2018–19 EFL League Two

EFL League Two
Season	2018–19
Champions	Lincoln City; (2nd title)
Promoted	Lincoln City; Bury ; Milton Keynes Dons; Tranmere Rovers
Relegated	Notts County ; Yeovil Town
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1,409 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorer	James Norwood; (29 goals)
Biggest home win	Crewe Alexandra 6–0 Morecambe; (4 August 2018); Colchester United 6–0 Crewe Alexandra; (21 August 2018); Carlisle United 6–0 Oldham Athletic; (26 December 2018); Milton Keynes Dons 6–0 Cambridge United; (1 January 2019)
Biggest away win	Newport County 0–6 Yeovil Town; (15 September 2018)
Highest scoring	Port Vale 2–6 Lincoln City; (13 October 2018)
Longest winning run	7 matches; Tranmere Rovers
Longest unbeaten run	19 matches; Lincoln City
Longest winless run	13 matches; Macclesfield Town
Longest losing run	6 matches; Grimsby Town; Notts County; Yeovil Town
Highest attendance	20,718; Milton Keynes Dons 1–0 Mansfield Town; (4 May 2019)
Lowest attendance	1,355; Morecambe 0–1 Mansfield Town; (23 October 2018)
Total attendance	2,461,975
Average attendance	4,468
	← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The 2018–19 EFL League Two (referred to as the Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th season of Football League Two under its current title and the 26th season under its current league division format.

Team changes

To League Two

Promoted from National League

Relegated from League One

From League Two

Promoted to League One

Relegated to National League

Stadiums

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity^[2]
Bury	Bury	Gigg Lane	11,840
Cambridge United	Cambridge	Abbey Stadium	8,127
Carlisle United	Carlisle	Brunton Park	17,949
Cheltenham Town	Cheltenham	Whaddon Road	7,066
Colchester United	Colchester	Colchester Community Stadium	10,105
Crawley Town	Crawley	Broadfield Stadium	5,996
Crewe Alexandra	Crewe	Gresty Road	10,180
Exeter City	Exeter	St James Park	6,087^[a]
Forest Green Rovers	Nailsworth	The New Lawn	5,147
Grimsby Town	Cleethorpes	Blundell Park	9,052
Lincoln City	Lincoln	Sincil Bank	10,120
Macclesfield Town	Macclesfield	Moss Rose	6,355
Mansfield Town	Mansfield	Field Mill	10,000
Milton Keynes Dons	Milton Keynes	Stadium MK	30,500
Morecambe	Morecambe	Globe Arena	6,476
Newport County	Newport	Rodney Parade	7,850
Northampton Town	Northampton	Sixfields Stadium	7,653
Notts County	Nottingham	Meadow Lane	19,588
Oldham Athletic	Oldham	Boundary Park	13,512
Port Vale	Burslem	Vale Park	19,052
Stevenage	Stevenage	Broadhall Way	6,722
Swindon Town	Swindon	County Ground	15,728
Tranmere Rovers	Birkenhead	Prenton Park	16,789
Yeovil Town	Yeovil	Huish Park	9,566

^ Capacity temporarily reduced due to redevelopment work.

Personnel and sponsoring

Team	Manager¹	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsor
Bury	Ryan Lowe	Stephen Dawson	Admiral	PaySec^[3]
Cambridge United	Colin Calderwood		Puma	Mick George
Carlisle United	Steven Pressley	Danny Grainger	Umbro	Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Cheltenham Town	Michael Duff	Johnny Mullins	Erreà	Mira Showers^[4]
Colchester United	John McGreal	Luke Prosser	Macron	JobServe
Crawley Town	Gabriele Cioffi	Jimmy Smith	Erreà	The People's Pension
Crewe Alexandra	David Artell	George Ray	FBT	Mornflake
Exeter City	Matt Taylor	Jake Taylor	Joma	Flybe
Forest Green Rovers	Mark Cooper	Lee Collins	PlayerLayer^[5]	Ecotricity
Grimsby Town	Michael Jolley	John Welsh	Erreà	Young's Seafood
Lincoln City	Danny Cowley	Lee Frecklington	Erreà	NSUK
Macclesfield Town	Sol Campbell	Jared Hodgkiss	Macron	Arighi Bianchi
Mansfield Town	David Flitcroft	Krystian Pearce	Surridge	One Call
Milton Keynes Dons	Paul Tisdale	Dean Lewington	Erreà	Suzuki
Morecambe	Jim Bentley	Barry Roche	Macron	BizLoans4U
Newport County	Michael Flynn	Andrew Crofts	FBT	Interbet
Northampton Town	Keith Curle	David Buchanan	Nike	University of Northampton
Notts County	Neal Ardley	Richard Duffy	Puma	Bassingfield Wood Yard
Oldham Athletic	Pete Wild	Peter Clarke	Sondico	PFE Express
Port Vale	John Askey	Tom Pope	BLK	Manorshop.com
Stevenage	Dino Maamria	Ronnie Henry	Macron	Astute Electronics^[6]
Swindon Town	Richie Wellens	Olly Lancashire	Puma	Imagine Cruising
Tranmere Rovers	Micky Mellon	Steve McNulty	Puma	B&M Waste Services
Yeovil Town	Darren Sarll	James Bailey	TAG	Jones Building Group

¹ According to current revision of List of current Premier League and English Football League managers.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Carlisle United	Keith Curle	Resigned	5 May 2018	Pre-season	John Sheridan	5 June 2018
Milton Keynes Dons	Keith Millen	End of caretaker spell	5 May 2018		Paul Tisdale	6 June 2018
Exeter City	Paul Tisdale	End of contract	1 June 2018		Matt Taylor	1 June 2018
Macclesfield Town	John Askey	Signed by Shrewsbury Town	1 June 2018		Mark Yates	19 June 2018
Oldham Athletic	Richie Wellens	Sacked	8 June 2018		Frankie Bunn	13 June 2018
Cheltenham Town	Gary Johnson		21 August 2018	21st	Michael Duff	10 September 2018
Notts County	Kevin Nolan		26 August 2018	24th	Harry Kewell	31 August 2018
Crawley Town	Harry Kewell	Signed by Notts County	31 August 2018	14th	Gabriele Cioffi	7 September 2018
Northampton Town	Dean Austin	Mutual consent	1 October 2018	21st	Keith Curle	1 October 2018
Macclesfield Town	Mark Yates	Sacked	8 October 2018	24th	Sol Campbell	27 November 2018
Swindon Town	Phil Brown		12 November 2018	17th	Richie Wellens	13 November 2018
Notts County	Harry Kewell		13 November 2018	22nd	Neal Ardley	24 November 2018
Cambridge United	Joe Dunne		1 December 2018	22nd	Colin Calderwood	19 December 2018
Oldham Athletic	Frankie Bunn		27 December 2018	12th	Paul Scholes	10 February 2019
Carlisle United	John Sheridan	Resigned	4 January 2019	7th	Steven Pressley	16 January 2019
Port Vale	Neil Aspin		30 January 2019	18th	John Askey	4 February 2019
Oldham Athletic	Paul Scholes		14 March 2019	14th	Pete Wild	15 March 2019
Yeovil Town	Darren Way	Sacked	24 March 2019	22nd	Darren Sarll	19 June 2019

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Lincoln City (C, P)	46	23	16	7	73	43	+30	85	Promotion to EFL League One
2	Bury (P)	46	22	13	11	82	56	+26	79
3	Milton Keynes Dons (P)	46	23	10	13	71	49	+22	79
4	Mansfield Town	46	20	16	10	69	41	+28	76	Qualification for League Two play-offs^[a]
5	Forest Green Rovers	46	20	14	12	68	47	+21	74
6	Tranmere Rovers (O, P)	46	20	13	13	63	50	+13	73
7	Newport County	46	20	11	15	59	59	0	71
8	Colchester United	46	20	10	16	65	53	+12	70
9	Exeter City	46	19	13	14	60	49	+11	70
10	Stevenage	46	20	10	16	59	55	+4	70
11	Carlisle United	46	20	8	18	67	62	+5	68
12	Crewe Alexandra	46	19	8	19	60	59	+1	65
13	Swindon Town	46	16	16	14	59	56	+3	64
14	Oldham Athletic	46	16	14	16	67	60	+7	62
15	Northampton Town	46	14	19	13	64	63	+1	61
16	Cheltenham Town	46	15	12	19	57	68	−11	57
17	Grimsby Town	46	16	8	22	45	56	−11	56
18	Morecambe	46	14	12	20	54	70	−16	54
19	Crawley Town	46	15	8	23	51	68	−17	53
20	Port Vale	46	12	13	21	39	55	−16	49
21	Cambridge United	46	12	11	23	40	66	−26	47
22	Macclesfield Town	46	10	14	22	48	74	−26	44
23	Notts County (R)	46	9	14	23	48	84	−36	41	Relegation to the National League
24	Yeovil Town (R)	46	9	13	24	41	66	−25	40	Relegation to the National League

Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results ^[7]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to EFL League One.

Play-offs

Semi-finals					Final

4	Mansfield Town	1	0	1 (3)

7	Newport County (p)	1	0	1 (5)
					7	Newport County	0

					6	Tranmere Rovers	1
5	Forest Green Rovers	0	1	1

6	Tranmere Rovers	1	1	2

Results

Home \ Away	BUR	CAM	CAR	CHL	COL	CRA	CRE	EXE	FGR	GRI	LIN	MAC	MAN	MKD	MOR	NEW	NOR	NOT	OLD	POR	STE	SWI	TRA	YEO
Bury	—	0–3	0–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	3–3	3–0	2–2	4–3	3–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–0
Cambridge United	2–2	—	1–2	0–1	0–1	2–1	0–0	0–2	1–3	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–2	0–3	3–2	3–2	1–1	1–0	2–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Carlisle United	3–2	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	4–2	1–0	1–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–1	3–2	2–3	0–2	3–2	2–2	1–3	6–0	2–1	0–1	2–1	0–2	0–1
Cheltenham Town	1–1	2–0	0–1	—	1–3	0–1	0–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	3–1	4–1	0–0	1–0	0–2	3–2	1–3	1–0
Colchester United	1–2	3–0	1–1	3–0	—	3–1	6–0	1–1	0–3	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–3	2–0	0–0	3–0	1–2	3–3	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–0	0–2	3–1
Crawley Town	3–2	2–0	2–3	1–0	2–0	—	3–0	1–1	1–2	2–1	0–3	1–1	0–0	0–4	2–0	4–1	0–1	1–1	0–3	0–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–1
Crewe Alexandra	1–1	2–0	2–1	1–3	2–1	6–1	—	1–2	4–3	2–0	2–1	3–0	0–3	0–0	6–0	3–2	0–2	3–0	0–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	2–0
Exeter City	0–1	1–0	3–1	3–1	3–0	1–3	1–0	—	1–2	1–2	0–3	0–1	1–4	3–1	0–0	1–1	2–2	5–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–0	0–1	2–1
Forest Green Rovers	1–2	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	—	3–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	3–1	3–0
Grimsby Town	0–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–4	—	1–1	0–2	0–1	1–0	1–2	3–0	0–0	4–0	0–3	2–0	0–2	2–1	5–2	0–1
Lincoln City	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–3	0–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	—	1–1	1–1	2–1	3–1	3–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–1	0–0	1–0
Macclesfield Town	1–4	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	3–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	—	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–0	0–5	0–1	2–1	0–0	2–2	1–2	1–1	1–0
Mansfield Town	2–1	1–0	1–0	4–2	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–2	1–0	2–1	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	3–0	4–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–2	0–0	3–0	0–1
Milton Keynes Dons	1–0	6–0	2–0	3–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	—	2–0	2–0	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–0
Morecambe	2–3	3–0	0–2	4–0	0–1	1–0	2–2	0–2	3–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–1	4–2	—	1–1	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–2	0–1	3–4	2–1
Newport County	3–1	4–2	2–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–4	1–0	1–0	3–3	1–0	0–1	1–1	—	3–1	3–2	2–0	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–6
Northampton Town	0–0	2–2	3–0	1–3	0–4	0–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–0	—	0–0	2–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Notts County	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–3	0–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–4	2–2	—	0–0	0–0	3–3	1–2	3–2	0–4
Oldham Athletic	4–2	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–3	2–1	1–1	2–3	0–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–2	1–2	1–2	0–1	2–5	2–0	—	0–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	4–1
Port Vale	1–0	3–0	0–1	2–2	0–3	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–2	0–1	2–6	0–1	2–1	0–2	0–1	1–2	2–0	2–2	1–4	—	1–4	0–1	1–2	3–0
Stevenage	0–1	0–1	3–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–3	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–2	0–3	3–2	0–0	—	2–0	2–2	1–0
Swindon Town	1–2	0–2	0–4	0–0	3–0	0–1	1–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–2	0–0	1–1	4–0	2–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	3–2	—	3–2	1–1
Tranmere Rovers	1–1	1–0	3–0	1–0	1–1	5–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	4–1	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–1	3–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	1–2	—	0–0
Yeovil Town	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–4	1–1	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–0	0–3	2–0	0–3	0–0	—

Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2019. Source: EFL Official Website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Statistics

Top scorers

As of 4 May 2019^[8]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	James Norwood	Tranmere Rovers	29
2	Tyler Walker	Mansfield Town	21
2	Nicky Maynard	Bury	21
4	Kieran Agard	Milton Keynes Dons	20
5	Chuks Aneke	Milton Keynes Dons	17
6	Jayden Stockley	Exeter City	16
7	Jay O'Shea	Bury	15
7	John Akinde	Lincoln City	15
9	Ollie Palmer	Crawley Town	14
	Luke Varney	Cheltenham Town
	Padraig Amond	Newport County

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Michael Doughty	Swindon Town	Macclesfield Town	3–2 (H)	4 August 2018	^[9]
Alex Fisher	Yeovil Town	Notts County	0–4 (A)	17 August 2018	^[10]
Matt Crooks	Northampton Town	Macclesfield Town	0–5 (A)	23 October 2018	^[11]
Chris O'Grady	Oldham Athletic	Bury	4–2 (H)	15 December 2018	^[12]
Jayden Stockley	Exeter City	Oldham Athletic	2–3 (A)	22 December 2018	^[13]
George Williams	Forest Green Rovers	Newport County	1–4 (A)	26 December 2018	^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "English League Two Performance Stats – 2018–19". ESPN. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
^ "Football Ground Guide". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
^ "Record Deal for Front of Shirt Partnership with Sappaya". BuryFC.co.uk. 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
^ "Robins and Mira Showers celebrate decade with new deal". CTFC.com. 3 January 2018.
^ "Forest Green Rovers Cancel Hummel Deal Following Company's Fail to Deliver Kits". Footy Headlines. 22 August 2018.
^ "New Major Sponsorship Deal with Astute Electronics Announced". StevenageFC.com. 19 June 2017.
^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
^ "Top Scorers – League Two". Retrieved 17 January 2019.
^ "Swindon Town's Michael Doughty explains shirt number choice". Swindon Advertiser. 7 August 2018.
^ Evans, Daniel (18 August 2018). "Yeovil Town thrash Notts County away to rocket up League Two". Somerset Live.
^ Heneghan, James (23 October 2018). "Classy Crooks scores first-half hat-trick as five-star Cobblers demolish Macclesfield". Northampton Chronicle & Echo.
^ "Oldham 4-2 Bury: O'Grady hat-trick lifts hosts". Sky Sports. 15 December 2018.
^ Phillip, Mark (24 December 2018). "Hat-trick hero Stockley stuns Latics to give Exeter victory". Oldham Reporter.
^ "Newport 1-4 Forest Green - Williams hat-trick sinks 10-man Exiles". Stroud News & Journal. 26 December 2018.

[exeter-3] Capacity temporarily reduced due to redevelopment work.

[table_note_res_PPO0.12616074137677-8] Four teams play for one spot and promotion to EFL League One.

[ESPN-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "English League Two Performance Stats – 2018–19". ESPN. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

[2] "Football Ground Guide". Football Ground Guide. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

[4] "Record Deal for Front of Shirt Partnership with Sappaya". BuryFC.co.uk. 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

[5] "Robins and Mira Showers celebrate decade with new deal". CTFC.com. 3 January 2018.

[6] "Forest Green Rovers Cancel Hummel Deal Following Company's Fail to Deliver Kits". Footy Headlines. 22 August 2018.

[7] "New Major Sponsorship Deal with Astute Electronics Announced". StevenageFC.com. 19 June 2017.

[EFL_Regulations1-9] "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.

[topscorer-10] "Top Scorers – League Two". Retrieved 17 January 2019.

[11] "Swindon Town's Michael Doughty explains shirt number choice". Swindon Advertiser. 7 August 2018.

[12] Evans, Daniel (18 August 2018). "Yeovil Town thrash Notts County away to rocket up League Two". Somerset Live.

[13] Heneghan, James (23 October 2018). "Classy Crooks scores first-half hat-trick as five-star Cobblers demolish Macclesfield". Northampton Chronicle & Echo.

[14] "Oldham 4-2 Bury: O'Grady hat-trick lifts hosts". Sky Sports. 15 December 2018.

[15] Phillip, Mark (24 December 2018). "Hat-trick hero Stockley stuns Latics to give Exeter victory". Oldham Reporter.

[16] "Newport 1-4 Forest Green - Williams hat-trick sinks 10-man Exiles". Stroud News & Journal. 26 December 2018.

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v t e Fourth level English football league seasons
Football League Fourth Division	1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
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Football League Two	2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25