Reverse Wrexham: Carlisle’s US dream goes sour

A club with a strong foothold in its neighborhood and a passionate fan base with potential for expansion.

In November 2023, the Florida-based Piatak family purchased Carlisle United because they shared many similarities with Wrexham and were a good fit for their eventual purchase.

After being dropped from League One a year ago, the expectation was to challenge for a swift return.

Add in a Premier League legend, a former World Cup champion, a former local hero, one of League Two’s biggest budgets, and the sixth-largest crowds.

What might be wrong with this?

How did this get started, then?

Carlisle won promotion to League One after defeating Stockport County in the League Two play-off final at Wembley less than two years ago.

It was unanticipated and unlikely, which strengthened manager Paul Simpson’s reputation as a neighborhood hero by welcoming him back for his second term as manager and promoting a third promotion to the list of achievements.

Unfortunately, Carlisle’s third-tier competition had a budget that would fit the bottom half of League Two, so the jump proved too big.

After winning just seven games during the club’s worst season in its history, the Blues were relegated to a club-record low of 30 points and were unable to compete on or off the field.

Insider wisdom advised the man who helped England’s Under-20s win the 2017 World Cup to win ten games to demonstrate his ability to challenge for promotion.

He controlled four.

He left his job on August 31, the day after the transfer window was closed, after three losses in those games, including significant defeats on the road at Gillingham and, pertinently, at MK Dons.

Two more games were lost to caretaker manager Mark Birch, but owner Tom Piatak declared promotion still possible just before announcing Mike Williamson as the club’s interim head coach with the 22nd game still a possibility.

The former Newcastle United defender won his first game at Swindon Town, but it turned out to be a false start.

The team’s slow, cat-and-mouse approach and his switch to three at the back did not appeal to the crowd in Brunton Park.

The fans actually chanted for Williamson’s removal during the bottom club’s Boxing Day home defeat to Morecambe.

In the absence of this, Williamson and Rob Clarkson, who had been hired in the January transfer window, were confident that the changes would significantly alter the playing squad and the outcomes.

The idea was to allow the individual to choose the team and fit the newly established “Carlisle way” that would run through the organization.

Tom Piatak stepped up to Williamson’s support during that busy time in January.

However, Williamson was fired just over three weeks later, on the deadline day itself, after Swindon humiliated him 5-1 at home, with nine of the 15 players being January signings.

Carlisle brought in Wales and Manchester United legend Mark Hughes in search of a second new manager of the season, which surprised most.

Since leaving Bradford City, he had been out of work for 16 months, so it was unexpected to see him return to Cumbria in an effort to save the league’s bottom team from relegation.

Performances under Carlisle improved under the 61-year-old, but not at the required rate.

After the team lost to Harrogate Town in early March, Hughes criticized the squad’s fitness, saying he had to make substitutions based on players’ ability to last 90 minutes rather than for tactical reasons.

In midweek training, Hughes had to schedule bounce games to get people up to match their fitness and assess the enormous squad at his disposal, even at such a late point in the campaign.

Only two of the 11 January arrivals, who had only been arriving on their own turf since August, gave way to the 22-marged victory over Bromley. This was only their second victory on their own turf since August.

Carlisle would have to get ready for their first National League season since 2005 in the event of a bad situation.

That was a brief period of time as they retreated to the EFL after making their first request, but this relegation would be a total failure.

Regardless of the division the team belongs in, a bloated squad will need to be reduced, and a decision will need to be made regarding the head coach.

Would Hughes prefer to remain? Or would the club choose a national league-experienced manager?

Stockport County and Wrexham have recently demonstrated what can happen with momentum brought about by national league arrivals.

BBC Radio Cumbria sports editor Paul Newton

With a 0-0 draw at Derby County, Carlisle United departed from their one-and-only season in the top flight of English football on Saturday, April 26, 1975.

The Cumbrians are in danger of experiencing yet another relegation on Saturday, April 26, 2025, but this would see them bid their final farewell to their EFL status.

Cheltenham Town and Carlisle had their opponents in 2004, which was the final and, so far, the only time that fate would strike them. This Saturday’s opponents for Carlisle? Cheltenham, you read that correctly.

Fans of Carlisle shouldn’t rely on history to frame yet another disastrous campaign. The possibility of back-to-back relegations under the club’s American owners, the Piataks, is all too real, and serious inquiries will be made about what has gone so badly wrong.

Fans will point to some incredibly dubious decisions, ranging from the sackings of Paul Simpson and Mike Williamson to four successive disastrous transfer cycles despite significant investment in the playing squad.

Carlisle are in a mess on the field, despite able to pull off an escape that is arguably more miraculous than the famous Jimmy Glass escape in these final two games.