Play-Off Facts & Figures 1987-2023 – Appendix
The 2023 play-offs were the 37th time the end-of-season fixtures have been played since the system was (re)introduced in 1987. In that time, a number of clubs, managers and players have set notable records. This post gathers a few of the Football League play-off facts and figures over the past five decades. In 2023, Salford…
The Play-Offs (Part Two): 1987-1992
The play-offs were re-introduced to the Football League almost a century after the ‘test matches’ of the 1890s. The measure was agreed at a League meeting in December 1985 as part of a package of compromise measures to prevent a ‘Super League’ breakaway of the First Division clubs. Initially the play-offs were proposed to run…
‘Test Matches’: The First Football League Play-Offs
With the rapid evolution and expansion of the Football League from its twelve founder members in 1888, came the question of promotion and relegation. ‘Test matches’ were the League’s solution, introduced in April 1893. The clubs which had formed the rival Football Alliance were absorbed into the League at the start of the 1892-93 season,…
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