2011–12 Football League Championship


The 2011–12 Football League Championship was the eighth season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format.
Reading secured the Championship title on 21 April, following second-placed Southampton's 2–1 defeat to Middlesbrough. 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, who were one of three teams relegated along with Portsmouth and Doncaster Rovers. West Ham United occupied the final promotion place as they returned to the Premier League after just one year. West Ham beat Blackpool in the Play-off final at Wembley Stadium, sealing their return to the top division after narrowly missing out on automatic promotion.

Changes from last season

Team changes

From Championship

Promoted to Premier League
Relegated to League One

To Championship

Relegated from Premier League
Promoted from League One

Rule changes

Team overview

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
BarnsleyBarnsleyOakwell23,009
Birmingham CityBirminghamSt Andrew's30,079
BlackpoolBlackpoolBloomfield Road16,220
Brighton & Hove AlbionBrightonFalmer Stadium22,374
Bristol CityBristolAshton Gate21,497
BurnleyBurnleyTurf Moor22,546
Cardiff CityCardiffCardiff City Stadium26,828
Coventry CityCoventryRicoh Arena32,609
Crystal PalaceLondonSelhurst Park26,309
Derby CountyDerbyPride Park Stadium33,597
Doncaster RoversDoncasterKeepmoat Stadium15,231
Hull CityKingston upon HullKC Stadium25,404
Ipswich TownIpswichPortman Road30,311
Leeds UnitedLeedsElland Road39,460
Leicester CityLeicesterKing Power Stadium32,500
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium34,988
MillwallLondonThe Den20,146
Nottingham ForestNottinghamCity Ground30,576
Peterborough UnitedPeterboroughLondon Road Stadium15,460
PortsmouthPortsmouthFratton Park20,224
ReadingReadingMadejski Stadium24,224
SouthamptonSouthamptonSt Mary's Stadium32,689
WatfordWatfordVicarage Road23,500
West Ham UnitedLondonBoleyn Ground35,303

League table


Results

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

Statistics

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1Rickie LambertSouthampton27
2Ricardo Vaz TêBarnsley/West Ham22
3Billy SharpDoncaster Rovers/Southampton19
4Ross McCormackLeeds United18
5Kevin PhillipsBlackpool16
5Charlie AustinBurnley16
5Marlon KingBirmingham City16
5Matty FryattHull City16
9Jay RodriguezBurnley15
9Darius HendersonMillwall15
9David NugentLeicester City15

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Peterborough UnitedIpswich Town20 August 2011
SouthamptonNottingham Forest10 September 2011
Birmingham CityMillwall11 September 2011
MillwallLeicester City22 October 2011
BlackpoolLeeds United2 November 2011
SouthamptonBrighton & Hove Albion19 November 2011
BlackpoolBarnsley26 December 2011
BarnsleyLeeds United 31 December 2011
MillwallBarnsley21 January 2012
4Birmingham CityLeeds United31 January 2012
SouthamptonWatford25 February 2012
SouthamptonMillwall17 March 2012
4Nottingham ForestLeeds United20 March 2012
BurnleyPortsmouth31 March 2012
Nottingham ForestCrystal Palace31 March 2012
West Ham UnitedBrighton & Hove Albion14 April 2012
Hull CityBarnsley17 April 2012
4 Player scored 4 goals

Scoring

Disciplinary record by team

RankTeam
1Cardiff City490
2Blackpool481
3Reading511
4Crystal Palace492
=Peterborough United492
6Southampton464
7Derby County541
8Barnsley552
=Coventry City552
10Birmingham City543
=Watford562
12Ipswich Town535
13Nottingham Forest574
=Burnley612
15Hull City641
16West Ham United606
17Doncaster Rovers673
18Millwall702
19Leicester City609
20Leeds United6711
=Portsmouth734
22Bristol City725
23Middlesbrough717
24Brighton & Hove Albion838
Source:

Clean sheets

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.

Attendances

Source:
No.ClubAverageChangeHighestLowest
1West Ham United30,923-7.7%35,00025,680
2Southampton26,42019.2%32,36321,014
3Derby County26,0200.0%33,01022,040
4Leeds United23,283-14.7%33,36619,469
5Leicester City23,037-2.7%27,72019,806
6Cardiff City22,100-4.7%25,10920,366
7Nottingham Forest21,970-5.6%27,35618,506
8Brighton & Hove Albion20,028172.4%20,96818,412
9Reading19,2198.7%24,02615,124
10Birmingham City19,127-24.9%25,51616,253
11Hull City18,790-11.2%22,67616,604
12Ipswich Town18,267-6.9%24,76315,650
13Middlesbrough17,5587.9%27,79414,366
14Crystal Palace15,219-0.9%21,00211,853
15Coventry City15,119-7.3%22,24012,054
16Portsmouth15,016-4.4%19,87911,261
17Burnley14,048-5.9%17,22612,355
18Bristol City13,846-5.2%19,00312,017
19Blackpool12,764-19.1%14,14111,414
20Watford12,704-3.4%16,31410,592
21Millwall11,484-7.7%16,0859,062
22Barnsley10,332-12.9%17,4998,900
23Doncaster Rovers9,341-8.9%12,9627,572
24Peterborough United9,11141.3%13,5176,351