Football Season Guide

Bury

In


Peter Clarke (def, Blackpool), Leon Clarke (att, Wolverhampton Wanderers), Tom Pope (att, Port Vale), Jacob Mellis (mid, Blackpool), Danny Pugh (mid, Coventry City)

Out


Nicky Adams (mid, Northampton Town), Jimmy McNulty (def, Rochdale), Joe Thompson(mid, released), Pablo Mills(def, released), Chris Sedgwick (mid, retired)

Bury have become a bit of a yo-yo club over the recent years, and are now set to return to League One following a two-year absence. Their rise over the last two years has been remarkable, as the abysmal financial situation they found themselves back in 2013 has been well documented, as they were reportedly literally minutes away from being liquidated. They managed to win promotion by the skin of their teeth last season, finishing just above fourth-placed Wycombe and fifth-placed Southend, but still look good value to remain in League One this time around, having made some very promising signings during the summer. Literally all of the players who have joined them are well-known and proven at this level, with strikers Tom Pope, who joins from Port Vale, and Leon Clarke, who will be looking to resurrect his falling stock following his move from Wolverhampton, looking like particularly promising signings. The Shakers' do not really look like a newly-promoted team, as they are filled with proven League One quality in all areas of the pitch, while they also have decent squad depth, as they had a 22-man senior squad at the time of the writing of this Season Guide. Their squad is not strong enough for them to be openly thinking about back-to-back promotions, but there seem to be at least four sides that are clearly worse than them, meaning that any sort of flirting with relegation would be seen as a major disappointment.

Target


The Shakers would likely accept a midtable finish in what will be a season in which they will try to re-establish themselves as a third-tier club.