A·F·L Season 176

Season Summary

A·F·L Season 176
Premier Division Manchester United
Relegated Queen's Park Rangers
Cardiff City
Fulham
Division One Wigan Athletic
Also Promoted Swansea City
Huddersfield Town
Relegated Charlton Athletic
Yeovil Town
Bristol City
Crawley Town
Division Two Colchester United
Also Promoted Nottingham Forest
Relegated Notts County
Rochdale
Carlisle United
Division Three Swindon Town
Also Promoted Gillingham
Mansfield Town
Relegated (No relegation)
A·F·L Cup Arsenal
Premier Cup Everton
Season 175 Season 177

The season began with the pre-season Premier Cup competition, which was won by Everton who defeated Arsenal 2–1 in the final. This season, for the first time, the bottom four seeds were included in the competition, necessitating a preliminary round involving the bottom 8 seeds, the top 12 seeds receiving a bye to the First Round. There were many upsets, with Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City going out in the Round of 16 to lesser opposition. Queen's Park Rangers had the most impressive performance, defeating Newcastle (away), Chelsea (away) and Manchester United (home) to reach the Semi-final, where they finally succumbed to Everton. Arsenal reached yet another final, but were edged out by Everton by a score of 2–1.

In the league, Manchester United won their 17th title with relative ease, by a comfortable margin of 16 points over their rivals Manchester City and Everton. United are now second overall in title wins, equal with Leeds United and 8 behind Arsenal's tally of 25, and it is their first title for 13 seasons. At the other end of the table, Queen's Park Rangers could not stay up and dropped back to Division One just one season after having been promoted, going down with Cardiff City and Fulham. The other newcomers were Derby County, who diced with relegation for most of the season before clinching their survival late on by just 1 point, and West Bromwich Albion, who were the surprise package of the season, finishing fourth and clinching a Euro-League qualifying spot for next season.

In Division One, early pace-setters Huddersfield's attempt at automatic promotion petered away in the final matches of the season, and Wigan and Swansea took the promotion places in what turned out to be a close contest amongst the top 6 or 7 teams. Huddersfield eventually clinched their place in the Premier Division, only one season after begin relegated, by winning the play-off final 2–1 against Ipswich Town. At the bottom, Bristol City dropped straight back to Division Two after just one season and were joined by Charlton, Yeovil and Crawley.

In the A.F.L. Cup we had an unusual repetition of last season's final, with Arsenal and Chelsea playing out a 1–1 draw and the Gunners winning the cup on penalties, this time by a score of 3–2. Arsenal have now won the most A.F.L. Cups jointly with Manchester City, with 11 wins each.

In other news, it is intended that at the end of this season Division One will be reduced to 20 teams, and an additional two teams will be added to the league overall. As a result, Divisions Two and Three will have 24 teams instead of the current 22, with overall membership of the A·F·L increasing to 88 teams. Promotion and relegation will remain at 3-up, 3-down between the top three divisions, but will be increased to 4-up, 4-down between Divisions Two and Three. Two teams will be relegated from Division Three as at present.

To achieve the change, four teams will be relegated from Division One to Division Two in Season 176, and only two will be promoted from Division Two to Division One (the champions will achieve automatic promotion and those finishing in positions two to five will play-off for the second promotion spot). Also, there will be no relegation from Division Three, but there will, as usual, be two teams promoted to Division Three from the lower leagues. All other promotion and relegation scenarios will be unchanged.

 


A·F·L Premier Division

Latest Table

Premier Division Statistics
Season 176
Champions Manchester United
Relegated Queen's Park
Cardiff City
Fulham
Euro-League Qualifiers Manchester United
Manchester City
Everton
West Bromwich Albion
Euro-Cup Qualifiers Arsenal
Liverpool
Biggest home win Man Utd 7–0 Newcastle
Biggest away win Arsenal 0–4 Everton
Norwich 0–4 Man Utd
Highest scoring (8) Man Utd 6–2 Arsenal
Home Wins 167
Away Wins 137
Draws 76
Matches Played 380
Goals Scored 1,125
Goals per Match 2.96
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Manchester United (C)38254992444879
2Manchester City381891167452263
3Everton38196136455963
4West Bromwich Albion (p)381871360481261
5Liverpool381781357421559
6Blackburn Rovers38185155258-659
7Hull City38177146463158
8Sunderland38169135546957
9Arsenal (CW)38168146055556
10Tottenham Hotspur38167156355855
11Southampton38167156053755
12Stoke City381413115350355
13Chelsea38148165859-150
14Newcastle United38139165062-1248
15Leicester City381210165265-1346
16Derby County (p)38127195164-1343
17Norwich City381110174362-1943
18Queen's Park Rangers (R)(p)38126204057-1742
19Cardiff City (R)38107214268-2637
20Fulham (R)38105234274-3235

Key

Champions & Qualification to Euro-League Group Stage
Qualification to Euro-League Group Stage
Qualification to Euro-League Second Qualifying Round
Qualification to Euro-Cup Round of 32
Qualification to Euro-Cup Second Qualifying Round
Relegation to A·F·L Division One

(C) Champions, (R) Relegated, (p) Promoted in previous season, (CW) Cup winners

Results

Home−AwayARSBLBCRDCHEDEREVEFULHULLEILIVMNCMNUNECNRWQPRSOASTKSUNTOTWBR
Arsenal1−22−11−10−10−42−11−33−00−12−20−11−25−10−01−11−11−03−21−0
Blackburn1−31−01−00−41−41−04−13−01−12−01−20−22−20−22−01−22−23−13−1
Cardiff1−24−01−34−31−01−02−42−21−10−31−31−00−01−42−02−00−31−41−2
Chelsea1−03−22−21−14−14−14−31−11−22−03−33−10−21−21−01−10−12−22−3
Derby1−41−32−13−10−21−33−30−11−03−12−10−24−11−22−11−10−11−11−4
Everton2−20−13−02−01−14−01−11−03−20−41−44−01−13−32−11−30−30−31−2
Fulham0−30−12−13−13−11−21−31−31−21−40−43−01−21−21−22−10−21−00−3
Hull3−00−20−03−01−00−21−12−21−11−20−22−03−24−04−30−14−22−10−2
Leicester3−23−23−13−40−12−01−33−03−01−03−40−01−10−10−00−32−22−13−2
Liverpool1−13−12−10−02−20−11−10−15−04−12−03−00−11−01−02−23−14−12−1
Man City4−30−14−11−01−02−31−14−03−20−24−12−23−11−14−01−10−04−02−1
Man Utd6−24−13−03−12−10−11−24−15−12−13−07−01−14−14−23−11−00−13−1
Newcastle0−24−01−11−32−02−24−21−21−11−00−31−12−11−21−21−11−23−11−2
Norwich0−01−10−22−13−20−23−13−01−00−11−00−40−20−20−30−10−22−41−2
Q.P.R.1−30−22−00−21−10−10−20−11−11−20−13−00−20−01−00−24−20−10−2
Southampton0−11−14−13−15−02−04−14−34−22−10−03−01−22−21−01−02−01−10−3
Stoke3−01−21−10−13−13−20−01−31−03−20−21−42−22−24−12−11−11−40−0
Sunderland0−31−01−22−11−00−24−02−20−12−12−20−22−13−13−01−23−01−11−1
Tottenham4−24−00−10−21−22−30−01−23−12−00−01−01−11−23−14−11−32−12−1
West Brom0−20−11−02−00−34−24−11−01−12−13−10−02−31−33−21−10−01−11−2

* Home team score shown first



Other Divisions

A·F·L Division One


POS CLUBPWDLGFGAGDPTS
1Wigan Athletic (P)42221287749+2878
2Swansea City (P)42221198655+3177
3Ipswich Town42221198252+3077
4Crystal Palace42237128350+3376
5Huddersfield Town ¶(r)42237128151+3076
6West Ham United (r)42227137146+2573
7Millwall422110118460+2473
8Watford42218137158+1371
9Leeds United421911128963+2668
10Aston Villa421811136851+1765
11Bolton Wanderers421611156063-359
12Sheffield Wednesday (r)42169176668-257
13Birmingham City (p)42158195670-1453
14Burnley421311186369-650
15Middlesbrough421210205677-2146
16Reading421113185681-2546
17Brighton & Hove Albion421110215372-1943
18AFC Bournemouth (p)42127235078-2843
19Charlton Athletic (R)421012205685-2942
20Yeovil Town (R)42118235380-2741
21Bristol City (R)(p)42125254984-3541
22Crawley Town (R)42413253078-4825

Key

Promotion to A·F·L Premier Division
Qualification to promotion play-offs
Relegation to A·F·L Division Two

(P) Promoted, (R) Relegated, Play-off winners, (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season,

Results

Home-AwayASVBIRBOLBOUBRIBRCBRNCHACRACPAHUDIPSLEEMIDMILREASHWSWAWATWHAWIGYEO
Aston V2–10–10–14–20–20–24–10–04–21–10–23–31–10–10–13–14–02–33–13–15–2
Birmingham0–02–31–32–10–01–44–23–22–12–40–12–10–12–42–10–21–12–10–20–22–3
Bolton1–41–22–21–13–14–24–02–21–12–04–41–11–00–02–31–00–42–31–00–14–2
Bournemouth0–10–31–01–21–20–01–13–00–11–30–42–02–14–10–12–21–31–33–12–21–3
Brighton3–10–20–32–14–30–00–20–01–40–23–40–02–02–20–12–32–00–10–13–41–1
Bristol C1–11–01–20–22–22–42–02–00–40–10–21–42–03–22–22–12–30–20–41–32–1
Burnley2–24–21–24–02–10–21–31–11–22–22–20–10–02–24–33–12–10–31–40–14–1
Charlton1–24–13–01–20–24–12–10–02–40–53–01–40–10–34–20–22–12–40–00–01–1
Crawley1–33–10–11–00–00–33–01–10–10–00–21–10–22–32–22–30–11–10–40–40–2
Crystal Palace0–25–02–03–02–11–03–25–13–00–31–13–22–11–27–14–10–03–03–21–10–0
Huddersfield1–30–11–01–11–11–02–10–14–14–31–23–22–10–14–10–13–01–33–12–14–0
Ipswich2–22–20–12–10–14–11–12–27–02–11–34–22–20–22–23–14–10–10–02–01–1
Leeds1–20–13–22–33–24–31–32–20–02–02–02–14–24–13–33–12–26–02–01–25–0
Middlesbrough1–12–21–12–12–30–12–00–04–12–02–20–31–42–43–13–21–23–23–00–42–1
Millwall2–11–14–02–14–16–14–01–12–10–01–30–20–24–22–31–23–03–22–24–22–1
Reading1–21–22–21–10–21–12–02–20–10–22–20–10–01–03–32–40–32–40–41–11–0
Sheff Wed0–01–34–14–01–12–11–13–12–20–30–40–11–24–00–14–20–02–10–22–22–1
Swansea1–02–11–16–24–03–12–15–12–14–14–01–24–35–21–00–11–10–01–02–25–1
Watford2–10–01–04–02–14–01–31–12–12–00–22–42–04–01–10–01–13–30–30–11–0
West Ham2–02–10–12–03–21–01–03–12–00–22–14–11–11–12–12–12–31–13–00–24–2
Swansea0–00–22–13–12–03–00–04–33–02–22–12–01–22–20–01–22–12–21–32–15–1
Watford0–10–01–11–21–22–01–24–01–01–02–40–22–23–13–20–12–01–42–11–11–2

Play-offs

                     
  Huddersfield Town 3 3  
Crystal Palace 3 2  
  Huddersfield Town 2
  Ipswich Town 1
West Ham United 2 0
  Ipswich Town 3 5  

 


A·F·L Division Two

POS CLUBPWDLGFGAGDPTS
1Colchester United (P)42268810255+4786
2Nottingham Forest ¶(r)42251079542+5385
3Walsall (p)4224997046+2481
4Brentford42229118752+3575
5Barnsley (r)42229117348+2575
6Crewe Alexandra42228126848+2074
7Doncaster Rovers42219128257+2572
8Milton Keynes Dons422011117451+2371
9Coventry City42222186764+368
10Bradford City42197166463+164
11Blackpool42188168472+1262
12Rotherham United (r)421514136664+259
13Leyton Orient42159185766-954
14Port Vale42166206277-1554
15Sheffield United42149195159-851
16Stevenage42138215172-2147
17Tranmere Rovers42136235583-2845
18Oldham Athletic421013195786-2943
19Shrewsbury Town42114275689-3337
20Notts County (R)(p)4288264089-4932
21Rochdale (R)(p)42611254382-3929
22Carlisle United (R)42610265291-3928

Key

Promotion to A·F·L Division One
Qualification to promotion play-offs
Relegation to A·F·L Division Three

(P) Promoted, (R) Relegated, Play-off winners, (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season,

Play-offs

                     
  Brentford 2 0  
Walsall 1 3  
  Walsall 0
  Nottingham Forest 2
Barnsley 2 1
  Nottingham Forest 1 3  

 


A·F·L Division Three

POS CLUBPWDLGFGAGDPTS
1Swindon Town (P)42305710953+5695
2Gillingham (P)(r)4226888244+3886
3Wolverhampton Wanderers (r)42251078848+4085
4Scunthorpe United42247118248+3479
5Mansfield Town 42221198355+2877
6Preston North End421911127352+2168
7Southend United42207156661+567
8Peterborough United (r)42206167649+2766
9Portsmouth42199146361+266
10Morecambe42198156258+465
11Hartlepool United421713126860+864
12Bury42195186965+462
13Accrington Stanley42176195766-957
14Chesterfield42164225962-352
15Wycombe Wanderers (p)42148205978-1950
16Plymouth Argyle421011216187-2641
17Cheltenham Town42117243561-2640
18Torquay United42117245186-3540
19Burton Albion42109235384-3139
20Exeter City (p)42712234689-4333
21Newport County42612245797-4030
22Oxford United42416223368-3528

Key

Promotion to A·F·L Division Two
Qualification to promotion play-offs
Relegation to A·F·L Conference

(P) Promoted, (R) Relegated, Play-off winners, (p/r) Promoted/relegated in previous season,

Play-offs

                     
  Mansfield Town 0 1  
Scunthorpe United 0 0  
  Mansfield Town 0 (4)
  Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 (3)
Preston North End 0 0
  Wolverhampton W 4 3  

Promoted to A·F·L Two: Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers

 


Cup Competitions

Premier Cup

  Preliminary Round     Round of 16     Quarter-final     Semi-final     Final
                                               
        1 Tottenham   0  
  16 Blackburn (5)
3
    16 Blackburn
1
   
  17 Leicester (3)
3         16
Blackburn
0
 
      8
Everton
2
  -
      8 Everton
2
   
  9 Cardiff
0
 
    8
Everton   4
 
    20
Q.P.R.
0
  -
        4 Chelsea
0
 
  13 Newcastle 0
    20
Q.P.R   2
   
  20 Q.P.R. 3         20
Q.P.R.
1
 
      5
Man Utd
0
 
      5 Man Utd
5
   
  12 Fulham   1
 
    8
Everton
2
    2
Arsenal
1
        2
Arsenal
2
 
  14 Southampton 0
    18
West Brom
1
   
  19 West Brom
2
        2 Arsenal
4
 
      7
Hull
0
  -
      7
Hull
3
   
  10 Sunderland
0
 
    2
Arsenal
1
 
    19
Derby
0
 
        3
Liverpool
0
 
  15 Norwich 1
    19
Derby
2
   
  18 Derby 2
        19
Derby
3
 
      11
Stoke
1
 
      6
Man City
1
   
  11 Stoke
2
 

* Penalty scores shown in parentheses.


A·F·L Cup

First Round
 Sheffield United2 – 2Gillingham 
ReplayGillingham0 – 1Sheffield United 
 Wycombe Wanderers3 – 0Cheltenham Town 
 Milton Keynes Dons0 – 0Barnsley 
ReplayBarnsley1 – 0Milton Keynes Dons 
 Crewe Alexandra1 – 1Peterborough United 
ReplayPeterborough United3 – 2Crewe Alexandra 
 Scunthorpe United0 – 0Blackpool 
ReplayBlackpool3 – 3Scunthorpe United(5 – 3 pens)
 Morecambe2 – 3Bradford City 
 Notts County2 – 1Brentford 
 Wolverhampton Wanderers3 – 2Swindon Town 
 Oldham Athletic2 – 1Newport County 
 Doncaster Rovers0 – 0Oxford United 
ReplayOxford United0 – 2Doncaster Rovers 
 Port Vale2 – 2Stevenage 
ReplayStevenage2 – 0Port Vale 
 Rochdale1 – 3Walsall 
 Portsmouth1 – 0Nottingham Forest 
 Accrington Stanley4 – 2Burton Albion 
 Exeter City1 – 1Mansfield Town 
ReplayMansfield Town2 – 3Exeter City 
 Carlisle United3 – 2Preston North End 
 Southend United1 – 1Bury 
ReplayBury1 – 2Southend United 
 Torquay United0 – 2Coventry City 
 Tranmere Rovers2 – 3Hartlepool United 
 Colchester United2 – 0Rotherham United 
 Chesterfield1 – 2Plymouth Argyle 
 Leyton Orient4 – 1Shrewsbury Town 

 

Second Round
 Sunderland3 – 1Walsall 
 Wolverhampton Wanderers4 – 1Leyton Orient 
 Notts County0 – 0Colchester United 
ReplayColchester United4 – 3Notts County 
 Hartlepool United3 – 2Yeovil Town 
 Derby County4 – 2Crawley Town 
 Plymouth Argyle1 – 2Birmingham City 
 Wigan Athletic2 – 2Everton 
ReplayEverton2 – 0Wigan Athletic 
 Fulham3 – 1Crystal Palace 
 Southampton1 – 0Accrington Stanley 
 Sheffield United1 – 1Wycombe Wanderers 
ReplayWycombe Wanderers2 – 4Sheffield United 
 Stevenage1 – 2Oldham Athletic 
 Burnley3 – 3Ipswich Town 
ReplayIpswich Town3 – 1Burnley 
 Liverpool5 – 1Millwall 
 Hull City1 – 0Leeds United 
 Norwich City0 – 2Brighton & Hove Albion 
 Queen's Park Rangers0 – 3Blackburn Rovers 
 Watford5 – 2Southend United 
 Charlton Athletic1 – 0Barnsley 
 Swansea City2 – 2Huddersfield Town 
ReplayHuddersfield Town2 – 1Swansea City 
 Bradford City2 – 1Bolton Wanderers 
 Chelsea4 – 2Tottenham Hotspur 
 AFC Bournemouth1 – 3Manchester United 
 West Ham United1 – 0Stoke City 
 Leicester City0 – 1Reading 
 Middlesbrough2 – 2Peterborough United 
ReplayPeterborough United3 – 0Middlesbrough 
 Manchester City4 – 0West Bromwich Albion 
 Coventry City2 – 2Blackpool 
ReplayBlackpool2 – 3Coventry City 
 Exeter City0 – 3Cardiff City 
 Newcastle United6 – 2Portsmouth 
 Carlisle United1 – 3Aston Villa 
 Bristol City1 – 3Doncaster Rovers 
 Sheffield Wednesday1 – 2Arsenal 

 

Third Round
 Peterborough United1 – 4Reading 
 Arsenal1 – 0Birmingham City 
 Chelsea4 – 1Fulham 
 Ipswich Town2 – 2Charlton Athletic 
ReplayCharlton Athletic4 – 2Ipswich Town 
 Bradford City1 – 0Colchester United 
 Huddersfield Town2 – 1Newcastle United 
 Manchester United1 – 1Blackburn Rovers 
ReplayBlackburn Rovers1 – 3Manchester United 
 Sunderland0 – 1Aston Villa 
 Hartlepool United1 – 1Hull City 
ReplayHull City7 – 0Hartlepool United 
 Liverpool3 – 0Sheffield United 
 Everton4 – 1West Ham United 
 Oldham Athletic1 – 2Derby County 
 Coventry City4 – 3Doncaster Rovers 
 Watford0 – 1Manchester City 
 Southampton1 – 2Brighton & Hove Albion 
 Wolverhampton Wanderers2 – 1Cardiff City 

 

Fourth Round
 Derby County0 – 1Bradford City 
 Chelsea3 – 2Coventry City 
 Reading1 – 1Wolverhampton Wanderers 
ReplayWolverhampton Wanderers1 – 0Reading 
 Huddersfield Town0 – 3Charlton Athletic 
 Liverpool2 – 0Brighton & Hove Albion 
 Hull City1 – 0Aston Villa 
 Manchester United4 – 1Everton 
 Arsenal2 – 1Manchester City 

 

Quarter-Final
 Bradford City0 – 1Charlton Athletic 
 Arsenal4 – 2Liverpool 
 Manchester United5 – 1Wolverhampton Wanderers 
 Hull City2 – 2Chelsea 
ReplayChelsea2 – 0Hull City 

 

Semi-Final
 Charlton Athletic2 – 3Arsenal 
 Chelsea1 – 1Manchester United(3 – 2 pens)

 

Final
 Arsenal1 – 1Chelsea(3 – 2 pens)

 

 


Clubs in Europe

Euro-League

  • Tottenham Hotspur — Round of 16
  • Arsenal — Round of 16
  • Liverpool — Group Stage
  • Chelsea — Semi-Final

Euro-Cup

  • Manchester United — Semi-Final
  • Manchester City — Third Qualifying Round
  • Hull City — Round of 32

XV–06