The bottom five teams in the Football League - 1997/98

[Lord Bracknell]

... haven't done too badly since. All now have new stadiums.

After 46 games:-

Swansea City - 50 points
Cardiff City - 50 points
Hull City - 41 points
Brighton & Hove Albion - 35 points
Doncaster Rovers - 20 points

 

[darkcore1977]

Football its a funny old game.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

Lest we forget.

 

[Barry Izbak]

............and all playing two divisions higher in the Championship next season?

 

[severnside gull]

looks like next season all could be competing in the Championship

 

[Bobby's Gull]

What a turn around that would be.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Good spot Lord B. That is actually amazing.

 

[Skaville]

Doncaster - 20 points. In an entire season?!?!?!

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Doncaster - 20 points. In an entire season?!?!?!

yes. we were lucky that they were so toilet and that in those only one team went down.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

They were shafted by their owners even more than we were.

 

[Skaville]

Yes, I remember everyting they went through, but I still find it hard to imagine a side playing 46 games and getting 20 points. Is that a record?

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Yes, I remember everyting they went through, but I still find it hard to imagine a side playing 46 games and getting 20 points. Is that a record?

Derby got 12 in the Premier League a couple of years back with ONE win all season!

 

[BHAryan]

In the year we won the div 2 title we played and beat wigan, blackpool, cardiff, reading, qpr..its amazing how a few years with things going your way how it all changes

 

[Gully]

Doncaster - 20 points. In an entire season?!?!?!

They were truly dreadful, we weren't much cop that year but they were far, far worse than even we were. I remember the away game at Donny, there was a protest at half time which included a pitch invasion, with a Brighton fan apparently cheering them on from his vantage point on top of one of the dug-outs. I think their keeper on that day was probably the worst I have ever seen in the league, I seem to remember a story about their Chairman meeting him in a pub earlier that week and asking him if he fancied playing for them!

 

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Yep, the most rotund keeper I've ever seen. A few of their other players were rounded up from local youth teams etc....

We were far worse than the 'almost' year aswell as homeless and playing our first season in Gillingham. Just grateful there was one team even shitter than us as we were the worst Albion side, probably ever points wise.

 

[sully]

Amazing that we needed 47 points to stay up the previous year looking at those points totals.

 

[Timbo]

The Donny keeper!! Hilariously bad. I remember being on the pitch after the game and he poked his head out of a door in the main stand, all the Donny fans started singing 'England's number 1' at him, poor fat fucker, he looked so confused as to how he had actually ended up playing league football.

 

[nwgull]

Chairman's next door neighbour wasn't it?? I just remember the chant when he was taking a goal kick, 'whoooooooaaaaaaaa you're fat arggghhhhhhhhhhhh!'.

 

[Uter]

Average league attendances in 1997/98

Swansea - 3443
Cardiff - 3610
Hull - 4684
Brighton - 2329
Doncaster - 1715

 

[CP 0 3 BHA]

Fascinating thread.

Whilst this can be held up as an example of why all teams should, as Mickey would say "keep the faith", it is difficult to see many -or perhaps any - of Morecombe, Northampton, Burton, Barnet and Stockport pulling off similar transformations. Some already have modern newish grounds though - albeit fairly small ones.