Stevenage Football Club is an English association football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded in 1976 as Stevenage Borough Football Club following the bankruptcy of the town's former team, Stevenage Athletic. [1] They assumed senior status and played their first competitive match in the United Counties Football League in August 1980. [2] They have played their home games at Broadhall Way since the club's formation.
This list details the club's achievements in first-team competitions, and the top goalscorer for each season. Top goalscorers highlighted in yellow were also the highest scorers in the division in which Stevenage competed during that season.
In their first season as a senior club, the team won the United Counties League Division One championship, as well as the United Counties League Cup. [1] In 1984, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League, and in the following season earned promotion to Division One. Two years later, the club was relegated, [3] before winning the Division Two North title during the 1990–91 season after amassing 107 points. [3] During the 1993–94 season the club won the Isthmian Premier Division and were promoted to the Football Conference. [1] Two seasons later, they won the Conference, [4] but were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities. [2] The 1996–97 season saw the club progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time. [5] The following season, Stevenage reached the fourth round, where they were drawn against Premier League club Newcastle United, drawing 1–1 at Broadhall Way, [6] before losing the replay 2–1 at St James' Park. [7]
During the 2001–02 season, Stevenage reached the final of the FA Trophy for the first time, losing 2–0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park. [8] Two years later, during the 2004–05 season, the club qualified for the play-offs after finishing fifth under the management of Graham Westley, [9] losing 1–0 in the final to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium. [10] The club reached the FA Trophy final again during the 2006–07 season, [11] overturning a 2–0 deficit to defeat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in front of a record FA Trophy crowd of 53,262 at the newly built Wembley Stadium. [12] The team returned to the final again two years later and beat York City 2–0. [13] Stevenage secured promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference Premier during the 2009–10 season. [14] The team amassed 99 points that season, finishing 11 points clear at the top of the table. Had the club's two victories against Chester City counted, Stevenage would have broken the record for the most points accumulated in a Conference Premier season, recording 105 points. [15] The club's promotion during the 2009–10 season meant that Stevenage would be competing in League Two for the first time in their history. [14]
Stevenage finished sixth in their first season in the Football League, [16] reaching the play-offs, [17] [18] where they defeated Torquay United 1–0 in the final at Old Trafford in May 2011, achieving back-to-back promotions into League One. [19] During the same season, Stevenage reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, defeating Newcastle United 3–1 at Broadhall Way, before eventually losing to Reading in the following round. [20] [21] [22] In the club's first season in League One during the 2011–12 season, the team achieved their highest league finish to date, reaching the play-offs after finishing sixth. They were defeated in the play-off semi-final. [23] [24] Stevenage also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history that season, eventually losing 3–1 to Tottenham Hotspur in a replay at White Hart Lane, [25] after the original tie had ended in a 0–0 draw at Broadhall Way. [26] The club was relegated back to League Two during the 2013–14 season. They came close to an immediate return to League One the following year, reaching the play-offs after finishing sixth, but were defeated at the semi-final stage. [27] [28]
The club was in last place in League Two during the 2019–20 season when the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. [29] Stevenage were initially relegated following an independent disciplinary panel's decision to deduct two points from Macclesfield Town, who had failed to pay their players on six separate occasions during the season. [30] [31] The English Football League successfully appealed the sanctions, meaning Stevenage retained their League Two status. [32] Stevenage earned promotion to League One after finishing in second place in League Two during the 2022–23 season. [33]
Stevenage Borough
Stevenage
Season | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Other competitions | Top scorer [A] | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | |||||||
1980–81 | UCL-1 [B] (↑) | 32 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 106 | 35 | 53 | 1st | N/A [C] | N/A [C] | United Counties League Cup | W | Trevor Metcalfe | 29 |
1981–82 | UCL-P | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 50 | 49 | 33 | 12th | N/A | N/A | Danny Dance | 13 | ||
1982–83 | UCL-P | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 51 | 56 | 30 | 12th | N/A | N/A | FA Vase | PRER | Ronnie Lear | 13 |
1983–84 | UCL-P | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 46 | 41 | 6th | QR1 | N/A | FA Vase | R2 | Paddy Butcher | 14 |
1984–85 | Isth-2N [D] | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 79 | 49 | 75 [E] | 4th | QR2 | N/A | FA Vase | R2 | Steve Armsby | 30 |
1985–86 | Isth-2N (↑) | 38 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 71 | 24 | 84 | 1st | QR1 | N/A | FA Vase | QF | Martin Gittings | 33 |
1986–87 | Isth-1 | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 61 | 67 | 47 | 16th | QR3 | QR2 | Ricky Marshall | 17 | ||
1987–88 | Isth-1 (↓) | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 36 | 64 | 42 | 21st | QR1 | QR3 | Adrian Taylor | 9 | ||
1988–89 | Isth-2N | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 84 | 55 | 73 | 4th | QR2 | N/A | FA Vase | PRER | Martin Gittings | 24 |
1989–90 | Isth-2N | 42 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 70 | 31 | 79 | 4th | QR1 | N/A | FA Vase | R3 | Rob McComb | 23 |
1990–91 | Isth-2N (↑) | 42 | 34 | 5 | 3 | 122 | 29 | 107 | 1st | QR1 | N/A | FA Vase | R1 | Jimmy Hughes | 32 |
1991–92 | Isth-1 (↑) | 40 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 95 | 37 | 96 | 1st | QR1 | QR1 | Martin Gittings | 44 | ||
1992–93 | Isth-P | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 62 | 60 | 62 | 7th | QR3 | R2 | Martin Gittings | 34 | ||
1993–94 | Isth-P (↑) | 42 | 31 | 4 | 7 | 88 | 39 | 97 | 1st | QR4 | R1 | Martin Gittings | 40 | ||
1994–95 | Conf | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 68 | 49 | 67 | 5th | QR2 | R3 | Barry Hayles | 15 | ||
1995–96 | Conf | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 101 | 44 | 91 | 1st [F] | R1 [G] | QF | Barry Hayles | 34 ♦ | ||
1996–97 | Conf | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 87 | 53 | 82 | 3rd | R3 | SF | Barry Hayles | 25 | ||
1997–98 | Conf | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 59 | 63 | 51 | 15th | R4 | QF | Gary Crawshaw | 16 | ||
1998–99 | Conf | 42 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 62 | 45 | 68 | 6th | R2 | R4 | Carl Alford | 33 | ||
1999–2000 | Conf | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 60 | 54 | 57 | 10th | QR4 | R3 | Carl Alford | 26 | ||
2000–01 | Conf | 42 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 71 | 61 | 63 | 7th | QR4 | R5 | Neil Illman | 17 | ||
2001–02 | Conf | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 57 | 60 | 55 | 11th | QR4 | RU | Football League Trophy | R1S | Jean-Michel Sigere | 12 |
2002–03 | Conf | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 61 | 55 | 52 | 12th | R2 | R4 | Football League Trophy | R2S | Kirk Jackson | 8 |
2003–04 | Conf | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 58 | 52 | 63 | 8th | R2 | R4 | Football League Trophy | R1S | Anthony Elding | 19 |
2004–05 | Conf | 42 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 65 | 52 | 72 | 5th [H] | R2 | R3 | Conference League Cup | SFS | Anthony Elding | 22 |
Football League Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2005–06 | Conf | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 62 | 47 | 69 | 6th | R2 | R1 | Football League Trophy | R1S | Darryn Stamp | 13 |
2006–07 | Conf | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 76 | 66 | 70 | 8th | R1 | W | Steve Morison | 34 | ||
2007–08 | Conf | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 82 | 55 | 79 | 6th | R1 | R1 | Conference League Cup | R1S | Steve Morison | 23 |
2008–09 | Conf | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 73 | 54 | 81 | 5th [I] | R1 | W | Conference League Cup | R4S | Steve Morison | 32 |
2009–10 | Conf (↑) | 44 [J] | 30 | 9 | 5 | 79 | 24 | 99 | 1st | R1 | RU | Yemi Odubade | 16 | ||
2010–11 | L2 (↑) | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 62 | 45 | 69 | 6th [K] | R4 | N/A | Football League Cup | R1 | Byron Harrison John Mousinho | 8 |
Football League Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2011–12 | L1 | 46 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 69 | 44 | 73 | 6th [L] | R5 | N/A | Football League Cup | R1 | Chris Beardsley | 10 |
Football League Trophy | R2S | ||||||||||||||
2012–13 | L1 | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 47 | 64 | 54 | 18th | R1 | N/A | Football League Cup | R2 | Lucas Akins | 10 |
Football League Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2013–14 | L1 (↓) | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 46 | 72 | 42 | 24th | R4 | N/A | Football League Cup | R2 | François Zoko | 16 |
Football League Trophy | SFS | ||||||||||||||
2014–15 | L2 | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 62 | 54 | 72 | 6th [M] | R1 | N/A | Football League Cup | R1 | Charlie Lee | 9 |
Football League Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2015–16 | L2 | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 52 | 67 | 48 | 18th | R2 | N/A | Football League Cup | R1 | Chris Whelpdale | 9 |
Football League Trophy | R2S | ||||||||||||||
2016–17 | L2 | 46 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 67 | 63 | 67 | 10th | R1 | N/A | EFL Cup | R2 | Matt Godden | 21 |
EFL Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2017–18 | L2 | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 60 | 65 | 55 | 16th | R3 | N/A | EFL Cup | R1 | Danny Newton | 16 |
EFL Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2018–19 | L2 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 59 | 55 | 70 | 10th | R1 | N/A | EFL Cup | R1 | Kurtis Guthrie | 14 |
EFL Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2019–20 | L2 | 36 [N] | 3 | 13 | 20 | 24 | 50 | 22 | 23rd | R1 | N/A | EFL Cup | R1 | Charlie Carter | 6 |
EFL Trophy | QF | ||||||||||||||
2020–21 | L2 | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 41 | 41 | 60 | 14th | R3 | N/A | EFL Cup | R1 | Elliott List | 11 |
EFL Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2021–22 | L2 | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 45 | 68 | 47 | 21st | R2 | N/A | EFL Cup | R2 | Luke Norris | 16 |
EFL Trophy | R2S | ||||||||||||||
2022–23 | L2 (↑) | 46 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 61 | 39 | 85 | 2nd | R4 | N/A | EFL Cup | R3 | Luke Norris Jamie Reid | 14 |
EFL Trophy | R16S | ||||||||||||||
2023–24 | L1 | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 57 | 46 | 71 | 9th | R3 | N/A | EFL Cup | R2 | Jamie Reid | 18 |
EFL Trophy | R1S | ||||||||||||||
2024–25 | L1 | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 50 | 57 | 14th | R2 | N/A | EFL Cup | R1 | Dan Kemp | 11 |
EFL Trophy | QFS | ||||||||||||||
2025–26 | L1 |
Key to colours and symbols:
Champions | Runners-up | Promoted ↑ | Relegated ↓ | Top league scorer in Stevenage's division ♦ |
Key to league record:
| Key to league competitions:
| Key to cup record:
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