Football League Championship play-offs
The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 3rd playing 6th and 4th playing 5th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt.
There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners,[1] who end up approximately £60m better off than the losers, mainly due to the increased commercial television revenue from being promoted to the Premier League.[2] However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.[3]
The most recent final was played on 19 May 2012, with West Ham United beating Blackpool 2–1 at Wembley Stadium.
The next final will take place on 27 May 2013 and will be contested by Crystal Palace and Watford at Wembley Stadium.
Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997–2000 inclusive, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once in 2000 (when they won promotion). Leicester City have reached the Championship play-off final four times, losing two in 1992 and 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996. Crystal Palace have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.
The team finishing highest in the league (third) has succeeded in winning promotion nine times out of twenty five seasons up to 2011, with 4th managing four promotions, 5th six and 6th five.
The play-off winners have managed to finish above the Championship winners and runners-up in the subsequent Premier League season on six occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992-93, Leicester City in 1996-97, Ipswich Town in 2000-01, West Ham United in 2005-06 and 2012-13, and Swansea City in 2011-12.
Contents |
Format [edit]
| Name changes | |
|---|---|
| 1987–1992 | Football League Second Division play-offs |
| 1993–2004 | Football League First Division play-offs |
| 2005 – | Football League Championship play-offs |
In addition to the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the Championship play-offs have also changed in format.
When they were introduced for the 1986–87 season, the play-offs originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987–88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.
Since 1989–90, the final has been a single game (contested between the winners of the semi-finals, which remain two-legged) has been held either at Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, apart from 1987, when Charlton Athletic and Leeds United could not be separated over two legs and took the tie to a third match at St. Andrews, Birmingham.
Birmingham City have reached the Championship Play-Offs four times consecutively from 1999-2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, finally winning promotion to the Premier League after extra time and then penalties.
In 2008 Hull City won £60,000,000 for winning the play-offs.
Past winners [edit]
1: Due to financial irregularities, Swindon Town were prevented from taking their place in the top division, which was instead awarded to the losing finalists, Sunderland.
Records [edit]
Note: These are only for play-offs at Championship level, for overall records in the Football League play-offs see here.
- Most play-off promotions: 3 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1997, 2004)
- Most play-off finals: 5 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2013)
- Most play-off final defeats: 3 – Sheffield United (1997, 2003, 2009)
- Most play-off participations: 7 – Ipswich Town
- Most unsuccessful play-off participations: 6 – Ipswich Town (from 7 in total)
- Teams without any unsuccessful play-off participations: Notts County (1991), Hull City (2008), Burnley (2009), Swansea City (2011)
- Biggest aggregate win: Chelsea 6–1 Blackburn Rovers (1988); Leicester City 6–1 Cambridge United (1992); and Hull City 6–1 Watford (2008)
- Biggest home win: Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United (Semi-final, 1992)
- Biggest away win: Birmingham City 0–4 Barnsley (Semi-final, 2000)
- Biggest win in a final: Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Preston North End (2001); Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003); and Leeds United 0–3 Watford (2006)
- Highest scoring final: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (1998)
- Highest scoring play-off match: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (Final, 1998); Ipswich Town 5–3 Bolton Wanderers (Semi-final, 2000)
- Highest scoring tie (aggregate): 12 goals – Ipswich Town 7–5 Bolton Wanderers (2000)
- Highest attendance: 86,703 – Bristol City vs Hull City (Final, 2008)
- Lowest attendance: 9,225 – Cambridge United vs Leicester City (Semi-final, 1992)
References [edit]
- ^ Harris, Nick (20 May 2006). "£40m to the winner". London: The Independent Online Edition. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
- ^ Cuff, Andrew. "Promotion worth £60m", "The Guardian", 3 May 2007, viewed 3 May 2007
- ^ "Losers in line for final windfall". BBC Sport. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
|
||||||||
|
|||||
