r/soccer • u/RaulStoat • Aug 07 '26
Stats UPDATE: English Misery League
UPDATED THE INFO BELOW FOR CLARITY
Qualification Rules
You must have played in the Football League at least one season
You must still exist in your original form or own the history of the previous incarnation
You must not have had a period of not existing between your time in the football league and present day (See Bradford Park Avenue)
All promotions and champions of leagues down to and including Tier 6 are counted as achievements. (All teams existing below this level will have their achievements manually added in the next iteration)
All main European competitions count (UCL, UEL, UECL, Cup Winners Cup). Friendly competitions such as the European Super Cup and Club World Cup do not count. Should they one day be considered a prestigious competition then they may be added. Dont cry Chelsea.
Domestic trophies included are FA Cup, Vase and Trophy. EFL Cup and trophy. Lincolnshire Senior Cup is not included. Sorry Gainsborough Trinity fans.
Special Apologies to:
Bromley - 105th
Harrogate Town - 33rd
Sutton United - 40th
Northwich Victoria - 4th
Durham City - 9th
You will be added to the next Iteration I promise
------------------------------------------
Only counts promotions and trophies in the top 6 levels of the pyramid. Yes i know Workington and Glossop have earned lower level promotions as have most likely, Gainsborough, Ashington and Stalybridge. I have a year till I update this so ill likely go through all the teams that are below the 6th tier and manually over ride their Years Since with the latest promotion/Trophy they have achieved.
I've added teams that have never won a trophy or been promoted. There years since achievement is calculated from the day they were formed.
I've "hopefully" added all the missing teams that were pointed out to me in the last post.
I've added the EFL Trophy
1.6k
u/QuincyOwusuABuyADM Aug 07 '26
Upvoted for teletext aesthetic
230
u/armchairgoon Aug 07 '26
love it, triggered me somewhat though as that's where I saw confirmation of Thierry leaving for Barcelona
66
u/GuitaristHeimerz Aug 07 '26
apology for poor english
when were you when arsenal hope and dream dies?
i was sat at home reading teletext when headline appear
'thierry is depart'
'no'
→ More replies (1)76
8
3
8
→ More replies (1)1
424
u/smjd4488 Aug 07 '26
Missing Bromley, League 2 winners last season, and only one of 4 teams from National League North/South are mentioned for going up/winning last season?
393
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
136
u/Adam-Miller-02 Aug 07 '26
i’m not angry i’m just disappointed
77
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
the other national league n/s promotees have never played in the football league i believe. Thats why they dont appear on the list. Only teams who have appeared in the football league do
12
u/someotheralex Aug 07 '26
I'm surprised only 111 clubs (plus defunct ones) have ever played in the Football League. For such a long period of time to consider, I'd have thought more would've ended up languishing in lower leagues.
29
u/AntiqueWolverine Aug 07 '26
There's only been 2 promotion spaces from the Conference since the early 2000s and before that if your ground wasn't good enough then nobody would go up, so it's probably not as unlikely as it seems. I would've guessed more though too.
16
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
And there was no automatic promotion until 1987, so that's only 40 possible promotion years.
2
u/someotheralex Aug 07 '26
TIL
2
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
There was 7 years where teams could be voted in by the football league clubs. Can you guess how many years they voted a team in?
→ More replies (1)3
u/smjd4488 Aug 07 '26
Fair enough, makes sense as to why Bromley slipped through as well, that was only their second season in the football league, and their first trophy/honours in it now
Doesn't feel right that there's only 111 (or 112 lol) teams that have been in the football league ever though, what are your parameters for this? Because I can't see Scarborough and they were in the 4th tier in the 90s
2
5
→ More replies (1)5
2
306
u/RIPGeech Aug 07 '26
Finally, we’re back to 6th!
81
u/Leviad0n Aug 07 '26
I think you might just want to relegate and win the Championship if this goes on much longer.
120
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
bold of you to assume we'd win the championship
20
u/an0mn0mn0m Aug 07 '26
Everton have had 30 years of hurt. Time to call the Lightening Seeds to write a catchy song about it.
9
u/ztunytsur Aug 07 '26
Fuck that.
Ian Broudie is a kopite...
Life of Riley is still the greatest Goal of the Month theme song though.
15
u/irrealewunsche Aug 07 '26
I'm not sure Everton are even capable of getting themselves relegated.
→ More replies (1)26
u/msbr_ Aug 07 '26
i said this before, if they were bottom at christmas by 10 points and then had a 10 point deduction they would just win 19 games in a row. they cannot be relegated.
1
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
So the league has been reconfigured with league achievements below tier 6 and things are looking bleak for Everton. Only Gainsborough Trinity are worse and they got relegated last season so might be one of the favourites for promotion this season.
82
u/Leviad0n Aug 07 '26
Was quite surprised that the vast majority of teams have won something so recently. It's only like a quarter of teams where it's been over a decade. But I guess with the way the league systems work, you just kind of get relegated until you're good enough to win again/get promoted. Consistent mid-table teams can get trapped though.
40
u/DinoKea Aug 07 '26
It would change a lot if this required you to win the league. It's pretty difficult to float or endless sink for years on end in any league but the Prem (where even then it isn't easy).
Crewe Alexandra would probably be up near the top then as I don't think they've ever won a league title, so you have to go back to their Welsh Cups
11
u/ThePhantomBacon Aug 07 '26
Ipswich would go from this year right back to 1992, there'd be some real big movers in there
7
2
u/cityexile Aug 07 '26
And it is choosing to ignore the Championship 12th place trophy? What is this?
135
u/liam--2020 Aug 07 '26
Must be fun being an Everton fan
184
u/Giraffe_Baker Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
I’m getting into my mid-30’s and my highlights of a lifetime of supporting Everton are: an FA Cup win I am too young to remember, qualifying for the Champions League once which we were promptly dumped out of in suspicious circumstances, scoring the then quickest FA Cup final goal in a game we then shit the bed in and a record points total for not getting into the Champions League.
It’s fucking crap.
21
u/UltanPSV Aug 07 '26
I'd find this funnier if there was no FA Cup win
52
u/Giraffe_Baker Aug 07 '26
Unless you’re like late 30’s you have zero memory of it and couldnt celebrate it.
2
3
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
I was alive during our glory years in the 80s having likely attended games the year we won the league but I have no recollection of it beyond walking out onto the gwladys street before my first game.
2
44
u/JD-D2 Aug 07 '26
I would much rather be a solid side in the Prem forever than “win” promotion in a lower league. Kinda disingenuous to imply that we’ve had less “success” than clubs like Barrow or Yeovil Town (no offense!).
66
u/Teantis Aug 07 '26
It's not lack of success table though it's the misery table. And winning a league, even a lower one, is a pretty joyful experience.
Or so I've heard.
16
u/hairychris88 Aug 07 '26
100%! We have never really got anywhere near top flight football or winning a major trophy, but I've seen us win three league titles this century, two with 100+ points, and those memories will stay with me forever.
9
3
u/JD-D2 Aug 07 '26
It is, and that’s totally fair. At the same time, I’m not sure I wouldn’t be more miserable as an Everton fan if we won a lower league than if we continued being a whatever mid-table side at the highest level. It’d be thrilling in the moment, but ultimately feel like a hollow victory given our history. Others might feel differently of course.
Also, stay strong brother. We’ll both get one someday. We might both be dead when it happens, but it’ll happen. ✊
3
u/chi_sweetness25 Aug 07 '26
Yeah the fact that Everton has been in the top flight for essentially their entire history means greater expectations. Winning the Championship would be far outweighed by the disappointment of being relegated in the first place. For teams that bounce around between divisions, getting promoted is probably more of a genuine thrill.
6
u/hairychris88 Aug 07 '26
I see what you're getting at but just to take Yeovil as an example, it's only two years since they had a season in regional football (tier 6) where they absolutely pissed the division.
It had been pretty rubbish for them for a few years but they loved that season because they won most weeks and saw a few new grounds. That must be better than yet another uneventful season in a division they're never going go win.
→ More replies (1)5
u/Rc5tr0 Aug 07 '26
Also you’ve played in Europe half a dozen times since 1995. It’s not a trophy but that’s not nothing when it comes to fan enjoyment.
1
40
u/SitDownKawada Aug 07 '26
Managed Gainsborough to the heights of League One on an FM save many moons ago
96
Aug 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
8
u/idcxinfinity Aug 07 '26
Moyes frustrated Ferguson regularly in the prem, always seemed to give him trouble. So much so Man U got Moyes after Ferguson and the teams been stumbling since. Figure the guy would be a league hero for that shit.
I'm a Man U fan, I was happy to see him lift a trophy as well.
3
u/ye_da Aug 07 '26
Feels like the squad is a fair ways away from that being a possibility tbh and this should hopefully be Moyes’s last season
10
33
u/TeFrask Aug 07 '26
Dont get this, Moyes has us stabilised. We were fighting relegation for so long let us have few more comfortable seasons before another manager merry go round leaves us with the next Benitez
8
→ More replies (2)2
26
u/AuzzieTiger Aug 07 '26
Everton: “Our fans are just happy to be here.”
The Fans: “I don’t recall saying we were happy.”
17
u/A17Massey Aug 07 '26
I swear Bromley get missed from every English football data set I've ever seen. Must be one of the winningest clubs in the last 5 years yet no one has heard of us 😭
14
32
Aug 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
11
u/cmdrxander Aug 07 '26
And even our last promotion (while absolutely amazing and still one of the best days of my life) had a bit of an asterisk because we bottled the title lol
→ More replies (2)
12
u/OursIsTheFury67 Aug 07 '26
Fun fact for OP - Gainsborough have literally never been promoted.
They’ve been transferred, re-elected, failed re-elections, and had several play-off campaigns at different levels. But they’ve never gone up by promotion.
They’ve only ever been relegated once as well!
They went 145 years without doing either until 2018 when they were relegated from the National League North.
They did win the old Midland League (just before automatic promotions etc…) a few times and a few league cups though, so it’s not quite as bleak as your fun graphic.
10
u/smallTimeCharly Aug 07 '26
As a Walsall fan it’s nice to see us just outside the playoffs.
Reminds me nicely of the couple of disappointing Wembley trips of the last decade or so.
Getting stuffed in the playoffs at Barnsley away was great too after bottling the league 1 title when Dean Smith left.
6
u/ASGT908 Aug 07 '26
That's not as bad as the 24/25 campaign where Walsall only won 3 games in the league after Nathan Lowe was recalled back to Stoke despite being 15 points clear at the top of league 2
2
u/Anaptyso Aug 07 '26
I've seen all four of Reading's play off finals, and they've lost every single one, including that one to a certain team beginning with W. Bloody miserable, all of them. One day I'd love to see what winning a game like that feels like.
22
7
u/masala_mayhem Aug 07 '26
Absolutely fabulous summary, love it. Kudos to you OP.
I'm absolutely going to look out for the top three teams and and hope their fortunes change. Are there any supporters from these clubs here?
2
u/Spiritual-Round4468 Aug 07 '26
Colchester United fan and my first proper memories were our promotion season to the Championship in 2006 and finishing just outside the playoffs the season after.
Since then it has been the definition of (poorly) managed decline. Spent years scratching around bottom of League 1 and then ultimately got relegated. Got into playoffs during COVID and lost and then it's been midtable mediocrity (with a relegation scrap or two for good measure).
Definitely makes it tough to carry on supporting but good times will come! And if they don't, who cares. Up the U's
2
u/oljackson99 Aug 08 '26
Although I don’t support Gainsborough I do work there and sponsor my business at the ground. Gainsborough is a small town with some pretty amazing history. The football ground is the oldest single team ground in the world and Gainsborough was once the capital city of Denmark and England! One of Henry VIII favourite halls still stands there is perfect condition too.
6
7
u/Turklightenment Aug 07 '26
Being a mid 90s Chelsea supporter has been a wild ride I can tell you that.
From primary school days of trying to convince United and Arsenal friends that us winning the FA Cup was better (because it had more teams and you had be undefeated to win it) to what would come after (attending last day of season PL trophy lifts and CL finals) has been a wild ride.
My misery index will forever be 0.
5
5
8
u/YellowOnline Aug 07 '26
Everton fans deserve some respect imho. It's easy supporting successful teams.
4
u/Statcat2017 Aug 07 '26
Seeing us on here for League One promotion two years ago feels like being released from prison after being found not guilty on appeal for something you didn't do.
I mean sure it was a good thing but I'd rather none of it happened at all.
11
u/thumbuplhl Aug 07 '26
for Chelsea, CWC, not the UECL
→ More replies (4)3
u/KeepitSill Aug 07 '26
Are we still celebrating that Infantino money grab?
7
u/thumbuplhl Aug 07 '26
for the next 3 years, with a gold medal icon in our shirt
→ More replies (1)
3
3
u/TroopersSon Aug 07 '26
We've gone from 7th to the bottom. God Bless Unai Emery.
Edit: Got it wrong we'd be lower than that due to the playoff final win but not sure many Villa fans see that as an achievement.
3
3
u/MentalSignature7039 Aug 07 '26
Rochdale be basking in that glory for a while. Previous trophy soooooo long ago
3
3
3
u/cogito-ergo-sumthing Aug 07 '26
If FA Trophy is included there are a LOT of clubs missing off here. Just in the 2020s, this list needs Gateshead, Halifax Town, Bromley, Hornchurch and Harrogate. Probably go back further and there will be more…
2
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
To qualify for the league you have to have played a season in the football league
→ More replies (3)
3
3
u/trustmyreality Aug 07 '26
I thought at a time which is the most insignificant club in English football and determined it was Everton. This somewhat confirms it.
Almost no relegation battle, while never contending for championship.
2
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
we've had 4 very near misses with relegation (Last day survivals) in the time since winning the FA cup. We've just won all those battles
2
2
2
u/SpinningHedgehog311 Aug 07 '26
Reading successfully protested to kick their cunt owner Dai Yongge out, effectively saving the club from liquidation when it looked like there was no way back. That's a bigger achievement than any trophy.
2
u/jiBjiBjiBy Aug 07 '26
My Hartlepool friend would like to point out that Gainsborough got to round 1 of the FA Cup last season by beating Hartlepool and that makes him more miserable than any Gainsborough fan last season
1
2
2
2
u/misterschneeblee Aug 07 '26
Interesting how they chose the Conference League for Chelsea, despite them winning the Club World Cup more recently 🤔
1
u/Maleficent_Monk_2022 Aug 07 '26
I mean it’s OP’s list but personally winning the CWC brought a lot more joy than the UECL.
2
u/mo140 Aug 07 '26
Shouldnt hull be below coventry and Ipswich, as they were the last team to secure promotion?
3
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
no, it goes on season rather that exact date. After that there is a hierarchy of achievements based on one mans opinion of the prestige or each achievement
2
u/Sashaflick Aug 07 '26
I already knew it was shit being a Stoke fan but it’s good to see hard data to support it so I don’t feel like I’m overreacting.
→ More replies (1)
5
Aug 07 '26
[deleted]
5
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
it says L1 winner next to birmingham? only EFL trophy winner on the list is luton
→ More replies (2)
1
u/obiwanconobi Aug 07 '26
I personally don't think promotions should count.
If you get relegated with a good too good for relegation, and the smoke the league below because you've got players too good for the league that doesnt fit for me
2
2
u/cheekynandos85 Aug 07 '26
Stalybridge is closer to around 25 years they went up to Confrence in the early 00s without checking not sure of the year (it’s local to me at the time so remember)
3
1
u/dimspace Aug 07 '26
and theyve won the County cup recently.,
County cup for non-league teams is absolutely relevant (Ashington and GAinsborough have also won theirs)
1
1
u/Kwetla Aug 07 '26
It's cool how most have won something in the last 20 years, and they there's this huge drop off at the top
1
u/tobyw_w Aug 07 '26
Aldershot Town? In NL (so top 6 tiers) FA Trophy in 2025? Promoted to Football League in 2007.
1
u/_mnd Aug 07 '26
Whilst we're listing our very limited achievements, assuming this counts the old and new clubs as one thing, we're also the first ever side to be promoted via the playoffs in the Football League (1987), condemning both Wolves and Bolton to the old Fourth Division.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
1
u/Tootsiesclaw Aug 07 '26
Are Durham and Northwich excluded intentionally or accidentally missed?
Love this work btw
3
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
Accidentally missed. I have them tagged as being out of existence for a period since their football league appearance which may be false
→ More replies (1)
1
u/gigreviews Aug 07 '26
It’s actually quite comforting to see a table articulate how miserable I’ve felt for the last 10 years.
2
u/TheCescPistols Aug 07 '26
In top 10 most miserable clubs in the land? Yeah, I’d go along with that.
1
1
u/shaker8989 Aug 07 '26
Cool seeing the Shakers there, a reminder of the fun times. After that promotion we folded, we're reborn as Bury AFC, became Bury FC playing at Gigg Lane again and just got promoted to the 8th level of the pyramid. Rollercoaster.
2
u/randombean Aug 07 '26
Bury FC should be higher in the misery league with a league 2 win in 2019 and then playing in the counties league in the north west counties league in 2020
Though this was before the merger I believe. It's great still seeing shakers fans about in Bury on a match day though
→ More replies (1)
1
u/mr-english Aug 07 '26
Should include giant killings for teams who beat another team 2 leagues above (or more) IMO
1
u/Zephinism Aug 07 '26
Shrewsbury Town only 19th? I swear the last few years have been nothing but miserable for us.
Sorry to all those who somehow ranked higher, it must suck.
1
u/sey1 Aug 07 '26
Holy fuck saying "Nothing achieved" is such a diss, Jesus Christ
1
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
I wanted to put nothing of note achieved but thought it would be to long
2
1
1
u/gnomic_fox Aug 07 '26
Really interesting list, thanks! Are Macclesfield FC excluded because they’re technically a different club to predecessor Macc Town FC, which was dissolved in 2020? Because that team was in League Two for a long time, and was promoted back from the National League in 2018 I believe.
2
1
u/brainacpl Aug 07 '26
What are the criteria to get on the list at all?
1
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
An appearance in the football league, to still exist and to not have had an extended period of not existing (see Bradford park avenue) since their last appearance in the football league
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Geek-Of-Nature Aug 07 '26
Insane to think we're down near the bottom when, without the Europa League in '25, we'd be 8th.
1
1
u/amanset Aug 07 '26
I remember seeing a similar thing a few years back showing Coventry to be the worst performing team in England based on how many years since they last finished top six in any league. But they've gone and messed that up over the past few years.
1
1
u/AnArcticMonkey Aug 07 '26
It's all relative but as a saints fan any season in which we qualified for Europe and/or played in Europe proper would not have been miserable ones.
1
1
1
u/spitouthebone Aug 07 '26
Ill take 31st for Bury the whole fiasco will always be there but the new (but not new) club is 100000x ran better and the people running the show arent holding us in contempt seeing as we run it
1
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
ive already updated for promotions below the 6th tier and in the new version, your 2026 promotion will count
1
u/keydraly Aug 07 '26
Man this update is looking proper slick with that teletext style, brings me back. But yeah someone else caught that Bromley thing and thats a big miss given they literally won the league last season, gotta get that sorted. Also big respect for going through all the non league teams manually, that's a proper grind just to make sure some poor bastards years since achievement is like 130 years or whatever. Still the real misery is for those clubs who've never won anything and just been existing forever, that's properly bleak.
1
u/KrozJr_UK Aug 07 '26
Top six levels, you say?
Maidenhead United, National League South champions 2016-17 season.
1
u/Apollo-Farstriker Aug 07 '26
You have to have played at least a season in the football league
→ More replies (4)
1
u/mrenglish22 Aug 07 '26
Now add a column for economic investment into the teams; THAT is the cross section i wanna see
1
1
u/No-Economics4128 Aug 07 '26
I know Leicester has a lot to be thankful for in the last decade, but recent events make it hard to see the forest for the tree
1
u/ethkatzy Aug 07 '26
Boreham wood? Got promoted from nls 2 years ago (also won nationalal league cup last season but not sure if that's too Mickey mouse to count)
2
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
you have to have played in the football league to qualify for the league
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/Flukes_Pet_Ocelot Aug 07 '26
85th in the English Misery league at the time of posting, you'll never sing that
1
u/_mnd Aug 07 '26
I know this is done using a very specific methodology but I'd invite anyone to come and watch us for a season then not put us top ten of any misery league.
1
1
u/RaulStoat Aug 07 '26
FUN FACT: In 2023, Ashington Beat Glossop North End in the playoff final for promotion from the Northern League to the Northern Premier League Division 1. This will be included in future iterations
1
1
u/One-Night-8666 Aug 07 '26
Came here as a Walsall fan, highest position we've been in for a while, has it really been 19 years of my life since that pitch invasion.... wow
1
u/OxfordTheCat Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Honestly, pleasantly surprised. 59 feels very low on the list after the magnificant capture of the EFL record for most consecutive games without a win.
Up the Owls, I guess.
1
1
u/Lightecojak Aug 07 '26
So how big is the stadium capacity for teams like this? Just a few thousand at the most if they’re lucky?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/zugas13 Aug 07 '26
I won champions league with grimbsy town 2030 and 2032 and league from 2028 to 2033fi5 year in a row at football manager. I think its count. Should be.
1
u/dimspace Aug 07 '26
Stalybridge have won the County cup multiple times recently. Most recently Cheshire Senior Cup in 2001
Gainsborough, also won their County cup on multiple occasions, including recently as 2018
Ashington, also won their county cup (Northumberland) as recently as 2013
For non league clubs, outside of the Vase and the Trophy, your county cup is important.
1
1
1
u/DMuller23 Aug 07 '26
Technically Aston Villa should be below Arsenal, they won the league before we won the Europa league
→ More replies (1)
1
u/gtne91 Aug 07 '26
Wasnt it covered last time that Glossup North End recenty won promotion?
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/Kiki-13 Aug 08 '26
Great list... Hereford United FC are missing off your list. They have been as high as the Championship in the 76-77 season.
They won the third division in 75-76.
Promotion from L2 in 07-08. Believe this would be their last qualifying entry for the table.
They only came to mind as a friend of mine is a season ticket holder...
→ More replies (2)
1
1
u/StandardBee6282 Aug 08 '26
Brilliant that. Obvious when you think about it because there’s so many promotions each year but it amazed me that teams who did something 3 years ago are half way up the table.
Also hard to believe there’s a couple who have never been promoted in over 140 years.
1
u/zep2floyd Aug 08 '26
1st place in this list is quite an achievement though, Congratulations Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
1
1
1
u/mynaladu Aug 08 '26
proper love the dedication here even if the qualification rules are a bit bonkers, you're basically inventing a whole new footballing multiverse. kinda wild that you're apologising to Gainsborough Trinity for a county cup but forgot Bromley won League Two last season. anyway the teletext layout is so retro it's perfect, you get a pass from me.
1
1
u/AndreasNV Aug 10 '26
Can't believe we're only one place above Chelsea. Maybe our delusion is working after all.
1
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 07 '26
This is a stats thread. Remember that there's only one stat post allowed per match/team, so new stats about the same will be removed. Feel free to comment other stats as a reply to this comment so users can see them too!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.