After wins against Colchester, Cheltenham, Mansfield and Wycombe, draws against Northampton, Peterborough, Huddersfield and Chesterfield, the Alex face Tranmere, Cardiff, QPR, Stockport, Plymouth, Port Vale, Luton, Wigan and Brentford all within a month or so.
The trips to Cardiff, Wigan, Stockport and the Vale will prove a stern test, and we will have a clear indication of where we may be come May. Of the teams we face at home;
Tranmere have had an indifferent start to the season, after an abysmal pre-season, which concluded in the departure of Dave Watson, Ray Mathias was promoted to take charge of the first team and after a slow start, the former assistant has recently seen a good run of form. The men from Prenton Park will prove a stern test tomorrow, and with them being relegated from the first division a few years ago, we will renew our rivalry with the Wirral team.
Queens Park Rangers, another club who have struggled to make an impact on the second division, QPR have struggled financially and after a couple of years in middle table obscurity, the Loftus Road team will be attempting to make an assault on the play-offs. Ian Holloway's team will want to gain revenge on the Alex, after it was Shaun Smith's last minute free-kick which ultimately ended their hopes of avoiding relegation.
Plymouth, after promotion from division three last season, the Pilgrims have taken this division by storm, after an opening day defeat at Mansfield, they have found goals and consistency. Like any newly promoted team, the Pilgrims are something of an unknown quantity, they have carried last seasons winning run into this season and will have to be treated with respect when they visit on Oct 19th.
Luton, Joe Kinnear's men have been a Jekel and Hide side this season, after a poor start to the season they have shown signs of promise and scored goals. They seem to have been effected by the loss of Matt Taylor who moved to Portsmouth and has since earned an England U-21 call up. The Kenilworth Rd outfit will be a team to be cautious of, best is yet to come.
Brentford, early season pace setters, again, one of the four promoted sides who have been something of an unknown quantity. Brentford have responded well to the departure of Steve Coppell in the summer after the former City boss claimed the club 'lacked ambition.' The Bees will renew aquantances with the Railwaymen, the team we beat 1-0 at Wembley back in '97.
After being tipped by many to walk away with the championship, Cardiff have started slowly by their standards and they will be the opposition for the Railwaymen a week tomorrow. The Bluebirds will be hoping that their best is just around the corner and the trip to Ninian Park will prove our toughest test yet. After escaping with a 1-1 draw in the F.A. Cup a few seaosns back, the Alex will be able to judge their promotion credentials against a team that will be there or thereaboust come the end of the season.
After a disasterous season last term, Carlton Palmer's Stockport will be hoping to halt our progress when we visit on Oct 12th. The Hatter's have yet to reach top form and with Luke Beckett being their solo league scorer they will be attempting to kickstart their season.
The Vale have been in fine form of late, winning their last five leage games, altough they did lose their first round Worthington Cup tie against a dominant Alex team, David Vaughan and Rodney Jack putting in match winning displays. Brain Horton's men will be hoping to challenge for a play-off spot this season and will be attempting to gain revenge for that league cup defeat.
Wigan started the season brightly, lost two successive games and have now regained form, and lie top of the table. Paul Jewell's sie have failed to acheive their potential in recent years and they will be attempting to justify Dave Whelan's big spending when we visit on Nov 2nd.
All in all, we face a tough test in the up and coming games. The Railwaymen will find out there true promtoion credentials. Should we still be in and amongst the top 6, then we will be well plaved to push for an automatic promotion place. Should the wheels have fallen off the promotion bandwagon, then we will be left looking towards a trip to Blackpool in mid November full of midtable cheer!