There is a line that surfaces every so often in football, usually deployed with a knowing smile: the magic of the cup, or the beauty of the pyramid, is that it can put anyone in the same room. League One this season has provided its own version of that idea, and it requires no romantic stretch of the imagination to appreciate it.

Leicester City and Bromley are in the same division. The same fixture list. The same table. One of them won the Premier League title a decade ago; the other was in the National League South around the same time. Both of them are here now, and that fact alone tells you something worth dwelling on.

Two clubs, two very different journeys

Bromley's rise has been one of the more quietly impressive stories in the non-league and lower-league game. Andy Woodman has built something methodical and durable at Hayes Lane, working his side up through the National League pyramid over a number of years before earning their place in the third tier. There is no particular drama to it; just steady, sensible progress. When they finished 14th in the National League in 2015-16, a top-six finish in League One was not exactly being pencilled into the long-range plan.

Leicester, meanwhile, were winning the Premier League that same season at odds the bookmakers still struggle to rationalise. In the decade since, the Foxes have collected an FA Cup, been relegated twice from the top flight, returned once, and are now settling into League One. That is quite a lot of ground to cover, and not all of it in the right direction.

The weight of expectation at Filbert Way

What makes Leicester's situation genuinely interesting, rather than simply sobering, is the scale of the club they remain despite their current circumstances. The infrastructure, the wage structure, the fanbase: none of that shrinks overnight just because the division does. Early results have already shown that League One opponents will not offer polite deference. Burton beat them 2-1 in what was still early in the campaign, and Hull earned a draw at Filbert Way. Four or five games is four or five games, and it would be wrong to draw sweeping conclusions, but the suggestion that Leicester would simply steamroller the division has not yet been borne out.

There is also the matter of the club's ownership situation, which has added a layer of uncertainty to what was already a difficult summer. A squad that has seen departures, with Steve Martin braced for further exits as the wage bill is trimmed, is not the sort of environment that lends itself to a settled, coherent push for promotion. Loan moves and released players have been the story of the window at Filbert Way more than marquee arrivals.

What the table will eventually say

It is still early enough that the table is more or less decorative. But the promotion race in League One tends to clarify itself somewhere around October, when the sides with genuine depth begin to separate from those running on enthusiasm or early momentum. Leicester's resources suggest they should be involved in the conversation for the automatic places. Whether the disruption of a turbulent summer allows that to happen is the real question.

Bromley, for their part, simply want to consolidate. Staying in the division would represent another step in what has been a remarkably consistent upward trajectory. Woodman will not be setting expectations beyond that, and nor should he.

The fixture computer will pair these two sides at some point this season, and when it does, it will be one of the more unusual afternoons League One has to offer. A former Premier League champion against a club that was playing National League South football less than a decade ago. The division has seen stranger things, but not many.

For now, both are finding their feet. League One has a habit of making that process rather more uncomfortable than either party anticipates.

Frequently asked

Why are Leicester City in League One?
Leicester were relegated from the Premier League and then from the Championship in successive seasons, dropping them into the third tier for the current campaign.
How did Bromley reach League One?
Bromley worked their way up through the non-league pyramid under manager Andy Woodman, earning promotion from the National League to reach League One.
When do Leicester play Bromley in League One this season?
The exact date has not yet been confirmed in this report, but both clubs are in the same League One fixture list and will face each other home and away across the season.