The League One Table is Set
Wrexham add a big name to the executive suite as League One learns the final two teams joining for 24/25.
A new CEO joins the club, plus a look at what Wrexham’s competition is up to throughout the pyramid. Enjoy!
The Wrecap:
Leagues One and Two Playoff Finals
With 63% of possession and two goals, Crawley Town had little issue dispatching Wrexham rivals Crewe Alexandra in the League Two playoff final. The victory means they will be the last team to join League One from League Two…but who is moving up to the Championship?
Oddly enough, Oxford United turned in an eerily similar performance to Crawley Town in the League One playoff final versus Bolton Wanderers: a 2-0 win while holding 64% of the ball. They’ll move up to the second tier while Bolton remain back in League One.
That finalizes the table for League One, but this weekend features the last two English finals of the season.
The Week Ahead
Not strictly a Wrexham update, I know, but this weekend is a big one in the grand scheme of the sport, so let’s take a look.
5/25 - The FA Cup Final
Wrexham might have left the FA Cup chase long ago, but now the oldest cup competition in the world has come down to two of the biggest squads in the game and one of the marquee derbys on the football calendar year after year: Manchester City and Manchester United. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, City are the favorites this Saturday. Not only did they win the cup last year as part of the treble, but they are also coming directly from claiming their fourth consecutive Premier League title this past Sunday - the first time that’s been achieved in the Premier League era and the first four-year streak in the top tier in 135 years.
Despite the shadow of their unprecedented 115 charges for breaching the league’s financial rules looming over the club, it’s hard not to call Pep Guardiola’s squad the best in the world. Plenty would debate that, of course, but virtually no one would deny they are the best squad at Wembley on Saturday. Man United had, by their standards, an abysmal season, finishing in 8th on the table and will now miss out on European football (the Champions and Europa Leagues) next year for the first time since 2014-15, the first year after Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27-year tenure came to an end and the only time since it began…unless they win on Saturday. Winning the FA Cup would put them in the Europa League and boot Chelsea down to the Europa Conference League and kick Newcastle United out of Europe instead.
United have beaten City twice in their last ten matchups since 2020. This year, City won both bouts and hasn’t lost at all since getting knocked out of the Champions League on penalties by Real Madrid in a thriller in April. They also suffered only three losses in the Premier League all season. United? Fourteen, all while manager Erik ten Hag spent week after week wondering if he was going to be sacked.
So yeah, despite the name recognition, Manchester United are 100% the underdogs this Saturday. But the derby’s the derby and anything can happen, so this looks like a thoroughly entertaining capper to the FA Cup chase. Just like the rest of the FA Cup matches, the match will be streaming exclusively on ESPN+ at 10am EST this Saturday.
5/26 - Championship Playoff Final
A bit closer to Wrexham’s orbit is the Championship playoff - the final league game of the English pyramid’s season. Facing off at Wembley on Sunday are Leeds United and Southampton: two squads relegated from the Premier League last season. The third, Leicester City, won the league and Ipswich Town snuck into second place: leaving one of last year’s regulated teams stuck in the Championship for at least a second consecutive year.
Southampton have won the previous two matches with Leeds, but their opponents still finished three points above them on the table. With one win and one loss keeping them from having identical records, this will be a pretty even matchup, also on at ESPN+ at 10am on Sunday.
News from the Week:
Wrexham Name Michael Williamson as New CEO
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Wrexham’s first big acquisition of the offseason is at one of the key positions to the team’s long-term success: CEO. In their announcement last week, Rob and Ryan confirmed the appointment of Michael Williamson as the successor to Fleur Robinson. Williamson comes with an impressive resume, having worked in the same capacity at Inter Milan, one of the top clubs in Italy and Europe, as well as DC United and USL club Miami FC (not to be confused with Inter Miami, of course), where he also served as corporate director, chief financial officer, and chief strategy officer.
Notably, Williamson’s tenure at Milan was highlighted by his spearheading of two major infrastructure projects: the development of the club’s new training facility and renovations to the San Siro, one of the most famous stadiums in Europe. No doubt this experience made the executive a prime target for Rob and Ryan, given their desire (and need) to increase capacity at the Racercourse as well as build a proper training ground for the club.
Full TST Squad Announced
Wrexham have added another four guest players to the roster for the TST this June. Former Premier Leaguers Maynor Figueroa, Bradley Johnson and Elliott Bennett join Sheffield Wednesday, Mansfield, Grimsby, and Ipswitch veteran Giles Coke as squad members while the recently released Scott Butler dropped from the tournament to focus on his search for a new team.
The full men’s squad for the tournament consists of Mark Howard, Liam Hall, Aaron James, Roger Espinoza, Maynor Figueroa, Giles Coke, Harry Ashfield, Callum Edwards, Dan Jarvis, David Jones (player-manager), Bradley Johnson, Elliott Bennett, Jake Bickerstaff, George Boyd, and Gary Hooper.
Get to Know League One
With a new league comes new competition. Throughout the summer editions of the Wreader I’m going to provide a little profile of each club, two per week, for those subscribers new to the English Football Pyramid.
Barnsley FC
Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England
Founded: 1887
Nickname(s): the Tykes, the Colliers
Ownership: BFC Investment Company Ltd
Last Season: 6th, eliminated in the playoff semi-finals.
With more seasons in the second level of English football than any other club, it’s safe to call Barnsley a mainstay of the Championship, but since 2022 the club has been a promotion threat in League One. Eliminated from the playoffs both this season and last, the Tykes should be seen as a big player in the league again in 24/25, having never finished lower than 11th in League One since 2010, and never seeing the fourth tier since 1979. They’ve spent just one season in the Premier League: ‘97-’98.
That all said, they may be headed for an overhaul this summer with 12 players currently out of contract, including Devante Cole, the club’s top scorer for the past two seasons. In fact, of their top 10 players last season (according to FotMob), six others join Cole in holding expiring contracts: Herbie Kane, Jordan Williams, Jamie McCart, Kohn McAtee, Nickey Cadden, and Liam Roberts.
Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England
Founded: 1908
Nickname(s): The Terriers
Ownership: Kevin M. Nagle
Last Season: 23rd in the Championship, relegated to League One
A club with recent memories of the Premier League, Huddersfield Town enters League One after coming in second to last in the Championship last season. Huddersfield spent two seasons in the top flight from ‘17-’19, but have a richer history in the pre-Premier League era, winning the top flight three seasons in a row in 1925/26, 26/27, and 27/28 becoming the first team to ever do so. They have also secured three second-place finishes to boot. In addition to the top flight, they’ve lifted trophies from the Championship, League One, the FA Cup, and the Community Shield. While the majority of their success came earlier in the 20th century, they’ve been on the rise ever since their promotion out of League Two in 2004 and have been a familiar face in the Championship for the past decade. This will be their first season back in the third tier since 2011/2012.
These days, the squad’s standout players have been Jack Rudoni, Michael Helik, and Jonathan Hogg - who is out of contract. They’re negotiating with Hogg, but have released a whopping 18 players after their disappointing season. That said, last year wasn’t a huge outlier. Since being relegated from the Premier League in 2019, they’ve finished 18th twice, 20th once, and - the outlier - 3rd in 21/22, losing out on promotion to Nottingham Forest in the playoff final. Beyond league play, they haven’t been very successful in cups either, exiting both the FA Cup and EFL Cup after just one game for each of the past two seasons. Still, they’re technically a higher-tier club and, on paper, should be a big player in League One next year. For me, though, that’ll depend on their transfer activity this summer. Without some big names to infuse their lineup, they could suffer a trajectory similar to the MK Dons in League Two last year: entering the season as a team to beat, but falling out of the title conversation by mid-year.
Squad Depth
Below is the squad as it stands. I’ll keep this depth chart updated as time and transfers go by. My depth rankings are based on the assumption Phil keeps the same 5-3-2 formation and everyone is healthy.
No changes from last week
Arrivals
James McClean »»» Contract extended for a second year
Harry Dean »»» Signed to a professional contract from the youth squad
Departures
Aaron Hayden »»» Released »»» signed a 2-year deal with Carlisle United
Rob Lainton »»» Released, currently a free agent
Callum McFadzean »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jordan Tunnicliffe »»» Released, currently a free agent
Owen Cushion »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Davies. »»» Released, currently a free agent
Ben Tozer »»» Released, currently a free agent
Luke Young »»» Released, currently a free agent
Max Hayes »»» Released, currently a free agent
Michael Hayman »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jack Pilkington »»» Released, currently a free agent
Jake Roberts »»» Released, currently a free agent
Dan Wright »»» Released, currently a free agent
Scott Butler »»» Released, currently a free agent
Known Offers
Steven Fletcher
Aaron James
Mark Howard
Arthur Okonkwo
That’s all I’ve got for this week! Here’s Executive Director Humphrey Kerr playing in a charity match this past weekend. Bold of him to sport the Jamie Tartt hairstyle in front of Jamie Tartt.
