Exclusive: “Absolute shocker” - Don Goodman reveals Luton Town and Carlisle United surprise | OneFootball

Struggling promotion hopefuls and expected relegation battlers make up the former EFL striker’s most surprising teams

As the EFL reaches the homeward stretch of its season, the landscape of all three divisions has begun to take shape - but not quite in the way many expected back in August.

The 2024/25 campaign has delivered its fair share of surprises, with teams exceeding expectations, others falling short, and a few enduring outright disasters.

From promotion hopefuls to those struggling to keep pace to unexpected relegation battles, the season’s twists and turns have left fans and pundits alike in disbelief.

As we take stock of the biggest shocks so far, Football League World spoke exclusively with former EFL forward and seasoned pundit Don Goodman, who shared his thoughts on the clubs that have defied predictions - for better and for worse.

Carlisle's struggles, Wrexham's rise and Luton Town’s “absolute shocker”: Goodman's EFL assessment

“There’s a few surprises in the EFL this season.” Goodman exclusively told FLW.

“In a bad way really, if I work my way backwards, Carlisle being bottom of League Two is a bit of a shock after they were in League One last season, they have owners who have invested so that’s a bit of surprise.”

“The likes of Rotherham and Peterborough, where they are in the League One table, Rotherham having been relegated from the Championship, Peterborough having been in the last two years playoffs at League One level - that’s a surprise.”

“In League One, in a positive sense, I think both Wycombe and Wrexham. I don’t think I’d have predicted that: I’d have thought the gap between League Two and League One would have been a bit harder for Wrexham to breach, but they’ve done fantastically well.”

Goodman’s assessment, however, of the Football League’s most shocking team was clear:

“But the biggest surprise of them all for me is Luton Town and where they are, and the possibility of back-to-back relegations.”

“Which doesn’t happen very often - I think it was Sunderland who suffered that Premier League to League One in two seasons last time.”

“It’s an absolute shocker from Luton and you feel from the fans because they’ve had this brilliant journey where they got to the Premier League, and they’re very, very seriously close to being a League One football club again, which I never, ever would have predicted.”

Back-to-back relegations loom for Luton Town in unprecedented fall

The most startling development in this Football League season has undoubtedly been Luton Town's dramatic decline.

Just a year removed from their fairy-tale rise to the Premier League, the Hatters now face the grim prospect of consecutive relegations - a rare and devastating trajectory in the English football league.

Don Goodman's assessment rings true - Luton's potential drop to League One is a shocking reversal of fortune that few could have anticipated.

After their historic Premier League campaign, many expected the club to stabilise in the Championship, perhaps even challenge for a quick return to the top flight. Instead, they've struggled to find their footing, with the momentum of their rise completely evaporating.

The collapse embodies more than just sporting disappointment; it threatens to undo years of careful progress and building. The financial implications of such a rapid descent could prove far-reaching, potentially undoing much of the financial security their Premier League season provided.