The Central League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Countries |  England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1911 |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 28 |
| Promotion to | Premier Reserve League |
| Levels on pyramid | Level 2 |
| Current champions | Manchester City (2007–08) |
The Central League (officially known as The Totesport.com League for sponsorship reasons), is a football league in England for reserve teams of Football League clubs in the Midlands and North of England.
The league was formed in 1911 and in its early years consisted of a mix of first teams and reserve teams. However, when the Football League Third Division North was created in 1921, all the first teams in the Central League became founder members.
Since then, the league has been for reserve teams only, and eventually expanded to include virtually every professional team in the Midlands and North of England (teams in the South play in the Football Combination). In recent years, the FA Premier Reserve League was created for reserve sides of FA Premier League teams, and so the Central League's membership was reduced.
From the 2006-07 season the FA Premier Reserve League was restricted to the reserve sides of FA Premier League clubs. This meant that the reserve sides of Championship clubs rejoined the Central League.
Teams are not promoted to the Premier Reserve League based on their final league position, but on the league position of their respective clubs' senior teams. If the senior team is promoted to the Premier League, then the reserve team is promoted to the Premier Reserve League and replaced by the reserve teams of the relegated teams.
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[edit] Participating teams
- See The Totesport.com League Newsletter 08-09 for 2008-09 season league tables.
The League is split into three parallel divisions, the Central, West, and East Divisions. Winners of each division and the best runners-up will qualify for the play-off. The participating teams for 2008-09 are:
[edit] Division One Central |
[edit] Division One West |
[edit] Division One East |
[edit] Champions
[edit] 1911–2005
[edit] 2005–present
In 2005, the league re-organised into three geographic divisions, with the overall champions being decided after a series of play-offs
| Play-off Final | Division One Central | Division One East | Division One West | |
| 2005-06 | Doncaster Rovers | Sheffield Wednesday | Doncaster Rovers | Carlisle United |
| 2006-07 | Nottingham Forest | West Bromwich Albion | Rotherham United | Oldham Athletic |
| 2007-08[1] | Manchester City[2] | Nottingham Forest | Hartlepool United | Morecambe |
| 2008-09[3] | Shrewsbury Town | Leeds United | Burnley |
[edit] Championships by club
| P | Club | Number of Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 16 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 9 |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 4 |
| 6 | Everton | 4 |
| 7 | Burnley | 3 |
| Derby County | 3 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 3 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 3 | |
| Sheffield United | 3 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 3 | |
| Stoke City | 3 | |
| 14 | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2 | |
| Blackpool | 2 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2 | |
| Leeds United | 2 | |
| 19 | Doncaster Rovers | 1 |
| Hull City | 1 | |
| Lincoln City | 1 | |
| Newcastle United | 1 | |
| Preston North End | 1 | |
| Sunderland | 1 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1 |
[edit] Central League Cup
The league also operates a cup competition - The Central League Cup (officially known as The Totesportcasino.com League Cup for sponsorship reasons).
[edit] Participating teams
The competition is split into 4 groups currently, winners and runners-up of each group will qualify for quarter-finals. The participating teams for 2008–09 are:
|
Group 1 |
Group 2 |
Group 3 |
Group 4 |
[edit] Winners
| Season | Winners |
|---|---|
| 2003-04 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 2004-05 | Manchester United |
| 2005-06 | Shrewsbury Town |
| 2006-07 | Lincoln City |
| 2007-08 | Morecambe |
| 2008-09 | Sunderland[4] |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Pontin's Holidays League Honours". http://www.football-league.co.uk/staticFiles/62/ed/0,,10794~126306,00.pdf.
- ^ "City crowned Pontin's Holidays League champions". http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pageid=115&pagegid=%7BDBD12D53%2D8346%2D431D%2DA04F%2D5D0F8664DE80%7D&newsid=6615415&siteid=&pageno=&newscategory=1051&frommonth=6&fromyear=2008&tomonth=8&toyear=2008.
- ^ "totesport.com League Honours 2008/09 Season". http://www.football-league.co.uk/staticFiles/87/36/0,,10794~145031,00.pdf.
- ^ http://www.safc.com/news/derby-reserves-v-sunderland-reserves.html
[edit] External links
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