1920–21 in English football
# 1920–21 in English football

The 1920–21 season was the 46th season of competitive football in England.

## Overview

The Football League Third Division is introduced, expanding the League's operational radius south of Birmingham. Cardiff City, however, as the strongest club in Wales in the era, is invited directly into the Second Division, and Grimsby Town takes its place in the new Third Division, thereby being the first club relegated to the League's third tier. Leeds United is also elected into the Second Division to replace Leeds City after its debacle. Lincoln City is not re-elected to the Second Division and thus Port Vale's Second Division place is formalized as well.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner | Runner-up |
| - | - | - |
| First Division | Burnley (1) | Manchester City |
| Second Division | Birmingham | Cardiff City |
| Third Division | Crystal Palace | Southampton† |
| FA Cup | Tottenham Hotspur (2) | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| Charity Shield | Tottenham Hotspur | Burnley |
| Home Championship | Scotland | Wales & England |

† Not promoted

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League

### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Burnley (C) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 79 | 36 | 2.194 | 59 | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 54 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 77 | 53 | 1.453 | 52 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 63 | 35 | 1.800 | 51 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 50 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 70 | 48 | 1.458 | 47 | |
| 7 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 47 | |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 53 | 53 | 1.000 | 46 | |
| 9 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 44 | |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 63 | 70 | 0.900 | 43 | |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 57 | 59 | 0.966 | 41 | |
| 12 | Sunderland | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 60 | 0.950 | 41 | |
| 13 | Manchester United | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 64 | 68 | 0.941 | 40 | |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 54 | 58 | 0.931 | 40 | |
| 15 | Bradford City | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 61 | 63 | 0.968 | 39 | |
| 16 | Preston North End | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 39 | |
| 17 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 49 | 0.857 | 39 | |
| 18 | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 58 | 0.828 | 39 | |
| 19 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 49 | 86 | 0.570 | 33 | |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 42 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 42 | 68 | 0.618 | 30 | |
| 21 | Derby County (R) | 42 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 32 | 58 | 0.552 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Bradford Park Avenue (R) | 42 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 43 | 76 | 0.566 | 24 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Birmingham | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 79 | 38 | 2.079 | 58 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 32 | 1.844 | 58 | Promoted |
| 3 | Bristol City | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 49 | 29 | 1.690 | 51 | |
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 54 | 42 | 1.286 | 50 | |
| 5 | West Ham United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 30 | 1.700 | 48 | |
| 6 | Notts County | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 47 | |
| 7 | Clapton Orient | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 42 | 1.024 | 45 | |
| 8 | South Shields | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 44 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 43 | 47 | 0.915 | 42 | |
| 10 | The Wednesday | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 48 | 1.000 | 41 | |
| 11 | Bury | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 49 | 0.918 | 40 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 39 | 46 | 0.848 | 40 | |
| 13 | Hull City | 42 | 10 | 20 | 12 | 43 | 53 | 0.811 | 40 | |
| 14 | Leeds United | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 45 | 0.889 | 38 | |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 49 | 66 | 0.742 | 38 | |
| 16 | Barnsley | 42 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 50 | 0.960 | 36 | |
| 17 | Port Vale | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 43 | 49 | 0.878 | 36 | |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 48 | 55 | 0.873 | 36 | |
| 19 | Rotherham County | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 53 | 0.698 | 36 | |
| 20 | Stoke | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 46 | 56 | 0.821 | 35 | |
| 21 | Coventry City | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 39 | 70 | 0.557 | 35 | |
| 22 | Stockport County | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 42 | 75 | 0.560 | 30 | Relegated |

* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Southern League
* ↑ New club in the league; elected from Midland League

### Third Division

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 70 | 34 | 2.059 | 59 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Southampton | 42 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 64 | 28 | 2.286 | 54 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 32 | 1.906 | 53 | |
| 4 | Swindon Town | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 73 | 49 | 1.490 | 52 | |
| 5 | Swansea Town | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 56 | 45 | 1.244 | 51 | |
| 6 | Watford | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 59 | 44 | 1.341 | 48 | |
| 7 | Millwall | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 30 | 1.400 | 47 | |
| 8 | Merthyr Town | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 60 | 49 | 1.224 | 45 | |
| 9 | Luton Town | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 61 | 56 | 1.089 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 68 | 57 | 1.193 | 43 | |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 11 | 21 | 10 | 35 | 34 | 1.029 | 43 | |
| 12 | Portsmouth | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 46 | 48 | 0.958 | 39 | |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 49 | 59 | 0.831 | 39 | |
| 14 | Northampton Town | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 38 | |
| 15 | Newport County | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 64 | 0.672 | 37 | |
| 16 | Norwich City | 42 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 44 | 53 | 0.830 | 36 | |
| 17 | Southend United | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 44 | 61 | 0.721 | 36 | |
| 18 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 42 | 61 | 0.689 | 36 | |
| 19 | Exeter City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 35 | |
| 20 | Reading | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 42 | 59 | 0.712 | 31 | |
| 21 | Brentford | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 42 | 67 | 0.627 | 30 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Gillingham | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 74 | 0.459 | 28 | Re-elected |

* ↑ relegated from 2nd Div. All others new club in the league; elected from Southern League

### Top goalscorers

First Division

* Joe Smith (Bolton Wanderers) – 38 goals

Second Division

* Syd Puddefoot (West Ham United) – 29 goals

Third Division

* John Conner (Crystal Palace), Ernie Simms (Luton Town) and George Whitworth (Northampton Town) – 28 goals
