Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
The League One campaign is set to kick off this weekend, with many Blackpool fans hopeful they can make a return to the Championship as they begin their third season outside the second tier.
Fans of the Tangerines will have been encouraged by the progress made by Steve Bruce following his appointment as manager last season.
Now, the club have built on that with some impressive recruits, as they have acquired the services of Northern Ireland international Bailey Peacock-Farrell and a League One cheat code in the shape of George Honeyman.
League One will be competitive in 2025/26, with Blackpool having to battle with the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town, and Cardiff City, who are recent Championship clubs that have been relegated.
While there are aspirational clubs that spent last season in the division looking to rise to the second tier in the shape of Huddersfield Town and Stockport County.
Yet, one EFL expert has named Blackpool as his ‘dark horse’ for the title in League One.
- READ MORE:
Don Goodman names Blackpool as his ‘dark horses’ for the League One title
Don Goodman played over 600 games in the EFL across a 20-year period, playing for the likes of Sunderland and West Brom.
He knows exactly what it takes for a team to be fighting for a league title and how key the manager is to bringing it all together.
Goodman likes the look of Blackpool and believes Steve Bruce’s experience will be key to winning the League One title, as he told Casino.co.uk and reported in the Blackpool Gazette.
He said: “I could only pick out Huddersfield and Blackpool.
“I don’t know if that’s under the radar or not, really, but they were 11 points and 14 points off sixth last season.
“Of all the recruitment in that league, their signings have stood out to me the most.
“It’s really interesting because you’ve got managers at totally different ends of their managerial careers. Steve Bruce, who’s managed well over a thousand games and is very seasoned, and obviously you’ve got Lee Grant just starting out at Huddersfield.”
- READ MORE: Blackpool make Jerry Yates admission as alternative striker with ‘Championship interest’ identified
How Steve Bruce will guide Blackpool to a League One title
As seen in recent seasons, high standards need to be maintained through the campaign in order to lift the title, and Steve Bruce’s experience at the Premier League level will be key to this.
This demand upon his players is already being seen through the club’s pre-season preparations for the newest League One campaign.
Blackpool were unbeaten in their four matches ahead of the new campaign, with Bruce holding the side to account throughout, even in friendlies.
Speaking after their win against West Brom to the Blackpool Gazette, he said: “I was pleased with the way we went; we played well in the first half, and we had a really good goal (from Ashley Fletcher) disallowed. What a goal that would’ve been.
“I was disappointed with the goal we gave away from a set piece, but overall the most disappointing thing is we’ve lost CJ, which is unfortunate for us. We all know we like to play with wide players, but at the moment we haven’t got any.”