Burton Albion

1950–1998: early years

Burton Albion were formed in 1950, and joined the Birmingham & District League. They finished the 1953–54 season as runners-up, and in 1958–59 joined the Southern League North Western zone. In 1965–66, Burton missed out on the runners-up place on goal difference, but were still promoted to the Southern League Premier Division. They avoided relegation in 1968, due to Stevenage Town folding, but were relegated to Division One after an unsuccessful 1969–70 season.

Burton missed out on promotion on goal average in 1970–71, but finished as runners-up the following season and were promoted back to the Premier Division. The next two seasons saw them relegated, and then promoted back to the Premier Division again. They stayed in the same division until being relegated once more at the end of 1976–77. League rearrangements saw Burton moved to the Northern Premier League, because of their location in the central Midlands, and then back to the Southern League in 1987–88, the season after losing in a replayed FA Trophy Final to Kidderminster Harriers.

Into the new millennium

In October 1998, Nigel Clough was appointed as player-manager and he led the club to two successive runners-up spots, in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Burton were again moved to the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2001–02, which they won by a margin of 15 points, scoring 106 goals in the process. The club were promoted to the Football Conference for the first time.

The club was brought to national attention when they were drawn at home against eleven-times winners Manchester United in the third round of the 2005–06 FA Cup. The Brewers held the Premier League team to a 0–0 draw at home, but lost the replay 5–0 in front of over 11,000 Burton fans, setting a record for number of away fans at Old Trafford.

2009–present: Football League and rise to the championship

In January 2009, with Burton 13 points clear at the top of the table, Clough left the club to become the manager of Derby County, with Roy McFarland installed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Despite this managerial change, Burton went on to set a league record for the most consecutive wins, and in February 2009, when the team was 19 points clear at the top of the table, Conference sponsors Blue Square declared Burton the winners of the 2008–09 title in a public relations stunt, in which they paid out all bets. Following that announcement, the club saw their lead reduced week by week, but secured promotion to the Football League in the final game of the season, despite losing 2–1 away to Torquay United, when Cambridge United could only manage a goalless draw to Altrincham. At the end of the season Roy McFarland left the club and was replaced by Paul Peschisolido, with Gary Rowett acting as his assistant.

Burton's first win in the Football League was 5–2 against Morecambe at the Pirelli Stadium, and they finished 13th in their first campaign in the Football League. In their second season, Burton claimed a notable scalp in the FA Cup third round when they knocked out championship team Middlesbrough 2–1 at the Pirelli Stadium. In the league, Burton experienced a 17-game winless run and fell from fifth place on Boxing Day to 17th place at the end of the 2011–12 season, which led to the sacking of Peschisolido.

Gary Rowett was appointed as the new manager of Burton in May 2012. In his first full season in charge, he led Burton to a fourth-place finish and the play-offs, missing out on automatic promotion by two points. Burton lost their play-off semi-final 4–5 on aggregate to Bradford City despite winning the first leg 3–2 at Valley Parade. In the 2013–14 season, Burton finished sixth, reaching the play-off final in which they lost 1–0 against Fleetwood Town.

During the 2014–15 season, Rowett left to join Birmingham City, and was replaced by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Under Hasselbaink, the Brewers won League Two and were promoted to League One for the first time in their history. Hasselbaink left by mutual consent in December 2015 to join Queens Park Rangers as manager. Clough returned to Burton to replace him for his second spell as manager and led the club to a second-place finish in the league, earning promotion to the Football League Championship, another first for Burton.

The Brewers opened their first season in the championship with a 4–3 loss to local rivals Nottingham Forest. Burton went on a six-match streak without losing between 18 February and 18 March, beginning with a 2–1 win at home to ex-Premier League opponents Norwich City and culminating in a 3–5 defeat to Brentford and including a 1–0 win over Nottingham Forest in the reverse fixture. Burton secured their championship status on 29 April 2017 after a 1–1 draw with Barnsley. Burton spent much of their second season in the championship in the relegation zone. three wins in the late stage of the season boosted their chances of survival, including a 2–1 win over relegation rivals Sunderland. However, following a 2–1 defeat to Preston North End on the final day of the season, Burton were relegated back to League One.

In 2018–19, in spite of being in mid-table in League One, they made the semi-finals of the EFL Cup, after wins over Shrewsbury Town, Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. Facing Manchester City, Burton lost the first leg 9–0 at the Etihad Stadium, eventually losing 10–0 on aggregate.