2015–16 Football League Championship
Football league season
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The 2015–16 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the twelfth season of the Football League Championship under its current title and it was the twenty-fourth season under its current league structure. The season started on 7 August 2015, and concluded on 7 May 2016.[5] The fixtures were announced on 17 June 2015.
Middlesbrough
Hull City
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Burnley 1st Championship title 3rd 2nd tier title |
| Promoted | Burnley Middlesbrough Hull City |
| Relegated | Bolton Wanderers Milton Keynes Dons Charlton Athletic |
| Matches | 552 |
| Goals | 1,337 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andre Gray (Brentford)/(Burnley) (25 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Hull City 6–0 Charlton Athletic (16 January 2016) Bristol City 6–0 Bolton Wanderers (19 March 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Milton Keynes Dons 0–5 Burnley (12 January 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Queens Park Rangers 4–3 Bolton Wanderers (3 October 2015) Fulham 2–5 Birmingham City (7 November 2015) Rotherham United 2–5 Ipswich Town (7 November 2015) |
| Longest winning run | 6 matches[2] Burnley Middlesbrough |
| Longest unbeaten run | 23 matches[2] Burnley |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches[2] Bolton Wanderers |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches[2] Bolton Wanderers |
| Highest attendance | 33,806[3] Middlesbrough 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion (7 May 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 8,363[4] Brentford 2–1 Cardiff City (19 April 2016) |
| Total attendance | 9,703,004[3] |
| Average attendance | 17,578[3] |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
Teams
A total of 24 teams contested the league, including 18 sides from the 2014–15 season, three relegated from the 2014–15 Premier League and three promoted from the 2014–15 Football League One.
Team changes
The following teams changed division after the 2014–15 season. Blackpool were relegated on 6 April after Rotherham United won against Brighton & Hove Albion. Bristol City secured promotion to the Championship on 14 April after beating Bradford City 6–0.[6] Watford secured promotion to the Premier League on 25 April.[7] Rotherham United won against Reading on 28 April to also send Millwall and Wigan Athletic to League One. Bournemouth secured promotion to the Premier League on the final day on 2 May against Charlton Athletic and won the 2014–15 Football League Championship after Watford slipped up against Sheffield Wednesday. Milton Keynes Dons secured promotion to the Championship after beating Yeovil Town 5–1 after Preston North End slipped up against Colchester United. On 9 May, Burnley became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League despite winning away 1–0 against Hull City as results on the day went against them.[8] On 10 May, Queens Park Rangers were the second team to be relegated from the Premier League after suffering a 6–0 defeat to Manchester City.[9] On 24 May 2015, Hull City were the 3rd and final team to be relegated from the Premier League, finishing 18th in the Premier League. On the same day Preston North End achieved promotion at Wembley via the play-offs. On 25 May 2015, Norwich City won the playoff final, and were promoted to the Premier League.
To Championship
Promoted from League One
Relegated from Premier League
From Championship
Relegated to League One
Promoted to Premier League
Map
Stadia and locations
Personnel and sponsoring
- According to current revision of List of English Football League managers
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentford | End of contract | 15 May 2015[40] | Pre-season | 1 June 2015[41] | ||
| Leeds United | Sacked | 20 May 2015[42] | 20 May 2015 [43] | |||
| Derby County | 25 May 2015 [44] | 1 June 2015 [45] | ||||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 12 June 2015 [46] | 30 June 2015[47] | ||||
| Brentford | 28 September 2015[48] | 19th | 28 September 2015[49] | |||
| Rotherham United | Mutual consent | 28 September 2015[50] | 20th | 9 October 2015[51] | ||
| Leeds United | Sacked | 19 October 2015 [52] | 18th | 19 October 2015 [52] | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 24 October 2015 [53] | 22nd | 14 January 2016 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 4 November 2015 | 18th | 5 November 2015 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 4 November 2015 | 13th | 4 December 2015 | |||
| Fulham | 8 November 2015 | 12th | 27 December 2015 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 10 November 2015 | 16th | 15 November 2015 | |||
| Brentford | End of caretaker spell | 30 November 2015 | 11th | 30 November 2015 | ||
| Reading | Sacked | 4 December 2015[54] | 7th | 17 December 2015[55] | ||
| Bristol City | 14 January 2016 | 22nd | 6 February 2016 | |||
| Rotherham United | 8 February 2016 | 11 February 2016 | ||||
| Derby County | 8 February 2016 | 5th | 27 May 2016[56] | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 13 March 2016 [57] | 14th | 27 June 2016[58] | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | 15 March 2016[59] | 24th | 10 June 2016[60] | |||
Rule changes
The 2015–16 season was the last season under the initial Financial Fair Play rules before the switch to the new rules.[61] Changes to the Championship's financial fair play system allow clubs:[62]
- Acceptable losses of £2 million during the 2015–16 season (down from £3 million during the 2014–15 season)
- Acceptable shareholder equity investment of £3 million during the 2015–16 season.
- Sanctions for exceeding the allowances take effect from the set of accounts due to be submitted on 1 December 2015 for the 2014–15 season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 93 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Middlesbrough (P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 89 | |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 89 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs[a] |
| 4 | Hull City (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 83 | |
| 5 | Derby County | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 78 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 74 | |
| 7 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 69 | |
| 8 | Cardiff City | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 68 | |
| 9 | Brentford | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 72 | 67 | +5 | 65 | |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 63 | |
| 11 | Preston North End | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 62 | |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 60 | |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 59 | |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 58 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 55 | |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 55 | |
| 17 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 52 | |
| 18 | Bristol City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 52 | |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 51 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 66 | 79 | −13 | 51 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 49 | |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 40 | 80 | −40 | 40 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 23 | Milton Keynes Dons (R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 39 | |
| 24 | Bolton Wanderers (R) | 46 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 81 | −40 | 30 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the Premier League.
Play-offs
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | |||||||||
| 4 | Hull City | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | Hull City | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||
| 5 | Derby County | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
The four teams that finished from third to sixth played off, with the winning team, Hull City, gaining the final promotion spot to the Premier League.
In the play-off semi-finals the third placed team played the sixth placed team and the fourth placed team played the fifth placed team. The team that finished in the higher league position played away in the first leg and played at home in the second leg. If the aggregate score was level after both legs, then extra time would be played. If the scores were still level, a penalty shoot-out decided the winner. The away goals rule did apply in the semi-finals. The semi-finals were held on 13–14 and 16–17 May.[63]
The winners from the two semi-finals, Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday, played at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2016 in the play-off final, where Hull City won 1–0.[63] The game is known as the richest game in football as the winning club is guaranteed significantly increased payments e.g. in the 2016-17 season the minimum payment for participating in the Premier League was £95 million. Due to a new TV rights deal, the average payment for a newly promoted club stood at around £100 million.
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[64] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brentford/Burnley | 25 | |
| 2 | Fulham | 21 | |
| 3 | Hull City | 20 | |
| 4 | Bristol City | 18 | |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 17 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers/Middlesbrough | 16 | |
| 8 | Fulham | 15 | |
| Derby County | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[65] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 22 | |
| 2 | Burnley | 20 | |
| 3 | Hull City | 19 | |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 15 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| 5 | Derby County | 14 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | |||
| 6 | Rotherham United | 13 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 12 | |
| Cardiff City | |||
| Blackburn Rovers |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Ipswich Town | 5–1[66] | 11 September 2015 | |
| Birmingham City | Bristol City | 4–2[67] | 12 September 2015 | |
| Ipswich Town | Rotherham United | 5–2[68] | 7 November 2015 | |
| Derby County | Bristol City | 4–0[69] | 15 December 2015 | |
| Burnley | Bristol City | 4–0[70] | 28 December 2015 | |
| Hull City | Charlton Athletic | 6–0[71] | 16 January 2016 | |
| Charlton Athletic | Reading | 3–4[72] | 27 February 2016 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Fulham | 5–0[73] | 15 April 2016 |
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards 14[74]
- Kyle McFadzean (Milton Keynes Dons)
- Most red cards 2[75]
- Patrick Bauer (Charlton Athletic)
- Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday)
- Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
- Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Club
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August | Brighton & Hove Albion | Brighton & Hove Albion | [77] | ||
| September | Middlesbrough | Blackburn Rovers | [78][79] | ||
| October | Brentford | Brentford | [80][81] | ||
| November | Ipswich Town | Ipswich Town | [82] | ||
| December | Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | [83] | ||
| January | Hull City | Hull City | [84] | ||
| February | Burnley | Bristol City | [85][86] | ||
| March | Rotherham United | Burnley | [87][88] | ||
| April | Brighton & Hove Albion | Brighton & Hove Albion | [89] | ||
Attendances
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derby County | 682,249 | 33,010 | 26,834 | 29,663 | +1.5% |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 588,415 | 30,292 | 21,397 | 25,583 | −0.2% |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 566,419 | 33,806 | 19,966 | 24,627 | +25.9% |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 520,738 | 31,843 | 18,706 | 22,641 | +2.9% |
| 5 | Leeds United | 516,261 | 29,311 | 17,103 | 22,446 | −7.5% |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 463,609 | 24,238 | 17,387 | 20,157 | −10.1% |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 452,543 | 27,551 | 16,449 | 19,676 | −16.2% |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 436,756 | 23,615 | 16,488 | 18,989 | −5.1% |
| 9 | Birmingham City | 404,867 | 20,302 | 14,366 | 17,603 | +9.3% |
| 10 | Fulham | 404,023 | 20,316 | 14,283 | 17,566 | −3.9% |
| 11 | Reading | 397,556 | 21,581 | 12,949 | 17,285 | +1.5% |
| 12 | Hull City | 395,568 | 21,842 | 15,139 | 17,199 | −27.0%1 |
| 13 | Burnley | 384,305 | 20,478 | 12,430 | 16,709 | −12.7%1 |
| 14 | Cardiff City | 378,653 | 28,680 | 12,729 | 16,463 | −22.1% |
| 15 | Queens Park Rangers | 367,857 | 18,031 | 14,007 | 15,994 | −10.2%1 |
| 16 | Charlton Athletic | 359,541 | 21,506 | 12,294 | 15,632 | −6.4% |
| 17 | Bristol City | 351,705 | 15,854 | 14,291 | 15,292 | +26.8%2 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 346,299 | 18,423 | 12,257 | 15,056 | −2.3% |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 325,003 | 21,029 | 12,002 | 14,131 | −5.2% |
| 20 | MK Dons | 302,633 | 21,345 | 9,402 | 13,158 | +39.2%2 |
| 21 | Preston North End | 299,801 | 19,852 | 9,963 | 13,035 | +20.1%2 |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town | 290,505 | 17,118 | 9,736 | 12,631 | −7.2% |
| 23 | Brentford | 237,120 | 12,202 | 8,363 | 10,310 | −4.7% |
| 24 | Rotherham United | 230,578 | 11,658 | 8,534 | 10,025 | −2.1% |
| League total | 9,703,004 | 33,806 | 8,363 | 17,578 | +2.9% |
Source: "Sky Bet Championship 15/16 Home attendance". statbunker.com. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
Notes:
1: Team played in Premier League last season.
2: Team played in League One last season.