- List of Darlington F.C. seasons
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Darlington Football Club, an English association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, was founded in 1883. In their second season, they won the major regional trophy, the Durham Challenge Cup,[1] and the following season they entered the FA Cup for the first time, only to lose 8–0 to Grimsby Town.[2] In 1889, Darlington were one of the founder members of the Northern League; they won the league title in 1896 and 1900, and reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup in the same two seasons.[3] The club turned professional in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League. The 1910–11 season saw Darlington reach the last 16 of the FA Cup, progressing through five qualifying rounds to lose to Swindon Town in the Third Round Proper.[2] They won the North Eastern League in 1913 and 1920,[3] and were invited to join the newly formed Football League Third Division North.[4]
Runners-up in their first season in the Football League, Darlington were Third Division North champions three years later, thus winning promotion to the Second Division. Their 15th-place finish in 1926 remains, as of 2010, their best League performance, but they were relegated back to the Third Division in 1927, where they remained until the Second World War put an end to competitive football. They came third in 1929–30, but twice had to apply for re-election to the League, in 1932–33 and 1936–37, after finishing in last place in the section.[3] In 1934, they enjoyed their first success in a nationally organised cup competition, defeating Stockport County 4–3 at Old Trafford to win the Football League Third Division North Cup,[2] and reached the final again two years later.[5] In the 1957–58 season, the club equalled their previous best FA Cup run, reaching the last 16 by defeating Chelsea, Football League champions only three years earlier, in the Fourth Round.[6] When the regional sections of the Third Division were merged in 1958–59, Darlington were placed in the Fourth Division.[3]
Darlington won promotion to the Third Division in 1965–66, but for one season only.[3] Their most successful season in the League Cup came in 1967–68: drawn away to Brian Clough's Derby County in the quarter-final, they took the lead, only to lose 5–4. During the 1970s the club had to apply for re-election to the League five times.[7] Darlington spent two seasons in the Third Division in the 1980s; their 13th-place finish in 1986 was a record high since the introduction of the four-division structure.[3] Darlington were relegated from the Football League in 1988–89 after 68 years of continuous membership. They made an immediate return as Conference champions, then won the Fourth Division title in 1990–91, but spent only one season in the third tier before relegation followed.[3]
Darlington lost in both the second and the third rounds of the 1999–2000 FA Cup.[8] Manchester United's decision to play in the FIFA Club World Championship rather than the FA Cup left a space in the third round which the organisers filled by drawing lots from among the 20 teams eliminated in the second. Darlington were the "lucky losers", going on to be beaten 2–1 by Aston Villa in the third round after losing 3–1 to Gillingham in the second.[3][8] They came close to a return to the Third Division via the play-offs in 1996 and 2000,[3] and a period of administration in 2008–09 resulted in a 10-point deduction,[9] without which they would again have reached the play-offs. The following season they were relegated to the Conference for the second time,[10] and went on to reach the 2011 FA Trophy Final, in which they scored the only goal of the game in the last minute of extra time to defeat Mansfield Town.[11]
The table details their achievements in senior first-team competitions from their first appearance in the FA Cup in 1885–86 to the end of the most recently completed season.
Contents
Key
1st or W Winners 2nd or RU Runners-up Promoted Relegated
Top scorer marked * when he was also top scorer for the division.
Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion, relegation or reorganisation.
League results shown in italics for abandoned or wartime competitions.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:
- North – Northern League
- North 1 – Northern League Division 1
- NE – North Eastern League
- Div 2 – Football League Second Division
- Div 3 – Football League Third Division
- Div 3N – Football League Third Division North
- Div 4 – Football League Fourth Division
- Conf – Conference National
- Lge 2 – Football League Two
Key to rounds:
- GrpN – Group stage Northern section
- QR1 – First qualifying round
- QR2 – Second qualifying round, etc.
- R1 – Round 1
- R1N – Round 1 Northern section
- R2 – Round 2
- R2N – Round 2 Northern section
- R2NE – Round 2 North-eastern section, etc.
- QF – Quarter-final
- QFN – Quarter-final Northern section
- SF – Semi-final
- SFN – Semi-final Northern section
- RU – Runners-up
- W – Winners
Seasons
Season League[3][12] FA Cup[13] League
Cup[A][3][14]Other competitions[3][5][14][15] Top league scorer[16] Division P W D L F A Pts Pos 1885–86 Darlington did not play league football until the 1889–90 season. R2 1886–87 R1 1887–88 R3 1888–89 QR1 1889–90 North[B] 18 7 6 5 46 20 20 5th QR1 1890–91 North 14 7 0 7 25 29 14 5th QR4 1891–92 North 16 2 3 11 17 49 7 9th QR4 1892–93 North 10 2 1 7 11 37 5 6th QR4 1893–94 North 14 7 1 6 25 20 15 4th QR1 FA Amateur Cup R1 1894–95 North 18 11 0 7 56 30 22 4th QR3 FA Amateur Cup R2 1895–96 North 16 10 4 2 53 24 24 1st Pre FA Amateur Cup SF 1896–97 North 16 10 2 4 54 35 22 2nd QR4 FA Amateur Cup R2 1897–98 North 1[C] 16 8 2 6 41 31 18 3rd QR3 FA Amateur Cup QF 1898–99 North 1 16 10 3 3 50 29 23 2nd QR3 FA Amateur Cup QF 1899–1900 North 1 16 12 3 1 42 16 27 1st QR1 FA Amateur Cup SF 1900–01 North 20 11 2 7 55 37 24 3rd QR2 FA Amateur Cup QF 1901–02 North 18 9 4 5 37 22 22 3rd Pre FA Amateur Cup R1 1902–03 North 24 10 3 11 34 50 23 6th QR1 FA Amateur Cup R1 1903–04 North 24 11 3 10 48 49 25 6th QR3 FA Amateur Cup R2 1904–05 North 24 9 6 9 38 38 24 4th QR4 FA Amateur Cup QF 1905–06 North 26 12 7 7 47 47 31 4th QR4 FA Amateur Cup R1 1906–07 North 22 9 2 11 30 37 20 7th QR1 FA Amateur Cup R1 1907–08 North 22 9 2 11 39 41 20 9th QR4 FA Amateur Cup R1 1908–09 NE 34 15 8 11 76 73 38 8th QR3 1909–10 NE 32 16 5 11 59 54 37 5th QR3 1910–11 NE 34 19 5 10 79 40 43 4th R3[D] 1911–12 NE 36 23 8 5 84 34 54 3rd R2 1912–13 NE 38 31 4 3 116 23 66 1st QR5 Dick Healey[17] 41 1913–14 NE 38 20 10 8 72 43 50 4th QR5 1914–15 NE 38 25 4 9 109 38 54 4th R1 1915–19 Competitive League football and the FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War. 1919–20 NE 34 24 1 9 93 44 49 2nd R2 1920–21 NE 38 28 4 6 76 29 60 1st R1 1921–22 Div 3N 38 22 6 10 81 37 50 2nd R1 1922–23 Div 3N 38 15 10 13 59 46 40 9th QR6 1923–24 Div 3N 42 20 8 14 70 53 48 6th R1 David Brown[18] * 27 1924–25 Div 3N 42 24 10 8 78 33 58 1st R1 David Brown[18] * 39 1925–26 Div 2 42 14 10 18 72 77 38 15th[E] R2 1926–27 Div 2 42 12 6 24 79 98 30 21st R4 1927–28 Div 3N 42 21 5 16 89 74 47 7th R3 1928–29 Div 3N 42 13 7 22 64 88 33 19th R3 1929–30 Div 3N 42 22 6 14 108 73 50 3rd R1 Maurice Wellock[17] 34 1930–31 Div 3N 42 16 10 16 71 59 42 11th R1 1931–32 Div 3N 40 17 4 19 66 69 38 11th R3 1932–33 Div 3N 42 10 8 24 66 109 28 22nd R4 1933–34 Div 3N 42 13 9 20 70 101 35 16th R1 Football League Third Division North Cup[N] W 1934–35 Div 3N 42 21 9 12 80 59 51 5th R2 Football League Third Division North Cup R1 Jerry Best[17] 1935–36 Div 3N 42 17 6 19 74 79 40 12th R3 Football League Third Division North Cup RU 1936–37 Div 3N 42 8 14 20 66 96 30 22nd R4 Football League Third Division North Cup SF 1937–38 Div 3N 42 11 10 21 54 79 32 19th R1 Football League Third Division North Cup R1 1938–39 Div 3N 42 13 7 22 62 92 33 18th R2 Football League Third Division North Cup R1 1939–40 Div 3N 3 2 1 0 5 2 5 [F] Wally Odell[19] 2 1939–45 The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War. 1945–46 R2[G] 1946–47 Div 3N 42 15 6 21 68 80 36 17th R2 Harry Clarke[17] 1947–48 Div 3N 42 13 13 16 54 70 39 16th R1 Harry Clarke[17] 1948–49 Div 3N 42 20 6 16 83 74 46 4th R3 Albert Quinn[17] 1949–50 Div 3N 42 11 13 18 56 69 35 17th R1 Albert Quinn[17] 1950–51 Div 3N 46 13 13 20 59 77 39 18th R1 1951–52 Div 3N 46 11 9 26 64 103 31 23rd R1 1952–53 Div 3N 46 14 6 26 58 96 34 21st R1 1953–54 Div 3N 46 12 14 20 50 71 38 21st R1 1954–55 Div 3N 46 14 14 18 62 73 42 15th R3 1955–56 Div 3N 46 16 9 21 60 73 41 15th R2 1956–57 Div 3N 46 17 8 21 82 95 42 18th R2 Bill Tulip[7] 32 1957–58 Div 3N 46 17 7 22 78 89 41 20th R5[D] 1958–59 Div 4[H] 46 13 16 17 66 68 42 16th R3 1959–60 Div 4 46 17 9 20 63 73 43 15th R2 1960–61 Div 4 46 18 13 15 78 70 49 7th R2[I] R3 1961–62 Div 4 44 18 9 17 61 73 45 13th R1 R1 1962–63 Div 4 46 19 6 21 72 87 44 12th R1 R2 1963–64 Div 4 46 14 12 20 66 93 40 19th R1 R1 1964–65 Div 4 46 18 6 22 84 87 42 17th R3 R2 1965–66 Div 4 46 25 9 12 72 53 59 2nd R2 R4 Bobby Cummings[7] 1966–67 Div 3 46 13 11 22 47 81 37 22nd R2 R2 1967–68 Div 4 46 12 17 17 47 53 41 16th R1 QF[J] 1968–69 Div 4 46 17 18 11 62 45 52 5th R2 R2 1969–70 Div 4 46 13 10 23 53 73 36 22nd R1 R2 1970–71 Div 4 46 17 11 18 58 57 45 12th R2 R2 1971–72 Div 4 46 14 11 21 64 82 39 19th R2 R1 1972–73 Div 4 46 7 15 24 42 85 29 24th R1 R1 1973–74 Div 4 46 13 13 20 40 62 39 20th R1 R2 1974–75 Div 4 46 13 10 23 54 67 36 21st R2 R1 1975–76 Div 4 46 14 10 22 48 57 38 20th R1 R3 1976–77 Div 4 46 18 13 15 59 64 49 11th R3 R2 1977–78 Div 4 46 14 13 19 52 59 41 19th R1 R1 1978–79 Div 4 46 11 15 20 49 66 37 21st R3 R3 1979–80 Div 4 46 9 17 20 50 74 35 22nd R2 R1 1980–81 Div 4 46 19 11 16 65 59 49 8th R1 R1 1981–82 Div 4 46 15 13 18 61 62 58[K] 13th R1 R1 1982–83 Div 4 46 13 13 20 61 71 52 17th R1 R1 1983–84 Div 4 46 17 8 21 49 50 59 14th R4 R2 Associate Members Cup R2N 1984–85 Div 4 46 24 13 9 66 49 85 3rd R4 R1 Associate Members Cup QFN Carl Airey[7] 16 1985–86 Div 3 46 15 13 18 61 78 58 13th R1 R2 Associate Members Cup QFN 1986–87 Div 3 46 7 16 23 45 77 37 23rd R2 R1 Associate Members Cup GrpN David Currie[20] 1987–88 Div 4 46 18 11 17 71 69 65 13th R1 R2 Associate Members Cup QFN David Currie[20] 1988–89 Div 4 46 8 18 20 53 76 42 24th[L] R1 R2 Associate Members Cup R1N 1989–90 Conf 42 26 9 7 76 25 87 1st R3 — FA Trophy QF John Borthwick[21] 19 Conference League Cup[22] R3 1990–91 Div 4 46 22 17 7 68 38 83 1st R1 R2 Associate Members Cup R1N John Borthwick[23] 1991–92 Div 3 46 10 7 29 56 90 37 24th R2 R1 Associate Members Cup GrpN 1992–93 Div 3[M] 42 12 14 16 48 53 50 15th R1 R1 Associate Members Cup R2N 1993–94 Div 3 42 10 11 21 42 64 41 21st R1 R1 Associate Members Cup R2N 1994–95 Div 3 42 11 8 23 43 57 41 20th R2 R1 Associate Members Cup R2N 1995–96 Div 3 46 20 18 8 60 42 78 5th[O] R2 R1 Associate Members Cup GrpN Robbie Blake 11 1996–97 Div 3 46 14 10 22 64 78 52 18th R2 R2 Associate Members Cup R1N Darren Roberts 16 1997–98 Div 3 46 14 12 20 56 72 54 19th R3 R1 Associate Members Cup R1N Darren Roberts 12 1998–99 Div 3 46 18 11 17 69 58 65 11th R2 R1 Associate Members Cup R2N Marco Gabbiadini[18] * 23 1999–2000 Div 3 46 21 16 9 66 36 79 4th[P] R3[R] R1 Associate Members Cup R1N Marco Gabbiadini[18] * 24 2000–01 Div 3 46 12 13 21 44 56 49 20th R2 R2 Football League Trophy QFN Glenn Naylor 11 2001–02 Div 3 46 15 11 20 60 71 56 15th R3 R1 Football League Trophy R2N Ian Clark 13 2002–03 Div 3 46 12 18 16 58 59 54 14th R3 R1 Football League Trophy R1N Barry Conlon 15 2003–04 Div 3 46 14 11 21 53 61 53 18th R1 R2 Football League Trophy R1N Barry Conlon 14 2004–05 Lge 2 46 20 12 14 57 49 72 8th R1 R1 Football League Trophy R1N Clyde Wijnhard 14 2005–06 Lge 2 46 16 15 15 58 52 63 8th R1 R1 Football League Trophy R1N Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu 10 2006–07 Lge 2 46 17 14 15 52 56 65 11th R2 R2 Football League Trophy SFN Julian Joachim 7 2007–08 Lge 2 46 22 12 12 67 40 78 6th R1 R1 Football League Trophy R2NE Tommy Wright 13 2008–09 Lge 2 46 20 12 14 61 44 62[Q] 12th R1 R2 Football League Trophy SFN Liam Hatch 9 2009–10 Lge 2 46 8 6 32 36 87 30 24th R1 R1 Football League Trophy R2N Tadhg Purcell 9 2010–11 Conf 46 18 17 11 61 42 71 7th R1 – FA Trophy W[S] Liam Hatch 11 Notes
- A. ^ : The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.
- B. ^ : Darlington were founder members of the Northern League in the 1889–90 season.[3]
- C. ^ : From 1887–88 to 1889–1900, the Northern League had two divisions, before reverting to the single-division format.[3]
- D. a b : Club's best performance in the FA Cup, reaching the last 16.[2][13]
- E. ^ : Club's best League finishing position.
- F. ^ : The 1939–40 season was abandoned with three matches played when the Second World War began.[3]
- G. ^ : Although the Football League did not resume until the 1946–47 season, the FA Cup was contested in 1945–46. From the First Round Proper to the Sixth Round (quarter-final), results were determined on aggregate score over two legs.[3][13]
- H. ^ : Darlington were placed in the Football League Fourth Division when the regional sections of the Third Division were amalgamated into national Third and Fourth Divisions.[3]
- I. ^ : Lost to Hull City only after four replays.[13]
- J. ^ : Club's best performance in the League Cup, reaching the quarter-final stage.
- K. ^ : The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win instead of two.[24]
- L. ^ : Relegated out of the Football League for the first time since their admission to it in 1922.
- M. ^ : When the newly formed FA Premier League split from the Football League, the remaining divisions of the Football League were renumbered upwards, so Darlington were relegated from the old Third Division into the new Third Division.[3][24]
- N. ^ : Darlington won the inaugural Football League Third Division North Cup, defeating Stockport County 4–3 at Manchester United's ground, Old Trafford.[2] Two years later they reached the final again, this time losing at Feethams, their home ground, to Chester by a score of 2–1.[5]
- O. ^ : In their first appearance at Wembley, lost 1–0 to Plymouth Argyle in the 1996 Football League Third Division play-off Final.[25]
- P. ^ : Lost 1–0 to Peterborough United in the 2000 Football League Third Division play-off Final.[26]
- Q. ^ : A period spent in administration resulted in a deduction of 10 League points, without which Darlington would have finished in the playoff positions.[9][10]
- R. ^ : Knocked out in the second round, Darlington progressed to the third round as a "lucky loser" as the FA Cup organising committee drew lots from among the second-round losers to fill the gap in the third-round draw left by Manchester United playing in the FIFA Club World Championship instead.[8]
- S. ^ : Defeated Mansfield Town to win the 2011 FA Trophy Final in their first appearance at the new Wembley Stadium. Chris Senior scored the only goal of the game in the last minute of extra time.[11]
References
- ^ "Durham Challenge Cup Winners". Dunston Federation F.C. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071025043222/http://www.thefed.myby.co.uk/ddc.htm.
- ^ a b c d e "History In Brief". Darlington F.C. http://www.darlington-fc.net/page/History/0,,10339~1027804,00.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Darlington". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071113012020/http://www.fchd.info/DARLINGT.HTM. Covers up to and including the end of the 2006–07 season.
- ^ "Division 3 1920/21". Footballsite. http://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/LeagueTables/Season1920-21/Div31920-21.htm. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ a b c "Darlington : Cup Finals". Statto. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/darlington/history/cup-finals. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
- ^ "Darlington's Three Quick Goals". The Times: p. 12. 30 January 1958.
- ^ a b c d "Darlington FC 125th Anniversary 42–83" (reprint). The Northern Echo (NewsBank). 25 April 2009. http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:MNEB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=127EA4204D647F50&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ a b c "Lucky Darlington land Villa trip". BBC Sport. 1 December 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_cup/544737.stm. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Darlington enter administration". BBC Sport. 25 February 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/darlington/7909576.stm. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Darlington : History 1975 to date". Statto. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/darlington/history/modern. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ a b "FA Trophy final: Darlington 1–0 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13296719.stm. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Darlington 2007–2008 : English League Two Table". Statto. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/darlington/2007-2008/table. Retrieved 25 June 2010. Access to other seasons via dropdown menu at top of page.
- ^ a b c d "The FA Cup Archive". The Football Association (The FA). http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2010. Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.
- ^ a b "Darlington 2007–2008 : Results". Statto. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/darlington/2007-2008/results. Retrieved 25 June 2010. Access to other seasons via dropdown menu at top of page.
- ^ Samuel, Richard (2003). The Complete F.A. Amateur Cup Results Book. Soccer Books Limited. pp. 5–15. ISBN 1-8622-3066-8.
- ^ "Darlington: Player Appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=719&comp_id=9#teamTabs=stats. Retrieved 8 May 2011. For seasons from 1995–96 onwards; select season via dropdown menu.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Darlington FC 125th Anniversary 1–41" (reprint). The Northern Echo (NewsBank). 25 April 2009. http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:MNEB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=127EA4204A3816C0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d Ross, James M. (12 June 2009). "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ^ "Saturday's Results". The Times: p. 5. 28 August 1939.
"Yesterday's Results". The Times: p. 5. 29 August 1939.
"Saturday's Results". The Times: p. 2. 4 September 1939. - ^ a b "Darlington FC 125th Anniversary 84–125" (reprint). The Northern Echo (NewsBank). 25 April 2009. http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:MNEB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=127EA42050911E90&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Rollin, Jack, ed (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). Queen Anne Press. p. 914. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
- ^ Rollin (ed), Rothmans 1990–91, p. 919.
- ^ "John Borthwick". In The Mad Crowd. John Phillips. http://www.inthemadcrowd.co.uk/cgi-bin/itmc_view_person.asp?oid=60. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ^ a b "History Of The Football League". The Football League. 3 August 2008. http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/History/HistoryDetail/0,,10794~1357277,00.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ Metcalf, Rupert (26 May 1996). "Pilgrims progress". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/pilgrims-progress-1349280.html. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- ^ "Posh pull it off at Wembley". BBC Sport. 26 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/765808.stm. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
External links
Darlington Football Club Overview Grounds History 2009–10 season · 1996 playoff finalCategories:- Darlington F.C.
- Darlington F.C. seasons
- English football club seasons
- English football club statistics
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