League One Seven Years On

For large portions of this Championship season, I thought Millwall were likely to go down. They didn't, in the end, largely due to Neil Harris managing to get some vital wins. From a fan's perspective, relegation would have been heart-breaking, but from a tourist's perspective, who doesn't want to visit new stadiums and towns? Alright, Wycombe and Wrexham likely would never be places I'd want to visit, but there's still the odd part of me that finds League One rather intriguing. 

I've only been to one League One match - the playoff final between Millwall and Bradford City seven years ago. However, that was at Wembley, and I don't remember much, except that I had a Mars bar, there was a late goal, and there was a pitch invasion at full time. Looking through my dad's photos, there's also a much younger me cheerfully waving a flag that was too heavy for me. I've thus not really been at a League One match. So what was I missing out on? And is being in League One all that good an idea?

Since 2017, these are the leagues the clubs have ended up in:

League One since

League in 2023/4	Number of Clubs
Premier League	1
Championship	2
League One	9
League Two	6
National League	4
National League N/S	1
Step 7 or lower	1

Not the best outcome, then. It's worth noting that for next season, some clubs have changed leagues, but only one - Shrewsbury - will have stayed in League One all these past years, and wil stay there in 2025. I'd like to focus on the promotion chasing clubs of 2017, though - they're all quite peculiar.

After comprehensively winning the title, Sheffield United got to the Premier League in another two years, finishing tenth in their first season. Since then, they have been relegated twice, and are back in the Championship, but they are by far the Class of 2017's biggest success story. Bolton Wanderers, who finished second, were less fortunate - after relegation in 2019, financial issues nearly dissolved the club, but another relegation and new ownership has since stabilised them - they are once again fighting to win promotion to the Championship.

Apart from Millwall, every club then in the playoffs has since got to League Two. Scunthorpe United were very exciting in 2017, only just missing out on automatic promotion. But a playoff defeat to Millwall kept them down. Since then, it's only got worse - another failed playoff season, relegation, a near escape, and two further relegations down to the National League North. And they've lost their academy, and were nearly wound up. Such are the ills of poor ownership.

Fleetwood Town never got a better chance at promotion after this season. It's been mostly midtable campaigns, besides one other playoff season a few years later. But this year, after their owner was convicted of fraud, they've been relegated, with former Liverpool man Charlie Adam at the helm, curiously enough. 

Bradford City could have done with a promotion - two years later, they were bottom of the league, and the following five years in League Two haven't resulted in much. Just the one playoff campaign last year, when they lost in the semi-finals.

That's not mentioning other clubs near Millwall that year. Southend United have grappled with poor ownership and were nearly wound up this year. The same goes for Rochdale, and both weren't all that far from the playoffs. Lower down the table, Bury were expelled from the EFL in 2019, and a phoenix club later took over their name and stadium. Bury now play in the North West Counties Football League, the ninth tier of English football. 

The only other club to get near the top is Coventry City, who finished 23rd that year. Since then, they nearly got promoted to the Premier League through the Championship playoffs last year. Just goes to show how football is largely based on luck and stability.

Millwall only won the playoffs through a late winner - if the goalkeeper had saved it, maybe Bradford would have gone on to win. That's not forgetting Millwall only just got to sixth on the last day - if Southend had made it, the club could be completely different now. So I don't think it's a shame we won't be in League One next year - I'd take grey skies over interesting times any day.