With League Two fully back into motion, there have been some standout performers alongside some sides that haven’t quite gotten off to the start they had hoped for. Whether this be due to underwhelming recruitement, poor tactical decisions or just a rough set of opening fixtures, here is a dive into the five sides that would have hoped to have been higher up in the League Two table.
Bristol Rovers – 20th place
Since Darrell Clarke’s takeover, The Gas have had a serious rebuild within their ranks, following relegation under Inigo Calderon who left following the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, as they saw 14 first team players depart following the expiration of their contracts, losing veterans Jack Hunt, Chris Martin and Scott Sinclair, so Rovers lost the key experienced figured in their squad that could have influenced the younger characters.
The recruitment has been arguably fairly impressive thus far, bringing plenty of League One regulars down a division, with standout names including Alfie Kilgour, Macualey Southam-Hales and Jack Sparkes, but results haven’t matched expectations with most supporters, who felt like a playoff place finish was reasonable.
The Gas lost their opening three fixtures against Harrogate, Fleetwood and Chesterfield, but have gotten back into some sort of form, with their first victory coming over Cambridge United. With more time for their rebuilt squad to gel together, I can see Bristol Rovers climb higher in the League Two table.
Crawley Town – 22nd
Crawley’s return to League Two was met with high expectations, with playoff winning manager Scott Lindsay returning as the gaffer, but like Crawley the last couple of years, they’ve been selling their key players for some extra cash at the first opportunity, with Will Swan, Rushain Hepburn-Murphy and Toby Mullarkey all departing on undisclosed transfers, whilst Liam Fraser, Panchute Camara and Tyreece John-Jules leaving on free transfers.
Whilst Lindsay has brought in some alternatives, they haven’t been matching the quality, with supporters critiquing that it’s felt like a step down due to the lack of EFL experience in their new additions, in particular Harry McKirdy, Danny Cashman and the returning Jay Williams being under fire. Additionally, co-owner Preston Johnson resigned because summer recruitment “went a different direction than the data-driven approach that powered our success.”
They’ve struggled both offensively and defensively, having just scored 2 goals in their opening five games, doubling that total in big chances being missed at four, indicating a clear flaw up top for Crawley. On the other hand, goalkeeper Harvey Davies is underperforming seriously, with just a 50% save percentage in the league this campaign. I can see it being quite a long season for Crawley Town, but hopefully they can turn it around as they look to climb the League Two table.
Shrewsbury Town – 23rd
Shrewsbury have had an absolutely abysmal start to the 25/26 campaign, with Michael Appleton’s men continuing their Legue One form into the new season one division lower, finding themselves sat in the 23rd place position with just a single point and two goals registered thus far. But what has gone wrong?
Currently, the boardroom is facing serious uncertainty, as a potential takeover fell through, leaving the club stuck in limbo and hampering planning and recruitment, further hindered by the director of football Micky Moore’s involvement in recruitment generated scepticism about who was truly steering the ship, although he recently departed Salop.
This season’s recruitment hasn’t been particularly effective either, despite some seasoned named joining such as Sam Clucas and Tom Anderson, but the overall talent pool lacks the depth, balance and cohesion that a solid League Two side needs. Pessimistic pre-season predictions emphasised questions around Michael Appleton’s position as manager, highlighting that his style may clash with a players group ill-suited to his preferred system, with full-back Mal Benning stating in an interview, calling out the team’s abysmal form saying “‘the points tally obviously is not good enough'” despite work rate on pitch.
Colchester United – 17th
One of the pre-season promotion favourites, Colchester United are yet to display their form of the second half of the prior campaign, with Danny Cowley’s side finding themselves with just one win in what is arguably an easier opening fixture list to the season.
Despite some decent recruitment this window, long term injuries to Ellis Iandolo, Will Goodwin and Ben Perry have exposed the lack of depth in the side, alongside earlier knocks to Jack Payne and Dominic Gape, which left three or four players starting out of position for their opening few ties. With their plethora of young talent seeming to be heading out the exit door before deadline day (Samson Tovide, Owura Edwards and the already departed Oscar Thorn), Cowley still has more work to do especially given the reduced budget given by owner Robbie Cowling, who’s takeover fell through leaving him still in charge.
Performances have also been uncharacteristic of a Cowley side, with a lack of end product in the final third, and regular defensive mistakes especially from set pieces where the majority of goals conceded have come from.
Notts County – 16th
Last season’s playoff semi-finalists Notts County haven’t gotten off to the start they would have hoped for under Martin Paterson, who took over from Scott Maynard following the playoff defeat to AFC Wimbledon. The Magpies currently find themselves on five points, with two draws and a win, which came against Shrewsbury Town.
County have impressed going forward, scoring nine goals so far this campaign, including four over Shrewsbury Town, mostly thanks to Matthew Dennis’ fine form in front of goal bagging in three consecutive games with a brace in their most recent fixture against Bromley. The loss of McGoldrick seemed like a devastating loss but hasn’t stopped their attacking consistency, as well as being without Alassana Jatta through suspension and injury.
The problem lies in their defence, which has been criticised regularly for their slow playing out from the back under Paterson, regularly not being as effective as desired, ending up at the opposition’s feet far too often, as well as criticising their abilities to defend from set-pieces. Supporters on X have analysed Paterson’s squad to lack flexibility, with one fan calling Paterson’s style “terminal” and another calling it “garbage to watch”.
