There is nothing quite like football in England. The Premier League is obviously the pinnacle for every young fan up and down the country, however, the three leagues immediately below the topflight are also incredible in their own right. And last season, the National League – which is the fifth tier in the English football pyramid – was also making headlines as Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham and Notts County went head-to-head in a title race for the ages.
In the end, it was the North Wales outfit that won that battle, with a crucial 3-2 victory over their closest rivals toward the end of the campaign good enough to secure the title. It would have been cruelled for the Magpies if they ended up missing out on promotion altogether, especially after racking up 107 points and they too managed to secure their spot in the football league via the playoffs.
Both teams are now considered favourites for an immediate promotion from League Two. Various bookies like Bovada have their own prognoses with the best betting odds making Wrexham 4/1 outright favourites and Notts County 8/1 third favourites. What happens over the course of the next year remains to be seen however, both clubs have newfound cult heroes. The former of course have Paul Mullin, who is one of the finest strikers in the EFL, while the latter have a goalscoring sensation of their own in the form of 41-goal man Macaulay Langstaff.
However, not all cult heroes come from bagging goal after goal. Some are more unlikely than others, and here are three players that are beloved by the fans that watch them week in and week out.
Georgie Kelly – Rotherham United Hero
To those of you that aren’t clued up with the Irish football league, chances are you haven’t heard of Georgie Kelly. The bald striker announced himself to fans in his native Republic of Ireland in 2021 when he netted 21 goals in 31 games for Bohemians, exploits which bagged him the PFA Ireland Player of the Year award. Following that, he was highly coveted by English football league clubs, and it was eventually League One Rotherham United that won the race for his signature.
But if Kelly thought that he would be fired straight into the starting eleven at the New York Stadium, then he would be cruelly mistaken. The Millers were flying high at the summit of the third tier when his signing was announced however, they would embark on a horrifying run that saw them surrender an 11-point lead over third-place MK Dons throughout the latter weeks of the season. That set up a final-day decider away at relegation-threatened Gillingham with Paul Warne’s men knowing that only a victory would secure promotion.
Kelly meanwhile had still not made an appearance for his new club since signing, and in some instances, he wasn’t even selected on the bench. On that final day decider at Priestfield, he once again wouldn’t be selected, with Warne preferring his top scorer Michael Smith leading the line. And it looked as though that decision would prove to be a masterstroke when the visitors took a first-half lead through Huddersfield Town loanee Rarmani Edmonds-Green.
However, the Millers knew that their one-goal lead was a slender one. As the second half progressed, a second goal never came, and an injury to Smith forced an end to his afternoon. Kelly would finally get his opportunity, and he would grab it with both hands. With the seconds ticking away, he would net the all-important second goal of the game, sweeping home from the edge of the area in front of the 3,000 travelling away fans.
What would follow were scenes of absolute jubilation. Flares were let loose in the terraces and a pitch invasion was triggered, and it was all because of one man. A man that had secured his name in Rotherham United folklore despite playing barely ten minutes for the club.
He Wasn’t Finished There
The Millers faithful and perhaps Kelly himself thought that that moment would never be topped. However, the Donegal-born hitman wasn’t finished there. With a full preseason under his belt, the former Dundalk striker would find more chances for him in the Championship, and he would once again grab them with both hands.
He would net a second-half winner in a relegation six-pointer against Huddersfield Town back in October just seconds after coming off the bench once again. And the crucial goals wouldn’t stop there. He netted a consolation in a 4-2 drubbing at the hands of Hull City, before popping up with a last-minute equaliser against champions Burnley at the New York Stadium to earn his side a crucial point in the battle for survival.
Rotherham were favourites for the drop prior to last season getting underway however, they managed to avoid relegation with a game to spare, and Kelly’s goals were crucial to their success. What happens to him over the summer remains to be seen since new manager Matt Taylor is aiming to put his own stamp on the senior squad in South Yorkshire. One thing that is for certain, however, is that Georgie Kelly will live on forever in Rotherham United folklore, despite playing less than 700 minutes for the club.
