Football League Two
Football League Two was introduced for the 2004–05 season. It was previously known as the Football League Third Division. Prior to the advent of the Premiership, the fourth-highest division was known as the Football League Fourth Division. It is the most profitable and competitive fourth-tier football league in the world.
Structure
There are 24 clubs in Football League Two. Each club plays each of the other clubs twice (once at home, once away) and are awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. From these points a league table is constructed.At the end of each season the top three teams, together with the winner of the play-offs between the teams which finished in 4th–7th position, are promoted to Football League One and are replaced by the four teams that finished at the bottom of that division.
Similarly the two teams that finished at the bottom of Football League Two are relegated to the Conference National and are replaced by the team that finished 1st and the team that won the 2nd–5th place play-off in that division. (Promotion from the Conference National has slightly stricter criteria; if Conference candidate team(s) do not fulfill stadium and other criteria, the League Two team(s) is/are reprieved).
Final League position is determined, in this order, by points obtained, goal difference, goals scored, a mini-league of the results between two or more teams ranked using the previous three criteria and finally a series of one or more play off matches.
There is a mandatory wage cap in this division that limits spending on players' wages to 60% of club turnover.
Football League Two clubs 2008–09
| Club | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|
| Accrington Stanley | 17th |
| Aldershot Town | 1st in Conference National |
| Barnet | 12th |
| Bournemouth | 21st in League One† |
| Bradford City | 10th |
| Brentford | 14th |
| Bury | 13th |
| Chester City | 22nd |
| Chesterfield | 8th |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 20th |
| Darlington | 6th |
| Exeter City | 4th in Conference National (play-off winner) |
| Gillingham | 22nd in League One |
| Grimsby Town | 16th |
| Lincoln City | 15th |
| Luton Town | 24th in League One♦ |
| Macclesfield Town | 19th |
| Morecambe | 11th |
| Notts County | 21st |
| Port Vale | 23rd in League One |
| Rochdale | 5th |
| Rotherham United | 9th † |
| Shrewsbury Town | 18th |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 7th |
↑ - Will begin the 2008-09 campaign on -17 points
Winners of Football League Two
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Promoted Play-Off Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Yeovil Town | Scunthorpe United | Swansea City | Southend United |
| 2005–06 | Carlisle United | Northampton Town | Leyton Orient | Cheltenham Town |
| 2006–07 | Walsall | Hartlepool United | Swindon Town | Bristol Rovers |
| 2007–08 | Milton Keynes Dons | Peterborough United | Hereford United | Stockport County |
Play-off results
| Season | Semifinal (1st Leg) | Semifinal (2nd Leg) | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Lincoln City 1–0 Macclesfield Town Northampton Town 0–0 Southend United | Macclesfield Town 1–1 Lincoln City Southend United 1–0 Northampton Town | Lincoln City 0–2 Southend United |
| 2005–06 | Lincoln City 0–1 Grimsby Town Wycombe Wanderers 1–2 Cheltenham Town | Grimsby Town 2–1 Lincoln City Cheltenham Town 0–0 Wycombe Wanderers | Grimsby Town 0–1 Cheltenham Town |
| 2006–07 | Bristol Rovers 2–1 Lincoln City Shrewsbury Town 0–0 Milton Keynes Dons | Lincoln City 3–5 Bristol Rovers Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 Shrewsbury Town | Bristol Rovers 3–1 Shrewsbury Town |
| 2007–08 | Darlington 2–1 Rochdale Wycombe Wanderers 1–1 Stockport County | Rochdale 2–1 Darlington (Rochdale won 5-4 on penalties, AET) Stockport County 1–0 Wycombe Wanderers | Rochdale 2–3 Stockport County |
Relegated teams
| Season | Clubs |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Kidderminster Harriers, Cambridge United |
| 2005–06 | Oxford United, Rushden & Diamonds |
| 2006–07 | Boston United, Torquay United |
| 2007–08 | Mansfield Town, Wrexham |
Top scorers
| Season | Top scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Phil Jevons | Yeovil Town | 27 |
| 2005–06 | Karl Hawley | Carlisle United | 23 |
| 2006–07 | Richard Barker | Hartlepool United | 21 |
| Izale McLeod | Milton Keynes Dons | ||
| 2007–08 | Aaron McLean | Peterborough United | 29 |
League Two stadiums 2008–09
| Home Club | Stadium Name | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Darlington | The Darlington Arena | 25,294 |
| Bradford City | Valley Parade | 25,136 |
| Rotherham United | Don Valley Stadium | 25,000 |
| Notts County | Meadow Lane | 20,300 |
| Port Vale | Vale Park | 18,900 |
| Brentford | Griffin Park* | 13,202 |
| Bury | Gigg Lane | 11,669 |
| Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium | 11,582 |
| AFC Bournemouth | Dean Court | 10,700 |
| Rochdale | Spotland* | 10,249 |
| Luton Town | Kenilworth Road | 10,200 |
| Lincoln City | Sincil Bank | 10,127 |
| Shrewsbury Town | Prostar Stadium | 10,000 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | Adams Park* | 10,000 |
| Grimsby Town | Blundell Park | 9,546 |
| Exeter City | St. James Park* | 8,830 |
| Chesterfield | Recreation Ground* | 8,504 |
| Aldershot Town | Recreation Ground* | 7,100 |
| Morecambe | Christie Park* | 6,400 |
| Macclesfield Town | Moss Rose* | 6,335 |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | Victoria Road* | 6,000 |
| Chester City | Deva Stadium* | 5,312 |
| Barnet | Underhill Stadium* | 5,300 |
| Accrington Stanley | Crown Ground* | 5,057 |
- *This ground contains terracing
See also
External links
- Football League Two official site
- Football League Two clubs' locations
- Football League Two Site Created by a Rochdale fan' locations
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 12:31:06 PDT (GMT -0700)
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