EFL WEEKEND NOTES: Bank Holiday Promotions and Relegations
Sun, success and celebrations in Devon, Suffolk and Hertfordshire. Relegation confirmed for Blackpool, Wigan, Accrington and Hartlepool, and we are all set up for Final Day(s) in the EFL!
Words: Ali Maxwell
Morning everyone! I hope you had a fantastic Bank Holiday. It’s been a busy one in the EFL, and I’m here to catch you up. Please, if you’re excited to read this newsletter each time it drops into your inbox, why not forward it to a friend that might want to have EFL news, opinion and best bits mainlined into their inbox multiple times a week?
Fivelights
1 - Promotion celebrations are always must-watch: here are the best from Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town and Stevenage.
2 - You ok, MK? A three-goal lead squandered and survival now out of their hands.
3 - King Shrimp Stockton keeps Morecambe alive in crazy comeback.
4 - The Big Match in L2 didn’t disappoint, Salford nick it late AGAIN!
5 - Blackpool Rollercoaster. Millwall solidify Play-Off prospects, Blackpool go down.
Don’t forget, we have every highlight of every game in every EFL league down below.
The Championship
Let’s start at the bottom!
For the first time since 2015/16, Rotherham United will not be relegated or promoted. The yo-yo is no mo’. Paul Warne got the season off to a positive start and Matt Taylor, despite some teething issues between October and February, has finished the job, and done so while making some changes to the playing style - no mean feat. It was a player that Taylor brought in from the cold, the popular Hakim Odoffin, who scored the winner from range to secure it.
Boro have lost back-to-back games, which many will frame as a concern or an issue heading into the Play-Off. Personally, I don’t think it will have any bearing.
🎦 Reading 1-1 Wigan - Wigan Athletic are relegated to League One.
Wigan’s season had already turned into something of a slog before the issues with late payment of wages and cashflow. But those problems, and the points deduction triggered, put paid to the spirited fightback that could have been on the cards under Shaun Maloney. The popular Leam Richardson lost his job due to poor form and a style of play was bringing neither results nor entertainment. Kolo Toure was a disaster, trying to change the style too quickly without the players to do so. Shaun Maloney has been a good find, and put together a competitive team. But the damage had been done.
Meite’s late equaliser keeps Reading alive, but Rotherham’s Monday victory against Middlesbrough means the Royals have to hope Huddersfield lose on Thursday night against Sheffield United. That will then set up a Final Day Relegation Showdown in West Yorkshire betwen Reading and Huddersfield.
Huddersfield had 20 shots in a game for the first time this season, and were gifted a few goals by a generous (and already-safe) Cardiff City. Avoiding defeat at home to Sheff Utd on Thursday night and they’ll avoid an awkward, nervy showdown vs Reading on Final Day.
🎦 Blackpool 2-3 Millwall - Blackpool are relegated to League One.
It has been a poor year of off-field decision-making and on-pitch performance for Blackpool, and that’s all it takes to undo all the hard work it took to reach, and survive in, the Championship. Almost no-one comes out of it with anything approaching credit: from the players on the pitch, the managers in the dugout, or the decision-makers in the boardroom. They should have a competitive budget for League One, so a few well-judged appointments and signings in the next three months could change the atmosphere heading into next season.
For Millwall, this was a huge win, with some really slick and exciting attacking play. A win against Blackburn at the Den on Final Day will secure a Play-Off spot.
However: Wash your mouth out, Zian!
A comfortable win was just what Coventry needed, with Gyökeres on top form. It’s in their hands… but it’s also Boro (a). Tricky.
An equalising goal of the highest quality from Patrick Roberts. But failing to win is damaging for Sunderland’s play-off chances. It’s hard to blame them for conceding two from set-pieces with a back four of Gooch, Hume, O’Nien and Cirkin, but it’s certainly far from ideal.
Baggies bounce back from behind. It still feels like a real grind at the moment, but it seems Conor Townsend and Jed Wallace are determined to give themselves a chance.
Daniel Mann giving it big licks on commentary, exactly what the month of May is all about. It was centre-backs doing the scoring as Hayden Carter cancelled out Tom Lockyer’s opener. Sammie Szmodics’ late half-volley thumping the crossbar. It’ll be tough for Blackburn now have a mountain to climb to reach the Play-Offs, now, but if they can win at The Den to get above Millwall and hope for the best…
Luton Town secure a third place finish. A remarkable achievement. Will they translate it into Premier League promotion?
Manuel Benson might have actually broken football. He’s doing Arjen Robben better than Arjen Robben. Four in a row! A shame for Alex Scott to have committed a rare error to gift Burnley their winner in what may be his last game at Ashton Gate. Burnley can hit 101 points with a win vs Cardiff.
Pure celebratory fun at Bramall Lane. Iliman Ndiaye secures his double-double, and Daniel Jebbison makes the most of some minutes with two assists.
Albert Adomah’s goal made it two in two for Ainsworth’s QPR, and they’ll be back again next season - but in what shape? It’s surely one of the biggest stories of the Championship this summer.
Lots of pretty patterns of play from two of the division’s aesthetes, Russell Martin and Liam Rosenior.
League One
🎦 Plymouth 1-0 Burton Albion - Plymouth Argyle are promoted to the Championship.
Last season they went from a team on the fringes of automatic promotion to missing out on the play-offs altogether after being humbled 5-0 on the final day. Mentally, that was going to be an incredibly difficult thing to get over. They put that aside, recruited well and mounted this incredible promotion run.
And the reason that I think this is so impressive is that this isn't one of those poor League One seasons. They have fended off Ipswich Town, who are perhaps the best League One team we've seen, and Sheffield Wednesday, whose resources dwarf what Argyle are able to offer. And Argyle are doing all of this whilst turning over a profit. They are an example of how clubs should try and achieve success.
George Elek
More Argyle promotion chat from 00:00 - 13:30 here.
🎦 Ipswich 6-0 Exeter - Ipswich Town are promoted to the Championship.
They have won 13 of their last 14 with an aggregate score of 42-2 and a +41 goal difference. I have absolutely loved this team since about four weeks after Kieran McKenna took charge when that style of play began.
The clear plan of possession-heavy football, the rotations, the defenders rocking up in advanced positions, midfielders moving all over the place and pulling teams apart. And then the goals followed. Defensively, this team have barely let other sides lay a glove on them. It’s an amazing team; it’s been an amazing season. Their upwards momentum is incredible, the potential for them to be a properly good Championship team is there, and I think we can be pretty confident that the core of this team will want to be there next season.
Ali Maxwell
More Ipswich promotion chat from 13:00 - 2:30 here.
Michael Smith scored a marvellous hat-trick, and Wednesday have won three in a row. But it’s too late. 93 points and counting, they’ll be the best-ever League One side not to win automatic promotion. Now it’s time to focus on the Play-Offs.
Play-Off spot secured - last midweek’s defeat to Accrington happily forgotten. It’s not been pretty for Wanderers recently, but they can have some time to rest and prepare for a huge few weeks.
Colby Bishop’s 20th of the season cancelled out by James Collins - not the ideal result for Derby, but they’ve got away with it because…
🎦 Peterborough 0-0 Bristol Rovers
23 shots to 6. xG for days. But no actual goals. Posh have to beat Barnsley on Sunday, ideally by three goals, and hope for the best.
Oh, MK Dons. Throwing away a three-goal lead is NOT THE ONE AT THIS STAGE OF THE SEASON. Their League One survival now depends on Cambridge’s results as much as their own. Ruthless from Barnsley and former MK Dons loanee Max Watters in particular.
Mark Bonner’s side came out of the traps quickly, took their chances and won the game to put survival in their own hands. The only surprise was that Sam Smith allowed his teammates Dunk and Thomas to get the glory. Bonner is managing this very well at the moment, and the team look confident as they head to Burton for their game in hand.
Accrington Stanley are relegated to League Two, and John Coleman wasn’t sugarcoating it. It’s been a difficult season, with the loss of Colby Bishop, Matt Butcher and Ross Sykes perhaps too much to handle. I’m not concerned for Accy, so long as Coleman has the energy to continue, I trust him to build a good side and avoid the sort of relegation hysteria that can impact the next season. It’s worth celebrating their five seasons at this level which were a huge achievement.
Cole Stockton is Roy of the Rovers. The amount of dramatic goals he has scored for Morecambe in the last two seasons is incredible. Having been off the boil all campaign, he has stepped up in the last two weekends to keep them alive. You wouldn’t bet against them making it four wins in a row at Exeter City to give themselves a chance…
Oxford United are safe, winning 4-0 and 3-0 in a matter of days against fairly unfussed West Country opposition. Academy product Tyler Goodrham is getting the Yellows’ fans very excited, and understandably so. Hard-working, tenacious, enthusiastic and with an eye for the spectacular. But Liam Manning has also won them round ahead of a big summer.
Alfie May in April is a real mood. Five goals for the month, 19 for the season. Any Cheltenham fan that travelled to the Kassam last Tuesday for a 0-4 defeat - and still went to Adams Park on Saturday - deserves this.
Bit of beachy fun here. Jesrun Rak-Sakyi’s last virtuoso performance at The Valley, with a solo goal to boot.
League Two
What we said on the pod:
What a season! And what a job Steve Evans has done. An eighth promotion and a titanic effort.
The best team in the league up until the moment they beat Orient 1-0. I’m not sure what changed, and the drop-off in performances was such that I was concerned they might not finish in the three. But the players deserve massive respect for their ability to see out promotion whilst not being at their best. An amazing achievement when you consider where they came from last season on the brink of falling out of the football league.
George Elek
More Stevenage promotion chat from 45:00 - 50:00 here.
Cobblers wobble with promotion in sight. Bradford’s late winner, scored by Crichlow, keeps slim automatic hopes alive. They have to win on Wednesday at Crewe and then hope that Stockport and Northampton fail to win on Final Day. Unlikely, but exciting.
As for Northampton, the ghost of last season, when they lost their automatic spot on Final Day due to Bristol Rovers’ five-goal swing, looms large. It’s worth remembering that they did their bit that day, beating Barrow 3-1. Get it done against Tranmere and there’ll be no worries about other scorelines. Fail to win, and Stockport (or Bradford) could chase them down. Nervy.
Easy as you like for Stockport on the day Orient lifted the League Two trophy. They can focus on beating already-relegation Hartlepool and hope for good news from the Wirral.
Brilliant game. Salford built a two-goal lead through in-form attackers Hendry and Bolton, then lost it to a Carlisle comeback. But Jon Mellish picked up a silly red that will keep him out of the Play-Off Semi Finals. And Bolton gleefully scored Salford’s third straight late winner away from home. Barring a collapse of epic proportions (and a big Mansfield win), these two will be Play-Off teams, and a rematch would be very fun indeed.
🎦 Mansfield 1-2 Harrogate Town
This is a huge letdown for Stags fans. There’s really no excuse to lose at home to a team in the bottom six with a Play-Off spot on the line. But Sam Folarin and Kazeem Olaigbe were impishly irritating Clough’s team all game.
Crawley survive, but those in charge have to learn lessons from a season in which they over-promised and under-delivered, almost catastrophically. Scott Lindsay should take a lot of credit for moulding this squad into a competent team, where others had failed before.
🎦 Hartlepool 3-1 Barrow - Hartlepool United are relegated to the National League. The story starts when Dave Challinor left for Stockport in November 2021 and those running the club were seemingly unprepared for that eventuality. Only 16 wins in 77 league games since then, and four permanent managers. Last summer’s player and manager recruitment decisions were disastrous. The owner, Raj Singh, has put the club up for sale. The prospect of fresh ownership gives me hope for a short stay in non-league.
Bittersweet for Dale fans. Nice to win your last Football League fixture at Spotland for the foreseeable, but surely a sense of “Come on lads, where was that the last 9 months?”
Watch Joel Tabiner’s goal right now. A Crewe academy youngster, a technical midfield player, scoring a Nick Powell-esque goal on the anniversary of Nick Powell’s Wembley stunner, wearing Nick Powell’s squad number. Lovely.
Jody Morris has since left Swindon Town. There’s been a sense of unravelling throughout the season, and Morris’ recent media comments have been bullish about issues with the squad. 16 points from 18 games isn’t a record that buys you a lot of credit in the bank.
🎦 Gillingham 1-2 Newport County
Omar Bogle makes it 15 for the league season, and his turnaround at Newport County bodes well for next season. Booed by a minority of Newport fans at the turn of the year, he has won them round. They’ll head into next season confident after a strong turnaround under Graham Coughlan.
40 points up for Wimbledon. That is, 40 points dropped from winning positions this season.
After four straight home defeats, Donny manage a competent performance!