The 2020–21 season was Stevenage's seventh consecutive season in League Two and their 45th year in existence. Along with competing in League Two, the club participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
The club were in last place of League Two when the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. EFL clubs formally agreed to end the season during an EFL meeting on 9 June 2020, although "ongoing disciplinary matters" involving 23rd-placed Macclesfield Town, who had not paid their players on six separate occasions during the season, meant Stevenage might be reprieved. Stevenage were initially relegated from League Two after an independent disciplinary panel opted to deduct Macclesfield two points on 19 June, with a further four suspended, the maximum number they could deduct without relegating them. The EFL stated it would appeal against the independent disciplinary panel's sanctions on Macclesfield, winning their appeal against the points deduction on 11 August. This meant that the four suspended points were activated immediately and applied to the 2019–20 season, meaning Stevenage finished in 23rd-place and consequently retained their League Two status.
Stevenage's struggles continued into the 2020–21 season as the team were in last place with only two wins in their first 18 matches. However, from Boxing Day on, the club won 10 matches, drew nine times and only lost five games, finishing in 14th place in the league table.
Transfers Transfers in Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1 July 2020 CF Femi Akinwande Billericay Town Undisclosed 1 July 2020 CF Inih Effiong Dover Athletic Free transfer 1 July 2020 CM Elliot Osborne Stockport County Free transfer 10 July 2020 CB Ross Marshall Maidstone United Free transfer 22 July 2020 GK Billy Johnson Norwich City Free transfer 24 July 2020 DM Romain Vincelot Shrewsbury Town Free transfer 31 July 2020 CF Tyrone Marsh Boreham Wood Free transfer 10 August 2020 CB Luke Prosser Colchester United Free transfer 21 August 2020 CF Marcus Dinanga Telford United Free transfer 16 October 2020 LB Ben Coker Lincoln City Undisclosed 3 November 2020 LM Tom Pett Lincoln City Free transfer 5 January 2021 CM Chris Lines Northampton Town Undisclosed 5 January 2021 CF Luke Norris Colchester United Undisclosed 21 January 2021 LW Jacob Bancroft Oxford City Undisclosed 29 January 2021 LB Joe Martin Northampton Town Undisclosed
Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref. 7 August 2020 LB Ben Coker Lincoln City 16 October 2020 17 August 2020 GK Jamie Cumming Chelsea End of season 26 August 2020 RB Remeao Hutton Birmingham City End of season 10 September 2020 CM Arthur Read Brentford End of season 6 October 2020 CF Jack Aitchison Barnsley End of season 16 October 2020 CF Aramide Oteh Queens Park Rangers 18 January 2021 5 January 2021 CF Matty Stevens Forest Green Rovers End of season 1 February 2021 CM Jack Roles Tottenham Hotspur End of season 2 February 2021 GK David Stockdale Wycombe Wanderers 9 February 2021
Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref. 1 October 2020 CB Jamie Fielding Braintree Town 1 January 2021 1 October 2020 CF Liam Smyth Braintree Town 1 January 2021 9 October 2020 CB Luis Fernandez Oxford City 1 January 2021 2 December 2020 CF Inih Effiong Barnet 5 January 2021 5 January 2021 CF Marcus Dinanga Chesterfield End of season 7 January 2021 RW Femi Akinwande Dartford End of season 11 January 2021 CF Inih Effiong Notts County 2 April 2021 21 January 2021 CB Luis Fernandez Oxford City 28 February 2021
Transfers out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 1 July 2020 GK Sacha Bastien Gillingham Released 1 July 2020 CM Joel Byrom Farsley Celtic Released 1 July 2020 RB Canice Carroll Queen's Park Released 1 July 2020 CF Jake Cassidy York City Released 1 July 2020 CF Jason Cowley Bromsgrove Sporting Released 1 July 2020 DM Diaguely Dabo Kilmarnock Released 1 July 2020 LB Tyler Denton Chesterfield Released 1 July 2020 CB Paul Digby Cambridge United Released 1 July 2020 CB Adam El-Abd Whitehawk Released 1 July 2020 CF Andronicos Georgiou Wycombe Wanderers Released 1 July 2020 CF Simeon Jackson Chelmsford City Released 1 July 2020 MF Jamie Jellis Aylesbury United Released 1 July 2020 CF Ben Kennedy Crusaders Released 1 July 2020 CB Ben Nugent Barnet Released 1 July 2020 CM Dean Parrett Wealdstone Released 1 July 2020 LB Patrick Reading Ayr United Released 1 July 2020 CF Alex Reid Stockport County Released 1 July 2020 RW Joel Rollinson Eastbourne Borough Released 1 July 2020 CM Tom Soares Unattached Released 1 July 2020 RW Emmanuel Sonupe Yeovil Town Released 1 July 2020 CF Paul Taylor Unattached Released 17 August 2020 GK Paul Farman Carlisle United Free transfer 19 September 2020 LM Joe Leslie Woking Free transfer 4 February 2021 CF Tyrone Marsh Boreham Wood Undisclosed 5 April 2021 CB Jamie Fielding Wealdstone Released
Pre-season WinDrawLoss DateOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendance12 August 2020Braintree TownHome5–1 018 August 2020Milton Keynes DonsHome1–1 022 August 2020Luton TownHome0–1—0
Competitions League Two
League table
Results summary
Results by matchday
Matches The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August. WinDrawLoss DateTimeOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendanceReferee12 September 202015:00BarrowAway1–1Effiong 85' (pen.)0Scott Oldham19 September 202015:00Oldham AthleticHome3–0Osborne 61', Wildin 65', Prosser 82'0Charles Breakspear26 September 202015:00Bradford CityAway1–2List 37'0Ollie Yates3 October 202015:00Salford CityHome0–10Craig Hicks10 October 202015:00Mansfield TownAway0–00Seb Stockbridge17 October 202015:00Forest Green RoversAway0–10James Bell20 October 202019:00Newport CountyHome0–10Lee Swabey24 October 202015:00Leyton OrientHome0–20Darren Drysdale27 October 202019:00Harrogate TownAway0–00Graham Salisbury31 October 202015:00Grimsby TownHome0–00Sam Allison3 November 202019:00Colchester UnitedAway1–3Dinanga 15'0James Adcock14 November 202015:00MorecambeAway1–1Oteh 27' (pen.)0Tom Nield21 November 202015:00Bolton WanderersHome1–2Pett 44'0Will Finnie24 November 202015:00Port ValeHome2–1Oteh 10', Newton 53'0Paul Howard2 December 202019:00WalsallAway1–1Oteh 50' (pen.)0Marc Edwards5 December 202015:00Southend UnitedHome0–00Declan Bourne12 December 202015:00Carlisle UnitedAway0–42,000Robert Lewis26 December 202015:00Cheltenham TownAway1–1Aitchison 80'0Chris Sarginson29 December 202017:00Cambridge UnitedHome1–0Carter 22'0Thomas Bramall2 January 202115:00Scunthorpe UnitedHome3–1Carter (2) 11', 22', Oteh 90+2'0Christopher Pollard16 January 202115:00Tranmere RoversHome0–00Lee Swabey23 January 202113:00Exeter CityAway1–3List 81'0Matt Donohue26 January 202115:00Colchester UnitedHome0–00Paul Howard30 January 202115:00Grimsby TownAway2–1List 42', Stevens 90+5'0Anthony Backhouse2 February 202119:00Exeter CityHome0–10Graham Salisbury6 February 202115:00MorecambeHome2–2List 8', Norris 81'0James Oldham9 February 202119:00Tranmere RoversAway1–0Newton 82'0Bobby Madley13 February 202115:00Bolton WanderersAway0–10Trevor Kettle16 February 202119:00Crawley TownAway1–0Osborne 83'0Carl Brook20 February 202115:00WalsallHome1–1List 70'0Antony Coggins23 February 202119:00Port ValeAway0–00Martin Coy27 February 202115:00Newport CountyAway0–00James Bell2 March 202119:00Forest Green RoversHome3–0Newton (2) 30', 37', List 64'0Kevin Johnson6 March 202115:00Harrogate TownHome1–0List 52'0Scott Oldham9 March 202119:00Leyton OrientAway0–00Alan Young13 March 202115:00Southend UnitedAway0–00Peter Wright13 March 202115:00Carlisle UnitedHome3–1Pett 23', Norris 60', Read 71'0Brett Huxtable27 March 202115:00BarrowHome2–1List 53', Norris 87' (pen.)0James Adcock2 April 202115:00Oldham AthleticAway1–0Cuthbert 24'0Ben Toner5 April 202115:00Bradford CityHome1–1Norris 15'0Carl Boyeson10 April 202115:00Salford CityAway1–2Wildin 56'0Andy Haines17 April 202112:30Mansfield TownHome0–10Samuel Barrott20 April 202119:00Cheltenham TownHome0–10Trevor Kettle24 April 202115:00Cambridge UnitedAway1–0Norris 63'0Ross Joyce1 May 202115:00Crawley TownHome3–3Norris (2) 21' (pen.), 74', Read 81'0Declan Bourne8 May 202115:00Scunthorpe UnitedAway0–1List 59'0Ollie Yates
FA Cup
The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October. The second round draw was revealed on Monday, 9 November by Danny Cowley. The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition.
WinDrawLoss RoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendanceReferee15:00Concord RangersHome2–2 Coker 28', Newton 99'0John Busby13:30Hull CityHome1–1 List 79'0Sam Allison15:00Swansea CityHome0–20Michael Salisbury
EFL Cup
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.
WinDrawLoss RoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendanceReferee15:00PortsmouthHome3–31–3 pens.List 9', Carter 10', Cuthbert 29'0Purkiss
EFL Trophy
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.
WinDrawLoss RoundDateTimeOpponentVenueResultScorersAttendanceRefereeGroup stage22 September 202019:00Southampton U21Home2–1Dinanga 45+3', Marsh 90+2'0Alan YoungGroup stage6 October 202017:30Milton Keynes DonsHome2–3Thompson 45+1' (o.g.), Effiong 66' (pen.)0Carl BrookGroup stage17 November 202019:00Northampton TownAway0–02–4 pens.0Chris Sarginson
Statistics Appearances and goals
Last updated 11 May 2021.
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Top scorers Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total goals are equal.
Last updated 11 May 2021.
PositionNationalityPlayerEFL League TwoEFL CupEFL TrophyFA CupTotal1MF17Elliott List9101112FW36Luke Norris700073FW11Danny Newton400154MF7Charlie Carter31004FW28Aramide Oteh400045DF2Luther James-Wildin20002DF5Scott Cuthbert11002MF8Elliot Osborne20002FW9Inih Effiong10102MF19Arthur Read20002FW22Marcus Dinanga10102MF26Tom Pett200026DF3Ben Coker00011DF6Luke Prosser10001FW10Tyrone Marsh00101FW27Jack Aitchison10001FW35Matty Stevens10001Own goals 0 0 1 0 0TOTALS4134351
Clean sheets Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal.
Last updated 11 May 2021.
PositionNationalityPlayerEFL League TwoEFL CupEFL TrophyFA CupTotal1GK1Jamie Cumming17010182GK37David Stockdale20002TOTALS1901020
Disciplinary record Includes all competitive matches.
Last updated 11 May 2021.
PositionNationalityNumberNameLeague TwoEFL CupEFL TrophyFA CupTotalDF 6 Luke Prosser 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1FW 11 Danny Newton 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 0MF 4 Romain Vincelot 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 8 0DF 3 Ben Coker 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0DF 15 Terence Vancooten 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 0DF 12 Remeao Hutton 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0MF 19 Arthur Read 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0DF 2 Luther James-Wildin 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0MF 26 Tom Pett 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 FW 28 Aramide Oteh 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0MF 8 Elliot Osborne 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 MF 16 Arthur Iontton 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0MF 17 Elliott List 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0MF 28 Joe Martin 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0MF 40 Chris Lines 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0DF 5 Scott Cuthbert 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0FW 20 Femi Akinwande 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0FW 35 Matty Stevens 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0FW 36 Luke Norris 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 TOTALS621005040711
Notes
References