# 1919–20 in English football

The 1919–1920 season was the 45th season of competitive football in England, and the first following the end of World War I.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| Football League First Division | West Bromwich Albion (1) | Burnley |
| Football League Second Division | Tottenham Hotspur | Huddersfield Town |
| Southern League First Division | Portsmouth | Watford |
| Southern League Second Division | Mid Rhondda | Ton Petre |
| FA Cup | Aston Villa (6*) | Huddersfield Town |
| FA Charity Shield | West Bromwich Albion (1) | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Home Championship | Wales | England & Scotland |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League

Following the War The Football League grew from 40 to 44 teams. The failure of Glossop to be re-elected to the league meant that five new clubs joined the league. A resurrected Stoke, along with Coventry City, South Shields, Rotherham County and West Ham United joined the Second Division.
Six of the seven players banned for their involvement in the 1915 British football betting scandal were re-instated in recognition of their service to the country during World War I. Sandy Turnbull's re-instatement was posthumous as he had been killed in the war. Enoch West, who had fought his ban more vigorously than the others, was denied re-instatement.

### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion (C) | 42 | 28 | 4 | 10 | 104 | 47 | 2.213 | 60 | |
| 2 | Burnley | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 59 | 1.102 | 51 | |
| 3 | Chelsea | 42 | 22 | 5 | 15 | 56 | 51 | 1.098 | 49 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 59 | 44 | 1.341 | 48 | |
| 5 | Sunderland | 42 | 22 | 4 | 16 | 72 | 59 | 1.220 | 48 | |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 72 | 65 | 1.108 | 47 | |
| 7 | Manchester City | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 71 | 62 | 1.145 | 45 | |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 44 | 39 | 1.128 | 43 | |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 75 | 73 | 1.027 | 42 | |
| 10 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 56 | 58 | 0.966 | 42 | |
| 11 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 60 | 63 | 0.952 | 42 | |
| 12 | Manchester United | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 54 | 50 | 1.080 | 40 | |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 40 | |
| 14 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 69 | 0.855 | 40 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 54 | 63 | 0.857 | 39 | |
| 16 | Everton | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 69 | 68 | 1.015 | 38 | |
| 17 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 49 | 52 | 0.942 | 38 | |
| 18 | Derby County | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 47 | 57 | 0.825 | 38 | |
| 19 | Preston North End | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 57 | 73 | 0.781 | 38 | |
| 20 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 64 | 77 | 0.831 | 37 | |
| 21 | Notts County (R) | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 0.757 | 36 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | The Wednesday (R) | 42 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 64 | 0.438 | 23 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 32 | 6 | 4 | 102 | 32 | 3.188 | 70 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 97 | 38 | 2.553 | 64 | Promoted |
| 3 | Birmingham | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 85 | 34 | 2.500 | 56 | |
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 65 | 47 | 1.383 | 52 | |
| 5 | Bury | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 60 | 44 | 1.364 | 48 | |
| 6 | Fulham | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 50 | 1.220 | 47 | |
| 7 | West Ham United | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 40 | 1.175 | 47 | |
| 8 | Bristol City | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 46 | 43 | 1.070 | 43 | |
| 9 | South Shields | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 48 | 1.208 | 42 | |
| 10 | Stoke | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 60 | 54 | 1.111 | 42 | |
| 11 | Hull City | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 78 | 72 | 1.083 | 42 | |
| 12 | Barnsley | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 61 | 55 | 1.109 | 40 | |
| 13 | Port Vale | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 62 | 0.952 | 40 | |
| 14 | Leicester City | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 40 | |
| 15 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 38 | |
| 16 | Stockport County | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 52 | 61 | 0.852 | 37 | |
| 17 | Rotherham County | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 51 | 83 | 0.614 | 34 | |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 43 | 73 | 0.589 | 31 | |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 55 | 80 | 0.688 | 30 | |
| 20 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 35 | 73 | 0.479 | 29 | Re-elected |
| 21 | Lincoln City | 42 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 44 | 101 | 0.436 | 27 | Failed re-election |
| 22 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 10 | 5 | 27 | 34 | 75 | 0.453 | 25 | Relegated |
* 1 2 3 New club in the league; elected from Southern League
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from North Eastern League
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Central League
* ↑ Leeds City were expelled from the league after 8 games; Port Vale, formerly Burslem Port Vale, took their place and inherited their record.
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Midland League
* ↑ Lincoln City were not re-elected, but they returned to the league later, for the season 1921–22, surfacing this time in 3rd Division North, after having been absent only for one season.
* ↑ Grimsby Town participated in the Football League Third Division during the following season.

## Southern League
### Southern League First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portsmouth | 42 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 73 | 27 | 2.704 | 58 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 2 | Watford | 42 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 69 | 42 | 1.643 | 58 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 69 | 43 | 1.605 | 56 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 4 | Cardiff City | 42 | 18 | 17 | 7 | 70 | 43 | 1.628 | 53 | Elected to the Football League Second Division |
| 5 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 57 | 29 | 1.966 | 50 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 6 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 62 | 50 | 1.240 | 46 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 7 | Reading | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 51 | 43 | 1.186 | 45 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 8 | Southampton | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 72 | 63 | 1.143 | 44 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 9 | Swansea Town | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 53 | 45 | 1.178 | 43 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 10 | Exeter City | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 57 | 51 | 1.118 | 43 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 11 | Southend United | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 46 | 48 | 0.958 | 43 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 12 | Norwich City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 64 | 57 | 1.123 | 41 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 13 | Swindon Town | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 65 | 68 | 0.956 | 41 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 14 | Millwall | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 55 | 0.945 | 40 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 15 | Brentford | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 59 | 0.881 | 40 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 72 | 0.833 | 36 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 61 | 78 | 0.782 | 35 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 18 | Newport County | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 45 | 70 | 0.643 | 33 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 19 | Northampton Town | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 103 | 0.621 | 33 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 20 | Luton Town | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 51 | 76 | 0.671 | 30 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 21 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 47 | 78 | 0.603 | 29 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 34 | 74 | 0.459 | 27 | Elected to the new Football League Third Division |