This is a list of all seasons played by Cambridge United in English football since the 1970–71 season, when the club were elected to the Football League. It details their record in every major competition entered, as well as the top goalscorers for each season.
The club currently play in League One, having been promoted from League Two in 2020/21 where they had competed since 2014, following their promotion back to the Football League after a 9-year absence, during which time they competed in the Football Conference.
The club has spent the following number of seasons at each level of the English football league system since its initial election:
- Seasons at level 2: 8
- Seasons at level 3: 11
- Seasons at level 4: 22
- Seasons at level 5: 9
The club's highest position ever is 5th in the Second Division in 1991–92, the last season before the establishment of the Premier League, a playoff position. They lost the semi-final to Leicester City 6–1 on aggregate and lost their chance to become founder members of the Premier League. Their lowest position has been 17th in the Football Conference (now National League) in 2006–07 and 2010–11.
Key
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Seasons
Season | League record | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy |
Other | Top goalscorer(s) | ||||||||||
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Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Competition | Result | Name | Goals | ||||
1970–71 | Division 4 | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 51 | 67 | 43 | 20th | R2 | R1 | — | — | — | Ivan Hollett | 12 |
1971–72 | Division 4 | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 60 | 48 | 10th | R2 | R1 | — | — | Brian Greenhalgh | 19 | |
1972–73 | Division 4 ↑ | 46 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 67 | 57 | 57 | 3rd | R1 | R1 | — | — | Brian Greenhalgh | 18 | |
1973–74 | Division 3 ↓ | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | 48 | 81 | 35 | 21st | R3 | R2 | — | — | Brian Greenhalgh | 11 | |
1974–75 | Division 4 | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 62 | 44 | 54 | 6th | R3 | R1 | — | — | Bobby Shinton | 16 | |
1975–76 | Division 4 | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 58 | 62 | 43 | 13th | R1 | R1 | — | — | Tommy Horsfall | 15 | |
1976–77 | Division 4 ↑ | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 87 | 40 | 65 | 1st | R1 | R2 | — | — | Alan Biley | 20 | |
1977–78 | Division 3 ↑ | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 72 | 51 | 58 | 2nd | R2 | R1 | — | — | Alan Biley | 23 | |
1978–79 | Division 2 | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 44 | 52 | 40 | 12th | R3 | R1 | — | — | Alan Biley | 22 | |
1979–80 | Division 2 | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 61 | 53 | 44 | 8th | R4 | R2 | Anglo-Scottish Cup | Group | Tommy Finney | 13 | |
1980–81 | Division 2 | 46 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 53 | 65 | 40 | 13th | R3 | R4 | — | — | George Reilly Steve Spriggs |
10 | |
1981–82 | Division 2 | 46 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 48 | 53 | 48 | 14th | R3 | R2 | — | — | Joe Mayo George Reilly |
8 | |
1982–83 | Division 2 | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 42 | 60 | 51 | 12th | R5 | R2 | — | — | George Reilly | 11 | |
1983–84 | Division 2 ↓ | 42 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 28 | 77 | 24 | 22nd | R3 | R2 | — | — | — | Robbie Cooke | 8 |
1984–85 | Division 3 ↓ | 46 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 37 | 95 | 21 | 24th | R1 | R1 | R2 | — | — | Robbie Cooke | 7 |
1985–86 | Division 4 | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 65 | 80 | 54 | 22nd | R1 | R1 | QF | — | — | David Crown | 27 |
1986–87 | Division 4 | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 60 | 62 | 62 | 11th | R2 | R4 | PR | — | — | Mark Cooper David Crown |
16 |
1987–88 | Division 4 | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 52 | 61 | 15th | R2 | R1 | PR | — | — | David Crown | 12 |
1988–89 | Division 4 | 44 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 71 | 62 | 68 | 8th | R3 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Laurie Ryan | 13 |
1989–90 | Division 4 ↑ | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 76 | 66 | 73 | 6th | QF | R2 | PR | — | — | Dion Dublin John Taylor |
21 |
1990–91 | Division 3 ↑ | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 75 | 45 | 86 | 1st | QF | R1 | SF | — | — | Dion Dublin | 21 |
1991–92 | Division 2 | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 65 | 47 | 74 | 5th | R4 | R2 | — | Full Members' Cup | R2 | Dion Dublin | 19 |
1992–93 | Division 1 ↓ | 46 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 58 | 69 | 49 | 23rd | R3 | QF | — | Anglo-Italian Cup | Group | Steve Claridge | 7 |
1993–94 | Division 2 | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 79 | 73 | 66 | 10th | R2 | R2 | R2 | — | — | Steve Butler | 21 |
1994–95 | Division 2 ↓ | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 52 | 69 | 48 | 20th | R3 | R1 | R2 | — | — | Carlo Corazzin | 19 |
1995–96 | Division 3 | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 61 | 71 | 54 | 16th | R1 | R1 | PR | — | — | Carlo Corazzin | 12 |
1996–97 | Division 3 | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 53 | 59 | 65 | 10th | R2 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Carlo Corazzin | 8 |
1997–98 | Division 3 | 46 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 63 | 57 | 60 | 16th | R2 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Martin Butler | 13 |
1998–99 | Division 3 ↑ | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 78 | 48 | 81 | 2nd | R2 | R3 | SF | — | — | Martin Butler | 20 |
1999–2000 | Division 2 | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 64 | 65 | 48 | 19th | R5 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Trevor Benjamin | 23 |
2000–01 | Division 2 | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 61 | 77 | 53 | 19th | R2 | R1 | R2 | — | — | Tom Youngs | 15 |
2001–02 | Division 2 ↓ | 46 | 7 | 13 | 26 | 47 | 93 | 34 | 24th | R1 | R1 | RU | — | — | Tom Youngs | 11 |
2002–03 | Division 3 | 46 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 67 | 70 | 61 | 12th | R3 | R2 | SF | — | — | Dave Kitson | 25 |
2003–04 | Division 3 | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 55 | 67 | 56 | 13th | R2 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Luke Guttridge | 12 |
2004–05 | League 2 ↓ | 46 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 39 | 62 | 30 | 24th | R2 | R1 | R2 | — | — | Jermaine Easter Shane Tudor |
7 |
2005–06 | Conference | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 51 | 57 | 55 | 12th | QR4 | — | QF | FA Trophy | R1 | Fola Onibuje | 11 |
2006–07 | Conference | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 57 | 66 | 55 | 17th | QR4 | — | FA Trophy | R1 | Robbie Simpson | 17 | |
2007–08 | Conference | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 68 | 41 | 86 | 2nd | R3 | FA Trophy Conference League Cup |
R2 R4 |
Scott Rendell | 19 | ||
2008–09 | Conference | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 65 | 39 | 86 | 2nd | R1 | FA Trophy Conference League Cup |
R2 R3 |
Scott Rendell | 13 | ||
2009–10 | Conference | 44 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 65 | 53 | 59 | 10th | R2 | FA Trophy | R3 | Danny Crow | 19 | ||
2010–11 | Conference | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 53 | 61 | 50 | 17th | R1 | FA Trophy | R2 | Daniel Wright | 12 | ||
2011–12 | Conference | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 57 | 41 | 71 | 9th | R1 | FA Trophy | R4 | Luke Berry | 9 | ||
2012–13 | Conference | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 68 | 69 | 59 | 14th | QR4 | FA Trophy | R2 | Tom Elliott | 15 | ||
2013–14 | Conference ↑ | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 72 | 35 | 82 | 2nd | R2 | FA Trophy | W | Luke Berry | 14 | ||
2014–15 | League 2 | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 61 | 66 | 51 | 19th | R4 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Robbie Simpson | 9 |
2015–16 | League 2 | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 66 | 55 | 68 | 9th | R2 | R1 | R1 | — | — | Luke Berry | 12 |
2016–17 | League 2 | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 58 | 50 | 66 | 11th | R3 | R2 | R2 | — | — | Luke Berry | 22 |
2017–18 | League 2 | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 12th | R2 | R1 | Group | — | — | Uche Ikpeazu | 13 |
2018–19 | League 2 | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 40 | 66 | 47 | 21st | R1 | R1 | R2 | — | — | Jevani Brown | 8 |
2019–20 | League 2 | 37 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 48 | 45 | 16th | R1 | R2 | Group | — | — | Harvey Knibbs Sam Smith |
8 |
2020–21 | League 2 ↑ | 46 | 24 | 8 | 14 | 73 | 49 | 80 | 2nd | R1 | R2 | R3 | — | — | Paul Mullin | 34 |
2021–22 | League 1 | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 58 | 14th | R4 | R2 | QF | — | — | Sam Smith | 21 |
2022–23 | League 1 | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 41 | 68 | 46 | 20th | R2 | R2 | Group | — | — | Sam Smith | 14 |
2023–24 | League 1 | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 48 | 18th | R3 | R1 | Group | — | — | Gassan Ahadme | 13 |
See also
Notes
- The EFL Trophy was called the Associate Members' Cup from 1983 to 1992 and the Football League Trophy from 1992 to 2016.
- Includes goals scored in the Football League, Football Conference, FA Cup, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy, FA Trophy, and Conference League Cup.
- Promoted to Football League Third Division via the play-offs, beating Maidstone United 3–1 on aggregate in the semi-final and Chesterfield 1–0 in the 1990 Football League Fourth Division play-off final.
- Lost in the play-off semi-final to Leicester City 6–1 on aggregate.
- The Second Division was renamed Division One after the teams in the First Division broke away from The Football League to form the FA Premier League.
- Cambridge United were deducted 10 points for entering administration.
- Beat Burton Albion 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-final before losing 1–0 to Exeter City in the 2008 Conference Premier play-off final.
- Beat Stevenage Borough 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-final before losing 2–0 to Torquay United in the 2009 Conference Premier play-off final.
- Promoted to Football League Two via the play-offs, beating FC Halifax Town 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-final and Gateshead 2–1 in the 2014 Conference Premier play-off final.
- The 2019–20 EFL League Two was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions, promotions and relegations decided on a points-per-game basis.
References
- General
- Daw, Paul (1988). United in Endeavour: History of Abbey United/Cambridge United Football Club, 1912–88. Dawn Publications. ISBN 0-9514108-0-6.
- Palmer, Kevin (2000). Cambridge United: The League Era – A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-32-5.
- Specific
- "History of the Football League". The Football League. 22 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013.
- "Cambridge United file for administration". BBC Online. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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Cambridge United F.C. seasons | |
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