Wrexham AFC and Stockport County are doing something that not many clubs have done before | OneFootball

The promoted League Two duo could be seeing Championship football soon.

Wrexham and Stockport County have built quite a rivalry over the past few seasons, despite being 52 miles apart.

Their competitiveness isn't defined by their location, however, but rather by the almost identical journeys the two sides have taken up the football pyramid as of late.

The two sides battled for the National League title until the final weeks of the 2021/22 season and then were the top two sides in League Two during the 2023/24 campaign.

Less than 12 months on, Wrexham and Stockport find themselves in yet another battle for promotion in League One.

Whilst it may be slightly more common to see promoted sides become instantly competitive when they make the jump from the National League to League Two, it's never that easy making the transition from League Two to League One.

To highlight how impressive both Stockport and Wrexham have been this season, we've looked at each League One season post-pandemic to see how newly promoted sides have fared in their first season in the third tier.

2020/21

Swindon Town (1st) - 23rd | Crewe Alexandra (2nd) - 12th | Plymouth Argyle (3rd) - 18th | Northampton Town (P/O) - 22nd - Average position: 18.75

The 2019/20 season ended abruptly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently, League One and Two were decided on a points-per-game basis.

Therefore, you can probably understand why the average position of the promoted sides was the worst of the last four seasons.

Two sides succumbed to relegation, including the 2019/20 League Two champions. And whilst Plymouth Argyle would find themselves within touching distance of the play-offs in 2021/22, and League One champions the season after that, they were only six points off relegation in their first season in the third tier.

A strong end-of-season run for Crewe Alexandra saw them pick up 11 points in their last five games, a run which saw them make a late surge into the top half, and become the best-performing promoted side by at least 13 points.

2021/22

Cheltenham Town (1st) - 15th | Cambridge United (2nd) - 14th | Bolton Wanderers (3rd) - 9th | Morecambe (P/O) - 19th - Average position: 14.25

The standard of League One towards the top improved over the next season, and so did the quality of the newly-promoted sides.

Bolton Wanderers finished the best out of the four, winning their last four games and finishing 10 points outside the play-offs. To show how incredibly competitive this league was this season, their points tally of 73 would have found them just one point outside the top six in 2020/21!

Just two points separated Cheltenham Town and Cambridge United for the second straight season. Just this time it was Cambridge who finished above their title rivals the season prior.

And despite only picking up 10 wins all season and conceding a league-worst 88 goals, Morecambe managed to avoid the drop, finishing in 19th.

2022/23

Forest Green Rovers (1st) - 24th | Exeter City (2nd) - 14th | Bristol Rovers (3rd) - 17th | Port Vale (P/O) - 18th - Average Position: 18.25

Despite winning League Two in the 2021/22 season, Forest Green Rovers endured a torrid first season in League One, finishing with 27 points - one of the lowest points tallies in a 46-game League One season.

Only Stockport County finished with fewer points than Forest Green in a non-pandemic-disrupted League One season, recording 26 in 2004/05, and 25 in 2009/10.

It wasn't the most remarkable season for any of the other promoted sides too. Exeter City were the pick of the bunch and could have pushed for a place in the top half if not for four defeats in their last five games.

The other two sides, Port Vale and Bristol Rovers, were in touching distance of the bottom four but were ultimately safe by the final day of the season.

2023/24

Leyton Orient (1st) - 11th | Stevenage (2nd) - 9th | Northampton Town (3rd) - 14th | Carlisle United (P/O) - 24th - Average Position: 14.5

Last season's newly promoted sides performed admirably for the most part across the campaign.

Two sides finished in the top half, and Northampton Town finished just two places and two points off of Wigan Athletic in 12th too.

If not for Carlisle bringing the average position down drastically here with yet another wooden spoon performance, last season's promoted cohort would be by far and away the best over the last four seasons.

If anything, this goes to show how varied a first season back in the third tier can be for League One's promoted sides, which emphasises the impressive jobs which Stockport County and Wrexham are currently doing.

Wrexham and Stockport chasing history

They can become only the fifth side to go back-to-back from League Two to the Championship since 2000

The last four seasons have proven that it is truly difficult to maintain a winning record during the transition from League Two to League One. A quarter of the teams in the last four seasons suffered immediate relegation, and another four teams managed to finish in the top half.

However, with a few months left in the League One season, Stockport and Wrexham find themselves in the play-offs, and are starting to feel they can achieve back-to-back promotions up from League Two into the Championship.

It's a feat that has only been achieved four times since the old Second Division was rebranded into League One in the 2004/05 season and was last done by Luton Town between 2017-2019, as they kick-started their journey up into the Premier League in 2023.

If they were to do so together, their battles would continue in a new setting, the Championship - the fourth division the two would have faced off in, in just five seasons.