List of Accrington Stanley F.C. seasons

Accrington Stanley Football Club is an English football club based in Accrington, Lancashire. The club participates in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system.

History

The original town team, Accrington, were amongst the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, before resigning from the league after just five years. A team called Stanley Villa already existed at the time, named as such because they were based at the Stanley Arms on Stanley Street in Accrington. With the demise of Accrington, Stanley Villa took the town name to become Accrington Stanley. The club entered the Football League in 1921 with the formation of the old Third Division North, along with the other top northern non-League clubs. In 1960, amid persistent financial difficulties mainly relating to the speculative purchase of the new Burnley Road stand, Stanley were relegated to the recently formed Division Four. However, they only managed to complete one full season in this division as bankruptcy followed shortly afterwards. Stanley lost their last League match 4–0 away at Crewe on 2 March 1962. The club sent a letter of resignation to the Football League and the resignation was accepted by Alan Hardaker, the League Secretary on 11 March, mid-way through the 1961–62 season. Stanley were accepted into the Lancashire Combination Division Two for the next season. They performed respectably well in their first season in the Combination, and earned their first (and only) promotion the following year. Unfortunately this proved to be a false dawn, as Stanley were immediately relegated after finishing bottom of Division One. By this point the club's debts had become overwhelmingly large once again, and the start of 1966 saw the final end for the club, who resigned from the Lancashire Combination and disbanded.

At a meeting at Bold Street Working Men's Club in 1968 the revival was initiated, and in August 1970 the new club was accepted into the Lancashire Combination and played its first match at a new ground, the Crown Ground.^[1] Eric Whalley, a local businessman, took control of the club in 1995 and began the development of the club's ground. After the club was relegated in 1999, Whalley appointed John Coleman as manager. In 2005–06, Stanley won the Football Conference and were promoted to League Two, switching places with relegated Oxford United – in a reversal of fortune, the team that had been elected to replace the former Accrington Stanley as members of the Football League in 1962.

Key

Key to league record

Level = Level of the league in the current league system
Pld = Games played
W = Games won
D = Games drawn
L = Games lost
GF = Goals for
GA = Goals against
GD = Goals difference
Pts = Points
Position = Position in the final league table
Top scorer and number of goals scored shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division.

Key to cup records

Res = Final reached round
Rec = Final club record in the form of wins-draws-losses
PR = Preliminary round
QR1 (2, etc.) = Qualifying Cup rounds
G = Group stage
R1 (2, etc.) = Proper Cup rounds
QF = Quarter-finalists
SF = Semi-finalists
F = Finalists
A(QF,SF,F) = Area quarter-, semi-, finalists
W = Winners

Seasons

Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Leading league scorer^[2]		FA Cup		FL Cup FA Trophy		FL Trophy		Average home attendance^[3]^[a]
Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Name	Goals	Res	Rec	Res	Rec	Res	Rec	Average home attendance^[3]^[a]
1896–97														QR1	0-0-1
1897–98														QR1	1-0-1
1898–99														QR3	2-0-1
1899–1900														PR	0-0-1
Joined the Lancashire Combination.
1900–01	Lancashire Combination		34	17	2	15	55	51	+4	36	9th of 18
1901–02			34	21	5	8	79	48	+31	47	3rd of 18			QR3	2-1-1
1902–03			34	26	2	6	114	36	+78	54	1st of 18			QR3	2-0-1
1903–04	Lancashire Combination Division One		34	24	4	6	89	36	+53	52	2nd of 18			QR3	3-1-1
1904–05			34	16	5	13	57	55	+2	37	7th of 18			QR3	0-0-1
1905–06			38	22	10	6	88	33	+55	54	1st of 20			QR4	4-0-1
1906–07			38	18	7	13	76	60	+16	43	5th of 20			R2	2-1-1
1907–08			38	16	9	13	77	66	+11	41	7th of 20			PR	0-0-1
1908–09			38	15	6	17	88	87	+1	36	12th of 20			QR4	4-2-1
1909–10			38	21	9	8	71	62	+9	47	3rd of 20			R1	2-0-1
1910–11			38	15	8	15	82	78	+4	38	7th of 20			R1	2-0-1
1911–12			32	12	6	14	70	66	+4	30	9th of 17			QR5	1-0-1
1912–13			34	21	3	10	75	54	+21	45	2nd of 18			QR4	0-0-1
1913–14			34	15	8	11	76	65	+11	38	7th of 18			QR4	0-0-1
1914–15			32	15	7	10	75	59	+16	37	6th of 17			PR	0-1-1
No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the World War I.
1919–20	Lancashire Combination		34	18	4	12	86	73	+13	40	7th of 18			PR	0-0-1
1920–21	Lancashire Combination		34	16	9	9	63	41	+22	41	6th of 18			PR	0-0-1
Football League Third Division North created. The club were invited to join.
1921–22	Football League Third Division North	3	38	19	3	16	73	57	+16	41	5th of 20			QR4	0-0-1					8,000
1922–23			38	17	7	14	59	65	-6	41	8th of 20			QR5	0-1-1					7,440
1923–24			42	16	8	18	48	61	-13	40	13th of 22			R1	2-1-1					5,660
1924–25			42	15	8	19	60	72	-12	38	17th of 22			R1	2-1-1					5,110
1925–26			42	17	3	22	81	105	-24	37	18th of 22			R3	2-0-1					4,248
1926–27			42	10	7	25	62	98	-36	27	21st of 22			R4	3-0-1					4,100
1927–28			42	18	8	16	76	67	+9	44	9th of 22			R1	0-0-1					4,741
1928–29			42	13	8	21	68	82	-14	34	18th of 22			R3	2-1-1					4,398
1929–30			42	14	9	19	84	81	+3	37	16th of 22			R2	1-0-1					4,236
1930–31			42	15	9	18	84	108	-24	39	13th of 22			R2	1-0-1					3,191
1931–32			40	15	6	19	75	80	-5	36	14th of 21			R2	1-1-1					3,521
1932–33			42	15	10	17	78	76	+2	40	13th of 22			R2	1-0-1					2,933
1933–34			42	13	7	22	65	101	-36	33	20th of 22			R3	2-1-1					2,989
1934–35			42	12	10	20	63	89	-26	34	18th of 22			R1	0-0-1					2,785
1935–36			42	17	8	17	63	72	-9	42	9th of 22			R1	0-0-1					3,351
1936–37			42	16	9	17	76	69	+7	41	13th of 22			R4	3-1-1					3,733
1937–38			42	11	7	24	45	75	-30	29	22nd of 22			R2	1-2-1					4,344
1938–39			42	7	6	29	49	103	-54	20	22nd of 22			R1	0-0-1					3,419
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the World War II.
1945–46														R3	2-1-3
1946–47	Football League Third Division North	3	42	14	4	24	56	92	-36	32	20th of 22			R1	0-1-1					3,976
1947–48			42	20	6	16	62	59	+3	46	6th of 22			R1	0-0-1					6,230
1948–49			42	12	10	20	55	64	-9	34	20th of 22			R1	0-0-1					6,001
1949–50			42	16	7	19	57	62	-5	39	13th of 22			R1	0-0-1					5,891
1950–51			46	11	10	25	42	101	-59	32	23rd of 24			R1	0-0-1					4,562
1951–52			46	10	12	24	61	92	-31	32	22nd of 24			R1	0-0-1					6,378
1952–53			46	8	11	27	39	89	-50	27	24th of 24			R2	1-0-1					5,549
1953–54			46	16	10	20	66	74	-8	42	15th of 24			R2	1-1-1					7,321
1954–55			46	25	11	10	96	67	+29	61	2nd of 24			R2	1-0-1					9,766
1955–56			46	25	9	12	92	57	+35	59	3rd of 24			R3	2-0-1					8,946
1956–57			46	25	8	13	95	64	+31	58	3rd of 24			R3	2-0-1					8,736
1957–58			46	25	9	12	83	61	+22	59	2nd of 24			R3	2-2-1					7,187
Regional Third divisions merged creating nationwide the Third Division and the Fourth Division. Qualified to join the Third Division.
1958–59	Football League Third Division	3	46	15	12	19	71	87	-16	42	19th of 24			R4	3-1-1					6,267
1959–60	Football League Third Division	3	46	11	5	30	57	123	-66	27	24th of 24 Relegated			R1	0-0-1					4,083
1960–61	Football League Fourth Division	4	46	16	8	22	74	88	-14	40	18th of 24			R3	2-1-1	R1	0-0-1			3,530
1961–62	Football League Fourth Division	4	Failed to complete the season, record was expunged.											R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1
Resigned from the league and joined the Lancashire Combination.
1962–63	Lancashire Combination Division Two		38	19	7	12	99	66	+33	45	8th of 20
1963–64	Lancashire Combination Division Two		34	23	6	5	90	40	+50	52	1st of 18 Promoted
1964–65	Lancashire Combination Division One		42	7	4	31	48	127	-79	18	21st of 22 Relegated			QR1	0-0-1
1965–66	Lancashire Combination Division Two		Failed to complete the season, record was expunged.
Folded and reestablished in 1968. Joined the Lancashire Combination two years later.
1970–71	Lancashire Combination		30	15	5	10	65	52	+13	35	6th of 16
1971–72			28	18	5	5	81	40	+41	41	2nd of 15			QR1	0-0-1
1972–73			38	26	7	5	96	36	+60	59	3rd of 20			QR2	1-2-1	R1	3-1-1
1973–74			38	29	5	4	80	26	+54	63	1st of 20			QR2	1-0-1	QR3	2-0-1
1974–75			38	17	7	14	75	55	+20	41	10th of 20			QR4	4-2-1	PR	0-0-1
1975–76			34	25	5	4	104	36	+68	55	2nd of 18			QR1	0-0-1	PR	0-0-1
1976–77			34	25	7	2	86	20	+66	57	3rd of 18			QR2	1-0-1	QR2	2-1-1
1977–78			34	25	7	2	99	32	+67	57	1st of 18			QR1	1-1-1	QR1	1-1-1
Transferred to the newly created Cheshire County League Division Two.
1978–79	Cheshire County League Division Two		34	18	6	10	65	43	+22	42	5th of 18			PR	0-0-1	R1	3-0-1
1979–80			34	20	9	5	67	33	+34	49	2nd of 18			QR1	1-0-1	QR2	1-1-1
1980–81			38	26	3	9	73	20	+53	55	1st of 20 Promoted			QR2	1-1-1	QR3	3-1-1
1981–82	Cheshire County League Division One		38	11	11	16	40	57	-17	33	13th of 20			QR1	1-2-1
League merged with the Lancashire Combination to create the North West Counties Football League.
1982–83	North West Counties League Division One	7	38	13	12	13	56	55	+1	38	10th of 20			QR1	0-1-1	QR1	1-0-1
1983–84			38	17	8	13	67	60	+7	42	7th of 20			QR3	3-2-1	PR	0-0-1
1984–85			38	11	8	19	45	59	-14	30	15th of 20			QR2	1-0-1	PR	0-0-1
1985–86			38	13	11	14	62	60	+2	37	11th of 20			QR2	2-1-1	PR	0-3-1
1986–87			38	19	15	4	63	32	+31	53	2nd of 20			PR	0-0-1	QR1	1-1-1
Northern Premier League Division One created. Joined the new division.
1987–88	Northern Premier League Division One	7	36	21	6	9	71	39	+32	69	4th of 19			PR	0-0-1	QR2	1-0-1
1988–89			42	21	10	11	81	60	+21	73	6th of 22			QR2	1-2-1	QR1	0-1-1
1989–90			42	22	10	10	80	53	+27	76	3rd of 22			QR2	2-1-1	QR1	0-0-1
1990–91			42	21	13	8	83	57	+26	76	4th of 22 Promoted			QR4	4-0-1	QR3	2-0-1
1991–92	Northern Premier League Premier Division	6	42	17	12	13	78	62	+16	63	8th of 22			QR2	1-1-1	QR3	1-0-1
1992–93			42	20	13	9	79	45	+34	73	6th of 22			R2	5-0-1	R1	3-0-1
1993–94			42	14	7	21	63	85	-22	49	16th of 22			R1	1-0-1	QR3	0-0-1
1994–95			42	12	13	17	55	77	-22	49	15th of 22			QR4	0-0-1	QR2	1-1-1
1995–96			42	17	14	11	62	54	+8	62	8th of 22			QR2	1-0-1	QR3	2-1-1
1996–97			44	18	12	14	77	70	+7	66	11th of 23			QR1	0-1-1	QR3	0-0-1
1997–98			42	8	14	20	49	68	-19	38	20th of 22			QR1	0-0-1	QR3	0-0-1
1998–99			42	9	9	24	47	77	-30	36	22nd of 22 Relegated			QR2	0-0-1	R3	2-1-1
1999–2000	Northern Premier League Division One	7	42	25	9	8	96	43	+53	84	1st of 22 Promoted			QR2	2-0-1	R2	1-2-1
2000–01	Northern Premier League Premier Division	6	44	18	10	16	72	67	+5	64	9th of 23			QR3	1-1-1	R3	2-1-1			613
2001–02			44	21	9	14	89	64	+25	72	6th of 23			QR3	1-0-1	R2	1-3-0			529
2002–03			44	30	10	4	97	44	+53	100	1st of 23 Promoted			QR3	1-1-1	R2	0-0-1			1,133
2003–04	Football Conference	5	42	15	13	14	68	61	+7	58	10th of 22	Paul Mullin	20	R3	2-3-1	R3	0-0-1			1,797
Football Conference expanded up to two levels and changed name of a higher division.
2004–05	Conference National	5	42	18	11	13	72	58	+14	65	10th of 22	Paul Mullin	20	QR4	0-0-1	R3	0-1-1	R2	1-0-1	1,537
2005–06	Conference National	5	42	28	7	7	76	45	+31	91	1st of 22 Promoted	Paul Mullin	14	QR4	0-1-1	R3	2-3-0	R1	0-1-0	1,895
2006–07	Football League Two	4	46	13	11	22	70	81	-11	50	20th of 24	Paul Mullin	13	R1	0-0-1	R2	1-1-0	AQF	0-2-1	2,260
2007–08			46	16	3	27	49	83	-34	51	17th of 24	Paul Mullin	12	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	1,634
2008–09			46	13	11	22	42	59	-17	50	16th of 24	Jimmy Ryan	10	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	1,414
2009–10			46	18	7	21	62	74	-12	61	15th of 24	Bobby Grant	14	R4	3-1-1	R2	1-0-1	ASF	3-0-1	1,980
2010–11			46	18	19	9	73	55	+18	73	5th of 24	Phil Edwards Sean McConville Terry Gornell	13	R2	1-0-1	R1	1-0-1	R1	0-1-0	1,868
2010–11			Lost in the play-off* semifinal.*											R2	1-0-1	R1	1-0-1	R1	0-1-0	1,868
2011–12			46	14	15	17	54	66	-12	57	14th of 24	Pádraig Amond	7	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R2	1-0-1	1,785
2012–13			46	14	12	20	51	67	-16	54	18th of 24	Romuald Boco	10	R2	1-1-1	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	1,675
2013–14			46	14	15	17	54	56	-2	57	15th of 24	Kal Naismith	10	R1	0-0-1	R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1	1,606
2014–15			46	15	11	20	58	77	-19	56	17th of 24	Piero Mingoia	8	R2	1-2-1	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	1,611
2015–16			46	24	13	9	74	48	+26	85	4th of 24	Billy Kee	17	R2	1-0-1	R1	0-1-0	R1	0-0-1	1,834
2015–16			Lost in the play-off* semifinal.*											R2	1-0-1	R1	0-1-0	R1	0-0-1	1,834
2016–17			46	17	14	15	59	56	+3	65	13th of 24	Billy Kee	13	R4	3-0-1	R3	0-2-1	G	1-0-2	1,699
2017–18			46	29	6	11	76	46	+30	93	1st of 24 Promoted	Billy Kee	25	R1	0-2-0	R2	1-0-1	R2	2-0-2	1,979
2018–19	Football League One	3	46	14	13	19	51	67	-16	55	14th of 24	Sean McConville	15	R4	3-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R3	2-1-2	2,827
2019–20			35	10	10	15	47	53	−6	40	17th of 24	Colby Bishop	10	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	AQF	4-1-1	2,997
2019–20			Final league positions decided by Points-Per-Game after league was postponed due to COVID-19											R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	AQF	4-1-1	2,997
2020–21			46	18	13	15	63	68	−5	67	11th of 24	Dion Charles	19	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-1-0	R3	3-1-1	– ^[b]
2021–22			46	17	10	19	61	80	−19	61	12th of 24	Colby Bishop	12	R1	0-0-1	R2	1-1-0	R2	2-2-0	2,915
2022–23			46	11	11	24	40	77	−37	44	23rd of 24 Relegated	Tommy Leigh	7	R4	3-1-1	R1	0-1-0	SF	3-2-2	2,988
2023–24	Football League Two	4	46	16	9	21	63	71	−8	57	17th of 24	Jack Nolan	17	R1	0–1–1	R1	0–1–0	R3	3–0–2	2,560

^ Average home attendance = for league games only
^ COVID-19 prevented fans from attending games

External links

Accrington Stanley at the Football Club History Database (1891-66)
Accrington Stanley at the Football Club History Database (1968-current)

References

^ Terry, Philip. "Club History". Accrington Stanley F.C. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005.
^ "Accrington FC club details". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^ "English non-league attendances archive". EFS. Retrieved 2 March 2016.

[4] Average home attendance = for league games only

[5] COVID-19 prevented fans from attending games

[ASFChist-1] Terry, Philip. "Club History". Accrington Stanley F.C. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005.

[2] "Accrington FC club details". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

[3] "English non-league attendances archive". EFS. Retrieved 2 March 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a]

[b]

v t e Accrington Stanley Football Club
The club	Seasons Players Managers Accrington Stanley, Who Are They?
Previous clubs	Accrington F.C. Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)
Grounds	Thorneyholme Road Peel Park Crown Ground
Seasons	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

v t e Lists of English men's football seasons by club
Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2024–25 season
Premier League	AFC Bournemouth Arsenal Aston Villa Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Fulham Ipswich Town Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship	Blackburn Rovers Bristol City Burnley Cardiff City Coventry City Derby County Hull City Leeds United Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Preston North End Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Watford West Bromwich Albion
League One	Barnsley Birmingham City Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Crawley Town Exeter City Huddersfield Town Leyton Orient Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Reading Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Stevenage Stockport County Wigan Athletic Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers
League Two	Accrington Stanley AFC Wimbledon Barrow Bradford City Bromley Carlisle United Cheltenham Town Chesterfield Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers Fleetwood Town Gillingham Grimsby Town Harrogate Town Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Newport County Notts County Port Vale Salford City Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall
Non-League	AFC Fylde Aldershot Town Alfreton Town Altrincham Arlesey Town Ashford United Banbury United Barnet Bath City Bishop's Stortford Blyth Spartans Brackley Town Bradford Park Avenue Burnham Bury Cambridge City Chesham United Chester Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Corby Town Curzon Ashton Dagenham & Redbridge Darlington Dartford Dover Athletic Eastbourne Borough Eastbourne Town Ebbsfleet United FC Halifax Town F.C. United of Manchester Forest Green Rovers Gateshead Glossop North End Gloucester City Harrow Borough Hartlepool United Havant & Waterlooville Hayes & Yeading United Hitchin Town Kidderminster Harriers King's Lynn Town Maidstone United Margate Nelson Northwich Victoria Nuneaton Town Oldham Athletic Redditch United Rochdale Scarborough Athletic Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Spennymoor Town Sutton United Swindon Supermarine Tamworth Torquay United Walton & Hersham Walton Casuals Welling United Weymouth Whitby Town Wingate & Finchley Woking Yeovil Town York City
Defunct clubs	Aldershot Chester City Gateshead Hereford United Hinckley United Macclesfield Town Rushden & Diamonds Salisbury City Scarborough Wimbledon Wigan Borough
Category Includes clubs based in Wales that compete in English leagues.