League One: the greatest football league on Earth!
We’re going to break these teams down into the following categories: .
- Box Office Minnows
- Model Citizens
- Punching Up
- Various Stages of a Hangover
- Full Blown Identity Crisis
- Apocalypse Now
Then we’ll go through and predict where each team is going to finish this season. That table is in full at the bottom of the story if you want to jump to it.
Box Office Minnows
These clubs that have the light shining brightest on them. As the butcher said to the small boy, “these steaks…are high.”
Blackpool F.C.
So this offseason, I took it upon myself to really dig into the history behind each of these different clubs. I wanted to kind of root around and find their quirks and fancies, their insecurities, their secrets, their souls.
Take Blackpool: now, I knew Blackpool was a city by the sea. I was familiar with the amusement park down by the sea, the pier. I was familiar with Steve Bruce and his stoicism from his Man Utd days.
What I was less familiar with was the insider trading allegations against the club’s owner, Simon Sadler, but let me tell you if you have the time it is an absolutely fascinating story, and very well told by this particular piece in the Financial Times. The guys who buy these clubs sometimes have some of the wildest unchecked, unexamined egos you could ever imagine.
According to the story, Sadler’s claim to fame, which he denies vehemently, is his overuse of the word “cunts” to everyone he works with. Now I’m Australian, meaning I believe that the word can be used as a term of endearment, but let me tell you that’s not really how it comes across in the Times story. The whole piece is basically a collection of many, many people who’ve worked with Sadler at both Blackpool and his Hong Kong block trading hedge fund who say that he’s not the best to work with. Or, as one colleague puts it, he’s “all fart, no poo.”
The club also epitomizes the trigger happy approach to managerial appointments and sackings that dominates these leagues. Neil Critchley was given two games at the start of the season last year before he was fired. Two games is crazy, but two games at the start of the season is even crazier. That’s saying that the owner and the board decided in the offseason, this is our guy, let’s stick with our guy, let’s let him build a strategy and a plan and let’s see what we’ve got. And then two weeks in, they say, actually that plan sucks you’re fired let’s go in a new direction. What a waste of everyone’s time!
Of course, it led to Steve Bruce being hired, and we all love Steve, it’s like having a gruff Paddington Bear in charge. We all thought Steve was done, but here he is for another roll of the dice and muck about, another season of stoic Bruceball. Why not! It was effective enough last season to stabilize the team. But what are you really building to with Steve Bruce in charge? He’s not “all fart, no poo” – if anything, he’s the opposite – but what can you really build with a pile of shite?
Bookmakers have Blackpool pushing for a playoff spot this year, with the seventh best odds at winning the league. I have them a little lower, in high mid-table, a compelling 11th spot with plenty of off-field intrigue.
Plymouth Argyle
There is only one place to start with Plymouth, and that is with the continuing stench of overbearing cologne left by none other than former manager Wayne Rooney. You can’t quite put your finger on whether it’s aqua di gio, or Joop!, but it’s something strong, and it lingered last season, lingered to the point that Plymouth was relegated and now finds itself out of the Championship.
And that’s on them! I can kind of see how a board convinces itself to hire Wayne Rooney. First, you look at his manager career, which has been a complete failure, but then you look at his playing career and you watch a few highlights on YouTube to remind yourself of his talismanic days, and you think, hey maybe this is the shot in the arm that we need!
Of course, Rooney has by now lived his best life: his future is not managing second and third division teams, it’s regaling middle-aged divorcees over an espresso martini in an overpriced club. It’s driving to record Match of the Day in his Lamborghini Gallardo, stopping only to record a few Cameos and confirm his availability to shoot a commercial for Lynx bodyspray – Night Tiger Edition next month.
Anyway, they’ve moved on, to Tom Cleverley, after Miron Muslic left to head to Schalke. It’s the seventh manager since 2018, which sounds crazy but is probably run of the mill stone cold average in this league. Cleverley seems…green, which could be good, but could also be, well, not good. In the last two years, Cleverley has gone from a player, to an assistant at Watford, then interim manager at Watford, then permanent at Watford, then boned in May. As a child, his nickname was “Chunks.” Go well, Chunks.
The Gareth Bale takeover stuff seems done for now. Simon Hallett has “re-commited,” whatever that means (I guess it partly means letting Ryan Hardie leave to go to Wrexham). I mean he has allegedly doubled the football budget and brought in a few interesting signings, so we’ll see, we’ll see! Like someone else approaching your partner at the pub, maybe the Bale approaches will sharpen Hallett’s mind, make him focus up, get organized, get this team right back up into the Championship. I think they’ll make a run at it, but it is not going to be simple or easy because where is the fun in that. Bookmakers have them finishing 5th, I’ve got them right around there at 6th place and making some noise in the playoffs.
Model Citizens
Let’s switch it up now and take a look at the Model Citizens out there, clubs that kind of have it all figured out (for now, at least).
Bolton Wanderers
I remember watching The Trotters as a young whippersnapper, my formative pre-teens, all pimples and spontaneity, when Bolton were the underdogs of the Premier League but still pretty buttoned up. Toughsheet (amazing name) Stadium was then Reebok Stadium, and Bolton were the ultimate survivors, battling it out against much bigger opponents, kind of the perfect minnow story. With Sam Allardyce at the helm they had an identity, clean kits and a great vibe about them.
Of course, it all went completely to shit in the 2010s as they were relegated, went bankrupt, almost ceased to exist on the face of the earth, and then fought back again. And now, they are almost shockingly stable, managed by the highly respected Steven Schumacher, whose identity is as a grown up man you hire when you’re trying to take yourself seriously. (For the antithesis of this, see the Plymouth Argyle: Rooney, Wayne discussion from earlier.)
Schumacher guided Bolton to 8th place in League One last year. They’re confident in their infrastructure: in the last three seasons, they’ve sold their top goal scorer at the end of each season. So they trust their process and management believes in the coach and the system. They are a team on the rise. Let’s feel good about that! Let’s celebrate that!
Bookies like them to, they’ve got them with the 6th best title odds. I like them even more, and am picking them to finish 3rd in the league this year.
Exeter City
Did you read the Exeter City annual report and financial statements? I did! (Well, the first 10 pages at least.) This is about as well a run business as you can have in this industry. No external debt. Increasing revenue turnover Y/Y while remaining profitable (just, and before tax). Significantly increased transfer fee income 2024 vs 2023 (Ethan Ampadu is still paying off).
And primarily fan-owned! Is this a model club? This is a model club. No wonder Chris Martin is a fan.
They’ve got managerial stability, with Gary Caldwell surpassing 100 matches in charge recently. He’s a balanced manager with a strong conviction about the way his teams play. They’ve been active in this offseason, in particular making Johnly Yfeko a permanent addition at centre-back and bringing back Joe Whitworth in goal on extended loan from Crystal Palace.
All that said, they finished sixteenth last season, and they had trouble up front. And then they said goodbye to Millenic Alli, who scored 12 of their 49 goals last season. So that’s the biggest question mark on the squad going into 2025-2026. Bookies seem to not like their chances – they’ve got Exeter in the relegation zone. I like the solid foundation, and think they stay out of relegation trouble and push towards midtable: a 17th place finish for Exeter, and continuity.
Lincoln City
My favorite mascot in sports, bar none. Indulge me and let me read to you from the Legend of the Lincoln Imp:
“The Lincoln Imp is a grotesque on a wall inside Lincoln Cathedral, England, and it has become the symbol of the city of Lincoln.”
(I’ve never heard anything described as “a grotesque” before.)
“The carving is situated high on the north side of the Angel Choir and is not conspicuous. The Angel Choir was built between 1250 and 1280, so the carving must date from then. It became well known in the late nineteenth century, and its associated folk tales are an elaboration of earlier traditions involving the devil hiding from wind inside the cathedral, the devil looking at Lincoln with malicious envy, and stone sculptures…said to represent either theme.”
The mascot’s full name is “Poacher the Imp,” and the guy who played him for many years has, of course, written a memoir. A snippet: “Stress, anxiety and depression can be masked in a hundred different ways. I hid mine behind a recognisable furry face of fun.” Dark stuff.
These guys have loads of identity. They’ve got the Imp. They were in the National League less than a decade ago. They’ve got fight. They’ve got former England national futsal team coach Michael Skubala. They don’t panic. During their collapse in 2023-2024 that could’ve sent shittier squads into a tailspin, they instead calmly pivoted to Skubala, didn’t fire-sale the squad, and found their shape again. Steady hands, baby.
They have a long-simmering dream of returning to the Championship for the first time since 1961. Can it happen this year? Bookmakers aren’t confident – they’ve got the team sitting mid to lower table in 17th. But I’m more bullish, thanks to the power of the Imp, the power of stable steering, the power of positivity. I’ve got Lincoln finishing 12th, and flirting with the playoff picture at various points throughout the season.
Mansfield Town
Another Steady Eddie in a universe where there are far too few sure things. Nigel Clough signed a new two-year deal in June, which would make him right up there for one of the longest serving managers in English football (he arrived in 2020). The Radford family continue to lead the club with a methodical, fan-focused approach. This is a blue collar team for a blue collar town, and there ain’t nought wrong with that.
They had a kind of interesting off-season, signing Luke Bolton from Wrexham to play at right-back. But nothing to really rock the boat. I mean, I’m not sure what else there is to say about this team – ever since a fan attacked previous owner Keith Haslam in 2008 at the end of a game, things have been on the up and up! I guess the question for fans and club is whether this is the norm, or if they can push higher up, but for now I think both constituents would be happy keeping the status quo.
Bookmakers like them to avoid relegation and kind of prop up the back of mid-table, and I tend to agree. I’ve got them finishing in 20th place, dancing with relegation at times, but ultimately staying out of trouble.
Port Vale F.C.
I like Port Vale. I like the way they handled business last year – getting relegated, figuring it out quickly, and getting back up. Darren Moore ran a grown-up, professional, buttoned-up effort to get the club back into League One.
So while last year’s promotion was certainly a testament to the on-field performance, but it all stems from the very top, where owner and chair Carol Shanahan runs a club that’s focused on genuine, authentic community engagement. She runs the club like it is a part of the town, not above it. Just last week, she secured the funding for the £2.3M Vale Park Community Campus project, a hub of youth pitches, games areas, padel courts and walking trails. This approach feels innovative, even though it is really just a harkening back to the roles football clubs have traditionally filled as parts of our communities: a space to meet people and share experiences.
This summer, Moore and co have built on last year’s efforts by making some smart, if not super flashy, business decisions, including bringing in proper League one fullbacks Jordan Gabriel and Liam Gordon, as well as Rotherham defender Cameron Humphreys. They also brought in former Plymouth striker, the New Zealander Ben Waine. It’s probably up front where Port Vale look the thinnest at this point, but there’s still time in the transfer window if they so choose.
Look for another season of strong consolidation from Port Vale this year. Bookmakers have them towards the back of the pack, narrowly escaping relegation. I have them higher than that, finishing in mid-table: a very respectable 15th.
Rotherham Utd
The definition of a yo-yo club. Since the early 2000s, Rotherham has gone between the Championship and League One with astonishing regularity: seven promotions and six relegations across 25 years. They’re the poster child for the in-between, too solid for League One, too brittle for Championship football.
Through it all, they’ve maintained their gritty, no-frills identity with managers like Paul Warne and Ronnie Moore focused on work rate and team cohesion. Warne especially embodied the club’s soul, a former player turned beloved manager who treated the team like a family and ran one of the most well-drilled squads in the EFL. His departure in 2022 left a void still being recalibrated.
In recent years though, that identity’s been stretched. Championship survival attempts led to short term thinking, big loans, aging pros, a drift from their core identity. 23-24 was a bit of a cluster, relegated from the Championship again, and even in League One last year they looked a little shell shocked.
That’s why this season is feeling different. Under Rotherham lad and long-time assistant Matt Hamshaw, they’re going back to basics philosophically, building from within, trusting the local pipeline, signing players who will grow with the club rather than passing through it. You can feel it in their summer work, a bunch of hungry 20-somethings and academy graduates being given responsibility and space to grow. It might take some time, but there’s a clarity of intent here that hasn’t been around since Warne left.
Rotherham feels like a club on that is getting back to stability before starting to rise again. I’m not sure how much of the rise we’ll see this year, but I think they’ll be squarely out of trouble: 16th place in League One this season.
Stevenage F.C.
So we’re a decade and half in now to Stevenage’s run in league football, and that by itself should be celebrated. They flirted with relegation out of League Two many, many times over that period, but they hung tough and made it up into League One two seasons ago.
So this is largely about Hanging Tough, and to do that, chairman Phil Wallace has emphasized stability, and kept manager Alex Revell in charge for his second full season. Hey, it’s not particularly scintillating stuff for some, but others out there would kill for this kind of club stability.
They’ve been measured in their summer recruitment so far, with Jordan Houghton from Plymouth coming in to provide some control and discipline in midfield. I mean, I’m not sure what else there really is to say, this is a nicely run club that will probably finish in the back half of midtable, unless some kind of apocalypse occurs. I’ve got them staying just out of the relegation muck in 19th.
Wigan Athletic
I’ll always associate Wigan with their greatest export to Australia: the Wigan rugby league team and, specifically, Martin Offiah and his long, loping stride down the touchline in club world championships against the Brisbane Broncos in the mid-90s.
Of course, the common thread here is that now, both the Wigan Warriors and Latic are owned by the same man, the quiet, get shit don tour de force that is Mike Danson. His two guiding principles? “Patience and stability.” More steady leadership!
This is a club rich in underdog history. Only a short decade ago, they beat Man City to win the FA Cup. That was basically the end of the Dave Whelan era of prosperity. They then entered the wilderness years of the Hong Kong Investment Fund Ownership group management, just a cluster of bad decisions. Then along came Danson and some sanity.
Ryan Lowe took charge in March, following Shaun Maloney’s dismissal. He pulled Wigan clear of relegation and has embarked on a longer-term rebuild. Over the summer, they’ve made a number of moves to solidify there spot in League One, most famously a one year loan of Paul Mullin from Wrexham. All in all, they feel like they’re in a solid spot going into the season. Bookmakers have them finishing mid-table, and I like them a little higher, just outside the playoffs in 9th place.
Wycombe Wanderers
Please indulge me for a moment while I read from the Wycombe Wanderers F.C. Wikipedia page: subsection, “Loss of Purpose”: *ahem* “Lee retired as manager in 1976 and again the Wanderers suffered a decline. A significant factor was the abolition of amateur football by the FA in 1974 which left the club without a sense of purpose.”
The poetry. Wanderers by name, wanderers by nature, wanderers of the mind, body and spirit. Spoiler alert, they eventually found some purpose, went pro, made Martin O’Neill manager, moved to a new home and won the FA Trophy in 1991. Then a bunch of other stuff happened, you can read the Wikipedia page as well as I can if you’re interested.
Last season was a real kick in the nuts. They were charging along sitting in second place in January when manager and club legend Matt Bloomfield just up and left to go replace Rob Edwards at Luton and get relegated. Bad call all round. They petered out a bit and lost in the playoff semis to Charlton, who went on to get promoted.
Mike Dodds is still in charge after stepping up for Bloomfield last season. They haven’t made a ton of noise in the transfer window. But the bones are still primarily there to set up for another push this season. Bookmakers have them easing off a little after last year’s success and finishing in the upper mid-table; I like them to gear up and push again for promotion, finishing 5th.
Punching Up
These are the clubs punching above their weight. Could be good (see Wrexham, Stockport in recent seasons); could be temporary…
AFC Wimbledon
John Green. The Fault in Our Stars. Devastating, honest, gut-wrenching, a tour de force. Never read it myself but that is all on me, I just can’t read sad stories anymore, since I had kids of my own. Plus I read almost exclusively sad stories as a teen. So John, I’m sorry, I can’t read it but I’m sure it’s fantastic.
I can listen to you go on and on and on though on various football podcasts about AFC Wimbledon and your undying, unconditional love for the club. It is genuine and real and gives an insight into the prism of pain and joy that is the AFC WImbledon fan experience. To have a club wrenched from you, and then having to start from scratch, and then having to love that new thing like the old thing. It’s just a lot! Honestly, it’s the kind of plot I’d expect to read in a John Green novel.
That story, to recap, in a nutshell: Wimbledon FC is given permission to relocate to Milton Keynes in 2002, 60 miles north of Wimbledon. Fans are furious, and don’t want to support this new team, which quickly changes its name to MK Dons and their persona to one of a bunch of wankers. And so, they form a new team, owned by The Dons Trust, aka the former supporters of Wimbledon FC. They enter the ninth tier of English football, and in the 13 seasons since have been promoted six times, going all the way from The Combined Counties Premier to, this season, League One.
What a fucking story! The whole thing brings up great questions around sports ownership, sports economics, death and life, just everything really. Would the AFC Wimbledon story have been as rich without the heartbreak? Do we ever know the true taste of ecstasy without really feeling the pain?
On the pitch, Johnnice Jackson has been at the helm since they were last relegated from League One, the end of the 2022 season. He oversaw their promotion last year, clinched in a thrilling 1-0 win over Walsall in the playoffs. They’ll play a stoic, solid style of football in League One, relying on their defense led by Ryan Johnson and strong structure.
Staying up is the goal for AFC Wimbledon. And they will have to defy the odds to do it: Bookmakers have them rank favorites to finish last and go down. I would love to think with my heart and not my head here and say there is a path for them to stay up, and that path is through pure heart and soul. But grow up, Peter Pan. This is the real world. I have them finishing in 21th spot, with plenty of drama and heartbreak to go around.
Bradford City
The Bantams had about as dramatic a final day in the season that you can have – a stoppage time goal from Antoni Sarcevic that sealed automatic promotion and capped a masterful promotion push from Graham Alexander and his squad. It was truly heroic shit, and must be a weight off this squad and club. And let’s not forget, this is a club with a lot of weight on top of it or behind it, depending on the performance. Valley Parade still holds 25,000+ on a good day, and the expectation from most of those fans and others is that this is a club that belongs in the Championship. So to take a step towards that is a relief.
Graham Alexander’s appointment marked a culture shift, away from hope projects and fan service, and towards experienced, pragmatic management. He’s not flashy, but he gets results. He knows how to organize a squad and win promotion.
And so now, we encounter one of the most interesting points for a club: an inflection point. Is this the start of something, or the middle, or the end? Behavior over the summer break would indicate that the club believes in what Alexander’s building. Recruitment has been measured but smart: Joe Wright and Ibou Touray add experience and reliability to the back line, Will Swan adds mobility up front. These are players who fit the vision and system, and won’t shrink when things get tough.
Vibes around Valley Parade are cautiously optimistic. Only the most blue sky fans are probably thinking of promotion: for the rest, a stable and professional season to put Bradford right back into the middle of League One will do the job.
Bookmakers have them 13th, and so do I, which would be a fantastic return to the league by all measures.
Doncaster Rovers
Grant McCann has come out and just said it, just said it to all the haters and the rivals and the pretenders and everyone else out there: Doncaster have unfinished business in League One. They swagged all over League Two last year, and now, back in the third tier, the McCann and the Millers have UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
They’ve largely retained the squad that played so well last year, and added a couple key additions like Brandon Hanlan from Wycombe (McCann: “he’s annoyed me every time I’ve faced him”) and Sean Grehan from Crystal Palace. But their top asset might be McCann himself, who has managed almost 500 career games and will breathe some confidence and calm into this squad, especially early in the season.
Some pundits are picking them as a dark horse promotion team. I think that is a step too far, but I do have them finishing clear of the relegation zone this year, in 18th, and solidifying their belonging in League One.
Leyton Orient
This is petty, but their grey away colours were the worst kit in the league last year. Just awful. The crest, on the other hand, is absolutely wicked, two “wyverns” facing one another. (A wyvern, I discovered, is the defender of the Thames, which is pretty sick, it’s like a dragon but really specific, a specific dragon.)
They went so close last year, losing out to Charlton Athletic in the playoff final, 1-0. Those damn grey uniforms did ‘em in. But the reason they feature in this section as opposed to the Hangover group is, this is a club on the rise. They have a clear identity under Richie Wellens, a team that blends ambition with ruthless pragmatism, no longer just a lower-league wannabe. Wellens has carved them into a unit that plays tactically sharp and emotionally resilient football.
It’s reflected in their recruitment this summer: Tyreeq Bakinson, Aaron Connolly (if he behaves himself). This is a club that’s not just hear to be plucky anymore: they’re here to move up.
So activate the wyverns! Last year’s heartbreak is not just emotional weight: it’s rocket fuel for this season.
Bookies have them in 10th: I have them in 4th, with a bullet, making a deep run and promotion push this season.
Stockport County
One of the best stories over the past few seasons, alongside the Wrexham narrative, obviously, has been the rise of Stockport. And similarly to Wrexham with Phil Parkinson, it’s been driven by Dave Challinor, and the club’s forethought to stick and pick with them, give him a solid footing off which to plan and prosper, and then reap the rewards.
And so, when last season rolled around and they didn’t get promoted again, and Wrexham did, what did that do to the culture of the club and the belief in the project? Are Stockport stalled? Or are they still rising because taking the lack of promotion out of it, they still performed really, really well in the league and showed growth year over year?
I’m firmly in the latter category, a believer in their story and vision. The playoff loss to Leyton on penalties was heartbreaking, sure, but in the grand narrative, the arc of history for Edgeley Park fans is still bending toward the light.
Their summer was busy, losing Isaac Olaofe to Charlton, but signing Malik Mothersille from Peterborough to provide punch up front. They strengthened their defense with Joseph Olowu, Christy Grogan and Tayo Edun. This is a solid blueprint to doing just a little better this year.
Stockport is no Wrexham rip-off, despite the obvious parallels driven by the documentary. Challinor asks his players for both passion and intelligence. Under the ownership of Mark Stott, the club has grown in a deliberate, data-driven, infrastructure-heavy way, and not with some of the bullshit of other clubs, they’ve actually delivered on their promises. And don’t forget the ace card of Challinor himself, who has never finished outside the promotion or playoff spots in 14 full seasons as a manager (!!).
Bookmakers like them and are giving them the fourth best odds to win the league. I like them even more: top spot for Stockport this year, and an automatic promotion to the Championship.
Various Stages of a Hangover
Where we preview teams whose prior season dramas may linger…
Luton Town
Out of all the alcohols these days, it’s strange, nothing really hits me the next day like a night “on” the IPAs. And I say “on” because it really doesn’t take more than three or four, or even one or two, but the next day I am just absolutely hurting, anvil on the head stuff, bang bang bang.
And that’s kind of how I imagine Luton fans feel after the last two years. From the top of the rollercoaster to the bottom, the bottom was also covered in shit. There are so many lingering questions going into this season for the Hatters. Do we really believe in Matt Bloomfield? He did well at Wycombe, but there’s a lot more pressure here, and he certainly didn’t make an unequivocal difference when he joined mid-season. Are we still mourning blue eyes Rob Edwards? Did we throw the baby out with the bath water? And how can they best deploy their parachute cash to make sure the slide stops here?
I’ve got my own theory on what drove Luton’s decline, and it’s not unique to them, or particularly novel. Their identity in the Premier League in particular was a backs to the wall defiance, a siege mentality. Once you drop from that to being the big fish in the smaller pond once again, it’s hard to rally because it’s not really true anymore. It’s a whipsawing of identity which has led to clubs getting back-to-back relegations in the past due to nothing more than being the victims of their own success, and not recalibrating appropriately.
And Luton is at risk of doing it again. Bookmakers have them as favorites to win League One this year, and if the club itself takes that mentality into the season, they’ll start slow again, start the cycle of lack of confidence, lack of consistency, manager churn, and then away we go. We know where that story ends.
At least they’re not being overly sentimental with some of their summer moves. They let go of Carlton Morris, but brought back experience in Nahki Wells and George Saville. The squad and club need to return to their blue-collar roots. Between the push for the new stadium and the experience in the top flight, there’s a chance the Hatters lost their way because they lost sight of who they truly are, of what makes them great.
I don’t have them winning the whole thing this year, but I do have them bottoming out and pushing for a playoff spot, finishing in 7th place.
Huddersfield Town
It is impossible to dislike The Terriers – what a cute nickname! This is an upstart club who has had a tough little run since relegation from the Premier League in 2019. A bit of inconsistency, a bit of managerial instability, a bit of financial stress. You know the story.
Like all those kinds of clubs, they have decided to hit RESET, starting with new ownership, Kevin Nagle, an American, taking over in 2023. They’ve hired a “smart coach” ie. a young coach with pedigree, Lee Grant, a student of both Ian McKenna and Jose Mourinho. They’ve made some marquee off-season signings, including Alfie May from Birmingham City to kickstart their attack.
So these are generally positive signs and positive noises. And yet, dig a little deeper, and there are still some pretty big questions here. Last season was solid but unspectacular. The appointment of Grant is good on paper, but he is untested, and it’s not really known how his tactical and motivational leadership will hold up under fire.
I think it’s another decent season for Huddersfield, but bookmakers who have them second favorites for the league are a little rosy-eyed in their assessment. I think they’ll turn in another solid season, finishing in 10th, and setting up for something bigger next year.
Northampton Town
Day two of the hangover for Northampton: getting better, but still shitting through the eye of a needle and taking on fluids. Survival last season was a relief, rather than a grand statement. With Kevin Nolan in charge and a big cleanout of the 24-25 squad, they’re recalibrating their identity and focus, looking for another season of laying a foundation for future growth.
Northampton Town has lived the EFL yo-yo life. They hold a rare record: promotion from the fourth tier to the first tier and back in just nine years, a feat no other English club has matched. Sure, it happened in the 60s, but it still happened! Agony and ecstasy, and nothing in between.
Nolan helped navigate the relegation fight last year, and for his sins, he’s back. He moved on from some high profile flops and is resetting culture and a youth-focused approach. That’s all well and good to say, but it’s a high-wire act: you’re betting a lot on culture and work ethic transforming into scoring more goals than your opposition, no mean feat.
So the central question here is not one of pushing for promotion, but rather, how close to the relegation battle will they go? Will Nolan’s culture be enough to keep the group up? Or will they finally succumb to the pressure? Pains me to say but I agree with bookmakers who have them firmly in the relegation zone this year: I’ve got Northampton in 23rd spot, and making a return to League Two.
Full Blown Teenage Identity Crisis
Pick a lane, man! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Barnsley
So they finished 12th last season, which seems reasonable, but they were absolutely flying at the start of the season and had a kind of nightmare finish to the campaign, a season in two halves. They had no problem scoring (69 goals) but then struggled at the other end (73 goals conceded, fifth worst in League One). Darrell Clarke (who in the last four years has coached at Port Vale, Cheltenham Town, Barnsley, and now Bristol Rovers) was shitcanned in March, and replaced by Conor Hourihane, who appears to have stabilized things. At least for now.
Rewind seven years or so and these guys brought Billy Beane on as an investor and all of a sudden were a Moneyball team, which if done poorly, just means you bring in shitty players. Current ownership, represented by majority owner Neerav Parekh, is outwardly level-headed and generous. But he’s also saying stuff like, “The ones who say we’re greedy wouldn’t be able to read a balance sheet if it smacked them in the face” to the Barnsley Chronicle. Neerav, that’s probably true, but I’m not sure how pointing out your fans’ lack of financial acuity is going to get your closer to your goal of selling more tickets and shirts.
The tension here most likely comes from this inconsistency, from the great start to last year to the poor finish, the generosity of ownership then the backhanded comments. Just settle down, Barnsley! You should not be too bad this year if everyone just takes a deep breath!
Bookies have them finishing 12th. I’ve got them right around there, in 14th spot.
Burton Albion
The BREWERS. If I was in Burton upon Trent and had to pick one beer to have six or seven times in a sitting, which would it be? Throw your picks in the chat lol.
So close to relegation last year. Just so, so close. Gary Bowyer got appointed late after they started the season with just two wins in 19 games, and they just scraped home over the line. They have new ownership, the eerily named NFG Nordic Football Group, who market themselves as wanting to blend “Scandinavian stability with local ambition.” Dude, those two things don’t go together. If it’s Scandinavian, and it’s not in Scandinavia, then it ain’t local. Also, when have the Scandinavians blended well with anything? No knock on them, they’re just unique, they’re themselves, that’s kind of a big part of their persona up there in the great north.
Last season was Burton’s eight consecutive season in League One, and their fifth straight season finishing in the bottom half. Their offseason has been light, and that’s kind of par for the course for this group.
So maybe they have an identity: the identity of a survivor, a survival expert. A Bear Grylls, if you will. But how long can you be this close to death and stay above it? Bookmakers don’t like their odds this year, and neither do I. I’ve got them finishing in last place this season and going down.
Cardiff City
Let’s check in on the Cardiff City origin story:
“Following a meeting at the home of lithographic artist Bartley Wilson in Cardiff, the club was founded in 1899 as Riverside AFC as a way of keeping players from the Riverside Cricket Club together and in shape during the winter months.” You know, life really was different a hundred years ago, never forget that as you weigh up what we’re going to be doing with our lives in 20 years, let alone another hundred. Things move fast. I can barely name a lithographic artist these days.
Cardiff are dramatic! Drama queens! Vincent Tan seemed like a good owner to start, but people have kind of soured on him. Gareth Bale is trying to take them over (he seems desperate to own a club right now Gareth Bale, chill out Gareth, let the club come to you!).
The relegation battle last year was brutal. Four managers, then relegation in April, and this is the club’s first time in League One since 2002-03. They’ve appointed a Pep apprentice, Brian Barry-Murphy, as the new manager, and the expectation will be that they go right back up to the Championship. Anything less will be seen as a failure.
So, high expectations from fans + fractured leadership from ownership and a takeover bid = success…right? They haven’t done a ton in the transfer window yet, but it’s still early. This can really go one of two ways: they get aligned, between Barry-Murphy and either Tan or maybe Bale, execute on their plan, and run away with the league or at least automatic promotion. Or it all goes completely arse up and they’re fighting for mid-table relevancy in March, Barry-Murphy’s lost his job, and fans are calling for Tan’s head.
It’s not in my nature to back a heavyweight like this, but I’ve just got a feeling they’ll turn it around. I’ve got them finishing second this year and going straight back up to where they most likely belong.
Peterborough Utd
THE POSH. The greatest nickname in football, or the greatest nickname in all sports? It’s self-effacing, authentic, high class and low class at the same time. Perfection.
Unfortunately, that’s kind of where the good news starts and ends. The last few seasons have been inconsistent for Peterborough. Under chairman Darragh MacAnthony, they’ve wrestled with identity tension – are they a smart youth team? Are they ambitious? Are they a team in limbo? Last season was a perfect example, 18th in the league and an EFL Trophy triumph, mediocrity masked by a cup win.
Now they enter their fourth consecutive League One campaign at a bit of a crossroads. Rising stars Kwame Poku and Hector Kyprianou are gone, and not really replaced. The signings they have made are kind of underwhelming. Ricky-Jade Jones is also gone. They feel like a club trying to keep costs low but expectations high, which is a real tightrope to walk.
I see a relegation battle coming up, and unfortunately, every year, a few clubs have to go down. And I have Peterborough as one of them, finishing 22nd this season.
Apocalypse Now
Reading
Before we get to the absolute shitshow that is the Dai Yongge era, can we take a moment to appreciate the new “biscuit heritage” kits Reading is rocking this year? I have GOT to get my hands on a biscuit tin shirt. “It’s a look that proudly reconnects us with our origins, after a time when remembering who we are has felt more important than ever.”
Yeah…about that. What a fucking NIGHTMARE. The Dai Yongge era was a business school case study on how to dismantle a proud club through neglect, mismanagement and opaque decision-making. Reading has spent the last few years lurching from crisis to crisis, from wage delays to unpaid taxes, transfer embargoes to points deductions. Fans have protested, marches, signed letters, begged for change, and the whole time the owner stayed silent and absent, turning what was once a stable Championship side into a cautionary tale on the edge of oblivion.
And then, like the morning after a long night of tossing and turning and sweating and hallucinating, in mid-May, the fever broke. Rob Couhig, the former owner of Wycombe Wanderers, is the new chairman. And he’s inheriting a club where, somehow, someway, there’s still signs of life. Through the smoke and the shitshow, the club’s core of young players kept fighting last year, taking the team to seventh spot just outside the playoffs against a ton of adversity. Manager Ruben Selles somehow focused the squad and helped to restore an on-pitch identity despite the off-field wreckage.
So this year, the hope is that we can move on from the carnage, and get more of the same on the pitch. Bookmakers are feeling optimistic, and I tend to agree. I have them finishing right around the same spot, in eighth, and pushing hard for a playoff run.
Final Table Prediction: EFL League One, 2025-2026 Season
- Stockport
- Cardiff City
- Bolton
- Leyton Orient
- Wycombe Wanderers
- Plymouth Argyle
- Luton Town
- Reading
- Wigan Athletic
- Huddersfield
- Blackpool
- Lincoln City
- Bradford City
- Barnsley
- Port Vale
- Rotherham
- Exeter City
- Doncaster
- Stevenage
- Mansfield Town
- AFC Wimbledon
- Peterborough United
- Northampton
- Burton Albion
Minnows Football 
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