Commonly, Wednesday are put 5th in the list of league clubs, but current research should actually place Wednesday in third place.
Chesterfield traditionally have a foundation date of 1866, but recent research actually puts the official foundation date in October.
Stoke claim a foundation date of 1863, but there is no evidence of their existance until 1868. Relying on heresay evidence for dates is very dangerous. Wednesday claimed a foundation date of 1866 for much of their history, until someone pointed out that the announcement of creation was made in 1867.
Oldest League Clubs
1864 Notts County
1865 Nottingham Forest
1867 Sheffield Wednesday (September)
1867 Chesterfield (October)
1868 Stoke
1867 Sheffield Wednesday (September)
1867 Chesterfield (October)
1868 Stoke