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Highest Finishes of Teams Not to Play in English Football's Top Flight

Twenty-one existing football clubs have finished in the top 12 of England's second tier without ever playing in the top division. How many can you name?
Two of the answers are teams that have not played in the Football League for more than a century.
Ten clubs that no longer exist are shown but greyed out.
† denotes club’s only season in the Football League
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Quiz by
Hinckford
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Last updated: May 3, 2026
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First submittedOctober 9, 2023
Times taken728
Average score47.6%
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Position
Season(s)
Club
3rd
1954–55
Rotherham United
4th
1895–96
Burton Wanderers
4th
1900–01
New Brighton Tower
4th
1913–14
Leeds City
4th
1946–47
Chesterfield
4th
1952–53
Plymouth Argyle
4th
1961–62
Scunthorpe United
4th
1992–93
Tranmere Rovers
5th
1901–02
Lincoln City
5th
1930–31
Port Vale
5th
1991–92
Cambridge United
6th
1892–93, 1893–94
Burton Swifts
6th
1955–56, 1958–59
Bristol Rovers
6th
1898–99
Walsall
6th
1904–05
Gainsborough Trinity
6th
1921–22
South Shields (Gateshead)
Position
Season(s)
Club
7th
1892–93
Northwich Victoria
7th
1901–02
Doncaster Rovers
7th
2025–26
Wrexham
8th
1983–84, 1984–85
Shrewsbury Town
8th
1892–93 †
Bootle
8th
1997–98
Stockport County
10th
1901–02
Burton United
10th
1992–93
Peterborough United
10th
2006–07
Colchester United
11th
1893–94 †
Middlesbrough Ironopolis
11th
1997–98
Crewe Alexandra
11th
2002–03
Gillingham
12th
1894–95
Rotherham Town
12th
1895–96
Loughborough
12th
1991–92
Southend United
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