The people who really know their clubs give us the lowdown on their 2011-12 League One campaigns
• Check out what the bloggers had to say at the start of the season and at the halfway point
Bournemouth
Dream or nightmare? Well, it's certainly been surreal at times. Losing virtually the entire team from last year – most of which were replaced sporadically throughout the season – ensured a lack of continuity and consistency, while the antics of our chairman Eddie Mitchell meant we remained in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The arrival of Russian money in the form of co-owner Maxim Denim has brought a new level of interest – and cash – to the club, but ultimately off-field events have been to the detriment of the actual football, the last nine months being one of the most forgettable seasons in recent memory.
Top marks Marc Pugh made a clean sweep of the end-of-season awards by virtue of being one of the few players to play the whole season. Honourable mentions go to Simon Francis, Shaun MacDonald and Miles Addison.
Bottom of the class Harry Arter clearly has some skill, but his 13 (mostly needless) bookings and petulance didn't endear him to fans.
The gaffer Lee Bradbury gave his all, but ultimately he seemed out of his depth, as things didn't work out, although working with Mitchell can't have been easy. In a perverse way, suddenly having money to spend worked against him, as before that we would have probably been happy with mid-table. Caretaker Paul Groves is not the answer.
Best moment A 2-0 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday was as good as it got for us.
Worst moment Take your pick of any one of our delightful chairman's antics: between telling dissatisfied fans to go and support Southampton, aggressively addressing the North Stand post-match, swearing on live radio and hanging up on a Sky Sports interview, there's plenty to choose from.
Best fans Preston gave us a laugh on a last-day nothing match for both sides.
Worst fans Yeovil seemed like a confused bunch, arbitrarily bellowing at seemingly innocuous moments.
Steve Wright, Bournemouth fan (@stevewright22)
Brentford
Dream or nightmare? Neither a dream nor a nightmare, but probably somewhere in between. A top 10 finish represents a respectable if unspectacular start for manager Uwe Rösler. The German was charged with the task of improving the team's style of play and he's certainly done that. In certain games we played some brilliant stuff, with the first half at Huddersfield and the home win over Carlisle being particularly impressive. On the downside, we lacked consistency and a killer touch, with far too many defeats coming at Griffin Park, and were ultimately not quite good enough to sneak a play-off place.
Top marks No one has stood out as the obvious star man, but midfielder Jonathan Douglas has been our most consistent performer.
Bottom of the class Celtic loanee Niall McGinn. A talented player who failed to realise his potential often enough.
The gaffer Uwe Rösler has made a steady start to life at Griffin Park and, despite the odd murmur of discontent, has the backing of the majority of the Brentford faithful. He'll have a chance to strengthen the squad this summer and the pressure will then be on to improve on this season's ninth place finish.
Best moment Perversely perhaps I'm picking our recent home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Despite losing, we put in an impressive display against one of the strongest teams in the league, and hopefully that bodes well for next season.
Worst moment Stevenage away. With the score at 0-0 and a play-off place at our mercy, we missed two penalties and eventually lost the game – a perfect example of the kind of agony that Brentford supporters are subjected to on a regular basis.
Best fans Much respect to the smattering of Carlisle United fans who made the long trip to Griffin Park on a Monday night to watch their team take a 4-0 beating, despite the fact they could have stayed at home and watched it on the telly.
Worst fans The moronic Sheffield United fans who chanted "He'll shag who he wants" in praise of Ched Evans.
Will Gore, Brentford fan (@WillGore)
Bury
Dream or nightmare? Something of a curate's egg. We started like a train but broke down after the loss of talisman Ryan Lowe and several others of the team which won promotion the previous season. We found a degree of consistency before breaking down again and plummeting down the table, after which we hauled ourselves out of trouble to finish the season quite comfortably.
Top marks David Worrall persistently shone on the wing, while Peter Sweeney also deserves credit for some determinedly workmanlike performances.
Bottom of the class Cameron Belford sullied the memories of the previous season's promotion with some poor performances. Andy Bishop struggled on his own up front and ended up being unable to buy a goal.
The gaffer Richie Barker has done brilliantly to keep the club in the division. There were occasional rumbles of discontent from the terraces as he persisted with 4-5-1 but as the switch to 4-4-2 proved fruitful these melted away to plaudits about some wonderful football.
Best moment Outplaying Sheffield Wednesday and being thoroughly deserved 2-1 winners.
Worst moment Three-nil down inside 20 minutes in the match of local significance – I can't call it a derby – at home to a Rochdale side who would deservedly finish bottom of the league.
Best fans The 130 hardy souls who travelled up from Colchester on a soggy Easter Monday when their club had nothing to play for, only to witness a 4-1 spanking, deserve some kind of beatification at the very least.
Worst fans Huddersfield, based solely on the guy who was sat in our section of the Main Stand who contested every decision given against his side. Ashley Eastham's 90th minute equaliser – after we had been 3-0 down – was all the sweeter thanks to his slack-jawed reaction of disbelief.
James Bentley, Bury fan (@JamesIsABuryFan)
Carlisle United
Dream or nightmare? Had the season ended six weeks ago we'd have been in bona fide dreamland but five points from our last seven games leaves a sour taste to the season that will lead many of our less forgiving fans to forget what went before. The truth is this – at times Carlisle have been outstanding and comprehensively outplayed the division's best but a degree of defensive brittleness has lost a few late points that have proved the difference. When Lee Miller limped out of our game against Scunthorpe our ability to ride the tide and "score one more" sadly left with him. Nevertheless this represents another step forward for Greg Abbott and his men – a tough summer of keeping hold of the James Berretts and Tom Taiwos he rusteled out of nowhere is in sight. If he manages it then the promise of a weaker division next season looks appetising.
Top marks Lee Miller. Put simply the best player in a blue shirt since Michael Bridges. Keystone, platform, goalscorer, linkman, assister and braveheart — the giant Scot is them all.
Bottom of the class Loanee left back Ben Parker was short of fitness and guile but Irish striker Paddy Madden just edges it — fulfilling the prophecy that all Abbott United squads require a work-hard powder puff in the wings. For Richard Offiong and Craig Curran read now Madden. His replacing Miller in latter games is our season in microcosm.
The gaffer Excellent. Another season of improved position has been allied by better football, a stronger ability to read and change games and a continued brilliance in the transfer market – Miller, Jon-Paul McGovern, Liam Noble and Chris Chantler have all been superb. He now looks like our most poachable asset and has won over most waverers – a far cry from the hasty 'Abbott Out' banners of seasons past.
Best moment Lee Miller's 95th-minute backpedalling winner from a Danny Livesey surface to air missile against Huddersfield comes close but for me standing on the terrace at Stadium:mk watching a replay of Jordan Cook's nerveless late double to fell the home side is it – if only for Liam Noble's inability to watch his 93rd minute penalty having two minutes previously been aping Ultimate Warrior with the away fans.
Worst moment It should be news of Michail Antonio's late winner at Hillsborough. He always tears Carlisle to shreds but it pretty much killed our season off too. But September's 4-1 loss at Chesterfield wins out – horrible.
Best fans Exeter – travelled en masse to watch their team get relegated then showed spirit by wishing us well this weekend. A really likable bunch. Kudos to Bournemouth and Brentford for warm welcomes, too.
Worst fans Preston obviously! Seriously though, booing Rory Loy as he was carried from the pitch with a broken leg and insistently referring to our derbies as "your cup final" despite the gulf in points, ability and class showed a bitter bunch, not coming to terms with their Westley-tinged fate. You're not famous any more.
John McGee, Bring Me the Head of Keith Mincher (@epouvantail)
Charlton Athletic
Dream or nightmare? A season beyond the wildest dreams of Addicks fans. Promotion was secured for a third time at Carlisle's Brunton Park, with the title claimed a week later when they beat Wycombe at The Valley. Charlton headed the League One table for most of the season, winning an incredible 15 games on the road. It was October before they tasted defeat for the first time when they lost 1-0 at Stevenage. The Addicks responded with a winning streak of six games and apart from a minor blip in March when they lost back-to-back home games to Colchester and Notts County, the Addicks were a model of consistency. The club will look at the achievements of Norwich and Southampton and hope to emulate them with successive promotions.
Top marks It was a real team performance but Michael Morrison was the lynchpin in the division's meanest defence.
Bottom of the class There were no weak links in the team though Mikel Alonso had a difficult season, making just one appearance in the JPT.
The gaffer Cult hero Chris Powell moulded a host of new arrivals into a cohesive and consistent unit. Top man.
Best moment The celebrations at Carlisle when news filtered through from Colchester that Charlton's win was enough to send them up.
Worst moment The two home defeats in four days to Colchester and Notts County in March.
Best fans Hartlepool's colourful army of Smurfs added to the last-day party atmosphere at The Valley.
Worst fans Sheffield Wednesday fans seemed to think their team was too good for League One.
Ketts, Doctor Kish
Chesterfield
Dream or nightmare? An absolute nightmare. At one point I thought I'd woken from it when I was watching Jack Lester lift the Johnston's Paint Trophy at Wembley. Unfortunately not though as shortly after a drubbing at Sheffield United then at home to Scunthorpe continued the nightmare that ended with our relegation back to League Two. Ultimately the season has proved that the squad that came up as champions from League Two was not good enough for the higher division. The loss of top scorer Craig Davies and more importantly the lack of a replacement has played a huge part in why we have struggled. Quality loanees arrived in January but the damage was already done after a 17-game run without a win. The nightmare is now over and a summer of rebuilding is ahead. John Sheridan is a lucky manager to have such an understanding owner.
Top marks Jordan Bowery who at just 20 years of age has exceeded the expectations of most this season by leading the line well and scoring 12 goals in the process.
Bottom of the class Danny Whitaker has undeservedly been the scapegoat and the target of some unnecessary abuse from certain sections of the home crowd.
The gaffer A poor season for John Sheridan with a number of mistakes leading to our relegation. The JPT win has helped some fans (me included) forgive and allow him the chance to put right next season the wrongs of this.
Best moment Has to be the memorable day at Wembley winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
Worst moment The realisation after the defeat at home to Exeter City back in January that we were probably going to get relegated.
Best fans One of the Scunthorpe United fans during their 4-1 victory at the b2net, ran on the pitch and took the goal kick. I would obviously never endorse such an act but his poor kick and resulting celebration to his own fans did lift my mood for a split second.
Worst fans I was surprised how quiet our near neighbours Sheffield Wednesday's fans were when they visited the b2net. We did beat them on the day but for a packed out away end, one of the quietest all season.
Dean Mansell, Away End
Colchester United
Dream or nightmare? It's been a season that can be summed up by our incredible record of 20 draws. While we have been solid defensively, there has been a lack of cutting edge and a consistent goal-scoring striker. A late play-off push looked on at one stage but eventually fizzled out.
Top marks Anthony Wordsworth. The 23-year-old has really come of age this season, netting 12 times to end as our top scorer. Cultured on the ball. Tom Eastman also deserves a mention as well.
Bottom of the class Michael Rose became a scapegoat from the beginning. Struggles to make simple passes and can't defend either. When he plays, it is like watching a horror film.
The gaffer After a heavy home defeat to MK Dons, John Ward was booed by a restless home faithful and his stock had dropped to an all-time low in their eyes. Since the turn of the year, he has regained some of that but needs to strengthen the squad, as well as holding on to the bigger out of contract names, in the summer.
Best moment The 2-0 victory at Charlton. A stunning strike by Wordsworth coupled with a fantastic performance.
Worst moment The 6-1 home defeat to Stevenage. To see a side take us apart so easily and ruthlessly was hard to watch.
Best fans Sheffield Wednesday
Worst fans Rochdale
Daniel Jolly, Sky Sports Fanzone
Exeter City
Dream or nightmare? It's been like that moment where you wake up from a fantastic dream, only to discover your alarm's failed to go off, you were due in work half an hour ago, and you've no clean socks. We always knew repeating last season's heroics in nearly reaching the play-offs would be a tall order and a struggle may be on the cards, but I don't think many people foresaw our mid-to-end of season collapse. Ultimately, losing the spine of our side (Ben Hamer, Matt Taylor, Ryan Harley, Jamie Cureton) in the summer was too much to replace.
Top marks Alan Gow may have only been drafted into the squad as somewhat of a desperate gamble to avoid relegation, but three goals in seven appearances plus his general contribution and performances very nearly proved to be the spark needed to keep the Grecians up. A bit too late, mind, but hopefully he'll stay next season.
Bottom of the class I don't really like scapegoating anybody, and the fact City had the fewest shots on goal ratio of anybody in the division while conceding more than anybody bar bottom club Rochdale tells its own story. There have been problems all over the pitch that can't be blamed on any one particular player.
The gaffer Paul Tisdale's halo has slipped this season after two promotions and leading Exeter to their highest post-war finish last season, but he still remains an intelligent, articulate young manager. That said, nobody can deny the aforementioned deficiencies in every department, not helped by plenty of chopping and changing on the team sheet from week to week. To me, the fact this is the first time he's finished lower than the previous season during his time with Exeter suggests he deserves time to rebuild next season. Others may not be quite as forgiving.
Best moment The somewhat bonkers 4-4 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, which I managed to miss by heading to Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs instead. I spent as much time reading text updates on my phone as I did watching the rugby.
Worst moment The opening day drab goalless draw with Stevenage set the tone for the whole season. In hindsight, that was one of our better moments, which says it all really.
Best fans I've always liked Yeovil fans and this season has been no different. Always friendly and gracious, and there's a lot of respect between the two sets of supporters.
Worst fans MK Dons. Seem to think they're above playing the smaller teams. That may well be true next season, but it does nothing to endear them to a community that already has precious little time for them.
Gary Andrews, @gafootball
Hartlepool United
Dream or nightmare? Can I say both? We sold over 5,000 season tickets and had the best start in the club's history. But then it turned sour, leading to breaking the unwanted record of the worst home form in the club's history, which saw the attendances drop, we lost nine in a row at home with only two goals scored. That led to the sacking of Mick Wadsworth and the return of legendary ex-manager Neale Cooper who finally stopped the rot at home and brought in promising players through the youth system, but the squad was still very inconsistent and finished the season in 13th.
Top marks Paul Murray. A tough tackling 35-year-old midfielder who adds experience and a bit of grit to our squad. He won the Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year and the Away Player of the Year, which says it all really.
Bottom of the class Nathan Luscombe promised to be fully fit by the end of pre-season. He still isn't. Last played in January after being taken off after an hour despite looking absolutely knackered after half an hour.
The gaffer Cooper's played seven teenagers this season from the youth system which is very promising to see, especially with the emergence of Jack Baldwin and Luke James, the latter of which has seen several scouts tracking him after his match-winning performances against Rochdale and Carlisle. Nevertheless, he's inherited an inconsistent squad and joined after the transfer window, so we can't really judge him until he's put his own stamp on the squad.
Best moment Going third in the table after being nine games unbeaten which led to Wadsworth and Flinders being nominated for the Manager of the Month and Player of the Month respectively.
Worst moment Losing nine in a row at home with only two goals scored, five of which were frustrating 1-0 defeats.
Best fans Sheffield United. One of the few teams to sell out after we put our away prices up to £25 and made a racket all game.
Worst fans They can be excused for the £25 tickets, but Oldham brought up 68 fans in comparison with the 395 fans we took on Boxing Day.
David Jolly, Hartlepool fan
Huddersfield Town
Dream or nightmare? This will look stupid, should we by some miracle actually succeed in the play-offs, but it has been a disappointing season. It has been neither a dream nor a nightmare, more of a slightly restless nights sleep on a balmy evening. Having been favourites to go up, a failure to achieve at least automatic promotion was going to disappoint and despite looking good on occasions, we never looked like putting a long run of wins together to earn promotion. In many ways our season can be summed up by the words "disappointing draw" as so often we would take a comfortable lead then throw it away by sitting on deckchairs at the edge of our box, supping Special Brew, inviting other teams to see if they could break through our hopelessly exposed defence.
Top marks Jordan Rhodes has had a phenomenal season and has rightly earned the plaudits coming his way, and although he is the obvious choice, there really is no other option.
Bottom of the class The midfield as a whole. Our inability to do something special, our propensity to concede late, and a lack of goals from all but Rhodes and Novak is down almost exclusively to our static and ponderous midfield.
The gaffer Lee Clark protected his reputation by not losing, whilst not winning as many games as he should have, but in truth did not really deserve to be sacked. Simon Grayson failed to have the impact required, and has made some odd choices, but he could end up an absolute hero.
Best moment When we beat Sheffield United away I honestly thought we would go on and walk the league. However, it never really worked out that way.
Worst moment Losing at home to Sheffield Wednesday while showing no fight whatsoever, in what was our last faint hope of automatic promotion, was depressing.
Best fans Sheffield Wednesday brought thousands and made a lot of noise. Their fans are some of the most long-suffering in the country but do support their team in force regardless.
Worst fans It is too easy to say MK Dons here, so I will be a maverick and say for me Charlton fans did not seem to care – the fan equivalent of a team already on the beach.
Charlie Johnson, FootballCharlie (@FootballCharlie)
Leyton Orient
Dream or nightmare? Football may be a game of two halves, but the Os had a season of three thirds – an excellent middle sandwiched by a start and finish that can only be described as utterly abysmal. Three points from the first 10 games rooted us bottom, we then briefly dreamed of the play-offs in January before crashing to earth with 12 points coming from the final 17 games, and relegation only avoided after Wycombe finally ran out of steam with a game to go. Admittedly injuries played a part – an astonishing six goalkeepers were crocked in Orient colours – but we also sold and failed to replace three key players from the 2010-11 season – Alex Revell, Charlie Daniels and Stephen Dawson all departed and left gaping holes that were not adequately filled by a succession of average loan players. We got away with it – just – but a nightmare season all round.
Top marks Not many covered themselves in glory but Kevin Lisbie edges it from Scott Cuthbert, with some important goals and an all-too-rare fighting spirit from the moment he joined to the end of the season.
Bottom of the class Plenty of eager contenders for this, but Jamie Cureton was a huge disappointment, netting just once all year. An honourable mention to Soloman Taiwo, one of the worst players to represent Orient in a long while (and there's plenty of competition).
The gaffer Russell Slade was perhaps too negative at times, he failed to replace key players, and the loan signings were poor. However, we didn't forget the brilliance of last season and the fans never turned on him – but he'll need a good start to next season without a doubt.
Best moment Notts County's double strike in injury time against Wycombe, ensuring our safety, was sadly probably the highlight of the season. From ourselves, youth team player Moses Odubajo's thunderbolt strike in the final game of the season was hopefully a sign of better things to come.
Worst moment A woeful 3-0 surrender to a poor Exeter side on Easter Monday was up there with the worst Orient displays I have ever seen – no fight, no creativity and absolutely no idea about basic defending. At least the traffic wasn't bad, though.
Best fans Bromley's away support in the FA Cup was nothing short of astounding for a small team, and it will be sad to not meet Wycombe's fans again next season (they'll probably be sadder, having taken six points off us).
Worst fans No one in particular stands out, but we hate Brentford so I'll go with them – a decision in no way affected by their gloating chants when 5-0 up against us at Griffin Park.
Dave Fawbert, Leyton Orient fan (@DaveFawbert)
MK Dons
Dream or nightmare? There's still time for the dream to become reality, which is about what we'd hoped for. It was disappointing to cough up fourth place on the final day of the season by losing at home to Walsall, but just keeping pace with Huddersfield is a tribute to the foundations Karl Robinson has laid down and the footballing style he has tried to develop given their obvious superiority in terms of spending power. We've had two draws against Huddersfield and a win and a loss against likely finalists – with all due respect to Stevenage – Sheffield United, so the play-offs should be very close.
Top marks Darren Potter deservedly swept up the club's player of the season awards. Plenty of opposition managers have labelled us the best passing team in the division and everything goes through him in central midfield.
Bottom of the class Gary MacKenzie can blow hot and cold in defence. He's a big man and can look dominant at his best, but has also been sent off twice this season for almost identical off-the-ball headbutts.
The gaffer It has been exciting to see Roberto Di Matteo's progress with Chelsea this season but I still regard Karl Robinson as the best manager we have had in our short history. Di Matteo enjoyed a superb year here but when he is eventually snapped up by a bigger club, Robinson will leave a real legacy behind. He has given us an identity as a club in terms of the playing style he has set out.
Best moment We were absolutely flying when we went to Carrow Road for the second round of the League Cup and demolished Norwich 4-0. They didn't turn up, but we were brilliant. Unfortunately, Sam Baldock's form in August convinced West Ham to stump up around £2m for his services before the transfer window closed.
Worst moment Also in a cup competition – it hurt to go out of the FA Cup against QPR having played so well over two ties.
Best fans Sheffield United brought more than 6,000 fans down recently. They did have an unlikely shot at securing automatic promotion that day, but an impressive turnout nevertheless.
Worst fans I'll pick on the Premier League club – QPR arrived in excellent numbers but were pretty subdued throughout. They were enduring a miserable run and Neil Warnock lost his job before the replay.
Oliver Platt, MK Dons fan
Notts County
Dream or nightmare? Dream doesn't come close to describing it really. In more hope than expectation at the start of the season I predicted Notts would finish mid-table so to see us in the top half of the table for the majority of the campaign has been brilliant. Had it not been for a worrying dip in form at the end of last year we'd have (at least) a play-off place sewn up long before now.
Top marks This was close between Jeff Hughes and Alan Judge – but Judgey has put it to bed in the last few weeks of the season. Jeff has had a fantastic debut campaign at Meadow Lane as top scorer, weighing in with almost as many assists. But Judge's tenacity every week is a joy to watch, a real sense that something is going to happen when the ball is at his feet.
Bottom of the class A few contenders out of some poor signings under Martin Allen – but Karl Hawley has continued to infuriate for much of the season, such a sad waste of a great talent and I think everyone has lost patience with him. Last seen training at Mansfield.
The gaffer Little to complain about (on the surface) under Allen who had us punching above our weight, but the football under Keith Curle at times has had many believing we do belong in the top half – has worked miracles to win most fans over!
Best moment Judge's last-minute winner at Wycombe was incredible, truly amazing scenes having been 3-2 down with only a minute remaining. Having spent much of the season smashing shots against the woodwork he started getting it right when it mattered most.
Worst moment The 20 or so minutes leading up to that goal. We were all assuming that the season was over and that we wouldn't reach the play-offs after all, thinking back to dropped points and missed chances for the past nine months. We felt both ends of the spectrum that day.
Best fans I'm going to lay the cheese on with this – but Juventus's fans treated the 500 or so travelling Notts support in Turin like royalty. Was an experience those of us who travelled there will never forget. We all now hope that we get to return the favour to them this summer as part of our club's 150th-year celebrations.
Worst fans Their club has had a very good season – so I couldn't quite wrap my head around why Sheffield Wednesday fans spent so much time singing about United and Leeds during their Meadow Lane win. Very small-time, I thought, for such an apparently massive club. Throw in "Scab" and "We'll do what we want" chants and it's just so boring and uninventive.
Stuart Brothers, The Notts Blog (@StuTNB)
Oldham Athletic
Dream or nightmare? "Nightmare" would be stretching it, but it could/should have been so much better. Every season we seem to dip from February onwards, but given that this year's slump included losing to Chesterfield in the JPT Northern final was utterly horrendous. The last few weeks have been turgid beyond belief. Chairman/owner Simon Corney, unaccountably slated by many, deserves huge praise: he has backed Paul Dickov and it just hasn't happened. As Corney has said, we have been unlucky with injuries, missing key figures for lengthy spells – central midfield and defence have seen a cast of thousands auditioning – but the football has got steadily worse. We've still got a three-sided ground, and with City and United topping the big league, the missing fans aren't coming back any time soon.
Top marks Kieran Lee, almost by default – Shefki Kuqi faded, Robbie Simpson has shone on and off, Alex Cisak has been solid in goal. James Wesolowski did well before his papier-mache shoulder exploded.
Bottom of the class Local lad Chris Taylor has had his worst season for Latics and now he's declared that with his contract up, he wants out – unfortunately he seems to have lost his edge and wouldn't improve many Championship sides. Unfortunately, this looks like a sad ending.
The gaffer The jury's out on Paul Dickov. Some claim that despite better players he's overseeing worse football than even Dave Penney (a big accusation here), but most – probably – think he's worth giving time. Has a year left on his deal to prove himself as a manager.
Best moment The Cup third round tie at Anfield, or coming back from two down to win 3-2 at Sheffield United? I enjoyed the 3-3 draw at Preston in autumn, a spirited comeback that gave us a glimmer of hope of big things ahead. It's the hope that gets you.
Worst moment Chesterfield second leg at home, no question. Numbing.
Best fans Bradford in the JPT, 3,000 or so and noisy.
Worst fans I honestly don't know. Wednesday tend to throw their weight around, so them.
Neil Tague, Oldham fan (@NeilTague)
Preston North End
Dream or nightmare? Definitely the latter, with an encouraging start of seven consecutive wins under Phil Brown now seeming a lifetime ago. Long-term injuries to strike duo Neil Mellor and Iain Hume derailed that momentum and an increasingly panicked Brown was sacked shortly after Peter Ridsdale arrived as our new chairman in December. A long search for a new manager left North End treading water until January, when the outspoken Graham Westley arrived from Stevenage. He's won three games since then, not made many friends, made national headlines twice (Textgate and Leakgate, as they became known on the forums) and we only really secured our safety in this division a fortnight ago. To say he's got a lot to prove next season is an understatement, and we've been told to expect a massive amount of turnaround over the summer.
Top marks German goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann has been one of few bright sparks from this season, helping to shore up a creaking defence and making some impressive penalty saves. Our recent away game at Oldham was declared to be Thorsten Stuckmann Day in his honour.
Bottom of the class Neil Mellor typifies the problems at North End – on massive wages for a club our size, he's rarely fit and still divides opinion when he does play. I don't expect to see him in a North End shirt again.
The gaffer After yet another managerial change, a lot of North End fans were probably looking for some stability, but instead we got Graham Westley. He's outspoken, eccentric and has already angered a lot of the fans, but many of us can also see that a massive change in culture and personnel is needed at the club. It's still not clear whether he's the man to do it, but there's at least a core group of promising young players that the club can build around.
Best moment Has to be Graham Alexander's sublime equalizing free-kick in the last minute against Charlton, probably his last kick of the ball in a 22-year career. His boot-boy at North End, Will Hayhurst, wasn't even born when Grezza made his debut.
Worst moment Losing to Brentford 3-1 at home, one of the worst performances I've ever witnessed at Deepdale, and a moment when I genuinely feared that we were going to go down another division.
Best fans Charlton at home gave Alexander a great reception, but they were bound to be in a good mood.
Worst fans MK Dons have an arrogance and attitude that fits with their nouveau-riche status.
Aaron Lavery, PNE Online User
Rochdale
Dream or nightmare? Complete and utter nightmare. Finishing bottom of League One with just eight league wins to our name isn't how we hoped the season would pan out. There are no excuses, we just simply weren't good enough and paid the price. Of course there were a lot of things against us – losing our management duo and key players in the summer as well as a high calibre of teams this season – but I wish we'd shown a bit more fight and drive. Every now and then we saw a glimpse of what could have been, which has been so frustrating because we know that we can achieve more than this. We were definitely out of our depth on occasions. Next season will be about John Coleman rebuilding the squad and challenging to come straight back up … we hope.
Top marks I'm going for midfielder Jason Kennedy; he's one of the few that has been consistent and mostly reliable throughout the season. Also deserved mentions for Andrew Tutte, Jean Louis Akpa-Akpro and loanee Kevin Long.
Bottom of the class There are quite a few. Matthew Barnes-Homer stands out, though. He came in on a rather odd loan from Luton Town, hardly played and when he did, did absolutely nothing. Neal Trotman was also very disappointing; he came with decent potential which never came through.
The gaffer The less said about ex-manager Steve Eyre the better unfortunately. A lot of fans blame him for where we've ended up. It was too late for current manager John Coleman to turn things around but he comes with a lot of experience from Accrington and I think he'll do good things for us in League Two.
Best moment Although it might sound a bit "tinpot" it has to be doing the double over Bury (4-2 and 3-0). We were 3-0 up after 20 minutes at theirs and despite a terrible season overall it was great to be able to celebrate that win over our rivals at least.
Worst moment Even though we came away with a point, it has to be the game at Spotland against Walsall for me. We were 2-0 down at half time but pulled it back level; Akpa-Akpro then scored three minutes into stoppage time and we went crazy ... only for them to come straight back and score less than a minute later. It was so gutting because we hadn't celebrated for so long and thought our luck was in for once.
Best fans Huddersfield or Sheffield United: they travel in numbers given the close proximity to Rochdale and make plenty of noise. It's always great to see our away stand full (which it often unfortunately isn't) and away fans enjoying the match without belittling us too.
Worst fans I'd say there are a few to choose from as a lot have been very quiet this season. I'd have hoped more banter from Bury but they played very poorly both times against us. Notts County don't ever seem to bring many. And I have to mention the Oldham fan who ran on the pitch thinking they'd scored in stoppage time. Very funny!
Sarah Lomas, GirlOnATerrace (@GirlOnATerrace)
Scunthorpe United
Dream or nightmare ? A bit of both really. The final position would say nightmare but it could have been a lot worse. The team is virtually unrecognisable from the start of the season. Big earners were allowed to leave and new recruits brought in, most of them on loan to steady the ship. The likes of Jon Parkin (Cardiff) and a returning David Mirfin (Watford) helped to buoy the fans somewhat and drag us out of a relegation dogfight. A season to forget for most fans but hopeful of a better one next year with a lot of new faces likely to come in.
Top marks For me, David Mirfin. Came in on loan in January and steadied a rocky back four.
Bottom of the class Bobby Grant, who showed a lot of promise early in the season, scoring nine goals early on. Not as consistent as you would expect, though, and shipped out on loan towards the end of the season.
The gaffer A lot of managers would struggle following in the wake of Nigel Adkins and the massive squad turnaround (which was needed) hasn't helped him. Players he has brought in have been good. Damien Mozika, Jimmy Ryan and Andy Barcham have all shown how good they are.
Best moment The signing of Jon "the Beast" Parkin in January. Showed fans what we had been missing in the striker positions.
Worst moment So many players getting what seemed like silly training ground injuries has hampered the season massively.
Best fans For me it has to be Sheffield Wednesday. Filled the away end at Glanford Park and sung from start to finish.
Worst fans It's got to be Charlton, flying to the title but only mustered a few hundred who made the trip to north Lincolnshire.
Carl Gac, Iron In Our Blood (@carlgac)
Sheffield United
Dream or nightmare? An odd mix of a season. A dream for much of it, but a nightmare finale to end on. It was all going so well. We looked like we'd managed to see off all contenders for second, with a four-point gap over our neighbours going into the final three games. But this is United, and we've grown accustomed to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Ched Evans's jailing visibly affected the team in the run-in, though I'd argue Richard Cresswell being unable to start two of those games through injury was as big a loss at that key time. There are few teams that wouldn't feel the loss of two of their top goalscorers. That said, we should have been able to cope – and simply didn't. Ninety points and 92 goals will have far exceeded the expectations of Unitedites back in the summer – hopefully it won't have all been for nothing, and we'll at last end our wretched play-off record.
Top marks Neill Collins – he's gone from defensive calamity to defensive lynchpin in the space of a year, and has been at the heart of our much-improved defence.
Bottom of the class James Beattie – high expectations following his return to United, but on the pitch his main contribution has been to be red carded. Twice.
The gaffer I've been really impressed with Danny Wilson – he's had us playing the best football we've seen in years, and has been calm and professional throughout. He's done particularly well to win people over when you consider the crazy immediate reaction to his appointment.
Best moment We were excellent at Notts County, winning 5-2 at a key time following several disappointing results.
Worst moment The loss at Hillsborough – had we so much as drawn the game, the difference in our points totals would have seen us up automatically rather than them …
Best fans Charlton – always an enjoyable away trip, nice club overall, which hopefully we'll be able to visit again next season.
Worst fans MK Dons – fairly poor atmosphere at Stadium:mk.
Joseph Clift, One Foot In The Game (@1FITG)
Sheffield Wednesday
Dream or nightmare? A massive season for the Owls, with more ups than downs, Sheffield Wednesday are finally back on the road to recovery. Some resolute performances inspired by loan signings and players finally stepping up to the plate, things are looking up at Hillsborough. An intense race to the finish line with bitter rivals Sheffield United made it a season to remember in S6, putting to bed the memories of last season's tepid displays. With Gary Megson setting the foundations, Dave Jones was brought in to put the cherry on the cake and to hopefully put his vast experience in the championship to good use. More of the same please, Mr Mandaric.
Top marks Jose Semedo is the obvious choice, but an honourable mention to Miguel Llera and Danny Batth forming a solid centre back partnership at the business end of the season.
Bottom of the class After all the begging and grovelling, it just seemed Sheffield Wednesday and Ben Marshall just weren't set to spend their lives together and live happy ever after. Whose fault that is remains open to debate.
The gaffer Whether Megson was dismissed unfairly or not is also open to debate, but the appointment of Jones proved a Mandaric masterstroke. Undefeated in 12 with 10 wins cannot be argued with.
Best moment Michail Antonio's winner deep into stoppage time against Carlisle was a real signal of intent. That was the moment where everyone started to believe automatic promotion was possible.
Worst moment The 1-1 draw at Colchester was a stomach sinking moment. What was seemingly an easy game was the moment Wednesdayites thought that the play-offs were beckoning.
Best fans The Wycombe Wanderers fans were a credit to their club. Although they'd been relegated, the away fans stayed to applaud the Owls on a lap of honor of Hillsborough. Their "This City Is Yours" chant was a nice touch, too.
Worst fans An honourable mention to Exeter and Yeovil whose fans all shared a taxi to Hillsborough.
James Edwards, Sheffield Wednesday fan
Stevenage
Dream or nightmare? If anyone thought League Two would be a challenging prospect, then League One was supposed to be even tougher. Yet the remarkable bunch of players that have taken Boro' this far already have guided the club to the cusp of a third straight promotion. It seems inconceivable, but you can't rule it out. Not content with toppling Sheffield Wednesday (twice), Sheffield United (nearly twice) and Charlton Athletic (once), Boro' found the time and the effort to make Spurs work for victory in the FA Cup. Even a managerial change has failed to halt the Boro' charge. It's been another one of those seasons for Stevenage. The kind of season where expectations are mocked and tossed aside. Some of us are still coming to terms with promotion to the Football League in 2010. But this is a group of players who aren't satisfied with what they have.
Top marks Mark Roberts is hard to overlook. As captain, he has always laid his body on the line for the cause and defeats seem to physically hurt him. Add to that his unbeaten record as caretaker manager mid-way through the season …
Bottom of the class This is, as they say, non-applicable. Not once has a player has shirked their duties this season.
The gaffer Gary Smith had the unenviable task of taking over from Graham Westley, the man who had delivered so much for Boro'. It wasn't ever going to be an easy transition, but Smith has never sought to take an easy way out. He maintained the promotion charge, the FA Cup run and could be the man that guides us into the Championship. Not bad for three months' work.
Best moment In one sentence? How about: Sheffield-Wednesday-5-1-and-1-0-at-Hillsborough-taking-Spurs-to-a-replay-and-dominating-them-for-the-first-20-minutes-being-the-first-team-to-beat-Charlton-in-the-league-or-Mark-Roberts'-side-winning-5-1-at-Rochdale-or-maybe-being-the-best-damn-set-of-supporters-going. Be fair, Guardian.
Worst moment At the time, losing Westley was a troublesome moment – he was the man that had taken us into League One and losing that momentum was a concern.
Best fans Sheffield United. They packed out Bramall Lane and not once did they get on their team's back, despite being 2-0 down at one point. It's a valuable asset to have.
Worst fans It'd be harsh to single out any one team, but there is perhaps truth in the sentiment that quality will always win over quantity.
Pete Hayman, Boro Guide (@boroguide)
Tranmere Rovers
Dream or nightmare? The season has been a bit of both for Tranmere Rovers. We began it like a dream and were briefly, very briefly, top of the league when we took the lead at Notts County in the third game of the season. We spent the opening couple of months in the top six which was fantastic for us, but after that it went a little wrong. A nightmare spell of one win from 20 matches saw Les Parry lose his job and then a dream restarted with Ronnie Moore reinstalled as the manager. An unbeaten run saw us safe from relegation and we ended up with a top-half finish which at the start of the campaign, I'd have gladly accepted.
Top marks David Buchanan – arrived at the start of the season as probably a back-up left-back but he quickly established himself as a regular in the side and won the fans' affections with a wonder-strike at Leyton Orient.
Bottom of the class Robbie Weir – began the season in tremendous form but soon his form dropped and the midfielder kept losing the ball, much to my frustration.
The gaffer Les Parry began the season and the opening two or three months were very good, but things went horribly wrong either side of Christmas and the decision to let him go had to be made. Ronnie Moore came in to take over and had an immediate positive impact. The players appeared more motivated and confidence seemingly grew overnight, taking us from relegation battlers to safe in mid-table.
Best moment John Welsh's fabulous volley at Notts County which gave us the lead and for a few minutes, we were top of the table.
Worst moment Losing 4-3 at Chesterfield in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy – it was more the manner of the defeat than anything. We went behind, recovered to lead 3-2 , then threw it away by conceding sloppy goals and ultimately missed out on a trip to Wembley in a competition which the Spireites went on to win.
Best fans Sheffield Wednesday's away following, because there were so many of them and they got right behind their team all the way to the final whistle and beyond.
Worst fans Bury's home support at Gigg Lane were almost silent for most of the game in a fixture they desperately needed to win to keep them away from the drop zone.
Paul Harper, Totally Tranmere Podcast (@paulharper82)
Walsall
Dream or nightmare? After a less than great escape last season, hopes were high for a more positive campaign this time around. Pre-season began with the signing of several new faces including David Grof, Lee Beevers, Mathew Sadler, Claude Gnakpa, and Adam Chambers. Sadly this injection of new blood did little to improve our fortunes as the team only managed to pick up nine points from the opening 10 league games. There was little improvement from then on. With just nine wins and 20 draws, there is a clear lack of scoring power, and ability to close out games, too many points have been dropped from winning positions. Admittedly, since the turn of the year our fortunes have improved but League One safety was still only secured after the penultimate game of the season, one game earlier than last season but this simply can't continue. Bit of a nightmare season, by all accounts.
Top marks Loan signings Sam Mantom and Florent Cuvelier along with the re-signing of Emanuel Ledesma – were it not for these significant mid-season signings, we believe Walsall would be playing in League Two next season.
Bottom of the class Unfortunately the whole team failed to perform for the majority of the season, only picking up real momentum after Christmas. Not good enough.
The gaffer Constrained by a tight budget, small squad and relatively small coaching team, manager Dean Smith has managed to achieve League One survival. However, the failure to learn lessons of last seasons campaign and his, at times, slow reaction to in game problems (substituting ineffective players and/or switching tactics to exploit clear flaws in the opposition formation) are a worrying trend.
Best moment Beating promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home on Boxing Day, despite being 0-1 down at the 90 minute mark. The team showed so much desire especially during the second half.
Worst moment Has to be the terrible FA Cup second-round exit at the hands of League Two outfit Dagenham & Redbridge. Following a 1-1 draw we were knocked out on penalties after a scoreless replay. Shocking.
Best fans & worst fans During that tense Boxing Day encounter against Wednesday we witnessed the best and worst of modern supporters. During a fantastic end to end game both sets of supporters created a passionate atmosphere, however tensions boiled over on a few occasions with both sets of supporters attempting to break the corden and attack each other. Obviously each group blames the other but it was all unneccesary wherever the blame lies.
Wycombe Wanderers
Dream or nightmare? Complete nightmare. Although if it's goals you wanted to see then Wanderers games were the ones to go and see. League games involving Wycombe saw a total of 153 goals. Sadly for Wycombe with 88 conceded it led to relegation after just one season back in League One. On the playing side, Gary Waddock's summer signings never came close to producing the necessary to keep Wanderers in the division and it took a host of loan players to prevent the season collapsing even earlier. Add to that the uncertainty over the future ownership and finances of the club, it makes for pretty bleak reading.
Top marks That's an easy one. Stuart Beavon came of age after scoring 25 goals, including 21 in the League, putting him among the highest scorers in the division, despite Wycombe's relegation.
Bottom of the class The club owner. Hardily a word since the local council blocked plans for a new stadium. The failure to file the club accounts in March has also led to a transfer embargo that was still in place at the time of writing.
The gaffer It's difficult to defend a manager who has seen his side relegated with a squad of players assembled since he arrived at the club in October 2009. Only a flurry of loan signings in the new year stretched out the inevitable relegation.
Best moment: The 15-year-old Jordan Ibe scoring against Sheffield Wednesday. He was later sold to Liverpool. We'll keep an eye on how he does.
Worst moment The reality of being relegated having let slip another lead in the penultimate game of the season. 3-2 up with a minute left against Notts County. You guessed it, lost 4-3 – story of the season.
Best fans Has to be Sheffield Wednesday fans. More than 37,000 turned out on the final day of the season at Hillsborough to see the the Owls promoted and they still had time to clap the 500 Wanderers followers.
Worst fans MK Dons. As expected, manufactured chants from a manufactured club. "No one likes us, we don't care."
Paul Lewis, Chairboys.co.uk
Yeovil Town
Dream or nightmare? The semi-conscious state that best reflects our campaign is a daydream. Our defenders certainly had a few of them. In all seriousness it was great to see Gary Johnson come back and succeed, sad that Terry Skiverton's reign ended in a failure of sorts and pretty surreal that the club managed to secure League One status for another year. There was also a sense of deja vu thrown in for good measure, as this was not the first time a dismal start to the season has been followed up with an excellent spurt of good form that proved just enough to save our bacon.
Top marks Striker Andy Williams has really matured into a player opposition sides fear this season, notably growing in confidence following Gary Johnson's return. We will do well to hold on to him.
Bottom of the class Steve MacLean was pretty poor for me and making an "up yours" gesture at his own bench after scoring in defeat to Bury in December lacked class, to say the least. He was shipped out on loan after a paltry four goals in 24 games.
The gaffer Like most at the club I'm a big fan of Skiverton's and was desperate to see him succeed. Maybe as a result I had huge reservations about Johnson returning when things were beginning to look decidedly League Two in January, but the boss who led us to such great success a decade ago has shown he still has the magic touch.
Best moment Beating MK Dons away 1-0 despite having to play the entire second half with 10 men. Sam Walker also saved a penalty from our old boy Dean Bowditch. Just a great night of resolute backs-to-the-wall defending mixed with smash-and-grab loveliness.
Worst moment It's still pretty raw so I'll say the recent 6-0 home demolition at the hands of Stevenage – a club us Yeovil fans do not traditionally hold in high regard.
Best fans Our Adam Stansfield cousins Exeter City always bring large numbers and the friendly rivalry makes for a great atmosphere.
Worst fans Stevenage. Annoying!
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