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Post by Shireblogger on May 14, 2009 22:39:16 GMT 1
Inspired by Mr Hamster's Highest League Placings Table, here is an alternative listing.
Clubs are ranked by their highest ever position in the league pyramid, from 1888-2009. For teams finishing as Champions, the number of Championships determines the sequence. When this is a tie, and for all positions from 2nd to 116th in the pyramid, clubs are ranked according to when they first finished in that position. The table includes the Alliance Premier League / Gola League / Conference / Blue Square Premier from 1980 onwards.
Data credits:-
misterhamster @ Haven
Rothmans / Sky Sports Football Yearbooks (1980-2008)
Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Football (1888-1980)
BBC Sport Website (2009)
RANK / CLUB / HIGHEST LEAGUE POSITION / (NO. TIMES) / FIRST YEAR
1 Liverpool 1st (18x) 1901
2 Manchester Utd 1st (18x) 1908
3 Arsenal 1st (13x) 1931
4 Everton 1st (9x) 1891
5 Aston Villa 1st (7x) 1894
6 Sunderland 1st (6x) 1892
7 Sheffield Wednesday 1st (4x) 1903
8 Newcastle United 1st (4x) 1905
9 Blackburn Rovers 1st (3x) 1912
10 Huddersfield Town 1st (3x) 1924
11 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1st (3x) 1954
12 Chelsea 1st (3x) 1955
13 Leeds United 1st (3x) 1969
14 Preston North End 1st (twice) 1889
15 Burnley 1st (twice) 1921
16 Manchester City 1st (twice) 1937
17 Portsmouth 1st (twice) 1949
18 Tottenham Hotspur 1st (twice) 1951
19 Derby County 1st (twice) 1972
20 Sheffield United 1st (once) 1898
21 West Bromwich Albion 1st (once) 1920
22 Ipswich Town 1st (once) 1962
23 Nottingham Forest 1st (once) 1978
RANK / CLUB / HIGHEST LEAGUE POSITION / (TIER) / FIRST YEAR
24 Bristol City 2nd (1) 1907
25 Oldham Athletic 2nd (1) 1915
26 Cardiff City 2nd (1) 1924
27 Leicester City 2nd (1) 1929
28 Charlton Athletic 2nd (1) 1937
29 Blackpool 2nd (1) 1956
30 Queen's Park Rangers 2nd (1) 1976
31 Watford 2nd (1) 1983
32 Southampton 2nd (1) 1984
33 Notts County 3rd (1) 1891
34 Bolton Wanderers 3rd (1) 1892
35 Middlesbrough 3rd (1) 1914
36 West Ham United 3rd (1) 1986
37 Crystal Palace 3rd (1) 1991
38 Norwich City 3rd (1) 1993
39 Bury 4th (1) 1926
40 Stoke City 4th (1) 1936
41 Bradford City 5th (1) 1911
42 Grimsby Town 5th (1) 1935
43 Brentford 5th (1) 1936
44 Accrington 6th (1) 1890
45 Birmingham City 6th (1) 1956
46 Coventry City 6th (1) 1970
47 Swansea City 6th (1) 1982
48 Wimbledon 6th (1) 1987
49 Luton Town 7th (1) 1987
50 Fulham 7th (1) 2009
51 Reading 8th (1) 2007
52 Bradford Park Avenue 9th (1) 1915
53 Millwall 10th (1) 1989
54 Wigan Athletic 10th (1) 2006
55 Brighton & Hove Albion 13th (1) 1982
56 Darwen 14th (1) 1892
57 Hull City 17th (1) 2009
58 Glossop 18th (1) 1900
59 Oxford United 18th (1) 1986
60 Barnsley 19th (1) 1998
61 Burton Wanderers 20th (2) 1896
62 Northampton Town 21st (1) 1966
63 Burton Swifts / United 22nd (2) 1893
64 New Brighton Tower 22nd (2) 1901
65 Leyton Orient 22nd (1) 1963
66 Carlisle United 22nd (1) 1975
67 Swindon Town 22nd (1) 1994
68 Northwich Victoria 23rd (2) 1893
69 Port Vale 23rd (2) 1894
70 Lincoln City 23rd (2) 1902
71 Chesterfield 23rd (2) 1905
72 Bootle 24th (2) 1893
73 Walsall 24th (2) 1899
74 Gainsborough Trinity 24th (2) 1905
75 Leeds City 24th (2) 1914
76 Tranmere Rovers 24th (2) 1993
77 Doncaster Rovers 25th (2) 1902
78 Rotherham United 25th (2) 1955
79 Cambridge United 25th (2) 1992
80 Crewe Alexandra 26th (2) 1893
81 Plymouth Argyle 26th (2) 1932
82 Scunthorpe United 26th (2) 1962
83 Middlesbrough Ironopolis 27th (2) 1894
84 Rotherham Town 28th (2) 1895
85 Loughborough 28th (2) 1896
86 Gateshead (original) / South Shields 28th (2) 1922
87 Bristol Rovers 28th (2) 1956
88 Stockport County 28th (2) 1998
89 Shrewsbury Town 30th (2) 1984
90 Peterborough United 30th (2) 1993
91 Gillingham 31st (2) 2003
92 Bournemouth 32nd (2) 1989
93 Southend United 32nd (2) 1992
94 Darlington 37th (2) 1926
95 York City 37th (2) 1975
96 Wrexham 37th (2) 1979
97 Nelson 43rd (2) 1924
98 Mansfield Town 43rd (2) 1978
99 Newport County 44th (2) 1947
100 Hereford United 44th (2) 1977
101 Colchester United 44th (2) 2007
102 Rochdale 47th (3N) 1924
103 Exeter City 47th (3S) 1933
104 Halifax Town 47th (3N) 1935
105 Hartlepool United 47th (3N) 1957
106 MK Dons 47th (3) 2009
107 Chester City 48th (3N) 1936
108 Accrington Stanley (original) 48th (3N) 1955
109 Torquay United 48th (3S) 1957
110 New Brighton 49th (3N) 1925
111 Yeovil Town 49th (3) 2007
112 Wycombe Wanderers 50th (3) 1995
113 Workington 51st (3N) 1957
114 Merthyr Town 52nd (3) 1921
115 Southport 52nd (3N) 1925
116 Wigan Borough 52nd (3N) 1929
117 Aldershot 52nd (3) 1974
118 Barrow 53rd (3N) 1932
119 Aberdare Athletic 59th (3S) 1922
120 Ashington 60th (3N) 1924
121 Cheltenham Town 61st (3) 2008
122 Durham City 66th (3N) 1922
123 Rushden & Diamonds 66th (3) 2004
124 Barnet 68th (3) 1994
125 Macclesfield Town 68th (3) 1999
126 Scarborough 73rd (4) 1989
127 Maidstone United 73rd (4) 1990
128 Dagenham & Redbridge / Dagenham 76th (4) 2009
129 Kidderminster Harriers 78th (4) 2002
130 Boston United 79th (4) 2004
131 Morecambe 79th (4) 2008
132 Thames 83rd (3S) 1931
133 Aldershot Town 83rd (4) 2009
134 Accrington Stanley (reformed 1968) 84th (4) 2009
135 Altrincham 93rd (5) 1980
136 Runcorn 93rd (5) 1982
137 Enfield 93rd (5) 1983
138 Wealdstone 93rd (5) 1985
139 Stevenage Borough 93rd (5) 1996
140 Burton Albion 93rd (5) 2009
141 Weymouth 94th (5) 1980
142 Kettering Town 94th (5) 1981
143 Nuneaton Borough 94th (5) 1984
144 Frickley Athletic 94th (5) 1986
145 Bromsgrove Rovers 94th (5) 1993
146 Woking 94th (5) 1995
147 Worcester City 95th (5) 1980
148 Telford United 95th (5) 1982
149 Dartford 95th (5) 1985
150 Hednesford Town 95th (5) 1996
151 Hayes 95th (5) 1999
152 Grays Athletic 95th (5) 2006
153 Histon 95th (5) 2009
154 Bath City 96th (5) 1985
155 Merthyr Tydfil 96th (5) 1992
156 Ebbsfleet / Gravesend & N 97th (5) 1980
157 Farnborough Town 97th (5) 1992
158 Slough Town 97th (5) 1993
159 Gateshead (reformed 1977) 97th (5) 1996
160 Kingstonian 97th (5) 2000
161 Leigh RMI 97th (5) 2001
162 Stafford Rangers 98th (5) 1988
163 Welling United 98th (5) 1990
164 Dover Athletic 98th (5) 2000
165 Sutton United 99th (5) 1987
166 Redbridge Forest 99th (5) 1992
167 Margate 100th (5) 2002
168 Forest Green Rovers 100th (5) 2008
169 Bangor City 101st (5) 1980
170 Crawley Town 101st (5) 2009
171 Witton Albion 102nd (5) 1992
172 Stalybridge Celtic 104th (5) 1993
173 Salisbury City 104th (5) 2008
174 Eastbourne Borough 105th (5) 2009
175 Canvey Island 106th (5) 2006
176 Fisher Athletic 107th (5) 1988
177 Tamworth 107th (5) 2005
178 AP Leamington 108th (5) 1981
179 Trowbridge Town 109th (5) 1982
180 Chorley 109th (5) 1989
181 Leek Town 111th (5) 1998
182 Redditch United 112th (5) 1980
183 Aylesbury United 112th (5) 1989
184 Farsley Celtic 114th (5) 2008
185 St Albans City 116th (5) 2007
186 Droylsden 116th (5) 2008
187 Lewes 116th (5) 2009
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Post by Panda on May 14, 2009 22:52:21 GMT 1
Nice work.  I tend to count Dagenham & Redbridge and Redbridge Forest's records together as it was Forest who were in the Conference at the time of the merger, though they were playing at Dagenham's ground. |
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Post by Shireblogger on May 15, 2009 7:34:05 GMT 1
I tend to count Dagenham & Redbridge and Redbridge Forest's records together as it was Forest who were in the Conference at the time of the merger, though they were playing at Dagenham's ground. I thought about this one, but decided that Dagenham were the dominant party in the merger, and Redbridge's primary contribution was their league position. Your argument is equally valid. |
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 15, 2009 7:43:56 GMT 1
I think next season is our 56th in the top flight and we remain without a top 5 finish. That's epic fail.
Stoke also came 4th in 1947, had they won their last match they would have been champions but lost. Selling Stanley Matthews to Blackpool with a couple of months of the season left was a mistake.
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Post by Shireblogger on May 15, 2009 10:03:34 GMT 1
You're right. If someone had asked me to guess the sequence, I'd have put Birmingham much higher than #45.
Other surprises include Fulham only 52nd, Plymouth 81st, Bristol Rovers 87th, Southend 93rd, and the original Aldershot 117th.
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frag
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I have no idea what you're talking about, so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head.
Posts: 25,090 
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Post by frag on May 15, 2009 10:14:12 GMT 1
Fulham might move up a bit this season...
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Post by Shireblogger on May 15, 2009 10:18:19 GMT 1
Fulham might move up a bit this season... Agreed. A 7th place finish will move them up 2 places to #50, and with 8th they would jump above Bradford PA to #51. |
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Post by Robin on May 15, 2009 10:22:17 GMT 1
I was quite surprised to see Grimsby Town so high, I didn't know they'd ever been in the top flight
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Post by o on May 15, 2009 12:06:56 GMT 1
Top 100, get in! Oh, and nice work  |
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Paddy
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Best newcomer 2009
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Post by Paddy on May 15, 2009 12:08:30 GMT 1
When will the elite 23 be added too? It is surprising that Football has had a league title for 115 years or so and only 23 clubs have ever won it! Anyway glad to see we're part of it . |
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Post by Shireblogger on May 15, 2009 12:57:36 GMT 1
When will the elite 23 be added too? It is surprising that Football has had a league title for 115 years or so and only 23 clubs have ever won it! There are 3 clubs that I had assumed had won the Championship, but haven't:- Bolton (great team in the 50s), Blackpool (in the Matthews era), and West Ham (legendary players and great at developing talent). If I were to gamble on the next team to win the Championship, it would be West Ham. But in reality, it is likely to be whichever club gets bought by a super-wealthy speculator, who buys their way to success. Contenders for this would be a club with some heritage, good support, and modern facilities:- Cardiff, Leicester, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Stoke... And then, of course, there is QPR, who should already be on the way, in theory. |
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 15, 2009 15:10:35 GMT 1
Cardiff missed a late penalty on the last day of the 1924 season that would have given them the title. In those days a draw on points was separated by goal average (F/A) rather than difference (F-A). Had it been the latter Cardiff would have won the title on goals scored.
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Post by Panda on May 15, 2009 15:27:47 GMT 1
After the final round of Premier League matches, I'll be posting my annual ranking list of the 92 league clubs based on average league position.
On last season's list, the top 13 were all clubs who have won the league.
The top 5 clubs who've never won the league were:
West Ham (14)
Middlesbrough (17)
Bolton (20)
Birmingham (21)
Leicester (23)
On the new list, Aldershot Town's record will include that of Aldershot. Although they are technically different clubs, Town are clearly intended to be a continuation of the old club (also, Aldershot Town was the original name of the old Aldershot).
Technically speaking, the current Accrington Stanley is a different club to the one that used to play in the Football League and the same can be said of the current version of Gateshead. However, in both cases, I class them as being the same club.
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Post by Shireblogger on May 15, 2009 15:59:57 GMT 1
On the new list, Aldershot Town's record will include that of Aldershot. Although they are technically different clubs, Town are clearly intended to be a continuation of the old club (also, Aldershot Town was the original name of the old Aldershot). Technically speaking, the current Accrington Stanley is a different club to the one that used to play in the Football League and the same can be said of the current version of Gateshead. However, in both cases, I class them as being the same club. I'm all for consistency, even if my consistency is different from your's. I've got 2 Aldershots and 2 Accringtons but only 1 Gateshead - I didn't know they were different. Therefore, I'll be amending my list for the current Gateshead later, once I've checked their record. I intend to list Wimbledon, MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon as 3 separate clubs, so that it remains easy to indentify their different records. It is always easier to consolidate 2 or 3 into 1, than to split 1 out into 2 or 3. I really do appreciate your comments MrH, and I'm not seeking any sort of dispute with you. As I stated at the start, this thread is inspired by your work, and more than half the data used is your's. |
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Post by Panda on May 15, 2009 16:03:56 GMT 1
I really do appreciate your comments MrH, and I'm not seeking any sort of dispute with you. As I stated at the start, this thread is inspired by your work, and more than half the data used is your's. Don't worry! I come in peace! I'm just highlighting the various issues that make it difficult to have a definitive list regarding the Football League as everyone has their own interpretation. |
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Post by Panda on May 15, 2009 16:05:15 GMT 1
Shouldn't that be 3, then? |
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 15, 2009 18:56:36 GMT 1
Should the Gatesheads be considered separate? It's a bit MK Dons-ish.
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Post by Panda on May 15, 2009 19:08:50 GMT 1
Should the Gatesheads be considered separate? It's a bit MK Dons-ish. Do you mean when South Shields moved to Gateshead? They moved less than 10 miles so you can't really compare it MK Dons. |
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on May 15, 2009 19:33:00 GMT 1
Yes. It's actually more like Arsenal in that respect. I wasn't thinking of the non-league team.
Gateshead - unquestionably the unluckiest team in re-election history. How they lost out and Hartlepool (with respect to the Legend) never did must surely be down to Victoria Park pies or something.
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Post by Shireblogger on May 16, 2009 8:25:53 GMT 1
Now updated with two Gatesheads and two Accrington Stanleys.
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