# 1920–21 Football League

The 1920–21 season was the 29th season of The Football League.
The Football League Third Division was introduced, in effect the Third Division South of the following season, when Third Division North was introduced. This expanded the League's operational radius all the way to the south coast of England, as the number of member clubs increased from 44 to 66.

## Team changes

The new Third Division was formed by clubs of the Southern Football League Division One of the previous season, except for Cardiff City. Cardiff City became the first Welsh club to enter the League, and since they were the strongest club in Wales in the era, they were invited directly into the Second Division. Grimsby Town took its place in the new Third Division, thereby being the first club relegated to the League's third tier. Leeds United were also elected into the Second Division to replace Leeds City after its debacle. Lincoln City were not re-elected to the Second Division and thus Port Vale's Second Division place was formalized as well.

## Final league tables

Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

## First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Burnley (C) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 79 | 36 | 2.194 | 59 | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 54 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 77 | 53 | 1.453 | 52 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 63 | 35 | 1.800 | 51 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 50 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 70 | 48 | 1.458 | 47 | |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 47 | |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 53 | 53 | 1.000 | 46 | |
| 9 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 44 | |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 63 | 70 | 0.900 | 43 | |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 57 | 59 | 0.966 | 41 | |
| 12 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 60 | 0.950 | 41 | |
| 13 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 64 | 68 | 0.941 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 54 | 58 | 0.931 | 40 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 61 | 63 | 0.968 | 39 | |
| 16 | Preston North End | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 39 | |
| 17 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 49 | 0.857 | 39 | |
| 18 | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 58 | 0.828 | 39 | |
| 19 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 49 | 86 | 0.570 | 33 | |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 42 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 42 | 68 | 0.618 | 30 | |
| 21 | Derby County (R) | 42 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 32 | 58 | 0.552 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Bradford Park Avenue (R) | 42 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 43 | 76 | 0.566 | 24 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | AST | BLB | BOL | BRA | BPA | BUR | CHE | DER | EVE | HUD | LIV | MCI | MUN | MID | NEW | OLD | PNE | SHU | SUN | TOT | WBA |
| Arsenal | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–6 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Aston Villa | 5–0 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 0–0 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Bradford City | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–4 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 6–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Bradford Park Avenue | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Burnley | 1–0 | 7–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 7–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Chelsea | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 |
| Derby County | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Everton | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Huddersfield Town | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Liverpool | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Manchester City | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Manchester United | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Newcastle United | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Oldham Athletic | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–3 |
| Preston North End | 0–1 | 6–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Sheffield United | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Sunderland | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 3–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 3–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | |

### Maps
## Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Birmingham | 42 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 55 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 25 | 2.079 | 58 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 23 | 1.844 | 58 | Promoted |
| 3 | Bristol City | 42 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 1.690 | 51 | |
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 23 | 1.286 | 50 | |
| 5 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 1.700 | 48 | |
| 6 | Notts County | 42 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 23 | 1.375 | 47 | |
| 7 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 31 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 33 | 1.024 | 45 | |
| 8 | South Shields | 42 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 41 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 1.326 | 44 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 35 | 0.915 | 42 | |
| 10 | The Wednesday | 42 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 34 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 11 | Bury | 42 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 29 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 36 | 0.918 | 40 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 0.848 | 40 | |
| 13 | Hull City | 42 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 19 | 35 | 0.811 | 40 | |
| 14 | Leeds United | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 31 | 0.889 | 38 | |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 15 | 42 | 0.742 | 38 | |
| 16 | Barnsley | 42 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 31 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 33 | 0.960 | 36 | |
| 17 | Port Vale | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 30 | 0.878 | 36 | |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 29 | 0.873 | 36 | |
| 19 | Rotherham County | 42 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 23 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 32 | 0.698 | 36 | |
| 20 | Stoke | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 40 | 0.821 | 35 | |
| 21 | Coventry City | 42 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 45 | 0.557 | 35 | |
| 22 | Stockport County | 42 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 24 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 51 | 0.560 | 30 | Relegated |
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Southern League
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Midland League

### Results

| Home \ Away | BAR | BIR | BLP | BRI | BRY | CAR | CLA | COV | FUL | HUL | LEE | LEI | NOT | NTC | PTV | ROT | SSH | STP | STK | WED | WHU | WOL |
| Barnsley | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Birmingham | 1–3 | | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Blackpool | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Bristol City | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Bury | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Cardiff City | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Clapton Orient | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Coventry City | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 4–0 |
| Fulham | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Hull City | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Leeds United | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Leicester City | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Nottingham Forest | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 1–4 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Notts County | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Port Vale | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Rotherham County | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 5–4 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| South Shields | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Stockport County | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–5 | 6–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Stoke | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| The Wednesday | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | | 0–1 | 6–0 |
| West Ham United | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | 1–0 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |

### Maps
## Third Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 45 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 2.059 | 59 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Southampton | 42 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 46 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 2.286 | 54 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 21 | 1.906 | 53 | |
| 4 | Swindon Town | 42 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 51 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 32 | 1.490 | 52 | |
| 5 | Swansea Town | 42 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 32 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 26 | 1.244 | 51 | |
| 6 | Watford | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 29 | 1.341 | 48 | |
| 7 | Millwall | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 22 | 1.400 | 47 | |
| 8 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 46 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 29 | 1.224 | 45 | |
| 9 | Luton Town | 42 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 51 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 41 | 1.089 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 35 | 1.193 | 43 | |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 1.029 | 43 | |
| 12 | Portsmouth | 42 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 34 | 0.958 | 39 | |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 17 | 43 | 0.831 | 39 | |
| 14 | Northampton Town | 42 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 27 | 52 | 0.787 | 38 | |
| 15 | Newport County | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 41 | 0.672 | 37 | |
| 16 | Norwich City | 42 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 31 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 39 | 0.830 | 36 | |
| 17 | Southend United | 42 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 41 | 0.721 | 36 | |
| 18 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 14 | 41 | 0.689 | 36 | |
| 19 | Exeter City | 42 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 39 | 0.722 | 35 | |
| 20 | Reading | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 37 | 0.712 | 31 | |
| 21 | Brentford | 42 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 44 | 0.627 | 30 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 50 | 0.459 | 28 | Re-elected |
* ↑ relegated from 2nd Div. All others new club in the league; elected from Southern League

### Results

| Home \ Away | BRE | B&HA | BRR | CRY | EXE | GIL | GRI | LUT | MER | MIL | NPC | NOR | NWC | PLY | POR | QPR | REA | SOU | STD | SWA | SWI | WAT |
| Brentford | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 4–0 | | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Crystal Palace | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Exeter City | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Gillingham | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Grimsby Town | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Luton Town | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Merthyr Town | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Millwall | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 1–0 |
| Newport County | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Northampton Town | 6–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Norwich City | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–3 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Plymouth Argyle | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Portsmouth | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Reading | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 |
| Southampton | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 |
| Southend United | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 |
| Swansea Town | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Swindon Town | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 9–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 2–0 |
| Watford | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 7–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | |