Stevenage FC 2010/11 Review - Part 1

What a dream season it's been at The Lamex this year. Promotion to League One after just a single season in the Football League was probably (and realistically) beyond everybody's wildest dreams, but before we get ready to go to the likes of Sheffield Utd / Weds, Charlton and Scunthorpe, it's time to look back at some of the stats and facts of this historic campaign.

After such a monumental achievement by everybody at the club it does seem slightly unfair to single some out for individual praise, but we wouldn't be doing our job here at Boro Stats if we didn't highlight some of these gems....

Most appearances: 53 – Chris Day



53 games - Daisy

 

Most sub appearances: 17 – Peter Winn

Number of different goalscorers: 21

Total number of goals scored: 74

Total number of goals conceded: 52

First goalscorer of the season: Peter Vincenti (v Macclesfield, 07.08.10)

Final goalscorer of the season: John Mousinho (v Torquay, 28.05.11)

First cup goalscorer of the season: Darren Murphy (v Portsmouth, 09.08.11)

Final cup goalscorer of the season:Darius Charles (v Reading, 29.01.11)

Top Goalscorers: 8 – Byron Harrison, John Mousinho

Ron - most bookings

Most Assists: 9 – Lawrie Wilson     

  

Total number of fouls by Boro players: 619

Most Fouls: 59 – Michael Bostwick

Total number of yellow cards: 76

Most Yellows: 9 – Ronnie Henry

Total number of Boro red cards: 9

Bossie - most shots on target

Most Reds: 2 – Luke Foster



Penalties Conceded: 3



Total number of Boro shots on goal: 501

Total number of Boro shots on target: 217

Total number of Boro shots off target: 284

Total number of Boro shots which hit the woodwork: 10

Cheers for the spectacular OG Grant Basey

Player who hit the woodwork the most: 3 – Michael Bostwick

 

Most shots on target: 27 – Michael Bostwick           

Most shots off target: 36 – Michael Bostwick

Clean sheets in 2010/11: 19

Own goals scored for us: 5 (4 league, 1 cup)

Parts 2 & 3 on their way...

End of Season Review

Wow, what a season that was. We'll be conducting a full "End of Season Review" in due course with all the important facts and figures, but first let us catch our breath from what was an incredible first campaign in the Football League.

Keep watching this space or follow us on Twitter. We'll let you know when we're done!

More miles on the clock next season

As well as probably facing higher entry prices at League One grounds next season, Boro fans will also be covering more miles in 2011/12 than the season just gone.

In total, away trips during the regular League Two season saw Boro fans clock up 5,904 miles (based on starting from and returning to Stevenage). Next year this rises to 6,413 miles, an increase of 509 miles. On average this means fans will add 22.2 miles to each return journey in League One next year compared to this year in League Two.

 

The longest trips (one way) in League Two were to Torquay (243 miles), Morecambe (226) and Accrington (203). The shortest was Barnet (19.2).

 

In League One, longest trips (one way) will be to Carlisle (284), Exeter (224) & Hartlepool (222). The shortest will be Leyton Orient (24.9).

Whilst promotion has seen us lose our 'derby' at nearby Barnet, League One provides us with four opponents within a 50 mile radius compared to League Two, which other than the Bees only gave us Northampton. Leyton Orient (24.9) miles, MK Dons (30), Charlton (30.7) and Brentford (34.3) will be amongst those grounds that Boro have never visited in a league fixture before.

 

League Two			League One
Team	Distance from Stevenage (miles)*		Team	Distance from Stevenage (miles)*
Torquay	243		Carlisle	284
Morecambe	226		Exeter	224
Accrington Stanley	203		Hartlepool	222
Bury	191		Preston	198
Stockport	176		Notts County	194
Bradford	173		Rochdale	194
Macclesfield	162		Tranmere	194
Hereford	150		Bury	191
Crewe	148		Huddersfield	168
Rotherham	141		Yeovil	157
Port Vale	139		Sheff Wed	144
Shrewsbury	137		Sheffield United	144
Chesterfield	126		Oldham	139
Cheltenham	115		Scunthorpe	137
Lincoln City	113		B'mouth	134
Burton Albion	112		Chesterfield	126
Oxford Utd	76.2		Walsall	103
Aldershot	69.9		Colchester	78.8
Gillingham	69.9		Wycombe	54.8
Southend	62.7		Brentford	34.3
Wycombe	54.8		Charlton	30.7
Northampton	44.3		MK Dons	30
Barnet	19.2		Leyton Orient	24.9

League Two	Miles		League One	Miles
Total Mileage (one-way)	2952		Total Mileage (one-way)	3206.5
Total Mileage (return-trip)	5904		Total Mileage (return-trip)	6413
Average Mileage (one-way)	128.3		Average Mileage (one-way)	139.4
Average Mileage (return-trip)	256.6		Average Mileage (return-trip)	278.8

Squad numbers

Somewhere recently I'm pretty sure I read how Boro had used one of the biggest playing squads in League Two this season (in numbers, not in a big, physical sense as most of the division will tell you!) and a quick look at the Boroguide rollcall for 2010/11 will probably back this up.

However that initial glance won't tell the whole story of why we've used so many, so BoroStats has had a more detailed look at those who have pulled on the white (or yellow) shirt for Boro this season:

• Throughout this campaign we've called upon 37 different players (including assistant boss Dino Maamria).
• 33 of these have made an appearance - only our three reserve keepers and Dino have yet to play for the first team.
• Position-wise we have used just 1 goalkeeper, six defenders, 13 midfielders and 13 strikers.
• In most of their appearances defenders Darius Charles and Luke Foster have actually found themselves up front and in midfield respectively.
• Only 19 players have played 20 games or more this season.
• Four players have come in on loan for short spells - Holroyd (12 games), O'Shea (7 games), Daley and Walker (both 2).
• Two of our squad have been loaned out since January - Odubade and Griffin (both to Newport).
• Four players have come in on trial, made brief cameos and have since left (Williams, Atieno, Dixon, Kuqi).
• Lee Boylan (since departed), Darren Murphy, David Bridges, Joel Byrom and Robbie Sinclair have all missed large chunks of the season through injury - particularly Murph.

As with last year's Blue Square Premier winning squad, Boro's success so far in 2010/11 has been built around a solid back five who have all played at least 45-50 games this year. Even when the likes of Jon Ashton or Scott Laird have been injured, squad players such as Luke Foster or Darius Charles have filled in seemlessly and even the rampaging Lawrie Wilson performed well at left back at one stage in the season.

In midfield and up front we've trialled and loaned a number of players for short periods, all of whom have now left, whilst also bringing in striker reinforcements in the shape of Ben May, Byron Harrison and Craig Reid. It's been clear all season that whilst defending hasn't been a problem, finding the back of the net at the other end has, hence the understandable turnover in strikers. However with a full pre-season under their belts, along with the experiences learnt this year, you'd bet on Byron and Reid (and possibly May if fit) scoring more next season - regardless of what league we're in.

If we do beat Torquay on Saturday I actually envisage another season of comings and goings as GW looks to create a side capable of surviving in League One. But should we face a second season in League Two then you'd fancy we'll be right up there again - but maybe this time with a more stable squad.

Four reasons we'll (possibly) beat Torquay

1) We've not beaten them in four attempts (losing three, conceding 10 and scoring just three), so we're overdue a win.
2) Boro have lost only one of six games against teams in yellow this season - though guess who that was against....
3) The Gulls have won just one of their last five away games.
4) We've suffered more heartbreak in the playoffs in recent years. We lost to Carlisle in '05 and ballsed up against Cambridge in '09. Torquay may have lost to Exeter in the Conference semi-finals a few years back but they did win the playoff final the following year. The Gulls need to feel our pain!

We blow the whistle on the men in black - or yellow - or green....

Some like to stay in the shadows, others prefer to have a more hands-on role. Either way we've been taking a closer look at those men in the middle who've been taking charge of Boro's games throughout this campaign:

• Of the 45 referees Boro have had this season, just six have been kind enough to keep their cards in their pockets for the entire game.

• Oliver Langford is statistically our friendliest referee, overseeing 2 Boro games (1 win, 1 defeat) without booking anyone.

• David Coote has been most card happy, showing seven yellows & 1 red in his two games (Torquay h, Southend a) neither of which we won.

• Gavin Ward and Pat Miller have both proved to be our lucky referees this season, each overseeing two Boro victories in their two games. One of Mr Ward's games was the FA Cup replay at MK Dons, which technically finished a draw after 120 minutes, however with Boro going on to win on penalties it seems only right to document this as a win.

Boro's Referees in 2010/11 (all competitions)*

Ref	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Yellows	Reds	Score
A D'Urso	2		1	1	2	3	2	1	7
A Marriner	1	1			3	1	2		2
A Taylor	1			1	1	2	1		1
A Woolmer	1		1		2	2	2		2
B Malone	1	1			2	1	1		1
C Boyeson	1			1		1	2	1	7
C Sarginson	1		1		3	3			0
D Coote	2		1	1	0	1	7	1	12
D Deadman	1			1		2	2		2
D McDermid	1		1		0	0	1		1
D Sheldrake	1	1			4	0	1		1
D Webb	1			1		1	2		2
D Whitestone	2	1		1	3	2	1		1
David Phillips	1		1		2	2	1		1
E Ilderton	1	1			4	0			0
F Graham	1		1		0	0	1		1
G Eltringham	1		1		2	2	1		1
G Horwood	1	1			1	0	4	1	9
G Salisbury	1			1		3	3		3
G Scott	2		1	1	1	2	3		3
G Sutton	1			1		1	3		3
G Ward	1	2			4	1	3		3
I Williamson	1			1		1	2		2
J Linington	1		1		1	1	4	1	9
J Waugh	1	1			1	0	1		1
K Stroud	1	1			2	0			0
K Wright	1	1			1	0	1		1
M Atkinson	1		1		2	2	2		2
M Halsey	1		1		1	1	1		1
M Haywood	1	1			2	1	2		2
M Naylor	1	1			4	1			0
N Swarbrick	1	1			3	1	3		3
O Langford	2	1		1	2	2			0
P Crossley	1		1		0	0	2		2
P Miller	2	2			7	2	4		4
P Quinn	1			1	0	1	2		2
P Tierney	1			1	0	2	1	2	11
R Booth	1	1			1	0	2		2
R East	2	1	1		3	1	4		4
R Lewis	2	1	1		3	1	3		3
R Madley	1			1		2	1	1	6
R Shoebridge	2	1		1	2	1	4		4
S Hooper	1		1		1	1			0
S Rushton	1	1			1	0	1		1
T Kettle	1	1			2	1	4	1	9

* Scoring: 1 point per yellow card, 5 points per red card