The Dugout Gazette, 25 September
Weekend briefing
The extended international window left England’s top four divisions without league fixtures between Monday 21 and Thursday 24 September.
- The Premier League had no fixtures.
- The Championship had no fixtures.
- League One and League Two also had no league fixtures.
- Midweek club action came from the Jersey Mike’s Trophy, the rebranded EFL Trophy.
- The 23 ties on Tuesday produced 93 goals, with several Premier League under-21 sides heavily beaten.
- UEFA Nations League Matchday 1 opened on Thursday, including a 1-1 draw between the Netherlands and Germany.
- England host Spain at Wembley on Saturday 26 September at 19:45.
- League One and League Two return to league action on Saturday.
Results board
Premier League
No midweek fixtures. The division is inside the extended international break, running from 21 September to 6 October.
Championship
No midweek fixtures. The Championship is also on the international break.
League One
No midweek league fixtures. This week’s games came from the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.
League Two
No midweek league fixtures. This week’s games came from the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.
Jersey Mike’s Trophy: Tuesday 22 September
Northern Group A
- Accrington Stanley 3-3 Sunderland U21: Accrington won 3-1 on penalties
- Salford City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Northern Group B
- Crewe Alexandra 4-1 Aston Villa U21
- Wigan Athletic 3-2 Blackpool
Northern Group C
- York City 1-1 Rotherham United: Rotherham won 5-4 on penalties
- Bradford City 2-1 Newcastle United U21
Northern Group D
- Chesterfield 1-1 Port Vale: Chesterfield won 4-3 on penalties
Northern Group E
- Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Shrewsbury Town
Northern Group F
- Burton Albion 1-1 Nottingham Forest U21: Forest won 4-3 on penalties
- Notts County 2-1 Grimsby Town
Northern Group G
- Barnsley 3-4 Leeds United U21
- Oldham Athletic 1-0 Fleetwood Town
Northern Group H
- Rochdale 3-3 Liverpool U21: Liverpool U21 won 7-6 on penalties
Southern Group A
- Cheltenham Town 2-2 Exeter City: Cheltenham won 4-3 on penalties
Southern Group B
- Leicester City 6-1 Fulham U21
- Walsall 1-6 Stevenage
Southern Group D
- Luton Town 6-0 Ipswich Town U21
- Peterborough United 3-1 Colchester United
Southern Group E
- Plymouth Argyle 5-1 Crystal Palace U21
- Swindon Town 0-2 Newport County
Southern Group G
- Gillingham 1-4 Cambridge United
Southern Group H
- MK Dons 4-1 Crawley Town
- Bromley 0-1 Brentford U21
UEFA Nations League: Thursday 24 September
- Netherlands 1-1 Germany
- Norway 3-2 Denmark
- Portugal 1-0 Wales
- Greece 2-1 Serbia
- Austria 3-1 Israel
- Kosovo 1-0 Republic of Ireland
- Lithuania 2-0 Liechtenstein
- Malta 2-1 Andorra
Key decisions
Rochdale 3-3 Liverpool U21
Rochdale were two goals ahead and looked set for a memorable win after Devante Rodney opened the scoring and 41-year-old Ian Henderson scored twice. The second was a composed chip, coming in Henderson’s 24th professional season.
Liverpool U21 had been reduced to 10 men from the 21st minute after Mor Talla Ndiaye was sent off. However, 18-year-old former Salford striker Will Wright produced a stunning solo goal to bring the visitors back into the match.
The game was briefly stopped after fireworks were thrown into the ground from outside after 69 minutes. Liverpool U21 then scored twice in stoppage time to take the tie to penalties, eventually winning 7-6 in sudden death.
Leicester City 6-1 Fulham U21
Russell Martin named a strong Leicester side, and the decision paid off immediately. Leicester led 5-0 at half-time, with summer signing Admir Bristric completing a hat-trick inside 34 minutes.
Tommy Watson scored twice, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid added a goal against his former club after Fulham had pulled one back. Watson also struck the post late on as Leicester completed one of the round’s biggest wins.
Netherlands 1-1 Germany
The standout Nations League tie ended level after Cody Gakpo’s equaliser denied Jurgen Klopp’s Germany a winning start to Matchday 1.
Elsewhere, Jordan Clark marked his 33rd birthday with a hat-trick in Luton Town’s 6-0 win over Ipswich Town U21. Michael Mellon also scored three times as Stevenage won 6-1 at Walsall, while Caleb Watts scored twice in Plymouth Argyle’s 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace U21.
Accrington Stanley came from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with Sunderland U21 before winning on penalties. Barnsley were 4-0 down against Leeds United U21 with 10 minutes remaining, then scored three times in seven minutes without finding an equaliser.
Table and form notes
No league tables moved this midweek because no Premier League, Championship, League One or League Two fixtures were played.
- Leicester City and Plymouth Argyle, both playing in League One this season, were among the biggest winners of the Jersey Mike’s Trophy round.
- Grimsby Town’s unbeaten league run remains intact. Their 2-1 defeat came at Notts County in the trophy, not in the league.
- Walsall remain second in League Two and unbeaten in the league, despite losing 6-1 at home to Stevenage in the trophy.
- The Jersey Mike’s Trophy provided competitive minutes for players outside regular league line-ups, as well as opportunities for younger squads to test themselves.
Weekend noticeboard
The Premier League has no fixtures on Saturday 26 September and returns with Gameweek 6 on Saturday 10 October.
The Championship also has no fixtures. It resumes on Friday 9 October, when West Ham United host Queens Park Rangers.
League One, Saturday 26 September, 15:00
- Cambridge United v AFC Wimbledon
- Plymouth Argyle v Burton Albion
- Stockport County v Peterborough United
- Wycombe Wanderers v Reading
Leicester City v Wigan Athletic, Mansfield Town v Leyton Orient and Oxford United v Doncaster Rovers are postponed because of international call-ups.
League Two: Saturday 26 September
- Bristol Rovers v Exeter City, 15:00
- Cheltenham Town v Chesterfield, 15:00
- Fleetwood Town v Rochdale, 15:00
- Newport County v Grimsby Town, 15:00
- Rotherham United v Crewe Alexandra, 15:00
- Shrewsbury Town v Colchester United, 15:00
- Swindon Town v Accrington Stanley, 15:00
- Tranmere Rovers v Walsall, 15:00
- York City v Gillingham, 15:00
- Oldham Athletic v Salford City, 17:30
Crawley Town v Barnet is postponed because of international call-ups.
England host Spain at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League at 19:45.
Weekend talking points
- Crewe Alexandra are unbeaten after seven League Two games but have drawn their last five. They travel to a Rotherham side that have drawn two of three at home.
- Walsall’s perfect defensive record faces a test at Tranmere. Jed Ward has five clean sheets, more than any other goalkeeper in League Two, while Tranmere have kept three clean sheets in four.
- York City have a 100 per cent home league record and face a Gillingham side chasing a fourth straight League Two win.
- Accrington Stanley have the joint-worst defensive record in League Two and travel to a Swindon side that have won all three of their home league games.
Fantasy desk
The Premier League remains on its extended international break. Gameweek 6 starts on Saturday 10 October, with the deadline at 11:00 BST.
Managers with spare transfers should expect to wait for team news rather than move early. Prices are still shifting during the break, while international minutes and late fitness updates could affect selection decisions.
Gameweek 6 fixtures
- Arsenal v Leeds
- Aston Villa v Brentford
- Chelsea v Bournemouth
- Ipswich v Fulham
- Sunderland v Brighton
- Manchester United v Tottenham
- Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest
- Hull v Everton
- Liverpool v Manchester City
- Coventry v Newcastle
Liverpool v Manchester City and Manchester United v Tottenham are the headline ties on a weekend full of difficult fixtures.
Erling Haaland remains the leading captain option. Arsenal assets such as Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are popular for the home match with Leeds, which is also driving plenty of Wildcard drafts.
The value discussion includes Pascal Gross, Kevin Schade and Marcus Tavernier in midfield. Ezri Konsa, Riccardo Calafiori and Maxim De Cuyper are among the defenders being flagged.
Alexander Isak’s minutes are still being managed. Joao Pedro withdrew from international duty with Chelsea and needs monitoring, while Cole Palmer and Declan Rice were among the withdrawals from the England squad.
On the price watch, Hull City’s Tzolakis rose overnight on 25 September, while Fulham’s Smith Rowe fell.
The final check remains simple: review team news and yellow flags before the 11:00 deadline on 10 October.
Manager’s view
A long international window changes the rhythm of a season. With no league tables moving this midweek, squad planning becomes more important than short-term momentum.
The Jersey Mike’s Trophy offered a different type of challenge. Lower-division squads could rotate, younger players could gain meaningful minutes and managers could assess depth without affecting their league position. For clubs in the top two divisions, the break created time to recover, train and manage international workloads.
That balance is central to The Dugout. A congested calendar is not only about choosing the strongest eleven. It is about deciding when to rotate, which players need minutes, where fatigue may create risk and which midweek priorities support the wider season plan.
Transfers, contract negotiations, tactics, finances, scouting, youth development and match preparation all connect. Results arrive through detailed text match narration, so the decisions before kick-off matter just as much as the final score.
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