List of Rotherham United F.C. seasons

Rotherham United's league performance from their first season to the 2019–20 season.

Rotherham United Football Club is an association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The club was formed in 1925 as a merger between Rotherham Town and Rotherham County when it was decided that having two professional clubs in the town was not sustainable. ^[1] After the merger, the club was elected to play in the Football League Third Division North. United played in the Third Division North until 1950–51, when they were champions of the division and were promoted to the Second Division. ^[2] During their first spell in the Second Division the club reached the fifth round of the FA Cup twice and were runners up in the inaugural Football League Cup, which is the furthest they have reached in these competitions. ^[3] Their furthest Football League Trophy run saw the club win the competition twice, in the 1995–96 season defeating Shrewsbury Town 2–1 in the final; and in the 2021–22 season defeating Sutton United 4–2 after extra time in the final. ^[4]

As of the end of 2022–23, the club's first team has remained in the English Football League since its formation. ^[3] Their highest finish came in 1954–55 when they finished in third place in the Second Division, missing out on promotion to the top division only on goal average. ^[1] In total the club has spent 27 seasons in the second tier of the English football league system, 47 in the third and 13 in the fourth. Rotherham has qualified for four Football League play-offs, in 1998–99 they lost in the Third Division semi-final to Leyton Orient, ^[5] in 2009–10 they reached the League Two final but lost 3–2 to Dagenham & Redbridge, ^[6] in 2013–14 they reached the League One final and defeated Leyton Orient in a penalty shoot-out to gain promotion the Football League Championship, ^[7] and in 2017–18 they again reached the League One final and defeated Shrewsbury Town 2–1 to gain promotion the EFL Championship. The table details their achievements in first-team competitions for each completed season since their first appearance in the Football League in 1925–26.

Key

Key to divisions Division 1 – Football League First Division Division 2 – Football League Second Division Division 3 – Football League Third Division Division 3N – Football League Third Division North Division 4 – Football League Fourth Division Championship – Football League Championship League 1 – Football League One League 2 – Football League Two

Key to rounds PR – Preliminary Round GS – Group Stage R1 – First Round, etc. QF – Quarter-finals SF – Semi-finals F(N) – Runner-up for the Northern section RU – Runner-up W – Winner

Key to positions and symbols  1stii  – Champions  2nd  – Runners-up  !'↑!!  – Promoted  !'↓!!  – Relegated

Seasons

Season	League record									FA Cup	EFL Cup	EFL Trophy	Top scorer(s) [lower-alpha 1]
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos				Player(s)	Goals
1925–26	Division 3N	42	17	7	18	69	92	41	14th	R3	—	—
1926–27	Division 3N	42	10	12	20	70	92	32	19th	R1	—	—
1927–28	Division 3N	42	14	11	17	65	69	39	14th	R3	—	—
1928–29	Division 3N	42	15	9	18	60	77	39	16th	R1	—	—
1929–30	Division 3N	42	11	8	23	67	113	30	20th	R3	—	—
1930–31	Division 3N	42	13	12	17	81	83	38	14th	R1	—	—
1931–32	Division 3N	40	14	4	22	63	72	32	19th	R1	—	—
1932–33	Division 3N	42	14	6	22	60	84	34	17th	R1	—	—
1933–34	Division 3N	42	10	8	24	53	91	28	21st	R3	—	—
1934–35	Division 3N	42	19	7	16	86	73	45	9th	R2	—	—
1935–36	Division 3N	42	16	9	17	69	66	41	11th	R2	—	—
1936–37	Division 3N	42	14	7	21	78	91	35	17th	R1	—	—
1937–38	Division 3N	42	20	10	12	68	56	50	6th	R2	—	—
1938–39	Division 3N	42	17	8	17	64	64	42	11th	R1	—	—
1939–40	Division 3N	3	1	1	1	5	6	3	11th [lower-alpha 2]	—	—
1939–45	No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1945 due to the Second World War.
1945–46	N/A [lower-alpha 3]									R4	—	—
1946–47	Division 3N	42	29	6	7	114	53	64	2nd	R3	—	—
1947–48	Division 3N	42	25	9	8	95	49	59	2nd	R1	—	—
1948–49	Division 3N	42	28	6	8	90	46	62	2nd	R3	—	—
1949–50	Division 3N	42	19	10	13	80	59	48	6th	R3	—	—
1950–51	Division 3N ↑	46	31	9	6	103	41	71	1st	R4	—	—
1951–52	Division 2	42	17	8	17	73	71	42	9th	R4	—	—
1952–53	Division 2	42	16	9	17	75	74	41	12th	R5	—	—
1953–54	Division 2	42	21	7	14	80	67	49	5th	R4	—	—
1954–55	Division 2	42	25	4	13	94	64	54	3rd	R4	—	—
1955–56	Division 2	42	12	9	21	56	75	33	19th	R3	—	—
1956–57	Division 2	42	13	11	18	74	75	37	17th	R3	—	—
1957–58	Division 2	42	14	5	23	65	101	33	18th	R3	—	—
1958–59	Division 2	42	10	9	23	42	82	29	20th	R3	—	—
1959–60	Division 2	42	17	13	12	61	60	47	8th	R4	—	—
1960–61	Division 2	42	12	13	17	65	64	37	15th	R4	RU	—
1961–62	Division 2	42	16	9	17	70	76	41	9th	R3	QF	—
1962–63	Division 2	42	17	6	19	67	74	40	14th	R3	R4	—
1963–64	Division 2	42	19	7	16	90	78	45	7th	R3	QF	—
1964–65	Division 2	42	14	12	16	70	69	40	14th	R4	R3	—
1965–66	Division 2	42	16	14	12	75	74	46	7th	R4	R4	—
1966–67	Division 2	42	13	10	19	61	70	36	18th	R4	R3	—
1967–68	Division 2 ↓	42	10	11	21	42	76	31	21st	R5	R2	—
1968–69	Division 3	46	16	13	17	56	50	45	11th	R2	R1	—
1969–70	Division 3	46	15	14	17	62	54	44	14th	R3	R3	—
1970–71	Division 3	46	17	16	13	64	60	50	8th	R3	R2	—
1971–72	Division 3	46	20	15	11	69	52	55	5th	R4	R1	—
1972–73	Division 3 ↓	46	17	7	22	51	65	41	21st	R2	R3	—
1973–74	Division 4	46	15	13	18	56	58	43	15th	R2	R2	—
1974–75	Division 4 ↑	46	22	15	9	71	41	59	3rd	R3	R2	—
1975–76	Division 3	46	15	12	19	54	65	42	16th	R2	R1	—
1976–77	Division 3	46	22	15	9	69	44	59	4th	R3	R2	—
1977–78	Division 3	46	13	13	20	51	68	39	20th	R3	R2	—
1978–79	Division 3	46	17	10	19	49	55	44	17th	R3	R3	—
1979–80	Division 3	46	18	10	18	58	66	46	13th	R2	R2	—
1980–81	Division 3 ↑	46	24	13	9	62	32	61	1st	R2	R1	—
1981–82	Division 2	42	20	7	15	66	54	67	7th	R3	R2	—
1982–83	Division 2 ↓	42	10	15	17	45	68	45	20th	R3	R3	—
1983–84	Division 3	46	15	9	22	57	64	54	18th	R3	QF	R1
1984–85	Division 3	46	18	11	17	55	55	65	12th	R1	R3	R1
1985–86	Division 3	46	15	12	19	61	59	57	14th	R4	R1	QF
1986–87	Division 3	46	15	12	19	48	57	57	14th	R1	R2	PR
1987–88	Division 3 ↓	46	12	16	18	50	66	52	21st	R2	R2	R1
1988–89	Division 4 ↑	46	22	16	8	76	35	82	1st	R2	R2	R1
1989–90	Division 3	46	17	13	16	71	62	64	9th	R2	R2	QF
1990–91	Division 3 ↓	46	10	12	24	50	87	42	23rd	R4	R2	R1
1991–92	Division 4 ↑	42	22	11	9	70	37	77	2nd	R2	R1	QF
1992–93	Division 2 [lower-alpha 4]	46	17	14	15	60	60	65	11th	R4	R2	R2
1993–94	Division 2	46	15	13	18	63	60	58	15th	R1	R2	R2
1994–95	Division 2	46	14	14	18	57	61	56	17th	R2	R1	R2
1995–96	Division 2	46	14	14	18	54	62	56	16th	R1	R2	W	Earl Jean	6
1996–97	Division 2 ↓	46	7	14	25	39	70	35	23rd	R1	R1	R1	Leo Fortune-West	17
1997–98	Division 3	46	16	19	11	67	61	67	9th	R3	R1	R2	Lee Glover	18
1998–99	Division 3	46	20	13	13	79	61	73	5th [lower-alpha 5]	R3	R1	R1	Leo Fortune-West Lee Glover	12
1999–2000	Division 3 ↑	46	24	12	10	72	36	84	2nd	R2	R1	R2	Leo Fortune-West	17
2000–01	Division 2 ↑	46	27	10	9	79	55	91	2nd	R3	R1	R1	Mark Robins	26
2001–02	Division 1	46	10	19	17	52	66	49	21st	R4	R2	—	Mark Robins	16
2002–03	Division 1	46	15	14	17	62	62	59	15th	R3	R4	—	Alan Lee	16
2003–04	Division 1	46	13	15	18	53	61	54	17th	R3	R3	—	Martin Butler	15
2004–05	Championship [lower-alpha 6] ↓	46	5	14	27	35	69	29	24th	R3	R2	—	Martin Butler	6
2005–06	League 1	46	12	16	18	52	62	52	20th	R1	R2	R2	Deon Burton	14
2006–07	League 1 ↓	46	13	9	24	58	75	38 [lower-alpha 7]	23rd	R1	R2	R1	Will Hoskins	16
2007–08	League 2	46	21	11	14	62	58	64 [lower-alpha 7]	9th	R1	R1	R2	Derek Holmes Chris O'Grady	11
2008–09	League 2	46	21	12	13	60	46	58 [lower-alpha 8]	14th	R1	R4	F(N)	Reuben Reid	19
2009–10	League 2	46	21	10	15	55	52	73	5th [lower-alpha 9]	R2	R2	R1	Adam Le Fondre	30
2010–11	League 2	46	17	15	14	75	60	66	9th	R1	R1	QF	Adam Le Fondre	25
2011–12	League 2	46	18	13	15	67	63	67	10th	R2	R1	R2	Lewis Grabban	20
2012–13	League 2 ↑	46	24	7	15	74	59	79	2nd	R3	R1	R1	Daniel Nardiello	13
2013–14	League 1 ↑	46	24	14	8	86	58	86	4th [lower-alpha 10]	R2	R2	SF	Kieran Agard	18
2014–15	Championship	46	11	16	19	46	67	46 [lower-alpha 11]	21st	R3	R2	—	Matt Derbyshire	10
2015–16	Championship	46	13	10	23	53	71	49	21st	R3	R2	—	Matt Derbyshire	8
2016–17	Championship ↓	46	5	8	33	40	98	23	24th	R3	R1	—	Danny Ward	12
2017–18	League 1 ↑	46	24	7	15	73	53	79	4th [lower-alpha 12]	R1	R1	R1	Kieffer Moore	13
2018–19	Championship ↓	46	8	16	22	36	77	40	22nd	R3	R1	—	Semi Ajayi Michael Smith Will Vaulks	8
2019–20	League 1 ↑	35	18	8	9	61	38	62	2nd [lower-alpha 13]	R3	R2	GS	Freddie Ladapo	17
2020–21	Championship ↓	46	11	9	26	44	60	42	23rd	R3	R1	—	Michael Smith	10
2021–22	League 1 ↑	46	27	9	10	70	33	90	2nd	R3	R1	W	Michael Smith	25
2022–23	Championship	46	11	17	18	49	60	50	19th	R3	R2	—	Chiedozie Ogbene	9

Notes

1. Includes goals scored in league games (including play-offs), FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
2. When the Second World War began, the 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned with three matches played. ^[8]
3. The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.
4. The Third Division was renamed Division Two after the FA Premier League broke away from the Football League. ^[9]
5. Lost in the play-off semi-final to Leyton Orient 4–2 in a penalty shootout after each leg ended 0–0. ^[5]
6. Before the 2004–05 season, The Football League re-branded Division One as the Football League Championship. Divisions Two and Three became Leagues One and Two, respectively.
7. 10 points deducted for entering administration. ^[1]
8. 17 points deducted for not satisfying the normal conditions of Football League rules for exiting administration. ^[1]
9. Beat Aldershot Town 3–0 on aggregate in the semi-final before losing 3–2 to Dagenham & Redbridge in the 2010 Football League Two play-off final. ^{[10] [11]}
10. Promoted into the Football League Championship via the play-offs, beating Preston North End 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-final and Leyton Orient 4–3 on penalties in the 2014 Football League One play-off final. ^[12]
11. Three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. ^[13]
12. Promoted into the EFL Championship via the play-offs, beating Scunthorpe United 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-final and Shrewsbury Town 2–1 in the 2018 EFL League One play-off final.
13. The 2019–20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions decided on a points-per-game basis. Rotherham United averaged 1.77 points from 35 games.

References

General

• "Rotherham United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
• "Rotherham United – Complete History". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
• "Rotherham United's complete league history". Millers Mad. Retrieved 21 March 2016.

Specific

1. "Rotherham United: Club History". themillers.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
2. "Rotherham United 1950-1951 – Results". Statto.com. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
3. "Rotherham United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
4. "Rotherham United football club honours". 11v11.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
5. Felton, Paul (17 July 2000). "England 1998-99". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 20 March 2016.
6. Ley, John (30 May 2010). "Dagenham & Redbridge 3 Rotherham United 2: match report". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
7. Maiden, Phil (25 May 2014). "Leyton Orient 2 2 Rotherham United". BBC Online . Retrieved 20 March 2016.
8. Felton, Paul. "Season 1939–40 (Abandoned)". RSSSF . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
9. "History of the Football League". The Football League. 22 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013.
10. Vesty, Marc (19 May 2010). "Rotherham 2 - 0 Aldershot (agg 3 - 0)". BBC Online . Retrieved 21 March 2016.
11. Fletcher, Paul (30 May 2010). "Dag & Red 3 - 2 Rotherham". BBC Online . Retrieved 21 March 2016.
12. Doyle, Paul (25 May 2014). "Rotherham promoted to Championship after penalty win over Leyton Orient". theguardian.com . Retrieved 21 March 2016.
13. "Rotherham deducted three points for ineligible player". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.