EFL football is back, and with it comes the familiar mixture of hope, heartbreak, and habit that defines life as a Football League supporter across England.
Cartoonist David Squires has welcomed the return of the EFL with a new cartoon strip exploring what it truly means to follow a club outside the Premier League.
The piece features returning characters that regular readers of his work will recognise, giving the strip a sense of continuity and warmth alongside its sharp observational humour.
Squires has long been celebrated for capturing the emotional reality of football fandom in a way that resonates deeply with supporters at every level of the game.
The EFL, comprising the Championship, League One, and League Two, represents the heartbeat of English football for millions of fans up and down the country.
Supporting a Football League club is an experience unlike any other in sport, defined by travel, tension, and a loyalty that rarely receives the recognition it deserves.
Exiled supporters, those who follow their clubs from afar due to work or relocation, face unique challenges that Squires touches on in this latest instalment of his ongoing series.
The cartoon examines the particular brand of suffering that comes with being devoted to a club that may never deliver the glory its supporters so desperately crave.
Squires also has a new book available, titled Chaos in the Box, which collects more of his celebrated football artwork for fans to enjoy beyond the weekly strips.
His work has consistently found an audience among supporters who appreciate both the comedy and the pathos embedded in following football at every level.
The return of the EFL each season is met with renewed optimism from fans, even those whose clubs have given them very little reason to feel positive in recent years.
That cycle of hope and disappointment is precisely what makes Football League fandom such fertile ground for a cartoonist of Squires’ particular talent and sensitivity.