The English League Play-offs
Back in 1986 the league changed the straight 3 up, 3 down rules for a play-off
system. There has been a common misconception since then that teams finishing
in the
highest play-off position hardly ever go up, whereas those sneaking into the
final spot
might as well just pack their bags for the next division, 'cos they're almost
guaranteed
that promotion. Wrong ? Look at our play-off lists below to find out.
We've ranked the play-off places from 1 to 4, with the team finishing in the
highest place
given a 1st ranking, the next play-off place given a 2nd ranking etc.
Back in 1986-87 and 1987-88 the team finishing outside of the relegation zone
had to meet the
3rd ranked play-off team in the division below, the 1st and 2nd ranked play-off
teams also met,
with the winners then meeting home and away to see who would go up, or stay up.
In our list we have given the single team in the division above a 1st ranking,
as they played
the bottom ranked side. The only team to manage to stay up in these 2 seasons
were Charlton
Athletic, who beat Leeds 2:1 in an additional play-off game after the first 2
matches
had finished 1:0 to each home team.
The Championship Play-offs
Whilst that popular pub story may claim that "only 1 team finishing 3rd in
the Championship has ever gone on to win the play-offs", the stats actually
tell us that's a load of old tosh. The Championship play-off rankings play
ball with the number of wins. However, it's worth noting that the 1st ranked
team has only won promotion 4 times in the last 15 years.
| Play-off Rank | Number of Wins |
|---|---|
| 1st | 11 |
| 3rd | 6 |
| 2nd | 5 |
| 4th | 5 |
| Season | Play-off Winner | Rank | Runner-up | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | West Ham Utd | (1st) | Blackpool | (3rd) | 2:1 |
| 2010-11 | Swansea City | (1st) | Reading | (3rd) | 4:2 |
| 2009-10 | Blackpool | (4th) | Cardiff City | (2nd) | 3:2 |
| 2008-09 | Burnley | (3rd) | Sheffield Utd | (1st) | 1:0 |
| 2007-08 | Hull City | (1st) | Bristol City | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 2006-07 | Derby County | (1st) | West Brom | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 2005-06 | Watford | (1st) | Leeds Utd | (3rd) | 3:0 |
| 2004-05 | West Ham | (4th) | Preston NE | (3rd) | 1:0 |
| 2003-04 | Crystal Palace | (4th) | West Ham | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 2002-03 | Wolves | (3rd) | Sheffield Utd | (1st) | 3:0 |
| 2001-02 | Birmingham City | (3rd) | Norwich City | (4th) | 1:1 (4:3 pens) |
| 2000-01 | Bolton | (1st) | Preston NE | (2nd) | 3:0 |
| 1999-00 | Ipswich | (1st) | Barnsley | (2nd) | 4:2 |
| 1998-99 | Watford | (3rd) | Bolton | (4th) | 2:0 |
| 1997-98 | Charlton | (2nd) | Sunderland | (1st) | 4:4 (7:6 pens) |
| 1996-97 | Crystal Palace | (4th) | Sheffield Utd | (3rd) | 1:0 |
| 1995-96 | Leicester City | (3rd) | Crystal Palace | (1st) | 2:1 |
| 1994-95 | Bolton Wanderers | (2nd) | Reading | (1st) | 4:3 |
| 1993-94 | Leicester City | (2nd) | Derby County | (4th) | 2:1 |
| 1992-93 | Swindon Town | (3rd) | Leicester City | (4th) | 4:3 |
| 1991-92 | Blackburn Rovers | (4th) | Leicester City | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1990-91 | Notts County | (1st) | Brighton HA | (3rd) | 3:1 |
| 1989-90 | Swindon Town | (2nd) | Sunderland | (4th) | 1:0 See Note |
| 1988-89 | Crystal Palace | (1st) | Blackburn Rovers | (2nd) | 4:3 Agg. (1:3 and 3:0) |
| 1987-88 | Middlesbrough | (2nd) | Chelsea | (1st) | 2:1 Agg. (2:0 and 0:1) |
| 1986-87 | Charlton Athletic | (1st) | Leeds | (3rd) | 2:1 Extra game (1:0 and 0:1) |
Notes:
In 1989-90 Swindon Town won the play-offs but Sunderland were awarded
promotion after Swindon were found guilty of making illegal payments to
players.
The League 1 Play-offs
Not the league to finish in the highest play-off place. If you want to spout
out the old line "it's better to finish in the final play-off spot, they
always go up", then the League 1 is the division to be talking about.
Before Blackpool went up in 2006-07 you had to go right back to Gillingham
beating Wigan for the last top ranked play-off team to go up.
| Play-off Rank | Number of Wins |
|---|---|
| 1st | 8 |
| 4th | 7 |
| 2nd | 7 |
| 3rd | 3 |
| Season | Play-off Winner | Rank | Runner-up | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | Peterborough Utd | (2nd) | Huddersfield Town | (1st) | 3:0 |
| 2009-10 | Millwall | (1st) | Swindon Town | (3rd) | 3:2 |
| 2008-09 | Scunthorpe Utd | (4th) | Millwall | (3rd) | 3:2 |
| 2007-08 | Doncaster Rovers | (1st) | Leeds Utd | (3rd) | 1:0 |
| 2006-07 | Blackpool | (1st) | Yeovil Town | (3rd) | 2:0 |
| 2005-06 | Barnsley | (3rd) | Swansea City | (4th) | 2:2 (4:3 pens) |
| 2004-05 | Sheff Wed | (3rd) | Hartlepool | (4th) | 4:2 |
| 2003-04 | Brighton HA | (2nd) | Bristol City | (1st) | 1:0 |
| 2002-03 | Cardiff City | (4th) | QPR | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 2001-02 | Stoke City | (3rd) | Brentford | (1st) | 2:0 |
| 2000-01 | Walsall | (2nd) | Reading | (1st) | 3:2 |
| 1999-00 | Gillingham | (1st) | Wigan Athletic | (2nd) | 3:2 |
| 1998-99 | Man City | (1st) | Gillingham | (2nd) | 2:2 (3:1 pens) |
| 1997-98 | Grimsby Town | (1st) | Northampton Town | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1996-97 | Crewe | (4th) | Brentford | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1995-96 | Bradford City | (4th) | Notts County | (3rd) | 2:0 |
| 1994-95 | Huddersfield | (4th) | Bristol Rovers | (3rd) | 2:1 |
| 1993-94 | Burnley | (4th) | Stockport County | (2nd) | 2:1 |
| 1992-93 | West Brom | (2nd) | Port Vale | (1st) | 3:0 |
| 1991-92 | Peterborough | (4th) | Stockport County | (3rd) | 2:1 |
| 1990-91 | Tranmere Rovers | (2nd) | Bolton | (1st) | 1:0 |
| 1989-90 | Notts County | (1st) | Tranmere Rovers | (2nd) | 2:0 |
| 1988-89 | Port Vale | (1st) | Bristol Rovers | (3rd) | 2:1 Agg. (1:1 and 1:0) |
| 1987-88 | Walsall | (2nd) | Bristol City | (4th) | 4:0 Extra game (3:1 and 0:2) |
| 1986-87 | Swindon Town | (2nd) | Gillingham | (4th) | 2:0 Extra game (0:1 and 2:1) |
The League 2 Play-offs
The play-off situation in League 2 is pretty simple... don't worry if you just miss out on that automatic promotion, as long as you're next in line you're almost certainly going up. Indeed, in the 90's it was almost guaranteed, with only 2 occasions when the top ranked team narrowly failed.
| Play-off Rank | Number of Wins |
|---|---|
| 1st | 13 |
| 3rd | 5 |
| 4th | 5 |
| 2nd | 2 |
| Season | Play-off Winner | Rank | Runner-up | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | Stevenage | (3rd) | Torquay Utd | (4th) | 1:0 |
| 2009-10 | Dagenham and Redbridge | (4th) | Rotherham Utd | (2nd) | 3:2 |
| 2008-09 | Gillingham | (2nd) | Shrewsbury Town | (4th) | 1:0 |
| 2007-08 | Stockport County | (1st) | Rochdale | (2nd) | 3:2 |
| 2006-07 | Bristol Rovers | (3rd) | Shrewsbury Town | (4th) | 3:1 |
| 2005-06 | Cheltenham | (4th) | Grimsby Town | (3rd) | 1:0 |
| 2004-05 | Southend | (1st) | Lincoln | (3rd) | 2:0 |
| 2003-04 | Huddersfield | (1st) | Mansfield | (2nd) | 0:0 (4:1 pens) |
| 2002-03 | Bournemouth | (1st) | Lincoln City | (3rd) | 5:2 |
| 2001-02 | Cheltenham Town | (1st) | Rushden & Diamonds | (3rd) | 3:1 |
| 2000-01 | Blackpool | (4th) | Leyton Orient | (2nd) | 4:2 |
| 1999-00 | Peterborough | (2nd) | Darlington | (1st) | 1:0 |
| 1998-99 | Scunthorpe Utd | (1st) | Leyton Orient | (3rd) | 1:0 |
| 1997-98 | Colchester Utd | (1st) | Torquay Utd | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1996-97 | Northampton Town | (1st) | Swansea City | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1995-96 | Plymouth Argyle | (1st) | Darlington | (2nd) | 1:0 |
| 1994-95 | Chesterfield | (1st) | Bury | (2nd) | 2:0 |
| 1993-94 | Wycombe Wanderers | (1st) | Preston NE | (2nd) | 4:2 |
| 1992-93 | York City | (1st) | Crewe Alexandra | (3rd) | 1:1 (5:3 pens) |
| 1991-92 | Blackpool | (1st) | Scunthorpe Utd | (2nd) | 1:1 (4:3 pens) |
| 1990-91 | Torquay Utd | (3rd) | Blackpool | (1st) | 2:2 (5:4 pens) |
| 1989-90 | Cambridge Utd | (3rd) | Chesterfield | (4th) | 1:0 |
| 1988-89 | Leyton Orient | (3rd) | Wrexham | (4th) | 2:1 Agg. (0:0 and 2:1) |
| 1987-88 | Swansea City | (4th) | Torquay United | (3rd) | 5:4 Agg. (2:1 and 3:3) |
| 1986-87 | Aldershot | (4th) | Wolves | (2nd) | 3:0 Agg. (2:0 and 1:0) |
The Play-off Kings (Number of Finals Won)
With 3 play-off victories taking them up into the Premiership (1988-89, 1996-97, 2003-04)
Palace can lay claim to be the play-off kings. However, they did lose once, to
Leicester City in 1995-96.
Success against Yeovil in 2006-07 means that Blackpool also claim a similar
record, with 3 play-off victories and one defeat.
Swindon Town can also lay claim to the title, having also won 3 play-offs
and having a 100% record in the finals. However, one of their victories
was in the 3rd tier, and another, the 1989-90 victory over Sunderland
was later soured after they were found guilty of making illegal payments to
players.
| 4 Wins | Blackpool |
| 3 Wins | |
| Crystal Palace | |
| Peterborough Utd | |
| Swindon Town | |
| 2 Wins | Bolton |
| Burnley | |
| Charlton | |
| Cheltenham Town | |
| Gillingham | |
| Huddersfield Town | |
| Leicester City | |
| Notts County | |
| Scunthorpe Utd | |
| Swansea City | |
| Walsall | |
| Watford | |
| West Ham Utd | |
| 1 Win | Aldershot |
| Barnsley | |
| Birmingham City | |
| Blackburn Rovers | |
| Bournemouth | |
| Bradford City | |
| Brighton HA | |
| Bristol Rovers | |
| Cambridge Utd | |
| Cardiff City | |
| Chesterfield | |
| Colchester Utd | |
| Crewe | |
| Dagenham and Redbridge | |
| Derby County | |
| Doncaster Rovers | |
| Grimsby Town | |
| Hull City | |
| Ipswich | |
| Leyton Orient | |
| Man City | |
| Millwall | |
| Middlesbrough | |
| Northampton Town | |
| Plymouth Argyle | |
| Port Vale | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | |
| Southend | |
| Stockport County | |
| Stevenage | |
| Stoke City | |
| Torquay Utd | |
| Tranmere Rovers | |
| West Brom | |
| Wolves | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | |
| York City |
The Play-off Bottlers (Number of Finals Lost)
Poor old Preston, 3 play-off finals and 3 defeats. No wonder their fans didn't seem too disappointed when they just missed out on the play-offs in 2007, saving themselves weeks of torture.
| 3 Defeats | Preston NE |
| Bristol City | |
| Leeds Utd | |
| Reading | |
| Sheffield Utd | |
| Torquay Utd | |
| 2 Defeats | Bolton |
| Blackpool | |
| Brentford | |
| Bristol Rovers | |
| Darlington | |
| Gillingham | |
| Leicester City | |
| Leyton Orient | |
| Lincoln City | |
| Shrewsbury | |
| Stockport County | |
| Sunderland | |
| Swansea City | |
| 1 Defeat | Barnsley |
| Blackburn Rovers | |
| Brighton HA | |
| Bury | |
| Cardiff City | |
| Chelsea | |
| Chesterfield | |
| Crewe Alexandra | |
| Crystal Palace | |
| Derby County | |
| Grimsby Town | |
| Hartlepool | |
| Huddersfield Town | |
| Mansfield | |
| Millwall | |
| Northampton Town | |
| Norwich City | |
| Notts County | |
| Port Vale | |
| QPR | |
| Rotherham Utd | |
| Rushden & Diamonds | |
| Scunthorpe Utd | |
| Swindon Town | |
| Tranmere Rovers | |
| West Brom | |
| West Ham | |
| Wigan Athletic | |
| Wolves | |
| Wrexham | |
| Yeovil |
The Play-off Experts (Most Finals Played In)
Blackpool's success in 2006-07 means they join Bolton, Leicester and Palace in sharing this one.
| 6 Finals | Blackpool |
| 4 Finals | |
| Bolton | |
| Crystal Palace | |
| Gillingham | |
| Leicester City | |
| Swansea City | |
| Swindon Town | |
| Torquay Utd | |
| 3 Finals | Bristol Rovers |
| Bristol City | |
| Huddersfield Town | |
| Leeds Utd | |
| Leyton Orient | |
| Notts County | |
| Peterborough Utd | |
| Preston NE | |
| Reading | |
| Scunthorpe Utd | |
| Sheffield Utd | |
| Stockport County | |
| West Ham Utd | |
| 2 Finals | Barnsley |
| Blackburn Rovers | |
| Brentford | |
| Brighton HA | |
| Burnley | |
| Cardiff City | |
| Charlton | |
| Cheltenham Town | |
| Chesterfield | |
| Crewe Alexandra | |
| Darlington | |
| Derby County | |
| Grimsby Town | |
| Lincoln City | |
| Millwall | |
| Northampton Town | |
| Port Vale | |
| Shrewsbury | |
| Sunderland | |
| Tranmere Rovers | |
| Walsall | |
| Watford | |
| West Brom | |
| Wolves | |
| 1 Final | Aldershot |
| Birmingham City | |
| Bournemouth | |
| Bradford City | |
| Bury | |
| Cambridge Utd | |
| Chelsea | |
| Colchester Utd | |
| Dagenham and Redbridge | |
| Doncaster Rovers | |
| Hartlepool | |
| Hull City | |
| Ipswich | |
| Man City | |
| Mansfield | |
| Middlesbrough | |
| Norwich City | |
| Plymouth Argyle | |
| QPR | |
| Rochdale | |
| Rotherham Utd | |
| Rushden & Diamonds | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | |
| Southend | |
| Stevenage | |
| Stoke City | |
| Wigan Athletic | |
| Wrexham | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | |
| York City | |
| Yeovil |
Teams who have yet to experience 'Play-off Final Hell'
There are still 22 sets of fans out there who are untouched by the sheer misery/joy of the play-off final experience. For some of these their time will come. For others, like the fans of Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool, you will never understand the sheer desperation of these games. You think an FA Cup or Champions League final is nerve-racking ? You know nothing.
| 1 | Accrington Stanley |
| 2 | Arsenal |
| 3 | Aston Villa |
| 4 | Barnet |
| 5 | Boston Utd |
| 6 | Carlisle |
| 7 | Chester |
| 8 | Coventry |
| 10 | Fulham |
| 11 | Hereford |
| 13 | Liverpool |
| 14 | Luton |
| 15 | Macclesfield |
| 16 | Man Utd |
| 18 | MK Dons |
| 19 | Newcastle |
| 20 | Nottm Forest |
| 21 | Oldham |
| 22 | Portsmouth |
| 25 | Southampton |
| 26 | Tottenham |
| 27 | Wimbledon |
