2007–08 Football League Championship

Football League Championship
Season2007–08
PromotedWest Bromwich Albion (champions)
Stoke City (runners up)
Hull City (play-off winners)
RelegatedLeicester City
Colchester United
Scunthorpe United
Goals scored1,394
Average goals/game2.53
Top goalscorerSylvan Ebanks-Blake (23)
Biggest home winIpswich Town 6–0 Bristol City
(2007-11-10)
Highest attendance36,208
Sheffield Wednesday v Norwich City
Average attendance17,067[1]

The 2007–08 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season under its current league division format and its fourth with its current sponsorship. The leagues started in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals.

The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The top divisions of these is the League Championship. The winner and the runner up of the League Championship will be automatically promoted to the Premiership and they will be joined by the winner of the League Championship play-off. The bottom three teams in the Championship will be relegated to the second division, League One.

West Bromwich Albion finished top of the league with 81 points, closely followed by Stoke City who had 79 points. Hull City were promoted through the play-offs. Colchester and Scunthorpe United were both relegated several weeks before the end of the season. However, in a very tight league, with a gap of only 29 points between top and 22nd place, the final team to be relegated, Leicester City, went down on the final day while six other teams were within three points of them, despite the fact that only Crystal Palace had conceded less goals.

Changes from last season[edit]

From Championship[edit]

Promoted to Premier League

Relegated to League One

To Championship[edit]

Relegated from Premier League

Promoted from League One

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 West Bromwich Albion (C, P) 46 23 12 11 88 55 +33 81 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Stoke City (P) 46 21 16 9 69 55 +14 79
3 Hull City (O, P) 46 21 12 13 65 47 +18 75 Qualification for Championship play-offs
4 Bristol City 46 20 14 12 54 53 +1 74
5 Crystal Palace 46 18 17 11 58 42 +16 71
6 Watford 46 18 16 12 62 56 +6 70
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 16 12 53 48 +5 70
8 Ipswich Town 46 18 15 13 65 56 +9 69
9 Sheffield United 46 17 15 14 56 51 +5 66
10 Plymouth Argyle 46 17 13 16 60 50 +10 64
11 Charlton Athletic 46 17 13 16 63 58 +5 64
12 Cardiff City 46 16 16 14 59 55 +4 64
13 Burnley 46 16 14 16 60 67 −7 62
14 Queens Park Rangers 46 14 16 16 60 66 −6 58
15 Preston North End 46 15 11 20 50 56 −6 56
16 Sheffield Wednesday 46 14 13 19 54 55 −1 55
17 Norwich City 46 15 10 21 49 59 −10 55
18 Barnsley 46 14 13 19 52 65 −13 55
19 Blackpool 46 12 18 16 59 64 −5 54
20 Southampton 46 13 15 18 56 72 −16 54
21 Coventry City 46 14 11 21 52 64 −12 53
22 Leicester City (R) 46 12 16 18 42 45 −3 52 Relegation to Football League One
23 Scunthorpe United (R) 46 11 13 22 46 69 −23 46
24 Colchester United (R) 46 7 17 22 62 86 −24 38
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2008. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs[edit]

The Football League Championship Playoffs took place at the end of May 2008. They involved the teams that finished third to sixth in the table. Hull (3rd) and Bristol City (4th) qualified from their semi-finals against Watford (6th) and Crystal Palace (5th) respectively over two legs. Hull City won the final with a single Dean Windass goal to win promotion to the Premier League.

Semifinals Final
        
3 Hull City 2 4 6
6 Watford 0 1 1
3 Hull City 1
4 Bristol City 0
4 Bristol City 2 2 4
5 Crystal Palace 1 1 2

Results[edit]

Home \ Away BAR BLP BRI BUR CAR CHA COL COV CRY HUL IPS LEI NWC PLY PNE QPR SCU SHU SHW SOU STK WAT WBA WOL
Barnsley 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–4 0–0 1–3 4–1 0–1 1–3 3–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 3–3 3–2 2–1 1–0
Blackpool 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–1 5–3 2–2 4–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–3 1–1 1–3 0–0
Bristol City 3–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–2 3–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 0–0
Burnley 2–1 2–2 0–1 3–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 0–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 2–3 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–3
Cardiff City 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–1 0–2 4–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–3
Charlton Athletic 1–1 4–1 1–1 1–3 3–0 1–2 4–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–3 3–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–3
Colchester United 2–2 0–2 1–2 2–3 1–1 2–2 1–5 1–2 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 4–2 0–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 0–1 2–3 3–2 0–1
Coventry City 4–0 3–1 0–3 1–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–3 0–4 1–1
Crystal Palace 2–0 0–0 2–0 5–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 2–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 1–1 0–2
Hull City 3–0 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 2–3 3–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 5–0 1–1 3–0 1–3 2–0
Ipswich Town 0–0 2–1 6–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 3–1 4–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 3–2 1–1 4–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–0
Leicester City 2–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–2 2–0 4–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 0–0
Norwich City 1–0 1–2 1–3 2–0 1–2 1–1 5–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–3 1–2 1–1
Plymouth Argyle 3–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–2 4–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–2 2–1 3–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–1
Preston North End 1–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–2 0–3 1–0 0–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 5–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–1
Queens Park Rangers 2–0 3–2 3–0 2–4 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 0–3 3–0 1–1 0–2 0–0
Scunthorpe United 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–2 1–0 3–3 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–3 1–3 2–3 0–2
Sheffield United 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 3–3 0–2 2–2 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–1 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–1
Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–2 4–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 5–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–3
Southampton 2–3 1–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–4 4–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 2–3 1–0 3–2 0–0 3–2 0–3 3–2 0–0
Stoke City 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–3 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–2 3–1 3–1 3–2 0–1 2–4 3–2 0–0 3–1 0–0
Watford 1–3 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–4 0–1 1–0 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–3 3–0
West Brom 2–0 2–1 4–1 2–1 3–3 4–2 4–3 2–4 1–1 1–2 4–0 1–4 2–0 3–0 2–0 5–1 5–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–3 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–3 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 3–3 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–4 1–2 0–1
Source: The Football League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers[edit]

Pos Player Team Goals
1 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Plymouth Argyle
Wolverhampton Wanderers		 23
2 James Beattie Sheffield United 22
Kevin Phillips West Bromwich Albion 22
4 Stern John Southampton 19
5 Kevin Lisbie Colchester United 17
6 Clinton Morrison Crystal Palace 16
7 Fraizer Campbell Hull City 15
Ricardo Fuller Stoke City 15
9 Liam Lawrence Stoke City 14

Team of the Year[edit]

Pos. Player Club
GK Wayne Hennessey Wolverhampton Wanderers
DF Bradley Orr Bristol City
DF Danny Shittu Watford
DF Paul Robinson West Bromwich Albion
DF Ryan Shawcross Stoke City
MF Brian Howard Barnsley
MF Marvin Elliott Bristol City
MF Liam Lawrence Stoke City
MF Jonathan Greening West Bromwich Albion
ST Ricardo Fuller Stoke City
ST Kevin Phillips West Bromwich Albion

Stadia[edit]

Team Stadium Capacity
Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough Stadium 39,814
Southampton St Mary's Stadium 32,689
Coventry City Ricoh Arena 32,609
Sheffield United Bramall Lane 32,609
Leicester City Walkers Stadium 32,500
Ipswich Town Portman Road 30,311
Wolverhampton Wanderers Molineux Stadium 28,525
Stoke City Britannia Stadium 28,383
West Brom The Hawthorns 28,003
Charlton Athletic The Valley 27,111
Crystal Palace Selhurst Park 26,309
Norwich City Carrow Road 26,034
Hull City KC Stadium 25,404
Preston North End Deepdale 24,500
Barnsley Oakwell 23,009
Burnley Turf Moor 22,546
Cardiff City Ninian Park 22,008
Bristol City Ashton Gate 21,497
Watford Vicarage Road 19,920
Plymouth Argyle Home Park 19,500
Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road 19,128
Blackpool Bloomfield Road 9,788
Scunthorpe United Glanford Park 9,183
Colchester United Layer Road 6,320

Managerial changes[edit]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table
Sheffield United England Neil Warnock Resigned 16 May 2007[2] England Bryan Robson 16 May 2007[3] Pre-season
Crystal Palace England Peter Taylor Sacked 8 October 2007[4] England Neil Warnock 11 October 2007[5] 19th
Leicester City England Martin Allen Mutual consent 29 August 2007[6] England Gary Megson 13 September 2007[7] 9th
Queens Park Rangers England John Gregory Sacked 1 October 2007[8] Italy Luigi De Canio 29 October 2007[9] 24th
Norwich City Scotland Peter Grant Mutual consent 8 October 2007[10] England Glenn Roeder 30 October 2007[11] 22nd
Leicester City England Gary Megson Signed by Bolton Wanderers 24 October 2007[12] England Ian Holloway 22 November 2007[13] 19th
Burnley England Steve Cotterill Mutual consent 8 November 2007[14] Republic of Ireland Owen Coyle 22 November 2007[15] 15th
Preston North End England Paul Simpson Sacked 13 November 2007[16] Scotland Alan Irvine 20 November 2007[17] 21st
Plymouth Argyle England Ian Holloway Signed by Leicester City 21 November 2007[18] Scotland Paul Sturrock 27 November 2007[19] 7th
Coventry City Northern Ireland Iain Dowie Sacked 11 February 2008[20] Wales Chris Coleman 19 February 2008[21] 19th
Sheffield United England Bryan Robson Mutual consent 14 February 2008[22] England Kevin Blackwell 14 February 2008[22] 16th
Queens Park Rangers Italy Luigi De Canio Mutual consent 8 May 2008[23] Northern Ireland Iain Dowie 14 May 2008[24] 14th

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Football League Attendance Report" (PDF). The Football League. 25 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Warnock resigns as Blades manager". BBC Sport. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Robson unveiled as Sheff Utd boss". BBC Sport. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Crystal Palace boss Taylor sacked". BBC Sport. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Warnock appointed new Palace boss". BBC Sport. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  6. ^ "Allen ends brief Leicester reign". BBC Sport. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  7. ^ "Megson excited by Leicester job". BBC Sport. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  8. ^ "Gregory sacked as manager of QPR". BBC Sport. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  9. ^ "Former Napoli boss takes QPR role". BBC Sport. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  10. ^ "Grant parts company with Canaries". BBC Sport. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  11. ^ "Norwich name Roeder as new boss". BBC Sport. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  12. ^ "Bolton target Megson leaves Foxes". BBC Sport. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  13. ^ "Holloway appointed Leicester boss". BBC Sport. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  14. ^ "Burnley manager Cotterill departs". BBC Sport. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  15. ^ "Coyle named new Burnley manager". BBC Sport. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  16. ^ "Struggling Preston sack Simpson". BBC Sport. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  17. ^ "Preston unveil Irvine as new boss". BBC Sport. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  18. ^ "Holloway resigns as Plymouth boss". BBC Sport. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  19. ^ "Sturrock returns as Plymouth boss". BBC Sport. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  20. ^ "Dowie sacked as Coventry manager". BBC Sport. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  21. ^ "Coleman unveiled as Coventry boss". BBC Sport. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Blackwell in for Robson at Blades". BBC Sport. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  23. ^ "De Canio parts company with QPR". BBC Sport. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  24. ^ "QPR bring in Dowie as new coach". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
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