Manager: Noel Blake

Stadium: St James' Park

Capacity: 9,750

Last Season: 21st

Comings and goings

Out: Lee Ellington, Jason Matthews, Jason Rees, Kofi Nyamah, Jon Gittens, Darran Rowbotham (all released) Lee Jarman (released, now Oxford United) Danny Potter (released, now Weymouth) Stuart Naylor (released, now Rushden and Diamonds) Warren Waugh (released now Cambridge City), Shaun Gale (released, now Havant and Waterlooville), Rob Dewhurst (released now Scunthorpe)

In: (all free signings) Central defender Mark Burrows (Coventry City), midfielder Alex Inglethorpe (Leyton Orient), midfielder Kwane Ampadu (Leyton Orient), striker Darren Roberts (Scarborough), midfielder Andy Roscoe (Mansfield), defender Jon Ashton (Plymouth), striker Graeme Tomlinson (Macclesfield), midfielder Mark Rawlinson (Bournemouth), defender Jamie Campbell (Brighton), goalkeeper Stuart Fraser (Stoke City)

One to watch: At 32, former Welsh international John Cornforth threatened to roll back the years at the end of last season with some stylish dis-plays in the centre of midfield. A playmaker who likes to get forward, Cornforth is not as mobile as he once was but keeps the Grecians ticking.

Odds: After a massive turnaround in staff much will depend on how manager Noel Blake's new charges gel together. Blake has brought a number of forward thinking players to St James' Park and if they all click goals are expected to flow. However, the defence remains a worry and goals con-ceded could be a problem.