Darran

Braintree v Aldershot
I stuck Aldershot up as a bet on Tuesday and at 2-0 up I thought it was bet won given Bromley had yet to score this season. Frustratingly Bromley found two goals to peg them back and hold them to a draw. Even so it has been a cracking start to the season by Gary Waddock’s men and they could be in for their best season since they were relegated. Braintree are set to have their worse since joining this league and they are yet to win in their first four matches. I make Aldershot favourites to win this and the 9/4 with Marathon looks a big price to me.

Bromley v Gateshead
Gateshead are one of the teams who have been backed, but 5/4 is still available with Coral and I think there is just enough in that price to get involved. I put them up last week against Forest Green and they were unfortunate to lose to what was a fluky goal. They then stunned York on Tuesday when beating them 6-1! That made it 3 wins from 4 games and if they carry that form into this game then I think they will be hard to beat. Bromley will take some confidence in the fact they got a point against Aldershot, but Gateshead have looked strong in defence so far this season and it might just be a case of getting at least one goal to win the game.

Sutton United v Macclesfield
Macclesfield also have a record of 3 wins from their first 4 games and it is rather annoying that the only time I have put them up was their loss too York. Even so they played well that night and they have followed it up with putting three goals past Braintree and Southport. Granted they are likely to be down near the bottom this season, but they were still impressive efforts. Sutton have been one of those teams who have been well backed and that means Macclesfield have drifted to a massive 13/4 with Marathon. To be fair to Sutton they have coped fairly well since gaining promotion and beat Lincoln and Torquay in the last week. Lincoln did go down to ten men though and Torquay arrived at Sutton’s ground in taxis after their coach broke down which is hardly an ideal preparation. They did get a point against Forest Green, but they probably played them at the right time as they are still struggling to get used to Mark Cooper’s system. The price makes no sense to me and they could easily be the other way round and it wouldn’t have surprised me. I make them Nap’s because of that.

Woking v Dagenham & Redbridge
Like the above two tips, the only time I have backed Dagenham this season was when they lost to Chester 3-0. That is looking like a blip for both teams as Chester have lost their other three games and Dagenham have won their other three. Woking look like they are going to be in for a long hard season. Manager Gary Hill stated that they have the smallest budget in the league and whilst I am not sure it would be lower than North Ferriby’s, the squad has clearly suffered because of the low budget. Hill is a good manager, but he will have to work very hard to keep them up this season. They are a young squad and inexperience seems to be costing them. Bar that Chester game Dagenham have looked pretty good so far and the 11/8 with Coral is just on the right side of value.

Nuneaton v Salford
Just the one bet outside of the National League this weekend and it is Salford. Nuneaton have been pretty disappointing so far with just a draw against Bradford. Granted they have played two of the stronger sides in Halifax and Kidderminster, but worryingly they haven’t been playing all that well. Salford on the other hand could easily be 3 from 3. They outplayed Gloucester when getting a draw on the first day of the season before putting 4 past Stalybridge and then beating local rivals FCUM in midweek. They look like a team who could play a part in the promotion race this season and on form shown so far I would have them shorter than Marathon’s 13/8.

Braintree v Aldershot
I stuck Aldershot up as a bet on Tuesday and at 2-0 up I thought it was bet won given Bromley had yet to score this season. Frustratingly Bromley found two goals to peg them back and hold them to a draw. Even so it has been a cracking start to the season by Gary Waddock’s men and they could be in for their best season since they were relegated. Braintree are set to have their worse since joining this league and they are yet to win in their first four matches. I make Aldershot favourites to win this and the 9/4 with Marathon looks a big price to me.

Bromley v Gateshead
Gateshead are one of the teams who have been backed, but 5/4 is still available with Coral and I think there is just enough in that price to get involved. I put them up last week against Forest Green and they were unfortunate to lose to what was a fluky goal. They then stunned York on Tuesday when beating them 6-1! That made it 3 wins from 4 games and if they carry that form into this game then I think they will be hard to beat. Bromley will take some confidence in the fact they got a point against Aldershot, but Gateshead have looked strong in defence so far this season and it might just be a case of getting at least one goal to win the game.

Sutton United v Macclesfield
Macclesfield also have a record of 3 wins from their first 4 games and it is rather annoying that the only time I have put them up was their loss too York. Even so they played well that night and they have followed it up with putting three goals past Braintree and Southport. Granted they are likely to be down near the bottom this season, but they were still impressive efforts. Sutton have been one of those teams who have been well backed and that means Macclesfield have drifted to a massive 13/4 with Marathon. To be fair to Sutton they have coped fairly well since gaining promotion and beat Lincoln and Torquay in the last week. Lincoln did go down to ten men though and Torquay arrived at Sutton’s ground in taxis after their coach broke down which is hardly an ideal preparation. They did get a point against Forest Green, but they probably played them at the right time as they are still struggling to get used to Mark Cooper’s system. The price makes no sense to me and they could easily be the other way round and it wouldn’t have surprised me. I make them Nap’s because of that.

Woking v Dagenham & Redbridge
Like the above two tips, the only time I have backed Dagenham this season was when they lost to Chester 3-0. That is looking like a blip for both teams as Chester have lost their other three games and Dagenham have won their other three. Woking look like they are going to be in for a long hard season. Manager Gary Hill stated that they have the smallest budget in the league and whilst I am not sure it would be lower than North Ferriby’s, the squad has clearly suffered because of the low budget. Hill is a good manager, but he will have to work very hard to keep them up this season. They are a young squad and inexperience seems to be costing them. Bar that Chester game Dagenham have looked pretty good so far and the 11/8 with Coral is just on the right side of value.

Nuneaton v Salford
Just the one bet outside of the National League this weekend and it is Salford. Nuneaton have been pretty disappointing so far with just a draw against Bradford. Granted they have played two of the stronger sides in Halifax and Kidderminster, but worryingly they haven’t been playing all that well. Salford on the other hand could easily be 3 from 3. They outplayed Gloucester when getting a draw on the first day of the season before putting 4 past Stalybridge and then beating local rivals FCUM in midweek. They look like a team who could play a part in the promotion race this season and on form shown so far I would have them shorter than Marathon’s 13/8.

Braintree v Aldershot
I stuck Aldershot up as a bet on Tuesday and at 2-0 up I thought it was bet won given Bromley had yet to score this season. Frustratingly Bromley found two goals to peg them back and hold them to a draw. Even so it has been a cracking start to the season by Gary Waddock’s men and they could be in for their best season since they were relegated. Braintree are set to have their worse since joining this league and they are yet to win in their first four matches. I make Aldershot favourites to win this and the 9/4 with Marathon looks a big price to me.

Bromley v Gateshead
Gateshead are one of the teams who have been backed, but 5/4 is still available with Coral and I think there is just enough in that price to get involved. I put them up last week against Forest Green and they were unfortunate to lose to what was a fluky goal. They then stunned York on Tuesday when beating them 6-1! That made it 3 wins from 4 games and if they carry that form into this game then I think they will be hard to beat. Bromley will take some confidence in the fact they got a point against Aldershot, but Gateshead have looked strong in defence so far this season and it might just be a case of getting at least one goal to win the game.

Sutton United v Macclesfield
Macclesfield also have a record of 3 wins from their first 4 games and it is rather annoying that the only time I have put them up was their loss too York. Even so they played well that night and they have followed it up with putting three goals past Braintree and Southport. Granted they are likely to be down near the bottom this season, but they were still impressive efforts. Sutton have been one of those teams who have been well backed and that means Macclesfield have drifted to a massive 13/4 with Marathon. To be fair to Sutton they have coped fairly well since gaining promotion and beat Lincoln and Torquay in the last week. Lincoln did go down to ten men though and Torquay arrived at Sutton’s ground in taxis after their coach broke down which is hardly an ideal preparation. They did get a point against Forest Green, but they probably played them at the right time as they are still struggling to get used to Mark Cooper’s system. The price makes no sense to me and they could easily be the other way round and it wouldn’t have surprised me. I make them Nap’s because of that.

Woking v Dagenham & Redbridge
Like the above two tips, the only time I have backed Dagenham this season was when they lost to Chester 3-0. That is looking like a blip for both teams as Chester have lost their other three games and Dagenham have won their other three. Woking look like they are going to be in for a long hard season. Manager Gary Hill stated that they have the smallest budget in the league and whilst I am not sure it would be lower than North Ferriby’s, the squad has clearly suffered because of the low budget. Hill is a good manager, but he will have to work very hard to keep them up this season. They are a young squad and inexperience seems to be costing them. Bar that Chester game Dagenham have looked pretty good so far and the 11/8 with Coral is just on the right side of value.

Nuneaton v Salford
Just the one bet outside of the National League this weekend and it is Salford. Nuneaton have been pretty disappointing so far with just a draw against Bradford. Granted they have played two of the stronger sides in Halifax and Kidderminster, but worryingly they haven’t been playing all that well. Salford on the other hand could easily be 3 from 3. They outplayed Gloucester when getting a draw on the first day of the season before putting 4 past Stalybridge and then beating local rivals FCUM in midweek. They look like a team who could play a part in the promotion race this season and on form shown so far I would have them shorter than Marathon’s 13/8.

Braintree v Aldershot
I stuck Aldershot up as a bet on Tuesday and at 2-0 up I thought it was bet won given Bromley had yet to score this season. Frustratingly Bromley found two goals to peg them back and hold them to a draw. Even so it has been a cracking start to the season by Gary Waddock’s men and they could be in for their best season since they were relegated. Braintree are set to have their worse since joining this league and they are yet to win in their first four matches. I make Aldershot favourites to win this and the 9/4 with Marathon looks a big price to me.

Bromley v Gateshead
Gateshead are one of the teams who have been backed, but 5/4 is still available with Coral and I think there is just enough in that price to get involved. I put them up last week against Forest Green and they were unfortunate to lose to what was a fluky goal. They then stunned York on Tuesday when beating them 6-1! That made it 3 wins from 4 games and if they carry that form into this game then I think they will be hard to beat. Bromley will take some confidence in the fact they got a point against Aldershot, but Gateshead have looked strong in defence so far this season and it might just be a case of getting at least one goal to win the game.

Sutton United v Macclesfield
Macclesfield also have a record of 3 wins from their first 4 games and it is rather annoying that the only time I have put them up was their loss too York. Even so they played well that night and they have followed it up with putting three goals past Braintree and Southport. Granted they are likely to be down near the bottom this season, but they were still impressive efforts. Sutton have been one of those teams who have been well backed and that means Macclesfield have drifted to a massive 13/4 with Marathon. To be fair to Sutton they have coped fairly well since gaining promotion and beat Lincoln and Torquay in the last week. Lincoln did go down to ten men though and Torquay arrived at Sutton’s ground in taxis after their coach broke down which is hardly an ideal preparation. They did get a point against Forest Green, but they probably played them at the right time as they are still struggling to get used to Mark Cooper’s system. The price makes no sense to me and they could easily be the other way round and it wouldn’t have surprised me. I make them Nap’s because of that.

Woking v Dagenham & Redbridge
Like the above two tips, the only time I have backed Dagenham this season was when they lost to Chester 3-0. That is looking like a blip for both teams as Chester have lost their other three games and Dagenham have won their other three. Woking look like they are going to be in for a long hard season. Manager Gary Hill stated that they have the smallest budget in the league and whilst I am not sure it would be lower than North Ferriby’s, the squad has clearly suffered because of the low budget. Hill is a good manager, but he will have to work very hard to keep them up this season. They are a young squad and inexperience seems to be costing them. Bar that Chester game Dagenham have looked pretty good so far and the 11/8 with Coral is just on the right side of value.

Nuneaton v Salford
Just the one bet outside of the National League this weekend and it is Salford. Nuneaton have been pretty disappointing so far with just a draw against Bradford. Granted they have played two of the stronger sides in Halifax and Kidderminster, but worryingly they haven’t been playing all that well. Salford on the other hand could easily be 3 from 3. They outplayed Gloucester when getting a draw on the first day of the season before putting 4 past Stalybridge and then beating local rivals FCUM in midweek. They look like a team who could play a part in the promotion race this season and on form shown so far I would have them shorter than Marathon’s 13/8.

Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
It hasn’t been a good start for the National League ante-post favourites and not surprisingly they have drifted out after only picking up one point in their first two games. They were pretty poor in their opener at Boreham Wood and it seems they weren’t much better against Sutton on Tuesday. It seems the formation that Mark Cooper is using isn’t working at the moment and his players are struggling to get used to it. Cooper seems under pressure already as he snapped at a local journalist after Tuesday’s night game. There is still a long way to go to turn things around, but backers must be concerned by the start. It could get worse as well as they host a Gateshead side who have made a superb start to the season. Granted Chester and Southport are unlikely to be finishing the season in the top half of the table, but to beat both 3-0 is a decent effort. On paper this should be a tougher game, but on the basis of the first two matches Gateshead shouldn’t be 31/10 (Marathon) shots and they will fancy their chances of making it 3 from 3. They have to be backed at that price.

Guiseley v Dagenham & Redbridge
As I mention above for Dagenham to go from an impressive 3-0 victory on Saturday to losing 3-0 to Chester on Tuesday was rather surprising. Obviously we have limited evidence, but I just wonder if a young Dagenham side might perform better at home than away this season. I think they are probably just about the right favourites here, but I think Guiseley are value at 12/5 (Marathon). Guiseley are yet to pick up a point, but they have had two tough games to start with and have performed with credit in defeats to Eastleigh and Wrexham who scored a very late winner. They look to have a better side than last season and they have a fair chance of surviving. If they continue to put in the performances they have in their first couple of games then they will be winning sooner rather than later and it is worth betting they do it on Saturday.

York City v Boreham Wood
Not only did Boreham Wood beat Forest Green in their opening game of the season, but they then went to Dover and beat them 4-1 on Tuesday night. Granted Dover went down to ten men when they were still 1 up, but even so that is still an impressive effort from Boreham Wood. I opposed York on Tuesday and they did manage to beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the end. The goal was rather fortunate though and I am still unconvinced they are going to be much of a force in this division this season. Whatever way you look at it though a price of 29/10 (Marathon) on an away win looks too big on the basis of Wood’s first two performances.

Alfreton v Curzon Ashton
Four of my bets are priced over 2/1 this weekend, but the Naps will be Alfreton who are 5/6 with Betway. Curzon have conceded 10 goals in their opening two games which is rather worrying. First up Kidderminster put 6 past them on the opening day of the season and then on Wednesday night they drew 4-4 with Bradford Park Avenue. Clearly they have defensive issues at the moment and given Alfreton have scored 7 goals in their first two matches, it looks ripe for them to add to that tally on Saturday. Now they did lose 4-3 to Stockport on Saturday, but they beat Gainsborough 4-0 on Tuesday night. Given the way these two teams have started you would expect Alfreton to add to their 7 goals and that should be enough to win the match.

Bradford Park Avenue v Nuneaton
Bradford have started their season with two draws and as mentioned above they shared 8 goals with Curzon on Wednesday night. That might have taken a bit out of them and it could be crucial that Nuneaton didn’t have a game in mid-week. They lost their first match 3-2 to Halifax and it was a bit worrying that they gifted Halifax a couple of goals, but Halifax are the favourites to win the league and Bradford will be lucky to get into the top half. Nuneaton should be capable of being in the play-off hunt again and I am surprised Marathon have gone 11/5 for them to win this. Given the next biggest price is 15/8, they are also out on a limb. I would still be tempted by 15/8 so the 11/5 has to be worth a punt

Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
It hasn’t been a good start for the National League ante-post favourites and not surprisingly they have drifted out after only picking up one point in their first two games. They were pretty poor in their opener at Boreham Wood and it seems they weren’t much better against Sutton on Tuesday. It seems the formation that Mark Cooper is using isn’t working at the moment and his players are struggling to get used to it. Cooper seems under pressure already as he snapped at a local journalist after Tuesday’s night game. There is still a long way to go to turn things around, but backers must be concerned by the start. It could get worse as well as they host a Gateshead side who have made a superb start to the season. Granted Chester and Southport are unlikely to be finishing the season in the top half of the table, but to beat both 3-0 is a decent effort. On paper this should be a tougher game, but on the basis of the first two matches Gateshead shouldn’t be 31/10 (Marathon) shots and they will fancy their chances of making it 3 from 3. They have to be backed at that price.

Guiseley v Dagenham & Redbridge
As I mention above for Dagenham to go from an impressive 3-0 victory on Saturday to losing 3-0 to Chester on Tuesday was rather surprising. Obviously we have limited evidence, but I just wonder if a young Dagenham side might perform better at home than away this season. I think they are probably just about the right favourites here, but I think Guiseley are value at 12/5 (Marathon). Guiseley are yet to pick up a point, but they have had two tough games to start with and have performed with credit in defeats to Eastleigh and Wrexham who scored a very late winner. They look to have a better side than last season and they have a fair chance of surviving. If they continue to put in the performances they have in their first couple of games then they will be winning sooner rather than later and it is worth betting they do it on Saturday.

York City v Boreham Wood
Not only did Boreham Wood beat Forest Green in their opening game of the season, but they then went to Dover and beat them 4-1 on Tuesday night. Granted Dover went down to ten men when they were still 1 up, but even so that is still an impressive effort from Boreham Wood. I opposed York on Tuesday and they did manage to beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the end. The goal was rather fortunate though and I am still unconvinced they are going to be much of a force in this division this season. Whatever way you look at it though a price of 29/10 (Marathon) on an away win looks too big on the basis of Wood’s first two performances.

Alfreton v Curzon Ashton
Four of my bets are priced over 2/1 this weekend, but the Naps will be Alfreton who are 5/6 with Betway. Curzon have conceded 10 goals in their opening two games which is rather worrying. First up Kidderminster put 6 past them on the opening day of the season and then on Wednesday night they drew 4-4 with Bradford Park Avenue. Clearly they have defensive issues at the moment and given Alfreton have scored 7 goals in their first two matches, it looks ripe for them to add to that tally on Saturday. Now they did lose 4-3 to Stockport on Saturday, but they beat Gainsborough 4-0 on Tuesday night. Given the way these two teams have started you would expect Alfreton to add to their 7 goals and that should be enough to win the match.

Bradford Park Avenue v Nuneaton
Bradford have started their season with two draws and as mentioned above they shared 8 goals with Curzon on Wednesday night. That might have taken a bit out of them and it could be crucial that Nuneaton didn’t have a game in mid-week. They lost their first match 3-2 to Halifax and it was a bit worrying that they gifted Halifax a couple of goals, but Halifax are the favourites to win the league and Bradford will be lucky to get into the top half. Nuneaton should be capable of being in the play-off hunt again and I am surprised Marathon have gone 11/5 for them to win this. Given the next biggest price is 15/8, they are also out on a limb. I would still be tempted by 15/8 so the 11/5 has to be worth a punt

Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
It hasn’t been a good start for the National League ante-post favourites and not surprisingly they have drifted out after only picking up one point in their first two games. They were pretty poor in their opener at Boreham Wood and it seems they weren’t much better against Sutton on Tuesday. It seems the formation that Mark Cooper is using isn’t working at the moment and his players are struggling to get used to it. Cooper seems under pressure already as he snapped at a local journalist after Tuesday’s night game. There is still a long way to go to turn things around, but backers must be concerned by the start. It could get worse as well as they host a Gateshead side who have made a superb start to the season. Granted Chester and Southport are unlikely to be finishing the season in the top half of the table, but to beat both 3-0 is a decent effort. On paper this should be a tougher game, but on the basis of the first two matches Gateshead shouldn’t be 31/10 (Marathon) shots and they will fancy their chances of making it 3 from 3. They have to be backed at that price.

Guiseley v Dagenham & Redbridge
As I mention above for Dagenham to go from an impressive 3-0 victory on Saturday to losing 3-0 to Chester on Tuesday was rather surprising. Obviously we have limited evidence, but I just wonder if a young Dagenham side might perform better at home than away this season. I think they are probably just about the right favourites here, but I think Guiseley are value at 12/5 (Marathon). Guiseley are yet to pick up a point, but they have had two tough games to start with and have performed with credit in defeats to Eastleigh and Wrexham who scored a very late winner. They look to have a better side than last season and they have a fair chance of surviving. If they continue to put in the performances they have in their first couple of games then they will be winning sooner rather than later and it is worth betting they do it on Saturday.

York City v Boreham Wood
Not only did Boreham Wood beat Forest Green in their opening game of the season, but they then went to Dover and beat them 4-1 on Tuesday night. Granted Dover went down to ten men when they were still 1 up, but even so that is still an impressive effort from Boreham Wood. I opposed York on Tuesday and they did manage to beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the end. The goal was rather fortunate though and I am still unconvinced they are going to be much of a force in this division this season. Whatever way you look at it though a price of 29/10 (Marathon) on an away win looks too big on the basis of Wood’s first two performances.

Alfreton v Curzon Ashton
Four of my bets are priced over 2/1 this weekend, but the Naps will be Alfreton who are 5/6 with Betway. Curzon have conceded 10 goals in their opening two games which is rather worrying. First up Kidderminster put 6 past them on the opening day of the season and then on Wednesday night they drew 4-4 with Bradford Park Avenue. Clearly they have defensive issues at the moment and given Alfreton have scored 7 goals in their first two matches, it looks ripe for them to add to that tally on Saturday. Now they did lose 4-3 to Stockport on Saturday, but they beat Gainsborough 4-0 on Tuesday night. Given the way these two teams have started you would expect Alfreton to add to their 7 goals and that should be enough to win the match.

Bradford Park Avenue v Nuneaton
Bradford have started their season with two draws and as mentioned above they shared 8 goals with Curzon on Wednesday night. That might have taken a bit out of them and it could be crucial that Nuneaton didn’t have a game in mid-week. They lost their first match 3-2 to Halifax and it was a bit worrying that they gifted Halifax a couple of goals, but Halifax are the favourites to win the league and Bradford will be lucky to get into the top half. Nuneaton should be capable of being in the play-off hunt again and I am surprised Marathon have gone 11/5 for them to win this. Given the next biggest price is 15/8, they are also out on a limb. I would still be tempted by 15/8 so the 11/5 has to be worth a punt

Great post. I thought Cinderford would struggle to get out of single figures this season to be honest and they had to name co manager Chris Burns on the bench last Saturday. Even with Dorchester having 3 key men out they should really have done better. I was just glad they were too short a price too back. Will be interesting to see how both get on today.

Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
It hasn’t been a good start for the National League ante-post favourites and not surprisingly they have drifted out after only picking up one point in their first two games. They were pretty poor in their opener at Boreham Wood and it seems they weren’t much better against Sutton on Tuesday. It seems the formation that Mark Cooper is using isn’t working at the moment and his players are struggling to get used to it. Cooper seems under pressure already as he snapped at a local journalist after Tuesday’s night game. There is still a long way to go to turn things around, but backers must be concerned by the start. It could get worse as well as they host a Gateshead side who have made a superb start to the season. Granted Chester and Southport are unlikely to be finishing the season in the top half of the table, but to beat both 3-0 is a decent effort. On paper this should be a tougher game, but on the basis of the first two matches Gateshead shouldn’t be 31/10 (Marathon) shots and they will fancy their chances of making it 3 from 3. They have to be backed at that price.

Guiseley v Dagenham & Redbridge
As I mention above for Dagenham to go from an impressive 3-0 victory on Saturday to losing 3-0 to Chester on Tuesday was rather surprising. Obviously we have limited evidence, but I just wonder if a young Dagenham side might perform better at home than away this season. I think they are probably just about the right favourites here, but I think Guiseley are value at 12/5 (Marathon). Guiseley are yet to pick up a point, but they have had two tough games to start with and have performed with credit in defeats to Eastleigh and Wrexham who scored a very late winner. They look to have a better side than last season and they have a fair chance of surviving. If they continue to put in the performances they have in their first couple of games then they will be winning sooner rather than later and it is worth betting they do it on Saturday.

York City v Boreham Wood
Not only did Boreham Wood beat Forest Green in their opening game of the season, but they then went to Dover and beat them 4-1 on Tuesday night. Granted Dover went down to ten men when they were still 1 up, but even so that is still an impressive effort from Boreham Wood. I opposed York on Tuesday and they did manage to beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the end. The goal was rather fortunate though and I am still unconvinced they are going to be much of a force in this division this season. Whatever way you look at it though a price of 29/10 (Marathon) on an away win looks too big on the basis of Wood’s first two performances.

Alfreton v Curzon Ashton
Four of my bets are priced over 2/1 this weekend, but the Naps will be Alfreton who are 5/6 with Betway. Curzon have conceded 10 goals in their opening two games which is rather worrying. First up Kidderminster put 6 past them on the opening day of the season and then on Wednesday night they drew 4-4 with Bradford Park Avenue. Clearly they have defensive issues at the moment and given Alfreton have scored 7 goals in their first two matches, it looks ripe for them to add to that tally on Saturday. Now they did lose 4-3 to Stockport on Saturday, but they beat Gainsborough 4-0 on Tuesday night. Given the way these two teams have started you would expect Alfreton to add to their 7 goals and that should be enough to win the match.

Bradford Park Avenue v Nuneaton
Bradford have started their season with two draws and as mentioned above they shared 8 goals with Curzon on Wednesday night. That might have taken a bit out of them and it could be crucial that Nuneaton didn’t have a game in mid-week. They lost their first match 3-2 to Halifax and it was a bit worrying that they gifted Halifax a couple of goals, but Halifax are the favourites to win the league and Bradford will be lucky to get into the top half. Nuneaton should be capable of being in the play-off hunt again and I am surprised Marathon have gone 11/5 for them to win this. Given the next biggest price is 15/8, they are also out on a limb. I would still be tempted by 15/8 so the 11/5 has to be worth a punt

Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
It hasn’t been a good start for the National League ante-post favourites and not surprisingly they have drifted out after only picking up one point in their first two games. They were pretty poor in their opener at Boreham Wood and it seems they weren’t much better against Sutton on Tuesday. It seems the formation that Mark Cooper is using isn’t working at the moment and his players are struggling to get used to it. Cooper seems under pressure already as he snapped at a local journalist after Tuesday’s night game. There is still a long way to go to turn things around, but backers must be concerned by the start. It could get worse as well as they host a Gateshead side who have made a superb start to the season. Granted Chester and Southport are unlikely to be finishing the season in the top half of the table, but to beat both 3-0 is a decent effort. On paper this should be a tougher game, but on the basis of the first two matches Gateshead shouldn’t be 31/10 (Marathon) shots and they will fancy their chances of making it 3 from 3. They have to be backed at that price.

Guiseley v Dagenham & Redbridge
As I mention above for Dagenham to go from an impressive 3-0 victory on Saturday to losing 3-0 to Chester on Tuesday was rather surprising. Obviously we have limited evidence, but I just wonder if a young Dagenham side might perform better at home than away this season. I think they are probably just about the right favourites here, but I think Guiseley are value at 12/5 (Marathon). Guiseley are yet to pick up a point, but they have had two tough games to start with and have performed with credit in defeats to Eastleigh and Wrexham who scored a very late winner. They look to have a better side than last season and they have a fair chance of surviving. If they continue to put in the performances they have in their first couple of games then they will be winning sooner rather than later and it is worth betting they do it on Saturday.

York City v Boreham Wood
Not only did Boreham Wood beat Forest Green in their opening game of the season, but they then went to Dover and beat them 4-1 on Tuesday night. Granted Dover went down to ten men when they were still 1 up, but even so that is still an impressive effort from Boreham Wood. I opposed York on Tuesday and they did manage to beat Macclesfield 1-0 in the end. The goal was rather fortunate though and I am still unconvinced they are going to be much of a force in this division this season. Whatever way you look at it though a price of 29/10 (Marathon) on an away win looks too big on the basis of Wood’s first two performances.

Alfreton v Curzon Ashton
Four of my bets are priced over 2/1 this weekend, but the Naps will be Alfreton who are 5/6 with Betway. Curzon have conceded 10 goals in their opening two games which is rather worrying. First up Kidderminster put 6 past them on the opening day of the season and then on Wednesday night they drew 4-4 with Bradford Park Avenue. Clearly they have defensive issues at the moment and given Alfreton have scored 7 goals in their first two matches, it looks ripe for them to add to that tally on Saturday. Now they did lose 4-3 to Stockport on Saturday, but they beat Gainsborough 4-0 on Tuesday night. Given the way these two teams have started you would expect Alfreton to add to their 7 goals and that should be enough to win the match.

Bradford Park Avenue v Nuneaton
Bradford have started their season with two draws and as mentioned above they shared 8 goals with Curzon on Wednesday night. That might have taken a bit out of them and it could be crucial that Nuneaton didn’t have a game in mid-week. They lost their first match 3-2 to Halifax and it was a bit worrying that they gifted Halifax a couple of goals, but Halifax are the favourites to win the league and Bradford will be lucky to get into the top half. Nuneaton should be capable of being in the play-off hunt again and I am surprised Marathon have gone 11/5 for them to win this. Given the next biggest price is 15/8, they are also out on a limb. I would still be tempted by 15/8 so the 11/5 has to be worth a punt

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

BT Sport have a weekly 30 minute highlights show every Sunday night for the National League. I think it is also available for free on You Tube.

Here is a link to the highlights of the Hitchin game from Saturday. If they hadn't of won I would have felt very hard done by as they could probably have got into double figures on another day. https://vimeo.com/177938653

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

Braintree v Eastleigh


 
Like the Bromley and Tranmere game on Saturday this match sees one side I have tipped for relegation play a team I have tipped for the title. Eastleigh looked good in the first half against Guiseley on Saturday when going 2 up. They weren't as good in the 2nd half though and allowed Guiseley to come back into the game. I think it might have just been a case of Eastleigh thinking the job was done and easing off in the heat. In someways the Guiseley comeback might be a good thing for Eastleigh as it was a reminder that you will get punished in this division if you switch off. It was no surprise to see that pretty much everything positive that Braintree did on Saturday against North Ferriby came through Simeon Akinola. It didn't lead to a goal though and I think the 0-0 draw against the side who I think are potentially the weakest in the division, goes someway to back up what I thought about them pre-season. If Braintree lose Akinola I think they will be in deep trouble and the key for any team playing them will be to keep him quiet. Eastleigh look a big price at William Hills' 19/10 as I make them favourites for this match


 
Chester v Dagenham & Redbridge

It can be dangerous to get too carried away with results on the opening day of the season, but here we have a team who lost 3-0 hosting a team who won 3-0. Ironically their two opponents also play each other on Tuesday night, but more on that shortly. From the highlights I saw and from the report I read Dagenham were very impressive on Saturday. Now Southport are likely to be in another relegation battle this season so I wouldn't want to get too carried away with Dagenham just yet, but it did hint that they could be promotion contenders. Chester meanwhile looked disjointed and poor when losing 3-0 to Gateshead and my feeling was they would be in the bottom 8 again looked a fair one. John Still is sure to make his Dagenham side hard to beat on the road and they clearly have the goals in the team to take advantage of the chances that will come their way and the 8/5 with Marathon looks too big. 


 
Southport v Gateshead

As mentioned above these were the two sides who played Chester and Dagenham on Saturday. I did mention in my ante-post preview that I nearly tipped Gateshead up as they had looked like they had improved their squad from last season and they got off to a flying start on Saturday. Last season they lacked consistency, but hopefully they won't be like that this season as on paper they have a much stronger side than Southport. Marathon are biggest at 6/4 and that looks value as I would make them clear favourites to win.


 
York v Macclesfield

York were very disappointing on Saturday when held to a 1-1 draw with Maidstone on BT Sport. Granted in the first half it looked like they struggled on the 3G pitch a little, but even so they must consider themselves fortunate to have got a point as they were pretty poor. Macclesfield on the other hand were the complete opposite in beating Torquay 2-0. Now it seems Torquay didn't perform at all on Saturday and were very disappointing, but Macclesfield should take plenty of confidence from their performance. With York looking they might need a bit of time to gel it could be a good time to be playing them and Macclesfield look very over priced at 2.3/1 with Marathon. At that price I make them the best bet of the evening.


 
Hayes & Yeading v Hitchin

Fair to say it was a rather dramatic afternoon following the Hitchin game on Saturday. First of all we had the massive gamble which meant having been odds against when I put the preview up on Thursday night, they were no bigger than 2/5 before Friday lunchtime. When Cinderford took a 3 goal lead I thought the bookies were going to keep the money, but having seen the Cinderford side I knew that if Hitchin could get one they might be in with a chance. The comeback started in the 76th minute and apparently after that first goal you could see the Cinderford players start to look nervy. Hitchin got a penalty in injury time to win the game and duly scored it to land the money for us. They hit the woodwork five times during the game so I think it was a bit of a fluke that Cinderford took a 3 goal lead. That should give Hitchin plenty of confidence going into this game though. This is the first league game at Hayes' new ground and they will be keen to win, but they lost 2-1 to Froome on Saturday and I am not sure the bookies have priced this up right in making them such short favourites. The 21/10 with Skybet and BetVictor looks worth chancing.

I think our title price is right because we have no chance of winning the title. As for today I would be happy with a draw as well, but I do think we have been under estimated slightly. I would still make Salford favs, but at odds on I think they are short enough to want to be backing.

Bromley v Tranmere
Here we have a team I have backed to go down hosting the team I think will win the title so not surprisingly I think Tranmere have to be backed at Marathon’s 13/10. I won’t repeat myself about Tranmere, but just to reiterate, they have strengthened nicely ahead of this new campaign and they look to have one of, if not the, best strike force in the division. Also crucially their away form was superb last season as they only lost three on their travels. Bromley were mostly poor for the second half of last season and their team looks weaker this time around. If they continue in that form then they will be in big danger of going down. If this game was taking place later in the season I could see Tranmere being odds on so although never wise to go mad on the opening day, it looks a solid bet.
Woking v Lincoln
An interesting game this and the bookies have some very different prices, with Lincoln being the favourites in some places. They have been backed, but are still available at 7/4 with Marathon and that looks worth an interest. Gary Mills does a good job at Woking, but I get the feeling they are in for a long season this time around. Their squad doesn’t look all that strong and although Scott Rendell missed most of last season through injury, the fact he joined local rivals Aldershot suggests to me he thought Woking were going backwards. Since I wrote my ante-post preview Lincoln have strengthened even more and I can certainly see why the Racing Post tipped them up as their main bet for the season. You would imagine Danny Cowley will make them pretty hard to beat as he did with Braintree last season and they look to have a bit more firepower than Braintree had. Obviously we have no form to go on, but based on squad strength I would certainly make Lincoln favourites for this.
Altrincham v Darlington
The away side look a big price for this and I don’t think there is as much between the two sides as the betting suggests. They ended up winning the Evo-Stik Northern Premier fairly comfortably in the end and being you often see promoted teams making a decent start because they are in the habit of winning. They look capable of doing well in the National League North this season as well and although Altrincham should be capable of doing well also, they do have to bounce back from relegation and that might just take a few games. At 23/10 (Betway) it is certainly worth taking a chance the promoted side can overcome the relegated side.
Margate v Bath
In a strange quirk these two sides played each other on the final day of last season and Bath won 2-0. I think Margate can gain revenge for that defeat on Saturday. As I mentioned in my ante-post preview I think Margate have got a real chance of pushing for promotion this season and Nikki Bull has built a promising looking squad. Bath got off to a flyer last season, but faded after about the first 10 games. They look no more than a mid-table side again and hopefully Margate can confirm my belief that they will go well this season. Marathon are biggest at 7/5.
Hitchin v Cinderford
The only Step 3 league to start on Saturday is the Evo-Stik Southern Premier and it looks to me to have the best bet of the weekend. Cinderford won their league last season, but they said they couldn’t afford promotion. Manager and most of the players duly left, but Evesham complained and the FA told Cinderford they had to accept promotion. This has meant the new managers have had to build a side fairly quickly and obviously with little money. For the first game of the season they have to travel to the side who finished 3rd in the league last season. Needless to say it looks a tough ask for them and they look set for a long old season of struggle. I thought Hitchin would be odds on so they fact Marathon are a shade of odds against at 21/20 looks big.

Bromley v Tranmere
Here we have a team I have backed to go down hosting the team I think will win the title so not surprisingly I think Tranmere have to be backed at Marathon’s 13/10. I won’t repeat myself about Tranmere, but just to reiterate, they have strengthened nicely ahead of this new campaign and they look to have one of, if not the, best strike force in the division. Also crucially their away form was superb last season as they only lost three on their travels. Bromley were mostly poor for the second half of last season and their team looks weaker this time around. If they continue in that form then they will be in big danger of going down. If this game was taking place later in the season I could see Tranmere being odds on so although never wise to go mad on the opening day, it looks a solid bet.
Woking v Lincoln
An interesting game this and the bookies have some very different prices, with Lincoln being the favourites in some places. They have been backed, but are still available at 7/4 with Marathon and that looks worth an interest. Gary Mills does a good job at Woking, but I get the feeling they are in for a long season this time around. Their squad doesn’t look all that strong and although Scott Rendell missed most of last season through injury, the fact he joined local rivals Aldershot suggests to me he thought Woking were going backwards. Since I wrote my ante-post preview Lincoln have strengthened even more and I can certainly see why the Racing Post tipped them up as their main bet for the season. You would imagine Danny Cowley will make them pretty hard to beat as he did with Braintree last season and they look to have a bit more firepower than Braintree had. Obviously we have no form to go on, but based on squad strength I would certainly make Lincoln favourites for this.
Altrincham v Darlington
The away side look a big price for this and I don’t think there is as much between the two sides as the betting suggests. They ended up winning the Evo-Stik Northern Premier fairly comfortably in the end and being you often see promoted teams making a decent start because they are in the habit of winning. They look capable of doing well in the National League North this season as well and although Altrincham should be capable of doing well also, they do have to bounce back from relegation and that might just take a few games. At 23/10 (Betway) it is certainly worth taking a chance the promoted side can overcome the relegated side.
Margate v Bath
In a strange quirk these two sides played each other on the final day of last season and Bath won 2-0. I think Margate can gain revenge for that defeat on Saturday. As I mentioned in my ante-post preview I think Margate have got a real chance of pushing for promotion this season and Nikki Bull has built a promising looking squad. Bath got off to a flyer last season, but faded after about the first 10 games. They look no more than a mid-table side again and hopefully Margate can confirm my belief that they will go well this season. Marathon are biggest at 7/5.
Hitchin v Cinderford
The only Step 3 league to start on Saturday is the Evo-Stik Southern Premier and it looks to me to have the best bet of the weekend. Cinderford won their league last season, but they said they couldn’t afford promotion. Manager and most of the players duly left, but Evesham complained and the FA told Cinderford they had to accept promotion. This has meant the new managers have had to build a side fairly quickly and obviously with little money. For the first game of the season they have to travel to the side who finished 3rd in the league last season. Needless to say it looks a tough ask for them and they look set for a long old season of struggle. I thought Hitchin would be odds on so they fact Marathon are a shade of odds against at 21/20 looks big.

National League 

Usually I have a team in mind who I want to back to win the National League around April, but this year has been different and it hasn’t been until recently where I have made my mind about who I want to back. The main reason for that is I think it looks a very competitive division this year and if any one of about half a dozen sides won the league it wouldn’t surprise me. 
Tranmere came down with Cheltenham and I am hoping they can do what Cheltenham did last season and win the National League title. I suspected Gray Brabin’s side would need a season at this level to find their feet and although I am sure their fans were disappointed not to reach the play-offs, I think they had a solid enough season to finish just two points shy of the top 5. In my view that has built a solid foundation to build on this time around. They only lost 3 games away from home all season which was the lowest in the division, but the problem was at home where they lost 9 and just 7 teams lost more. That could be down to the fact players felt more pressure in front of their demanding home fans. Hopefully this season that won’t be so much of a factor and crucially for me their side looks stronger. I especially like their set of strikers as the trio of Andy Cook, James Norwood and Connor Jennings looks the strongest in the division in my view and they could do with scoring a few more goals than they did last season as only 3 teams scored fewer in the top half. Clearly Gary Brabin saw this as a weak point and has acted accordingly. I would be amazed if they didn’t improve on last season and they look a solid e/w bet at 7/1 (Coral and SkyBet). 

Forest Green Rovers are favourites with only Boylesports going as big as 4/1 and they have been backed in from Betway’s opening 6/1 quote. They should finish in the play-offs again, but they look shocking value at their current odds. I think getting a manager who knows this level was a good move and it is interesting that Mark Cooper seems to have gone down the route of getting younger players in like Ethan Pinnock from Dulwich. It will be interesting to see how Rhys Murphy gets on down at this level, but he has only scored 34 goals in 125 games so you wonder if he is going to be someone who goes and gets 20 goals in a season. Matt Tubbs has also arrived from Portsmouth via Eastleigh. He obviously had a superb scoring record at this level for Salisbury and Crawley, but he only got 2 in 16 for Eastleigh last season and that worries me. Maybe there were other reasons behind it, but I am sure Eastleigh would have gone for him if they thought he was still up to scoring 20+ goals a season. I think Cooper has taken a few gambles and he hasn’t always been that impressed with his team’s efforts in pre-season. Those gambles might well pay off, but I am more than happy to oppose them at the prices. 

Eastleigh are next in the betting after the above two and they were very costly to me last year given how strongly I backed them. I am loathed to blame the FA Cup run because I don’t think in got in the way all that much. They just weren’t good enough at the back and failed to score enough at the other end. Now initially I wasn’t going to back them this time around as I was a bit worried they still looked light weight up front. I am not someone who reads that much into pre-season form, but when you take a look at how many goals Eastleigh have scored in pre-season it does make you sit up and take notice. They scored 25 in 8 games and most of the opposition was of a decent standard. Constable got 15 goals last season and they need someone to come in and match that at least and they may well have found him in Mikael Mandron who Chris Todd was raving about after he scored twice against Northampton on Saturday. They look to have a stronger squad than last season and if they can carry on scoring the goals when the season starts then they should get a top 3 place at the very least. Paddy Power are best about them at 17/2. 

Dagenham & Redbridge have been the other side for money over the summer and I can understand why some people would want to take a chance at double figure odds. John Still knows non-league inside out and getting the manager right is crucial at this level. He has brought some interesting looking players in and if they click then they should be in for a good season. There are some of the field issues though which might end up seeing more money injected in the club, but until they are sorted I don’t fancy them at the current price. It is even harder to fancy the other relegated side, York, who look like this will be more a rebuilding season than one of attempting to gain promotion. 

Wrexham played some nice football last season and they put in one of the best performances I saw when they beat Cheltenham on BT Sport. The problem was consistency and I am not sure Gary Mills has actually managed to improve last season’s squad. They could easily miss out on the play-offs again. 

It will be interesting to see how the Cowley brothers get on at Lincoln given how well they did at Braintree last season. They need to find a fair bit of improvement to win the title though and I think they will be happy with a top 10 finish this season before looking at a proper promotion bid the season after. They might be a team to back when the season gets going though if they are going well. 

Dover have lost some key players, although to be fair they have kept some as well so they should still be capable of doing well, but I would be very surprised if they matched last season’s exploits. Barrow were one team I was considering backing at one stage. They have a manager who has won the league before and they finished the season pretty strongly last term. Getting Ross Hannah from Chester looks a decent signing, but on the other-hand they have lost Cook to Tranmere and you can’t help but think Cook must have felt that Tranmere have a better chance of gaining promotion. At this stage I will leave them alone, but they are ones to keep an eye on. 

One team that might go well at big odds are Gateshead. They have signed a lot of players in the close season and they look to be giving promotion a good go this time around. Given they changed manager during the season they didn’t do too badly to finish 10th and a better squad this time around can hopefully give them better consistency. I was tempted by the 20/1 but at the same time they look more a team who might sneak into the play-offs rather than actually win the league. 

At the other end North Ferriby are likely to find things very tough, but then they are priced up accordingly to go down. I think the other three promoted teams, Solihull, Sutton and Maidstone all have good chances of surviving though, indeed at least one might even sneak into the top half. Guiseley just survived last season and are likely to be in another relegation battle this time around. There are two teams I think are worth backing. The first is Bromley at 3/1 with BetVictor. They were very strong in the first half of last season, but then could barely pick up a point even under the new manager. I think they are going to find things very tough this time around. 

The second bet is a team I backed to go down last season, Braintree. Obviously I couldn’t have been more wrong as they finished 3rd in the end, but they have lost the vast majority of last season’s team. It is surprising that Simeon Akinola is still there given the interest he has had from Football League clubs and I would be amazed if someone doesn’t buy him at some point. Jamie Day isn’t a bad manager by any means, but he is having to restart again on one of the smallest budgets in the division and to me they look a spot of value at 6/1 to end up in the bottom 4 at the end of the season. 

National League North 

This looks a very tough league to try and sort out this season with some big teams in the division as well as big spending ones as well. Halifax have been backed into favouritism probably on the back of a good pre season. New manager Billy Heath will be trying to gain promotion from the division for the 2nd year running after winning the play-offs with North Ferriby last season. They should be in contention, but in a league where so many teams have a chance they look poor value at 9/2. The other two relegated sides are both 14/1 and Kidderminster make more appeal, but at the same time not enough to make me want to back them. The two promoted sides, Darlington and Salford, should be capable of doing well and the latter not surprisingly have cash to spend. You have to think Stockport will get back up at some point although not sure it will be this season. Nuneaton, Harrogate and Boston will no doubt be competitive again and Alfreton and AFC Telford can do better than they did last term. 

That is 11 teams I have mentioned and that shows you how much strength and depth there is in the division and I haven’t mentioned the two I am putting up. For the 3rd year running I am putting up AFC Fylde. They have gone full time this season and are just about to move to a brand new stadium. Yes winning the title this season will be harder than the last two, but given they have gone close the last twice the move to full time should see the improvement needed to see them land the title. bet365 are a top price of 13/2. At a bigger price Tamworth interest me. They had a solid season last term and I think they can build on that this time around. They now have a 3g pitch and I think that could be an advantage especially if the winter brings lots of postponements. Loius Briscoe looks a good signing and at 16/1 they are worth an e/w bet. 

National League South 

Ebbsfleet cost favourite backers for the 2nd year running as they blew a massive lead to lost out to Sutton. They then blew the play-off final as well so that means they are short price favourites for the 3rd year running. They are running at a reduced budget this term, but I suspect it will still be the biggest in the division. They might finally land the title, but they are no value and there are 3 teams who look good e/w value against them. 

First up is Whitehawk who somehow made the play-offs last season despite looking to have no chance at half way. They have some real quality in their squad and I don’t think they should be as big as 9/1 (bet365). Chelmsford have just had a takeover approved and that will mean an increased budget which will see them much more competitive than they have been in recent seasons. They have a manager in Rod Stringer who has won the league before and at BetVictor’s 12/1 they look a fair Each Way price. 

The final bet is Margate. Now that might seem odd on the face of it as not only have they had a massive budget reduction, but they only just survived last season. That doesn’t tell the whole story though. When Nikki Bull took over as manager during last season the team’s results improved massively and they had an outside shot of the play-offs. When things went wrong off the field though things also went wrong on it. Bull announced he was leaving at the end of the season and the players knowing the same just seemed to give up and opposing them became a money making system. The new owners then persuaded Bull to stay and he managed to get his squad to perform well enough to just stay up. I have been very impressed with the squad that Bull has put together and he showed he can manage with the way the team improved when he took over last season. I actually think having less money to spend will help them and Bull can clearly get players playing for him. Betway went 50/1 and I was hoping that was going to stay, but clearly others have seen what I have seen as they are now into 33s. I still rate that a big price though and they have a much better squad than that price suggests. 

Ryman Premier 

Only bet365 and SkyBet have priced Step 3 up this year. I really like Dulwich Hamlet again for this division. They are my local team so I see them a fair bit and they should be a National League South side by now. They massively under performed in the play-off final in May, but manager Gavin Rose has recruited well and getting Danny Carr back in can only be a good thing for both player and club. When I started watching them they were getting around 300 people turn up, but now they regularly get crowds of over 1000 and on occasions get over 2000. That is a big support at this level and is a big advantage. They look a solid e/w play at 7/1 with bet365. 

I am amazed Lee Bradbury is still in a job at Havant as they were awful on a big budget last season and deserved to go down. I do think they are worth backing at 4/1 with SkyBet though because they have recruited very well and look to have a very good squad for this level and if they gel for the manager then that price is a fair one. 

I am also having a small e/w play on Merstham at 28/1 (SkyBet). They seem to spending a bit of cash and have recruited well over the summer. They could certainly outperform those big odds. 

Evo-Stik Premier 

I put Spennymoor up on Twitter last week as when bet365 went up with the prices they looked over priced at 12s and I didn’t think the price would last. They had been 16s on the first show and are now only half those odds, but they still look a good bet. They may only have come up last season, but they have shown plenty of intent on going straight up again and have signed some very good players. They should go close. I also think Blyth Spartans are worth having on side. They went close last year before losing out to Darlington and I would be amazed if they didn’t go close yet again with the side they have. bet365 have them at 13/2. 

Southern Premier 

Not a league I have a strong view about. Basingstoke are favourites and should go well although they don’t look great value. Kettering look a team set to build on a solid season last time around and they look worth backing at 8/1. It is also hard not to see Leamington finishing there or thereabouts again and a 12/1 quote about them looks a tad big. 

National League 

Usually I have a team in mind who I want to back to win the National League around April, but this year has been different and it hasn’t been until recently where I have made my mind about who I want to back. The main reason for that is I think it looks a very competitive division this year and if any one of about half a dozen sides won the league it wouldn’t surprise me. 
Tranmere came down with Cheltenham and I am hoping they can do what Cheltenham did last season and win the National League title. I suspected Gray Brabin’s side would need a season at this level to find their feet and although I am sure their fans were disappointed not to reach the play-offs, I think they had a solid enough season to finish just two points shy of the top 5. In my view that has built a solid foundation to build on this time around. They only lost 3 games away from home all season which was the lowest in the division, but the problem was at home where they lost 9 and just 7 teams lost more. That could be down to the fact players felt more pressure in front of their demanding home fans. Hopefully this season that won’t be so much of a factor and crucially for me their side looks stronger. I especially like their set of strikers as the trio of Andy Cook, James Norwood and Connor Jennings looks the strongest in the division in my view and they could do with scoring a few more goals than they did last season as only 3 teams scored fewer in the top half. Clearly Gary Brabin saw this as a weak point and has acted accordingly. I would be amazed if they didn’t improve on last season and they look a solid e/w bet at 7/1 (Coral and SkyBet). 

Forest Green Rovers are favourites with only Boylesports going as big as 4/1 and they have been backed in from Betway’s opening 6/1 quote. They should finish in the play-offs again, but they look shocking value at their current odds. I think getting a manager who knows this level was a good move and it is interesting that Mark Cooper seems to have gone down the route of getting younger players in like Ethan Pinnock from Dulwich. It will be interesting to see how Rhys Murphy gets on down at this level, but he has only scored 34 goals in 125 games so you wonder if he is going to be someone who goes and gets 20 goals in a season. Matt Tubbs has also arrived from Portsmouth via Eastleigh. He obviously had a superb scoring record at this level for Salisbury and Crawley, but he only got 2 in 16 for Eastleigh last season and that worries me. Maybe there were other reasons behind it, but I am sure Eastleigh would have gone for him if they thought he was still up to scoring 20+ goals a season. I think Cooper has taken a few gambles and he hasn’t always been that impressed with his team’s efforts in pre-season. Those gambles might well pay off, but I am more than happy to oppose them at the prices. 

Eastleigh are next in the betting after the above two and they were very costly to me last year given how strongly I backed them. I am loathed to blame the FA Cup run because I don’t think in got in the way all that much. They just weren’t good enough at the back and failed to score enough at the other end. Now initially I wasn’t going to back them this time around as I was a bit worried they still looked light weight up front. I am not someone who reads that much into pre-season form, but when you take a look at how many goals Eastleigh have scored in pre-season it does make you sit up and take notice. They scored 25 in 8 games and most of the opposition was of a decent standard. Constable got 15 goals last season and they need someone to come in and match that at least and they may well have found him in Mikael Mandron who Chris Todd was raving about after he scored twice against Northampton on Saturday. They look to have a stronger squad than last season and if they can carry on scoring the goals when the season starts then they should get a top 3 place at the very least. Paddy Power are best about them at 17/2. 

Dagenham & Redbridge have been the other side for money over the summer and I can understand why some people would want to take a chance at double figure odds. John Still knows non-league inside out and getting the manager right is crucial at this level. He has brought some interesting looking players in and if they click then they should be in for a good season. There are some of the field issues though which might end up seeing more money injected in the club, but until they are sorted I don’t fancy them at the current price. It is even harder to fancy the other relegated side, York, who look like this will be more a rebuilding season than one of attempting to gain promotion. 

Wrexham played some nice football last season and they put in one of the best performances I saw when they beat Cheltenham on BT Sport. The problem was consistency and I am not sure Gary Mills has actually managed to improve last season’s squad. They could easily miss out on the play-offs again. 

It will be interesting to see how the Cowley brothers get on at Lincoln given how well they did at Braintree last season. They need to find a fair bit of improvement to win the title though and I think they will be happy with a top 10 finish this season before looking at a proper promotion bid the season after. They might be a team to back when the season gets going though if they are going well. 

Dover have lost some key players, although to be fair they have kept some as well so they should still be capable of doing well, but I would be very surprised if they matched last season’s exploits. Barrow were one team I was considering backing at one stage. They have a manager who has won the league before and they finished the season pretty strongly last term. Getting Ross Hannah from Chester looks a decent signing, but on the other-hand they have lost Cook to Tranmere and you can’t help but think Cook must have felt that Tranmere have a better chance of gaining promotion. At this stage I will leave them alone, but they are ones to keep an eye on. 

One team that might go well at big odds are Gateshead. They have signed a lot of players in the close season and they look to be giving promotion a good go this time around. Given they changed manager during the season they didn’t do too badly to finish 10th and a better squad this time around can hopefully give them better consistency. I was tempted by the 20/1 but at the same time they look more a team who might sneak into the play-offs rather than actually win the league. 

At the other end North Ferriby are likely to find things very tough, but then they are priced up accordingly to go down. I think the other three promoted teams, Solihull, Sutton and Maidstone all have good chances of surviving though, indeed at least one might even sneak into the top half. Guiseley just survived last season and are likely to be in another relegation battle this time around. There are two teams I think are worth backing. The first is Bromley at 3/1 with BetVictor. They were very strong in the first half of last season, but then could barely pick up a point even under the new manager. I think they are going to find things very tough this time around. 

The second bet is a team I backed to go down last season, Braintree. Obviously I couldn’t have been more wrong as they finished 3rd in the end, but they have lost the vast majority of last season’s team. It is surprising that Simeon Akinola is still there given the interest he has had from Football League clubs and I would be amazed if someone doesn’t buy him at some point. Jamie Day isn’t a bad manager by any means, but he is having to restart again on one of the smallest budgets in the division and to me they look a spot of value at 6/1 to end up in the bottom 4 at the end of the season. 

National League North 

This looks a very tough league to try and sort out this season with some big teams in the division as well as big spending ones as well. Halifax have been backed into favouritism probably on the back of a good pre season. New manager Billy Heath will be trying to gain promotion from the division for the 2nd year running after winning the play-offs with North Ferriby last season. They should be in contention, but in a league where so many teams have a chance they look poor value at 9/2. The other two relegated sides are both 14/1 and Kidderminster make more appeal, but at the same time not enough to make me want to back them. The two promoted sides, Darlington and Salford, should be capable of doing well and the latter not surprisingly have cash to spend. You have to think Stockport will get back up at some point although not sure it will be this season. Nuneaton, Harrogate and Boston will no doubt be competitive again and Alfreton and AFC Telford can do better than they did last term. 

That is 11 teams I have mentioned and that shows you how much strength and depth there is in the division and I haven’t mentioned the two I am putting up. For the 3rd year running I am putting up AFC Fylde. They have gone full time this season and are just about to move to a brand new stadium. Yes winning the title this season will be harder than the last two, but given they have gone close the last twice the move to full time should see the improvement needed to see them land the title. bet365 are a top price of 13/2. At a bigger price Tamworth interest me. They had a solid season last term and I think they can build on that this time around. They now have a 3g pitch and I think that could be an advantage especially if the winter brings lots of postponements. Loius Briscoe looks a good signing and at 16/1 they are worth an e/w bet. 

National League South 

Ebbsfleet cost favourite backers for the 2nd year running as they blew a massive lead to lost out to Sutton. They then blew the play-off final as well so that means they are short price favourites for the 3rd year running. They are running at a reduced budget this term, but I suspect it will still be the biggest in the division. They might finally land the title, but they are no value and there are 3 teams who look good e/w value against them. 

First up is Whitehawk who somehow made the play-offs last season despite looking to have no chance at half way. They have some real quality in their squad and I don’t think they should be as big as 9/1 (bet365). Chelmsford have just had a takeover approved and that will mean an increased budget which will see them much more competitive than they have been in recent seasons. They have a manager in Rod Stringer who has won the league before and at BetVictor’s 12/1 they look a fair Each Way price. 

The final bet is Margate. Now that might seem odd on the face of it as not only have they had a massive budget reduction, but they only just survived last season. That doesn’t tell the whole story though. When Nikki Bull took over as manager during last season the team’s results improved massively and they had an outside shot of the play-offs. When things went wrong off the field though things also went wrong on it. Bull announced he was leaving at the end of the season and the players knowing the same just seemed to give up and opposing them became a money making system. The new owners then persuaded Bull to stay and he managed to get his squad to perform well enough to just stay up. I have been very impressed with the squad that Bull has put together and he showed he can manage with the way the team improved when he took over last season. I actually think having less money to spend will help them and Bull can clearly get players playing for him. Betway went 50/1 and I was hoping that was going to stay, but clearly others have seen what I have seen as they are now into 33s. I still rate that a big price though and they have a much better squad than that price suggests. 

Ryman Premier 

Only bet365 and SkyBet have priced Step 3 up this year. I really like Dulwich Hamlet again for this division. They are my local team so I see them a fair bit and they should be a National League South side by now. They massively under performed in the play-off final in May, but manager Gavin Rose has recruited well and getting Danny Carr back in can only be a good thing for both player and club. When I started watching them they were getting around 300 people turn up, but now they regularly get crowds of over 1000 and on occasions get over 2000. That is a big support at this level and is a big advantage. They look a solid e/w play at 7/1 with bet365. 

I am amazed Lee Bradbury is still in a job at Havant as they were awful on a big budget last season and deserved to go down. I do think they are worth backing at 4/1 with SkyBet though because they have recruited very well and look to have a very good squad for this level and if they gel for the manager then that price is a fair one. 

I am also having a small e/w play on Merstham at 28/1 (SkyBet). They seem to spending a bit of cash and have recruited well over the summer. They could certainly outperform those big odds. 

Evo-Stik Premier 

I put Spennymoor up on Twitter last week as when bet365 went up with the prices they looked over priced at 12s and I didn’t think the price would last. They had been 16s on the first show and are now only half those odds, but they still look a good bet. They may only have come up last season, but they have shown plenty of intent on going straight up again and have signed some very good players. They should go close. I also think Blyth Spartans are worth having on side. They went close last year before losing out to Darlington and I would be amazed if they didn’t go close yet again with the side they have. bet365 have them at 13/2. 

Southern Premier 

Not a league I have a strong view about. Basingstoke are favourites and should go well although they don’t look great value. Kettering look a team set to build on a solid season last time around and they look worth backing at 8/1. It is also hard not to see Leamington finishing there or thereabouts again and a 12/1 quote about them looks a tad big.