Exeter City

Exeter City go into this campaign as a League One club, the level Matt Taylor's spell in charge helped confirm after Paul Tisdale had spent thirteen years, from 2009 to 2022, keeping the Grecians settled in the division above non-league football. Taylor, once a player at St James Park himself, took the side into the play-offs more than once before moving on.

The club counts its history from St Sidwell's United, formed in 1901; three years later that side merged with Exeter United, founded in 1890, to create Exeter City FC. Professional status and Southern League membership followed in 1908, and in 1910 the team settled on red-and-white striped shirts with black shorts and red socks, a kit still worn today, alongside the nickname the Grecians. In 1920 the club was among the founder members of the Football League's Third Division.

Silverware has been rare and treasured. The Third Division South Cup came in 1933/34, and in 1970 Exeter beat Telford United 2-0 to lift the FA Trophy; a return to that final in 1996 ended in a 1-3 defeat to Macclesfield Town. The clearest league triumph arrived in 1989/90, when Terry Cooper's side won the Fourth Division. Relegation out of the League followed in 2003, and with it came a change of ownership: the Exeter City Supporters' Trust took control of the club. Promotion back came in 2008, when Exeter beat Cambridge United in the Conference National play-off final.

Cliff Bastin, who went on to become an Arsenal great, remains the name most associated with the club's history and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2014. More recently, Ollie Watkins came through the academy before moving into the Premier League and the England set-up.

The club has played at St James Park since 1904, the only ground it has ever known, now holding 8,219 spectators under current safety limits.