EFL Championship play-offs: Difference between revisions

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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 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, 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 £85,000,000 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.

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 five occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992-93, Leicester City in 1996-97, Ipswich Town in 2000-01, West Ham United in 2005-06 and Swansea City in 2011-12.

Format

Name changes
1987–1992	Football League Second Division play-offs
1993–2004	Football League First Division play-offs
2005 – 0000	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 Millenium Stadium, finally winning promotion to the Premier League after extra time and then penalties.

Preston North End have appeared in the Play Offs across all three divisions of the Football League the most times since their inception, and also have the worst record having not been promoted via the method in 8 appearances.

Blackpool are the only team to have won more than three play off finals and are also the only team to have won promotion via the play offs on four separate occasions, once to the Premiership, once to the Championship and twice to what is now known as League One.

Peterborough United and Cheltenham Town are the only teams to have played in more than one play off competition and have a 100% success rate, Peterborough with three wins (two into the championship and one into league one) have the best play offs record and Cheltenham have two wins from league two play offs.

The other teams with 100% records (one win from one appearance) are Aldershot (the original club liquidated in 1992), Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers and Dagenham and Redbridge.

Reading, Preston North End, Bristol City, Sheffield United and Leeds United have the unenviable record of losing 3 play off finals each. None of these teams have ever won promotion via the play offs despite a combined 27 appearances.

Nottingham Forest and MK Dons have each had four play off appearances and have never progressed beyond the semi finals. By contrast, Gillingham have four finals from four attempts, winning twice.

In 2008 Hull City won £60,000,000 for winning the play-offs.

Results

1987

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
4th Leeds United*	2–2	Oldham Athletic 3rd	1–0	1–2 aet
5th Ipswich Town	1–2	Charlton Athletic 19th Div 1	0–0	1–2

* Leeds win on away goals

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Charlton Athletic	1–1	Leeds United	1–0	0–1

Replay

29 May 1987

15:00 BST

Leeds United	1 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Charlton Athletic
Sheridan 99'		Shirtliff 113', 117'

St Andrews, Birmingham

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Allan Gunn

1988

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
5th Blackburn Rovers	1–6	Chelsea 18th Div 1	0–2	1–4
4th Bradford City	2–3	Middlesbrough 3rd	2–1	0–2

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Middlesbrough	2–1	Chelsea	2–0	0–1

1989

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
6th Swindon Town	1–2	Crystal Palace 3rd	1–0	0–2
5th Blackburn Rovers*	1–1	Watford 4th	0–0	1–1

*Blackburn win on away goals.

Final

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Blackburn Rovers	3–4	Crystal Palace	3–1	0–3 aet

1990

Semi-finals

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
6th Sunderland	2–0	Newcastle United 3rd	0–0	2–0
5th Blackburn Rovers	2–4	Swindon Town 4th	1–2	1–2

Final

28 May 1990

Swindon Town	1–0	Sunderland
McLoughlin 25'

Revision as of 12:02, 16 June 2012

Format

Results

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

See also

References