A·F·L Season 177

Season Summary

A·F·L Season 178 Summary
Premier Division Tottenham Hotspur
Relegated Southampton
Leicester City
Norwich City
Division One Crystal Palace
Also Promoted West Ham United
Millwall
Relegated Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City
Bolton Wanderers
Division Two Crewe Alexandra
Also Promoted Charlton Athletic
Rotherham United
Relegated Sheffield United
Yeovil Town
Crawley Town
Mansfield Town
Division Three Wolverhampton Wanderers
Also Promoted Scunthorpe United
Southend United
Preston North End
Relegated Oxford United
Torquay United
Promoted
to Division Three
AFC Wimbledon
Northampton Town
A·F·L Cup Blackburn Rovers
Super Cup Manchester City
Season 176 Season 178 →

Season 177 of the A·F·L kicked off with the new Super Cup, inaugurated as a direct replacement for the Premier Cup. The latter was for Premier League clubs only but with the creation of the Super League, with two divisions, the Super Cup incorporates all 40 clubs in this league. In the first round of the competition the clubs are drawn into groups of five teams each, seeded according to their final positions in the previous season. Groups 1 - 4 comprise clubs from the Premier Division, and groups 5 - 8 comprise those from the Division One. Each team plays the other four once, two at home and two away, and the top two qualify for the knock-out stages. These are seeded, group winners at home to group runners up, Premier Division vs Division One. The remaining rounds are also seeded in a similar fashion, until we reach the final, which is the only round played on a neutral ground.

Manchester City were the first winners of the tournament, beating West Bromwich Albion 2—1 after extra time in the final. Ipswich Town were the Division One side that progressed the furthest in the tournament, reaching the semi-final where they lost 0—3 at home to West Bromwich Albion. They had beaten Manchester United (away) and Stoke City (home).

As mentioned above the league has been reorganised into two main leagues, each with two divisions. The top league is the Super League, with 40 clubs in two divisions of 20 (the Premier Division and the Division One). Below this we have the National League, with 48 clubs in two divisions of 24 (Division Two and Division Three). Promotion and relegation between each division is three up and three down, except between Division Two and Division Three, which have four up and four down. Two teams drop out from the National League and are replaced by two non-league teams as before.

Tottenham and Arsenal set the pace in the Premier Division and at the halfway stage the two North London teams topped the table, with Spurs on 48 and Arsenal on 43. Fellow London side Chelsea moved into 3rd place on 40 points after a 2—1 win against Manchester United. At the bottom, Hull City and Southampton trailed with just 16 points apiece. In the Division One Crystal Palace were the pace setters and topped the table with 47 points, 8 points clear of West Ham (the London teams were doing well in both leagues). Bournemouth, Middlesbrough, Fulham and Reading were in the play-off spots, with Aston Villa, Millwall and Q.P.R. not far behind. At the bottom, newcomers Colchester were struggling with just 12 points, with a group of 8 clubs with only 4 points separating them just above that, trying to stave off relegation fears.

In the second half of the season, Tottenham consolidated their position at the top and eventually won the title for the 15th time in their history. Stoke City finished well and took second place on goal difference from Liverpool. Manchester United finished fourth. Arsenal, who had challenged Tottenham in the early stages of the season, slumped badly in the second half of the season, dropping to fifth place, but did manage to clinch a place in next season's Euro-Cup. Blackburn Rovers, who finished 14th, also clinched a Euro-Cup spot by winning the A.F.L. Cup, winning 3—1 against Norwich City, who finished bottom of the Premier Division table. Southampton and Leicester City took the drop to the Division One, as Hull City pulled themselves out of the dropzone and survived by a margin of four points. All three promoted teams, Wigan Athletic, Swansea City and Huddersfield Town, remain in the Premier Division for another season.

In the Division One, Crystal Palace and West Ham United clinched the automatic promotion spots, whilst Bournemouth and Reading held on to clinch play-off places. Brighton and Hove Albion and Millwall had excellent form in the second half of the season to clinch the other two play-off places. Millwall were the surprise winners of the play-offs and will play in the Premiership for the first time since Season 127 next season. At the bottom Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers dropped out of the Super League.

 


Premier Division

League Table

Premier Division
Season 177
Champions Tottenham Hotspur
Relegated Southampton
Leicester City
Norwich City
Euro-League Qualifiers Tottenham Hotspur
Stoke City
Liverpool
Manchester United
Euro-Cup Qualifiers Arsenal
Blackburn Rovers
West Bromwich Albion
Biggest home win Liverpool 7—1 Huddersfield
Biggest away win Blackburn 1—6 Tottenham
Highest scoring 9 goals (Man Utd 6—3 Chelsea)
Home Wins 172
Away Wins 129
Draws 79
Matches Played 380
Goals Scored 1,203
Goals per Match 3.17
QualPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Tottenham Hotspur (C)3827110100366482
2Stoke City38229780473375
3Liverpool38236980493175
4Manchester United38219891474472
5Arsenal381781367491859
6West Bromwich Albion38178135751659
7Chelsea381841676601658
8Newcastle United38184166264-258
9Sunderland38167156158355
10Manchester City38157166058252
11Everton381213134551-649
12Wigan Athletic (p)38147174159-1849
13Derby County38137186379-1646
14Blackburn Rovers (CW)38137185478-2446
15Swansea City (p)38128185061-1144
16Huddersfield Town (p)38125214271-2941
17Hull City38912174767-2039
18Southampton38714173867-2935
19Leicester City38713184974-2534
20Norwich City3889214077-3733

Qualification to Euro-League; Qualification to Euro-Cup; Relegation to Division One; (C) Champions; (CW) Cup winners; (p) Promoted in previous season

Results

Home−AwayARSBLBCHEDEREVEHUDHULLEILIVMNCMNUNWCNRWSOTSTKSNDSWATOTWBAWIG
Arsenal4−03−11−13−00−11−02−21−10−11−32−12−14−03−41−30−20−24−01−0
Blackburn1−11−04−00−24−11−34−11−11−01−42−33−11−11−11−12−01−62−11−2
Chelsea4−05−15−14−00−24−12−13−24−12−16−11−00−01−20−32−03−22−10−1
Derby0−54−12−40−04−14−02−01−03−12−12−12−31−31−32−02−30−23−43−3
Everton0−04−11−02−10−11−01−12−41−22−21−20−03−23−31−21−10−23−10−0
Huddersfield0−41−11−21−30−13−21−10−20−11−00−23−00−02−12−40−31−01−13−1
Hull2−32−23−33−11−10−12−11−13−01−50−11−10−01−42−22−01−01−31−1
Leicester1−42−12−12−31−10−12−21−22−21−10−11−32−20−01−31−21−30−02−1
Liverpool1−36−13−13−21−17−10−13−12−11−24−23−13−02−04−11−10−50−12−0
Man City1−12−11−34−11−12−10−25−22−32−22−11−15−05−10−32−14−00−20−0
Man Utd4−00−16−31−11−14−23−15−11−11−00−15−05−12−14−22−01−24−04−0
Newcastle1−05−12−04−24−11−32−13−20−32−33−31−00−00−31−20−31−41−15−0
Norwich1−41−21−13−10−21−01−11−21−21−10−13−21−30−50−11−00−51−24−1
Southampton2−22−12−21−10−13−24−00−00−10−11−31−21−10−41−02−01−41−11−3
Stoke2−14−20−33−31−05−10−01−13−04−33−13−10−02−14−02−12−21−00−1
Sunderland1−12−02−14−11−21−12−21−21−41−31−22−15−01−10−12−02−01−00−3
Swansea1−00−22−01−22−01−03−12−22−31−02−20−22−24−11−23−31−43−30−2
Tottenham1−25−02−00−12−05−24−15−11−22−10−11−25−15−01−03−14−12−05−1
West Brom3−20−13−20−04−11−00−10−23−12−03−33−05−11−01−11−04−10−30−1
Wigan0−10−33−12−00−43−12−11−40−12−02−10−00−30−02−42−00−00−11−2

* Home team score shown first


Division One

League Table

Division One
Season 177
Champions Crystal Palace
Promoted West Ham United
Millwall
Relegated Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City
Bolton Wanderers
Biggest home win Crystal P 7—2 Leeds Utd
Biggest away win Nottm F 1—6 West Ham
Highest scoring 9 goals (Crystal P 7—2 Leeds)
Home Wins 183
Away Wins 104
Draws 93
Matches Played 380
Goals Scored 1,305
Goals per Match 3.43
QualPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Crystal Palace3825103103445985
2West Ham United382558106485880
3Reading381991067481966
4Millwall ¶38198116461365
5AFC Bournemouth3818101072531964
6Brighton & Hove Albion3818101069541564
7Middlesbrough381781376621459
8Fulham (r)381511126254856
9Queen's Park Rangers (r)381581582721053
10Sheffield Wednesday38155185974-1550
11Aston Villa3812131370591149
12Ipswich Town38138175168-1747
13Watford381112156069-945
14Burnley38126204775-2842
15Cardiff City (r)38816145774-1740
16Leeds United38911186790-2338
17Colchester United (p)38910195177-2637
18Nottingham Forest (p)38107214678-3237
19Birmingham City38106225675-1936
20Bolton Wanderers38713184070-3034

Promotion to Premier Division; Qualification to Promotion Play-offs; Relegation to Division Two;
Play-off winners; (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season.

Results

Home−AwayASVBIRBOLBOUBHABRNCRDCOLCPAFULIPSLEEMIDMILNFOQPRREASHWWATWHU
Aston V5−01−12−24−01−15−11−01−21−23−05−20−00−20−12−34−13−14−20−0
Birmingham2−02−02−20−00−21−21−32−22−23−03−14−15−03−22−20−12−34−12−4
Bolton2−23−01−10−10−23−21−10−43−12−21−31−40−01−21−30−13−20−01−4
Bournemouth2−41−02−12−13−13−00−01−22−01−05−05−33−13−13−11−22−00−12−1
Brighton0−20−15−10−02−03−15−03−31−13−32−32−30−30−04−30−03−13−22−1
Burnley3−22−01−12−11−24−34−20−50−20−14−32−20−22−11−20−01−30−31−2
Cardiff2−02−13−23−33−31−10−11−12−11−01−12−41−20−02−11−40−02−03−3
Colchester0−02−30−01−31−24−21−11−23−22−33−21−11−32−12−13−31−02−22−5
Crystal Palace4−14−10−03−21−14−12−10−02−23−17−25−14−04−14−10−02−13−12−3
Fulham2−23−11−10−22−02−02−12−10−02−01−13−12−21−01−10−23−16−12−0
Ipswich2−23−01−01−11−20−32−20−02−31−03−11−02−01−23−20−21−23−21−3
Leeds2−22−21−34−31−42−11−15−02−21−11−22−01−03−32−13−42−31−11−1
Middlesbrough3−03−20−13−11−25−05−23−22−33−12−20−05−14−11−31−14−13−21−0
Millwall3−22−11−22−21−21−03−32−11−53−14−13−22−20−22−02−04−10−00−4
Nottm F0−31−01−11−20−40−01−14−21−50−22−02−31−30−11−03−22−00−11−6
Q.P.R.2−23−15−23−30−21−23−03−01−45−23−44−31−02−22−22−05−02−03−4
Reading0−03−05−02−01−15−03−32−12−13−10−13−12−00−24−12−21−02−12−5
Sheff Wed3−22−14−13−00−33−11−02−11−20−20−01−02−02−44−33−32−13−31−4
Watford1−12−10−01−14−11−22−21−31−23−25−24−10−01−13−23−12−11−11−5
West Ham5−14−12−00−23−03−01−15−12−12−24−14−11−21−25−00−24−03−22−1

Play-offs

                     
  Brighton & Hove Albion 2 2  
Reading 1 2  
  Brighton & Hove Albion 1
  Millwall 2
AFC Bournemouth 3 0
  Millwall 2 3  

 


Division Two

QualPosTeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Crewe Alexandra4630799357+3697
2Charlton Athletic (r)46297108854+3494
3Rotherham United ¶46285138446+3889
4Brentford462610108849+3988
5Bristol City (r)46267139355+3885
6Swindon Town (p)46231588560+2584
7Milton Keynes Dons462310138357+2679
8Walsall462212128258+2478
9Doncaster Rovers46246167365+878
10Coventry City46237168466+1876
11Bradford City462110158363+2073
12Port Vale462110156956+1373
13Tranmere Rovers46189197580-563
14Oldham Athletic461513186463+158
15Barnsley46158236675-953
16Blackpool461215196275-1351
17Leyton Orient46139245685-2948
18Stevenage46138256191-3047
19Gillingham (p)46136275483-2945
20Shrewsbury Town461012245592-3742
21Sheffield United461252963105-4241
22Yeovil Town (r)46109274880-3239
23Crawley Town (r)4699285295-4336
24Mansfield Town (p)46793054105-5130

Promotion to Division One; Qualification to Promotion Play-offs; Relegation to Division Three;
Play-off winners; (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season.

Play-offs

                     
  Swindon Town 0 1  
Rotherham United 1 5  
Rotherham United (4) 3
  Brentford (1) 3
Bristol City 1 0
  Brentford 1 2  

 


Division Three

QualPosTeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Wolverhampton Wanderers463151010660+4698
2Scunthorpe United4629899555+4095
3Southend United462971010953+5694
4Notts County (r)46287118958+3191
5Preston North End ¶46261199657+3989
6Fleetwood Town462213118056+2479
7Bristol Rovers462213118465+1979
8Peterborough United46238158357+2677
9Chesterfield46229158359+2475
10Morecambe462112137959+2075
11Portsmouth462110158371+1273
12Rochdale (r)46198197872+665
13Hartlepool United461610205976-1758
14Wycombe Wanderers461510217287-1555
15Accrington Stanley461412206883-1554
16Carlisle United (r)46158235693-3753
17Bury461410227076-652
18Exeter City461313205992-3352
19Burton Albion46146266069-948
20Newport County461011256197-3641
21Cheltenham Town46116295282-3039
22Plymouth Argyle46108286399-3638
23Oxford United468102847108-6134
24Torquay United4679305098-4830

Promotion to Division Two; Qualification to Promotion Play-offs; Relegation from A·F·L;
Play-off winners; (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season.

Play-offs

                     
  Bristol Rovers 0 1  
Notts County 1 4  
  Notts County 1
  Preston North End 2
Fleetwood Town 2 0
  Preston North End 0 3  

Promoted to A·F·L

A.F.C. Wimbledon and Northampton Town.


Cup Competitions

Super Cup

GROUP 1PWDLFAGDPTS
Man Utd431094+510
Arsenal421162+47
Chelsea42024406
Liverpool411247-34
Norwich401328-61
GROUP 5PWDLFAGDPTS
Crystal Palace440073+412
Q.P.R.412164+25
Brighton411256-14
Birmingham403145-13
Leeds402248-42
GROUP 2PWDLFAGDPTS
Blackburn4310114+710
Man City4310115+610
Tottenham4103810-23
Wigan4103812-43
Newcastle4103714-73
GROUP 6PWDLFAGDPTS
Cardiff4301106+49
West Ham430185+39
Burnley42025506
Aston V410356-13
Bournemouth410328-63
GROUP 3PWDLFAGDPTS
Everton422064+28
Hull421183+57
Southampton413054+16
Leicester411279-24
Swansea4013612-61
GROUP 7PWDLFAGDPTS
Bolton430143+19
Fulham4202106+46
Millwall420264+26
Middlesbrough411247-34
Colchester411237-44
GROUP 4PWDLFAGDPTS
West Brom4301145+99
Stoke421197+27
Huddersfield421157-27
Derby412158-35
Sunderland400439-60
GROUP 8PWDLFAGDPTS
Sheff Wed422042+28
Ipswich421175+27
Watford412145-15
Nottm F40402204
Reading401358-31

A·F·L Cup

First Round
 Bradford City0 – 1Stevenage 
 Crewe Alexandra1 – 1Doncaster Rovers 
ReplayDoncaster Rovers2 – 1Crewe Alexandra 
 Oldham Athletic4 – 0Wycombe Wanderers 
 Leyton Orient1 – 2Mansfield Town 
 Burton Albion0 – 2Wolverhampton Wanderers 
 Crawley Town1 – 1Oxford United 
ReplayOxford United0 – 1Crawley Town(aet)
 Exeter City1 – 2Morecambe 
 Newport County0 – 3Rotherham United 
 Brentford2 – 3Preston North End 
 Peterborough United1 – 0Portsmouth 
 Walsall1 – 1Blackpool 
ReplayBlackpool2 – 1Walsall(aet)
 Scunthorpe United1 – 1Bristol Rovers 
ReplayBristol Rovers1 – 2Scunthorpe United 
 Gillingham1 – 2Yeovil Town 
 Charlton Athletic2 – 1Swindon Town 
 Fleetwood Town1 – 0Carlisle United 
 Chesterfield4 – 1Hartlepool United 
 Shrewsbury Town3 – 1Bury 
 Rochdale1 – 1Accrington Stanley 
ReplayAccrington Stanley0 – 2Rochdale 
 Milton Keynes Dons3 – 0Sheffield United 
 Cheltenham Town1 – 1Plymouth Argyle 
ReplayPlymouth Argyle2 – 3Cheltenham Town 
 Notts County3 – 4Coventry City 
 Port Vale3 – 3Southend United 
ReplaySouthend United3 – 0Port Vale 
 Barnsley0 – 0Torquay United 
ReplayTorquay United3 – 0Barnsley 
 Bristol City1 – 1Tranmere Rovers 
ReplayTranmere Rovers1 – 2Bristol City 

 

Second Round
 Colchester United0 – 1Manchester City 
 Torquay United2 – 2Doncaster Rovers 
ReplayDoncaster Rovers1 – 0Torquay United 
 Shrewsbury Town2 – 4Aston Villa 
 Rochdale4 – 2Crawley Town 
 West Bromwich Albion1 – 1Sunderland 
ReplaySunderland3 – 0West Bromwich Albion 
 Fulham1 – 0Southend United 
 Oldham Athletic2 – 3Scunthorpe United 
 Burnley1 – 0Birmingham City 
 Chelsea5 – 1Ipswich Town 
 Leicester City3 – 0Arsenal 
 Reading0 – 0Tottenham Hotspur 
ReplayTottenham Hotspur5 – 1Reading 
 Preston North End1 – 2Rotherham United 
 Huddersfield Town3 – 1Stevenage 
 Wigan Athletic1 – 0Derby County 
 Swansea City1 – 1Nottingham Forest 
ReplayNottingham Forest2 – 3Swansea City 
 Milton Keynes Dons4 – 2Cheltenham Town 
 Middlesbrough2 – 1Morecambe 
 Charlton Athletic3 – 4Southampton 
 Millwall1 – 1Blackburn Rovers 
ReplayBlackburn Rovers2 – 0Millwall(aet)
 Queen's Park Rangers3 – 1Yeovil Town 
 Sheffield Wednesday4 – 1Wolverhampton Wanderers 
 Peterborough United1 – 4Newcastle United 
 Manchester United0 – 2Crystal Palace 
 Cardiff City3 – 1Stoke City 
 Coventry City2 – 0Fleetwood Town 
 AFC Bournemouth2 – 3Everton 
 Hull City4 – 0Chesterfield 
 Mansfield Town3 – 0Brighton & Hove Albion 
 Norwich City4 – 2Bristol City 
 Watford4 – 1Blackpool 
 Bolton Wanderers2 – 2West Ham United 
ReplayWest Ham United4 – 2Bolton Wanderers 
 Leeds United1 – 3Liverpool 

 

Third Round
 Mansfield Town1 – 2Huddersfield Town 
 Norwich City3 – 0Manchester City 
 Blackburn Rovers4 – 1Hull City 
 Chelsea1 – 1Everton 
ReplayEverton2 – 2Chelsea(2 – 3 pens)
 Watford2 – 0Swansea City 
 Milton Keynes Dons2 – 2Cardiff City 
ReplayCardiff City3 – 0Milton Keynes Dons 
 Fulham3 – 2Wigan Athletic 
 Burnley0 – 1West Ham United 
 Scunthorpe United1 – 4Crystal Palace 
 Southampton7 – 1Rochdale 
 Queen's Park Rangers1 – 2Sheffield Wednesday 
 Sunderland2 – 0Liverpool 
 Doncaster Rovers0 – 0Aston Villa 
ReplayAston Villa2 – 1Doncaster Rovers 
 Coventry City1 – 2Middlesbrough 
 Newcastle United5 – 0Rotherham United 
 Leicester City3 – 1Tottenham Hotspur 

 

Fourth Round
 Chelsea4 – 1Middlesbrough 
 Fulham0 – 0Crystal Palace 
ReplayCrystal Palace1 – 2Fulham 
 Norwich City5 – 1Cardiff City 
 Huddersfield Town4 – 3Sheffield Wednesday 
 Blackburn Rovers2 – 1Aston Villa 
 Watford3 – 0Southampton 
 Leicester City2 – 3Newcastle United 
 West Ham United3 – 0Sunderland 

 

Quarter-Final
 Blackburn Rovers2 – 1Newcastle United 
 Fulham1 – 2Huddersfield Town 
 Chelsea1 – 1West Ham United 
ReplayWest Ham United2 – 0Chelsea 
 Watford0 – 2Norwich City 

 

Semi-Final
 Blackburn Rovers4 – 3West Ham United 
 Huddersfield Town2 – 2Norwich City 
ReplayNorwich City2 – 1Huddersfield Town 

 

Final
 Blackburn Rovers3 – 1Norwich City 

 

 


Clubs in Europe

Euro-League

  • Manchester United — Round of 16
  • Manchester City — Quarter-Final
  • Everton — Group Stage
  • West Bromwich Albion — Group Stage

Euro-Cup

  • Arsenal — Winners
  • Liverpool — Semi-Final

XW–29