Gab Sutton's EFL Winners & Losers - April 28
It's bye-bye Barrow from the EFL as we head into the final week of the regular season in League Two, but there's plenty still up for grabs around the leagues.
Our EFL pundit here at Free Bets, Gab Sutton, takes a look at another busy weekend of EFL action across the three leagues.
Winners
Portsmouth & Adrian Segecic
Portsmouth didn’t have quite as strong a summer window as they’d hoped, and needed another positive January to get over the line, but Adrian Segecic has been the pick of the additions.
The attacking midfielder, operating on the right for the 3-1 victory at Stoke, has impressed this season with his boundless energy and intelligent pressing, but he also brought goals to the table in Staffordshire, bagging a hat-trick for John Mousinho’s side.
Speaking of which, Mousinho has delivered a title, and survival on a bottom-end budget two year running, in his first three full seasons in management. A fantastic start. Now, can he deliver progress for Pompey within the Championship?
Luton
For most of the season, Luton’s season has felt incredibly underwhelming.
A group, many of whom were competing in the Premier League as recently as 2023-24, were massively underachieving in League One, with the wins column barely bigger than defeats for much of the campaign.
And yet, the Hatters could yet celebrate a double-winning campaign! They were successful in the EFL Trophy at Wembley earlier in the month, beating Stockport under the arch, and in the league they’ve enjoyed a rapid resurgence, inspired by the likes of Hakeem Odoffin and Kasey Palmer.
The Bedfordshire outfit have accrued a whopping 23 points from the last 27 available to Jack Wilshere’s side, as a 2-1 victory over Barnsley on Saturday means they go into the final day still in with a chance of reaching the Play-Offs.
If Town better Stevenage’s result against Wigan, they extend their season.
MK Dons (and Callum Stead)
MK Dons’ 3-0 victory over Tranmere on Saturday lunchtime confirmed promotion for Paul Warne’s side.
The Buckinghamshire outfit’s achievements will understandably gain less fanfare than that of Bromley, with their £7.5M budget, but spend doesn’t always equal success.
The calibre and profile of their squad can bring it’s own challenges, and Paul Warne has brought everybody together, showing excellent man management qualities once again to ensure MK are not only promoted, but in pole position for the title going into the final day.
Before we move on though, we can’t not mention Callum Stead of Barnet, who hit five goals – yes, FIVE – in a 6-2 thumping of Gillingham. He’s the first player to score five in a Football League game since Jordan Rhodes for Huddersfield against Wycombe in 2012.
Losers
Hull
With Wrexham playing at champions Coventry the following day, and going on to lose 3-1, Hull had what turned out to be the perfect window to put one hand on sixth spot going into the final day.
Instead, Sergej Jakirovic’s side suffered a 2-1 loss at Charlton, as Nathan Jones’ side confirmed safety with the result, which leaves the Tigers winless in six, and outside the top six for the first time since December.
The Humbersiders haven’t controlled many games this season; more generously speaking, they’ve displayed a deadly, ruthless side, demonstrating the ability to cut teams open in transitions with the likes of Oli McBurnie, Liam Millar and Joe Gelhardt thriving in quick combinations.
Less generously, they’ve had a lot of luck along the way, and it could be catching up with them at the worst possible stage.
Peterborough
Having been playing some scintillating, high-octane football in the first four months of Luke Williams’ tenure, Peterborough fans could be forgiven for feeling disappointed at how performances and results have recently dropped off.
Since the Posh beat Rotherham 5-0 in March, it’s two points from seven for the London Road outfit, who have a youthful side prone to inconsistency; not helped by the recent absence of star loanee Jimmy-Jay Morgan.
After a 3-1 loss at Stockport last time out, Peterborough have missed lots of opportunities to mathematically secure survival, and while the goal swing needed for relegation is highly improbable, they do go into the final week of the season with work to do to resolve their fate.
Barrow
A huge rethink is needed at Holker Street this summer, after a 3-0 no-show defeat at Cambridge saw Barrow effectively relegated back to the National League.
Bar a handful of exceptions, everyone connected with the footballing side this season should be somewhat embarrassed.
The Bluebirds haven’t built a team that represents Barrovians: in fact, they’ve assembled the opposite.
The existing group look weak and passive. They regularly lose not just 50/50 balls but 90/10s because they’re slow to react, partly through questionable fitness, but more so mental fragility.
The body language of the group looks lackadaisical, with light jogging in high-stakes moments.
Fans who dig deep for season tickets - and deeper still to travel the country watching them in an economically challenged area – deserve better than to watch their team stand off the opposition when they enter the final third.
Stephen Clemence, Andy Whing, Neil McDonald, Dino Maamria and now Sam Foley have all struggled over the last two years, largely as a result of poor recruitment, on a lower midtable budget.
So, it’s time to look further up. For starters, it’s difficult to see how Iain Wood - though by no means the only culprit - being entrusted with a rebuild in the National League as Sporting Director can be tenable.
A massive clear-out is required, on and off the field.
EFL Betting at Free Bets
Gab Sutton provides weekly football tips for Free Bets, featuring a thoroughly researched longshot acca alongside sharp analysis of the key talking points and standout moments from the weekend's action at the start of each new week.
