Boreham Wood: The heartbreak club with unfinished business
Boreham Wood came within seconds of the Football League.
That is not dramatic licence. That is the reality of their 2025/26 season. Two goals up at Wembley, deep into stoppage time, with Rochdale almost out of road. Then came the late equaliser, extra-time, penalties, and the kind of defeat that will take a long time to fully shake off.
For Wood, the pain was obvious. They were chasing a first ever place in the EFL, only 12 months after promotion from National League South. They had already beaten Forest Green and Carlisle over 120 minutes in the previous rounds, then led Rochdale 2-0 in the final. Abdul Abdulmalik had produced a Wembley performance that felt ready to write itself into club folklore.
Instead, the story turned cruel. Rochdale survived, Oliver Whatmuff saved two penalties, and Cameron Coxe’s spot-kick hit the bar. Boreham Wood were left with the brutal consolation of knowing they had been close enough to touch history.
Now comes the question that defines their summer: can they go again?
The Dugout
Luke Garrard staying is the most important piece of Boreham Wood’s summer.
Within days of Wembley heartbreak, the club confirmed that their long-serving manager had signed a new three-year contract. It felt like a statement of stability, but also a statement of intent. Wood were not treating the play-off final defeat as the end of a cycle.
They want it to be the start of the next push.
Technically, Garrard’s return to Meadow Park came in September 2024, but he had barely been away. He parted company with the club after relegation from the National League the previous season — a campaign made even harsher by the fact Boreham Wood went down with 52 points, a record-high tally for relegation at the time. Once reinstated, Garrard quickly steadied things and guided the club straight back up at the first attempt. That promotion run had everything: a comeback from 3-1 down against Dorking, a semi-final win at Torquay, and a final victory over Maidstone.
Back in the National League, Boreham Wood did not simply consolidate. They finished fourth with a club-record 90 points, won the National League Cup, reached the FA Cup third round, and got to Wembley.
And while they were technically a newly promoted side, Boreham Wood are hardly strangers to this level. Their relegation increasingly looks like an anomaly, and last season felt more like an established National League club reasserting itself than a surprise package punching above its weight.
Manager Profile: Luke Garrard
Luke Garrard and Boreham Wood feel inseparable at this point.
His relationship with the club goes far beyond a normal manager-and-employer arrangement. Chairman Danny Hunter has spoken openly about their long-standing bond, and Garrard’s latest contract underlines how much trust exists between them.
Garrard’s best Boreham Wood sides have always had edge: organised without being passive, direct without being crude, and capable of making Meadow Park feel awkward for anyone.
The Wembley defeat will hurt, but Garrard’s challenge is now psychological as much as tactical. He has to turn near-miss pain into fuel, not fatigue. Boreham Wood have already proved they can compete with the division’s best.
Summer Mood
Last season demonstrated the profile of a serious side, not an underdog who had a fun run.
The message from Danny Hunter has been clear: Boreham Wood are not treating last season as a one-off run. The chairman has stressed that the core has stayed, the squad has been strengthened, and the pain of Wembley has to be used rather than carried.
Hunter accepts they will not be a surprise package this time, and the division around them looks stronger. Off the pitch, the South Stand project, fan zone, performance centre and changing-room work point to a club still investing in its own ceiling. The challenge now is whether Luke Garrard’s side can turn last season’s near miss into another serious promotion push.
Squad
There is experience at the back through Chris Bush, Callum Reynolds, James Clarke and Ollie Kensdale, a strong midfield core with Zak Brunt, Regan Booty, Tom White and Marley Marshall-Miranda, and enough threat in Matt Rush and Abdul Abdulmalik to trouble any side in the division.
The age profile is interesting too: not especially young overall, but with several players in that 23–28 bracket who should still have plenty in front of them.
The main changes are around depth and balance. Nathan Ashmore, Cameron Coxe, Jack Payne and Erico Sousa have gone, while Luca Gunter, Oliver Bainbridge, Tarryn Allarakhia and Tylor Golden freshen things up.
There are still moving parts, especially with Junior Dixon, Aaron Henry and Luke Norris transfer listed, but Garrard has kept the spine of a play-off final side intact. If the new additions land, Wood should be right in the mix near the top again.
Retained
- Chris Bush | Defence | Age 34
- Charlie O’Connell | Defence | Age 23
- Zak Brunt | Midfield | Age 24
- Junior Dixon* | Forward | Age 21
- Abdul Abdulmalik | Forward | Age 23
- Aaron Henry* | Midfield | Age 22
- James Clarke | Defence | Age 26
- Callum Reynolds | Defence | Age 36
- Luke Norris* | Forward | Age 33
- Tom White | Midfield | Age 29
- Lewis Richardson | Midfield | Age 23
- Marley Marshall-Miranda | Midfield | Age 23
- Regan Booty | Midfield | Age 28
- Ollie Kensdale | Defence | Age 26
- Matt Rush | Forward | Age 25
*Players who are retained but transfer listed
Players in
- Luca Gunter « Tottenham Hotspur | Season Long Loan | Age 21
- Oliver Bainbridge « Sunderland AFC | Free Transfer | Age 23
- Tarryn Allarakhia « Rochdale AFC | Free Transfer | Age 28
- Tylor Golden | Defence | Age 26
Players out
- Nathan Ashmore » Dagenham & Redbridge | Free Transfer | Goalkeeper | Age 36
- Cameron Coxe » Morecambe FC | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 27
- Jack Payne » Released | Midfield | Age 34
- Erico Sousa » Released | Forward | Age 31
- Joe Newton » Wealdstone FC | Free Transfer | Age 25
- Charles Clayden » Released | Midfield | Age 25
- Femi Ilesanmi » Released | Defence | Age 35
Loans returned
- Leon Ayinde » Ipswich Town
- Ted Curd » Chelsea
- Josh Landers » West Ham United
One to Watch: Abdul Abdulmalik
For Boreham Wood, so much of the summer may hinge on Abdul Abdulmalik. Keep him, and Luke Garrard starts the season with one of the few players in the division who can genuinely scare teams on his own. His 2025/26 campaign had substance as well as flash: goals, assists, awards, a semi-final goal at Carlisle, then an assist and goal at Wembley. He carries the ball with pace, commits defenders and gives Wood that bit of electricity you cannot easily replace. That is why EFL interest is no surprise. If he stays, Wood have a difference-maker. If he goes, finding someone with that same thrust and end product becomes one of the hardest jobs of the summer.
Bookies’ Odds
Boreham Wood are 8/1 which feels a fair reflection of where they sit. They are not being priced as automatic favourites, but they are firmly in the group expected to challenge.
Prediction — 4th
Wood were one of the division’s strongest sides last season and have enough continuity to challenge again. The top end looks crowded, though, and the margin for error is small.
