Top 7 biggest sleeping giants in EFL League Two (Ranked) | OneFootball

Who are League Two's biggest clubs that are bubbling under the radar?

When it comes to promotion and relegation in the three EFL divisions, League Two theoretically is the easiest to win promotion from and the hardest to be relegated from.

With four spots up for grabs to make it into League One and just two relegation slots to fill, there's plenty of chances for clubs to rise, but in recent years, there's been more of a trend of teams coming up from the National League and doing very well for themselves.

Some big clubs though from yesteryear find themselves down at League Two level though, when they have had success at higher levels in the past.

But who are the SEVEN biggest sleeping giants currently in English football's fourth tier? FLW takes a look and ranks them...

7 ? ? Grimsby Town

Either side of the Second World War, Grimsby Town spent time in the top flight of English football, spending 12 years in their history at that level of football, with their peak coming in 1934-35 with a fifth-placed finish - only Arsenal, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Man City finished ahead.

The Mariners are two-time champions of the Second Division, albeit that last happened in 1934, and it was in the 30s before WW2 started that they saw a record attendance of 31,651 at their Blundell Park home.

Recent times though haven't been as kind to the Lincolnshire outfit. Now with a capacity of just over 9,000 at their home ground, Town have not been above the fourth tier of English football since 2004, and for a period between 1998 and 2003 they were plying their trade in what is now the Championship.

Can David Artell mastermind a promotion to League One for Grimsby this year? Time will tell, but they're a long way off being what they once were.

6 ? ? Bristol Rovers

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Bristol is the largest city in England to never have a Premier League team, but before its inception, Bristol City were once a top flight club - the same cannot be said though of their rivals Bristol Rovers.

The Gas entered the Football League in 1920, and apart from one year in non-league in 2014-15, they've been a mainstay across a number of different divisions.

Rovers often fluctuated between the second and third tiers of English football, and their biggest home attendance of over 38,472 in 1960 is a sign that they once had a very strong fanbase.

For a now League Two club, Bristol Rovers still do have a good following, even if it isn't as large as the 60s, but they've got the scope to improve beyond that and further under their Kuwaiti owner Hussain AlSaeed.

5 ? ? Tranmere Rovers

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Tranmere Rovers are dwarfed by their cross-Mersey counterparts in the form of Liverpool and Everton, but for a period of time, they threatened to join the pair in the Premier League.

Rovers' best years came in the 1990s when in the second tier of English football under John King, and they lost in the First Division play-off semi-finals three times in a row - it was never meant to be for bringing Premier League football to Birkenhead when it was all said and done.

Tranmere's time in the second tier ended in 2001, and they haven't returned since - much of their time has been spent floating between League One and League Two, with a short stint in the National League too, but for the level they are now at, their near-17,000 seater stadium is sizeable.

Their run to the 2000 League Cup final and the semi-finals of the 2001 FA Cup were really memorable, but it's been a long time since those days - if they could have more success in the coming years, more fans could end up flocking back to Prenton Park.

4 ? ? Rotherham United

They're not quite a historical sleeping giant based on past successes, but their recent Championship run means that Rotherham United being in League Two right now is a real surprise.

The Millers never reached the top flight before the introduction of the Premier League, and two nearby Sheffield teams isn't particularly helpful when it comes to creating a fanbase, but they made it back to the second tier (then known as Division One) in 2001 under Ronnie Moore, and they had a battling four years at the level.

United had to struggle before they returned to the Championship, spending nine years away before their return in 2014, and seven of the next 10 years would see Rotherham - in their fancy new New York Stadium - play football at that level, becoming somewhat mainstays despite a handful of relegations and promotions.

It's gone terribly wrong in the last few years though, with consecutive drops from the second tier to League Two, and their fans deserve better - is Alex Bruce the man to turn their fortunes around?

3 ? ? Port Vale

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Unlike the two clubs that are yet to be mentioned, Port Vale have not been a Premier League club - but you have to go back further than that to find their success.

The highest level of title that the Valiants have won is in the third tier, but the year they last did in 1954 they also reached the FA Cup semi-finals too.

Whilst Vale have spent a lot of time in the lower reaches of the EFL, they had a six-season stint at Division One level too before the rebrand to the Championship, but it's the size of their facilities that are the most impressive.

Vale Park holds 16,800, but it was once hailed as the 'Wembley of the North' due to plans of an 80,000-capacity venue when it was built in 1950 - it only ended up holding 40,000 when it was all said and done, but it still led to big crowds coming to watch the Staffordshire outfit at their most successful.

2 ? ? Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic have experienced a rough ride in recent years, with significant mismanagement of the previous ownership seeing them drop into the National League.

Yet it was only in the early 90s when the Latics were playing in the inaugural Premier League season - they even managed to stay there for another year before succumbing to relegation, but they can proudly say they experienced it.

Oldham were also a top flight team before and after World War One, so they've got pedigree of being in the upper echelons of English football, but since 1997, they've only played at third tier level and below, which shows they've fallen quite a bit from their peak.

Under Micky Mellon though, as well as Frank Rothwell's popular ownership, there's signs of life once more at Boundary Park. Fans are still coming to watch in their droves, with an average of over 7,500 last season in League Two, and the next step is to return to League One as soon as they can.

They may not win a second tier title anytime soon like they did in 1991, having been runners-up in the EFL Cup the year before, but they appear to be on a positive trajectory for the time being.

Like Oldham, Swindon Town were once Premier League performers, albeit only for one year in 1993-94, and that was their first time at the top level of English football.

Crowds packed into the County Ground to see John Gorman's side, with an average attendance of over 15,000, but it was a struggle at that level for the Robins, whose recent more natural playing level has been between League One and Two.

Town won the EFL Cup in 1969 whilst playing in the third tier of English football, which was a spectacular achievement, and the size of the County Ground being as it is, holding just under 16,000 spectators, means that there's plenty of room for new faces on top of the 8,400 average attendance from the 2025-26 season.

And if there ends up being success on the pitch under Ian Holloway and a return to League One for the first time since 2021, those crowds could end up growing.