2012-2013 English Football League Promotion/Relegation

[Famine]

Same as last year, and the year before (and the year before), keeping pace with the run-in to the end of the season from the point of view of the Promotion/Relegation contenders... It's getting close to the sharp end now - 6 or 7 games left for most teams in their leagues - and some teams' fates are almost decided already...

To April 13th 2013

Premiership​

​

Bottom 3 Relegated

Relegated
18. Wigan Athletic - P37, 35pt
19. Reading - P37, 28pt
20. Queen's Park Rangers - P36, 25pt

Championship​

Top 2 Promoted, Next 4 into Playoffs for 1 promotion place
Bottom 3 Relegated

Promoted
1. Cardiff City - P46, 87pt
2. Hull City - P46, 79pt

Qualified for Playoffs
3. Watford - P46, 77pt
4. Brighton & Hove Albion - P46, 75pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
5. Crystal Palace - P46, 72pt
6. Leicester City - P46, 68pt - Eliminated in Semifinal

Relegated
22. Peterborough United - P46, 54pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 51pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

League 1​

Top 2 Promoted, Next 4 into Playoffs for 1 promotion place
Bottom 4 Relegated

Promoted
1. Doncaster Rovers - P46, 84pt
2. AFC Bournemouth - P46, 83pt

Qualified for Playoffs
3. Brentford - P46, 79pt - Eliminated in Final
4. Yeovil Town - P46, 77pt - Promoted
5. Sheffield United - P46, 75pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
6. Swindon Town - P46, 74pt - Eliminated in Semifinal

Relegated
21. Scunthorpe United - P45, 45pt
22. Bury - P46, 41pt
23. Hartlepool - P46, 41pt
24. *Portsmouth - P46, 32pt

League 2​

Top 3 Promoted, Next 4 into Playoffs for 1 promotion place
Bottom 2 Relegated

Promoted
1. Gillingham - P46, 83pt
2. Rotherham United - P46, 79pt
3. Port Vale - P46, 78pt

Qualified for Playoffs
4. Burton Albion - P46, 76pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
5. Cheltenham Town - P46, 75pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
6. Northampton Town - P46, 73pt - Eliminated in Final
7. Bradford City - P46, 69pt - Promoted

Relegated
23. Barnet - P46, 51pt
24. Aldershot Town - P46, 48pt

Blue Square Premier​

Top 1 Promoted, Next 4 into Playoffs for 1 promotion place.

Promoted
1. Mansfield Town - P46, 95pt

Qualified for Playoffs
2. Kidderminster Harriers - P46, 93pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
3. Newport County - P46, 85pt - Promoted
4. Grimsby Town - P46, 83pt - Eliminated in Semifinal
5. Wrexham - P46, 80pt - Eliminated in Final


Timeline
April 6th - Gillingham promoted (League 2 to League 1)
April 13th - Bury relegated (League 1 to League 2)
April 16th - Bristol City relegated (Championship to League 1)
April 16th - Cardiff City promoted (Championship to Premiership)
April 16th - Hartlepool United relegated (League 1 to League 2)
April 16th - Portsmouth relegated (League 1 to League 2)
April 20th - Gillingham champions (League 2)
April 20th - Cardiff City champions (Championship)
April 20th - Mansfield Town promoted, champions (Blue Square Premier to League 2)
April 20th - AFC Bournemouth promoted (League 1 to Championship)
April 27th - Doncaster Rovers promoted, champions (League 1 to Championship)
April 27th - Scunthorpe United relegated (League 1 to League 2)
April 27th - Rotherham United promoted (League 2 to League 1)
April 27th - Port Vale promoted (League 2 to League 1)
April 27th - Aldershot Town relegated (League 2 to Blue Square Premier)
April 27th - Barnet relegated (League 2 to Blue Square Premier)
April 28th - Reading relegated (Premiership to Championship)
April 28th - Queen's Park Rangers relegated (Premiership to Championship)
May 4th - Wolverhampton Wanderers relegated (Championship to League 1)
May 4th - Peterborough United relegated (Championship to League 1)
May 4th - Hull City promoted (Championship to Premiership)
May 5th - Newport County promoted (Blue Square Premier to League 2)
May 14th - Wigan Athletic relegated (Premiership to Championship)
May 18th - Bradford City promoted (League 2 to League 1)
May 19th - Yeovil Town promoted, champions (League 1 to Championship)


Playoffs
April 23rd - Blue Square Premier Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 1 - Wrexham 2-1 Kidderminster Harriers
April 24th - Blue Square Premier Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 1 - Grimsby Town 0-1 Newport County
April 28th - Blue Square Premier Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 2 - Kidderminster Harriers 1-3 Wrexham - Wrexham win 5-2 on aggregate
April 28th - Blue Square Premier Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 2 - Newport County 1-0 Grimsby Town - Newport County win 2-0 on aggregate
May 2nd - League 2 Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 1 - Bradford City 2-3 Burton Albion
May 2nd - League 2 Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 1 - Northampton Town 1-0 Cheltenham Town
May 3rd - League 1 Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 1 - Sheffield United 1-0 Yeovil Town
May 4th - League 1 Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 1 - Swindon Town 1-1 Brentford
May 5th - League 2 Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 2 - Burton Albion 1-3 Bradford City - Bradford City win 5-4 on aggregate
May 5th - League 2 Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 2 - Cheltenham Town 0-1 Northampton Town - Northampton Town win 2-0 on aggregate
May 5th - Blue Square Premier Playoff Final - Newport County 2-0 Wrexham
May 6th - League 1 Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 2 - Brentford 3-3 Swindon Town - After Extra Time; 4-4 on aggregate, Brentford win 5-4 on penalties
May 6th - League 1 Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 2 - Yeovil Town 2-0 Sheffield United - Yeovil Town win 2-1 on aggregate
May 9th - Championship Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 1 - Leicester City 1-0 Watford
May 10th - Championship Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 1 - Crystal Palace 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
May 12th - Championship Playoff Semi Final 1 Leg 2 - Watford 3-1 Leicester City - Watford win 3-2 on aggregate
May 13th - Championship Playoff Semi Final 2 Leg 2 - Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Crystal Palace
May 18th - League 2 Playoff Final - Bradford City 3-0 Northampton Town - Bradford City promoted to League 1
May 19th - League 1 Playoff Final - Brentford 1-2 Yeovil Town - Yeovil Town promoted to Championship
May 27th - Championship Playoff Final - Crystal Palace - Watford


Notes
*Coventry City (League 1) deducted 10pt for entering administration
*Portsmouth (League 1) deducted 10pt for leaving administration

 

[suarez7]

I hope QPR survive in the EPL. I love Liverpool but I'm also a fan of QPR.

 

[Famine]

I'd just like to welcome Mansfield Town back to the Football League.

 

[Dave A]

I'd just like to welcome Mansfield Town back to the Football League.

My uncle will be happy with that, they deserve to be back in again too.

 

[Famine]

Just spotted one I missed.

Bournemouth are not mathematically promoted from League 1 because, on 82pt, they can be overtaken by two teams below them - on 81pt and 79pt respectively. Only those two teams play each other on the final day of the season, so Bournemouth are up to the Championship regardless of the result...

Meanwhile, tonight's action could see the first Premiership relegations - if Villa win, QPR and Reading are down. Though Villa are playing Manchester United, so it's likely to be some other day.

 

[m8h3r]

Just spotted one I missed.

Bournemouth are not mathematically promoted from League 1 because, on 82pt, they can be overtaken by two teams below them - on 81pt and 79pt respectively. Only those two teams play each other on the final day of the season, so Bournemouth are up to the Championship regardless of the result...

Meanwhile, tonight's action could see the first Premiership relegations - if Villa win, QPR and Reading are down. Though Villa are playing Manchester United, so it's likely to be some other day.

Interesting. That could mean a final day match for the last promotion place. Could make for a good game to watch with a premier league place and a whole bunch of cash on the line.

 

[Shoe67]

I'm really sad to see QPR go. They've lost a few important games in recent weeks and I think they are going down for the season. My favorite player (Julio Cesar) did all he could, and kept their chances alive much longer than they normally would have, but the team didn't help much. Hopefully they can move back up for the 2014-2015 season.

 

[Famine]

Things that can happen today:

Premiership
Nothing - though tomorrow looks fun.

Championship
Hull City are promoted if they win (at Barnsley). Relegation will not be decided today, though it can become almost an implausible task to escape, results pending.

League 1
Whomever wins the Doncaster/Brentford match is promoted. If it's a draw, Doncaster are promoted.

Scunthorpe United are relegated if they do not win (at home to Swindon) and if Colchester United do not lose (at Carlisle) and the results affect the goal difference by 3 in Scunthorpe's favour. If Scunthorpe achieve this, Colchester are relegated - and aerial bacon shares will be in demand across the land.

League 2
Port Vale are promoted if they do not lose (at Wycombe). If they do lose, they're still promoted if Cheltenham don't beat Bradford City by a world record scoreline. See above regarding aerial bacon.

Rotherham United are promoted with a draw to Aldershot, so long as Cheltenham don't put six past Bradford - which promotes Cheltenham. Cheltenham can also be promoted if they win and Rotherham United lose.

Aldershot are relegated unless they beat Rotherham by six. Wimbledon are relegated if they draw and Barnet avoid shipping thirteen to Northampton or Dagenham & Redbridge avoid a seventeen goal drubbing. If Wimbledon beat Fleetwood, any one of five teams can go down:

• Barnet, if they do not better Dagenham's result.
• Dagenham, if they do not equal Barnet's result
• York City, if they lose while Barnet and Dagenham win
• Plymouth Argyle, if they lose while Barnet and Dagenham win and York draw or win
• Torquay United, if they lose while Barnet and Dagenham win and York and Plymouth draw or win.

 

[Liquid]

I'd just like to welcome Mansfield Town back to the Football League.

My uncle will be happy with that, they deserve to be back in again too.

Racking up £4,000,000 of debt in the process. The last three Conference champions (Crawley, Fleetwood and now Mansfield) have spent absolute fortunes to purchase the league.

The Race For The Football League
Or, Wrexham - 3rd Time's The Charm

It's half time in the play-offs.

Kidderminster Harriers 1-2 Wrexham
Newport 1-0 Grimsby Town

Second half/legs to be played tomorrow; home team listed first.

UP THE TOWN! COME ON, YOU REDS!

Scunthorpe United are relegated if they do not win (at home to Swindon) and if Colchester United do not lose (at Carlisle) and the results affect the goal difference by 3 in Scunthorpe's favour. If Scunthorpe achieve this, Colchester are relegated - and aerial bacon shares will be in demand across the land.

In fairness, this very nearly happened.

Furthermore, Doncaster Rovers won the League One title despite losing more at home than winning. They lost eight times at home. A record for title winners?

 

[Famine]

Furthermore, Doncaster Rovers won the League One title despite losing more at home than winning. They lost eight times at home. A record for title winners?

They also won the title over the team promoted before them... Bournemouth were promoted from the division last week, while Doncaster, who could have missed promotion with that 90th minute penalty today, won the title with their own 90th minute goal while Bournemouth drew...

So. Today's results mean:

Premiership
Nothing.

Championship
Also nothing. Except that next week's promotion comes down to Watford (vs Leeds) bettering Hull's result (vs champions Cardiff) to get promotion. And next week's relegation requires a miracle for Wolves, four other teams bricking it for the last spot and two more looking nervously over their shoulders.

League 1
Doncaster won the winner takes all match and took all - the title, unexpectedly, when Bournemouth could only draw. Scunny join the monkeyhangers, Bury and minus ten Pompey in League 2.

League 2
Rotherham and Port Vale got their results and go up, rendering Cheltenham's meaningless (they drew anyway, but it didn't matter). Aldershot gave in and were relegated while Wimbledon managed their result and first reserves Barnet failed and drop to the conference.

 

[Famine]

Premiership
QPR and Reading play each other in a game that they both have to win to avoid relegation. They draw and are both relegated. Whoops.

 

[NFSCARBON1]

Update on the Blue Square Premier for you Famine
Newport County 1-0 Grimsby Town (2-0 on aggregate)

It's an all welsh play off final for the 5th May. No word on who will be the 'home' team yet though.

 

[Famine]

Last day of the Championship season on Saturday, with all games kicking off at 12.45pm... Here's the highlights:

Promotion
If Hull City win (against Cardiff City), they are promoted.
If Hull City draw and

• Watford win (against Leeds United), Watford are promoted
• Watford draw or lose, Hull City are promoted

If Hull City lose and

• Watford win, Watford are promoted
• Watford draw, Watford are promoted
• Watford lose, Hull City are promoted.

Relegation
If Wolverhampton Wanderers draw or lose (at Brighton), they are relegated.
If Wolverhampton Wanderers win, they will be safe if

• Barnsley lose and
• Peterborough United lose and
• The difference between Wolves' and Peterborough's goal difference is reduced by five

If Barnsley lose, they are relegated.
If Barnsley draw, they will be safe

• Peterborough lose or
• Sheffield Wednesday lose by more than four goals and score fewer than four

If Barnsley win, they will be safe if

• Peterborough draw or
• Peterborough win, but by seven goals fewer than Barnsley or
• Sheffield Wednesday lose or draw or
• Millwall lose or
• Millwall draw while Barnsley win by more than four or
• Huddersfield Town lose

If Peterborough United win, they are safe unless Barnsley win by seven goals more.
If Peterborough draw, they will be relegated if

• Barnsley win and
• Sheffield Wednesday draw or win

If Peterborough lose, they will be relegated if

• Barnsley win or
• Barnsley draw or
• Barnsley lose by seven fewer goals

If Sheffield Wednesday win, they are safe.
If Sheffield Wednesday draw, they are safe if

• Barnsley draw or lose or
• Peterborough draw or lose

If Millwall win, they are safe.
If Millwall draw, they are safe if

• Barnsley draw or lose or
• Peterborough draw or lose or
• Sheffield Wednesday draw or lose

If Millwall lose, they will be relegated if

• Barnsley, Peterborough and Sheffield Wednesday win or
• Barnsley and Peterborough win while Sheffield Wednesday manage any draw.

If Huddersfield Town win or draw, they are safe.
If Huddersfield Town lose, they can only be relegated if

• Barnsley win and
• Peterborough win and
• Sheffield Wednesday win and
• Millwall win or draw and
• Blackburn Rovers do not manage a worse result by thirteen goals.

If Blackburn Rovers draw or win, they are safe.
If Blackburn Rovers lose, they can only be relegated if

• Barnsley win and make up a difference of 7 goals and
• Peterborough win and
• Sheffield Wednesday win and
• Millwall win, or draw while Blackburn lose by four and
• Huddersfield win or draw - or lose by thirteen fewer goals

Quite a tight fight then...

 

[Liquid]

More importantly, of course, is the all-Welsh derby between Wrexham and Newport in the Conference play-off final on Sunday.

 

[Famine]

I may end up regretting this, but...

5' - Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
19. Millwall - P46, 57pt
20. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 56pt
21. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 51pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

13' - Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Middlesbrough

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

14' - Huddersfield Town 0-1 Barnsley

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Millwall - P46, 57pt
20. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
21. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
22. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

28' - Crystal Palace 0-1 Peterborough United

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
22. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

38' - Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Middlesbrough

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
22. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

39' - Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
22. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

42' - Birmingham City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers

17. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
18. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
19. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
22. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

44' - Crystal Palace 1-1 Peterborough United

17. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
18. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 57pt
19. Millwall - P46, 57pt
20. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
21. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
22. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 42pt

Edit: I'm going to regret it because I have to go out in 20 minutes!

58' - Huddersfield Town 1-1 Barnsley

17. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
18. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
19. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

63' - Crystal Palace 1-2 Peterborough United

17. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
18. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
19. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
20. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 57pt
21. Millwall - P46, 57pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

66' - Birmingham City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
21. Millwall - P46, 57pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

74' - Huddersfield Town 1-2 Barnsley

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 57pt
22. Huddersfield Town - P46, 57pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

81' - Huddersfield Town 2-2 Barnsley

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Peterborough United - P46, 57pt
21. Millwall - P46, 57pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

83' - Crystal Palace 2-2 Peterborough United

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Millwall - P46, 57pt
21. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

85' - Derby County 1-0 Millwall

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Millwall - P46, 56pt
21. Peterborough United - P46, 55pt
22. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

89' - Crystal Palace 3-2 Peterborough United

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Millwall - P46, 56pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
22. Peterborough United - P46, 54pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

Full Time

17. Blackburn Rovers - P46, 58pt
18. Sheffield Wednesday - P46, 58pt
19. Huddersfield Town - P46, 58pt
20. Millwall - P46, 56pt
21. Barnsley - P46, 55pt
22. Peterborough United - P46, 54pt
23. Wolverhampton Wanderers - P46, 52pt
24. Bristol City - P46, 41pt

 

[Phoenix]

WOW! What a drama in the Hull - Cardiff match...

First Cardiff got a red card on 2-1 to Hull, then Hull got a penalty minutes later and missed, then a minute later Cardiff got a penalty and scored to make it 2-2.

If Watford scores against Leeds, then Hull are on 3rd place. DRAMA!

 

[Liquid]

Incredible day in the Championship.

No pun intended, but I've championed that division for a long time. It's far more exciting than the Premiership. Easily the best league in the entire Kingdom.

And rushing to the defence of the young Watford goalkeeper; 1-1 wouldn't have been good enough anyway. Watford were still going to miss out on the automatics regardless.

 

[Ross]

That was a great end to the season! I hope Jonathon Bond is OK though, that looked like a serious injury. Well done to Hull for a great season and for getting out of the toughest league in England. Down at the other end, Wolves go from the EPL to League 1 in 2 seasons. Also, it's worth mentioning that Crystal Palaces 3-2 win over Peterborough is their first win in 10 and also relegates Peterborough.

The Play off fixtures are:
Hull v Leicester
Brighton v Crystal Palace

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Incredible stuff on the final day! was on the edge of my seat watching!

 

[Liquid]

That was a great end to the season! I hope Jonathon Bond is OK though, that looked like a serious injury. Well done to Hull for a great season and for getting out of the toughest league in England. Down at the other end, Wolves go from the EPL to League 1 in 2 seasons. Also, it's worth mentioning that Crystal Palaces 3-2 win over Peterborough is their first win in 10 and also relegates Peterborough.

I refer you to the Football Conference National, also known as the Blue Square Premier for sponsorship reasons.

Only two go up. One automatic, one via the play-offs. There is very little between the bottom 7 of League Two and the top 7 of the Conference.

I could bang on and on about it until the cows come home, but last year Wrexham finished with 98 points and still didn't go up. Harsh.

It's got to be three up three down between the fourth division and the fifth. There's too great a bottleneck.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Im gutted for Wolves, i hope they bounce back as they are a good club, they have just been horribly mismanaged the last 18 months or so...

 

[Ross]

I refer you to the Football Conference National, also known as the Blue Square Premier for sponsorship reasons.

Only two go up. One automatic, one via the play-offs. There is very little between the bottom 7 of League Two and the top 7 of the Conference.

I could bang on and on about it until the cows come home, but last year Wrexham finished with 98 points and still didn't go up. Harsh.

It's got to be three up three down between the fourth division and the fifth. There's too great a bottleneck.

Wow, I've never really paid much attention to that league but 98 points and not going up? That seems extremely competitive. Let's see if they can beat Newport in the play-offs this year then.

 

[Liquid]

Yes. Fl££twood scored an annoyingly impressive 103 points. We finished 2nd with 98 points in the same season a fan whipround raised £120,000 in 48 hours to stop the club forfeiting their league status.

The records we broke that season:

Most points
Most clean sheets
Most consecutive clean sheets
Best away record
Best home record

And we finished second and still didn't go up. Bah, humbug. It's an English record for most points without promotion. An ignominious record.

Anyway, all eyes on tomorrow. Up the Town!

 

[Akmuq]

Are the two of you gonna stop banging on like typical small club fans and just acknowledge that the Premier League is the toughest, for obvious reasons, like better teams.

 

[Famine]

Are the two of you gonna stop banging on like typical small club fans and just acknowledge that the Premier League is the toughest, for obvious reasons, like better teams.

It's nowhere near the toughest - and this link will explain why.

Notice the last column - last 10 games. Now find a team that won more games than it didn't in the last 10. I'll save you the trouble, it's Charlton who finished 9th and were on the cusp of the relegation zone in February. There are no others.

You'll notice only a handful of teams lost more than they didn't lose. These were eventual league whipping boys Bristol City (who were not bottom at halfway, and had a better second half of the season) and form-losers Wolves, Leeds and Middlesbrough - two of whom finished mid-table and who were promotion, even automatic promotion, challengers in January. In fact Boro managed to score an auto-promotion-pace 41pt in the first half (82 would have seen them straight up) and only 18pt in the second half...

Take the relegation teams today. Barnsley spent much of the day in the relegation zone yet went W3-D5 in the last ten games. Wednesday were hovering in the last few weeks and W4-D3 in the last ten. Blackburn have been through the mire and were just safe today - W3-D4. Huddersfield dipped in and out today - W4-D2.

Now look at the top half. Hull went up today despite losing 4 of the last 9. Watford didn't, losing 5 in 10. Palace managed one win in the last 10 games, losing four. Leicester also lost four and only won twice. These guys are going up out of the division on no form at at all...

Then do the same for the Premier League. Oh look, the guys up the top win more than they don't, the guys down the bottom lose more than they don't and the guys in the middle have variable form. It's not like that in the Championship - there's no predictability and when bottom beats top it's not a shock as it happens so regularly.


The league was won with 87pt from 46 - 1.89/game - and relegation happened on 54pt - 1.17/game. To get into the playoffs, you needed just 25% more points than relegation. Now look at the Premier League... You're talking about it being won on 71pt, Europe on 56pt and relegation on 44pt. Ever come close to happening? No - the nearest was 75pt for the title (Manchester United, 1997) and 42pt for relegation (West Ham, 2003). This season alone, that points spread only covers Manchester City (2nd) to West Brom (8th) and there's still 3 games left!

Toughest league in England? Feh.

Incredible day in the Championship.

Paedoborough relegated through the last goal (at that end of the table) of the season? At one point, FIVE teams tied on 57pt and Huddersfield going down on goal difference? Bonkers stuff.

Just got the moneymen and playoffs to sort out for the regular season now.

 

[Akmuq]

It's the closest league in England, not the toughest. The Premier League plays at much higher quality, hence why there's usually a promoted team that goes straight back down.

I don't really see how a close league is tougher than a higher quality, not as close league.

 

[Famine]

It's the closest league in England, not the toughest. The Premier League plays at much higher quality, hence why there's usually a promoted team that goes straight back down.

I don't really see how a close league is tougher than a higher quality, not as close league.

A close league is one where more games are tough for more teams...

A league where the same teams always end up in the same places because the results are so predictable is only tough for the handful of teams who end up in the bottom few places. Hull have been promoted today off the back of getting a result at the division champions' expense while their closest rivals lost to a team with no form...

 

[MUSC4EVER]

The difference between 6th in the Championship (Leicester) and relegated Peterborough is just 14 points!...talk about tight!!

 

[Liquid]

Congratulations to Newport County on securing promotion to the Football League.

 

[Famine]

I can't believe Sheffield United choked it in the playoffs again. They must be the poorest playoff team in history.