List of Stevenage F.C. seasons
Stevenage Football Club is an English association football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which currently plays in League One, the third tier of English football. This list details the club's achievements in senior league and cup competitions, as well as the club's top scorers for each season.
Stevenage Borough were formed in 1976 following the demise of the town's former club, Stevenage Athletic.[1] With the council as their landlords and a refurbished stadium, Stevenage Borough took on senior status and joined the United Counties Football League in 1980.[2] In their first season as a senior club, the side won the United Counties League Division one championship, as well as the United Counties League Cup.[1] In 1984, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League, and the following season finished earned promotion to Division One. However, two years later the club was relegated after finishing second bottom of the division.[3] After two fourth-placed finishes, the club won Division Two North in 1990–91, winning 34 of their 42 games, including every match played at home, scoring 122 goals and amassing 107 points. In 1993–94 the club won the Premier Division, and were promoted to the Football Conference.[1] Two seasons later they won the Conference,[4] but were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities,[2] thus reprieving Torquay United, who had finished bottom of the league. The 1996–97 season witnessed the club progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time after a 2–1 win against Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road.[6] The side were drawn against Birmingham City at Broadhall Way, but ground issues saw the tie switched to St Andrew's; Birmingham won the match 2–0.[7] The following season, the club went one better, reaching the fourth round, where they drew Premier League club Newcastle United, drawing 1–1 at Broadhall Way,[8] before losing the replay 2–1 at St James' Park.[9]
In 2001–02 season the club reached the FA Trophy final for the first time, but lost 2–0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park.[10] Two years later, during the 2004–05 season, Boro' managed to make the play-offs after finishing 5th under the guidance of manager Graham Westley. After beating second-placed Hereford United over two-legs in the semi-final,[12][13] the side lost the final 1–0 to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium.[14] The 2006–07 campaign saw the club reach the FA Trophy final again,[15] where they came back from 2–0 down to beat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in front of a record FA Trophy crowd of 53,262 at the new Wembley Stadium.[16] The team reached the final again two years later, and beat York City 2–0.[17] The club's 2009–10 campaign witnessed Stevenage securing promotion to the Football League, finishing as league champions with two games to spare. The team went on to amass a total of 99 points for the season; finishing 11 points clear at the top of the table. Had the club's two wins against Chester City counted, Stevenage would have broke the record for the number of points any club has accumulated over any Conference National season, recording a total of 105 points.[19]
The club's promotion during the 2009–10 season meant that Stevenage would be competing in League Two for the first time in their history. Stevenage finished sixth in their first ever Football League campaign,[20] reaching the play-offs, beating fifth placed Accrington Stanley in the semi-finals by a 3–0 aggregate scoreline.[21][22] Stevenage beat Torquay United 1–0 in the Final at Old Trafford in May 2011, meaning the club had earned back-to-back promotions to League One.[23] During the same season, Stevenage reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, only the second time the club had reached this stage. Stevenage were drawn against Premier League side Newcastle United in the Third Round, a tie which resulted in many recalling the previous meetings between the two clubs in 1998.[25][26][27] The tie ended 3–1 in Stevenage's favour, becoming only the third team in the fourth tier of English football to beat a Premier League side since its formation.[28] It was the first time Stevenage had ever beaten a team in the highest tier of English football.[28] Stevenage eventually lost in the following round 2–1 to Championship side Reading.[29]
Seasons
Key
Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion, relegation or league re-structuring.
- P = Played
- W = Games won
- D = Games drawn
- L = Games lost
- F = Goals for
- A = Goals against
- Pts = Points
- Pos = Final position
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- PRER = Preliminary Round
- QR1 = First Qualifying Round
- QR3 = Third Qualifying Round
- QR4 = Fourth Qualifying Round
- R1 = Round 1
- R1S = Round 1 Southern Section
- R2 = Round 2
- R2S = Round 2 Southern Section
- R3 = Round 3
- R4 = Round 4
- R4S = Round 4 Southern Section
- R5 = Round 5
- QF = Quarter-finals
- SF = Semi-finals
- SFS = Semi-finals Southern Section
- RU = Runners-up
- W = Winners
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- A. ^ : Includes goals scored in the FA Cup, FA Vase, Football League Trophy, Conference National (including playoffs), FA Trophy and Conference League Cup.
- B. ^ : Stevenage joined the United Counties League Division One league before the start of the 1980–81 campaign.
- C. ^ : Stevenage did not enter the FA Cup until the 1983–84 season. The club were also ineligible to enter the FA Trophy until the club reached the Isthmian Division One in the 1986–87 season. As a result of the club's relegation back to the Isthmian Division 2 North in 1988, Stevenage were again ineligible to enter the FA Trophy until 1991.
- D. ^ : Stevenage joined the Isthmian Division 2 North for the 1984–85 season as a result of a re-structuring of the National League System.
- E. ^ : The 1984–85 season saw the introduction of three points for a win. Although this rule came into play for the Football League in 1981, it was not introduced in the Isthmian League until 1984.
- F. ^ : After winning the Football Conference in the 1995–96 season, Stevenage were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities.[2]
- G. ^ : The first time the club reached the FA Cup first round proper.
- H. ^ : Lost in the play-off final to Carlisle United 1–0 at the Britannia Stadium.[14]
- I. ^ : Lost in the play-off semi-final to Cambridge United 4–3 on aggregate.[30][31]
- J. ^ : Chester City were expelled from the league on 26 February 2010 and their results were expunged on 8 March. Therefore, Stevenage's 1–0 and 2–0 victories over them were removed from the records. Consequently, there were 44 Conference National fixtures during the 2009–10 season, as opposed to the usual 46.[33]
- K. ^ : Stevenage beat Torquay United 1–0 in the 2010–11 play-off final at Old Trafford, meaning the club were promoted to League One.[23]
References
- General
- Specific
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1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 01990–91 · 1991–92 ·
1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 ·
2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12 |
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