This is not the most glamorous of bets you will ever read on this page in terms of the size of the club, style of play or caliber of players. It’s bread and butter League Two fare. This is not sexy football.
But in terms of deciphering value and discovering an edge, it’s about as good as it gets. Mansfield Town (a small market town in Nottinghamshire if you didn’t know) are a corker of a bet to get out of the section this season.
William Hill and Coral, both green listed bookmakers offer 17 about the Stags leading up to League One while 21 is available with BetStars and Sports Winner.
These are nice prices because Mansfield are the coming force in the standings and we would be surprised if they failed to make the playoffs at the end of the term.
They have four wins in their last five matches which has put them just two points off the top seven. Eye-catching results included away victories at Cambridge and Blackpool, who would have had pretensions of a late surge of their own.
The architect behind Mansfield’s upturn in fortunes is Steve Evans. The manager, let’s be clear, is not in the least bit likable. He is brash and aggressive – but boy does he get results at this level.
He took Crawley up from the basement and repeated the trick with Rotherham, who he then got to the Championship.
His style of play is also not very likable. Mansfield will boot it long if they have to and then fight and scrap for the ball when it lands. But with a win percentage of 53, since he took over, Mansfield are going places.
And what we really like is Evans’s work in the transfer market. He’s a master at deals and has made some terrific signings of late.
Shaq Coulthirst, a raw and pacy striker from Peterborough, should be a great addition to forwarding ranks which also boasts the experienced Matt Green. But the standout capture is Alex MacDonald from Oxford.
What MacDonald is doing at League Two level is anyone’s guess – he has been a regular in League One on the right-hand side for Oxford. He should shine, just as he did for Oxford the last term when he inspired them to promotion.
MacDonald has trickery, a great delivery, and bite. He should be more than capable of providing the ammunition for Coulthirst and Green.
Another past-promotion winner at this level who has been added is Joel Byrom. Byrom is a midfield enforcer who gets the job done without anyone noticing. He is the epitome of the drab work needed to get out of this league.
He won’t be spectacular, nor will Mansfield. But their price is something to write home about.
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