Football League Two
Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Npower League 2 for sponsorship reasons) is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system.
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 Premier League, the fourth-highest division was known as the Football League Fourth Division. It is the most profitable 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 is 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 that finished in 4th–7th position, are promoted to Football League One and are replaced by the four teams that finished 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. Technically a team can be reprieved from relegation if the team replacing them does not have a ground suitable for League football, but in practice this is a non-factor because every team currently in the Conference National has a ground that meets the League criteria (and even if they did not, a ground-sharing arrangement with another team can be made until their stadium is upgraded). The other way that a team can be spared relegation is if some other team either resigns or is expelled from the Football League.
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.
Play-off results
Relegated teams
Top scorers
League Two stadia 2010–11
| Home Club |
Stadium Name |
Capacity |
| Bradford City |
Valley Parade |
25,136 |
| Rotherham United |
Don Valley Stadium |
25,000 |
| Port Vale |
Vale Park |
19,052 |
| Oxford United |
Kassam Stadium |
12,500 |
| Southend United |
Roots Hall |
12,306 |
| Bury |
Gigg Lane |
11,669 |
| Gillingham |
Priestfield Stadium |
11,582 |
| Stockport County |
Edgeley Park |
10,852 |
| Chesterfield |
B2net Stadium |
10,338 |
| Wycombe Wanderers |
Adams Park* |
10,284 |
| Lincoln City |
Sincil Bank |
10,127 |
| Crewe Alexandra |
Alexandra Stadium |
10,118 |
| Shrewsbury Town |
Greenhous Meadow |
9,875 |
| Northampton Town |
Sixfields Stadium |
7,653 |
| Aldershot Town |
Recreation Ground* |
7,100 |
| Stevenage |
Broadhall Way* |
7,100 |
| Cheltenham Town |
Whaddon Road* |
7,066 |
| Burton Albion |
Pirelli Stadium* |
6,912 |
| Morecambe |
Globe Arena* |
6,476 |
| Macclesfield Town |
Moss Rose* |
6,335 |
| Barnet |
Underhill Stadium* |
6,200 |
| Torquay United |
Plainmoor* |
6,104 |
| Hereford United |
Edgar Street* |
5,300 |
| Accrington Stanley |
Crown Ground* |
5,057 |
- *ground contains terracing
See also
- Football League Fourth Division (1958–59 – 1991–92)
- Football League Third Division (1992–93 – 2003–04)
Notes
- ↑ Luton were deducted 30 points for financial irregularities
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2010–11 Football League Two