L1 | S4 | W2: Rangers and West Ham share top spot as Forest Green Rovers announce themselves in Division 3

📰 Week 2 at a glance

Two weeks in and League 1 is already throwing up plenty to talk about. The cup got underway alongside the league, which means some clubs are already nursing bruised egos from both fronts, while others are riding the early-season momentum and looking dangerously settled. Season 4 began on the back of Walsall’s dominant title win last term – and the big question now is who steps up to take their place at the top of Division 1 while the former champions aren’t even there to defend it.

Across the four divisions there were already some eyebrow-raising results – a Rangers side thumping their way to six points, a brave Sutton United seeing off Liverpool in the cup, a Colchester United shipped three at home without reply, and a Forest Green Rovers with a rating of 671 somehow sitting quietly in Division 3. It’s early days, but the shape of things to come is starting to emerge.

🏆 Division 1 – Six points apiece, but very different journeys

Rangers and West Ham sit joint top on six points after two weeks, but the routes there couldn’t have been more different. Lee Berry’s Rangers have scored five and conceded two across their two matches, beating Peterborough 2-1 and taking something from Harrogate in the opener – composed, efficient, the kind of start that gets noticed early. AJP’s West Ham, by contrast, looked pretty average in week one before turning on the style against Liverpool. Coulibaly grabbed both goals – the 65th-minute opener and a second on 81 – before Niakhate pulled one back for Liverpool in stoppage time. West Ham had to dig in at the end, but the two points separate them from very little at this stage.

Below the top two, there’s a cluster of clubs on three points who will feel their position in the table flatters or undersells them depending on how the first two weeks went. Newport County – under Justin Arandjelovic – bounced back from a week one defeat to beat Norwich 1-0 through Kudus in the 78th minute. That’s exactly the kind of response a manager wants from his side. Portsmouth’s Darren Watton got a similarly satisfying result after a tough opener, with Moritz and Bowen both on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win at Plymouth.

💡 Walsall won Division 1 last season with 69 points. Neither of this season’s current co-leaders finished in the top half of D1 last year – both are newly promoted. Rangers came up from Division 2. It’s early, but they look very much at home.

At the bottom, Peterborough United under Teilo have shipped four goals in two games and taken none. Nottingham Forest – managed by the father-and-son duo of Jay and Charles – are yet to score and have conceded three. Two weeks is nothing, but with cup exits already confirmed for both (Forest lost the League Cup 2-1 to Nottingham Forest’s rivals… well, to Notts rivals depending on how you look at it – Forest were beaten by Rangers in the cup, Peterborough by Newport County), the league table is now their only focus. They’ll want a response quickly.

⚠️ Wigan Athletic lead the division’s disciplinary table with 28 points after just two weeks. They’re in 14th place and earning their bookings the hard way. Rob Earl’s side has a point from their opening two games, but the yellow card count will need watching if that becomes a pattern.

💙 Division 2 – Brentford and Cheltenham making early statements

Division 2 is where some of last season’s Division 3 promotion winners land, and two of them are already making themselves felt. Brentford, promoted as champions of D3 last term under Chris Bonas, have hit the ground running – six points from two games including a 2-0 away win at York City (Machado scoring twice, in the 2nd and 69th minutes) and a 1-0 home win in week one. They sit clear at the top with a +3 goal difference and the confidence of a side that knows how to win.

Cheltenham Town, meanwhile – who came up via a different route, though also from D3 – were one of the week’s most eye-catching performers. Eugênio scored twice (12th and 76th) with Cascante adding a third in between to make it 3-1 against Cambridge United. That’s a side with some attacking menace already, and Tim W’s Huddersfield Town will be a further test of that assertion when the full picture becomes clearer.

💡 Barrow’s Klopps Ghost had a week one defeat to recover from, then won 3-1 at home against Brighton with Pirès, Bent and Calvert-Lewin all getting on the scoresheet. Three different goalscorers in one game, all from wide areas – that’s an attacking depth of options that most D2 sides would be envious of.

The reverse side of the coin is Newcastle United and York City, both sitting on zero points after two games. Mark Jeffs’ Newcastle haven’t yet registered a goal in either game, while York City’s Paul Galdas has shipped four. Sunderland – under Ady Lippiatt, one of this week’s score draw winners – came from behind to beat Wolverhampton 2-1 (Silva 52′, Altidore 75′ after Gordon had given Wolves the lead) and they’ll feel they have a lot more to give after that encouraging second half. Birmingham City’s Jamie Maycroft also got the better of Aston Villa in a Black Country derby, winning 1-0 through Macken – a result which saw Villa drop five places in the table in a single weekend.

❤️ Division 3 – Four clubs share top spot, but one stands out

Manchester City, Forest Green Rovers, Watford and Stevenage are all on six points after two weeks in Division 3 – but Forest Green Rovers deserve particular attention. Phil McCracken’s side has a squad rating of 671 and experience of 178, both of which are comfortably the highest in the division and arguably across the entire league this week. They’ve beaten Ipswich and Arsenal in consecutive games, conceding once and scoring three. Normally when a side with those numbers is in Division 3, it’s a sign that something went badly wrong the previous season – and indeed, a look at the Season 3 records shows Forest Green are a club that has been steadily building.

Stevenage’s Dynamo Drongo has also started strongly – home and away wins, two clean sheets, six points. Watford’s Harry Hornet got a sixth-minute goal from Gabbiadini to see off Ipswich, while Eusebio 21’s Manchester City came from behind to beat Leeds 2-1 with two Heskey goals in the second half (59′, 71′) after Larsen had put Leeds ahead just after the interval.

🔍 Derby County are in 8th place on three points, but they walloped Crystal Palace 3-0 with Anichebe scoring twice and Silva adding a third. Their form column reads L W – a side that didn’t start well but appears to have found something. Ben Cole’s Palace will want a response after being dismantled at home.

The division’s darker story is at the bottom, where Crystal Palace (now down to 16th with a -3 goal difference), Leeds United, Tranmere Rovers and Blackburn Rovers all find themselves without a point from two games. Russy Q’s Millwall had a win and a loss – they dispatched Blackburn in week one then went down at Fulham, where Son and Lennon both scored in the final 15 minutes of a 2-1 win to give El Diablo’s side their six points. It was a tight one – Millwall had led through Kulusevski in the 21st minute – but credit to Fulham for staying in it and turning it late.

💛 Division 4 – Wide open and already chaotic

Six clubs are locked on four points in Division 4 after two weeks, with goal difference the only separator among Hull City, Chelsea, Sheffield United, Oxford United, Blackpool and Bournemouth at the top of the table. Steve Earl’s Hull City lead that group on +3 goal difference – a 3-0 thrashing in week one followed by a 1-1 draw against Blackpool. Chelsea’s Loz Newbold has been equally solid, conceding only twice across both games.

Wimbledon’s TimmyBarlow had an up-and-down start – a win in week one followed by a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United, where Oxlade-Chamberlain scored in both the 2nd and 89th minutes to put a comfortable gloss on it. The turnaround from 7th to 10th across those two games tells its own story. At the other end, Southend United’s David Griffiths has been quietly excellent – two wins, including a 2-0 home victory over Tottenham with Jiménez netting twice in the first half-hour.

💡 Manchester United are seventh on three points after losing at home to Colchester 0-3 in week one – then winning 3-0 away themselves. Okirie scored twice for Colchester in that first result (29′, 64′) along with Kovačić (53′). Paul Gilbert’s United have bounced back, but it’s a strange season opener for what should be one of the division’s stronger sides.

⚠️ Colchester United and Exeter City are both bottom of Division 4 on zero points, with -3 goal differences apiece. Colchester were thrashed by Manchester United after beating them the week before – a disorienting set of results – while Exeter haven’t yet scored in two outings. Mike Bassett’s Colchester and Michael Kensett’s Exeter have plenty of work ahead.

🏆 League Cup – Round 1

The League Cup Round 1 was played this week alongside the regular fixtures, with some interesting results across all four divisional groups. Round 2 is scheduled for Week 5, when the prize money kicks in at £60,000 for clubs who fall at that stage.

Division 1 group produced a couple of notable outcomes. Shrewsbury Town disposed of Liverpool 2-1, while Sutton United – Kevin Randall’s men versus Rob Earl’s Wigan – beat Wigan 2-0. In Division 2, Heart of Midlothian and Brentford went all the way to penalties, with Hearts winning 4-3 from the spot to move through. That was the televised game in Division 2 this week, which made it a particularly watchable shootout for the neutrals.

Division 3’s Everton were beaten 1-3 by Arsenal, while Leicester City needed penalty shootout drama to see off Leeds United 5-3 from the spot. Down in Division 4, Sheffield United – who had just beaten Wimbledon in the league – went out on penalties to Blackpool (4-3), a reminder that the cup is an unpredictable beast even for in-form sides. Bournemouth also needed extra time to get past Oxford United.

🔎 The wider league picture

The Gossip Sheet had some useful numbers this week. Fulham’s Craven Cottage is pulling in the biggest home gates in the league – 94,073 average – which is a remarkable figure for a Division 3 side and speaks to the kind of infrastructure El Diablo has been building. Stevenage’s Broadhall Way isn’t far behind at 84,405, while Newport County’s Rodney Parade leads the Division 1 gate figures at 79,680.

Away support tells a different story at the bottom. Bournemouth are taking an average of just 3,094 travelling fans to away games, while Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers aren’t far behind. These are clubs that will need their home form to carry them – road trips aren’t exactly generating much noise for their travelling factions right now.

🔍 Sutton United have the highest attacking squad ranking in the entire league this week. They also beat Gianluca Caprari from the Supremos Circuit for £7,150,000 this week – a significant investment. Sutton were last season’s Supremos Cup winners, and they’re clearly not content to rest on that.

On the discipline front, Crystal Palace lead the Division 3 table on 24 points – not the table they’d like to be top of after also sitting bottom of the league standings. Wigan Athletic’s 28 disciplinary points in Division 1 stand out as the worst across all four divisions two weeks in.

👋 Community and rivalries

Nine managers correctly predicted this week’s seven score draws – a strong haul for the pool. Justin Arandjelovic of Newport County, El Diablo of Fulham, Michael Kensett of Exeter City, Steve Earl of Hull City, Paul G of Bournemouth, Darren Watton of Portsmouth, Ady Lippiatt of Sunderland, Jon Dixon of Heart of Midlothian and Steve Broughton of Cambridge United each take home £88,888. Nine winners sharing the pot means the week’s draw pool was well contested.

The Rival Awareness milestone was reached this week by Wimbledon, who will now begin monitoring and tracking their designated rival clubs. Once rival scores hit 200, official rivalry status can be declared – so TimmyBarlow’s side are at the start of what could become one of the league’s defining grudges.

On the personal side of things, Jean Seri of Port Vale and Gabriel Magalhães of Manchester City both found themselves involved in police matters, while Didier Drogba of Rangers had an altercation. None of it confirmed, all of it worth monitoring – the kind of noise that tends to follow squads with personality. On the other side of the ledger, seven players were noted for charity work and community visits, including Mason Holgate of Forest Green Rovers and Ferrán Torres of Aberdeen.

There’s also a welcome piece of news on the notice board: every club in Division 1 is managed. Not a single vacancy, not an unmanaged side in the top flight. That’s the kind of full house the league deserves.