1920–21 Football League
29th season of the Football League
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The 1920â21 season was the 29th season of The Football League.
| Season | 1920â21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Burnley |
| New clubs in League | 23 (see tables) |
â 1919â20 1921â22 â | |

The Football League Third Division was introduced, in effect the Third Division South of the following season, when Third Division North was introduced. This expanded the League's operational radius all the way to the south coast of England, as the number of member clubs increased from 44 to 66.
Team changes
The new Third Division was formed by clubs of the Southern Football League Division One of the previous season, except for Cardiff City. Cardiff City became the first Welsh club to enter the League, and since they were the strongest club in Wales in the era, they were invited directly into the Second Division. Grimsby Town took its place in the new Third Division, thereby being the first club relegated to the League's third tier. Leeds United were also elected into the Second Division to replace Leeds City after its debacle. Lincoln City were not re-elected to the Second Division and thus Port Vale's Second Division place was formalized as well.
Final league tables
Beginning in the 1894â95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976â77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893â94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894â95 season and until the 1920â21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
First Division
| Season | 1920â21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Burnley 1st English title |
| Relegated | Derby County Bradford Park Avenue |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,276 (2.76 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Joe Smith (38 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Liverpool 6â0 Preston North End (25 September 1920) Burnley 7â1 Oldham Athletic (27 November 1920) Burnley 6â0 Sheffield United (25 December 1920) Burnley 7â1 Aston Villa (5 February 1921) |
| Biggest away win | Chelsea 0â4 Tottenham Hotspur (16 October 1920) Huddersfield Town 0â4 Arsenal (20 November 1920) Aston Villa 1â5 Sunderland (12 February 1921) Arsenal 2â6 Sheffield United (26 March 1921) |
| Highest scoring | Newcastle United 6â3 Manchester United (1 January 1921) |
â 1919â20 1921â22 â | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley (C) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 79 | 36 | 2.194 | 59 | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 54 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 77 | 53 | 1.453 | 52 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 63 | 35 | 1.800 | 51 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 50 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 70 | 48 | 1.458 | 47 | |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 47 | |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 53 | 53 | 1.000 | 46 | |
| 9 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 44 | |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 63 | 70 | 0.900 | 43 | |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 57 | 59 | 0.966 | 41 | |
| 12 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 60 | 0.950 | 41 | |
| 13 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 64 | 68 | 0.941 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 54 | 58 | 0.931 | 40 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 61 | 63 | 0.968 | 39 | |
| 16 | Preston North End | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 39 | |
| 17 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 49 | 0.857 | 39 | |
| 18 | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 58 | 0.828 | 39 | |
| 19 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 49 | 86 | 0.570 | 33 | |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 42 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 42 | 68 | 0.618 | 30 | |
| 21 | Derby County (R) | 42 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 32 | 58 | 0.552 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Bradford (Park Avenue) (R) | 42 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 43 | 76 | 0.566 | 24 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results
Maps
Second Division
| Season | 1920â21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Birmingham (2nd title) |
| Relegated | Stockport County |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,061 (2.3 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Sydney (Syd) Puddefoot (West Ham United), 29[1] |
| Biggest home win | West Ham United â Coventry City 7â0 (1 Jan 1921) |
| Biggest away win | Rotherham County â Bury 0â5 (11 Dec 1921) |
| Highest scoring | Rotherham County â South Shields 5â4 (2 Oct 1920) |
â 1919â20 1921â22 â | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 79 | 38 | 2.079 | 58 | Promotion to the Frst Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City (P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 32 | 1.844 | 58 | |
| 3 | Bristol City | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 49 | 29 | 1.690 | 51 | |
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 54 | 42 | 1.286 | 50 | |
| 5 | West Ham United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 30 | 1.700 | 48 | |
| 6 | Notts County | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 47 | |
| 7 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 42 | 1.024 | 45 | |
| 8 | South Shields | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 44 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 43 | 47 | 0.915 | 42 | |
| 10 | The Wednesday | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 48 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 11 | Bury | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 49 | 0.918 | 40 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 39 | 46 | 0.848 | 40 | |
| 13 | Hull City | 42 | 10 | 20 | 12 | 43 | 53 | 0.811 | 40 | |
| 14 | Leeds United | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 45 | 0.889 | 38 | |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 49 | 66 | 0.742 | 38 | |
| 16 | Barnsley | 42 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 50 | 0.960 | 36 | |
| 17 | Port Vale | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 43 | 49 | 0.878 | 36 | |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 48 | 55 | 0.873 | 36 | |
| 19 | Rotherham County | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 53 | 0.698 | 36 | |
| 20 | Stoke | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 56 | 0.821 | 35 | |
| 21 | Coventry City | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 39 | 70 | 0.557 | 35 | |
| 22 | Stockport County (R) | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 42 | 75 | 0.560 | 30 | Relegation to the Third Division North |
Results
Maps
Third Division
| Season | 1920â21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Crystal Palace (1st title) |
| Failed re-election | None |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,133 (2.45 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | John Conner (Crystal Palace), 28 Ernie Simms (Luton Town), 28 George Whitworth (Northampton Town), 28[1] |
â 1919â20 1921â22 â | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crystal Palace (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 70 | 34 | 2.059 | 59 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Southampton | 42 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 64 | 28 | 2.286 | 54 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 32 | 1.906 | 53 | |
| 4 | Swindon Town | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 73 | 49 | 1.490 | 52 | |
| 5 | Swansea Town | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 56 | 45 | 1.244 | 51 | |
| 6 | Watford | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 59 | 44 | 1.341 | 48 | |
| 7 | Millwall | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 30 | 1.400 | 47 | |
| 8 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 60 | 49 | 1.224 | 45 | |
| 9 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 61 | 56 | 1.089 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 68 | 57 | 1.193 | 43 | |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 11 | 21 | 10 | 35 | 34 | 1.029 | 43 | |
| 12 | Portsmouth | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 46 | 48 | 0.958 | 39 | |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 59 | 0.831 | 39 | Transferred to the Third Division North |
| 14 | Northampton Town | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 38 | |
| 15 | Newport County | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 64 | 0.672 | 37 | |
| 16 | Norwich City | 42 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 44 | 53 | 0.830 | 36 | |
| 17 | Southend United | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 44 | 61 | 0.721 | 36 | |
| 18 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 42 | 61 | 0.689 | 36 | |
| 19 | Exeter City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 35 | |
| 20 | Reading | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 42 | 59 | 0.712 | 31 | |
| 21 | Brentford | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 42 | 67 | 0.627 | 30 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 74 | 0.459 | 28 |
Results
Maps
Attendances
Source:[3]
Division One
| No. | Club | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United FC | 41,265 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 38,520 |
| 3 | Everton FC | 37,215 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 36,010 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 35,540 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 35,525 |
| 7 | Liverpool FC | 35,440 |
| 8 | Aston Villa FC | 35,145 |
| 9 | Bolton Wanderers FC | 34,400 |
| 10 | Burnley FC | 31,535 |
| 11 | Manchester City FC | 31,120 |
| 12 | Sunderland AFC | 28,765 |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers FC | 27,930 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion FC | 27,915 |
| 15 | Sheffield United FC | 26,920 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough FC | 23,845 |
| 17 | Bradford City AFC | 22,585 |
| 18 | Huddersfield Town AFC | 22,240 |
| 19 | Preston North End FC | 21,310 |
| 20 | Oldham Athletic FC | 18,075 |
| 21 | Derby County FC | 16,235 |
| 22 | Bradford Park Avenue AFC | 16,005 |