frustrated their fans from the outset none other than the 4-3 defeat to us at Whadden Road. They have scored a hat-full of goals this season the problem being that they have also conceded a hat-full. They have many great players like Grant McCann and Kayode Odejayi. Cheltenham need to sort out their defensive incababilities before they can challenge for a place in Div 2.

Darlington
Hopes were high after a summer move to the Reynold's Arena. Although possesing one of the best stadiums in the league, it couldn't help the team's league form who have been involved in the basement battle nearly all season. A side with some potential.

Doncaster
A brilliant season for Doncaster who have now had back to back promotions. An outstanding attacking side with players such as Gregg Blundell and JJ Melligan. They are one of the most impressive sides I have played against and certainly wont be a walkover in Div 2.

Huddersfield Town
The terriers have had a very good season where promotion has been the clear goal from day 1. It was clear that they had a gem of a player in Jon Stead at the start of the season whos £1,000,000 move to Blackburn will guarantee new faces at the McAlpine next season. A huge club which looks like it is going in the right direction again.

Hull City
Another huge club who's potential has been clear for all to see this season. They're attacking prowess has been the key to Hull's success this season and with outstanding players like Ben Burgess, Jason Price and Danny Allsopp there is no telling how far they can climb up the football ladder.

Kidderminster Harriers
As far as i'm aware Kiddie have been one of the most unpredictable sides in the leage. They got results against teams such as Hull, Huddersfield and Swansea but never put a solid run of results together, this irratic form was the reason for their low mid table finish. Although not a frequent scorer Big Danish striker Jesper Christansen caused us all sorts of problems at Aggborough.

Leyton Orient
A fixture that I will always remember for Lee Trundle's spectacular bycicle kick goal! With respect, Orient haven't impressed me this season and although we beat them 2-1 home and away these games were not as close as the score-lines suggest. They have flirted with relegation all season and the only player who shone against us was striker Jabo Ibhere. Maybe we will see a better Orient side next season.

Lincoln City
A very solid side with good technical players such as Peter Gain and Simon Yeo. They have adopted a good defensive attitude which has seen them compete with the top sides in the division. With reaching the play-offs Lincoln fans can be happy with their season.

Macclesfield Town
A small family club whoes brief for each season seems to be avoid relegation. Welshman Matthew Tipton is of undoubted talant and is an obvious natural goalscorer. Although the Macc's home form has been decent their away form has been dreadfull resulting in a relegation battle.

Mansfield Town
A side with a great attacking mentality, one of the top scorers in the league and fully deserving their play-off spot. A bad tempered affair at the vetch saw us run out 4-1 victors with Mansfield down to 8 men (sound familiar?). They have players with quality throughout their side such as Iyseden Christie, Liam Lawrence and Rhys Day.

Northampton Town
Big things were expected of the big spending Cobblers this season. A slow start saw the team languish in the bottom half of the table for a while but a resurgence in form saw them end up fighting for a play-off place. Eric Sabin and my former team mate Marc Richard form a good attacking force while Josh Low leads by example in midfield. A good side with a lot of potential.

Oxford United
A side which bases their game on defence. Some have called them boring but they are a very well organised unit that is terribly difficult to break down. Matt Bound has been the key to some of their early good form with some solid displays in the back while big man Julian Alsop will always cause problems in attack. But for a late stumble in results Oxford have been a steady team which sticks to their game plan effectively.

Rochdale
Just like Macclesfield always seem to be there or thereabouts at the bottom of the league. They are another team who cant seem to put a decent run of wins together resulting in a battle for their league status. Leo Bertos scored a wonder goal against us at the Vetch but he seems to be the only player to catch my eye.

Scunthorpe United
A team which posesses one of the most proliffic goalscorers in the division, Steve McClean on loan from Glasgow Rangers. Also with Steve Torpey to partner him you are always going to score goals. I thought I would see Scunthorpe higher than they were and I think the season can be regarded as a dissappointment for their fans.

Southend United
I think you guys will regard this as a decent season. Leon Constantine has been outstanding as far as I am concerned with Mark Gower also impressing me in midfield. I have been told that Jay Smith is a decent talent and will be watching out for him in the future. With close games against us, a 2-1 win, a 3-2 win and a 1-1 draw we found you very difficult to beat and you have a very good hard working squad. Good Luck for next year!

Swansea City
A season of mixed feelings. As being a part of Swansea's battle to stay up last season it has been a relief to be involved in a promotion fight this season. After an amazing start to the season we went on a bit of a bad run after Christmas and never really recovered. A high point has certainly been the emergence of 'football's golden boy' Lee Trundle and midfielder Andy Robinson whereas the sacking of Brian Flynn and narrowly missing out on an FA Cup quarterfinals was disappointing. Under new manager Kenny Jackett hopefully he can guide us to promotion next season.

Torquay United
Another of the divisions high flyers with attacking players all over the pitch, most notably Jo Kuffour who was fantastic in the home game at The Vetch scoring a fabulous winner. With players such as David Graham and Kevin Hill they were always going to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

Yeovil Town
A side with pace throughout. They are a very dangerous side who are very good on the counter attack with players like Darren Way, Kevin Gall and Adam Stansfield they can really hurt you if you are not swiched on. A team which thoroughly deserved a play-off place.

York City
A sad season for York who were relegated from the football league. They never really got going and payed the ultimate price of going out of the league. The league wont quite be the same without them after 75 years of league status. With no real outstanding players York will be hoping they have the sufficient quality to come straight back up.