Milan Smit on his Europa adventure before Championship move
Milan Smit is still settling into life in the Championship with Stoke after a January loan from Go Ahead Eagles — but at the tail end of 2025 he found his feet in European football. Go Ahead Eagles won the KNVB Cup in 2024/25 and qualified for the Europa League league phase. On his first start against Panathinaikos, Smit scored twice, and he also scored away at Lyon.
“When I played in the Europa League with Go Ahead Eagles, it’s something I didn’t think about when I joined the club!” he told Sky Sports. “We said just to make the best of it and to not really expect things because it was new for everyone. When you win the second game, you start thinking if something is possible. Then you win against Aston Villa and you are already on six points with three or four games left, then you think maybe it’s possible to go through. The Stuttgart game was another level – they were much better than us. Against Salzburg, we went close and Lyon, we went close. We ended on seven points and wonder if more was possible, but it was a really nice experience to play against those kinds of clubs.”
He says the packed schedule prepared him for life in England. “Because we played Europa League, I know what it’s like to play that many games and I really liked it. You are a football player to play matches and here you can play almost three matches in a week, which is a dream for me.” — Dan Long
Dylan Lawlor on his Cardiff dream and rugby background
Relegation can bring unexpected chances. For Dylan Lawlor, Cardiff’s drop to League One has offered a huge opportunity. The defender, who turned 20 in January, has enjoyed a breakout season for the Bluebirds, featuring in their push for promotion and earning Wales squad recognition. A Cardiff boy since age seven, wearing the shirt means a lot to him.
“Every time I pull on the shirt it’s immense pride,” he says. “I love it and cherish every moment. I grew up a Cardiff fan, so it means even more to me. I love every minute playing for the club and I hope it continues.”
At 6’2″ and with Irish heritage, rugby was once an option. “My family aren’t big football fans to be honest! There’s more of a rugby background there and my dad is Irish,” he adds. “I did play rugby at school and really enjoyed it. In school I was always a back. I started as a 10 and then moved to outside centre. But it clashed with football as they were on the same days. I had to choose and I always enjoyed football more.” Cardiff City will be glad he did.
Ryan Ledson on his halfway line stunner
Ryan Ledson does not usually score a lot, but his strike for Huddersfield against Luton in January was special: a hit from just behind the halfway line to seal a 1-0 win for his 10-man side. “It was definitely the best goal of my career,” he said of the Sky Bet League One Goal of the Month winner. “It was probably the sweetest I’ve hit the ball for a while and luckily it went in.”
“It just rolled back to me. We were down to 10 men as well, so it was going to take something a little bit special to get us in front. Luckily we hung on and got the three points, which made it even better. It was more instinct. In that split second your mind just takes over and you just do it. I think it’s just instinct. It rolled back nicely, I took a couple of steps onto it and just went for it. It could have gone anywhere, but I backed myself to have a good strike and I caught it clean and it’s gone in. You’ve got to try and catch the keeper off guard. You see quite a few now each season. It’s becoming more common, with five or six a year from around the halfway line because goalkeepers are taking up higher positions, so it’s always a chance to score.”
James Belshaw is living his dream at Notts County
James Belshaw still has to pinch himself. In January, at 35, the goalkeeper sealed a move to his boyhood club Notts County. “It still feels surreal,” he says. “Every time I pull the badge on and represent the football club, walking out at Meadow Lane, I don’t think that will ever get old. I don’t take a minute for granted here. As you can probably tell, I’m loving every minute of it.”
Belshaw, born and raised in Nottingham, was at County as a youngster before carving a path back to the Football League via the USA, non-league and lower-league football. “I don’t think these stories happen very often in football,” he adds. “It’s a club I’ve tried to sign for for a long time and we’ve had conversations in the past. When it all became real around the back end of December and things started moving, I was only ever going to do one thing. It’s a club that’s so close to my heart and my family’s heart. My dad is a season ticket holder and still sits in the Kop supporting me. For my family, my wife and my little daughter, to see me play for the club is really special. I was part of the Centre of Excellence here until I was 15. After leaving, I had to work my way through non-league and eventually got back into the Football League at 30. To now wear the goalkeeper shirt, represent the club and follow in the footsteps of the legends who have played here before me means a lot. It’s really special to be part of it now.”
Ryan Woods: Stoke setback was a difficult time
Ryan Woods had been on the rise at Shrewsbury and Brentford before joining Stoke City in summer 2018, just after their Premier League relegation. It was meant to be the next step but became a derailment. “I spoke to [then-Stoke manager] Gary Rowett a lot before the move,” Woods recalls. “He wanted to bring me in to try and influence and change the style of play, to help put his own stamp on things. He brought me in to help the team play more football, but he then left after about three months of me being here. Then, a new manager came in with different ideas and I found myself more on the periphery.”
Now 32 and at Oldham in League Two, Woods reflects on a challenging period. “It was really difficult for me because I’d never experienced a low in football before,” he admits. “From starting at Shrewsbury at 17 or 18 up to my move to Stoke at 25, everything had been an upward trajectory in terms of games and performances. Going there, it was hard to get my head around not playing as much as I wanted and not performing at the level I expected from myself. I learned a lot from it as a person and a player. It was very difficult and I struggled mentally to understand what was going on because I hadn’t experienced it before. We also had big players and big personalities in the dressing room. Gary had spent a lot on players and we had a really strong squad for the division, but we never achieved what we expected at the time.”
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League Two
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