98-561: The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup , with a similar format to its predecessor, but involving clubs from England and Scotland only. The competition made every attempt to maintain the status of a top-level tournament. Newcastle United were expelled from
196-567: A 1–1 draw. However, the years that followed were inconsistent, with Mansfield becoming a "yo-yo" team between the Third and Fourth Divisions. Also at that time, the controversial Keith Haslam bought the club. In 2001–02 , Mansfield were again promoted to the third tier of English football, beating Carlisle United to take third place from Cheltenham Town , who lost at Plymouth Argyle . A poor season in Division Two did not pick up even with
294-489: A Creditor's Voluntary Agreement and pays in full any other footballing creditors. Failure to do either of these will result in a second, potentially unlimited (though in practice usually between fifteen and twenty) points deduction. The other main situation in which is a club may lose points is by fielding an improperly registered or otherwise ineligible player. If a club is found to have done this, then any points earned from any match that player participated in will be deducted;
392-611: A bid from James Derry's consortium and the Mansfield fans pledged to have a TV protest against him on 2 December 2007 against Harrogate Railway Athletic live on the BBC's Match of the Day programme. In March 2008, it was reported that John Batchelor , a bidder for Mansfield Town, planned to rename the club to Harchester United after the fictional squad from the TV series Dream Team to make
490-408: A club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season. Clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the next higher division, while those at the bottom may be relegated to
588-439: A large increase in goals, and numbers on shirts were introduced in 1939. Between 1923 and 1926, Huddersfield Town were the first team to win three consecutive league titles (and never won another one, though they finished as runners-up for the following two years). This was equalled by Arsenal between 1932 and 1935, during a period from 1930 to 1938 in which they won five titles out of eight. Manchester City (1936–37) became
686-534: A league side in 1931 coincided with a change to pale blue shirts with white shorts, which the club would wear until October 1934, when the blue and amber returned (albeit in quarters for the remainder of the 1934–35 season ). They would continue to wear this colour combination in various arrangements (including a blue shirt with amber sleeves from January 1948) for two decades. From 1954 to 1961 Town played in white shirts and black shorts, before amber shirts with blue shorts returned for seven years. All-blue with amber trim
784-482: A number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. His idea might have been based upon a description of a proposal for an early American college football league, publicised in the English media in 1887 which stated: "measures would be taken to form a new football league ... [consisting of] a schedule containing two championship games between every two colleges composing the league". The first meeting
882-578: A result of the Heysel disaster , where crowd trouble involving Liverpool fans at the European Cup final in Belgium resulted in 39 spectator deaths during a crush in a Juventus fan section. The loss of life occurred when a surge in the crowd (moving away from clashes between rival supporters) caused a wall to collapse. Inadequate segregation, stewarding and policing as well the generally poor condition of
980-536: A significant decline in league attendances as a result of the recession and the ongoing problem of hooliganism . This did no favours for the financial position and league standing of numerous clubs, and several – including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swansea City and Middlesbrough – were almost forced out of business as a result. The fortunes of the First Division clubs suffered a fresh blow in 1985 when all English clubs were banned from European competitions as
1078-614: A step to maximise their revenue the leading members of the Football League broke away to form their own competition, the FA Premier League , which was renamed the Premier League in 2007. The Football League therefore no longer includes the top twenty clubs who belong to this group, although promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Premier League continues. In total, 145 teams have played in
SECTION 10
#17327732183281176-427: A win, one for a draw, and a bonus point for each side that scored three or more goals in a single match. Eight Scottish League clubs played a two-legged knock-out round, with the aggregate winners of each tie qualifying to the overall quarter-finals. For the overall quarter-finals, each club was paired against a club from the other country and the tournament then progressed in a knock-out format, with each tie (including
1274-599: Is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League , it is the oldest football league in the world , and was the top-level football league in England from its foundation until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split from it to form the Premier League . The Football League was rebranded as the "English Football League" (EFL) from the 2016–17 season. The EFL
1372-629: Is divided into the Championship , League One and League Two , with 24 clubs in each division, 72 in total, with promotion and relegation between them; the top Championship division clubs change places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two with the top clubs of the National League . Currently four of the EFL clubs are from Wales – Cardiff City , Swansea City , Wrexham and Newport County –
1470-527: The 2012–13 season left Mansfield lingering around mid-table, with some fans calling for the manager's head. One good point to the first half of the season was the club's FA Cup run. In the third round, the Stags faced Premier League side Liverpool . A controversial Luis Suárez goal helped the Reds to a 2–1 victory, but a brave display from the Mansfield team gave the team momentum in the weeks to follow. Following
1568-491: The 2015–16 season, the first such during the Premier League era. Another important change was made at the start of the 1981-82 season when it was decided to award three points for a win instead of two, a further effort to increase attacking football. (This scoring rule was not added by FIFA to the World Cups until the 1994 cup after the perceived dominance of defensive play at Italia 90 ). The early 1980s also saw
1666-671: The Conference until they were promoted back into the Football League after winning the Conference in 2012–13 following investment from new club owner John Radford . They were promoted from League Two in the 2023–24 season. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and yellow kit. Since 1919, Mansfield have played at Field Mill , which is now an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 9,186. Their main rivals are Chesterfield . The club also competes in local derby games against fellow Nottinghamshire club Notts County . Mansfield Town
1764-412: The Conference . A fluke goal in a 1–0 loss to rivals Rotherham United in the last home game of the season all but guaranteed relegation. Ugly scenes erupted at the final whistle, with controversial owner Keith Haslam being attacked by fans. Haslam left the club, with the trio of Perry, Middleton and Saunders purchasing the club (but not the ground) for £1 and installed Billy McEwan as manager. He
1862-756: The Football League in 1931. They were relegated out of the Third Division in 1960, but won promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1962–63, remaining in the third tier for nine seasons until their relegation in 1972. They reached the Second Division for the first time after winning the Fourth Division title in 1974–75 and the Third Division title in 1976–77, only to suffer two relegations in three seasons. Promoted out of
1960-636: The Football League Group Cup . In the 1987–88 season, an attempt was made to revive the competition as the Anglo-Scottish Challenge , pitting the holders of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup against each other, but after a poor attendance for the first leg between Coventry City and St Mirren the competition was shelved, with the second leg never played. Nottingham Forest’s victory in the 1976-77 final over Orient
2058-636: The Northern League ), plus Darwen. The bottom clubs of the lower division were subsequently required to apply for re-election to the League at the end of each season. In 1893 two clubs were relegated from the First Division and two promoted from the Second, but one of those relegated, Accrington, chose to resign from the Football League rather than play in the Second Division. Meanwhile Bootle
SECTION 20
#17327732183282156-565: The Southern League joined the League to form a new Third Division, which in 1921 was renamed the Third Division South upon the further addition of more clubs in a new Third Division North . One club from each of these divisions would gain promotion to the Second Division, with the two relegated clubs being assigned to the more appropriate Third Division. To accommodate potential difficulties in this arrangement, clubs in
2254-610: The UEFA Europa Conference League . The EFL Trophy, established in 1983, is for clubs belonging to EFL League One and EFL League Two. The organisation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1988 with a Centenary Tournament at Wembley between sixteen of its member clubs. After four years of debate, the Football Association finally permitted professionalism on 20 July 1885. Before that date many clubs made payments to "professional" players to boost
2352-438: The "SFFC (Stags Fans for Change)" an organisation aiming for the removal of then owner Keith Haslam from the club. The organisation undertook many projects over the year to get their message over in a different and non-aggressive way. This included hiring a plane to fly over the local derby match with Notts County towing a banner declaring that the club was for sale and calling for Haslam to leave. On 29 November 2007 Haslam rejected
2450-533: The 1970s: founder members of the League Derby County (1971–72 and 1974–75) and Nottingham Forest (1977–78), both clubs managed by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor . Nottingham Forest's title in 1977–78 turned out to be the last occasion that a first-time champion won the First Division title during The Football League era, before the First Division clubs formed the Premier League in 1992. The next first-time League champion club would be Leicester City in
2548-513: The 1976–77 competition for playing a weakened team in the first leg of their quarter-final against Ayr United . Over the years, however, English entrants were increasingly drawn from the lower divisions, and in 1981 the Scottish clubs withdrew as the public showed little interest in the competition. As the final winners, Chesterfield still hold the trophy and it is displayed in their Board Room. The competition continued, with English clubs only, as
2646-409: The 1991–92 season and planned to raise the number again to 94 clubs for 1992–93, but after Aldershot and Maidstone United both went out of business within a few months of each other in mid-1992, this plan was abandoned. The issues creating the uncertainty in the game all centered on money. The increasing influence of money in English football was evident with such events as the first £1m transfer in
2744-656: The Football League up to 2024 (including those in the Premier League, since clubs must pass through the Football League before reaching the former). The EFL's 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions: the EFL Championship , EFL League One , and EFL League Two (previously the Football League First Division , Football League Second Division and Football League Third Division respectively; they were renamed for sponsorship reasons). Each division has 24 clubs, and in any given season
2842-518: The Fourth Division under the stewardship of Ian Greaves in 1985–86, they went on to win the Associate Members' Cup in 1986–87 . Mansfield were however relegated in 1991 and promoted again in 1991–92, only to suffer an immediate relegation the following season. They won promotion once again in 2001–02, but were relegated to League Two in 2003 and lost their Football League status with a further relegation in 2008. They spent five seasons in
2940-585: The League. There would be a further wait until 1931 before a southern club, Arsenal would win the League for the first time. Unlike in most other Leagues in Europe, no single English club managed to remain ever-present in the division during the 104 years of its existence as the top division in the country. Everton comes closest, missing just four seasons through relegation, and remains one of only three clubs in England to have played over 100 top-flight seasons, along with Aston Villa and Arsenal . Arsenal are also
3038-666: The Mansfield & District Amateur League in 1902, before changing its name to Mansfield Wesley and joining the Notts & District League in 1906. They then finally became Mansfield Town in 1910, and moved from the Notts & Derbyshire League to the Central Alliance the following year. Crowned Alliance champions in 1919–20, they joined the Midland League in 1921 and would win this league on three occasions – 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1928–29 – before they were admitted into
Anglo-Scottish Cup - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-654: The Midland League again, but more famously reached the fourth round proper of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 to First Division club Arsenal , after a cup run which saw them beat Second Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers . However, York City beat the Stags in elections for a League place. In 1931, Mansfield were finally elected to the Southern Section of the Third Division . However, the club struggled to adapt to League surroundings and were frequently in
3234-586: The Midland League, and New Brighton Tower from the Lancashire League to the Second Division. After a few years, other northern clubs began to catch up, with the likes of Newcastle United and Manchester United having success. From 1900, Aston Villa ( 1899–1900 , 1909–10 ), Liverpool (1900–01, 1905–06), Sunderland (1901–02, 1912–13), The Wednesday (1902–03, 1903–04), Newcastle United (1904–05, 1908–09), Manchester United (1907–08, 1910–11) and Blackburn Rovers (1911–12, 1913–14) all won two titles prior to
3332-493: The Midlands such as Mansfield Town or Walsall would sometimes be moved from one-Third Division to the other. Following this burst of post-war growth, the League entered a prolonged period of relative stability with few changes in the membership, although there were changes on the pitch. In 1925, a new offside law reduced the number of defending opponents between the attacking player and the goal from three to two, leading to
3430-758: The Royal Hotel is long gone, the site is marked with a commemorative red plaque on the Royal Buildings in Market Street . The first season of the Football League began a few months later on 8 September with twelve member clubs from the Midlands and north of England : Accrington , Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley , Derby County , Everton , Notts County , Preston North End, Stoke (renamed Stoke City in 1926), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers . Each club played
3528-408: The Second Division expanded to sixteen (net increase one) with the addition of Bury from the Lancashire League, Leicester Fosse (later Leicester City) and Burton Wanderers (who later joined with existing Second Division club Burton Swifts to form Burton United ) from the Midland League, while Northwich resigned and Middlesbrough Ironopolis disbanded. Both Liverpool and Bury won the division at
3626-408: The Second Division. The season after avoiding relegation due to a points deduction for Peterborough United , Mansfield made another headline-grabbing cup run. Mansfield beat First Division West Ham United 3–0 in the fifth round of the 1968–69 FA Cup , before narrowly losing to Leicester City in the quarter-finals. In 1971–72 Mansfield were relegated, again, to the Fourth Division. By 1976–77 ,
3724-2044: The South , St Johnstone [REDACTED] Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers , Bristol City, Burnley , Chelsea, Fulham, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest , Notts County , Orient , Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion [REDACTED] Aberdeen, Ayr United, Clydebank , Dundee United , Kilmarnock , Motherwell, Partick Thistle , Raith Rovers [REDACTED] Birmingham City , Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers , Burnley , Chelsea , Fulham, Hull City, Leyton Orient, Norwich City, Notts County, Oldham Athletic , Plymouth Argyle , Sheffield United [REDACTED] Alloa Athletic , Ayr United, Clydebank, Hibernian , Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Stirling Albion , St Mirren [REDACTED] Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Cardiff City , Fulham , Leyton Orient, Mansfield Town , Norwich City, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End , Sheffield United, Sunderland [REDACTED] Celtic , Clyde , Hearts, Morton , Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Raith Rovers, St Mirren [REDACTED] Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Burnley, Bury , Cambridge United , Fulham, Mansfield Town, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Sunderland [REDACTED] Berwick Rangers , Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic , Hibernian, Kilmarnock , Morton, Partick Thistle, St Mirren [REDACTED] Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol City, Burnley, Bury, Carlisle United , Chesterfield , Fulham, Grimsby Town , Hull City, Leyton Orient, Notts County, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End, Shrewsbury [REDACTED] Airdrieonians , East Stirlingshire , Falkirk, Hearts, Kilmarnock, Morton, Partick Thistle, Rangers The Football League The English Football League ( EFL )
3822-427: The Stags' main rivals, 2017. The 2003 Football Fans Census indicates that Mansfield's biggest rivalries are with Chesterfield and Notts County , with Doncaster Rovers tertiary rivals. Bad blood between Chesterfield and Mansfield has links to the miners' strike . Fixtures between Town and County are referred to as Nottinghamshire derbies. More recently, a lesser rivalry has grown with Grimsby Town . During
3920-646: The Wesleyans era, Mansfield played in chocolate and sky blue shirts, firstly striped until 1902, and then halved. Upon assuming the Mansfield Town moniker, the club switched to red shirts, white shorts, and black socks, though this identity only lasted the 1910–11 season . A five-year stint in black and white quartered shirts with black shorts and socks followed before the club closed down. Upon their return in 1919, Town introduced their now-familiar blue and amber club colour scheme, initially in halves. Becoming
4018-425: The ageing stadium were attributed as contributory factors. In a similar vein, playoffs to determine promotion places were introduced for the 1986–87 season so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time to aid in the reduction over two years of the number of clubs in the First Division from 22 to 20. For the first two seasons, the playoffs were contested between
Anglo-Scottish Cup - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-470: The arrival of Keith Curle as manager, as the club was relegated straight back to the fourth tier of English football. In 2003–04 , Mansfield beat Northampton Town in a penalty shoot-out in the Division Three play-off semi-finals, but lost to Huddersfield Town on penalties in the final . In 2007–08 , Mansfield's 77-year stay in the Football League came to an end as the club was relegated to
4214-458: The bottom two clubs of the First Division and the top two clubs of the Second Division was brought into disrepute when Stoke and Burnley colluded in the final match to ensure they were both in the First Division the next season. At this point both divisions of the League expanded to eighteen, with the addition of Barnsley from the Midland and Yorkshire Leagues, Burslem Port Vale, Glossop from
4312-564: The club "more promotable" if his bid were a success. Fans and executives within the club both stated that they would oppose the name change. Following the club's relegation in 2008, Colin Hancock, then the chairman of Glapwell , emerged as the leading bidder as he agreed to purchase a controlling share of the Stags, Field Mill, and some land surrounding the stadium from Haslam. However, three businessmen who are also Mansfield Town fans, Andrew Perry, Andrew Saunders and Steve Middleton, bought
4410-405: The club from Keith Haslam for an undisclosed fee, but they were still renting the stadium from him. At the start of the 2010–11 season Mansfield were bought by John Radford. On 2 December 2010 the club was locked out of Field Mill in a dispute over unpaid rent. Since returning to Field Mill after securing a lease on the ground for a further year and a half, John Radford began to seek a way by which
4508-544: The club was back in the Third Division, and despite the distraction of a 5–2 FA Cup defeat to Matlock Town , beat Wrexham to the Third Division title . The club went straight back down, and only a good run of form at the end of the 1978–79 season saved Mansfield from a double relegation. Mansfield won the Football League Trophy in front of 58,000 fans in May 1987, beating Bristol City on penalties after
4606-425: The club was relegated to the recently created Fourth Division , before gaining promotion back to the Third Division in 1962–63 . This promotion was later tainted by life-time suspensions handed out to players Brian Phillips and Sammy Chapman for bribing opponents, including players of Hartlepools United in a vital match which Mansfield won 4–3. Two seasons later, the club again narrowly missed out on promotion to
4704-424: The club would once again own Field Mill. It was reported that Keith Haslam rejected an offer from Radford for Field Mill; the offer was alleged to have been worth in between £2 million and £4 million. On 1 March 2012, Chairman John Radford purchased the ground from Keith Haslam. Since then, 1 March is considered "Amber Day" at the club to commemorate the retrieval of Mansfield's stadium. In April 2012, Radford changed
4802-443: The competition became firmly established in the footballing calendar. It was not until the dawn of the 1970s, though, that all 92 Football League clubs regularly participated in the competition season after season. Substitutes (one per team per match) were first allowed for injured players in 1965 and for any reason the following year. The first ever League game to be held on a Sunday took place on 20 January 1974 (11:30 kick-off) and
4900-460: The competitiveness of their teams, breaking FA rules and arousing the contempt of those clubs abiding by the laws of the amateur Football Association code. As more and more clubs became professional the ad-hoc fixture list of FA Cup, inter-county, and ordinary matches was seen by many as an unreliable stream of revenue, and ways were considered of ensuring a consistent income. A Scottish director of Birmingham-based Aston Villa , William McGregor,
4998-476: The cup game the Stags won 20 of their last 24 games, including a club record run of 12 consecutive wins, to clinch the Conference Premier title, and promotion back to the Football League. The title was sealed with a 1–0 victory over Wrexham on 20 April 2013. Mansfield finished their first season back in the Football League in 11th place. In 2018–19 , the Stags narrowly missed out on promotion on
SECTION 50
#17327732183285096-451: The final after a 120th-minute extra-time goal by Chris Senior. A league position of 12th was not good enough for Russell to keep his job. His replacement, Paul Cox , led Mansfield to their highest Conference finish in his first season. A good run of form after Christmas saw the Stags finish in third in the league, although they lost 2–1 on aggregate to York City after extra time in the promotion play-off semi-final. An indifferent start to
5194-408: The final day of the season after a defeat to promotion rivals MK Dons . They would then lose in the play-offs on penalties to Newport County in the semi-final. In 2021–22 , Mansfield reached the play-offs again but lost 3–0 to Port Vale in the final . In the 2023–24 season, Mansfield were promoted to League One, eventually finishing in 3rd place. The 2006–07 season saw the creation of
5292-500: The final) being played over two legs. In the early years, around half of the English clubs were drawn from that season's First Division (excepting clubs playing in Europe), although by the latter years of the tournament only two or three top-level English sides were playing, with participation stretching down to Third and Fourth Division sides. NB Finals played over two legs, aggregate score given. (Source:) St Mirren became
5390-499: The first attempt. In 1895 Loughborough replaced Walsall Town Swifts . In 1896 Blackpool from the Lancashire League and Gainsborough Trinity from the Midland League replaced Burslem Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra . In 1897 Luton Town from the United League replaced Burton Wanderers. Automatic promotion and relegation for two clubs in each division were introduced in 1898. The previous system of test matches between
5488-470: The first club in the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup "double" in 1960–61, a season after Wolverhampton Wanderers had come within a whisker of achieving the feat themselves (Wolves won the 1959–60 FA Cup and were runners-up to Burnley in the League by a single point). Post-Second World War changes in league football included the use of white balls in 1951 and the first floodlight game (played between Portsmouth and Newcastle United) in 1956, opening up
5586-485: The game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League. The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from the Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League license to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at
5684-522: The game, that of Trevor Francis from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in February 1979. The first £2million player transferred between English clubs was Tony Cottee , who moved from West Ham United to Everton in July 1988 – although several players had already been sold by English clubs to foreign clubs for even higher fees. Before the formation of the FA Premier League, the highest transfer fee paid
5782-399: The game. In the first ten seasons, the only other clubs to win (single) league titles were Everton and Sheffield United. A new Second Division was formed in 1892 with the absorption of the rival 12-club Football Alliance . Alliance clubs Nottingham Forest , The Wednesday (later renamed Sheffield Wednesday) and Newton Heath (later renamed Manchester United) joined thirteen League clubs in
5880-413: The league for the following year in a process called " re-election ". In 1890, Stoke were not re-elected to the league and was replaced for the 1890–91 season by Sunderland , who won it in their second, third, and fifth year. Stoke was re-elected for the 1891–92 season, along with Darwen , to take the league to fourteen clubs. Preston North End, Aston Villa, and Sunderland dominated the early years of
5978-404: The league would return to 22 for the 1991–92 season, which increased competitiveness in the 1990–91 season as four teams would be promoted from the Second and Third Divisions instead of the normal three (with the seventh-place being the minimum position for the playoffs), while in the Fourth Division an unprecedented five promotion places were up for grabs, with the eighth-place being high enough for
SECTION 60
#17327732183286076-573: The length of the season, one promotion place from each division is decided according to a playoff among four clubs, which takes place at the end of the season. It is possible for a team finishing sixth in the Championship or League One, or seventh in League Two, to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings. Since the 2004–05 season, penalties have existed for clubs entering financial administration during
6174-591: The longest serving member of the top division, present since 1919. The League was suspended for four seasons during the First World War and resumed in 1919 with the First and Second Divisions expanded to 22 clubs. On resumption West Bromwich Albion (1919–20) and Burnley (1920–21), both original twelve clubs, won their first-ever titles (in Albion's case their only title to date). In 1920, leading clubs from
6272-466: The lower reaches of the table. One of very few highlights in the years before the Second World War was Ted Harston , who scored 55 goals in one season before transferring to Liverpool . After the war, Mansfield started to see some progress. Lucky to escape the need for re-election when it was decided that no club would be relegated after the 1946–47 season , the Stags started to move up
6370-471: The lowest placed team to avoid automatic relegation and three highest-placed teams to miss out on automatic promotion in the division below before it was altered from the 1988–89 season to include just the four clubs who had missed out on automatic promotion in the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions. 1986–87 was the first season of the decade where Football League attendances increased, helped by improved economic conditions and falling unemployment nationally. At
6468-414: The most dramatic nights in League history, when Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–0 at Anfield in the last game of the season to win the League on this tiebreaker – by a single Michael Thomas goal in the final minute of the final game of the season. Both teams would finish with the same amount of goal difference, but Arsenal had scored more goals during the season. Two clubs won their first League titles during
6566-423: The new First Division, giving it sixteen members. Darwen from the League was allocated to the new Second, and Alliance club Birmingham St George's disbanded at that point. The Second Division started with twelve clubs, eight remaining Alliance clubs with the addition of Northwich Victoria (from The Combination ), Burslem Port Vale (later renamed Port Vale, from the Midland League ), and Sheffield United (from
6664-511: The new Third Division, and those in the bottom half made up the Fourth Division. An earlier suggestion that the Third Division South should become the Third Division and the Third Division North become the Fourth Division on the basis of better attendances and that they tended to fare better when promoted was rejected. Four clubs were promoted and relegated between these two lower divisions, while two clubs exchanged places in
6762-605: The next lower one. At the top end of the competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from the Football League to the Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places. At the lower end, two League Two clubs lose their Football League status with relegation to the National division of the National League , while two teams from that division join League Two of The Football League in their stead. Promotion and relegation are determined by final league positions, but to sustain interest for more clubs over
6860-482: The oldest professional football league competition in the world. It also organises two knockout cup competitions, the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy . The Football League was founded in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor , originally with twelve member clubs. Steady growth and the addition of more divisions meant that by 1950 the League had 92 clubs. Financial considerations led to a major shake-up in 1992, when in
6958-700: The only Scottish winner of the event following their success in 1979–80, defeating Bristol City 2–0 at Ashton Gate Stadium in the first leg, before a 3–1 home 2nd leg victory on 16 April 1980. Chesterfield's victory in the 1980–81 event was secured with an extra-time goal from Alan Crawford . [REDACTED] Blackburn Rovers , Blackpool , Bristol City , Carlisle United , Chelsea , Fulham , Hull City , Leicester City , Manchester City , Mansfield Town , Middlesbrough , Newcastle United , Norwich City , Sheffield United , Sunderland , West Bromwich Albion [REDACTED] Aberdeen , Ayr United , Dundee , Falkirk , Heart of Midlothian , Motherwell , Queen of
7056-457: The only other club to be added to the list of Football League winners prior to the outbreak of the Second World War , the fourteenth club to achieve the feat since 1888–89. In the 1938–39 season Everton won the title for the fifth time but suffered the same fate as in 1915 , being champions when football was suspended due to the World War. The League was suspended once more in 1939 with
7154-626: The opposing club(s) do not earn any points from this, however. The EFL organises two knock-out cup competitions: the EFL Cup (officially known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons) and the EFL Trophy (officially known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy also for sponsorship reasons). The EFL Cup was established in 1960 and is open to all EFL and Premier League clubs, with the winner eligible to participate in
7252-453: The others twice, once at home and once away, and two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. This points system was not agreed upon until after the season had started; the alternative proposal was one point for a win only. Preston won the first league title without losing a game and completed the first league–cup double by also taking the FA Cup . Teams finishing at the bottom of the table were required to reapply for their position in
7350-417: The outbreak of the First World War , while Everton added a second title to their much earlier success in the last season, 1914–15. It was not until the early years of the 20th century, and the expansion of both Leagues to 20 clubs (in 1905), that further southern clubs such as Chelsea and Clapton Orient (later Leyton Orient ) (1905), Fulham (1907) and Tottenham Hotspur (1908) established themselves in
7448-661: The outbreak of the Second World War, this time for seven seasons. The Third Divisions were expanded to 24 clubs each in 1950, bringing the total number of League clubs to 92, and in 1958 the decision was made to end the regionalisation of the Third Divisions and reorganise the clubs into a new nationwide Third Division and Fourth Division . To accomplish this, the clubs in the top half of both the Third Division North and South joined together to form
7546-648: The playoffs. The end of the ban on English clubs in Europe also helped boost interest in English football. However, the economy was now in another recession and added to that the clubs in the top two English divisions were faced with the requirement of having all-seater stadiums by 1994–95 to comply with the Taylor Report that followed the death of 97 Liverpool fans as a result of the Hillsborough disaster in April 1989. The League also expanded to 93 clubs for
7644-486: The possibility of midweek evening matches. By far the biggest change for league clubs during this era was a new cup competition open to all the members of the League, the Football League Cup . The League Cup was held for the first time in 1960–61 to provide clubs with a new source of income with Aston Villa winning that inaugural year. Despite an initial lack of enthusiasm on the part of some other big clubs,
7742-631: The rest of the 72 are located in England. The Football League had a sponsor from the 1983–84 season, and thus was known by various names. The English Football League also organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy . The operations centre of the Football League is in Preston , while its commercial office is in London. The Football League consists of 68 professional association football clubs in England and 4 in Wales. It runs
7840-474: The same time, automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the Football Conference were introduced for one club, replacing the annual application for re-election to the League of the bottom four clubs and linking the League to the developing National League System pyramid. Emblematic of the confusion that was beginning to envelop the game, the number of clubs at the top of
7938-508: The same year he guided them to their first league title. The format of the competition remained constant throughout the six years of its existence, and indeed the format was the same as the last edition of its forerunner, the Texaco Cup. Sixteen English clubs competed in four groups of four, with the winners of each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. Clubs played each of the other teams in their group once, with two points awarded for
8036-435: The season. If a club enters administration before 31 March of any given season, they will immediately be deducted twelve points; entering administration from 1 April onward will see the points deduction either held over until the end of the season (if the club finishes outside the relegation places) or applied the following season (if the club was relegated anyway). Also, it is required that a club exiting administration agrees to
8134-508: The stadium's name from "Field Mill" to the "One Call Stadium" for sponsorship reasons. You go into the bar after a game last Saturday and they were talking about Chesterfield , even though we had Port Vale to play before that. These are the games when the fixtures come out - our supporters are looking for the Notts Countys and Chesterfields and when we're going to play them. — Paul Raynor , former Mansfield assistant manager, on
8232-476: The summer of 1910, despite having lost the previous season to Mansfield Mechanics in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup , the team changed its name to Mansfield Town (much to the disgust of the Mechanics). In the following years, Mansfield Town swapped between the Notts and District League, Central Alliance League and Notts and Derbyshire League, before World War I brought a halt to proceedings. After
8330-587: The table. In 1950–51 , Mansfield reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and became the first Football League team to complete a 23–game home schedule unbeaten, although missed out on the only Third Division promotion spot. On 23 August 1958 Mansfield fielded a Black player, the Jamaican-born Lindy Delapenha , for the first time. He joined from Middlesbrough F.C. where he had spent nine successful seasons. He went on to make 115 League appearances for Mansfield, scoring 27 goals. In 1959–60
8428-494: The time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe. Mansfield Town F.C. Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield , Nottinghamshire , England. The team competes in EFL League One , the third level of the English football league system . The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and entered
8526-519: The upper divisions until 1974 when the number increased to three. Clubs to win their first League titles in the quarter-century following the Second World War were Portsmouth (1948–49 and 1949–50), Tottenham Hotspur (1950–51 and 1960–61), founder members of the League Wolverhampton Wanderers (1953–54, 1957–58 and 1958–59), Chelsea (1954–55), Ipswich Town (1961–62) and Leeds United (1968–69). Tottenham Hotspur became
8624-583: The war, Mansfield became occupants of the Field Mill ground, after Mansfield Mechanics failed to pay their rent. In 1921, the club was admitted into the Midland Counties League , and celebrated by reaching the sixth qualifying round of the FA Cup twice in a row. The club won the league in 1923–24 and was the runner-up the following season, but on both occasions failed to win election to the Football League . In 1928–29 , Mansfield won
8722-401: Was an effort to prevent unduly defensive play encouraged by the greater advantage in limiting goals allowed. In the event that clubs had equal points and equal goal differences, priority was given to the club that had scored the most goals. There has been only one season, 1988–89, when this level of differentiation was necessary to determine the League champion, and this was the occasion of one of
8820-641: Was dissolved because of financial problems. Yet the Second Division expanded to fifteen clubs for season 1893–94 (net increase three) by adding five new clubs: Liverpool from the Lancashire League , Middlesbrough Ironopolis and Newcastle United from the Northern League, Rotherham Town from the Midland League, and Woolwich Arsenal (later Arsenal), who became the first team from the South of England to compete. For its third season 1894–95,
8918-412: Was formed under the name of Mansfield Wesleyans in 1897, the name of the club coming from the local Wesleyan church. The club played friendlies up until the 1902–03 season , when it joined the Mansfield and District Amateur League. When the league dropped its amateur tag in 1906, the church abandoned the club, which changed its name to Mansfield Wesley and moved into the Notts and District League. In
9016-575: Was held at Anderton's Hotel in London on 23 March 1888 on the eve of the FA Cup Final. The Football League was formally created and named in Manchester at a further meeting on 17 April at the Royal Hotel. The name "Association Football Union" was proposed by McGregor but this was felt too close to " Rugby Football Union ". Instead, "The Football League" was proposed by Major William Sudell , representing Preston, and quickly agreed upon. Although
9114-429: Was played between Second Division rivals Millwall and Fulham at The Den . Millwall won 1–0. The first ever Sunday top-flight game was between Chelsea and Stoke a week later. Beginning with the 1976–77 season, the clubs finishing level on points began to be separated according to goal difference (the difference between goals scored and goals conceded) rather than goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). This
9212-487: Was replaced after Christmas by David Holdsworth . Holdsworth's less than two-year reign bought little improvement to the club and he was dismissed as manager in November 2010. Duncan Russell led Mansfield to an FA Trophy final appearance in 2010–11 , Louis Briscoe scoring a late extra-time winner against Luton Town in the semi-final second leg. However, the Stags lost 1–0 to Darlington at Wembley Stadium in
9310-441: Was selected in 1968, before a new look of white shirts with blue shorts was introduced in 1970. 1974 saw the classic colour scheme return, and though the composition might vary, amber and blue has reigned ever since. The only exception to this was the centenary kit worn in the 1997–98 season , which was a retro kit design styled after Mansfield Wesleyans' first, albeit with sky blue shorts and socks. The following tables detail
9408-403: Was the first to set out to bring some order to a chaotic world where clubs arranged their own fixtures, along with various cup competitions. On 22 March 1888, he wrote to the committee of his own club, Aston Villa, as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers , Bolton Wanderers , Preston North End , Stoke and West Bromwich Albion ; suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide
9506-446: Was their first trophy under the management of Brian Clough , who later stated that he took the tournament seriously (when many other clubs did not) and considered it the springboard for Forest's future success, as they would go on to win a First Division title and two European Cups over the following three seasons. Clough had taken a similar stance on the competition's predecessor, the Texaco Cup, and won it with Derby County in 1972 ,
9604-399: Was £2.9million for the transfer of Dean Saunders from Derby County to Liverpool during the 1991 close season. The first £3million player was Alan Shearer , who moved from Southampton to Blackburn Rovers in July 1992, the summer before the first Premier League season. At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal for the establishment of a new league was tabled that would bring more money into
#327672