Having had a little look at the possible fortunes of London's Division 2 clubs, let us now cast a beady eye on those of the capital city's footballing giants that operate in Divisions 3 & 4.
Brentford
There seems to be a definite sense of optimism hanging round Griffin Park right now, ahead of the start to their new Division 3 campaign (you'll find none of this 'League 1' nonsense here you know, we're traditionalists....innit) on Saturday. Last season's march to the play-off semi-finals, coupled with an impressive FA Cup run, was a decent effort for the Bees, but they are clearly keen to grasp the nettle now and push on for promotion. Good for them.
Martin 'I'm not mad, but it's clear to everyone that really I am quite mad' Allen seems to be happy with the direction that the club is heading in, which is unsurprising, seeing as they're letting him get up to his usual 'crazy' antics. This from the hotbed of news that is the Staines Guardian :
Their pre-season training so far has included a curry night in an Indian restaurant where the players had to see who could eat the hottest curry. The team were also treated to a bonding paintball session when they had been expecting to be sent out on a ten-mile cross country run.
Bonkers! Apparently, whilst running round a forest in goggles and jumpsuit, Allen was unable to resist the temptation of firing a pellet into the arse of his team's best player (Sam Sodje) from point-blank range. Now that's the kind of motivational technique we really admire at Londonist, if only Craig Bellamy's former managers had adopted the same approach.
Brentford have recruited well, bringing in FA Cup hero DJ Campbell from Yeading and Lloyd Owusu from Reading to add some firepower, but more crucially, they've hung on to Sodje, who'll hold things together at the back.
They kick off their season at home to Scunthorpe on Saturday and Londonist predicts that they will finish 4th again, but this time make the play-off final.
Odds : To Win the League 16/1; To Get Promoted 11/2; To be Relegated 10/1
Barnet
Barnet are back in league football after five years in the wilderness, and they've got a lovely congratulatory letter from that Mourinho bloke to show for it. Wow, from looking at the club website you get the feeling that this is akin to being handed stone tablets by Moses... thrills! But we imagine that Paul Fairclough, coaching in the League for the very first time in his career, and his team will be more concerned with ensuring that they don't make a swift return back to the Conference.
Much will depend on star striker and footballing nomad Giuliano Grazioli, last year's Conference Player of the Year, who has just added another two years to his contract . If Graz can score the goals, Barnet will stay up.
Our predicition? 16th. Barnet start their season at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday. Let's hope Ken Reynolds is all set.
Leyton Orient
Orient finished last season in 11th place in Division 4, their 11th straight season in that division. Can Martin Ling's men engineer a promotion push this time round? Probably not. Still, at least the new stand is just about ready.
We predict Orient to finish in a mind-numbing 10th place. They start their season at home to Macclesfield on Saturday and we wish 'em luck.
