A division filled with ex-Premier League sides, ambitious rebuilds and clubs throwing their financial weight around, 2024/25 was arguably one of the most competitive and high-profile League One campaigns in recent memory.
But next season will look very different. Several of the league’s heavyweights are moving on — one way or another — and what’s left is a far less daunting proposition. For the first time in years, this division looks open, accessible, and — dare we say it — winnable for those who get their act together early.
Here’s why League One 2025/26 will be far weaker than the monster of a division we’ve just watched.
Big Guns Are on Their Way Out
This season, Wrexham and Birmingham weren’t just favourites — they were financial juggernauts. Wrexham’s Hollywood-fuelled rise, underpinned by a rapidly expanding global brand, and Birmingham’s significant spending under new ownership, brought Championship-level clout to League One. Both clubs invested aggressively, both had expectations of going up — and both delivered.
Should Charlton or Wycombe also join them in promotion via the play-offs, it’ll be another significant spender gone from the division. Charlton have operated with a top-six budget despite underperforming, while Wycombe have backed their managerial changes with financial support few others in the mid-table bracket can match.
Their exits mean fewer clubs splashing cash on top-end players, fewer squads with the depth to navigate 46 games like a Championship club would, and — crucially — fewer teams to fear.
The Relegated Teams Are No Powerhouses
Every summer, attention naturally turns to the sides dropping from the Championship. But this year, the names coming down do not strike the same level of fear as last season’s relegated clubs.
Plymouth Argyle, for all their admirable rise and likeable ethos, are a club licking their wounds after a shambolic campaign. They’re unlikely to be promotion contenders without serious overhaul — and there’s little to suggest that sort of spending is on the cards.
Cardiff City, meanwhile, are a big club on paper but an absolute mess in practice. Relegation has confirmed what many suspected for years: the rot is deep. The ownership is distant, the structure is flawed, and the fans are furious. They’re a long way from being a team capable of bouncing straight back.
Only Luton Town — if they drop — will arrive with any real financial firepower, courtesy of Premier League parachute payments. But they too face an uncertain rebuild and may take time to settle.
Promoted Sides Won’t Raise the Bar
There’s been no Wrexham or Stockport in this season’s League Two — no one team dominating, no club carrying a budget that dwarfs the rest. It’s been exciting, yes, but not especially daunting for the League One incumbents.
Doncaster Rovers and Port Vale, both confirmed for promotion, have done well to get over the line but have not looked like all-conquering forces. They’re more in the mould of Crawley or Mansfield from the previous year — solid sides, but not ones you’d immediately pencil in for a top-half finish in League One.
And if the final promotion spot goes to the likes of Bradford, Wimbledon or Grimsby, it won’t change the outlook. All are clubs with proud histories and passionate fans, but none have the financial might or squad quality to scare the division’s top sides.
Big Clubs With Big Problems
Even some of League One’s headline acts carry question marks. Huddersfield Town are arguably the division’s most recognisable name — but they’re in a complete state. Big wage bill, no clear manager, no strategy, no structure. Their Championship drop-off looks like the start of a long, slow reset.
Bolton Wanderers, having missed out again under Ian Evatt, face another summer of rebuilding and soul-searching. Meanwhile, Peterborough United continue their cycle of selling their best players every summer and hoping the recruitment wheel keeps spinning. At some point, it breaks.
Elsewhere, Barnsley and Rotherham are taking big gambles on rookie managers. That might work — but equally, it might leave them scrambling in a league where experience often wins out. Reading, who were in financial ruins not long ago, are now knocking on the play-off door. That says more about the lack of depth in the division than any remarkable turnaround in Berkshire.
New Financial Controls Will Cut the Ambition
Perhaps the biggest change of all is structural. From the 2025/26 season, League One clubs will face new financial restrictions under the EFL’s updated Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP). This isn’t theoretical — it’s enforceable.
Owner investment over £500,000 will only partially count toward player spending. Only 60% of that money can go on wages and fees. Similarly, extra income from transfers or cup runs can’t just be funnelled straight into the squad — only 60% is usable.
This will dramatically curb the ability of wealthy owners to buy their way into the top six. Clubs like Wrexham and Birmingham, who injected millions to build promotion-winning teams, would not be able to do so under these rules without tight compliance.
What that means in practice is clear: fewer blockbuster deals, fewer outlandish wage offers, and a playing field that will lean more on smart strategy than sheer spending power. For clubs with good coaching, solid academies and well-run operations — like Lincoln or Blackpool — this is great news.
