Northampton manager Kevin Nolan hits out at ‘incredibly bad decision’ by the EFL as he turns his attention to the 2025/26 season.
He says the EFL’s decision to start the League One and League Two seasons a week earlier than the Championship creates challenges for lower-tier clubs.
That Premier League players, who typically return to pre-season later, may not be available for loan until several weeks into the season, forcing clubs to compete for loans and delay squad planning.
This also affects international players and Championship loans, as higher-tier clubs prioritise their own needs.
The early start disadvantages lower-tier clubs, disrupts loan pathways, and is seen as a poor decision by the EFL, impacting the entire football ladder.
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Speaking on the Cobblers Show on BBC Radio Northampton, Nolan said: “The problem is that the EFL have decided to start our season a week earlier than the Championship. That’s a really poor decision because it means the Premier League don’t come back for pre-season until two weeks after us and we probably won’t get any Premier League players until the third or fourth week into the season.
“What we’ll have to do is go and beg them and try and get them as early as possible, but what normally happens is international players will miss the first week and then they don’t come in until late and by the time it all happens, we’ll be three or four weeks into our training.
“The clubs then have a decision to make on who to send their players to and they’ll be looking at Championship clubs first. We’ll make it clear that if they come to us, they’ll have a great opportunity to play and improve and we’ve got to show them that we have a pathway.
“But if we can’t get them early, it’ll be a cat and mouse game and we’ll have to wait on a manager of a Premier League club. This is where the EFL have got it totally wrong and it’ll be really tough on League One and League Two clubs especially.
“I’ve been there as a coach at West Ham when you’re trying to send players out on loan, so I know it doesn’t work for the Premier League clubs and it doesn’t work for the players themselves. Even the Championship start a week after us so we’ll have to wait if we want to get a Championship player on loan. It’s an incredibly bad decision by the EFL because it impacts everyone down the ladder.”
He went on to say, looking forward to the next few months: “I am really excited about the summer but you need to have patience.
“We have been working tirelessly as a staff to be prepared for the summer. We are looking at players, talking to clubs and agents and we feel we are in a good position. We are not in a rush to get players in, if we can push it we will and we won’t be worried if we miss out, we just move to the next one and we won’t be messed around.
“The most important thing is to get the right player, not to be first to make a signing or two. I feel we are well placed and we have a good understanding of what we need. We won’t bite at the first cherry we see, we will be patient when we need to be and that paid off in January. We’ll be ready for our targets and we’ll also be ready with a number of other options, making sure we are right for the start of August.
“Some of the wage inflation in League One is incredible at the moment but that’s what our challenge is, to find value for money for the club. We are not worried about budgets, the Chairman and I have bene honest with each other. We know where we are and we are happy with where we are. The main thing is our identity and we believe we can move forward and get better with the budget that has been set.
“In an ideal world I like 20 outfield players, two for every position but also with the ability to be adaptable and flexible. I also want three keepers, with James Dadge to back up two senior keepers. I was pleased to give Dadgey his debut last week, it gave him a taste of first team football and he will come back hungrier now he has had a taste, he knows what is there for him.
“If we get injuries, I want to be able to go to the youth team for back up, I want the pathway for youth team players to come in to the first team squad, that means anyone looking which academy to join can come here, knowing that if they come to Northampton they could be in and around the first team and we want to see more players coming through.
“I want a mix of young players alongside more senior experienced players. You have to get the blend right but we have set a reputation for giving young players a chance here over the last few months and we have built some good relationships with other clubs. You need experience but we are not scared to give young players their chance too as we saw with Dadge, Dyche, Perry and more.”
Everything you need to know about 2025/26 start dates and EFL Fixture Release Day
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