2019–20 In English Football

Premier League

Amid uncertainty and calls for the season to be rendered null and void in the midst of the pandemic, the FA voted for both the Premier League and the Championship to finish their respective campaigns – a decision that finally helped Liverpool, after decades of heartbreak, near-misses and rebuilding, to end their long wait and win their first league title since 1990, as well as breaking the record for the earliest top-flight win in history, whilst also extending their unbeaten league run at Anfield to a third successive season and 59 games – despite a succession of dropped points in their remaining games ensuring they would miss out on breaking any of the previously set title-winning records on top of an early exit in the Champions League knockout stage, the Reds won both the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in the first half of the season to mark one of their most successful campaigns since 2001. Finishing second were Manchester City, who had been widely tipped to build on their domestic treble the previous season – however, they endured arguably one of the most disappointing title defences in the club's history, losing ground on Liverpool as early as their second game and suffering a number of unexpected and poor defeats, including home-and-away to both Wolverhampton Wanderers and city rivals Manchester United, a decision ultimately put down to the club's failure to replace departing captain Vincent Kompany and then losing key players Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte to long-term injuries; despite this, City were at least able to earn silverware, winning their fifth League Cup in seven seasons.

In similar circumstances to the previous season, the battle for the remaining top-four spots went down to the final day – and saw Chelsea and Manchester United scrape through at the expense of Leicester City; Chelsea's first season under new head coach and former player Frank Lampard proved largely indifferent, conceding far more goals than all of the top ten, but they managed enough consistency to ensure Champions League football, whilst a largely underwhelming 2020 went against Leicester, who lost a winner-takes-all final day game against United, the Red Devils securing Champions League football despite an inconsistent 2019 – the arrival of midfielder Bruno Fernandes in the winter transfer window helping to reinvigorate the team. An uneven start to the season for Tottenham Hotspur ultimately saw manager Mauricio Pochettino sacked after five-and-a-half years at the helm; whilst the installation of Jose Mourinho helped push the club back up the table and into a late battle to ensure Europa League football for the next campaign, an early exit in the Champions League and poor performances across domestic cup competitions put paid to any hopes of Spurs winning a trophy – with similar performances in the league raising questions about Mourinho's long-term tactics.

Having been tipped to struggle in their first top-flight season since 2007, Sheffield United defied all their critics by recording both a top-ten finish and conceding fewer goals than much of the top half, even staying in the fight for a European spot up until the final game, an effort that gave the Blades and manager Chris Wilder deserved praise. Arsenal endured one of their worst seasons since the inception of the Premier League, with a succession of draws and winless runs across all competitions in the first half of the season extinguishing the Gunners' hopes of winning the league title and costing manager Unai Emery his job; whilst the season's second half proved to be much better under former player and new manager Mikel Arteta, including winning the FA Cup for the fourth time in seven seasons and ensuring Europa League football next season, further dropped points either side of the suspension ensured the London club would only just scrap into the top eight. Southampton endured yet another underwhelming start to the season, including suffering the worst home defeat in the history of the top-flight in late October at the hands of Leicester City – however, strong away form from that point onwards helped pushed the Saints comfortably clear of the drop, with safety ensured following an impressive home win over Manchester City.

At the bottom of the table, Norwich City endured a disastrous return to the Premier League, suffering relegation with three games to go in a torrid season that saw the Canaries hit with an extensive injury crisis and fail to really make much impact both in the transfer window and in the league itself, despite an astonishing victory against Manchester City at Carrow Road early in the campaign; having been bottom but still in with a shout of survival when the season was suspended, they were ultimately undone by losing every single match after the season resumed. The battle to avoid the remaining relegation places proved to be closer than expected, but both Aston Villa – defying the odds in their first season back in the top-flight – and West Ham United survived the drop, at the expense of Watford and Bournemouth, the Hornets ultimately being let down by both an atrocious start to the season with only a solitary win in their opening sixteen games and their sacking of three different managers, with Bournemouth also being let down by a collapse in points and form either side of the season being suspended despite a remarkable victory over Everton on the final day; coincidentally, all three clubs had been promoted in the same season only five years prior, albeit Norwich had gone straight back down the following year.

Championship

The race for the automatic promotion spots proved competitive, both before the season was suspended and after the decision was made to resume following a vote by the FA. But in the end, Leeds United made up for their play-off semi-final disappointment the previous year and returned to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 in Marcelo Bielsa's second season as manager, the Yorkshire club remaining in the promotion positions all season despite poor January form and ensuring both promotion and the champions' spot before their penultimate game. The battle for second place proved to be just as hotly contested with three teams in the mix in the last round of games, but West Bromwich Albion successfully held off strong runs of form from both Brentford and Fulham to end a two-year absence from the top-flight, giving Slaven Bilić promotion in his first season as head coach. Both London clubs therefore qualified for the play-offs, alongside Welsh clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City, the latter managed to leapfrog Nottingham Forest in the closing minutes of the season on goals scored - Forest being left to rue a six-game winless run, having been all but guaranteed a top-six finish at the start of July; the playoffs were then won by Fulham, making an immediate return to the Premier League while giving Scott Parker a successful first full season in management.

The battle for the play-offs ultimately proved a closer affair, with many teams battling for one spot; among the teams to miss out were Derby County, who overcame a sluggish start to only narrowly miss out on a play-off position, whilst also managing to sign top-flight legend Wayne Rooney in the winter transfer window. Amid yet another poor start to their season, Reading looked poised to endure a third successive relegation battle – however, the unorthodox decision of newly installed Sporting Director Mark Bowen to appoint himself as manager proved to be a successful one as the Royals rocketed away from the bottom and even looked likely to snatch an unlikely play-off position in the closing weeks of the campaign, falling short in the closing games. Newly relegated Huddersfield Town suffered a similarly dreadful start to their campaign and found themselves battling a second consecutive relegation in a row, but the appointment of Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley and several key wins picked up at crucial points ultimately proved enough for the Terriers to secure their Championship status, the win in their penultimate game that ensured safety ironically being the one to send Leeds back into the top-flight.

The battle at the bottom of the table ended up being one of the tightest in the history of the second tier, with all three relegation spots left wide open going into the last game – and in the end, it was ultimately Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Charlton Athletic who dropped into League One; Hull's relegation came after a complete collapse in form in the second half of the season, the accumulation of just six points after New Year's Day and the sale of key players Kamil Grosicki and Jarred Bowen helping to condemn the Tigers to the third tier for the first time since 2005. Wigan controversially took the second spot, suffering a 12-point deduction for entering administration and falling into the bottom three after the final whistle as a result, despite an outstanding run of form after the season resumed that included an 8–0 win at home over Hull. Charlton Athletic suffered immediate relegation back to the third tier, the London club being left to rue a run of just one win between the middle of October and the end of January despite securing some positive results in their closing games. Having been nearly adrift at the turn of the year, Luton Town saw a resurgence of their own that saw them fight their way to safety, the Hatters being helped by the return of influential manager Nathan Jones during the suspension, whilst Barnsley defied the odds and poor form in the first half of the season to secure their place in the second tier.

League One

With the season postponed in March, clubs in both League One and League Two found enough votes to agree to end the season - using Points-Per-Game to help solidify a final points total, both Coventry City and Rotherham United were automatically promoted; the Sky Blues' promotion came just three years after relegation to League Two and eight years after having fallen out of the second tier, marking a remarkable turn of events for the club despite off-field issues that saw them being forced to groundshare with Birmingham City, whilst the Millers secured a second instant return to the Championship in two years (making this the fourth consecutive season that they moved between the Championship and League One), in spite of having fallen off the top of the table just prior to the season being suspended. The final qualifying spot was taken by Wycombe Wanderers, who stormed through the play-offs to record the Buckinghamshire club's first ever promotion to the Championship; whilst they had dropped off the top of the table over the festive period and then dropped further down, the Chairboys recovered enough before the season was postponed to ensure a third-place finish through Points-Ger-Game and give long-term manager Gareth Ainsworth his second promotion with the club in three seasons.

Losing out in the play-off final were Oxford United, who missed out on a chance to return to the second tier for the first time since the end of the 20th century; nonetheless, the U's enjoyed a fantastic season, which included making the quarter-finals of the League Cup and thrashing Premier League side West Ham 4–0 along the way. A poor start to the season ultimately cost Sunderland a second successive chance of promotion despite an improvement with new manager Phil Parkinson, whilst a superb start for Ipswich Town completely fell apart in the New Year, consigning the Tractor Boys to another season in the third tier; both clubs had advocated resuming the season. Lincoln City were another club who had started well, giving hope for a second promotion in a row, but a poor start under new management after the departure of Danny Cowley to Huddersfield Town saw results drop off, leaving them closer to relegation in the table - nevertheless, safety was secured by virtue of the season ending early, a decision that gave fellow promoted side Milton Keynes Dons a second season in League One.

Bury's season practically ended before it started, financial troubles ultimately seeing the club expelled from the Football League altogether, the first team to suffer this fate since Maidstone United in 1992. As a result, only three teams were relegated when the season concluded; Bolton Wanderers, Southend United and Tranmere Rovers. Bolton's relegation came amid similar finance issues to Bury, though they were able to find new ownership to avoid expulsion; however, their points deduction would have had no bearing on their battle to escape the drop, as terrible early-season form and a lack of wins helped consign the Trotters to a second consecutive relegation, meaning they would be playing in the fourth tier for the first time since 1988. Southend United fared little better, only finishing above Bolton because of the points deduction and only avoiding conceding 100 goals because of the season finishing early, suffering relegation after five seasons in the third tier. Despite finding form in the early months of 2020, Tranmere could not escape the relegation zone before the season was suspended and suffered an immediate relegation back to League Two - though they did have some positives in their season, including managing to come from 3–0 down to hold Watford in the FA Cup at Vicarage Road and then beat them in the replay.

League Two

As with League One, League Two also opted to end the season early following its postponement in March - this gave Swindon Town, Crewe Alexandra and Plymouth Argyle automatic promotion. Just three years after falling into the fourth tier, Swindon finally picked up enough points to return to League One, thanks in part to the impressive goal-scoring efforts of Irish forward Eoin Doyle. Crewe's promotion came four years after suffering relegation themselves and to the surprise of many, considering their previous campaigns had seen them either only avoid relegation or finish in mid-table; nevertheless, the Railwaymen enjoyed a good season before it had been postponed, managing to win promotion with the most goals scored. Having just missed out on avoiding the drop into League Two the previous season, Plymouth bounced back in style as they sealed an immediate return to the third tier, thanks in part to the experience of new manager Ryan Lowe, who had helped expelled club Bury to promotion the previous year despite off-field problems. Taking the final spot via the play-offs were Northampton Town, who ended a two-year spell outside of the third tier in dramatic style; the Cobblers had actually lost five out of seven league games prior to the season being suspended, a run that nearly saw them fall out of the play-off places altogether, before losing their first play-off leg - however, the team rallied and processed to win both the second leg and then the final at Wembley by big scorelines, ending Keith Curle's first full season as manager in some style.

Exeter City endured another troubling attempt at promotion, having been largely in the top three for most of the season before falling into the play-offs before the suspension of the season; whilst they achieved a comeback result in the playoffs, their crushing loss at the hands of Northampton Town ensured a third play-off final loss in four seasons. Missing out on the play-offs as a result of the usage of Points-Per-Game were Bradford City, despite looking like they would bounce back from relegation the previous year, Forest Green Rovers, who were looking to build on having made the play-off semi-finals the previous year, and even Salford City, who defied all their critics and took to their first season in the Football League very well. Following the unexpected and tragic death of manager Justin Edinburgh weeks after they had been promoted, a poor run of results at several points in the early months of the season saw Leyton Orient likely to suffer relegation - but despite this, the club pulled through and escaped the drop following the vote to end the season, giving hope the O's would build on the success of Edinburgh's promotion.

Because of Bury's demise, only one club was relegated from the Football League this season (the League Two clubs initially voted for no movement between the Football League and National League to take place this season, but this plan was subsequently vetoed by the Football Association). Ultimately, Stevenage finished bottom and appeared set to return to the National League after a decade, following a dismal season in which they had four different managers, and fell to the foot of the table in late September and never left it. However, Macclesfield Town lost a total of seventeen points for various financial transgressions during the course of the season; the last four of those deducted points were initially suspended until the following season, but an appeal by the Football League and Stevenage saw them instead applied to this season, causing Macclesfield to instead finish bottom and return to the National League after just two years; they would ultimately never take their place in that league, however, as their financial problems proved insurmountable, resulting in the club folding a few weeks into the 2020–21 season, and thus making this the final season that they completed. The combination of Bury's demise and Macclesfield's points deductions saved Morecambe, who were statistically the second-worst team after Stevenage, from relegation to the National League.

National League Top Division

As with League One and League Two, the National League curtailed its season, with the final placings decided on points-per-game. Barrow therefore finished top and returned to the Football League for the first time since 1972; the longest gap that any team has had between leaving the Football League (either via automatic relegation or the prior election system) and re-entering it via automatic promotion. Harrogate Town, who were in second place prior to the suspension of the season, won the play-offs and entered the Football League for the first time in their history.

Chorley finished in last place after a dismal season, in which they were on the verge of relegation even before the season's suspension cemented this outcome. AFC Fylde's fortunes declined sharply after two consecutive play-off finishes, and they were left to rue a poor run of results which dumped them into the relegation spots and ultimately sealed their fate when the season was suspended. Ebbsfleet United, who like Fylde enjoyed two strong finishes in the previous season, filled the final relegation spot; they had actually been outside the relegation zone prior to the season's suspension, but dropped into it on points-per-game in place of Maidenhead United. Maidenhead would themselves have been relegated, but were reprieved as the result of Bury's demise.

League play-offs

Football League play-offs

EFL Championship

Final

4 August 2020 (2020-08-04)

19:45 BST

Brentford	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Fulham
Dalsgaard   120+4'	Report	Bryan   105', 117,'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 0

Referee: Martin Atkinson

EFL League One

Final

13 July 2020

19:30 BST

Wycombe Wanderers	2–1	Oxford United
Stewart   9' Jacobson   79' (pen.)	Report	Sykes   57'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 0

Referee: Robert Jones

EFL League Two

Final

29 June 2020

19:30 BST

Exeter City	0–4	Northampton Town
	Report	Watson   11' Morton   31' Hoskins   80' Williams   89'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 0

Referee: Michael Salisbury

National League play-offs

National League

Final

National League North

Final

National League South

Final

Cup competitions

FA Cup

Final

EFL Cup

Final

Community Shield