What Teams Make It Into Division 2 Of The Ultimate League Of All Leagues?
Now the season has officially finished I am able to announce the official positions of every club that has played in the football league. I have plotted every clubs finishing position since the start of the Premier League and the findings are very interesting. Previously I wrote about positions 93 to 113, effectively the National League. The article can be found here - LEAGUE OF ALL FOOTBALL LEAGUES 93 TO 113. Positions 69 to 92 cover league division 2 and includes 9 clubs that are currently playing outside of the top 4 divisions. If your club spent a season out of the football league I allocated 93rd position to them (or 93 points).
At the end of the 2020/21 season there were 6 clubs seeking the final promotion spot back from the National League. Sutton United have already secured top spot and get promoted to Div 2 next season. These 6 clubs all made it into our League of all football leagues. They include Notts County, Chesterfield, Stockport County, Hartlepool United, Wrexham and Torquay United. Bury were expelled from the football league in 2019. However Bury have still accrued enough points to make it into our official ultimate division 2.
What Does The League Of All Leagues Tell Us?
Why did I spend so long collating all of this information? I was interested to see where my own club sat if all of the positions were averaged since 1992. In fact my clubs finishing position this year saw them promoted to the ultimate division 1. Many fans have an opinion on what division their club should be playing. The position is often reflected by the amount of money being spent by the current owners. This is in fact tends not to be a true position and may mean your club is over achieving.
Take Wycombe Wanderers for example. Having just spent a season in the Championship, their average position is now in 69th place (top of div 2). So you could argue they are currently over achieving and are rewarding their owners investment. If they were to be relegated to League 2 though they could be accused of under achieving. Their fans would certainly be calling for changes of the manager and owners.
So the League of all Leagues is to give football fans a sense of perspective for their football club. It is great when we get promoted and painful when relegation comes along. However if we are playing higher than our average position we should just enjoy the good times. Accepting you club may actually be at the right level is difficult. My club has missed out on promotion in the last 2 years, maybe that is a good thing. Maybe promotion would allow us to sign better players or they would come straight back down again. Most clubs then tend to sack their manager undoing most of the good work in the process.
So Who Made It Into The Ultimate League Division 2?
| Position | Club | Seasons In Top 4 Divisions | Average League Position |
Currently Under or Over Achieving |
| 69 | Wycombe Wanderers | 28 | 67.5862 | Overachieving |
| 70 | Notts County | 27 | 68 | Underachieving |
| 71 | Grimsby Town | 23 | 68.1034 | Underachieving |
| 72 | Chesterfield | 26 | 69.6897 | Underachieving |
| 73 | Stockport County | 20 | 69.6897 | Underachieving |
| 74 | Bury | 27 | 70.7586 | Underachieving |
| 75 | Northampton Town | 29 | 72.6207 | Overachieving |
| 76 | Shrewsbury Town | 28 | 73.0345 | Overachieving |
| 77 | Leyton Orient | 27 | 73.1034 | Underachieving |
| 78 | Rochdale | 29 | 73.1724 | Overachieving |
| 79 | Carlisle United | 28 | 74.3448 | Overachieving |
| 80 | Hartlepool United | 25 | 75.5517 | Underachieving |
7 of the top 12 sides in our Ultimate Division 2 table are currently underachieving. Carlisle's average position is 79th and they finished the real season in 78th so are they overachieving? I'm sure Carlisle's fans would have an opinion on their current campaign.
Bottom Half Of The Ultimate League Division 2
| Position | Club | Seasons In Top 4 Divisions | Average League Position |
Currently Under or Over Achieving |
| 81 | Wrexham | 16 | 77.3793 | Underachieving |
| 82 | Yeovil Town | 16 | 78.5172 | Underachieving |
| 83 | Exeter City | 24 | 80 | Overachieving |
| 84 | Cambridge United | 20 | 80.4138 | Overachieving |
| 85 | Lincoln City | 23 | 80.4828 | Overachieving |
| 86 | Burton Albion | 12 | 80.9310 | Overachieving |
| 87 | Cheltenham Town | 21 | 81.3103 | Overachieving |
| 88 | Mansfield Town | 24 | 82 | Overachieving |
| 89 | Fleetwood Town | 9 | 82.7586 | Overachieving |
| 90 | York City | 16 | 82.9310 | Underachieving |
| 91 | Accrington Stanley | 15 | 84.3793 | Overachieving |
| 92 | Torquay United | 20 | 85.6897 | Underachieving |
Wrexham are challenging to return to the football league having spent the last 13 years in non league football. They are currently underachieving according to our table. However 13 years in non league football and new financial backers suggests it won't be too long before they return. Burton Albion spent 2 seasons in the Championship and are currenlty a mid table div 1 side. Their fans would say they are underachieving however our report suggests the opposite. With their 2020/21 just finished they found themselves in 60th. This is 26 places higher than their average, definitely an overachievemnet in my book.
I would love to get your feedback on you team and look forward to responding to comments. Do you agree that your club might be playing in the right division? If your club has had huge financial input recently maybe you are playing at a far higher level. The average balances out ove the years and it is likely your club will move up our table. Spending time in non league football seriously affects your position. Our next post will cover the ultimate league division 1. Will your club be there or are they in the ultimate Chamionship?
