Football League Two
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Countries |  England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 1992–2004 (as Division Three) 1958–1992 (as Division Four) |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Promotion to | League One |
| Relegation to | Conference National |
| Levels on pyramid | Level 4 |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup Football League Cup Football League Trophy |
| Current champions | Brentford (2008–09) |
| Website | League Two |
 Football League Two 2008–09 |
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Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Coca-Cola Football 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 Premiership, the fourth-highest division was known as the Football League Fourth Division. It is the most profitable fourth-tier football league in the world.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Football League Two clubs 2009–10
| Club | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|
| Accrington Stanley | 16th |
| Aldershot Town | 15th |
| Barnet | 17th |
| Bournemouth | 21st |
| Bradford City | 9th |
| Burton Albion | 1st in Conference National |
| Bury | 4th |
| Cheltenham Town | 23rd in League One |
| Chesterfield | 10th |
| Crewe Alexandra | 22nd in League One |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 8th |
| Darlington | 12th |
| Grimsby Town | 22nd |
| Hereford United | 24th in League One |
| Lincoln City | 13th |
| Macclesfield Town | 20th |
| Morecambe | 14th |
| Northampton Town | 21st in League One |
| Notts County | 19th |
| Port Vale | 18th |
| Rochdale | 6th |
| Rotherham United | 14th |
| Shrewsbury Town | 7th |
| Torquay United | 4th in Conference National (play-off winner) |
[edit] 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 |
| 2008–09 | Brentford | Exeter City | Wycombe Wanderers | Gillingham |
[edit] Play-off results
| Season | Semifinal (1st Leg) | Semifinal (2nd Leg) | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Lincoln City 1–0 Macclesfield Town |
Macclesfield Town 1–1 Lincoln City |
Lincoln City 0–2 Southend United |
| 2005–06 | Lincoln City 0–1 Grimsby Town |
Grimsby Town 2–1 Lincoln City |
Grimsby Town 0–1 Cheltenham Town |
| 2006–07 | Bristol Rovers 2–1 Lincoln City |
Lincoln City 3–5 Bristol Rovers |
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 |
| 2008–09 | Shrewsbury Town 0–1 Bury Rochdale 0–0 Gillingham |
Bury 0–1 Shrewsbury Town (Shrewsbury won 4 - 3 on penalties, AET) Gillingham 2–1 Rochdale |
Gillingham 1–0 Shrewsbury Town |
[edit] Relegated teams
- *30 point deduction
[edit] 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 |
| 2008–09 | Grant Holt |
Shrewsbury Town | 20 |
| Jack Lester |
Chesterfield |
[edit] League Two stadiums 2009–10
| 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 |
| Bury | Gigg Lane | 11,669 |
| Rochdale | Spotland* | 10,249 |
| Lincoln City | Sincil Bank | 10,127 |
| Crewe Alexandra | Alexandra Stadium | 10,118 |
| Shrewsbury Town | Prostar Stadium | 10,000 |
| Grimsby Town | Blundell Park | 9,546 |
| AFC Bournemouth | Dean Court | 9,287 |
| Chesterfield | Recreation Ground* | 8,504 |
| Northampton Town | Sixfields Stadium | 7,653 |
| Aldershot Town | Recreation Ground* | 7,100 |
| Cheltenham Town | Whaddon Road* | 7,066 |
| Burton Albion | Pirelli Stadium* | 6,500 |
| Morecambe | Christie Park* | 6,400 |
| Macclesfield Town | Moss Rose* | 6,335 |
| Torquay United | Plainmoor* | 6,104 |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | Victoria Road* | 6,000 |
| Hereford United | Edgar Street* | 5,300 |
| Barnet | Underhill Stadium* | 5,300 |
| Accrington Stanley | Crown Ground* | 5,057 |
- *ground contains terracing
[edit] See also
- Football League Fourth Division (1958–59 – 1991–92)
- Football League Third Division (1992–93 – 2003–04)
