List of Stevenage F.C. seasons

Stevenage Football Club is an English association football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club were formed in 1976 following the demise of the town's former team, Stevenage Athletic.[1] They took on senior status and joined the United Counties Football League in 1980.[2] In their first season as a senior club, the team won the United Counties League Division One championship, as well as the United Counties League Cup.[1] In 1984, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League, and the following season earned promotion to Division One. Two years later, the club was relegated,[3] but then won Division Two North during the 1990–91 season, winning 34 of their 42 games, including every match played at home, scoring 122 goals and amassing 107 points.[3] During the 1993–94 campaign the club won the Premier Division, and were promoted to the Football Conference.[1] Two seasons later they won the Conference,[4] but were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities.[2] The 1996–97 season saw the club progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time.[5] The team were drawn against Birmingham City at Broadhall Way, but ground issues saw the tie switched to St Andrew's; Birmingham won the match 2–0.[6] The following season, Stevenage reached the fourth round, where they drew Premier League club Newcastle United, drawing 1–1 at Broadhall Way,[7] before losing the replay 2–1 at St James' Park.[8]

During the 2001–02 season the club reached the FA Trophy final for the first time, losing 2–0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park.[9] Two years later, during the 2004–05 season, the club made the play-offs after finishing fifth under the guidance of manager Graham Westley.[10] After beating second-placed Hereford United over two-legs in the semi-final,[11][12] the side lost the final 1–0 to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium.[13] The club reached the FA Trophy final again during the 2006–07 campaign,[14] where they came back from 2–0 down to beat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in front of a record FA Trophy crowd of 53,262 at the new Wembley Stadium.[15] The team reached the final again two years later, and beat York City 2–0.[16] Stevenage won promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference Premier during the 2009–10 season.[17] The team amassed 99 points for the season; finishing 11 points clear at the top of the table. Had the club's two wins against Chester City counted, Stevenage would have broken the record for the number of points any club has accumulated over any Conference Premier season, recording 105 points.[18] The club's promotion during the 2009–10 season meant that Stevenage would be competing in League Two for the first time in their history.[17]

Stevenage finished sixth in their first season in the Football League,[19] reaching the play-offs,[20][21] where they defeated Torquay United 1–0 in the Final at Old Trafford in May 2011, meaning the club had earned back-to-back promotions into League One.[22] During the same season, Stevenage reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, defeating Newcastle United 3–1 at Broadhall Way, before eventually losing to Reading in the following round.[23][24][25] In the club's first season in League One during the 2011–12 season, the team achieved their highest league finish to date, reaching the play-offs after finishing in sixth place. They went on to lose in the play-off semi-final.[26][27] Stevenage also reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history that season, eventually losing 3–1 to Tottenham Hotspur in a replay at White Hart Lane,[28] after the two teams drew at Broadhall Way.[29] The club suffered relegation back to League Two during the 2013–14 season. It was almost an immediate return to League One the following year as the club reached the play-offs courtesy of a sixth-placed finish, although lost at the semi-final stage.[30][31] The club were in last place in League Two during the 2019–20 season when the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.[32] Stevenage were initially relegated following an independent disciplinary panel's decision to deduct Macclesfield Town, who had not paid their players on six separate occasions during the campaign, two points.[33][34] The English Football League successfully appealed the sanctions meaning Stevenage retained their League Two status.[35]