A.F.L. Season 165

Season Review

The 165th season of the A.F.L. Premier Division title was won by Chelsea once more after a pulsating contest involving Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. After 10 games Chelsea had moved into the lead with 21 points. Manchester United were just behind them on 19 points and Arsenal and Sunderland on 18 points each. Arsenal then took the initiative and after 20 games were leading with 40 points, but Chelsea were not far behind on 38 points with Manchester united further back on 35 points. Arsenal then went into a bit of a slump, and Manchester United took over, moving out to a 7 point lead over Chelsea, which they still held at the 29 match stage. They were looking good for the title at this stage, but following a 3-0 win for Chelsea against Bolton and the Mancunian team suffering a 3-1 loss at their arch rivals Liverpool, the momentum began to change again. Chelsea took 19 points from the final eight games as opposed to United's 9 and won the title by 6 points. The low winning points total of 77 points for Chelsea is testament to the close fought battle for the title this season. This was Chelsea's fifth title overall since season 1, four of those coming in the last 10 seasons. Wigan Athletic again put on a strong performance and qualified for the Euro-League in third place, ensuring that they will qualify directly for the League Stage next season. Arsenal took the last remaining Euro-League qualification spot, and ordinarily would have had to play in the Qualifying Round, but instead they will also progress directly to the Group Stage as Euro-League title holders.

Premier Division

Final Table

Pos Team PldWDLGFGAGD Pts
1 Chelsea (C)3823878739 +48 77
2 Manchester United (Q)3821897845 +33 71
3 Wigan Athletic (Q)38216117250 +22 69
4 Arsenal (Q) 38 19 8 11 80 56 +24 65
5 Manchester City (Q) 38 18 10 10 64 46 +18 64
6 Liverpool (Q) 38 17 8 13 54 42 +12 59
7 Fulham38178135750 +7 59
8 Reading381691363 55 +8 57
9 West Ham United38176156560 +5 57
10 Everton381511126558 +7 56
11 Tottenham Hotspur381410146765 +2 52
12 Sunderland38149155965-651
13 Norwich City38148165259-750
14 Newcastle United381310155955 +4 49
15 Blackburn Rovers38119184563-1842
16 Birmingham City38117204770-2340
17 Hull City38912174373-3039
18 Aston Villa (R) 38 10 6 22 49 71 -22 36
19 Bolton Wanderers (R)3887233878-4031
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers (R)38 7 10 21 40 84 -44 31

Qualified for Euro-League Group Stage1
Qualified for Europa Cup Round of 32
Qualified for Europa Cup Preliminary Round
Relegated to Division 1

1Arsenal qualified for the Euro-League Group Stage as the Title Holders.

Results

  ARS ASV BIR BLB BOL CHE EVE FUL HUL LIV MNC MNU NEW NRW REA SUN TOT WHA WIG WOL
Arsenal ----- 2 - 1 3 - 2 0 - 1 2 - 1 3 - 3 4 - 1 1 - 1 5 - 2 1 - 1 1 - 2 1 - 2 3 - 2 5 - 1 3 - 1 2 - 1 3 - 2 4 - 2 3 - 1 0 - 1
Aston V 0 - 1 ----- 2 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 3 0 - 3 3 - 1 4 - 1 1 - 1 0 - 2 1 - 3 1 - 1 4 - 2 2 - 1 2 - 2 1 - 3 1 - 1 3 - 2 2 - 0
Birmingham 1 - 0 2 - 0 ----- 0 - 1 1 - 1 0 - 1 2 - 3 2 - 3 4 - 3 2 - 0 1 - 2 0 - 1 2 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 4 1 - 1 3 - 0 2 - 2 0 - 2 4 - 2
Blackburn 0 - 2 2 - 0 4 - 1 ----- 4 - 0 1 - 1 0 - 3 1 - 1 2 - 1 0 - 2 0 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 3 2 - 0 3 - 1 1 - 2 2 - 0
Bolton 0 - 5 0 - 0 3 - 2 3 - 2 ----- 2 - 4 3 - 0 0 - 1 1 - 2 0 - 2 0 - 1 0 - 2 1 - 2 1 - 0 0 - 1 2 - 3 3 - 3 1 - 4 2 - 1 4 - 2
Chelsea 3 - 3 0 - 1 3 - 0 3 - 1 3 - 0 ----- 2 - 0 3 - 1 2 - 0 0 - 0 4 - 2 0 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 0 3 - 2 5 - 1 1 - 3 0 - 3 4 - 1 5 - 0
Everton 3 - 3 4 - 0 3 - 0 4 - 3 1 - 1 0 - 4 ----- 0 - 3 1 - 1 0 - 1 3 - 0 3 - 1 2 - 1 4 - 2 0 - 1 1 - 2 3 - 0 3 - 3 2 - 1 0 - 0
Fulham 2 - 0 4 - 3 4 - 1 4 - 1 4 - 1 1 - 0 2 - 0 ----- 4 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 0 3 - 0 1 - 3 0 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 2 0 - 2 2 - 1 2 - 0 4 - 2
Hull 2 - 2 1 - 0 2 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 1 0 - 4 1 - 2 1 - 1 ----- 3 - 0 2 - 2 0 - 6 0 - 2 0 - 0 0 - 2 2 - 2 2 - 2 1 - 2 1 - 1 0 - 3
Liverpool 1 - 3 4 - 2 1 - 2 3 - 0 3 - 0 1 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 1 3 - 1 ----- 1 - 0 3 - 1 0 - 0 3 - 0 1 - 2 2 - 0 3 - 1 1 - 0 1 - 1 3 - 1
Man City 2 - 0 0 - 1 0 - 1 1 - 1 5 - 2 2 - 2 1 - 1 2 - 3 1 - 2 1 - 0 ----- 4 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 0 4 - 0 3 - 0 2 - 3 4 - 1 2 - 2 1 - 1
Man Utd 1 - 1 3 - 1 4 - 0 4 - 1 5 - 0 1 - 1 1 - 1 2 - 0 4 - 1 1 - 1 3 - 1 ----- 2 - 2 1 - 2 3 - 1 0 - 0 2 - 2 2 - 1 0 - 1 4 - 1
Newcastle 0 - 2 4 - 1 2 - 2 1 - 1 3 - 1 0 - 3 3 - 1 3 - 0 1 - 2 0 - 2 1 - 3 1 - 3 ----- 2 - 3 0 - 3 2 - 0 2 - 2 1 - 0 2 - 2 4 - 0
Norwich 3 - 2 3 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 3 0 - 2 3 - 0 0 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 3 2 - 1 2 - 1 ----- 3 - 3 3 - 4 3 - 1 1 - 2 2 - 3 4 - 0
Reading 3 - 2 3 - 2 1 - 1 2 - 0 1 - 1 0 - 3 4 - 3 4 - 0 0 - 0 4 - 0 2 - 0 0 - 1 2 - 2 2 - 2 ----- 1 - 1 0 - 2 1 - 2 3 - 2 2 - 0
Sunderland 0 - 2 2 - 3 2 - 0 4 - 1 1 - 0 0 - 2 2 - 2 2 - 0 1 - 2 3 - 1 2 - 2 1 - 4 0 - 4 1 - 1 1 - 3 ----- 2 - 3 2 - 0 1 - 1 4 - 1
Tottenham 0 - 0 1 - 1 4 - 1 4 - 2 0 - 1 3 - 3 1 - 1 1 - 1 0 - 2 2 - 3 1 - 2 1 - 3 2 - 1 2 - 1 3 - 1 3 - 1 ----- 1 - 3 1 - 2 4 - 0
West Ham 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 3 4 - 1 4 - 0 3 - 2 2 - 2 2 - 0 1 - 0 0 - 3 0 - 1 1 - 4 1 - 2 0 - 1 3 - 1 1 - 3 1 - 1 ----- 3 - 3 2 - 0
Wigan 2 - 3 2 - 1 3 - 1 4 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 1 2 - 1 1 - 0 5 - 1 2 - 0 1 - 2 4 - 0 2 - 0 2 - 0 1 - 0 1 - 0 2 - 0 0 - 1 ----- 6 - 1
Wolves 3 - 2 3 - 2 0 - 0 2 - 2 0 - 0 0 - 3 1 - 1 0 - 0 2 - 2 3 - 2 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 - 3 1 - 2 2 - 1 0 - 2 1 - 3 1 - 2 3 - 0 -----

* Home team score shown first

Premier Cup

Round One   Quarter-finals   Semi-finals   Final
Chelsea 5  
Blackburn 0       Chelsea 2  
Man City 2     Man City 0  
Reading 1         Chelsea 2  
Wigan 4         Wigan 1  
Aston V 3       Wigan 2
Tottenham 2     Tottenham 1  
Wolves 0         Chelsea 4
Man Utd 3         West Ham 2
Hull 0       Man Utd 1  
Liverpool 1     West Ham 3  
West Ham 2         West Ham 2
Arsenal 4         Arsenal 0  
Everton 0       Arsenal 4
Sunderland 2     Sunderland 0  
Newcastle 1  

A.F.L. Cup

Second Round   Third Round   Quarter-final   Semi-final   Final
Arsenal   2  
Nottm F   0     Arsenal   4  
Brighton 0 2   Charlton   1  
Charlton 0 4       Arsenal 0 2  
Fulham   1       Blackburn 0 0  
Blackburn   2     Blackburn   1
Liverpool 1 2   Crystal P   0  
Crystal P 1 3       Arsenal 1  
Millwall 1 1       Portsmouth 0  
Portsmouth 1 3     Portsmouth   2  
Reading   4   Reading   0  
Man City   0       Portsmouth   2
Peterborough   0       Wolves   0  
Wolves   1     Wolves   2
Preston   2   Preston   0  
Chelsea   1       Arsenal 1
Colchester   2       Wigan 0
Barnsley   1     Colchester   2  
Swansea 3 0   Wigan   3  
Wigan 3 2       Wigan   2  
Burnley   0       Hull   0  
Hull   1     Hull 1 4
Bradford   1   Bradford 1 2  
Grimsby   0       WiganP 5-3 0
Tottenham   4       Tottenham 0  
Derby   3     Tottenham   2  
Tranmere   2   Tranmere   0  
Everton   1       Tottenham   2
Newcastle   0       Stoke   0  
Stoke   1     Stoke   1
Sunderland 1 3   Norwich   0  
Norwich 1 5  

Other Divisions

Division 1

Pos   Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Q.P.R. (P) 42 25 9 8 81 36 +45 84
2   Swansea City (P) 42 22 8 12 81 50 +31 74
3   Blackpool (P) 42 22 8 12 73 57 +16 74
4   Burnley 42 20 11 11 71 51 +20 71
5   West Bromwich Alb 42 20 10 12 64 47 +17 70
6   Southampton 42 20 10 12 76 61 +15 70
7   Barnsley 42 19 12 11 64 52 +12 69
8   Stoke City 42 21 6 15 64 57 +7 69
9   Middlesbrough 42 18 12 12 71 59 +12 66
10   Ipswich Town 42 17 10 15 63 60 +3 61
11   Bristol City 42 15 10 17 58 56 +2 55
12   Portsmouth 42 14 11 17 62 69 -7 53
13   Nottingham Forest 42 14 10 18 64 67 -3 52
14   Leicester City 42 12 15 15 51 51 0 51
15   Derby County 42 12 14 16 61 62 -1 50
16   Watford 42 12 14 16 52 70 -18 50
17   Charlton Athletic 42 13 10 19 53 72 -19 49
18   Leeds United 42 12 11 19 57 64 -7 47
19   Bradford City 42 13 7 22 56 77 -21 46
20   Coventry City (R) 42 12 8 22 57 80 -23 44
21   Plymouth Argyle (R) 42 9 9 24 50 95 -45 36
22   Tranmere Rovers (R) 42 7 11 24 43 79 -36 32

Automatically promoted to Premier Division
Qualified for promotion play-offs
Relegated to Division 2

Division 2

Pos  Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Brighton & H A (P) 42 24 12 6 86 46 +40 84
2   Doncaster Rovers (P) 42 26 6 10 99 63 +36 84
3   Huddersfield Town (P) 42 23 7 12 81 56 +25 76
4   Sheffield United 42 23 5 14 66 55 +11 74
5   Sheffield Wednesday 42 20 9 13 68 58 +10 69
6   Milton Keynes Dons 42 18 9 15 70 62 +8 63
7   Millwall 42 19 5 18 59 63 -4 62
8   Preston North End 42 16 13 13 67 52 +15 61
9   Yeovil Town 42 18 7 17 67 56 +11 61
10   Cardiff City 42 17 10 15 64 54 +10 61
11   Peterborough United 42 19 4 19 67 72 -5 61
12   Exeter City 42 18 4 20 59 72 -13 58
13   Bury 42 16 10 16 48 61 -13 58
14   AFC Bournemouth 42 16 5 21 50 62 -12 53
15   Carlisle United 42 16 5 21 65 78 -13 53
16   Crystal Palace 42 11 17 14 55 59 -4 50
17   Wycombe Wanderers 42 14 8 20 52 67 -15 50
18   Oldham Athletic 42 14 8 20 53 69 -16 50
19   Bristol Rovers 42 13 6 23 56 73 -17 45
20   Walsall (R) 42 12 8 22 70 86 -16 44
21   Leyton Orient (R) 42 11 9 22 58 71 -13 42
22   Rochdale (R) 42 11 7 24 45 70 -25 40

Automatically promoted to Division 1
Qualified for promotion play-offs
Relegated to Division 3

Division 3

Pos   Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Stevenage (P) 42 25 8 9 92 50 +42 83
2   Swindon Town (P) 42 24 7 11 77 55 +22 79
3   Crewe Alexandra 42 24 6 12 80 53 +27 78
4   Scunthorpe United (P) 42 24 5 13 93 61 +32 77
5   Notts County 42 20 11 11 78 61 +17 71
6   Chester City 42 20 9 13 62 49 +13 69
7   Colchester United 42 20 8 14 74 57 +17 68
8   Brentford 42 16 14 12 58 58 0 62
9   Shrewsbury Town 42 17 10 15 63 61 +2 61
10   Hartlepool United 42 15 13 14 70 58 +12 58
11   Aldershot 42 15 12 15 62 58 +4 57
12   Rotherham United 42 13 18 11 50 58 -8 57
13   Accrington 42 16 9 17 54 65 -11 57
14   Northampton Town 42 16 5 21 63 75 -12 53
15   Dagenham & Redbr 42 12 14 16 63 61 +2 50
16   Gillingham 42 13 9 20 56 76 -20 48
17   Hereford United 42 12 9 21 49 64 -15 45
18   Lincoln City 42 12 9 21 54 73 -19 45
19   Darlington 42 11 12 19 59 81 -22 45
20   Port Vale 42 10 12 20 44 69 -25 42
21   Grimsby Town (R) 42 11 8 23 46 77 -31 41
22   Barnet (R) 42 9 6 27 42 69 -27 33

Automatically promoted to Division 2
Qualified for promotion play-offs
Relegated from A.F.L.

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