EFL news: Takeover talk provides hope for relegated Rotherham Utd as League Two awaits
The EFL season is almost at its conclusion, with some clubs celebrating promotion and others experiencing the bitter taste of relegation.
One club which has seen a thoroughly disappointing last eight months is Rotherham United – the Staffordshire club suffering demotion to League Two.
However, strong rumours have abounded in recent weeks of a potential takeover by a consortium based in Switzerland.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer and EFL follower AJ Becker reviews a poor season and looks forward to the future success that a takeover may help bring.
2025-26 woes
It has to be said that any takeover would inject fresh impetus into the club following what can reasonably be described as a wretched past season.
When Steve Evans’ second spell in charge ended with a sustained run of defeats, experienced coach Matt Hamshaw was given his full managerial debut and brought about a positive end to 2024-25.
The following season, however, seemed to lose any sense of direction and momentum post-November.
A desperate decline in form then saw Rotherham gain just four wins in 31 matches, dropping from mid-table safety to certain relegation in a matter of months.
Although they managed the odd creditable result here and there – such as the 2-2 draw with Bolton in which they led 2-0 and the 1-0 victory over play-off-chasing Plymouth – at no stage were the Millers able to put together a run suggesting a late charge for survival was on the cards.
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Managerial changes
Handing Hamshaw the job may have looked like a masterstroke last May, but by March it appeared a piece of managerial miscasting, and the 44-year-old was removed with nine games remaining – too late in the eyes of many fans.
His successor was Lee Clark, a figure with undeniable passion and honesty but whose very presence indicated the short-term thinking and lack of clarity at the club.
Clark, it must be said, had become something of a forgotten man in English football, having not managed on these shores for almost a decade.
In any case, performances under the former Newcastle midfielder never rose above the mediocre.
Transfer failings
Clark’s departure has now been confirmed, with the 53-year-old heading to Hartlepool United.
But regardless of who is at the helm next season, the slipshod antics that have passed for recruitment cannot afford to be repeated.
Indeed, with Sam Nombe clearly unable to continue his imperious goalscoring from the previous campaign and other strikers such as Jordan Hugill misfiring, a few well thought-out loan signings may have alleviated the club’s scoring issues and led to a rather different final league position.
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Past promotions
Exploiting the loan market was primary amongst Rotherham’s virtues during their two recent ‘back-to-back promotion eras’: 1999-2001 under Ronnie Moore and 2012-14 in Evans’ first stint.
Moore’s millennium Millers played, fittingly, at Millmoor and were through the roof on work-rate and desire – but through the floor for ability once the second tier had been reached.
Ultimately, all skillsets amounted to a picture greater than its parts.
Evans, on the other hand, had the dual advantages of the then-newly built New York Stadium and a sizable transfer budget.
The Scot duly spent big and imbued his team with a sense of attacking adventure, something few EFL sides came close to matching in those times and something almost entirely lacking in Rotherham’s past few seasons.
Throughout the 2013-14 campaign, no team in League One did the double over the Millers and Evans’ side knew how to pull off a big result when needed – a useful trait reminiscent of Europe’s elite teams.
And to gauge the magnitude of such a feat, we need only look at the positions of the three teams Rotherham managed to take the maximum six points from in 2025-26: 20th, 21st, and 24th.
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Looking ahead
Whichever stylistic touchstone they decide to embrace, it is clear that 2026-27 will be a crucial point in Rotherham’s contemporary history.
If the Swiss-led takeover is to materialise this summer, immediate clarity from the club hierarchy would benefit proceedings – since most fans are of the view that a fresh injection of cash is badly needed.
Whilst due credit has to be given to chairman Tony Stewart for financing the stadium, it is worth pointing out that United’s transfer funds dropped from £9.2 million to £2.5 million (a 59% decrease) in the past two windows.
Should a series of eye-catching permanent signings be made, supplemented by shrewd loan acquisitions from Premier League and Championship clubs, a fully-fledged, full-bodied tilt at automatic promotion may well be on the cards.
At the very least, a strong start to 2026-27 could see a return of the swaggering intensity that defined the New York Stadium in the first Evans era.
The club’s journey through League Two will take in many calling points around the compass – from Swindon to Shrewsbury, Crawley to Crewe – which ought to have red warning signs outside reminding visitors of the danger ahead.
A spree of summer spending, a la 2012, might just be their best shot at escaping the netherworld of League Two at the first time of asking.
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