English Football League Two may be the fourth-highest division in the country, but it’s home to some big football clubs, faded giants and plucky upstarts. The relentless schedule of League Two makes for an intriguing hotbed of action for followers of the beautiful game and for those who enjoy betting on football online.
With 46 fixtures each season - eight more than the Premier League - it means there’s a lot to follow and plenty of football betting opportunities. From Northampton Town to Bradford City, fans can bet on which team wins, total goals during a game, total corners, and much more.
The assortment of clubs claiming to be the season’s best football teams in League Two changes with perpetual churn but if you’re seeking a lower league team to follow, this lot will guarantee you plenty of highs, lows, passionate supporters and gritty games.
Carlisle United
The city of Carlisle is somewhat sandwiched in a footballing no-man's land but that just makes fans of Cumbria’s only league side all the more partisan. A hop across the Lake District from the enormous clubs of Lancashire and some 50-odd miles to the Scottish border, beyond which lies the stomping ground of the Scottish leagues, Carlisle United is a ‘proper’ football club.
The Cumbrians home at Brunton Park dates to 1909 and is suitably quirky in charm. With an off-centre modern stand on one side, an ageing main stand opposite and the unique triple-triangular roof of the Warwick Road End that houses the noisiest sections of the home support, modernised sections of Brunton Park have yet to be finished - and probably never will be.
In recent news, current captain of the Blues, Callum Guy, extended his stay with the team up until at least summer 2023. In a player interview, he stated how it was a proud moment for him and his family to extend his stay and that he “...can’t wait to continue the season and try and improve our recent form”.
Bradford City
When they feature in League Two, having yo-yoed between the third and fourth-tiers in recent years, Bradford City is by some distance the best-supported club in the division with the highest average attendances. The Bantams, as they’re otherwise known, make a compelling case for the wandering football fan to add to their supporting list.
With a nickname based on their unique claret and amber kit which supposedly resembles the colours of a chicken, and a history littered with triumph and tragedy plus sufficient lengthy spells of mediocrity, Bradford City boasts a unique fan culture both in terms of numbers, passion and noise. One-time winners of the FA Cup (in 1911), one-time occupiers of a Premier League berth for just a season (over 20 years ago now), and two recent spells in administration, the Valley Parade outfit literally rose from the ashes after a fatal fire in 1985.
Exeter City
If the money splashing around the Premier League and the ownership structure of certain teams in the top flight leaves you cold, Exeter City is a beacon as to how a football club can happily sit in the heart of its community. One of just a handful of English clubs to be fan-owned, the Grecians have successfully raised funds from their followers to re-lay the pitch at their St James Park home, install new floodlights and even buy a player as well as paying the wages of a number of stars.
If heartbreak instils a certain morbid resilience in the fans of a football club, then Exeter has truly tested their supporters in recent years. Three end-of-season play-off final defeats in four seasons to 2020/21 has ensured the Devon club have lingered longer than they perhaps should in EFL League Two. Any football betting fans should probably take note if Exeter make any further Wembley finals in future.
Harrogate Town
The genteel North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate is perhaps an unlikely setting in which to find a unique football club punching above its weight. By the time Harrogate Town made the Football League for the first time in 2020, the club boasted the longest-serving manager in the EFL with his dad owning the whole place and his mum baking cakes for the team bus.
The Town team only turned full-time in 2017 and while holding on to their treasured League Two status is the main aim, Harrogate could yet raise a few more eyebrows if their steep rise through the non-league tiers into the EFL continues. As you’d expect in this locale, you’re more likely to find gourmet burgers than pies on the menu at half-time yet the more raucous fans who make a tasty din at Wetherby Road are simply loving their footballing life right now.