Next Up: Exeter City vs Rotherham United

After a season that ended very strongly, City will be hoping to carry that momentum forward into 24/25 albeit in a division that for the most part looks stronger for its new additions. Gary Caldwell was busy during the summer with a high turnover of players – in addition to the departures announced at the end of the season Caldwell saw the likes of Zak Jules (Rotherham), Will Aimson (Wigan) and Tom Carroll (MK Dons) leave. He has been able to augment his side both with a number of permanent signings – Ryan Woods back after his successful loan spell, the experienced forward Josh Magennis, a highly rated non-league midfielder from Gateshead in Ed Francis, as well as Jack McMillan and Jay Bird from north of the border. Joe Whitworth will hope to follow in the footsteps of Vil Sinisalo and Cameron Dawson, both of whom enjoyed great success between the sticks while on loan at City. Other loanees are Johnly Yfeko from Rangers and Tristan Crama from Brentford.

Pre-season provided a stern test but was generally successful, culminating in a 3-0 win over National League side Eastleigh last week – a win sadly marred by a serious injury to Yanic Wildschut. With such a turnover of players it will be difficult to predict Caldwell’s first starting XI, although in addition to the injured Wildschut he will be without Woods, whose suspension for breathing in the direction of a Northampton player carries over. Magennis will hope to carry his fine pre-season form on into the new season with Sonny Cox likely to have to start the season on the bench.

Having been essentially the whipping boys in the Championship last season, Rotherham turned to an old hand in order to make an immediate return – Steve Evans was persuaded to move on from Stevenage to go back to the club where he had a successful spell a decade or so ago. He has been given a big budget to work with, managing to secure a number of impressive signings that will have put the Millers in amongst the favourites. In addition to Jules, Evans has moved to sign another player with City connections in Dawson, while Jonson Clarke-Harris (Peterborough) and Sean Raggett (Portsmouth) in particular remain hugely talented players at this level. One other player who will hope to feature is Sam Nombe, who found life in the Championship difficult with just three goals last season since his seven-figure move from City, but his proven pedigree in the third tier should cause problems for defences.

The last time the sides met was in 2012/13, with Rotherham winning both fixtures on their way to promotion from the basement. The corresponding fixture finished 1-0, Ian Sharps with the goal before Mitch Rose was sent off for the visitors right at the death. It was an altogether easier ride for Rotherham back at the New York Stadium, racing into a 4-0 lead through Pringle, Nardiello, O’Connor and Morgan before a late Danny Coles consolation for City. Those wins extended Rotherham’s league head to head lead in the fixture to 14-10, with eight matches finishing level.

The match officials for the game will be:-

Referee: Paul Howard
Assistant Referees: Sam Ogles and Declan O’Shea
Fourth Official : Ross Martin

The London based referee who was promoted to the EFL list at the start of the 2020/21 season. We first came across Paul Howard in November 2020 when he took charge of an EFL Trophy match which City won 4-0. He then refereed Exeter away at Tranmere in March which we lost 2-1. We then didn’t see him until January 2022 when he took charge of an EFL Trophy tie at St James Park, which City lost 3-2. In those three games, no Exeter players received a caution, though he does have a reputation for being card happy, last season he took charge of 39 matches, issuing 143 yellow cards and four reds.
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Pre-match interview with Gary Caldwell

Pre-match interview with Josh Magennis