Our roundup of the English league season continues with a look back at a Championship campaign that saw late off-the-pitch drama in the promotion battle, a seemingly endless list of managerial changes and a shock relegation. What more could one ask for of a division? Well, we’ll throw in a bit of Adel Taarabt, Scott Sinclair and Roy Keane for good measure. How’s that?
The Football League Championship was won in 2010/11 by Queens Park Rangers, but their four-point cushion at the end of the campaign doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. The club has flirted with controversy ever since being taken over by Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone in 2007, and the headlines continued to dog them even as they cruised back into the Premier League under Neil Warnock. The issue on this occasion was not directly in the boardroom, but in the alleged failure to notify the Football Association of a third-party agreement involving the economic rights to Argentine midfielder Alejandro Faurlin.
The Rs faced seven related charges and the matter dragged and dragged until it eventually threatened to have a severe effect on the promotion race. The prospect of a points deduction hung over Warnock and his side even as they should have been celebrating promotion. Finally, with the BBC’s Football Focus on location and a game against Leeds United looming, word reached Loftus Road on 7th May that no points would be deducted and that Rangers’ position at the top of the table and in the top flight.
It’s unlikely to be smooth sailing. It’s long been said that QPR’s backers were waiting for promotion before unshackling funds with which only Manchester City can really compete. Exaggerated that may be, but the injection of significant funding is not a guarantee of success but it is a guarantee of heightened expectations. It also creates resentment, both the harmless kind from outside and the more dangerous kind among a club’s own supporters. Needless to say, with Gianni Paladini and Neil Warnock in place it won’t be a quiet season in the Premier League for Eddie Hitler’s club of choice.
They won’t be joined there by Cardiff City, whose challenge for second was left wounded by a winless March and then callously executed by a record of just one win in the last six. After picking up just two points from four matches against Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Millwall, the Bluebirds dragged themselves back into an automatic promotion spot by beating Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield United and Portsmouth consecutively. The win over Pompey put them second but would be the penultimate win of the season for Dave Jones’ men. The chief beficiaries were Norwich City, who put together a nine-match unbeaten run before losing one match, and then won four of the last six to secure an impressive promotion, for which the bulk of credit goes to manager Paul Lambert but some should be reserved for top goalscorer Grant Holt.
Just to rub salt in the wound for Cardiff, it was Swansea City who triumphed in the playoffs. The two sides finished level on points and didn’t meet in the playoffs, where the Swans defeated Nottingham Forest over two legs (Forest’s fourth defeat in the playoffs) and then beat Reading 4-2 in a wonderful final. Forest had been the form team going into the additional matches, winning the final four to edge out Leeds United, who finished with two wins but had previously been winless in five as their challenge disintegrated.
The chasing pack featured Burnley, Millwall and Leicester City, all of whom were in with a chance during the final month of the season. None could find convincing form in the run-in, allowing Forest to take full advantage.
All three relegated sides, Scunthorpe United in 24th, Sheffield United in 23rd and Preston North End gathered 42 points and finished limply. Scunthorpe had been fancied to go down after surviving their first season back in the second division but a repeat was made all the more unlikely by the departure of manager Nigel Adkins to Southamption in September. Adkins was replaced by Ian Baraclough (later sacked and replaced by Bury’s Alan Knill) and proceeded to ship 87 goals and lose 28 matches as they finished bottom.
The Blades’ collapse was far more unedifying, though. A three-manager season began with Kevin Blackwell and took in Gary Speed en route to walking football disaster Micky Adams, leaving the season in disarray and resulting in relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time in almost a quarter of a century. And how does one appease the supporters after such a shambolic season? By appointing inadequate former Wednesday boss Danny Wilson, of course!
Despite their best efforts to get embroiled in the scrap with a poor run-in, Doncaster Rovers, Crystal Palace and Derby County (who lost the final four) just weren’t bad enough to be even nearly caught by the appalling trio at the bottom. Palace achieved survival earlier than they did in a turbulent 2009/10 season and will be looking to improve further still as they regain their footing after a period of massive upheaval. Above them, Coventry City as well as the Rams will be subject to greater demands next season as the fans no doubt look towards a challenge for the playoffs.
Mid-table, perhaps tellingly, was dominated by former Premier League sides. Hull City found their level in 11th place, although there was a brief moment of optimism that the playoffs could be on the cards. Middlesbrough finished strongly but had to settle for 12th at the end of a season in which they sacked Scotsman-hoarder Gordon Strachan and replaced him with Tony Mowbray in October. Their lot improved under Mowbray, but like those mentioned above the supporters will expect it to improve further next term. Ipswich Town finished one behind them and also changed managers mid-season, replacing the unpopular Roy Keane with the unpopular Paul Jewell.
The league’s top goalscorer was Danny Graham of Watford, who scored 24 league goals for the Hornets as they finished 14th under Malky Mackay. Both men have since departed Vicarage Road to move to Wales; Mackay has been replaced by Sean Dyche after replacing Jones at Cardiff, while Graham was quickly snapped up for a tilt at Premier League survival by Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers.
Bristol City won their last two to nip above Portsmouth into 15th, with Barnsley doing the same to Coventry on the final day.
Tags: Season Reviews