Chaff and Dean's League Two predictions continue with our (no doubt rubbish) predictions of the teams sitting in the top half of the table right up to the final play-off place.

12th — Northampton Town

Jon Brady came into replace Keith Curle towards the back end of last season at Northampton Town, and although he didn't do enough to avoid the drop, he did do enough to get supporters and board members on board and earn the job on a permanent basis.Likely to be one of the more physical sides in the league looking at their transfer business and they will prove to be a difficult side to contend with for many League Two outfits, without having the quality to kick on and create enough momentum a play-off push.

11th — Port Vale

It's been all change at Vale Park this summer, with Darrell Clarke, a former Dale midfielder of course, opting to make wholesale changes to his squad during the transfer window. Brad Walker, Mal Benning and Jamie Proctor are among those to come in, all with a good pedigree in lower league football. It may take time for so many new players to gel, but if they can then the Valiants will be flirting with the play-offs as a minimum this season.

10th — Carlisle United

Another former Dale midfielder is in charge at Carlisle United and Chris Beech, who was also Keith Hill's assistant for a time at Spotland, won plenty of plaudits at the start of last season with his direct style of play helping to push the Cumbrians towards the top of the table. A lack of strength in depth saw the club drop away from the top spots in the second half of the season though and Beech's recruitment has been relatively slow this summer. One man who has arrived at Brunton Park however is former Dale loanee Zach Clough. If he can recapture the form that saw Nottingham Forest pay a six-figure fee to Bolton Wanderers for his services, he could be one of the best players in this division.

9th — Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere Rovers fans got their wish ahead of the play-offs last season, with Keith Hill leaving the club. Unfortunately for them, that decision wasn't enough to help them secure promotion to League One, so they've turned back to former boss Micky Mellon in the hope that he can create some consistency to keep them in the play-off hunt this term. There is definite quality within the Wirral club's squad, but with James Vaughan calling time on his playing career, they will have to find some goals from somewhere but the majority of their transfer dealings have been for defenders and midfielders. Their new kit and new/old badge are excellent though!

8th — Forest Green Rovers

Forest Green deserve a lot of credit for the way they've operated in recent years in terms of looking to become a sustainable EFL club, in more ways than one. With Rob Edwards in his first job as a first-team coach, it may be a transitional season at the New Lawn, especially with youngsters such as Reagan Hendry and Udoka Godwin-Malife perhaps looking to sufficiently impress in order to earn moves for themselves further up the pyramid. The Green Devils have finished 5th, 10th and 6th in the last few seasons and we anticipate another top half finish here if not an automatic promotion push.

7th — Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers would perhaps do well to rid themselves of Joey Barton as without his presence at the club, I'd be looking at the Gas for an automatic promotion spot. As is, the former Fleetwood man has done nothing to convince me of his ability as a manager as yet and in my opinion, this Pirates squad was far too good to have been relegated last season, so the three managers they had (Barton was preceded by Paul Tisdale and Ben Garner) have a lot to answer for. That impressive squad has only been added to this summer with the likes of Paul Coutts, Sam Finley and Brett Pitman moving to the Mem. That should be enough to push them into the play-offs, even with inconsistency of the fields.

Photo: Action Images

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