A weekend of Championship, League One and League Two action produced several notable results, with former striker and Final Score pundit Aaron McLean offering his take on the standout storylines from Saturday's fixtures.
Wrexham secured just their second win of the season and a first home success of the campaign, beating Southampton 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground to end the Saints' five-match unbeaten run. It marked a significant response for Phil Parkinson's side, who had come under scrutiny after failing to match last season's heights, a campaign McLean believes may have been something of an overachievement given the scale of expectation now surrounding the club.
"Do I think Wrexham are a candidate for automatic promotion? Probably not, but that win against Southampton will give them huge confidence," McLean said. He pointed to the club's struggle to be ruthless in front of goal as the key issue holding them back, noting that four draws this season stemmed from an inability to kill matches off. By contrast, he highlighted West Ham's 22 goals and Middlesbrough's 16 as the kind of firepower Wrexham lack at present. Should they remain in contention, McLean suggested the club's ownership could look to strengthen further in the January transfer window.
Elsewhere in the Championship, QPR produced a spirited comeback to draw 2-2 with Preston at Loftus Road, despite falling 2-0 behind and having Dennis Cirkin sent off after just 15 minutes. The result leaves Julien Stephan's side fifth in the table and firmly inside the promotion picture, though given Preston's struggles near the bottom, the R's may feel two points slipped away. McLean was full of praise for the club's overall trajectory, singling out midfielder Glen Kamara as a player capable of performing at Premier League level. He credited QPR's recruitment strategy for correcting past missteps and reflected on how a heavy 7-1 defeat to Coventry at the start of last season appeared to have proven a turning point under Stephan.
In League One, Bradford City moved above Sheffield Wednesday to the top of the table courtesy of a historic win over Luton Town — their first victory over the Hatters in 58 years. Despite scoring only seven goals in seven matches, Bradford boast the joint-best defensive record in the EFL, having conceded just four. McLean praised manager Graham Alexander, who has attracted speculation linking him to the vacant Preston job given his history at Deepdale, describing him as the right man for Bradford's project. He also pointed to the club's resilience after a run of back-to-back defeats was followed by three consecutive wins, and tipped young striker Bobby Pointon to develop into one of the division's best forwards.
Also in League One, Bromley claimed a 2-1 win over previously unbeaten Huddersfield Town, their first victory since the opening day of the season following a difficult run that saw them lose three straight games and concede 14 goals. McLean praised the newly-promoted club's character in bouncing back against the division's form side, suggesting consolidation should remain the primary target for Andy Woodman's side this season.
In League Two, Gillingham continued their impressive turnaround with a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers, moving up to fourth place with three wins and three draws from their last six matches. McLean noted that manager Gareth Ainsworth had acknowledged mistakes from the previous campaign and credited the players for buying into his methods, drawing comparisons to Ainsworth's previous success at Wycombe Wanderers.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.