The League One media foodie table in the eyes of the Rotherham United reporter ... plus, a very special lady called Eileen

Eileen is in her 80s and fusses over everyone in the press room at Bradford City's University of Bradford Stadium.

Eileen loves everyone. And everyone loves Eileen.

She was absolutely the best person I met on the Rotherham United beat in the 2025/26 League One campaign.

Eileen is like your mum or your grandma or a combination of both. When she talks to you, you feel like you're being given a hug at the same time.

She is soft and gentle with a kind word for everybody yet rules the Bantams' matchday media catering with a rod of iron.

She's in charge of the pies and man-marks the chips. Only the brave, the ignorant or the foolish try to tuck in before she's ready to serve.

Bradford are up there with the best in League One for how well they feed journalists. There's also a very nice selection of buns, biscuits and other sweet stuff. Eileen doesn't bother herself with those, you can help yourself.

The meals for media in the third tier are a mixed bag.

I've spent seven seasons in the Championship with Rotherham and miss the near-restaurant standards enjoyed in the past at the likes of Aston Villa, Leicester City, Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bristol City and Derby County.

I pine for the sweet trolley at Villa Park and the half-time cheeseboard at Pride Park, particularly when I'm fighting off cramp in the tiny press box at Northampton Town where complimentary food is just a dream and there's not even an offer of tea or coffee.

Huddersfield Town failed to live up to their potential in a footballing sense and missed out on the play-offs. Off the pitch, though, they topped the League One table by some distance.

And I got to savour their hospitality twice because of Rotherham being drawn away to them in the Vertu Trophy. Who cares about a 3-0 Tuesday-night loss with no Millers shot on target when you've just feasted on delicious sausage, mash, beans and gravy?

Bolton Wanderers went the extra mile and Leyton Orient are worthy of an honourable mention.

Meanwhile, Bradford are a club that do things right. Whenever you go, you see a lot of familiar faces. The guy who gives you your media pass is the same one as when I started out with the Millers 12 years ago. That also applies to the chap who oversees accreditation when you reach the press room. Their staff don't change much, and that's a good sign. The Bantams are a proper community concern.

And something - or, rather, someone - gives them another added edge.

They've got Eileen.

League One catering table:

1 Huddersfield Town: The Vertu Trophy sausage and mash has already been highly praised. For the league lunch-time kick-off, there was a sausage-and-egg breakfast butty, wedges and more of those tasty beans.

2 Bolton: Pasty, chips and strange non-mushy mushy peas in the Vertu Trophy, a very tasty chicken curry for the league match.

3 Bradford: See main story.

4 Leyton Orient: Bacon butties and sausage butties.

5 Barnsley: A kiosk voucher for chicken strips (nuggets to me and you) and chips, plus a drink. Very good.

6 Rotherham United: A pleasing selection of pies and sausage rolls provided by club sponsor Eric Twigg Foods. I can vouch for the steak ones. And the steak-and-kidney ones. And the chicken-and-mushroom ones. I tried them all, sometimes two on the same day - strictly in the interests of research, you understand.

7 Doncaster Rovers: A kiosk voucher for a basket of the best chips of the season and a drink.

8 Wigan Athletic: An assortment of good-quality pies.

9 Wycombe: Better pies than your average offering.

10 Cardiff: A solitary minced-beef pie. It was decent, but there was no chance of a second as an eagle-eyed lady kept an eye on them. She was very nice. But she wasn't Eileen.

11 Stevenage: A selection of pies.

12 = Exeter City: A kiosk voucher for a hot food item and a drink. Excellent pasty.

12 = Lincoln City: A kiosk voucher for a hot-food item and a drink.

12 = Port Vale: A kiosk voucher for a pie and a drink. Not a cheeseburger, though. Ronnie Moore, on radio commentary, tried for one and was rebuffed.

12 = Peterborough United: A kiosk voucher for a hot food item and a drink.

16 Blackpool: Better-than-average pies, but served only at half-time, which is an issue these days for journalists who generally spend the interval working on the first part of their on-the-whistle web pieces. It's much better to have food available before games.

17 Burton Albion: Sandwich packs and packets of crisps.

18 Reading: A selection of teeny-tiny sandwiches. Two bites big. So I had about 20.

19 Stockport County: Some kind of chicken schnitzel type of thing. It looked better than it tasted.

20 Luton: Sausage rolls. The boxes you put them in were more appetising.

21 Mansfield Town: Don't get me started on Mansfield. They offer a tray of self-service chips - and only at half-time. The problem is, too few chips and too many mouths. You only need a couple of greedy guts (and there's always a couple of greedy guts) at the front of the queue and some people go hungry. I didn't even bother queueing and stayed outside in the press box.

22 Wimbledon: Tea and coffee, but no food.

23 Northampton: Nothing. Zip. Zilch. I'm gutted that they're in the same division as the Millers next term.

* Tea and or coffee offered at every club not using kiosk vouchers, except for Northampton.

* I missed Plymouth Argyle away.

Carabao Cup and Vertu Trophy:

League Two Salford City: A kiosk voucher for a drink only, which was a shame because some of the fare on offer - posh burgers et cetera - looked well above League One standards.