The Do’s and Don’ts of League One Relegation

The Do’s and Don’ts of League One Relegation

Time and time again, we see a club relegated down to League One be trapped there for years on end, with continual hardship to grasp promotion.

Of course, there is a combination of the fact that the third tier is an extremely competitive division and one that is tricky to get out of; however, it is fair to say that some clubs have definitely been their own worst enemies over the years.

Cardiff City have had a fabulous start to League One life following their drop last term, without even marginally breaking the bank. Which begs the question as to what the best strategy actually is upon facing relegation to the third tier.

There is no handbook to League One football, nor a clear answer to getting out, but many clubs have failed with similar plans to ones that had worked before. We are going to identify the teams that have severely failed upon relegation, and vice-versa, identifying how they came to their conclusions.

Spend Big?

Although it is still early days, Cardiff are derailing the narrative that you need to splash out on transfers and player wages to achieve promotion out of League One.

The Bluebirds have brought in just two players this summer; a loanee and a player who is still yet to play a game for the club. Of course, their team was still in good stead upon their entrance into the third tier, but there have been many teams to have been in similar positions yet still felt the need to equip a whole new lineup.

(Cardiff City Transfers 2025/26: Transfermarkt)

Brian Barry-Murphy’s men are now one of the favourites to get back to Championship level. Now on 13 points from five games, they lead the pack in League One and are still yet to even lose a game.

However, there is an easy counter to Cardiff’s approach and one that is still fresh in our memories – Birmingham City.

The Blues epitomised the idea of buying success, as their heavy investment last season worked an absolute charm. With the backing of Tom Brady and co, Birmingham achieved an EFL record points tally and won League One at the first time of asking.

Although, it was all subsequent to outspending the rest of League One combined, as well as breaking the league’s record transfer fee three times in one window.

(League One Club Expenditure 2024/25: Transfermarkt)

Their business truly shocked the EFL and broke all sort of concept teams have of expenditure, especially through their £15 million acquisition of striker Jay Stansfield.

However, it worked jut how they planned it to, and you cannot criticise that. The money that was pumped into the club has now rebuilt a strong long-term project for them

Squad Rebuild?

Both Sunderland and Derby County are the first names you think of when you look back at teams who struggled to escape League One football. The pair followed a very similar formula, and each suffered the drop during a time when the division was arguably at its most competitive.

Sunderland faced back-to-back relegations in 2017 and 2018 causing shock to the nation. It also shocked their whole club, forcing a strange dynamic where players were still receiving Premier League level wages.

BREAKING: Sunderland have been relegated to League One following a 2-1 defeat at home to Burton #ssn pic.twitter.com/uhIUsCYrIk

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 21, 2018

It was clear that the club needed to offload these players and therefore they had to practcally rebuild their entire squad. Whilst the players they brought in were definitely League One standard at first glance, not having a gelled and tight-knit group of players caused serious issues for the club.

The Black Cats found themselves attached to League One for four seasons before they finally managed to get back out – two of those seasons, the club failed to even reach the top six.

That wasn’t the last time the tale would be told either; a points-deducted Derby County faced relegation back in 2022 and they certainly didn’t hit the ground running like they were supposed to.

Whilst their third-tier tenure was half the length of Sunderland’s, the Rams’ first campaign in the league was catastrophic.

The Midlands side completed 17 transfers across the 2022/23 season, and despite every single one of them being either a free transfer or a loan, the players they acquired were handed pay-packages unheard of for this level.

(Derby County Transfers 2022/23: Transfermarkt)

Derby had remade their squad to comprise of former Premier League and Championship heroes, seeping with experience. But their aging squad just did not cut it in the third tier.

Consequently, the Rams finished seventh in League One that year, missing out on the playoff by one point on the final day – despite a campaign spent predominantly inside the top six.

New Manager?

With Birmingham City the only exception, the last seven clubs to have acquired a new manager upon their relegation to League One have all failed to be promoted from the division in their first season back.

Rotherham United highlight this error, after they appointed Steve Evans ahead of their 2024 relegation to League One. The two-time Rotherham boss came in and automatically rebuilt the squad with a plethora of experienced players.

In the Millers first campaign back last term, they finished 13th in the league and Evans was sacked just shy of April, as the club sat nine points clear of the drop zone.

BREAKING: Rotherham United have sacked manager Steve Evans 🚨 pic.twitter.com/FxrhLvoG6J

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 30, 2025

Fast-forward the opening of this season, the South Yorkshire outfit once again occupy a bottom half position in 17th. They have collected just four points under Matthew Hamshaw and could be in for another somber campaign in League One.

Rotherham’s 2024 relegation partners Huddersfield Town have also followed a similar plot. Ahead of the 2024/25 League One season, the Terriers appointed Michael Duff – a man with plenty of expertise at third tier level following his time with both Barnsley and Cheltenham.

However, that dynamic simply failed miserably. Huddersfield severely underperformed last season, as they finished 10th place – 14 points adrift of a playoff spot. Duff was also sacked in March and had clearly not lived up to his expectations.

Michael Duff is now still without a club, but meanwhile Huddersfield are flying high in the third division. The Terriers trail Cardiff in second place, with a staggering 12 points to their name from their opening five matches.

It is fair to say new boss Lee Grant is working his magic on the West Yorkshire team, all whilst it being the 42-year-old’s first managerial gig. If all goes well, Huddersfield could have their eyes set on promotion this season, at second attempt.