Football League Fourth Division 1971/72
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Grimsby Town | 46 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 88 | 56 | 1.571 | 63 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Southend United | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 81 | 55 | 1.473 | 60 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Brentford | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 76 | 44 | 1.727 | 59 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 56 | 37 | 1.514 | 57 | ▲Promoted |
| 5th | Lincoln City | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 77 | 59 | 1.305 | 56 | - |
| 6th | Workington | 46 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 50 | 34 | 1.471 | 51 | - |
| 7th | Southport | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 66 | 46 | 1.435 | 50 | - |
| 8th | Peterborough United | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 82 | 64 | 1.281 | 50 | - |
| 9th | Bury | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 73 | 59 | 1.237 | 50 | - |
| 10th | Cambridge United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 60 | 1.033 | 48 | - |
| 11th | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 48 | - |
| 12th | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 56 | 63 | 0.889 | 46 | - |
| 13th | Gillingham | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 61 | 67 | 0.910 | 45 | - |
| 14th | Newport County | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 72 | 0.833 | 44 | - |
| 15th | Exeter City | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 61 | 68 | 0.897 | 43 | - |
| 16th | Reading | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 56 | 76 | 0.737 | 42 | - |
| 17th | Aldershot | 46 | 9 | 22 | 15 | 48 | 54 | 0.889 | 40 | - |
| 18th | Hartlepool | 46 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 58 | 69 | 0.841 | 40 | - |
| 19th | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 64 | 82 | 0.780 | 39 | - |
| 20th | Chester | 46 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 47 | 56 | 0.839 | 38 | - |
| 21st | Northampton Town | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 66 | 79 | 0.835 | 37 | Re-Elected |
| 22nd | 
Barrow |
46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 71 | 0.563 | 37 | ▼Not Re-Elected |
| 23rd | Stockport County | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 55 | 87 | 0.632 | 32 | Re-Elected |
| 24th | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 10 | 9 | 27 | 43 | 69 | 0.623 | 29 | Re-Elected |
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|
Election for League Membership |
||
| The bottom four league sides faced re-election and were joined by 12 non-league clubs in the vote for league membership. | ||
| Votes | Club | End Result |
| 49 | Northampton Town | Re Elected to the League |
| 46 | Crewe Alexandra | Re Elected to the League |
| 46 | Stockport County | Re Elected to the League |
| 26 | Barrow | Went to a 2nd Ballot |
| 26 | Hereford United | Went to a 2nd Ballot |
| 1 | Bradford Park Avenue | Not Elected to the League |
| 1 | Cambridge City | Not Elected to the League |
| 1 | Wimbledon | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Bangor City | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Bedford Town | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Boston United | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Hillingdon Borough | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Romford | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Telford United | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Wigan Athletic | Not Elected to the League |
| 0 | Yeovil Town | Not Elected to the League |
|
Election for League Membership - 2nd Ballot |
||
| Votes | Club | End Result |
| 29 | Hereford United | ▲Elected to the League |
| 20 | Barrow | ▼Not Re Elected to the League |
|
End of Season Notes |
| ▼Mansfield Town were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Barnsley were were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Torquay United were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▼Bradford City were Relegated from the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Grimsby Town were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Southend United were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Brentford were Promoted to the Football League Third Division |
| ▲Scunthorpe United were Promoted the Football League Third Division |
| ♦ Northampton Town were Re-Elected to the League |
| ♦ Stockport County were Re-Elected to the League |
| ♦ Crewe Alexandra were Re-Elected to the League |
| ▼Barrow were Not Re-Elected to the League |
| ▲Hereford United were Elected to the Football League |