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“What’s the longest ‘yo-yo’ sequence of a team that really can’t decide which league to stay in?” weeps Southampton fan Rupert Sheard.
Southampton are on course to yo-yo for the third consecutive season, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2022-23 and promoted from the Championship last year. “Rupert can console himself that Saints are a few years from troubling the record books,” writes Mike Slattery. “There are two clubs in English League football who were promoted or relegated in six consecutive seasons. Rotherham United played in either League One or the Championship every second season from 2016-17 to 2022-23, so they are the champions of the yo-yo league. They managed to stay up two seasons ago and so ended their run at six.
“Wimbledon also changed division every season from from 1978-79 to 1984-85, but their final move was a second successive promotion, which broke their yo-yo sequence between Divisions Four and Three at five seasons. The record for the most consecutive seasons switching between the top two divisions was also set in 2022-23 and stands at five. Fulham’s third promotion in five seasons was at last not followed by an immediate relegation.”
Mike has provided a list of all the teams in the top four English divisions who yo-yoed for at least four consecutive seasons. Here it is.
Rotherham United Championship & League One, 2016-17 to 2022-23
Wimbledon Division Four & Division Three, 1978-79 to 1983-84
Fulham Championship & Premier League, 2017-18 to 2022-23
Bolton Wanderers Division One & Division Two, 1907-08 to 1911-12; Division One & Premier League, 1994-95 to 1998-99
Carlisle United Division Three & Division Four, 1994-95 to 1998-99
Birmingham City Premier League & Championship, 2005-06 to 2009-10
Wycombe Wanders League Two & League One, 2008-09 to 2012-13
Wigan Athletic Championship & League One, 2014-15 to 2018-19
Norwich City Championship & Premier League, 2018-19 to 2022-23
“It’s worth noting,” adds Mike, “that the first of Bolton’s came when there were just two teams promoted and relegated each season, and only that one and Wimbledon’s came before the introduction of the playoffs.”
Rotherham hold the record in the top four English divisions but they have nothing on BFC Südring, who managed to lurch between the Oberliga Berlin (essentially one of five top-flight leagues before the creation of the Bundesliga) and the Amateurliga Berlin for 10 successive seasons between 1950-51 and 1959-60.
Aris Limassol FC equalled that record in the top two tiers of Cypriot football from 1996-97 to 2005-06. That’s not the whole story. After finishing snugly in mid-table in 2006-07, they started another sequence of eight seasons yo-yoing between the First and Second Division.
Higher-profile examples of yo-yo teams, all between the top two tiers of their respective leagues include Deportivo La Coruna (seven, Spain, 1961-62 to 1967-68), Hearts (five, Scotland, 1976-77 to 1980-81), Cremonese (five, Italy, 1988-89 to 1992-93) and FC Köln (five, Germany, 2001-02 and 2005-06, despite the best efforts of a young Lukas Podolski).
Lovers of binary may wish to dwell briefly on Cremonese’s promotion from Serie B in 1990-91, a golden age of Italian football and clean sheets. Cremonese drew exactly half of their 38 league games and scored only 28 goals – fewer than all four teams who were relegated to Serie C. But they kept clean sheets in more than half the games and were promoted in third place. Serie A proved a lot tougher and, despite an historic goal from their keeper Michelangelo Rampulla, they were relegated in 1991-92.
Non-champion Champions League regulars
“What’s the most consecutive seasons a club has competed in the Champions League without winning their domestic title in that time?” asks Aln Sheridan.
You already know the answer, don’t you? Towards the end of Arsène Wenger’s time at the club, Arsenal were regularly ridiculed for winning the Fourth Place Trophy. They qualified for every Champions League between 1998-99 and 2016-17, with their last league title in 2003-04. If you exclude 2004-05, on the grounds they would have qualified on merit under the old European Cup system, Arsenal reached the Champions League without being champions for 12 consecutive seasons.
12 Arsenal 2005-06 to 2016-17
9 Borussia Dortmund 2016-17 to date
6 Liverpool 2004-05 to 2009-10; Atletico Madrid 2015-16 to 2020-21
Under the old system, Liverpool would have qualified in 2005-06 as defending European champions. But then they wouldn’t have been in the competition in 2004-05 in the first place.
Dramatic upturns in form
In last week’s Knowledge we looked at dramatic collapses in form, inspired by Aberdeen’s season of two halves. This week it’s the turn of teams who had an equally dramatic upturn in form. The most famous is Liverpool’s inexorable march to the title in 1985-86; the most spectacular is Mansfield three seasons ago.
After starting the League Two season with seven points from three games, Mansfield Town took only four from the next 11 and dropped to 23rd in the league. The next 12 league games yielded an eye-watering 11 wins, with only a 2-0 defeat at Sutton breaking the sequence.
The rest of the season was more even-tempered: nine wins, six draws and five defeats. That was enough for Mansfield to sneak into the final playoff place; they reached the final before losing to Port Vale.
Here’s a list of some of the best surges we could find. Thanks in particular to Matthew Hague, Chris Roe and Andrew Wright for their answers.
+1.8
Crystal Palace (2003-04, Division One)
Oct—Dec P10 W1 D4 L5 Pts PPG 0.7
Dec—Feb P10 W8 D1 L1 Pts PPG 2.5
Palace, who were 19th when Iain Dowie took over in December, were promoted via the playoffs. Their upswing in form was almost as dramatic over a longer period: they took 13 points from 20 games and then 51 from the next 23.
+1.83
Liverpool (1985-86, Division One)
Dec—Feb P10 W2 D4 L4 Pts 10 PPG 1.0
Mar—May P12 W11 D1 L0 Pts 34 PPG 2.83
Liverpool reeled in Everton to win the Double in their first season under Kenny Dalglish’s management.
+ 2.07
Leyton Orient (1947-48, Division Three South)
Oct—Jan P12 W1 D 1 L10 Pts 4 PPG 0.33
Jan—Mar P10 W7 D3 L0 Pts 24 PPG 2.4
Adjusted for three points for a win. Orient eventually finished 17th, four places and two points above the re-election places.
+ 2.08
Barnsley (2015-16, League One)
Oct—Dec P13 W2 D1 L10 Pts 7 PPG: 0.54
Dec—Mar P13 W11 D1 L1 Pts 34 PPG: 2.62
Barnsley, who were 21st at Christmas, were eventually promoted via the playoffs
+2.36
St Pauli (2022-23, 2. Bundesliga)
Aug—Nov P11 W1 D4 L6 Pts 7 PPG 0.64
Jan—Apr (after winter break) P10 W10 D0 L0 Pts 30 PPG 3.0
“That swing was mainly thanks to a young chap named Fabian Hürzeler, who was promoted from assistant to head coach during the winter break,” writes Andrew Wright. St Pauli finished fifth but were promoted as champions last season.
+ 2.38
Mansfield (2021-22, League Two)
Aug—Oct P11 W0 D4 L7 Pts 4 PPG 0.37
Oct—Jan P12 W11 D0 L1 Pts 33 PPG 2.75
Mansfield reached the playoffs but lost to Port Vale in the final.
Knowledge archive
“Which player has scored the most goals in games that were subsequently abandoned?” asked Roland Tye in December 2009.
Many of you emailed in to point out that in 1961 Denis Law scored six goals for Manchester City in an FA Cup tie against Luton, before the game was abandoned with City leading 6-0. In the rearranged fixture Law’s side lost 3-1.
Can you help?
“Aaron Morley scored an injury-time winner for Wycombe ]against Exeter City on New Year’s Day. Bolton immediately recalled his loan and, on 4 January, he scored another injury-time winner against Exeter. Has anyone else scored in consecutive games against the same opponent for different clubs?” asks Jack Hayward.
“Juventus are unbeaten in Serie A yet have been bobbing around fourth and fifth all season,” notes Ricardo Bortolon. “I know there are a number of teams who stayed unbeaten all season and came second, but has anybody finished lower than that without losing a game?”
“On 28 December last year, the former Ghana, Charlton and Ael Limassol striker, Chris Dickson, scored a hat-trick for Horsham on his 40th birthday,” writes John. “This was in the Isthmian Premier League (Level 7). Have there been other notable feats by players turning 40 (or even 50)? Four-goal salvos, penalty saves, red cards?”
“As a self-confessed Gooner, I was struck that five former Arsenal players were involved in last week’s match between West Ham and Fulham. Can any fixture from the Premier League era beat this number of former players from a single club taking to the field, including used substitutes?” asks Jaime Henley.
“In the Premier League game week just gone, every away team scored. Has there ever been a full game week, in any league, where every away team has won?” asks Masai Graham.
