Ahead of the new Sky Bet League 2 season we asked Liam Govey to take a look at each of our 23 opponents. Next up, it's Carlisle United...
Carlisle United
Address: Brunton Park, Warwick Road, Carlisle, CA1 1LL
Stadium capacity: 18,202
Manager: Keith Curle
Transfers
In
Nicky Adams (Northampton Town), Joe McKee (Greenock Morton), Russell Penn (York City), Reggie Lambe (Mansfield Town), Jamie Devitt (Morecambe), Mike Jones (Oldham Athletic), Shaun Miller (Morecambe) and Shaun Brisley (Peterborough United).
Out
Derek Asamoah (released), Troy Archibald-Henville (released), Angelo Balanta (released), Arron Bradbury (released), Dan Hanford (released), Bastien Hery (Accrington Stanley), Louis Pedro (released), Steven Rigg (released), Anthony Sweeney (released) and Joe Thompson (released).
Last Season
An improved season for the Cumbrians saw them finish in 10th place, eight points from the play-offs. Unlike the previous three seasons, there was no real talk of relegation, although inconsistency was a major issue. There were no problems going forward, especially with Jabo Ibhere and Charlie Wyke scoring for fun, but defensively things must improve from last season. Another cup game like Liverpool in the Capital One Cup also wouldn’t go amiss.
Key Players
With 47 goals between them last season, defences won’t relish the prospect of facing new Shaun Miller, Charlie Wyke and Jabo Ibhere next season. Jamie Devitt and Reggie Lambe- signed from Morecambe and Mansfield Town respectively- will look to assist the newly bolstered strike force with creativity and width. The addition of Shaun Brisley from Peterborough United should also add some much needed stability to a defence that could be the difference between success and failure.
SkyBet Odds
Win Outright: 18/1
Promotion: 7/2
Relegation: 16/1
Top 7: 7/4
Fixtures
Stevenage v Carlisle - Saturday 22nd October
Carlisle v Stevenage - Monday 17th April
Video
Highlights from last season's game at Carlisle where Boro dominated the match but fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat.