The 2012–13 Football League Championship (known as the npower Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league under its current title and twentieth season under its current league division format. The season began on 17 August 2012 with promotion candidates Cardiff City hosting newly promoted Huddersfield Town at Cardiff City Stadium and finished on 27 May 2013 with the play-off final.
Of the 24 teams which participate, eighteen of these remain following the 2011–12 Football League Championship. They were joined by Charlton Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town from 2011–12 Football League One, and Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers from the 2011–12 Premier League. The final place was decided on 26 May 2012, as Huddersfield Town defeated Sheffield United 8–7 on penalties, in the 2012 Football League One play-off final.
Cardiff City won the league in their first season since a controversial rebrand; they achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time since 1960 and became the second Welsh club to play in the Premier League. The second automatic promotion spot was won by Hull City with a 2–2 draw against Cardiff on the final day after a dramatic finale to the season. Watford, just two points behind, had to settle for a place in the playoffs, joining Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, and Leicester City, who secured their place with a last-minute goal over rivals Nottingham Forest. In the playoffs, Watford defeated Leicester City 3–2, Crystal Palace defeated Brighton 2–0, and in the final Watford was upset by Crystal Palace to gain the promotion. Bristol City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Peterborough United were relegated. Peterborough gained 54 points, the highest ever for a relegated team in Championship history. Wolves' relegation was the first time a team had been relegated from the top tier to the third tier in consecutive seasons since Swindon Town in 1994 and 1995. They also became the first team to suffer this fate twice.
Changes from last season
Team changes
To Championship Promoted from League One Charlton Athletic Sheffield Wednesday Huddersfield Town
Relegated from Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers
From Championship Promoted to Premier League Reading Southampton West Ham United
Relegated to League One Doncaster Rovers Coventry City Portsmouth
Rules changes On 25 April 2012, it was announced that financial fair play rules would be introduced for teams within The Championship. This means that clubs have agreed to new rules on sustainable financing which includes:
Acceptable losses of £4 million in the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, reducing to £2 million in 2015–16 season Acceptable amounts of shareholder investment of £8 million in the 2011–12 season, £6 million in the 2012–13 season, reducing to £3 million in 2015–16 season New rules on providing accounts New penalties for teams that fail to abide by the rules
Also the 2011–12 season saw Football League clubs vote for five substitutes instead of seven. However, on 1 June 2012, Football League clubs re-voted with the outcome of seven substitutes instead of five, ahead of the 2012–13 Football League season.
Team overview
Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Barnsley Barnsley Oakwell 23,009 Birmingham City Birmingham St Andrew's 30,079 Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,154 Blackpool Blackpool Bloomfield Road 17,338 Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,100 Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton Falmer Stadium 30,750 Bristol City Bristol Ashton Gate 21,497 Burnley Burnley Turf Moor 22,546 Cardiff City Cardiff Cardiff City Stadium 26,828 Charlton Athletic Charlton, London The Valley 27,111 Crystal Palace South Norwood, London Selhurst Park 26,309 Derby County Derby Pride Park Stadium 33,597 Huddersfield Town Huddersfield John Smith's Stadium 24,500 Hull City Kingston upon Hull KC Stadium 25,586 Ipswich Town Ipswich Portman Road 30,311 Leeds United Leeds Elland Road 39,460 Leicester City Leicester King Power Stadium 32,500 Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 34,988 Millwall South Bermondsey, London The Den 20,146 Nottingham Forest Nottingham City Ground 30,576 Peterborough United Peterborough London Road Stadium 15,460 Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Hillsborough 39,812 Watford Watford Vicarage Road 17,477 Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Molineux 31,700
Personnel and sponsoring Team Manager Chairman Team captainKit maker Sponsor Barnsley Nike C.K. Beckett Birmingham City Diadora EZE Group Blackburn Rovers (caretaker) Umbro PROBIZ Blackpool Fila Wonga Bolton Wanderers adidas 188BET Brighton & Hove Albion (suspended) Erreà BrightonandHoveJobs.com Bristol City adidas Blackthorn Burnley Puma Premier Range Cardiff City Puma Malaysia Charlton Athletic Nike Andrews Air-conditioning Crystal Palace Avec GAC Logistics (front), Jelly Communications (back) Derby County Kappa buymobiles.net Huddersfield Town Umbro Rekorderlig Cider (H)RadianB (A) Hull City adidas Cash Converters Ipswich Town Mitre Marcus Evans Leeds United Macron Enterprise Insurance Leicester City Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Wes Morgan Puma King Power (Front), Amazing Thailand (Back) Middlesbrough adidas Ramsdens Millwall Macron racing+ Nottingham Forest Umbro John Pye Auctions Peterborough United Nike Energy Park Peterborough Sheffield Wednesday Puma Front: Gilder Group Honda (H), Westfield Health (A)Back: GCI Com Watford Puma Football Manager/Football Manager Handheld Wolverhampton Wanderers BURRDA Sportingbet (front), What House? (back)
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment Hull City Sacked 8 May 2012Pre-season 8 June 2012 Birmingham City Signed by Norwich City 7 June 2012 Lee Clark 26 June 2012 Wolverhampton Wanderers End of contract 30 June 2012 1 July 20121 Watford Sacked 2 July 2012 Gianfranco Zola 7 July 2012 Nottingham Forest 12 July 2012 19 July 2012 Blackburn Rovers Resigned 28 September 2012 3rd 31 October 2012 Bolton Wanderers Sacked 9 October 2012 18th 23 October 2012 Burnley Signed by Bournemouth 12 October 2012 16th 30 October 2012 Crystal Palace Signed by Bolton Wanderers 23 October 2012 4th 3 November 2012 Ipswich Town Mutual consent 24 October 2012 24th 1 November 2012 Blackpool Signed by Crystal Palace 2 November 2012 12th 7 November 2012 Nottingham Forest Sean O'DriscollSacked 26 December 2012 8th 27 December 2012 Blackburn Rovers Henning Berg 27 December 2012 17th 11 January 2013 Barnsley 29 December 2012 24th 13 January 2013 Wolverhampton Wanderers 5 January 2013 18th 7 January 2013 Blackpool Signed by Blackburn Rovers 11 January 2013 14th 18 February 2013 Bristol City Sacked 12 January 2013 24th 14 January 2013 Huddersfield Town 24 January 2013 18th Mark Robins 14 February 2013 Nottingham Forest Mutual consent 5 February 2013 11th 7 February 2013 Blackburn Rovers Sacked 19 March 2013 18th 24 May 2013 Leeds United Resigned 1 April 2013 12th 12 April 2013 Wolverhampton Wanderers Sacked 7 May 2013 23rd 1 June 2013
23 Managerial changes ~ 12 sacked + 5 changed club + 3 resigned + 2 mutual consent + 1 contract finished
League table A total of 24 teams contest the division: 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the Premier League, and three promoted from the League One.
Play-offs
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Glenn MurrayCrystal Palace302 Jordan RhodesBlackburn Rovers1293 Charlie AustinBurnley244 Matěj VydraWatford322 Chris WoodLeicester City26 Troy DeeneyWatford4207 Tom InceBlackpool188 David NugentLeicester City3169 Luciano BecchioLeeds United1510 Sylvan Ebanks-BlakeWolverhampton Wanderers14
– includes two goals for Huddersfield Town – includes eleven goals for Millwall – includes two goals in the play-offs – includes one goal in the play-offs
Assists
RankPlayerClubAssists1 Tom InceBlackpool142 Robbie BradyHull City133 Chris EaglesBolton Wanderers124 Andy ReidNottingham Forest11 Ross McCormackLeeds United Bakary SakoWolverhampton Wanderers Andrea OrlandiBrighton Bradley PritchardCharlton Athletic Kieran TrippierBurnley10 Simon CoxNottingham Forest10 Troy DeeneyWatford1
– includes one assist in the play-offs
Penalties
RankPlayerClubScored (Miss)1 Glenn MurrayCrystal Palace8 (3)2 Jordan RhodesBlackburn Rovers163 Luciano BecchioLeeds United5 Grant McCannPeterborough United5 Marlon KingBirmingham City4 Sam BaldockBristol City Keith AndrewsBolton Wanderers Jamie WardDerby County Peter WhittinghamCardiff City Charlie AustinBurnley David LópezBrighton
– includes one penalty for Huddersfield Town
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Cardiff City Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 2 September 2012 (#1) Burnley Peterborough United 5–2 15 September 2012 4 Barnsley Birmingham City 0–5 22 September 2012 (#1) Crystal Palace Cardiff City 3–2 22 September 2012 Leicester City Hull City 3–1 23 September 2012 Peterborough Hull City 1–3 29 September 2012 (#2) Burnley Sheffield Wednesday 3–3 2 October 2012 Birmingham City Millwall 3–3 23 October 2012 (#2) Crystal Palace Ipswich Town 5–0 6 November 2012 Blackburn Rovers Peterborough United 1–4 17 November 2012 Leicester City Bristol City 0–4 12 January 2013 Nottingham Forest Huddersfield Town 6–1 19 February 2013 Peterborough Blackburn Rovers 2–3 2 March 2013 Brighton Huddersfield Town 4–1 2 March 2013 Crystal Palace Hull City 4–2 5 March 2013 Huddersfield Town Bristol City 1–3 27 April 2013
4 Player scored 4 goals
Scoring First goal of the season: Mark Hudson for Cardiff City against Huddersfield Town (17 August 2012) Fastest goal of the season: 30 seconds, Glenn Murray for Crystal Palace against Sheffield Wednesday (1 September 2012) Latest goal of the season: 98 minutes and 23 seconds, Troy Deeney for Watford against Leeds United (10 November 2012) Largest winning margin: 6 goals Blackpool 6–0 Ipswich Town (25 August 2012) Leicester City 6–0 Ipswich Town (17 November 2012) Barnsley 0–6 Charlton Athletic (13 April 2013) Highest scoring game: 9 goals Charlton Athletic 5–4 Cardiff City (6 November 2012) Peterborough United 5–4 Bolton Wanderers (22 December 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 6 goals Blackpool 6–0 Ipswich Town (25 August 2012) Leeds United 1–6 Watford (10 November 2012) Leicester City 6–0 Ipswich Town (17 November 2012) Leicester City 6–1 Huddersfield Town (1 January 2013) Nottingham Forest 6–1 Huddersfield Town (19 February 2013) Barnsley 0–6 Charlton Athletic (13 April 2013) Brighton & Hove Albion 6–1 Blackpool (20 April 2013) Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 4 goals Charlton Athletic 5–4 Cardiff City (6 November 2012) Peterborough United 5–4 Bolton Wanderers (22 December 2012)
Clean sheets Most clean sheets: 18 Cardiff City Fewest clean sheets: 5 Bristol City
Discipline Most yellow cards (club): 93 Sheffield Wednesday Most yellow cards (player): 13 Shane Lowry (Millwall) Most red cards (club): 5 Nottingham Forest Watford Wolverhampton Wanderers Most red cards (player): 2 Adlène Guedioura (Nottingham Forest) Nikola Žigić (Birmingham City)
Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthReferenceManagerClubPlayerClubAugust Ian HollowayBlackpool Tom InceBlackpoolSeptember Dougie FreedmanCrystal Palace Glenn MurrayCrystal PalaceOctober Tony MowbrayMiddlesbrough Charlie AustinBurnleyNovember Kenny JackettMillwall Sone AlukoHull CityDecember Steve BruceHull City Dwight GaylePeterborough UnitedJanuary Nigel PearsonLeicester City Matěj VydraWatfordFebruary Gianfranco ZolaWatford Fraizer CampbellCardiff CityMarch Billy DaviesNottingham Forest George BoydHull CityApril Dougie FreedmanBolton Wanderers James VaughanHuddersfield Town
Final day of the season