Carlisle United: The ones to beat?
There are near misses, and then there is Carlisle United’s 2025/26 season.
A year after dropping out of League Two and into the National League, Carlisle did not exactly collapse into non-league quicksand. They finished third, took 95 points, scored goals, built momentum and looked every inch a side capable of going back up. In most seasons, that would have been enough to be champions. In five of the previous eight National League campaigns, 95 points would have won the title.
Last season, it did not even get them second.
That tells you two things. One, Carlisle were very good. Two, this division is brutal.
The ending hurt. A home play-off semi-final defeat to Boreham Wood, in front of more than 13,000 at Brunton Park, was not how anyone connected with the club imagined the story ending. After a campaign built on expectation, recovery and belief, it finished with frustration rather than a day out at Wembley.
Yet there is still a strong argument that Carlisle came out of last season in better shape than they entered it.
Carlisle ended the campaign with 23 points from the final 30 available, a run bettered only by champions York City. In Regan Linney, they found a serious attacking weapon: 19 league goals, 10 assists, and a debut season that more than justified his arrival from Altrincham. Just as importantly, the club reconnected with a fanbase that, despite everything, turned up in huge numbers.
Chairman Tom Piatak’s post-season message struck the obvious tone: disappointment, yes, but also foundations. Carlisle are not dressing last season up as success, but nor should it be dismissed as failure. It raised the bar. The issue now is that the bar has to go higher again.
For 2026/27, the target is not complicated. Carlisle are not here to consolidate, learn the league or enjoy the scenery. They are here to win promotion.
From the dugout
The big summer change came in the dugout. Mark Hughes departed by mutual agreement after taking Carlisle to third place, a decision that said plenty about the club’s ambition. It was not a disaster call, but the play-off defeat changed the mood. Hughes had stabilised Carlisle and moved them forward, but the club clearly felt the next step needed different energy.
Rob Elliot arrives with that. His work at Gateshead gives the appointment substance: a sixth-place National League finish, FA Trophy success at Wembley, then a return in difficult circumstances to help keep the club up from a position that looked close to hopeless. Carlisle are hiring someone who has already shown he can create belief quickly and get players into a clear way of working.
The early message is front-foot football: brave, aggressive, attacking and intense with and without the ball. Josh Lucas has also followed from Gateshead as First Team Analyst, while Marc Tierney’s move towards a Sporting Director role suggests Carlisle are trying to build a more joined-up football operation, not just change the manager and hope.
Manager Profile
Rob Elliot is still early in his managerial career, but there is already a shape to what he wants. His teams are not meant to be passive. He has spoken about defending high, pressing aggressively, playing forward and stopping danger before it develops.
That fits with what he showed at Gateshead. He could work within a footballing identity, but he could also adapt when the situation turned ugly. Keeping Gateshead up after returning with the club 11 points from safety was not just about style. It required clarity, belief and dressing-room control under pressure.
Carlisle will test him differently. This is a bigger club, with bigger crowds and a clear demand to get back into the EFL. Elliot inherits a strong squad, but also a target on its back. His job is to make sure Carlisle play with the authority of a promotion contender, not the anxiety of a club scarred by another near miss.
Summer Mood
Carlisle’s summer has a clear edge to it. Last season proved they are good enough to dominate at this level, but the play-off defeat means nobody can really bask in it. Ninety-five points gave Carlisle a platform, not the prize they came for, and that is why the Rob Elliot era starts with expectation already attached. This is not a rescue job or a slow rebuild; it is a change of direction after a near miss, with Elliot and Louis Storey replacing Mark Hughes and Frankie McAvoy and further Gateshead arrivals in analysis and sports science reshaping the staff around the new head coach. It is not business as usual, but nor is it a club starting from scratch. Last season was the evidence, not the achievement. This time, nearly will not be enough.
Squad
Carlisle’s squad profile already looks strong for this level, and there is a clear blend of National League know-how, EFL experience and players still with room to develop. The forward options stand out immediately. Regan Linney, Luke Armstrong, Georgie Kelly, David Ajiboye, Junior Luamba and Stephen Wearne give Rob Elliot a lot of variety: goals, movement, physical presence, wide threat and players who can stretch games. For a side expected to dominate plenty of matches, that depth in attacking areas could be a major advantage.
There is also a solid mid-to-late-20s core running through the group. Elliot Embleton, Callum Whelan, Morgan Feeney, Ryan Galvin, Cameron Harper, Brad Nicholson and Kenton Richardson are all in that useful age bracket where they should be experienced enough to handle expectation but not past their best.
The signings from Gateshead also make sense given Elliot’s background, while Harvey Bunker and Miguel Azeez add more energy and competition in midfield. Add in younger players such as Hayden Atkinson, Jonah Lowes, Seb Mason and Amaru Smith, and Carlisle have the shape of a squad built to win now without being entirely short-term. The main question is not whether there is enough talent; it is whether Elliot can knit it together quickly into a side ruthless enough to justify the title talk.
Retained
- David Ajiboye | Forward | Age 27
- Luke Armstrong | Forward | Age 29
- Hayden Atkinson | Defence | Age 18
- Gabe Breeze | Goalkeeper | Age 22
- Jack Ellis | Midfielder | Age 22
- Elliot Embleton | Midfield | Age 27
- Morgan Feeney | Defence | Age 27
- Ryan Galvin | Defence | Age 25
- Cameron Harper | Defence | Age 24
- Georgie Kelly | Forward | Age 29
- Regan Linney | Forward | Age 29
- Jonah Lowes | Midfield | Age 18
- Junior Luamba | Forward | Age 23
- Seb Mason | Midfield | Age 17
- Bevis Mugabi | Defence | Age 31
- Amaru Smith | Forward | Age 17
- Stephen Wearne | Forward | Age 25
- Callum Whelan | Midfield | Age 27
- Josh Williams | Defence | Age 23
Players in
- Miguel Azeez « Morecambe FC | Undisclosed Fee | Midfielder | Age 23
- Archie Mair « Morecambe FC | Free Transfer | Goalkeeper | Age 25
- Harvey Bunker « Forest Green Rovers | Free Transfer | Midfielder | Age 23
- Brad Nicholson « Gateshead | Undisclosed Fee | Defence | Age 27
- Kenton Richardson « Gateshead | Undisclosed Fee | Defence | Age 27
Players out
- Jake Allan | Released
- Archie Davies | Yeovil Town | Free Transfer
- Josh Grant | Released
- Aaron Hayden | Released
- Sam Hetherington | Released
- Dan Hopper | Released
- Jordan Jones | Released
- Sam Murray | Released
- Freddie O’Donoghue | Released
- Thomas Randall | Released
- Ethan Robson | Released
- Terell Thomas | Released
- Charlie Wyke | Retired
One to Watch
Regan Linney is the obvious one to watch. Nineteen league goals and 10 assists in his debut season was outstanding, especially in a Carlisle side carrying immediate promotion expectation. He did not just arrive from Altrincham and contribute; he became central to their attacking threat. The challenge now is backing it up when opponents know him better and Carlisle are expected to dominate more games, but if Rob Elliot’s attacking approach clicks, Linney has the quality to thrive again. Get close to last season’s numbers, and Carlisle should be right where they expect to be.
Bookies’ Odds
Carlisle are the early National League favourites, with Bet365 quoting them at around 5/2 on 8 June 2026, and it is easy to see why. They have retained a strong core and will have the budget, support and infrastructure to go again.
But favouritism brings pressure. The market has them as the team to beat; the challenge is turning last season’s near miss into this season’s standard.
Prediction — Champions
Carlisle already looked like a promotion team for most of last season, and with their core, crowd, resources and firepower still in place, they have fewer questions to answer than most of their rivals.
Automatic promotion has to be the aim — and they look the best equipped to get there.
