Apologies if already posted, taken from FB The smallest margin ever relegating a club was recorded at the end of the 1937/38 season of Division Two, when Barnsley finished the season in 21st place and in the last relegation spot; equal on 36 points with 19th-placed Newcastle United and 20th-placed Nottingham Forest, but with the weakest goal average of the three. While Newcastle had a goal average of 0.8793 (from scoring 51 goals and conceding 58), there was only a minimal difference between Nottingham Forest’s goal average of 0.7833 (47-60) and Barnsley’s of 0.7813 (50-64); just 0.0020. Six seasons earlier, during the 1931/32 season of Division Two, Barnsley had also been relegated after finishing equal on 33 points with Port Vale, but with a goal average 0.0473 weaker. And during the 1921/22 season of Division Two, they had missed out on a first ever promotion to the top flight after finishing third and just outside the promotion spots; equal on 52 points with second-placed Stoke (later to become Stoke City), but with Barnsley having a goal average 0.0752 weaker. Just for the record, some could argue that at least two of the relegations taking place during the 1992/93 to 1998/99 seasons, when the Football League used most scored goals (and not goal difference) as the criteria for separating clubs equal on points, would also candidate. At the end of the 1996/97 season, Hereford were relegated from the Football League after finishing bottom of the Division Three table. In their last match of the season, they drew 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion at Edgar Street; a result that placed both clubs at the bottom of the table on 47 points, with Hereford having a goal difference two goals better than Brighton, but nevertheless relegated after scoring only 50 goals compared to Brighton’s 53. And at the end of the 1998/99 season of Division One, Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers, Port Vale and Bury all finished equal on 47 points from 19th to 22nd place (with only the lowest-placed of the four clubs being relegated). While both Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers had the better goal difference and also had scored the more goals, Bury were relegated to Division Two from having scored only 35 goals compared to Port Vale’s 45 – and despite of having a goal difference five goals better than Port Vale. (Pictured, Brighton’s Robbie Reinelt after scoring his famous equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Hereford at the end of the 1996/97 season; a goal, which eventually saved Brighton from being relegated from the Football League).
My mate was at the Hereford v Brighton game. He’s a red but was married to a Brighton fan and lived down there at the time. His wife had a ST at Oakwell during the premier league season but never came to a single game.
I, on the other hand, who's been supporting Barnsley since the 1970s couldn't get to a game at Oakwell that season....
That mate was one of the few that had a season ticket since the 70s, still has even though he’s now blind. Before the premier league hardly any one bothered with them, then all of a sudden you had to get one or miss out (I’m not sure of the season ticket sales that season) but there were games that didn’t sell out. The tickets didn’t go unused btw.
