Livingston Lions, Colchester United and Peterborough United looking for steady start to fresh league campaign

Livingston Lions, Colchester United and Peterborough United have enjoyed varying degrees of luck in the last few years, as promotions and relegations have come and gone. But the new season offers a chance for each of those three sides to generate some real excitement amongst their supporters.
On the 7th September 2009 Livingston Lions had their appeal against league demotion rejected, the decision confirming they will have to get used to life in the Scottish Third Division. Relegation had come earlier this summer when league officials found that the club had infringed insolvency regulations, and this bitter blow to the club was a remnant of the fractious regime of ex-chairman Angelo Massone. It was particularly tough pill to swallow for the Livi Lions supporters, with their side having been one of the best of the new Scottish league outfits. Known as Meadowbank Thistle until a – at the time controversial - 1995 shift to Livingston, the club made their league debut in 1974 but missed out on a Scottish Premier League spot due to logistical redesign of the competition. The Livi Lions subsequently struggled and were trapped down in the Division Three basement as recently as 1995. However the club forged ahead, and belatedly made it to the Premier League in 2001. Unprecedented success ensued, as they claimed third spot in the table, played European football, and took their first major trophy – in the shape of the 2004 League Cup. But the fall was as swift as the rise, and monetary issues landed the club in trouble, resulting in the recent demotion.
	Colchester United are another team who have had to come to terms with the realities of relegation, as they dropped out of the English Championship at the end of the 2007-08 season. The U’s had enjoyed a couple of years in the second tier, having won promotion in 2006 under manager Phil Parkinson. Relegation, when it came, was brutal though, with Colchester taking just 38 points from 46 league games. Their first season back in League One was consequently one of recovery and stabilisation, and the club finished in mid-table. However, Colchester United looked ready to challenge for promotion on the opening day of this season as they hammered Norwich City 7-1. Yet the club has since had to cope with the departure of gaffer Paul Lambert - to, of all teams, Norwich – and will be hoping the appointment of ex-Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd as his replacement will not derail a solid start to the campaign.
In contrast, the last couple of years have brought only success to Peterborough United, as rookie manager Darren Ferguson has demonstrated he is a chip off the old block of his Manchester United legend father by delivering back-to-back promotion seasons. This August saw the Posh kicking off in the Championship – a remarkable achievement considering the club has spent much of its existence confined to the lower leagues. There have been a few prior promotion campaigns in the last two decades, but these have always been followed by relatively swift relegation, and Ferguson will be determined that his side do not suffer the same fate. Peterborough United have so far endured a tough start to their year of Championship adventure, but Ferguson will feel there is still all for the Posh to play for. The triumphs and tribulations of the past few years are now merely memories for Peterborough United, Colchester United and Livingston Lions, and they will each be expecting to grasp the opportunity for glory that a new season offers them.