We have ranked every club for league improvement in England’s top four tiers – so where does your club sit?
We calculated how much each club in England has improved or declined since last season by measuring the difference in points – excluding teams that were promoted or relegated last term.
Based on those metrics, Premier League-bound Wolves are the most-improved club with their 99 points being 70.7 per cent more than their 58 last season.
Shrewsbury are a close second with 70.6 per cent improvement, having reached the League One play-off final after beating Charlton 2-0 on aggregate.
There is a gulf behind the top two, with Cardiff (+45.2 per cent) and Accrington (+43.1 per cent) both achieving promotion to the Premier League and League One, respectively, to become England’s third and fourth most-improved teams.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche is a candidate for Premier League manager of the season, and rightly so: his side are the fifth most-improved team across all four tiers, collecting 54 points this term – that is 14 more than last term.
Manchester City are the only other top-flight team to make the top 10 after being crowned champions and becoming the first team in Premier League history to reach 100 points – a mighty 27.2 per cent more than last season.
Notts County (+37.5 per cent), Newport County (+33.3 per cent), Bristol City (+24.1 per cent), Wycombe (+21.7 per cent), Charlton (+18.3 per cent) and Manchester United (+17.8 per cent) are also among the most-improved teams.
Aston Villa managed only 62 points in the Championship last season, after being relegated from the Premier League in 2015/16, but are challenging for promotion via the play-offs this term with 83 points – a 33.9 per cent improvement.
In terms of teams in decline, Reading suffered the biggest drop, collecting nearly half as many points this season with 44 – compared with 85 last season (-48.2 per cent).
Stoke and West Brom were both relegated from the Premier League this season and are among the teams in biggest decline, joined by Fleetwood Town (-30.5 per cent), Sheffield Wednesday (-29.6 per cent) and Barnsley (-29.3 per cent).
Of the teams promoted in 2016/17, Championship side Millwall have been the most effective – ending the season on 72 points – one shy of their tally during the previous season in League One.
Teams promoted in 2016/17
| Team | Tier in 2017/18 | Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Millwall | 2 | -1.4% |
| Blackpool | 3 | -14.3% |
| Plymouth | 3 | -21.8% |
| Portsmouth | 3 | -24.1% |
| Lincoln | 4 | -24.2% |
| Sheffield United | 2 | -31.0% |
| Doncaster | 3 | -34.1% |
| Huddersfield | 1 | -43.2% |
| Newcastle | 1 | -44.3% |
| Brighton | 1 | -45.0% |
| Forest Green | 4 | -45.3% |
| Bolton | 2 | -50.0% |
Meanwhile, of teams that were relegated in 2016/17, Port Vale are the only side to have declined (-4.1 per cent).
Sunderland suffered relegation for a second successive season – despite recording 27 per cent more points, on average, than during the Premier League campaign in 2016/17 this season.
Team relegated in 2016/17
| Club | 2017/18 tier | Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Rotherham | 3 | 243.5% |
| Wigan | 3 | 133.3% |
| Middlesbrough | 2 | 124.2% |
| Coventry | 4 | 92.3% |
| Blackburn | 3 | 88.2% |
| Swindon | 4 | 54.5% |
| Sunderland | 2 | 27.4% |
| Hull | 2 | 19.1% |
| Chesterfield | 4 | 2.7% |
| Port Vale | 4 | -4.1% |
In contrast, Rotherham (+243.5 per cent) , Wigan (+133.3 per cent), Middlesbrough (+124.2 per cent) , Coventry (+92.3 per cent) and Blackburn (+88.2 per cent) have all achieved far greater success after dropping a tier.
Check out where your team ranks for improvement among all four tiers in England below…
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