Why York City might just be the unluckiest team in English football - and Jose Mourinho would sympathise

You'd think that losing just three out of 39 games, scoring 104 goals and conceding just 36 in the process, would be more than enough for any side to be comfortably top of the table.

At the very least, you'd expect an automatic promotion place out of it...right?

But that's exactly the position York City are in at the moment, and yet as it stands at the moment, they are set to miss out on going straight up to League Two and would face the dreaded play-offs instead.

Why York City might be the unluckiest team in England

As you might have guesses, York's problem is twofold: they have simply drawn a couple too many games compared with table-topping Rochdale, who are two points ahead having drawn four fewer, with two more wins and two more defeats.

In that sense, there is no particular bad luck involved; that's just how league tables work. York are a very good team, but there is a better one in their division. It happens sometimes. Ask Jurgen Klopp.

Where there is a bit of bad luck involved is that York are some 15 points ahead of the side in third, Carlisle (who, to be fair, have a game in hand).

But with just one automatic promotion place available from the National League, they might as well be ahead of goal difference if they can't overturn Rochdale before the end of the season.

Just to compound York's woes, they were in a strikingly similar position last season, when they finished second to Barnet with 96 points and a goal difference of +53. They went on to lost 3-0 to Oldham in the play-off semi-finals - Oldham having finished 23 points behind York in fifth.

There's also the fact that York were top of the National League North in 2019/20 when the season was abruptly halted by the covid pandemic. The season never resumed and was instead decided on a points-per-game basis, meaning King's Lynn Town got the sole automatic promotion place having accumulated two points fewer but with two games in hand. York were beaten in the play-offs semis by eventual winners Altrincham.

This season, York might be left to count the cost of making a slow start to the season, with three draws and just one win from their first four games before Stuart Maynard was brought in to replace Adam Hinshelwood.

The whole season could well go down to the final day, when York are set to visit - who else? - Rochdale. Tasty. As it stands, though, York might well find sympathy from an unexpected source: Portuguese giants Benfica.

Jose Mourinho's side have been unbeaten all season but still find themselves THIRD in the Liga Portugal, behind Porto and Sporting, who have lost once each (Sporting to Porto, Porto to minnows Casa Pia).

York might also want to get in touch with Swedish women's side Angelholms, who went unbeaten through their Division 4 season in 2024 without conceding a single goal... but still finished second.