Southampton

[anton123]

Have Southampton broke the our record for the lowest points in a season ?

[richtherover]

Unfortunately not. We got 8 points in 1904/05. Record low for the Premier League is 11 by Derby in 2007/08. I think we held the record for the most points in a season, (72 from 42 games),
for a good few years but probably beaten now by Birmingham.
Dutch?

[Pancho Regan]

The Southampton fans celebrated like they'd won promotion when they got their 12th point recently by drawing 0-0 with Man City.

[Monkcaster_Rover]

The Southampton fans celebrated like they'd won promotion when they got their 12th point recently by drawing 0-0 with Man City.

Can’t say I blame them. Not had a great deal of anything else to shout about. I imagine a bit of it might have been gallows humour as well.

[Dutch Uncle]

Ok, the best and worst season records are complicated because of differing numbers of games played in a season, and 2 or 3 points for a win.

The worst Football League season ever?

We have not one, but two seasons that have some claim to being the Football League's worst.

In 1904-05, using two points for a win, Rovers (jointly with Loughborough 1899-1900) set the record for the fewest points in a Football League season, a mere 8 points in 34 games.

Although Rovers and Loughborough share this lowest ever points total using two points per win, converting to three points per win would mean Loughborough with 9, having a lower points per game total than Rovers with 11. 

Derby nearly 'beat' this record in 2007-08, with their final tally of 11 points in the Premier League being the equivalent of 10 points at two per win. This ensured their relegation to the Championship that season. Remind me who they played in the first match of the next season?

What is (nearly) indisputable is that in 1997-98 we also set the lowest number of points in a full 46 match season with 20 (the equivalent of 16 at two per win). Luton finished with 26 points (at three per win) from 46 games in 2008-09, which would equate to 13 points at two per win, since they had 13 wins. However they had 30 points deducted, and it would make more sense to deduct 20 points in the two per win comparison.

The best Football League season ever?

In the first Football League season after the Second World War, 1946-47, we played a total of 42 matches in the old, regionalised Division 3 North, won 33 of them, drew six and lost only three. This gave us a total of 72 points with the old system of two points for a win, or the equivalent of 105 points if three points for a win are used. Is this the best league season ever?

In absolute terms, at two points per win, the points total of 72 has never been beaten in a 42-match season. It was beaten in 46 games by Lincoln (1975-76: 74 points at two per win, equivalent of 106 at three), Sunderland (1988-99: 105 points at three per win, equivalent 74 points at two) and Reading (2005-06: 106 points at three per win, equivalent 75 points at two), and now by Birmingham with 111 points, or an equivalent of 77 at 2 per win.

Using points per game, Rovers’ season is the equivalent of 78.9 points (at 2 per win) or 115 (at 3 points per win) over a 46-game season. So, none of these seasons beats Rovers in that respect.

This covers all seasons back to 1919-20 and the restart of league football after the First World War, so Rovers wonder season is certainly the best league season by any Football League team since then when 42 or more matches were played, going on points per game.

Prior to the First World War the number of games in a Football League season varied between 22 and 38. Rovers points per games averages were beaten on three occasions, but of course no team achieved the 72 or equivalent of 105 points. So, it is tempting to say that Rovers have the outright best season record in the last 105 years since the Football League reached its full size.

However, there is one irritating flaw in that argument. In 2004-05 Chelsea played 38 games in the Premier League and gained 95 points for a points-per-game average of 2.500 at three per win - equal to Rovers in 1946-47. However, at two points per win Chelsea would have won 66 points at an average of 1.737 per game and so can be said to have broken Rovers long standing record.

Since then, even that record has been improved upon by Manchester City in 2017-18 (100 points in 38 games), Manchester City (98 points) and Liverpool (97 points) in 2018-19, and Liverpool (99 points in 2019-20). Who says money can’t buy success?

So, our record remains intact only for a season of 42 games or more played.

Most defeats and most wins

We used to hold the records for both the highest number of defeats in a season and also for the highest number of wins.

What is still an all-time football league record is the 34 defeats in 1997-98 - the worst ever by any club in a Football League season.

However, we have just lost our record of 33 wins in a Football League season to Birmingham, who won 34 this year.

Apologies for a long and complicated post 

[IDM]

33 wins from 42 games is better than 34 from 46, % wise.?

[Dutch Uncle]

33 wins from 42 games is better than 34 from 46, % wise.?

Yes, but there are higher percentages in seasons with fewer games than 42, e.g. Manchester City with 32 in 38 in 2017-18, and Preston with 18 out of 22 in 1888-89

[graingrover]

I don’t think your database and software can be equaled anywhere in the DRFC  community Dutch.

[Dutch Uncle]

I don’t think your database and software can be equaled anywhere in the DRFC  community Dutch.

Brian, without doubt the Red Baron has far more and better data than I, but I probably waste more time looking for data patterns, trends etc

[BobG]

I rather suspect that intelligence, logic, ability, the patience to research and a bloody good filing system play a part too

BobG

[Dutch Uncle]

I rather suspect that intelligence, logic, ability, the patience to research and a bloody good filing system play a part too

BobG

Not sure that spending all that time looking at the quirks of a lower league football team (however wonderful) qualifies as intelligence Bob