The 2019–20 EFL League Two (referred to as the Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship reasons) was the 16th season of Football League Two under its current title and the 28th season under its current league division format. On 13 March 2020, the EFL, alongside the FA announced the suspension of all domestic football until 3 April due to the rapidly developing COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On 3 April 2020, this suspension was extended indefinitely.[2]
Season | 2019–20 |
---|---|
Champions | Swindon Town |
Promoted | Swindon Town Crewe Alexandra Plymouth Argyle Northampton Town |
Relegated | Macclesfield Town |
Matches played | 440 |
Goals scored | 1,108 (2.52 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Eoin Doyle (25 goals) |
Biggest home win | Mansfield Town 6–1 Oldham Athletic (12 October 2019) |
Biggest away win | Crawley Town 0–4 Swindon Town (26 October 2019) Mansfield Town 0–4 Cambridge United (17 September 2019) Cambridge United 0–4 Stevenage (18 January 2020) |
Longest unbeaten run | 15 matches Colchester United |
Longest winless run | 10 matches Stevenage |
Highest attendance | 17,668 Bradford City 1–1 Grimsby Town (8 February 2020) |
← 2018–19 2020–21 → |
On 15 May 2020, the clubs voted to end the season with immediate effect with the final table being determined on a points-per-game basis. No decision was made as to promotion and relegation. The play-offs would be played as normal. The decision meant Swindon Town would be crowned champions and would be joined by Crewe Alexandra and Plymouth Argyle in League One the following season.[3]
Team changes
editThe following teams have changed division since the 2018–19 season.
Stadiums
editPersonnel and sponsoring
editManagerial changes
editTeam | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Walsall | Martin O'Connor[7] | End of caretaker spell | 4 May 2019 | Pre-season | Darrell Clarke[8] | 10 May 2019 |
Scunthorpe United | Andy Dawson[9] | Paul Hurst[10] | 13 May 2019 | |||
Plymouth Argyle | Kevin Nancekivell[9] | Ryan Lowe[11] | 5 June 2019 | |||
Oldham Athletic | Pete Wild[12] | Resigned | Laurent Banide[13] | 11 June 2019 | ||
Mansfield Town | David Flitcroft[14] | Sacked | 14 May 2019 | John Dempster[14] | 14 May 2019 | |
Leyton Orient | Justin Edinburgh[15] | Deceased | 8 June 2019 | Carl Fletcher[16] | 16 October 2019 | |
Macclesfield Town | Sol Campbell[17] | Mutual consent | 15 August 2019 | 8th | Daryl McMahon[18] | 19 August 2019 |
Stevenage | Dino Maamria[19] | Sacked | 9 September 2019 | 23rd | Graham Westley[20] | 15 December 2019 |
Oldham Athletic | Laurent Banide[21] | 19 September 2019 | 21st | Dino Maamria[22] | 19 September 2019 | |
Morecambe | Jim Bentley[23] | Signed by AFC Fylde | 28 October 2019 | 24th | Derek Adams[24] | 7 November 2019 |
Carlisle United | Steven Pressley[25] | Sacked | 13 November 2019 | 19th | Chris Beech[26] | 26 November 2019 |
Leyton Orient | Carl Fletcher[27] | 14 November 2019 | 16th | Ross Embleton[28] | 7 January 2020 | |
Grimsby Town | Michael Jolley[29] | Mutual consent | 15 November 2019 | 18th | Ian Holloway[30] | 31 December 2019 |
Crawley Town | Gabriele Cioffi[31] | Sacked | 2 December 2019 | 17th | John Yems[32] | 5 December 2019 |
Mansfield Town | John Dempster[33] | 14 December 2019 | 18th | Graham Coughlan[34] | 17 December 2019 | |
Macclesfield Town | Daryl McMahon[35] | Resigned | 2 January 2020 | 22nd | Mark Kennedy[36] | 16 January 2020 |
Cambridge United | Colin Calderwood[37] | Sacked | 29 January 2020 | 16th | Mark Bonner[38] | 9 March 2020 |
Scunthorpe United | Paul Hurst[39] | 29 January 2020 | 19th | Russ Wilcox[40] | 12 February 2020 | |
Bradford City | Gary Bowyer[41] | 3 February 2020 | 8th | Stuart McCall[42] | 4 February 2020 | |
Stevenage | Graham Westley[43] | 16 February 2020 | 24th | Alex Revell[44] | 16 February 2020 |
League table
editPos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Swindon Town (C, P) | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 69 | 1.92 | Promotion to EFL League One |
2 | Crewe Alexandra (P) | 37 | 20 | 9 | 8 | 67 | 43 | +24 | 69 | 1.86 | |
3 | Plymouth Argyle (P) | 37 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 68 | 1.84 | |
4 | Cheltenham Town | 36 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 52 | 27 | +25 | 64 | 1.78 | Qualification for League Two play-offs[a] |
5 | Exeter City | 37 | 18 | 11 | 8 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 65 | 1.76 | |
6 | Colchester United | 37 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 58 | 1.57 | |
7 | Northampton Town (O, P) | 37 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 54 | 40 | +14 | 58 | 1.57 | |
8 | Port Vale | 37 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 57 | 1.54 | |
9 | Bradford City | 37 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 54 | 1.46 | |
10 | Forest Green Rovers | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 49 | 1.36 | |
11 | Salford City | 37 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 50 | 1.35 | |
12 | Walsall | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 47 | 1.31 | |
13 | Crawley Town | 37 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 48 | 1.30 | |
14 | Newport County | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 46 | 1.28 | |
15 | Grimsby Town | 37 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 47 | 1.27 | |
16 | Cambridge United | 37 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 45 | 1.22 | |
17 | Leyton Orient | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 47 | 55 | −8 | 42 | 1.17 | |
18 | Carlisle United | 37 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 39 | 56 | −17 | 42 | 1.14 | |
19 | Oldham Athletic | 37 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 41 | 1.11 | |
20 | Scunthorpe United | 37 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 40 | 1.08 | |
21 | Mansfield Town | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 55 | −7 | 38 | 1.06 | |
22 | Morecambe | 37 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 32 | 0.86 | |
23 | Stevenage | 36 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 50 | −26 | 22 | 0.61 | Reprieved from relegation[b] |
24 | Macclesfield Town (R) | 37 | 7 | 15 | 15 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 19[c] | 0.51[c] | Relegation to the National League |
Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[52]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to EFL League One.
- ^ As a result of Bury's expulsion from League One, only one team is relegated to maintain League Two at 24 teams.[45]
- ^ Macclesfield Town deducted four points for failing to both pay their players' wages and to fulfil a fixture, reduced from six points after appeal.[46][47] A further seven-point deduction was given for failing to play December's match against Plymouth Argyle.[48] A further two-point deduction was given for breaches of regulations over non-payment of wages.[49] On 3 July the EFL appealed against the independent disciplinary panel's sanctions on Macclesfield.[50] A further four points were deducted on 11 August 2020, resulting in Macclesfield Town being relegated. Stevenage reprieved[51]
Play-offs
editSemi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
4 | Cheltenham Town | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
7 | Northampton Town | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
7 | Northampton Town | 4 | |||||||||
5 | Exeter City | 0 | |||||||||
5 | Exeter City | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
6 | Colchester United | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Results
editSeason statistics
editTop scorers
edit- As of 7 March 2020[53]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Eoin Doyle | Swindon Town | 25 |
2 | Nicky Maynard | Mansfield Town | 14 |
3 | Ryan Bowman | Exeter City | 13 |
Ollie Palmer | Crawley Town | ||
Jerry Yates | Swindon Town | ||
6 | Bez Lubala | Crawley Town | 12 |
Chris Porter | Crewe Alexandra | ||
8 | Theo Robinson | Colchester United | 11 |
Danny Rose | Mansfield Town | ||
James Vaughan | Bradford City | ||
11 | Antoni Sarcevic | Plymouth Argyle | 10 |
Kevin van Veen | Scunthorpe United |
Hat-tricks
editPlayer | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicky Maynard | Mansfield Town | Oldham Athletic | 6–1 (H) | 12 October 2019 | [54] |
Eoin Doyle | Swindon Town | Crawley Town | 4–0 (A) | 26 October 2019 | [55] |
Keshi Anderson | Swindon Town | Cambridge United | 4–0 (H) | 26 December 2019 | [56] |
Nicky Maynard | Mansfield Town | Cambridge United | 3–2 (A) | 1 January 2020 | [57] |
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "EFL statement: Coronavirus update". www.efl.com. English Football League. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "EFL statement: Coronavirus update". www.efl.com. English Football League. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ Roan, Dan (15 May 2020). "League Two clubs vote to end season, but League One teams fail to decide". BBC Sport.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Record kit deal announced". Morecambe F.C. 21 May 2019.
- ^ "Shreswbury Town 0–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "Darrell Clarke: Walsall name ex-Bristol Rovers boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Plymouth Argyle 3–2 Scunthorpe United". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "Paul Hurst: Scunthorpe United name ex-Ipswich Town boss as manager". BBC Sport. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Ryan Lowe: Plymouth Argyle appoint Bury manager as new boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "Pete Wild: Oldham Athletic boss leaves for personal reasons". BBC Sport. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ BBC “Laurent Banide: Oldham Athletic appoint former Monaco boss as new head coach”, “BBC”, 11 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Club statement". www.mansfieldtown.net. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
- ^ "STATEMENT: Justin Edinburgh". Leyton Orient F.C. 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Carl Fletcher: Leyton Orient appoint ex-Plymouth boss as head coach". BBC Sport. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ "Sol Campbell: Macclesfield Town manager leaves by mutual agreement". BBC Sport. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Daryl McMahon: Macclesfield Town appoint successor to Sol Campbel". BBC Sport. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Dino Maamria: Stevenage sack Tunisian; Mark Sampson takes temporary charge". BBC Sport. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ "Graham Westley: Stevenage reappoint former manager for fourth spell in charge". BBC. 15 December 2019.
- ^ "STATEMENT: Laurent Banide". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Dino Maamria: Oldham Athletic appoint ex-Stevenage boss after sacking Laurent Banide". BBC Sport. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Jim Bentley: Morecambe manager resigns and becomes AFC Fylde boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Derek Adams named as new Shrimps manager=". morecambefc.com. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ "Steven Pressley: Carlisle United sack manager after 10 months in charge". BBC Sport. 13 November 2019.
- ^ "Chris Beech: Carlisle United appoint former Rochdale coach as boss". BBC. 26 November 2019.
- ^ "Carl Fletcher: Leyton Orient manager sacked after 29 days in charge of League Two club". Leyton Orient F.C. 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Ross Embleton: Leyton Orient appoint interim boss as head coach". BBC. 7 January 2020.
- ^ "Michael Jolley: Grimsby Town part company with manager". BBC. 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Ian Holloway: Grimsby Town appoint ex-QPR and Crystal Palace boss as new manager". BBC. 31 December 2019.
- ^ "Gabriele Cioffi: Crawley Town part company with head coach after 14 months". BBC. 3 December 2019.
- ^ "John Yems: Crawley Town reappoint former manager until end of seasonmanager". BBC. 5 December 2019.
- ^ "John Dempster: Mansfield Town sack manager after seven months in charge". BBC. 14 December 2019.
- ^ Graham Coughlan unveiled as new Mansfield Town manager Archived 2019-12-17 at the Wayback Machine Chad (Mansfield local newspaper), 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019
- ^ "Daryl McMahon: Macclesfield Town manager resigns". BBC Sport. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Mark Kennedy: Macclesfield Town name ex-Republic of Ireland winger as head coach". BBC Sport. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ "Colin Calderwood: Cambridge United part company with head coach". BBC Sport. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Mark Bonner: Cambridge United name caretaker boss as permanent head coach". BBC Sport. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "Paul Hurst: Scunthorpe United manager departs League Two club". BBC Sport. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Russ Wilcox: Scunthorpe United caretaker boss to stay in charge until end of season". BBC Sport. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- ^ "Gary Bowyer: Bradford City part company with manager". BBC Sport. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Stuart McCall: Bradford City reappoint ex-Scotland player as manager". BBC Sport. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Graham Westley: Stevenage manager resigns to end fourth spell as boss". BBC. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Graham Westley: Stevenage manager resigns to end fourth spell as boss". BBC. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Bury FC: Membership of the League withdrawn". EFL. 27 August 2019.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town docked six points by EFL over financial issues". BBC Sport. 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town: Six-point deduction reduced to four point penalty after appeal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town: League Two club given seven-point deduction". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Macclesfield deducted points but avoid relegation to National League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town: EFL to appeal against independent panel decision". BBC Sport. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Macclesfield Town relegated after EFL wins points appeal, Stevenage re-elected". BBC Sport. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Top Scorers – League Two". Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Mansfield 6–1 Oldham: Nicky Maynard scores hat-trick as Stags rout Latics". Sky Sports. 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Crawley Town 0–4 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 26 October 2019.
- ^ "Swindon Town 4–0 Cambridge United". BBC Sport. 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Cambridge United 2–3 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 1 January 2020.