# 2020–21 Carlisle United F.C. season

The 2020–21 season was Carlisle United's 116th season in their history and the seventh consecutive season in EFL League Two, Along with League Two, the club also participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and EFL Trophy.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

## Squad statistics

    As of 9 May 2021
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Magnus Norman | 6 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | George Tanner | 42 | 3 | 36+1 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Nick Anderton | 44 | 2 | 33+7 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Danny Devine | 13 | 0 | 5+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Max Hunt (transferred out) | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Aaron Hayden | 48 | 5 | 42+1 | 5 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Joe Riley | 48 | 2 | 38+5 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Callum Guy | 48 | 0 | 44+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Lewis Alessandra | 50 | 9 | 37+8 | 8 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | CGO | Offrande Zanzala | 22 | 6 | 15+7 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Gavin Reilly (transferred) | 21 | 1 | 5+11 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Omari Patrick | 39 | 5 | 28+8 | 5 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Jon Mellish | 49 | 16 | 41+3 | 11 | 2+0 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | ENG | Rod McDonald | 31 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | IRL | Joshua Kayode | 36 | 8 | 31+3 | 8 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Taylor Charters | 11 | 0 | 1+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Brennan Dickenson | 12 | 1 | 7+5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | SCO | Jack Armer | 28 | 1 | 22+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Josh Dixon | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | RSA | Dean Furman | 18 | 0 | 6+9 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | FRA | Gime Touré | 35 | 4 | 18+13 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 2 |
| 21 | GK | ENG | Paul Farman | 45 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Tom Wilson | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | ENG | Marcus Dewhurst | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Lewis Bell | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Connor Malley (loan complete) | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Micah Obiero (loan complete) | 6 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Cedwyn Scott | 7 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Rhys Bennett | 24 | 4 | 21+2 | 4 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ENG | Ethan Walker | 15 | 0 | 4+10 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
* Source:

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | League Two | FA Cup | League Cup | EFL Trophy | Total |
| 1 | MF | | 12 | Jon Mellish | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 2 | FW | | 9 | Lewis Alessandra | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | FW | | 14 | Joshua Kayode | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | FW | | 10 | Offrande Zanzala | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | MF | | 6 | Aaron Hayden | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | FW | | 11 | Omari Patrick | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | | 32 | Rhys Bennett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | FW | | 20 | Gime Touré | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | DF | | 18 | George Tanner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | DF | | 3 | Nick Anderton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | | 7 | Joe Riley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | | 17 | Jack Armer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | | 16 | Brennan Dickenson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | | 31 | Micah Obiero | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | | 10 | Gavin Reilly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | | TOTALS | 60 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 70 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Number | Name | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Total | Total |
| FW | 20 | Gime Touré | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| DF | 6 | Aaron Hayden | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| DF | 13 | Rod McDonald | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| MF | 12 | Jon Mellish | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| MF | 8 | Callum Guy | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | 3 | Nick Anderton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | 7 | Joe Riley | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FW | 9 | Lewis Alessandra | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | 32 | Rhys Bennett | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | 2 | George Tanner | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | 21 | Paul Farman | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | 17 | Jack Armer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | 11 | Omari Patrick | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | 10 | Offrande Zanzala | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | 15 | Taylor Charters | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | 19 | Dean Furman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | 14 | Joshua Kayode | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | 31 | Micah Obiero | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | 4 | Danny Devine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | 16 | Brennan Dickenson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 10 | Gavin Reilly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | 33 | Ethan Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 75 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 82 | 4 |
Notes:

## Competitions
### EFL League Two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Forest Green Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 73 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 73 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 8 | Salford City | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 71 | |
| 9 | Exeter City | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 71 | 50 | +21 | 70 | |
| 10 | Carlisle United | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 66 | |
| 11 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 61 | |
| 12 | Crawley Town | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 61 | |
| 13 | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 60 | |
| 14 | Stevenage | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 60 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2021. Source: BBC

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | D | D | D | L | D | D | W | D |
| Position | 23 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed
The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.

##### Notes

* ↑ Spectators numbers limited to 2,000 due to local restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
* ↑ Match abandoned in the 13th minute due to the state of the pitch. Match was to be played 12 January 2021 in full from the start.
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to frozen pitch
* ↑ Match was abandoned after 10 minutes due to floodlight issues at the EnviroVent Stadium
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to outbreak of COVID-19 in the club
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to frozen pitch
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to outbreak of COVID-19 in the club
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to waterlogged pitch
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to outbreak of COVID-19 in the Cheltenham Town F.C.
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to frozen pitch
* ↑ Match rescheduled due to frozen pitch

### FA Cup

The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October. The second round draw was revealed on Monday, 9 November by Danny Cowley.
Win  Draw  Loss

### EFL Cup

Win  Draw  Loss
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.

### EFL Trophy

Win  Draw  Loss
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Fleetwood Town | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Sunderland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Carlisle United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | ACA | Aston Villa U21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 0 | |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 3 August 2020 | CB | Rod McDonald | AFC Wimbledon | Free transfer |
| 3 August 2020 | RB | George Tanner | Manchester United | Free transfer |
| 4 August 2020 | CF | Gavin Reilly | Bristol Rovers | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2020 | RB | Joe Riley | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 6 August 2020 | LB | Jack Armer | Preston North End | Free transfer |
| 6 August 2020 | CM | Danny Devine | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 7 August 2020 | GK | Magnus Norman | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 13 August 2020 | LM | Brennan Dickenson | Exeter City | Free transfer |
| 17 August 2020 | GK | Paul Farman | Stevenage | Free transfer |
| 18 August 2020 | CF | Gime Touré | Hartlepool United | Free transfer |
| 28 August 2020 | CM | Dean Furman | SuperSport United | Free transfer |
| 12 November 2020 | CB | Rhys Bennett | Peterborough United | Free transfer |
| 8 January 2021 | CF | Offrande Zanzala | Crewe Alexandra | Free transfer |
| 20 January 2021 | CB | Morgan Feeney | Sunderland | Free transfer |
| 20 January 2021 | CF | Cedwyn Scott | Hebburn Town | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 4 August 2020 | CF | Joshua Kayode | Rotherham United | End of season |
| 27 August 2020 | GK | Marcus Dewhurst | Sheffield United | End of season |
| 12 September 2020 | CF | Ethan Walker | Preston North End | 8 January 2021 |
| 2 October 2020 | CM | Connor Malley | Middlesbrough | 1 January 2021 |
| 16 October 2020 | CF | Micah Obiero | Huddersfield Town | 1 January 2021 |
| 23 January 2021 | LW | Ethan Walker | Preston North End | End of season |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| 29 August 2020 | RB | Charlie Barnes | Kendal Town | 1 January 2021 |
| 29 August 2020 | CB | Liam Lightfoot | Kendal Town | 1 January 2021 |
| 12 September 2020 | LB | Charlie Birch | Kendal Town | 30 June 2021 |
| 19 September 2020 | GK | Isaac Robinson | Workington | Work experience |
| 26 October 2020 | CM | Jamie Armstrong | Kendal Town | January 2021 |
| 26 December 2020 | CB | Max Hunt | Yeovil Town | January 2021 |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | Adam Collin | Kettering Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | DM | Kelvin Etuhu | Retired | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | GK | Louis Gray | Chester | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LB | Jack Iredale | Cambridge United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Mike Jones | Barrow | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CF | Keighran Kerr | Carlisle City | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CB | Nathaniel Knight-Percival | Morecambe | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CF | Harry McKirdy | Port Vale | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Mohammed Sagaf | Dagenham & Redbridge | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | AM | Stefan Scougall | Alloa Athletic | Released |
| 4 August 2020 | RB | Gethin Jones | Bolton Wanderers | Rejected Contract |
| 7 September 2020 | CB | Byron Webster | Bromley | Rejected Contract |
| 5 January 2021 | CF | Gavin Reilly | Livingston | Mutual consent |
| 27 January 2021 | CB | Max Hunt | Yeovil Town | Undisclosed |