2009–10 Football League Championship
Football league season
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The 2009–10 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 7 August 2009.[3]
1st Championship title
3rd 2nd tier title
| Season | 2009–10 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Newcastle United 1st Championship title 3rd 2nd tier title |
| Promoted | Newcastle United West Bromwich Albion Blackpool |
| Relegated | Sheffield Wednesday Plymouth Argyle Peterborough United |
| Matches | 557 |
| Goals | 1,446 (2.6 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Peter Whittingham (22) |
| Biggest home win | Reading 6–0 Peterborough |
| Biggest away win | Bristol City 0–6 Cardiff City |
| Highest scoring | Peterborough 4–4 Cardiff Derby 5–3 Preston Bristol City 5–3 Barnsley |
| Longest winning run | Newcastle United (7 games, twice)[1] |
| Longest unbeaten run | Nottingham Forest (19 games)[1] |
| Longest losing run | Plymouth Argyle (7 games)[1] |
| Highest attendance | 52,381[2] Newcastle United 2–2 Ipswich Town |
| Lowest attendance | 4,995[1] Scunthorpe United 4–0 Peterborough United |
| Average attendance | 18,119[2] |
← 2008–09 2010–11 → | |

Changes from previous season
Team changes
From Championship
Promoted to Premier League
Relegated to League One
To Championship
Relegated from Premier League
Promoted from League One
Rule changes
On field rule changes
- 'Home Grown Players' rule which aims to encourage the development of young footballers at League clubs. The new rule will require clubs to name at least four players in their matchday squad that have been registered domestically, for a minimum of three seasons, prior to their 21st birthday
- For the first time clubs will also have the opportunity to name seven substitutes (previously five), three of which may enter the field of play (no change)[4]
Note: "Amendments to the laws of the game 2009–2010" also applied[5]
Off field rule changes
Team overview
Stadia and locations
1 Ground contains some terracing
Personnel and sponsoring
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queens Park Rangers | End of caretaker spell | 9 April 2009 | Pre-season | 3 June 2009 | ||
| Reading | Resigned | 12 May 2009 | 5 June 2009 | |||
| Watford | Signed by Reading | 5 June 2009 | 15 June 2009 | |||
| Swansea City | Signed by Wigan Athletic | 15 June 2009 | 23 June 2009 | |||
| West Bromwich Albion | Signed by Celtic | 16 June 2009 | 30 June 2009 | |||
| Barnsley | Sacked | 29 August 2009 | 24th | 11 September 2009 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 20 October 2009 | 3rd | 26 October 2009 | |||
| Peterborough United | Mutual consent | 9 November 2009 | 24th | 14 November 2009 | ||
| Plymouth Argyle | Promoted to business support | 10 December 2009 | 23rd | 10 December 2009 | ||
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sacked | 13 December 2009 | 22nd | 8 January 2010 | ||
| Reading | Mutual consent | 16 December 2009 | 21st | 27 January 2010 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 14th | 17 December 2009 | ||||
| Preston North End | Sacked | 29 December 2009 | 16th | 6 January 2010 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | Mutual consent | 14 January 2010 | 20th | 1 March 2010 | ||
| Peterborough United | Sacked | 1 February 2010 | 24th | 1 February 2010 | ||
| Crystal Palace | Signed by Queens Park Rangers | 1 March 2010 | 21st | 2 March 2010 | ||
| Bristol City | Mutual consent | 18 March 2010 | 16th | 22 April 2010 | ||
| Peterborough United | 6 April 2010 | 24th | 6 April 2010 | |||
League table
A total of 24 teams contested the division, including 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the Premier League, and three promoted from League One.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United (C, P) | 46 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 90 | 35 | +55 | 102 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 89 | 48 | +41 | 91 | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 65 | 40 | +25 | 79 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Cardiff City | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 73 | 54 | +19 | 76 | |
| 5 | Leicester City | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 76 | |
| 6 | Blackpool (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 74 | 58 | +16 | 70 | |
| 7 | Swansea City | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 69 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 65 | |
| 9 | Reading | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 68 | 63 | +5 | 63 | |
| 10 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 63 | |
| 11 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 62 | |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 60 | |
| 13 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 57 | |
| 14 | Derby County | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 56 | |
| 15 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 50 | 61 | −11 | 56 | |
| 16 | Watford | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 61 | 68 | −7 | 54 | |
| 17 | Preston North End | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 58 | 73 | −15 | 54 | |
| 18 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 54 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 47 | 64 | −17 | 54 | |
| 20 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 62 | 84 | −22 | 52 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 50 | 53 | −3 | 49[a] | |
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 47 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 23 | Plymouth Argyle (R) | 46 | 11 | 8 | 27 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 41 | |
| 24 | Peterborough United (R) | 46 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 46 | 80 | −34 | 34 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Play-offs
| Semi-finals | Final at Wembley | ||||||||||
| 6 | Blackpool | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| 6 | Blackpool | 3 | |||||||||
| 4 | Cardiff City | 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | Leicester City | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Cardiff City (p) | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
First leg
| Leicester City | 0–1 | Cardiff City |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) |
Second leg
Blackpool win 6–4 on aggregate
Cardiff City 3–3 Leicester City on aggregate. Cardiff City win 4–3 on penalties
Final
Blackpool are promoted to the Premier League
Results
Fixtures for the 2009–10 season were announced by The Football League on 17 June 2009.[3][7]
Top goalscorers and assists
|
|
Season statistics
Scoring
- First goal of the season: Miles Addison for Derby County against Peterborough United, 4:00 minutes (8 August 2009)[10]
- Fastest goal in a match: 23 seconds
- Billy Clarke for Blackpool against Preston North End (30 November 2009)
- Daryl Murphy for Ipswich Town against Middlesbrough (6 February 2010)[11]
- Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+6:12 – Pablo Couñago for Ipswich Town against Coventry City (16 January 2010)[12]
- First own goal of the season: Kaspars Gorkšs (Queens Park Rangers) for Plymouth Argyle, 90+2:26 minutes (15 August 2009)[13]
- First penalty kick of the season: Paul Hartley (scored) for Bristol City against Preston North End, 48:35 (8 August 2009)[14]
- Widest winning margin: 6
- Most goals in one half: 6
- Newcastle United 6–1 Barnsley (5 March 2010)
- Bristol City 2–5 Doncaster Rovers (5 March 2010)
- Most goals in one half by a single team: 5
- Newcastle United 6–1 Barnsley (5 March 2010)
- Most goals scored by losing team: 3
- Most goals scored by one player in a match: 4
- Michael Chopra (Cardiff City vs. Derby County) – 36, 57, 62, 75 minutes (29 September 2009)[19]
| Hat-tricks | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Nationality | For | Against | Result | Goals scored | Date | Ref |
| Shola Ameobi | Nigeria | Newcastle United | Reading | 3–0 | 3 | 15 August 2009 | |
| Michael Chopra | England | Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle | 3–1 | 3 | 18 August 2009 | |
| Kevin Nolan | England | Newcastle United | Ipswich Town | 4–0 | 3 | 26 September 2009 | |
| Michael Chopra | England | Cardiff City | Derby County | 6–1 | 4 | 29 September 2009 | |
| Peter Whittingham | England | Cardiff City | Sheffield United | 4–3 | 3 | 24 October 2009 | |
| Darius Henderson | England | Sheffield United | Bristol City | 3–2 | 3 | 28 November 2009 | |
| Robert Earnshaw | Wales | Nottingham Forest | Leicester City | 5–1 | 3 | 5 December 2009 | |
| Freddy Eastwood | Wales | Coventry City | Peterborough United | 3–2 | 3 | 12 December 2009 | |
| Paul Gallagher | Scotland | Leicester City | Scunthorpe United | 5–1 | 3 | 13 February 2010 | |
Discipline
- First yellow card of the season: Rhys Williams for Middlesbrough against Sheffield United, 49:15 minutes (7 August 2009)[20]
- First red card of the season: Luke Chambers for Nottingham Forest against Reading, 87:41 minutes (8 August 2009)[21]
- Card given at latest point in a game: Wes Morgan (yellow) at 90+7:07 minutes for Nottingham Forest against Bristol City (3 April 2010)[22]
- Most yellow cards in a single match: 9
- Bristol City 2–3 Sheffield United – 4 for Bristol City (Lee Johnson, Louis Carey, Jamie McAllister and Ivan Sproule) and 5 for Sheffield United (Jamie Ward, Kyle Walker, Darius Henderson, Jordan Stewart and Stephen Quinn) (28 November 2009)
- Cardiff City 2–3 Leicester City – 3 for Cardiff City (Paul Quinn, Mark Hudson, Stephen McPhail) and 6 for Leicester City (Alex Bruce, Nolberto Solano, Andy King, Lloyd Dyer, Richie Wellens, Steve Howard) (11 May 2010)[23]
- Quickest card given at the start of the match: 26 Seconds – Nicky Maynard for Bristol City against Nottingham Forest (7 November 2009)[24]
- Quickest card given after coming on: 1:07 minutes – Alassane N'Diaye for Crystal Palace against Blackpool (20 March 2010)[25]
- Most fouls: Jay Bothroyd 103 fouls
- Total number of yellow cards: 1636
- Total number of red cards: 86
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August | Newcastle United | Newcastle United | [26] | ||
| September | Newcastle United | Coventry City | [27][28] | ||
| October | Cardiff City | Cardiff City | [29][30] | ||
| November | Newcastle United | Crystal Palace | [31][32] | ||
| December | Nottingham Forest | Nottingham Forest | [33][34] | ||
| January | Sheffield Wednesday | Blackpool | [35][36] | ||
| February | Leicester City | Leicester City | [37] | ||
| March | Reading | Reading | [38][39] | ||
| April | Newcastle United | Newcastle United | [38][40] | ||
Team of the Year
PFA Team of the Year
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Events
Controversy
- 15 August 2009
During a game between Bristol City and Crystal Palace, Freddie Sears scored a goal that ricocheted off the stanchion and went back out, but the linesman didn't see the goal and so it was disallowed.[42] Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock called for a replay.[43] Following the game, the three officials were suspended until it could be solved.[44]
- 28 November 2009
The tie between Plymouth and Barnsley was abandoned after 58 minutes because of heavy rain affecting the pitch. Barnsley were winning 4–1 and manager Mark Robins argued that it was a "let off" for Plymouth and that the travelling Barnsley fans should be reimbursed.[45] The postponed match took place on 30 March, where it ended in a 0–0 draw.[46]
Crystal Palace administration
On 27 January 2010, the Football League had announced that Crystal Palace had been placed into administration and Sheffield firm P&A Partnership were appointed as administrators for the club. Palace were docked ten points and dropped from 9th to 21st.[47] They managed to survive another season in the Championship, but only after drawing 2–2 with Sheffield Wednesday on the final day and confined Wednesday to League One football in 2010–11.[48]
Attendances
Source:[49]
| No. | Club | Average | Change | Highest | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United | 43,388 | -11.0% | 52,181 | 36,944 |
| 2 | Derby County | 29,230 | -0.7% | 33,010 | 26,186 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 25,120 | -3.5% | 29,210 | 22,555 |
| 4 | Leicester City | 23,943 | 18.2% | 31,759 | 18,928 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 23,831 | 6.9% | 29,155 | 18,332 |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 23,179 | 7.6% | 37,121 | 18,329 |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 22,199 | -14.0% | 25,297 | 19,390 |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 20,841 | -0.6% | 27,059 | 19,283 |
| 9 | Cardiff City | 20,717 | 14.8% | 25,630 | 17,686 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 19,948 | -29.8% | 27,721 | 16,847 |
| 11 | Reading | 17,408 | -12.7% | 23,163 | 14,096 |
| 12 | Coventry City | 17,305 | -0.6% | 22,209 | 14,426 |
| 13 | Swansea City | 15,407 | 1.5% | 18,794 | 12,775 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 14,771 | -3.0% | 20,643 | 12,328 |
| 15 | Bristol City | 14,601 | -13.2% | 19,144 | 13,009 |
| 16 | Watford | 14,345 | -3.5% | 17,120 | 12,179 |
| 17 | Queens Park Rangers | 13,349 | -5.3% | 17,082 | 10,940 |
| 18 | Barnsley | 12,964 | -1.7% | 20,079 | 11,116 |
| 19 | Preston North End | 12,935 | -3.7% | 19,840 | 10,270 |
| 20 | Doncaster Rovers | 10,992 | -8.1% | 14,850 | 8,827 |
| 21 | Plymouth Argyle | 10,316 | -9.7% | 14,792 | 7,243 |
| 22 | Peterborough United | 8,913 | 17.3% | 12,877 | 6,445 |
| 23 | Blackpool | 8,611 | 9.8% | 12,296 | 6,855 |
| 24 | Scunthorpe United | 6,464 | 28.7% | 8,921 | 4,995 |