The 2011–12

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

(known as the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format.

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

secured the Championship title on 21 April, following second-placed

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

's 2–1 defeat to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. The result left Southampton four points behind Reading with only one game remaining. Southampton were promoted on the final day of the season, after winning 4–0 at home to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

, who were one of three teams relegated along with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

(who were deducted ten points midway through the season for entering administration) and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

occupied the final promotion place as they returned to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

after just one year. West Ham beat Blackpool in the Play-off final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, sealing their return to the top division after narrowly missing out on automatic promotion.

Changes from last season

Team changes

From Championship

Promoted to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

* Swansea City Relegated to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

* Scunthorpe United *

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

To Championship

Relegated from

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

Promoted from

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Rule changes

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

and the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...

will now both decide on disciplinary action for Welsh clubs in the

and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. * Only five substitutes can be named on match days, reduced from last season's seven named substitutes.

Team overview

Stadia and locations

Personnel and sponsoring

Managerial changes

Ownership changes

League table

Play-offs

Results

The fixtures for the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

were released on 17 June 2011. The season kicked off on 5 August 2011 and concluded on 28 April 2012.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Top assists

Hat-tricks

* ⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Scoring

* First goal of the season: Gary Taylor-Fletcher for Blackpool against Hull City (5 August 2011) * Fastest goal of the season: 7 seconds –

Ricardo Vaz Tê Ricardo Jorge Vaz Tê (born 1 October 1986) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward. Vaz Tê has previously played for English clubs Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Barnsley and West Ham United, Greek club Panionios, Scottis ...

for Barnsley against Crystal Palace (6 December 2011) * Latest goal of the season: 98 minutes and 49 seconds –

Luciano Becchio Luciano Héctor Becchio (born 28 December 1983) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the assistant manager of Segunda División B – Group 3 side CD Atlético Baleares.Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

3–7

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

(20 March 2012) * Most goals scored in a game by one team: 7 goals –

7–1

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

(20 August 2011),

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

3–7

(20 March 2012). * Widest winning margin: 6 goals –

7–1

(20 August 2011),

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

0–6

(14 January 2012),

6–0

(14 April 2012) * Widest away winning margin: 6 goals –

0–6

(14 January 2012) * Highest scoring draw: 6 goals –

3–3

(23 September 2011),

3–3

(9 April 2012) * Most games failed to score in: 19 –

* Fewest games failed to score in: 6 –

Disciplinary record by team

Source: * Most yellow cards (player): 12 –

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

(

) * Most red cards (player): 2 –

Neil Danns Neil Alexander Danns (born 23 November 1982) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Macclesfield and the Guyana national team. In December 2022, Danns was also appointed interim manager at Macclesfield. He began his c ...

(

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Matt Mills Matthew Claude Mills (born 14 July 1986) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent most of his career in the English EFL Championship, in which he played for Leicester City, Reading, Bolton, Nottingham ...

(

Matt Sparrow Matthew Ronald Sparrow (born 3 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder Sparrow made 440 appearances in the Football League across his 17-year-long playing career, notably 369 over two spells with S ...

(

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian (three spells), Rangers, Middlesbrough and Dundee and represented Scotland. Thomson began his c ...

(

)

Clean sheets

* Most clean sheets: 20 –

* Fewest clean sheets: 4 –

Monthly awards

Events

Portsmouth administration

On 17 February 2012, Portsmouth entered administration for the second time in three years, incurring a 10-point penalty. Trevor Birch of the accountancy firm Pannell Kerr Forster was appointed administrator of the club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Football League Championship EFL Championship seasons 1 2 Eng