7 EFL clubs who should be embarrassed with their 2025/26 season | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at seven clubs from the Championship, League One, and League Two who must be embarrassed by their season

Championship, League One, and League Two sides have all waved goodbye to yet another 46-game season, with all 72 clubs enduring varying fortunes.

Perhaps no EFL club had it tougher than Sheffield Wednesday this term, as the Owls finished bottom of the second-tier table on zero points, having spent most of the campaign in administration, while they were also deducted 18 points.

In contrast to Wednesday's nightmare campaign, feel-good stories emerged from Lincoln City and Bromley, who defied expectations to win the League One and League Two titles, respectively.

Coventry City also enjoyed a historic season in the Championship, finishing top of the league to end their 25-year wait for Premier League football.

However, most EFL clubs were unable to bask in the sort of glory that the Sky Blues have earned this term, while Football League World has taken a look at seven sides who should be embarrassed by the outcome of their 2025/26 season.

Sheffield United

Sheffield United had an easier ride than Steel City rivals Wednesday this season, but the Blades were still left thoroughly frustrated by the outcome of their campaign.

The Bramall Lane outfit parted company with boss Chris Wilder last summer despite reaching the Championship play-off final in 2025, and that decision proved very costly.

His successor, Ruben Selles, failed to win any of his six games in charge of the South Yorkshire outfit and was consequently sacked in September.

The Blades' ownership admitted they were wrong to part company with Wilder by reappointing the 58-year-old as Selles' replacement, but they still finished just 13th in the Championship despite boasting one of the division's most talented squads.

Meanwhile, even former England international Kalvin Phillips couldn't save Sheffield United's season after joining them on loan from Manchester City, suffering a season-ending injury in just his third appearance.

Phillips was also sent off in his third and final outing for the Bramall Lane club, a 2-1 victory over fierce rivals Wednesday, which sent the Owls down to League One.

Rotherham United

Sticking with the theme of South Yorkshire clubs for now, Rotherham United endured a 2026/27 League One campaign that they would rather forget.

The Millers were ultimately relegated to League Two alongside Exeter City, Port Vale, and Northampton Town, having earned just 41 points from their 46 third-tier games.

Rotherham have spent two of the last four seasons in the Championship, but have now been relegated to the fourth tier for the first time since winning promotion from League Two 13 years ago.

The New York Stadium club's relegation came even though they boast talented players in their squad, such as striker Sam Nombe and Denzel Hall, who performed well as both a winger and a wingback after joining from Dutch top-flight side Heerenveen last summer.

As reported by the Rotherham Advertiser, the Millers want £1million for Hall, who has attracted transfer interest from both Preston North End and Cardiff City.

Receiving a seven-figure fee for the 24-year-old would help the South Yorkshire outfit with their rebuild, but they should remain embarrassed with their season's performance for now.

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Crawley Town will be one of Rotherham's League Two opponents next season, but the West Sussex side made hard work of retaining their fourth-tier status.

The Red Devils endured a five-game winless run at the end of the campaign and avoided relegation to the National League by just one point.

Crawley were only relegated from League One in 2025, and should not have endured a fourth-tier season in which they earned just eight league wins.

Relegated duo Harrogate Town and Barrow both won more League Two games than Colin Kazim-Richards' side this season, proving how lucky they were to retain their EFL status.

Kazim-Richards has plenty of work to do this summer to ensure that Crawley can enjoy a significantly more successful 2026/27 campaign.

Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient narrowly missed out on winning promotion to the Championship last year, but the 2025/26 season has been a completely different story for Richie Wellens' men.

Orient ultimately avoided the drop to League Two by just three points, landing a 20th-place finish.

Wellens' side did lose key players in the transfer market last summer, with Ethan Galbraith joining Championship outfit Swansea City, whereas attacker Dan Agyei signed for Turkish outfit Kocaelispor.

However, there is no excuse for almost suffering relegation to League Two just one year on from reaching the League One play-off final, where they were beaten by Charlton Athletic.

Furthermore, following Orient's final day draw with Burton Albion, which proved to be enough to seal their third-tier status, Wellens produced an angry outburst on BBC Radio London, adding to an overriding feeling of embarrassment on the east side of the capital city.

The Brisbane Road outfit's poor campaign also came even though striker Dom Ballard won the League One golden boot by scoring 23 third-tier goals.

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Like the aforementioned Crawley, Shrewsbury Town were only relegated from League One in 2025, but landed a lowly League Two finish this term.

The Shropshire club avoided relegation by a comfortable margin of 10 points, but the fact that they were in the drop zone conversation for large parts of the campaign was frustrating.

Shrewsbury's uninspiring campaign came despite the presence of talented defenders Will Boyle and Josh Ruffels, who are former Huddersfield Town teammates with Championship and League One experience.

Gavin Cowan's men were also left frustrated by striker John Marquis, who notched just three League Two goals this season, having scored 11 in League One last term.

An important summer awaits the Shropshire outfit, who will be determined to restore their previous third-tier status as soon as possible.

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion were relieved to avoid relegation to League One despite being handed a two-point deduction for a breach of EFL financial rules.

However, the Baggies began the season with play-off aspirations and should never have entered the relegation conversation regardless of off-field sanctions.

West Brom have had three different managers during the 2026/27 season, which illustrates just how turbulent things were at The Hawthorns.

Former interim boss James Morrison will hope to establish stability in the Black Country now that he has been appointed permanently.

The Baggies started the season under the stewardship of Ryan Mason, who was sacked in January following a run of 10 consecutive away defeats in the Championship.

Mason's initial replacement, Eric Ramsay, proved to be even worse than the former Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City midfielder and was relieved of his duties after failing to win any of his nine games in charge.

Leicester City

Leicester City are another club who finished at the wrong end of the Championship table, having been docked points by the EFL for breaching financial rules.

Unlike the Baggies, the Foxes were deducted six points, and their penalty saw them suffer relegation to League One.

However, Leicester predominantly have their poor performances to blame for the fact that they have endured back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.

The Foxes' relegation to the third tier has coincided with the 10th anniversary of their historic top-flight title triumph, rubbing further salt into their wounds.

Leicester also won the FA Cup just five years ago, further highlighting how quick and miserable their demise has been.

Ultimately, a side who boasted one of the best squads on paper in the Championship during the 2026/27 campaign should never have suffered the drop to League One.