Record breakers

[Ferrite]

I’ve been trying to find any teams which were worse than our lot in this division. I’ve gone back 60 years and I can only find a couple of teams which were worse than our current points table.

20 Doncaster 97/98
23 Workington 76/77*
—————-
24 Us – with 8 games left
—————-
25 Newport 87/88
25 Bradford PA 68/69
27 Crewe 81/82
28 Southport 76/77* – this is the only side I’ve found which won fewer than 4 games.
28 Workington 75/76*
29 Torquay 95/96
29 Barrow 70/71*
29 Bradford PA 69/70*

* Adjusted for 3 points for a win

What is perhaps most alarming about this list is what happened to a number of clubs on this list after leaving the Football League.

Southport, Bradford PA, Barrow & Workington all disappeared from the Football League around the time of these record low seasons and only Barrow have recently come back. Newport went bankrupt the season after being relegated and Doncaster barely survived. Torquay yo-yo’d for a decade or two and have been out of the league for nearly a decade.

The moral of this story is that a team this bad doesn’t tend to bounce back quickly. We’re currently on course for 29. Are we destined to become another Bradford PA or Southport, a name remembered only in Football League history?

[Deereyme66]

That 76/77 Workington side were abysmal. Think even we beat them 3-1 ay the OSG if memory serves?

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Ferrite

[Iron-awe]

Deereyme66 wrote:

That 76/77 Workington side were abysmal. Think even we beat them 3-1 ay the OSG if memory serves?

Also if memory serves our former full back Chris Kisby was playing for Workington in that game too.

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Ferrite

[ironfromafar]

Ferrite wrote:

I’ve been trying to find any teams which were worse than our lot in this division. I’ve gone back 60 years and I can only find a couple of teams which were worse than our current points table.

20 Doncaster 97/98
23 Workington 76/77*
—————-
24 Us – with 8 games left
—————-
25 Newport 87/88
25 Bradford PA 68/69
27 Crewe 81/82
28 Southport 76/77* – this is the only side I’ve found which won fewer than 4 games.
28 Workington 75/76*
29 Torquay 95/96
29 Barrow 70/71*
29 Bradford PA 69/70*

* Adjusted for 3 points for a win

What is perhaps most alarming about this list is what happened to a number of clubs on this list after leaving the Football League.

Southport, Bradford PA, Barrow & Workington all disappeared from the Football League around the time of these record low seasons and only Barrow have recently come back. Newport went bankrupt the season after being relegated and Doncaster barely survived. Torquay yo-yo’d for a decade or two and have been out of the league for nearly a decade.

The moral of this story is that a team this bad doesn’t tend to bounce back quickly. We’re currently on course for 29. Are we destined to become another Bradford PA or Southport, a name remembered only in Football League history?

Sobering analysis.. the future most certainly is not bright regardless of how many time MR Hill feels the need to tell us how the club is restructuring and rebuilding for it. LOB imo

[apb]

Great research there – but a bit depressing to say the least.

Workington and Donny both won 4 games – and I doubt we’ll surpass that.

They also scored more goals than we’ve currently got (and I can’t see us surpassing those totals either).

We’ll finish a pitiful handful of points better off I suppose – on the back of a few turgid draws earlier on in the season.

But, having had the ‘privilege’ of seeing both those sides in action I can say we’re no better.

We’ll go down humiliated – as the worst side in more then a generation to play league football.

Chris Kisby was mentioned earlier – and Workington also had Phil Ashworth playing for them that season.

I believe the season after, he signed for Southport and they also went out of the league.

Then he signed for us the year after (must have been on the back of the current chiefs scout advice!) but mercifully he didn’t quite complete the hat trick.

[Ferrite]

apb wrote:

They also scored more goals than we’ve currently got (and I can’t see us surpassing those totals either).

I hadn’t check goal scoring but it looks like you’re right, we’re on for 31 as it currently stands which is still pitiful.

One record we have beaten is Rochdale’s woeful away record in 1977/78, won 0, drew 2, lost 21, scored 14, conceded 57. Remarkable.

History says that Workington were voted out of the league because of their far-off geographical position, whereas clubs like Rochdale, Hartlepool and even us survived multiple re-elections in the 1970s through a combination of old boys’ networks and other clubs being less popular.

One other thing I didn’t mention on my first post is our own record in 1974/75, which is presumably our worst season to date, when we got 36 points, with 7 wins (all at home) and scored 41 goals.

[Awaywego]

In them days though, you certainly had to have something that resembled a football ground unlike now, IMO every ground should be able a min of 2000 away fans, the only place where the cods have been given that number is notts county, the 500 you get at Sutton is certainly not good enough especially if they make it to the championship.

[Siderite]

Ferrite wrote:

’ve currently got (and I can’t see us surpassing those totals either).

I hadn’t check goal scoring but it looks like you’re right, we’re on for 31 as it currently stands which is still pitiful.

One record we have beaten is Rochdale’s woeful away record in 1977/78, won 0, drew 2, lost 21, scored 14, conceded 57. Remarkable.

History says that Workington were voted out of the league because of their far-off geographical position, whereas clubs like Rochdale, Hartlepool and even us survived multiple re-elections in the 1970s through a combination of old boys’ networks and other clubs being less popular.

One other thing

We have only been reelected twice in our history and only once in the 70s.

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Ferrite

[Ferrite]

Siderite wrote:

We have only been reelected twice in our history and only once in the 70s.

Good details, however I still wonder if other clubs were voted out more readily. I’m sure I read of a club that was voted out the first time they applied for re-election because it was a long way from anywhere. Maybe Gateshead?

[Siderite]

Looking at the statistics that sounds about right.

Though, relatively nearby Hartlepool Utd survived 11 reelections from the fourth tier and 3 more when there were just three tiers, with regional divides. Crewe, benefited by its geographical position, survived 7, as did Walsall from Div 3 North. Halifax, Rochdale and York all survived 6 times from the fourth tier. Barrow survived 5 before dropping out on the 6th.

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BobbyGmeister, Ferrite

[Ferrite]

Yeah, like I mentioned before, there must have been some old boy networks involved to keep out the arrivistes from non-league, otherwise how would Hartlepool have survived all those votes?

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Siderite

[Iron-awe]

Old boys network, outrageous Ferrite 😂😂😂 there sure is and still is, as for the Premiership it’s more like the Mafia then an old boys network. Corruption exists in all big organisations in life and that includes professional football.

[Ferrite]

Outrageous IA – I thought everyone achieved everything on merit, due to “hard work”!

[Ferrite]

Still on 24 points, still the 3rd worst team ever. Will we be one of the few to come back?

[Author]

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