Jamie Raynor
Bradford City commentator for BBC Radio Leeds

The 2021-22 campaign really does feel like a definitive season in the recent history of Bradford City.

The club has worked tirelessly over the last six months to turn around what was a very bleak picture in December 2020, when the former Premier League outfit sat inside the League Two relegation zone.

In contrast, they've recruited wisely and early this summer, while also prizing away a promotion-winning manager in the form of Derek Adams. The Scot achieved the unthinkable with Morecambe last season and he arrives at Valley Parade with the same intentions.

Six wins out of seven during pre-season, with three of those coming against opposition in higher leagues, sees them travel to Exeter in good form.

If the Bantams were to end their three-year stay in the fourth tier, there is a genuine feeling across the city that it could be the start of a long-awaited return up the Football League.

Adam Johnson
BBC Radio Cumbria Sport

Having never got the chance to truly celebrate the amazing achievements of their promotion back into the Football League after a 48-year absence, the Barrow supporters are very much making up for lost time with season ticket sales flying through the roof for the club's second season back in the fourth tier.

On the pitch it’s been a time of change as they look to finally establish themselves as an EFL club. It was a season of turmoil in the club's first season back, with the cool calm head of Rob Kelly managing to pull Barrow over the line following two managerial departures in short succession, but they will be hoping for better this season.

The appointment of Mark Cooper, an experienced manager at this level, has been greeted with optimism. Recruitment was a problem for Barrow last term, however Cooper has gone about things with haste, with the majority of his deals done prior to the start of pre-season.

The experience of Paul Farman will be a big boost between the sticks following the departure of long-serving fans' favourite Joel Dixon to Bolton, with Mark Ellis' arrival seeing a burst of leadership that many felt Barrow lacked last season.

If Barrow are to be truly successful this season however they do have one big gap to fill and that is finding a replacement for Scott Quigley following his departure to Stockport. His 35 goals in two seasons helped Barrow to promotion and then survival. Offrande Zanzala has been bought in from Cumbrian neighbours Carlisle and Barrow will be hoping he can pick up where he left off towards the end of last season.

Full uninterrupted commentary of every Barrow AFC fixture can be heard on BBC Radio Cumbria on AM frequencies & on Freeview channel 721

Ed Hadwin
BBC Radio Bristol

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol Rovers' boss Joey Barton made no secret of his feeling that the squad wasn't good enough last season, shown by their bottom-placed finish and relegation from League One. Well, he's certainly made some pretty big changes with 13 new faces arriving for the start of the new campaign.

Rovers were the lowest scorers in League One last season so bringing experienced striker Brett Pitman to the Memorial Stadium, alongside younger players like Aaron Collins and Luke Thomas, should help them improve on that record, with the likes of Paul Coutts and Mark Hughes adding some much-needed experience.

Barton himself has set some pretty high expectations for their new season and despite their awful last 18 months Rovers will need to be competing at the top of League Two this season to fulfil them.

You can hear full commentary on every Rovers game on BBC Radio Bristol, throughout the campaign.

James Phillips
BBC Radio Cumbria Sport

After a sticky opening few games, Carlisle United soared into the automatic promotion places in the first half of last season, giving supporters real hope of a first promotion in 15 years.

Sadly, 10 games called off in just 45 days after Christmas - due to weather, power cuts and coronavirus outbreaks - caused the Cumbrians to spiral into a catastrophic run of just one win in 13 matches, which ultimately led to them missing out on even the play-offs.

First-choice goalkeeper Paul Farman, captain Nick Anderton and main strikers Offrande Zanzala and JJ Kayode are among the players that were lost over the summer - but Carlisle still retain a strong platform to build on and in Zach Clough, have an exciting new signing who’s expected to be crucial if Chris Beech’s side are to challenge.

Glenn Speller
BBC Essex sport

Image source, Getty Images

Last season’s close scrape with relegation to the National League was a bit of a wake-up call for everyone connected with the club.

Colchester fans have become accustomed to challenging at the opposite end of the table and will hope the signing of a number of experienced players will see a return to better days.

Four have arrived from 17 miles up the road at Ipswich with Alan Judge already looking a star performer. The return of fans' favourite Frank Nouble permanently is a positive and Luke Hannant’s arrival from promoted Cambridge United looks good business.

A more experienced squad, coupled with a more flexible approach from boss Hayden Mullins, should keep them clear of trouble but this might be a season for consolidation.

There's no doubting what was the high point of Crawley's 2020-21 season.

A 3-0 humbling of Premier League Leeds United in the FA Cup third round put the Red Devils on front and back pages.

Their cause to that end was helped somewhat by the short-term signing of reality TV star and former semi-professional footballer Mark Wright.

Wright even made a late cameo in the win over Leeds but his stay with the club came to an end the following month after being subbed off at half-time in a 3-1 home defeat by Harrogate.

Leeds weren't Crawley's only notable scalp last season as they also recorded a 1-0 wins over promoted Bolton and Cheltenham.

However, their form tailed off in the second half of the campaign, including just two wins from their final 13 matches, and boss John Yems will hope they can make a strong start this time out to build on last season's midtable finish.

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport

Could this be the season Exeter City finally win promotion from League Two after three play-off final defeats and two ninth-placed finishes in the past five years?

With money coming in from Ollie Watkins’ transfer from Brentford to Aston Villa and winger Joel Randall’s £1m-plus move to Peterborough this week, the Grecians have been in a far better financial position than most League Two clubs.

They have brought in the exciting Sam Nombe from MK Dons up front while the addition of former Middlesbrough and Birmingham City defender Jonathan Grounds brings great experience.

But with Randall, skipper Jake Taylor, winger Randell Williams and striker Ryan Bowman all leaving over the summer, manager Matt Taylor will hope to keep the rest of his promising squad together.

Billy Hunt
BBC Radio Gloucestershire

It’s six years since Forest Green have started a league season without Mark Cooper in charge, with former England Under-16s head coach Rob Edwards the new man in.

Forest Green have reached the play-offs in five of their last seven seasons, missing out in the semi-final last season to Newport in a crazy second leg which saw Rovers lose to a 119th-minute Nicky Maynard winner.

Jamille Matt will yet again be the key player for the Green Army. He was top goal scorer last season despite missing two months due to a horrific hand injury. There’s some concerns that Edwards hasn’t bolstered his attacking armoury despite losing Aaron Colins to neighbours Bristol Rovers in the summer.

Fans will take another play-off journey. But will be wishing for the simpler route of automatic promotion this season.

Unless you're a fan, or followed the National League last season, you'd be forgiven for not knowing too much about EFL newcomers Sutton United.

But fear not, as Owen Phillips has spent the week talking to people around the club who are seeking the right balance as ambition collides with community and continuity.

Barry Parker
BBC Radio York commentator

Town have made seven additions to the squad for their second season in the English Football League, but the backbone of the team remains the half-a-dozen players who have come up with them from National League North.

They include skipper Josh Falkingham and his deputies Warren Burrell and George Thomson, whose experience will prove vital as Town face, for the first time, huge banks of hostile fans on their travels.

Wetherby Road will need to become a fortress, so Town must show the guile to unlock tight defences, which sometimes proved difficult last season.

The return of Simon Power after injury and the arrival from Salford of striker Luke Armstrong could be important here, especially if Power can score from free-kicks, a source of goals which has been lacking of late.

The departure of vocal and inspirational goalkeeper James Belshaw will be eased by the arrival of Mark Oxley, who had a similarly pivotal role at Southend.

If Town can handle the raucous away ends, a play-off place is within their potential.

Rob Law
BBC Radio Tees

Hartlepool United are preparing for a return to the Football League after a four-year absence.

It comes after a dramatic, penalty shootout victory over Torquay United in the National League promotion final - a game that had everything... including a goalkeeper equalising in stoppage time (Alisson eat your heart out!).

That was on 20 June, when a lot of clubs were already well over four weeks into preparing for the new campaign.

It’s left Pools with a huge amount of ground to make up. It didn’t help that they lost their two top goalscorers from last season in Luke Armstrong and Rhys Oates, who between them netted 28 times.

However, after a slow start to the window, Pools boss Dave Challinor has made some shrewd signings, including experienced striker Mark Cullen.

With Challinor in charge many believe they have the right man at the helm to help re-establish the club in the Football League.

Leyton Orient finished a disappointing 12 points outside the play-off places in League Two last season.

And after finishing the campaign with Jobi McAnuff in interim charge following Ross Embleton’s departure in February, the club wasted no time by installing Kenny Jackett as boss less than two weeks later.

Orient are the seventh club of Jackett’s managerial career and are banking on his experience of promotions with Millwall and Wolves to boost their chances of a return to League One for the first time since 2015.

Jackett has transformed the squad with eight summer signings, but they have lost Danny Johnson and Conor Wilkinson, who contributed 29 league goals between them in 2020-21.

The onus, then, is on new-boys Harry Smith, Paul Smyth, Theo Archibald and Aaron Drinan to try and fill that gap.

Jake Garner
BBC Radio Nottingham

Mansfield Town can begin this new campaign full of optimism given the amount of quality in their squad and the high standards set by manager Nigel Clough.

Clough made an instant impact when he arrived in November and got the best out of the squad with a strong end to last season.

There have been eight new summer additions across the pitch, including bolstering their front line with 20-goal striker Danny Johnson from Leyton Orient. Mansfield also possess a creative midfield of James Clarke, George Maris, Stephen Quinn and George Lapslie who can provide him and the rest of the forwards plenty of opportunities to score goals.

The last two seasons have seen a lot of disappointment, finishing way below their own high expectations. This season’s target once again is promotion and with this crop of players under the leadership of Nigel Clough, there’s a strong chance of the Stags challenging for that.

Rob Phillips
BBC Wales Football Correspondent

Wembley may be a dream for many in football, but Newport manager Mike Flynn will happily forego another visit if his side can make it to League One.

Newport have suffered play-off heartbreak under the arch in two of the past three seasons. They felt hugely embittered as key refereeing decisions cost them in last term’s final defeat by Morecambe.

As Flynn enters the final season of his contract, handed to him after inspiring the club’s great escape in 2017, he has embarked on another overhaul of his squad following notable departures of Wales midfielder Josh Sheehan and Joss Labadie.

Midfielder Ed Upson will have big shoes to fill, while Newport will hope Tammy Abraham’s brother Timmy can help convert more chances.

But just as important could be the new surface laid at Rodney Parade this summer. Pitch problems have cost Newport dearly in recent years.

Hear commentary of every Newport County game in the Newport area on BBC Radio Wales 95.9 FM

Jake Sharpe
BBC Radio Northampton sport

Image source, Getty Images

It’s been a summer of change at Sixfields. New manager, new background staff, 12 new players and a new division as well. The Cobblers have returned to League Two and with the scale of change at the club the consensus is that a top-half finish would do quite nicely.

Former youth team coach Jon Brady is now at the helm full-time and he brings a clear philosophy that supporters argue has been missing for a while. Inexperienced as he may be, he will rely on the advice of assistant Colin Calderwood, Graham Carr and Ian Sampson - themselves all former managers at the club.

So a nice and steady bedding in season awaits... but it’s never quite that simple and there will be more than one eye on a promotion push for a club that has been yo-yoing between League One and Two for more than 30 years.

Jack Dearden
BBC Radio Manchester

When the new campaign gets under way this weekend it’ll be 1,668 days since John Sheridan became manager for the second time. Keith Curle became the club's 10th manager since then when he took over March.

A lack of stability, off the field issues and disputes have dominated the last few turbulent seasons and as yet, a compromise solution hasn’t been forthcoming.

Curle has experienced success on a tight budget with Northampton, who he guided to promotion from League Two.

His new-look Latics squad includes striker Hallam Hope, defenders Sam Hart, Jordan Clarke, and Harrison McGahey, and goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler plus Dylan Bahamboula, who’s now back at Boundary Park after a spell on trial at Middlesbrough.

The manager's immediate priority is likely to be shoring up a leaky defence that conceded 81 goals last season - the most in League Two.

It’s been a long time between drinks since the Latics' faithful fans were able to celebrate any type of success.

As it’s my hometown club, I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they remain thirsty at the end of the season.

Phil Bowers
BBC Radio Stoke

Darrell Clarke’s decision to completely revamp the squad means it’s hard to predict the future for a new-look Port Vale team.

Consistent performers David Worrall and captain Tom Conlon are likely to be the keystones around any success that’s built in Burslem.

It’s also hoped that last season’s top-scorer Devante Rodney will develop into a 20 goal striker.

Of the new signings, Mal Benning and Tom Pett have both impressed in pre-season but the next 12 months might be a spell of transition.

After 17 months away, fans across the 72 EFL clubs are contemplating their return to grounds, and there are mixed emotions.

It is a very different world because of Covid-19, and some fans will be returning without old friends, without family members, without trusty companions.

Matt Newsum has collated the thoughts of some fans desperate for their footballing return, and others still managing genuine concerns.

Bill Rice
BBC Radio Manchester

It’s been a turbulent summer at Rochdale since relegation from League One - directors voted out by shareholders at an emergency meeting, a new chairman and board put together, constant talk of an attempted takeover - which even caught the attention of the EFL - and manager Brian Barry-Murphy leaving for a new role in Manchester City’s academy as under-23s coach.

The man to replace him in the Dale dugout is former Middlesbrough defender Robbie Stockdale.

An immediate return to the third tier won’t be easy, but their chances are boosted by the majority of last year’s key players such as Eoghan O’Connell, Matty Done and Jimmy Keohane signed up for another season, although Matty Lund has departed for Salford City.

Bill Rice
BBC Radio Manchester

Salford City went through three managers last season, with Graham Alexander sacked in October and even a Papa John’s Trophy win at Wembley not enough to keep Richie Wellens in a job.

They missed out on the play-offs but their improved run towards the end of the campaign earned Gary Bowyer a two-year contract as manager. He wasted no time adding to his squad – with Conor McAleny from Oldham and Rochdale's Matty Lund among the recruits.

Goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was arguably the Ammies' best performer last season, so his departure to Ipswich is a blow to their hopes this time round, with Tom King from Newport County brought in to replace him.