Shadota
And the year is 1889
Now that a kick off time has been (finally) established, we can move on to other topics.
I've gone back through the results of all playoff campaigns since their inception in 1987 to 2024, and tracked each team's successes (or lack thereof). It's passed a fair bit of time, and there's a few interesting stats I've found that I wasn't aware of before, as well as a few strange quirks that have cropped up here and there. So I thought I would share a few.
*Note that I have only addressed playoffs for the modern day EFL divisions (Championship/League One/League Two). Info gathered does not include anything related to non-league competition (e.g Wilder's National League playoff win with Oxford is not included). All info was gathered via this page on Wikipedia.
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- As of the end of the 2024 season, 104 different clubs have competed in the playoffs. Preston and Brentford have featured the most, with 10 campaigns each, while 13 teams have appeared just once. Of those 13, four clubs won in their only playoff appearance to date (AFC Wimbledon, Crawley Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Manchester CIty)
- Now, let's address the elephant in the room. We are, definitively, the worst/most unsuccessful club in the history of the playoffs. We have lost all 9 of our previous ventures, with 5 semi-final defeats, and 4 final defeats. There is no other team to have played as many times in the play offs without success (next worst is Lincoln on 7), and we are tied with Leeds and Reading for the most appearances in finals without a win. If we don't win next week, we will become the first team ever, to fail to win in the playoffs in 10 attempts.
- The record for most semi-final appearances without a win is held by MK Dons, on 6. A feat made more impressive by the fact that they did not compete in a play off until 2007, nearly 20 years after we first took part. This lack of progression past the semi-final stage is so emphatic, that only 2 other clubs have lost 6 semi final ties (Preston and Scunthorpe)
- The most successful play off team so far has been Blackpool. They have competed 9 times, and been successful on 6 of those occasions. Next best is Crystal Palace, with 4 wins from 7 entries, and then Huddersfield, with 4 wins out of 9.
- There are 27 clubs in total, whom have won every playoff final they have featured in. 20 of these have reached that stage just once, most notably Ipswich Town, who have 8 total play off campaigns under their belts. Seven times, they have lost at the semi final stage, but when they finally passed that milestone in 2000, they won the final against Barnsley. This constitutes the poorest playoff record, while still having at least one win.
- The 7 clubs who have a perfect record from multiple final appearances are Burnley, Hull, Walsall, Fulham, Southend (all on 2 wins), Charlton and Peterborough (3 wins each). No team has a 100% win rate in play off finals having appeared 4 or more times.
- The Blades' record of 9 straight play off campaigns without success was previously matched by Preston and Brentford. Both those teams did go on to win in their 10th respective attempt. Preston won promotion in 2015, against Swindon in League 1. Brentford's win was in 2021, where they defeated Swansea. Curiously, those two teams had faced each other in the Championship semi-finals the year before, where Brentford also came out on top.
- As we are (probably) all aware, one of Huddersfield's aforementioned 4 playoff victories came at our expense in 2012. Interestingly, they featured in the playoffs in the 2 season prior as well, each time going one step further, until their penalty shoot out success against ourselves. In 2010, they lost in the semifinals to eventual winners Millwall, while in 2011, they lost to Peterborough in the final at Old Trafford.
- Six clubs which have previously competed in the playoffs has now folded, and been reformed as a phoenix club in its place (Bury, Chester City, Hereford United, Macclesfield, Rushden & Diamonds, Scarborough). Fourteen more to have competed in the playoffs now play their football in non-league (Aldershot, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Darlington, Forest Green, Hartlepool, Maidstone, Oldham, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Southend, Torquay, Yeovil, York).
- The first rendition of the playoffs coincided with Coventry City's victory in the FA Cup. Coventry would not compete in the playoffs until 2018, more than 30 years later, when they had fallen from the dizzying heights of cup glory, to the doldrums of League 2. That first venture however did end in success, as they defeated Exeter to gain promotion.
- The 3 losing teams in the 2023 League 1 playoffs, were Barnsley, Bolton, and Peterborough. All 3 would make it back to the playoffs in 2024, and all 3 would again suffer defeat.
- Two teams have competed in, and won, the playoffs, and have since also won the Premier League (Leicester City - Championship winners in 1994 & 1996; Manchester City - League 1 winners in 1999).
=================================================================================================
- As of the end of the 2024 season, 104 different clubs have competed in the playoffs. Preston and Brentford have featured the most, with 10 campaigns each, while 13 teams have appeared just once. Of those 13, four clubs won in their only playoff appearance to date (AFC Wimbledon, Crawley Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Manchester CIty)
- Now, let's address the elephant in the room. We are, definitively, the worst/most unsuccessful club in the history of the playoffs. We have lost all 9 of our previous ventures, with 5 semi-final defeats, and 4 final defeats. There is no other team to have played as many times in the play offs without success (next worst is Lincoln on 7), and we are tied with Leeds and Reading for the most appearances in finals without a win. If we don't win next week, we will become the first team ever, to fail to win in the playoffs in 10 attempts.
- The record for most semi-final appearances without a win is held by MK Dons, on 6. A feat made more impressive by the fact that they did not compete in a play off until 2007, nearly 20 years after we first took part. This lack of progression past the semi-final stage is so emphatic, that only 2 other clubs have lost 6 semi final ties (Preston and Scunthorpe)
- The most successful play off team so far has been Blackpool. They have competed 9 times, and been successful on 6 of those occasions. Next best is Crystal Palace, with 4 wins from 7 entries, and then Huddersfield, with 4 wins out of 9.
- There are 27 clubs in total, whom have won every playoff final they have featured in. 20 of these have reached that stage just once, most notably Ipswich Town, who have 8 total play off campaigns under their belts. Seven times, they have lost at the semi final stage, but when they finally passed that milestone in 2000, they won the final against Barnsley. This constitutes the poorest playoff record, while still having at least one win.
- The 7 clubs who have a perfect record from multiple final appearances are Burnley, Hull, Walsall, Fulham, Southend (all on 2 wins), Charlton and Peterborough (3 wins each). No team has a 100% win rate in play off finals having appeared 4 or more times.
- The Blades' record of 9 straight play off campaigns without success was previously matched by Preston and Brentford. Both those teams did go on to win in their 10th respective attempt. Preston won promotion in 2015, against Swindon in League 1. Brentford's win was in 2021, where they defeated Swansea. Curiously, those two teams had faced each other in the Championship semi-finals the year before, where Brentford also came out on top.
- As we are (probably) all aware, one of Huddersfield's aforementioned 4 playoff victories came at our expense in 2012. Interestingly, they featured in the playoffs in the 2 season prior as well, each time going one step further, until their penalty shoot out success against ourselves. In 2010, they lost in the semifinals to eventual winners Millwall, while in 2011, they lost to Peterborough in the final at Old Trafford.
- Six clubs which have previously competed in the playoffs has now folded, and been reformed as a phoenix club in its place (Bury, Chester City, Hereford United, Macclesfield, Rushden & Diamonds, Scarborough). Fourteen more to have competed in the playoffs now play their football in non-league (Aldershot, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Darlington, Forest Green, Hartlepool, Maidstone, Oldham, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Southend, Torquay, Yeovil, York).
- The first rendition of the playoffs coincided with Coventry City's victory in the FA Cup. Coventry would not compete in the playoffs until 2018, more than 30 years later, when they had fallen from the dizzying heights of cup glory, to the doldrums of League 2. That first venture however did end in success, as they defeated Exeter to gain promotion.
- The 3 losing teams in the 2023 League 1 playoffs, were Barnsley, Bolton, and Peterborough. All 3 would make it back to the playoffs in 2024, and all 3 would again suffer defeat.
- Two teams have competed in, and won, the playoffs, and have since also won the Premier League (Leicester City - Championship winners in 1994 & 1996; Manchester City - League 1 winners in 1999).
===========================================================================================================
That's all I could bothered to comb through and uncover, though I found it quite enjoyable doing so. Feel free to contribute your own stats if you know any that I haven't mentioned above.
I've gone back through the results of all playoff campaigns since their inception in 1987 to 2024, and tracked each team's successes (or lack thereof). It's passed a fair bit of time, and there's a few interesting stats I've found that I wasn't aware of before, as well as a few strange quirks that have cropped up here and there. So I thought I would share a few.
*Note that I have only addressed playoffs for the modern day EFL divisions (Championship/League One/League Two). Info gathered does not include anything related to non-league competition (e.g Wilder's National League playoff win with Oxford is not included). All info was gathered via this page on Wikipedia.
=================================================================================================
- As of the end of the 2024 season, 104 different clubs have competed in the playoffs. Preston and Brentford have featured the most, with 10 campaigns each, while 13 teams have appeared just once. Of those 13, four clubs won in their only playoff appearance to date (AFC Wimbledon, Crawley Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Manchester CIty)
- Now, let's address the elephant in the room. We are, definitively, the worst/most unsuccessful club in the history of the playoffs. We have lost all 9 of our previous ventures, with 5 semi-final defeats, and 4 final defeats. There is no other team to have played as many times in the play offs without success (next worst is Lincoln on 7), and we are tied with Leeds and Reading for the most appearances in finals without a win. If we don't win next week, we will become the first team ever, to fail to win in the playoffs in 10 attempts.
- The record for most semi-final appearances without a win is held by MK Dons, on 6. A feat made more impressive by the fact that they did not compete in a play off until 2007, nearly 20 years after we first took part. This lack of progression past the semi-final stage is so emphatic, that only 2 other clubs have lost 6 semi final ties (Preston and Scunthorpe)
- The most successful play off team so far has been Blackpool. They have competed 9 times, and been successful on 6 of those occasions. Next best is Crystal Palace, with 4 wins from 7 entries, and then Huddersfield, with 4 wins out of 9.
- There are 27 clubs in total, whom have won every playoff final they have featured in. 20 of these have reached that stage just once, most notably Ipswich Town, who have 8 total play off campaigns under their belts. Seven times, they have lost at the semi final stage, but when they finally passed that milestone in 2000, they won the final against Barnsley. This constitutes the poorest playoff record, while still having at least one win.
- The 7 clubs who have a perfect record from multiple final appearances are Burnley, Hull, Walsall, Fulham, Southend (all on 2 wins), Charlton and Peterborough (3 wins each). No team has a 100% win rate in play off finals having appeared 4 or more times.
- The Blades' record of 9 straight play off campaigns without success was previously matched by Preston and Brentford. Both those teams did go on to win in their 10th respective attempt. Preston won promotion in 2015, against Swindon in League 1. Brentford's win was in 2021, where they defeated Swansea. Curiously, those two teams had faced each other in the Championship semi-finals the year before, where Brentford also came out on top.
- As we are (probably) all aware, one of Huddersfield's aforementioned 4 playoff victories came at our expense in 2012. Interestingly, they featured in the playoffs in the 2 season prior as well, each time going one step further, until their penalty shoot out success against ourselves. In 2010, they lost in the semifinals to eventual winners Millwall, while in 2011, they lost to Peterborough in the final at Old Trafford.
- Six clubs which have previously competed in the playoffs has now folded, and been reformed as a phoenix club in its place (Bury, Chester City, Hereford United, Macclesfield, Rushden & Diamonds, Scarborough). Fourteen more to have competed in the playoffs now play their football in non-league (Aldershot, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Darlington, Forest Green, Hartlepool, Maidstone, Oldham, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Southend, Torquay, Yeovil, York).
- The first rendition of the playoffs coincided with Coventry City's victory in the FA Cup. Coventry would not compete in the playoffs until 2018, more than 30 years later, when they had fallen from the dizzying heights of cup glory, to the doldrums of League 2. That first venture however did end in success, as they defeated Exeter to gain promotion.
- The 3 losing teams in the 2023 League 1 playoffs, were Barnsley, Bolton, and Peterborough. All 3 would make it back to the playoffs in 2024, and all 3 would again suffer defeat.
- Two teams have competed in, and won, the playoffs, and have since also won the Premier League (Leicester City - Championship winners in 1994 & 1996; Manchester City - League 1 winners in 1999).
=================================================================================================
- As of the end of the 2024 season, 104 different clubs have competed in the playoffs. Preston and Brentford have featured the most, with 10 campaigns each, while 13 teams have appeared just once. Of those 13, four clubs won in their only playoff appearance to date (AFC Wimbledon, Crawley Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Manchester CIty)
- Now, let's address the elephant in the room. We are, definitively, the worst/most unsuccessful club in the history of the playoffs. We have lost all 9 of our previous ventures, with 5 semi-final defeats, and 4 final defeats. There is no other team to have played as many times in the play offs without success (next worst is Lincoln on 7), and we are tied with Leeds and Reading for the most appearances in finals without a win. If we don't win next week, we will become the first team ever, to fail to win in the playoffs in 10 attempts.
- The record for most semi-final appearances without a win is held by MK Dons, on 6. A feat made more impressive by the fact that they did not compete in a play off until 2007, nearly 20 years after we first took part. This lack of progression past the semi-final stage is so emphatic, that only 2 other clubs have lost 6 semi final ties (Preston and Scunthorpe)
- The most successful play off team so far has been Blackpool. They have competed 9 times, and been successful on 6 of those occasions. Next best is Crystal Palace, with 4 wins from 7 entries, and then Huddersfield, with 4 wins out of 9.
- There are 27 clubs in total, whom have won every playoff final they have featured in. 20 of these have reached that stage just once, most notably Ipswich Town, who have 8 total play off campaigns under their belts. Seven times, they have lost at the semi final stage, but when they finally passed that milestone in 2000, they won the final against Barnsley. This constitutes the poorest playoff record, while still having at least one win.
- The 7 clubs who have a perfect record from multiple final appearances are Burnley, Hull, Walsall, Fulham, Southend (all on 2 wins), Charlton and Peterborough (3 wins each). No team has a 100% win rate in play off finals having appeared 4 or more times.
- The Blades' record of 9 straight play off campaigns without success was previously matched by Preston and Brentford. Both those teams did go on to win in their 10th respective attempt. Preston won promotion in 2015, against Swindon in League 1. Brentford's win was in 2021, where they defeated Swansea. Curiously, those two teams had faced each other in the Championship semi-finals the year before, where Brentford also came out on top.
- As we are (probably) all aware, one of Huddersfield's aforementioned 4 playoff victories came at our expense in 2012. Interestingly, they featured in the playoffs in the 2 season prior as well, each time going one step further, until their penalty shoot out success against ourselves. In 2010, they lost in the semifinals to eventual winners Millwall, while in 2011, they lost to Peterborough in the final at Old Trafford.
- Six clubs which have previously competed in the playoffs has now folded, and been reformed as a phoenix club in its place (Bury, Chester City, Hereford United, Macclesfield, Rushden & Diamonds, Scarborough). Fourteen more to have competed in the playoffs now play their football in non-league (Aldershot, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Darlington, Forest Green, Hartlepool, Maidstone, Oldham, Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Southend, Torquay, Yeovil, York).
- The first rendition of the playoffs coincided with Coventry City's victory in the FA Cup. Coventry would not compete in the playoffs until 2018, more than 30 years later, when they had fallen from the dizzying heights of cup glory, to the doldrums of League 2. That first venture however did end in success, as they defeated Exeter to gain promotion.
- The 3 losing teams in the 2023 League 1 playoffs, were Barnsley, Bolton, and Peterborough. All 3 would make it back to the playoffs in 2024, and all 3 would again suffer defeat.
- Two teams have competed in, and won, the playoffs, and have since also won the Premier League (Leicester City - Championship winners in 1994 & 1996; Manchester City - League 1 winners in 1999).
===========================================================================================================
That's all I could bothered to comb through and uncover, though I found it quite enjoyable doing so. Feel free to contribute your own stats if you know any that I haven't mentioned above.
