3rd to 1st in consecutive seasons

[British Bulldog]

It looks like Oxford Utd are the only one's to have done it by winning back to back championships.

 

[Mendoza]

Not quite.

1960/61 - Division IV -3rd (P)
1961/62 - Division III - 8th
1962/63 - Division III - 1st (P)
1963/64 - Division II - 11th
1964/65 - Division II - 2nd (P)
1965/66 - Division I - 21st (R)
1966.67 - Division II - 21st (R)
1967/68 - Division III - 17th
1968/69 - Division III - 21st (R)
1969/70 - Division IV - 14th

We played them 11 times during that period. Our record reads
Played 11
Won 0
Drawn 5
Lost 6
Goals for 9
Goals against 29

WILKINS OUT

 

[British Bulldog]

When did Watford do it?

1997/98 - 1998/99 according to the book i'm reading.

 

[Jake Manthorpe]

It looks like Oxford Utd are the only one's to have done it by winning back to back championships.

Has'nt done them any favours..
where are they now?

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

Didn't Northampton go from the 4th Div to the 1st and then back to the 4th in Consecutive seasons?

No! They did it but not consecutively. The TLO has already answered this, but this had some info about other teams who have done similar.

4. Division Four was formed in 1958, when the bottom 12 clubs in Division 3 (South) joined the bottom 12 clubs in Division 3 (North). The top half of each regional league was reformed as a national Division Three. Which team was the first to win promotion from Division Four all the way up to the top rung, to Division One?

Your Answer: Northampton Town

Northampton Town were not only the first to climb from Division Four to Division One, they were also the first team to be relegated all the way down! In 1960-61 they finished 3rd in Division Four, were Division Three champions two seasons later (62-63), and then finished runners-up in Division Two in 1963-64. They played / lasted just one season in Division One, finishing bottom in 1965-66, and dropped down again in the next season when they finished last in Division Two. They survived for two seasons in Division Three, but were back in Division Four when they were relegated from Division Three at the end of the 1968-69 season. In other words, they finished the 1960s where they were at the start of the decade!

Coventry City were the second team to climb from Division Four to Division One -- 2nd in Division Four 1958-59, won the Third Division title in 1963-64, and then won the Division Two title in 1966-67. As was the case with Northampton Town, their promotion to Division One saw them make their debut appearance in the top tier of English Football. However, unlike Northampton Town, Coventry City survived in Division One for more than one season. In fact they were still there 24 years later, to become a foundation member of the FA Premier League.

Luton Town and Carlisle United were the next two teams to climb the ladder from Division Four up to Division One, when they were 2nd and 3rd respectively in Division Two for the 1973-74 season. Carlisle lasted one season, like Northampton Town.

Unlike the other three teams, Luton Town had previously seen Division One football. They finished bottom in Division One in 1959-60, fell all the way down to Division Four, and then climbed all the way back again.

Northampton Town were the first to go all the way up, and then back down again; whereas Luton Town were the first to ride the same roller-coaster, in the opposite direction!

 

[sams dad]

Not quite.

1960/61 - Division IV -3rd (P)
1961/62 - Division III - 8th
1962/63 - Division III - 1st (P)
1963/64 - Division II - 11th
1964/65 - Division II - 2nd (P)
1965/66 - Division I - 21st (R)
1966.67 - Division II - 21st (R)
1967/68 - Division III - 17th
1968/69 - Division III - 21st (R)
1969/70 - Division IV - 14th

We played them 11 times during that period. Our record reads
Played 11
Won 0
Drawn 5
Lost 6
Goals for 9
Goals against 29

I remember losing 8-0 in a league cup replay in 1965 (?)

 

[Scotty Mac]

When did Watford do it?

under graham taylor, when they ended up in the premiership in 99/00

last team that did it - bar bristol city if they achieve it this year. could be the last time it happens for a long long time, what with parachute payments in the massive gap now developing between the premiership and the football league

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Has'nt done them any favours..
where are they now?

Screwed over by Firoz Kassam and the mismanagement before him.

 

[British Bulldog]

I guess one of the best achievements was Wimbledon, Southern League to the first division in 9 years, and then won the F A cup 2 years later.

 

[Zesh Rehman]

Bristol City will NOT go up

MK Dons - Watch this space

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

I thought Wolves had. Guess I must be wrong then

 

[British Bulldog]

I thought Wolves had. Guess I must be wrong then

Wolves managed to go the opposite way from the first to the fourth in successive seasons in 1984-5-6

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Didn't Swindon go up 4 years running, only to go down 4 years running too?

 

[bhaexpress]

QPR, 1967-69 I think.

 

[NMH]

Funny old game isnt it, there practically out of bussiness now.

That makes you wonder how success is defined in football. Sitting in the top flight, with the increased gates, tv rights, extra kit sales, SFA payments and etc - where did the money go?

 

[Reading Posh]

Posh went from the fourth to the first division in three seasons

Divn 4 promoted 90/91
Divn 3 play-off winners 91/92
Divn 1 92/93 (finished 10th)

 

[sten_super]

That makes you wonder how success is defined in football. Sitting in the top flight, with the increased gates, tv rights, extra kit sales, SFA payments and etc - where did the money go?

The problem with Gretna is that they were never anywhere near solvent. They were kept afloat by weekly payments from one mans bank account. All the way up the leagues they have been losing money. They have picked up a few fans along the way, but it's pretty much impossible for a clubs fan base to grow quickly enough to sustain SPL football (and revenue streams equivalent with other teams in the division) only about 3/4 years after being non-league (and Scottish non-league at that!).