List of Shamrock Rovers F.C. seasons

Barry Murphy holding the First Division trophy aloft in Cobh, Cork

This is a list of seasons played by Shamrock Rovers Football Club in Irish and European football, from 1922 (year of entry into the League of Ireland) to the most recent completed season. The list details the club's achievements in all major[1] competitions, and the top scorers for each league season.

Shamrock Rovers are recognised as being founded in 1901 (some sources suggest 1899), and were elected to the League of Ireland in 1922. They reached the final of the inaugural FAI Cup in the season before their election to the league and won the league title at their first attempt the following year.[2] The club have won the League of Ireland a record 17 times, the FAI Cup a record 24 times, the League of Ireland Shield a record 18 times, the League of Ireland Cup once and have participated in European competition since 1958, when they became the first Irish side to do so.[3][4] The club have finished bottom of the league once in their 89 seasons of participation, when they had to apply for re-election in 1976.[5] The club were relegated for the first time in 2005 following an eight point deduction and a play-off with Dublin City.[6] Shamrock Rovers are the most successful club in Irish footballing history.[7]

Seasons

Season League of Ireland FAI
Cup
[B]
Shield/
League
Cup
[C]
Europe[D] Top goalscorer(s)[E]
Division[A] P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
192223 22 18 3 1 77 19 39 1st R2 R2[C] Bob Fullam 27
192324 18 7 3 8 35 32 17 7th R1 3rd Willie O'Shea 8
192425 18 13 5 0 67 12 31 1st W 1st Billy Farrell 25
192526 18 13 3 2 62 21 29 2nd RU 2nd Billy Farrell 24
192627 18 14 4 0 60 20 32 1st R1 1st David Byrne 17
192728 18 9 7 2 41 18 25 3rd R1 2nd David Byrne 7
192829 18 10 4 4 58 28 24 3rd W 2nd John Joe Flood 13
192930 18 12 2 4 44 22 26 3rd W 2nd David Byrne 11
193031 22 9 5 8 54 49 23 7th W 7th David Byrne 18
193132 22 13 6 3 70 34 32 1st W 1st Paddy Moore 18
193233 18 11 2 5 48 32 24 2nd W 1st Tommy Doyle 17
193334 18 9 4 5 28 23 22 3rd R1 2nd Jackie Coote 6
193435 18 5 6 7 27 33 16 6th R1 1st Synnott 6
193536 22 10 2 10 61 58 22 6th W 6th Paul Scully 18
193637 22 8 3 11 46 55 19 9th R2 3rd Matt Regan/Charlie Reid/Joe Ward 7
193738 22 14 4 4 71 47 32 1st SF 1st Joe Ward 18
193839 22 16 4 2 60 32 36 1st R1 6th Owen McNally 14
193940 22 13 4 5 51 39 30 2nd W 6th Jimmy Dunne 15
194041 20 9 3 8 48 43 21 4th SF 6th Jimmy Clark 16
194142 18 12 4 2 52 23 28 2nd SF 1st Davy Cochrane 11
194243 18 8 4 6 36 28 20 4th R2 5th Paddy Coad 12
194344 14 5 5 4 38 27 15 3rd W 2nd Paddy Coad 15
194445 14 6 5 3 20 20 17 3rd W[F] 8th Paddy Coad/Liam Crowe/Tommy Eglington/Bobby Rogers 3
194546 14 6 2 6 40 31 14 4th RU 4th Tommy Eglington 11
194647 14 7 3 4 34 21 17 3rd R1 6th Paddy Coad 11
194748 14 4 6 4 26 24 14 4th W 2nd Paddy Coad 9
194849 18 6 8 4 33 25 20 4th R1 5th Paddy Mullen 9
194950 18 7 4 7 39 30 18 7th R2 1st Bob Duffy 11
195051 18 7 3 8 33 30 17 6th R2 2nd Christy Boggan 8
195152 22 12 5 5 43 18 29 3rd R2 1st Billy Burns 15
195253 22 12 3 7 40 27 27 3rd R1 9th Danny Jordan 9
195354 22 11 8 3 44 20 30 1st SF 3rd Paddy Ambrose 13
195455 22 12 4 6 63 37 28 3rd W 1st Paddy Ambrose 14
195556 22 15 1 6 54 30 31 2nd W 1st Paddy Ambrose 20
195657 22 15 6 1 68 24 36 1st RU 1st Tommy Hamilton 15
195758 22 15 1 6 55 26 31 2nd RU 1st European Cup PR Maxie McCann 9
195859 22 15 4 3 58 29 34 1st R1 2nd DNQ Liam Tuohy 10
195960 22 12 3 7 54 31 27 4th R2 10th European Cup PR Dermot Cross 11
196061 22 9 7 6 40 29 25 6th R2 5th DNQ Paddy Ambrose/Eddie Bailham 8
196162 22 14 3 5 51 32 31 3rd W 3rd DNQ Eddie Bailham 21
196263 18 7 5 6 36 25 19 5th SF 1st UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R1 Jackie Mooney 11
196364 22 14 7 1 68 27 35 1st W 1st Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[G] R1 Eddie Bailham 18
196465 22 14 3 5 40 22 31 2nd W 1st European Cup PR Jackie Mooney 16
196566 22 15 4 3 59 23 34 2nd W 1st Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[G] R2 Bobby Gilbert/Liam Tuohy 14
196667 22 8 4 10 31 31 20 7th W 3rd UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R2 Frank O'Neill 8
196768 22 11 5 6 44 26 27 4th W 1st UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R1 Mick Leech/Damien Richardson 10
196869 22 14 3 5 56 28 31 2nd W 3rd UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R1 Mick Leech 19
196970 26 14 8 4 55 29 36 2nd R1 Grp[C] UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R1 Eric Barber 15
197071 [H] 26 14 7 5 49 38 35 2nd R2 Grp[C] DNQ Damien Richardson 15
197172 26 12 4 10 52 41 28 5th QF Grp[C] DNQ Frank O'Neill 11
197273 26 12 6 8 45 32 30 5th R2 RU[C] DNQ Mick Leech 10
197374 26 11 5 10 31 33 27 7th R1 Grp DNQ Donal Murphy 12
197475 26 10 5 11 40 38 25 8th QF Grp DNQ Robbie Cooke 7
197576 26 4 7 15 27 49 15 14th R1 R1 DNQ Robbie Cooke 7
197677 26 7 3 16 26 46 17 11th R1 W DNQ Mick Leech 8
197778 30 14 12 4 45 22 40 4th W Grp DNQ Ray Treacy 17
197879 30 17 3 10 45 25 37 5th SF RU UEFA Cup Winners' Cup R2 Ray Treacy 8
197980 30 14 10 6 61 29 38 4th R4 SF DNQ Alan Campbell 22
198081 30 14 8 8 37 29 36 5th R4 R1 DNQ Liam Buckley 11
198182 [I] 30 21 3 6 50 23 76 2nd QF RU DNQ Liam Buckley 21
198283 [J] 26 10 8 8 39 25 38 6th QF Grp UEFA Cup R2 Liam Buckley 11
198384 [J] 26 19 4 3 64 15 42 1st RU Grp DNQ Alan Campbell 24
198485 30 22 5 3 63 21 49 1st W SF European Cup R1 Mick Byrne 12
198586 Premier 22 15 3 4 44 17 33 1st W European Cup R1 Paul Doolin 11
198687 Premier 22 18 3 1 51 16 39 1st W RU European Cup R1 Mick Byrne 12
198788 Premier 33 16 9 8 53 30 41 4th R4 RU European Cup R1 Mick Byrne 11
198889 Premier 33 8 13 12 34 42 29 7th SF QF DNQ Roddy Collins 8
198990 Premier 33 16 8 9 45 37 40 4th R2 Grp DNQ Vinny Arkins 9
199091 Premier 33 14 9 10 51 37 37 6th RU SF DNQ Vinny Arkins 14
199192 Premier 33 9 15 9 33 30 33 6th R1 Grp DNQ Derek Swan 7
199293 Premier[K] 32 8 12 12 39 35 28 8th QF DNQ Derek Swan 8
199394 Premier 32 21 3 8 62 30 66 1st R1 DNQ Stephen Geoghegan 23
199495 Premier 33 14 9 10 45 36 51 6th QF QF UEFA Cup PR Derek Treacy 8
199596 Premier 33 14 8 11 32 32 50 5th QF DNQ Mark Reid 10
199697 Premier 33 10 13 10 43 46 43 7th R2 DNQ Tony Cousins 16
199798 Premier 33 14 10 9 41 32 52 4th R2 Grp DNQ Tony Cousins 15
199899 Premier 33 9 13 11 34 40 40 8th R1 RU UEFA Intertoto Cup R1 Jason Sherlock 8
199900 Premier 33 13 11 9 49 36 50 5th R2 QF DNQ Billy Woods/Sean Francis 7
200001 Premier 33 10 12 11 50 47 42 7th SF QF DNQ Sean Francis 13
200102 Premier 33 17 6 10 54 32 57 2nd SF SF DNQ Sean Francis 14
200203 Premier 27 12 7 8 42 29 43 3rd RU[L] N/A[L] UEFA Cup QR Noel Hunt 11
2003 Premier 36 10 14 12 45 46 44 7th R2 QF UEFA Intertoto Cup R2 Trevor Molloy 9
2004 Premier 36 10 8 18 41 47 38 9th R3 Grp DNQ Stephen Grant 6
2005 Premier 33 9 8 16 33 52 27 11th QF R2 DNQ Paddy McCourt 7
2006 First 36 21 12 3 53 13 72 1st SF QF DNQ Tadhg Purcell 11
2007 Premier 33 14 9 10 36 26 51 5th R2 SF DNQ Tadhg Purcell 12
2008 Premier 33 8 13 12 33 35 37 7th R4 R2 DNQ Padraig Amond 9
2009 Premier 36 21 10 5 51 27 73 2nd QF QF DNQ Gary Twigg 24
2010 Premier 36 19 10 7 57 34 67 1st RU SF Europa League QR Gary Twigg 20
2011 Premier 36 23 8 5 69 24 77 1st QF R2 Europa League 2011–12 UEFA Europa League group stage Gary Twigg 15
2012 Premier 30 14 10 6 56 37 52 4th QF RU DNQ Gary Twigg 22
2013 Premier 33 13 13 7 43 28 52 5th SF W DNQ Gary McCabe/Ronan Finn 8

Key

Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion or relegation. Top scorers shown in bold are players who finished the season as top scorer of their division.

Key to league record:

  • P = Played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • F = Goals for
  • A = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos = Final position

Key to divisions:

Key to rounds:

  • DNQ = Did not qualify
  • QR = Qualifying Round
  • PR = Preliminary Round
  • R1 = First Round
  • R2 = Second Round
  • R3 = Third Round
  • R4 = Fourth Round
  • R5 = Fifth Round

  • Grp = Group Stage
  • QF = Quarter-finals
  • SF = Semi-finals
  • RU = Runners-up
  • W = Winners

Notes

A. ^ Prior to 1985 there was just one division. Six new teams were introduced for the 198586 season and the league was split into two divisions.

B. ^ Shamrock Rovers reached the final of the inaugural FAI Cup in 192122 as a Leinster Senior League side and lost to St. James's Gate in a replay.

C. ^ a b c d e The League of Ireland Shield was introduced in 1921 with the League of Ireland as League and FAI Cup fixtures were insufficient to last a full season. The club didn't compete in the inaugural Shield competition as it wasn't a member of the League. The competition usually comprised one round of fixtures, though it was also played over two rounds and on a knockout basis during certain seasons. The Shield was played on a sectional basis from 1969 to its abolition in 1973. The League of Ireland Cup replaced the Shield in 1973.

D. ^ Prior to UEFA's foundation in 1954, European competition was restricted to a number of different tournaments with limited entry which are not recognised as European Cups.

E. ^ Only League goals are counted, goals scored in other competitions are not included.

F. ^ Largest recorded attendance for a FAI Cup final of 44,238, Shamrock Rovers F.C. 10 Bohemian F.C., April 22 1945, Dalymount Park, Dublin.

G. a b While the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is considered to be the predecessor to the UEFA Cup, UEFA do not consider the tournament to be an official UEFA contest.

H. ^ Shamrock Rovers and Cork Hibernians were level on points at the end of the 197071 season. Cork Hibs won the resultant play-off for the title. The statistics above do not include that play-off.

I. ^ An experimental points system was operated for the 198182 season whereby a team was awarded four points for an away win, three points for a home win, two points for an away draw and one point for a home draw.

J. a b In 198283 three points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The system reverted the following season to the pre-198182 system, i.e. two points for a win and one point for a draw.

K. ^ In 199293 the Premier Division 'split' into two sections of six after the 22nd series of games had been played on 17 January. Rovers did not qualify for the top six and finished in second place of the bottom six (Group 'B') or eighth place overall.

L. a b The Premier Division was cut to 10 teams and shortened in length by maintaining only 3 rounds of fixtures in the 200203 season. The FAI Cup final was played in October '02 making it two FAI Cup finals in one year. The League Cup competition was not played. These measures were aimed at easing the transition from a "Winter schedule"(Autumn-Summer) to "Summer Soccer"(Spring-Winter).

References

Specific
  1. Major competitions include the League of Ireland, the FAI Cup, the League of Ireland Shield/League Cup and all European competitions. Regional competitions like the Leinster Senior Cup and President's Cup, All-Ireland ones like the Intercity Cup and other minor tournaments in both junior and senior football are not included.
  2. "eircom League history". FAI. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  3. "Roll of Honour". Shamrock Rovers Football Club. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  4. "Rovers invited to Munich commemoration". RTÉ. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  5. "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  6. "Misery for Rovers as City clinch promotion". BreakingNews.ie. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  7. "Shamrock Rovers". eircom league of ireland. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
General