The 2009–10 Football League Championship (known as the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

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.

Changes from previous season

Team changes

From Championship

Promoted to

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 ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

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 ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

Relegated to League One * Norwich City *

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 ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

To Championship

Relegated from

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

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 ...

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Promoted from League One * Leicester City * Peterborough United *

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

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) ''Note:'' "Amendments to the laws of the game 2009–2010" also applied

Off field rule changes

# Financial regulations relating to tax payments. From now on, any club that falls behind with its employee related payments to HMRC will be subject to a transfer embargo until such time as the debt is cleared

Team overview

Stadia and locations

¹ Ground contains some terracing

Personnel and sponsoring

Managerial changes

League table

A total of 24 teams contested the division, including 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the

, and three promoted from League One.

Play-offs

First leg

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 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 ...

on 17 June 2009.

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'') *Fastest goal in a match: 23 seconds ** Billy Clarke for Blackpool against Preston North End (''30 November 2009'') **

Daryl Murphy Daryl Michael Murphy (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer. Murphy began his career at Waterford United, having previously played youth football for Waterford based side Southend United and English side Luton Town, whi ...

for Ipswich Town against Middlesbrough (''6 February 2010'') *Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+6:12 –

Pablo Couñago Pablo González Couñago (born 9 August 1979) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker. After having played 35 La Liga matches for Celta and Málaga, scoring three goals (75 games and 11 goals both major levels of Spanish footb ...

for Ipswich Town against Coventry City (''16 January 2010'') *First own goal of the season:

Kaspars Gorkšs Kaspars Gorkšs (born 6 November 1981) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gorkšs was also the captain of the Latvian national team. From 2018 to 2019 Gorkšs served as president of the Latvian Football Feder ...

(Queens Park Rangers) for Plymouth Argyle, 90+2:26 minutes (''15 August 2009'') *First penalty kick of the season: Paul Hartley (scored) for Bristol City against Preston North End, 48:35 (''8 August 2009'') *Widest winning margin: 6 **Bristol City 0–6 Cardiff City (''26 January 2010'') **Reading 6–0 Peterborough United (''17 April 2010'') *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 **Sheffield United 3–4 Cardiff City (''24 October 2009'') **Sheffield United 4–3 Plymouth Argyle (''27 February 2010'') **Bristol City 5–3 Barnsley (''23 March 2010'') **Doncaster Rovers 4–3 Scunthorpe United (''24 April 2010'') **Nottingham Forest 3–4 Blackpool (''11 May 2010'') *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'')

Discipline

*First yellow card of the season: Rhys Williams for Middlesbrough against Sheffield United, 49:15 minutes (''7 August 2009'') *First red card of the season:

Luke Chambers Luke Chambers (born 28 September 1985) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Primarily a centre back, he could also play at right back. Chambers made 792 appearances in the English Football League, placing him ...

for Nottingham Forest against Reading, 87:41 minutes (''8 August 2009'') *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'') *Most yellow cards in a single match: 9 **Bristol City 2–3 Sheffield United – 4 for Bristol City (

Lee Johnson Lee Johnson may refer to: Sportspeople * Lee Johnson (wide receiver) (born 1944), American football wide receiver *Lee Johnson (punter) (born 1961), American football punter *Lee Johnson (basketball) (born 1957), American basketball player * Lee Jo ...

, Louis Carey, Jamie McAllister and

Ivan Sproule Ivan Sproule (born 18 February 1981) is a Northern Irish retired professional footballer who was most recently manager of NIFL Championship side Dergview. Early in his career, Sproule played in Northern Ireland for Omagh Town and Institute. H ...

) and 5 for Sheffield United (

Jamie Ward Jamie John Ward (born 12 May 1986) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), striker for Ilkeston Town where he is player-manager. He has represented the Northern Ireland national footbal ...

Kyle Walker Kyle Andrew Walker (born 28 May 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Manchester City and the England national team. Walker started his career at his boyhood club Sheffield United which he had joined ...

Darius Henderson Darius Alexis Henderson (born 7 September 1981) is an English professional footballer who last played as a striker for Eastleigh. Born in Sutton, England, (although he is often mistakenly cited as being born in Doncaster, where he moved at a y ...

, Jordan Stewart and

Stephen Quinn Stephen Jude Quinn (born 1 April 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mansfield Town. He has also represented the Republic of Ireland national team. He started his career with League of Ireland club St Patric ...

) (''28 November 2009'') **Cardiff City 2–3 Leicester City – 3 for Cardiff City ( Paul Quinn, Mark Hudson,

Stephen McPhail Stephen John Paul McPhail (born 9 December 1979) is an Irish former professional footballer and the sporting director of Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division. A play-making central midfielder, McPhail started his career at ...

) and 6 for Leicester City ( Alex Bruce,

Nolberto Solano Nolberto Albino "Ñol" Solano Todco (born 12 December 1974), commonly known as Nobby Solano, is a retired Peruvian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the assistant manager of the Peru national football team, as w ...

Andy King Andrew or Andy King may refer to: *Andrew King (astrophysicist) (born 1947), British astrophysicist * Andrew King (architect), Canadian architect and cross-disciplinary artist *Andrew King (mayor) (born 1960 or 1961), former mayor of Hamilton, New ...

Lloyd Dyer Lloyd Richard Dyer (born 13 September 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. During his 18 years as a professional, Dyer spent the majority of his career in the Football League, most notably with West Bromwi ...

Richie Wellens Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League Two club Leyton Orient. Wellens began his career at Manchester United ...

Steve Howard Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength. Club career Early career Howard began his career at non- ...

) (''11 May 2010'') *Quickest card given at the start of the match: 26 Seconds –

Nicky Maynard Nicholas David Maynard (born 11 December 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Macclesfield. He began his career at Crewe Alexandra, following over a decade in the club's Academy, and scored on his senior debut ...

for Bristol City against Nottingham Forest (''7 November 2009'') *Quickest card given after coming on: 1:07 minutes –

Alassane N'Diaye Alassane N'Diaye (born 25 February 1990) is a French footballer who plays as a midfielder for Khaitan SC. Career After developing his game at Sochaux in his native France and FC Alle in Switzerland, N'Diaye moved to English Championship side ...

for Crystal Palace against Blackpool (''20 March 2010'') *Most fouls: Jay Bothroyd 103 fouls *Total number of yellow cards: 1636 *Total number of red cards: 86

Monthly awards

Team of the Year

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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 ...

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Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, - , 3 , , LB ,

José Enrique José Enrique is a Spanish given name. It may refer to: *José Enrique (footballer) (born 1986), Spanish footballer * José Enrique Angulo (born 1995), Ecuadorian footballer *José Enrique Arrarás (born 1937), Puerto Rican politician * José Enriq ...

, - , 17 , , RM ,

Graham Dorrans Graham Dorrans (born 5 May 1987) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He began his football career at Scottish club Livingston, before joining English club West Bromwich Albion in 2008. In the 2009–10 season, he ...

, - , 4 , , CM , Kevin Nolan ,

, - , 26 , , CM , Charlie Adam ,

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 ...

, - , 7 , , LM ,

Peter Whittingham Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he operated as a winger on both the left and right, as well as a second-striker ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

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Events

Controversy

* 15 August 2009 During a game between Bristol City and Crystal Palace,

Freddie Sears Frederick David Sears (born 27 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Dagenham & Redbridge He started his career with his local club West Ham United at the age of eleven, progressing through the West ...

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. Crystal Palace manager

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

called for a replay. Following the game, the three officials were suspended until it could be solved. * 28 November 2009 The tie between

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and Barnsley was abandoned after 58 minutes because of heavy rain affecting the pitch. Barnsley were winning 4–1 and manager

Mark Robins Mark Gordon Robins (born 22 December 1969) is an English football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Coventry City in the EFL Championship. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League ...

argued that it was a "let off" for Plymouth and that the travelling Barnsley fans should be reimbursed. The postponed match took place on 30 March, where it ended in a 0–0 draw.

Crystal Palace administration

On 27 January 2010, the Football League had announced that Crystal Palace had been placed into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

firm P&A Partnership were appointed as administrators for the club. Palace were docked ten points and dropped from 9th to 21st. 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.Sheffield Wednesday 2 Crystal Palace 2: match report
Telegraph, 2 May 2010

References

External links

Championship official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Football League Championship EFL Championship seasons 1 2 Eng