League One season Predictions – Gab Sutton

For half of his playing tenure at Wycombe Wanderers, Matt Bloomfield worked in one of the best cultures in modern sport under Gareth Ainsworth – and he wants to create something similar at Luton Town.

Bloomfield might not quite have the same characteristics as his former boss, but he knows all the ingredients required to foster a real togetherness within a group, having been part of it first-hand.

The Bedfordshire outfit have strengthened depth by adding goalkeeper Josh Keeley, midfielder George Saville and striker Nahki Wells, among others.

Luton were one of the better defensive sides in the Championship, in the last third of the previous campaign, and have the enormous advantage of Premier League parachute payments in League One.

So, with the right summer team building, they could be quite the force, but so could Stockport County, who have won three promotions in the last six seasons.

They’re a club that’s used to winning, and they have a manager in Dave Challinor who has only ever delivered Play-Off finishes or automatic promotion in 16 years of management.

After a third-place finish last season, and a summer to add quality to the squad, Stockport are arguably best placed of the clubs remaining in this division from 2024-25 to make that next step.

And yet, because of their modest stature at this level, County are only fifth favourites for promotion with us at CopyBet at 3/1, 5/1 for a top two finish, and odds-against for the top six at 11/10.

Also, odds-against, though, in the top six market, are the Wanderers of Bolton, 6/5 and Wycombe, 12/5.

Exeter may have a shelf-life at this level, in League One’s current financial climate, as a fan-owned club operating on one of the lowest budgets, and very reliant on the loan market. The Grecians have added some quality via that route, loaning Ethan Brierley from Brentford, and retaining goalkeeper Joe Whitworth from Crystal Palace, but it may not be enough.

Northampton have not added satisfactory quality to their attack, and risk being the division’s lowest goalscorers – depending on the remaining additions.

Mansfield don’t have much growth potential in the aging group of players that remains from last season which - after a sizeable plummet in the second half of last season, during which time they accumulated the fewest points in the league – puts huge pressure on their recruitment.

Rotherham, meanwhile, are the long shot at 6/1. You could look at it and say they finished 13th last season, with a manager who rubbed himself up the wrong way with a few people, and that Matt Hamshaw will set a better culture which could see things improve.

On the other hand, Steve Evans has delivered results almost everywhere he’s been, whereas Matt Hamshaw is unproven as a number one, even if he’s been a valued member of Paul Warne’s coaching setup previously.

Plus, they’ve since lost Mallik Wilks, Cameron Humphreys and Hakeem Odoffin in a league that’s getting stronger, and only have proven quality remaining in a small handful of players, such as Joe Powell and Sam Nombe.

Nahki Wells is an experienced poacher who might not be able to do much running as he used to, but he may not have to because the Hatters will be overwhelming favourites in most games, which could free him up to focus on finishing – he’s the classiest finisher in League One on paper.

Alfie May scored 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons at this level, with Cheltenham and Charlton, and would have got to that number again at Birmingham had he been first choice. He now looks to further his reputation as a League One specialist at Huddersfield.

Elsewhere, there’s Yousef Salech, who scored eight goals in the second half of last season in the Championship for Cardiff; the Dane could yet leave, but that uncertainty is reflected in the 9/1 price.

There may also be late bidders for Richard Kone, 12/1, who top scored in League One last season and may yet have Championship interest.

Malik Mothersille, 25/1, also knows how to tuck them away, though, and could bring an extra layer of finesse to Stockport’s attack. Dave Challinor’s side had Isaac Olaofe in his role last season, who is more of an athlete reliant on power in his finishing, whereas Mothersille offers real accuracy.

Don’t overlook Niall Ennis, who scored seven goals in 1,423 minutes of football in the second half of last season; if he maintained that record of a goal every 203 minutes into this season, and played all of every league game, he’d hit 20 goals.