Football Season Guide

Carlisle failed miserably in their hopes to push for a Play-off place last season, the Cumbrians' fans' opinions about Greg Abbott became divided: one section of the fans wanted to see him gone, while others thought that no other manager could have been expected to get Carlisle pushing for promotion, given the club's poor financial situation. Following this summer's transfer activity, two things are clear: first and foremost, no one supporting Carlisle will be seriously contemplating relegation and second, the club's financial situation definitely leaves a lot to be desired. The Cumbrians needed to reduce their wage bill, and have parted ways with seven players as a consequence. None of the players that have left were exactly key members of the squad, but some of them, such as Jon-Paul McGovern, Frank Simek and Rory Loy, featured regularly when available, and the fans will be worried by the fact that a squad that was already short in numbers will be even smaller next season, given the fact that only three new players have signed. Moreover, the signings made so far have been underwhelming - Reece James and Josh Gillies are both unknowns at this level, while David Amoo is a journeyman forward who had spells with several League One clubs and failed to impress in either of them. To sum things up, Carlisle definitely look to be a touch weaker than they were last season, and would probably do well to repeat last season's midtable finish.