2015–16 Football League Championship Explained

Competition:	Football League Championship
Season:	2015–16
Winners:	Burnley 1st Championship title 3rd 2nd tier title
Promoted:	Burnley Middlesbrough Hull City
Relegated:	Bolton Wanderers Milton Keynes Dons Charlton Athletic
League Topscorer:	Andre Gray (25 goals)^[1]
Biggest Home Win:	Hull City 6–0 Charlton Athletic (16 January 2016) Bristol City 6–0 Bolton Wanderers (19 March 2016)
Biggest Away Win:	Milton Keynes Dons 0–5 Burnley (12 January 2016)
Highest Scoring:	Queens Park Rangers 4–3 Bolton Wanderers (3 October 2015) Fulham 2–5 Birmingham City (7 November 2015) Rotherham United 2–5 Ipswich Town (7 November 2015)
Matches:	552
Total Goals:	1337
Longest Wins:	6 matches^[2] Burnley Middlesbrough
Longest Unbeaten:	23 matches Burnley
Longest Winless:	17 matches Bolton Wanderers
Longest Losses:	6 matches Bolton Wanderers
Highest Attendance:	33,806^[3] (7 May 2016)
Lowest Attendance:	8,363^[4] (19 April 2016)
Average Attendance:	17,578
Attendance:	9,703,004
Prevseason:	2014–15
Nextseason:	2016–17

The 2015–16 Football League Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the twelfth season of the Football League Championship under its current title and it was the twenty-fourth season under its current league structure.The season started on 7 August 2015, and concluded on 7 May 2016.^[5] The fixtures were announced on 17 June 2015.

Teams

A total of 24 teams contested the league, including 18 sides from the 2014–15 season, three relegated from the 2014–15 Premier League and three promoted from the 2014–15 Football League One.

Team changes

The following teams changed division after the 2014–15 season. Blackpool were relegated on 6 April after Rotherham United won against Brighton & Hove Albion. Bristol City secured promotion to the Championship on 14 April after beating Bradford City 6–0.^[6] Watford secured promotion to the Premier League on 25 April.^[7] Rotherham United won against Reading on 28 April to also send Millwall and Wigan Athletic to League One. Bournemouth secured promotion to the Premier League on the final day on 2 May against Charlton Athletic and won the 2014–15 Football League Championship after Watford slipped up against Sheffield Wednesday. Milton Keynes Dons secured promotion to the Championship after beating Yeovil Town 5–1 after Preston North End slipped up against Colchester United. On 9 May, Burnley became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League despite winning away 1–0 against Hull City as results on the day went against them.^[8] On 10 May, Queens Park Rangers were the second team to be relegated from the Premier League after suffering a 6–0 defeat to Manchester City.^[9] On 24 May 2015, Hull City were the 3rd and final team to be relegated from the Premier League, finishing 18th in the Premier League. On the same day Preston North End achieved promotion at Wembley via the play-offs. On 25 May 2015, Norwich City won the playoff final, and were promoted to the Premier League.

To Championship

Promoted from League One

• Bristol City
• Milton Keynes Dons
• Preston North End

Relegated from Premier League

• Hull City
• Burnley
• Queens Park Rangers

From Championship

Relegated to League One

• Millwall
• Wigan Athletic
• Blackpool

Promoted to Premier League

• Bournemouth
• Watford
• Norwich City

Overview of the teams

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
			30,016
			31,367
			28,723
	London (Brentford)		12,300
			30,750
			16,600
			21,401
			33,280
	London (Charlton)		27,111
			33,597
	London (Fulham)		25,700
			24,500
			25,400
			30,311
			37,914
			34,742
			30,500
			30,576
			23,404
	London (White City)		18,439
			24,161
			12,021
			39,732
			31,700

Personnel and sponsoring

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Sponsor
Birmingham City		Paul Robinson	Carbrini^[10]	EZE Group^[11]
Blackburn Rovers		Grant Hanley	Nike^[12]	Dafabet^[13]
Bolton Wanderers		Darren Pratley	Macron^[14]	ROK Mobile^[15]
Brentford		Jake Bidwell	Adidas	Matchbook.com^[16]
Brighton & Hove Albion		Gordon Greer	Nike^[17]	American Express
Bristol City		Aaron Wilbraham	Bristol Sport	RSG
Burnley		Tom Heaton	Puma^[18]	Oak Furniture Land (home), Sofastore.com (away)
Cardiff City		David Marshall	Adidas^[19]	Visit Malaysia
Charlton Athletic		Johnnie Jackson	Nike^[20]	University of Greenwich (front) Andrews Sykes (back), Mitsubishi Electric (shorts)
Derby County		Richard Keogh	Umbro^[21]	JUST EAT^[22]
Fulham		Scott Parker	Adidas^[23]	Visit Florida^[24] ^[25]
Huddersfield Town		Mark Hudson	Puma	PURE Legal (home),^[26] RadianB (away), Cavonia (third)
Hull City		Michael Dawson	Umbro^[27]	Flamingo Land
Ipswich Town		Luke Chambers	Adidas
Leeds United	Steve Evans	Sol Bamba	Kappa	No sponsor
Middlesbrough		Grant Leadbitter	Adidas^[28]	Ramsdens^[29]
Milton Keynes Dons		Dean Lewington	Erreà	Suzuki
Nottingham Forest		Chris Cohen	Adidas^[30]	Fawaz International Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Company^[31]
Preston North End		Tom Clarke	Nike^[32]	Virgin Trains^[33]
Queens Park Rangers		Nedum Onuoha	Nike^[34]	AirAsia (front),^[35] Smarkets (back)^[36]
Reading		Paul McShane	Puma^[37]	Carabao Daeng (home), Thai Airways (away) Waitrose (Home back), Euro Cake (Away back) Legend Alliance (shorts)
Rotherham United		Lee Frecklington	Puma	Parkgate Shopping (home) Balreed (away), TGB Sheds (third)
Sheffield Wednesday		Glenn Loovens	Sondico	Chansiri^[38]
Wolverhampton Wanderers		Danny Batth	Puma	Silverbug^[39]

Managerial changes

Team	width-200	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Brentford		End of contract	15 May 2015^[40]	Pre-season		1 June 2015^[41]
Leeds United		Sacked	20 May 2015^[42]			20 May 2015 ^[43]
Derby County			25 May 2015 ^[44]			1 June 2015 ^[45]
Sheffield Wednesday			12 June 2015 ^[46]			30 June 2015^[47]
Brentford			28 September 2015^[48]	19th		28 September 2015^[49]
Rotherham United		Mutual consent	28 September 2015^[50]	20th		9 October 2015^[51]
Leeds United		Sacked	19 October 2015 ^[52]	18th		19 October 2015
Charlton Athletic			24 October 2015 ^[53]	22nd		14 January 2016
Huddersfield Town			4 November 2015	18th		5 November 2015
Queens Park Rangers			4 November 2015	13th		4 December 2015
Fulham			8 November 2015	12th		27 December 2015
Blackburn Rovers			10 November 2015	16th		15 November 2015
Brentford		End of caretaker spell	30 November 2015	11th		30 November 2015
Reading		Sacked	4 December 2015^[54]	7th	Brian McDermott	17 December 2015^[55]
Bristol City			14 January 2016	22nd		6 February 2016
Rotherham United			8 February 2016			11 February 2016
Derby County			8 February 2016	5th		27 May 2016^[56]
Nottingham Forest			13 March 2016 ^[57]	14th		27 June 2016^[58]
Bolton Wanderers			15 March 2016^[59]	24th	Phil Parkinson	10 June 2016^[60]

Rule changes

The 2015–16 season was the last season under the initial Financial Fair Play rules before the switch to the new rules.^[61] Changes to the Championship's financial fair play system allow clubs:^[62]

• Acceptable losses of £2 million during the 2015–16 season (down from £3 million during the 2014–15 season)
• Acceptable shareholder equity investment of £3 million during the 2015–16 season.
• Sanctions for exceeding the allowances take effect from the set of accounts due to be submitted on 1 December 2015 for the 2014–15 season.

League table

Play-offs

See also: 2016 Football League play-offs. The four teams that finished from third to sixth played off, with the winning team, Hull City, gaining the final promotion spot to the Premier League.

In the play-off semi-finals the third placed team played the sixth placed team and the fourth placed team played the fifth placed team. The team that finished in the higher league position played away in the first leg and played at home in the second leg. If the aggregate score was level after both legs, then extra time would be played. If the scores were still level, a penalty shoot-out decided the winner. The away goals rule did apply in the semi-finals. The semi-finals were held on 13–14 and 16–17 May.^[63]

The winners from the two semi-finals, Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday, played at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2016 in the play-off final, where Hull City won 1–0.^[63] The game is known as the richest game in football as the winning club is guaranteed significantly increased payments e.g. in the 2016-17 season the minimum payment for participating in the Premier League was £95 million. Due to a new TV rights deal, the average payment for a newly promoted club stood at around £100 million.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[64]
1	Andre Gray	Brentford/Burnley	25
2	Ross McCormack	Fulham	21
3	Abel Hernández	Hull City	20
4	Jonathan Kodjia	Bristol City	18
5	Nahki Wells	Huddersfield Town	17
	Tomer Hemed	Brighton & Hove Albion
7	Jordan Rhodes	Blackburn Rovers/Middlesbrough	16
8	Moussa Dembélé	Fulham	15
	Chris Martin	Derby County
	Fernando Forestieri	Sheffield Wednesday

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets^[65]
1	Dimitrios Konstantopoulos	Middlesbrough	22
2	Tom Heaton	Burnley	20
3	Allan McGregor	Hull City	19
4	Tomasz Kuszczak	Birmingham City	15
	David Stockdale	Brighton & Hove Albion
5	Scott Carson	Derby County	14
	Keiren Westwood	Sheffield Wednesday
6	Lee Camp	Rotherham United	13
7	Jordan Pickford	Preston North End	12
	David Marshall	Cardiff City
	Jason Steele	Blackburn Rovers

Hat-tricks

See main article: List of EFL Championship hat-tricks.

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
			5–1^[66]	11 September 2015
			4–2^[67]	12 September 2015
			5–2^[68]	7 November 2015
			4–0^[69]	15 December 2015
			4–0^[70]	28 December 2015
			6–0^[71]	16 January 2016
			3–4^[72]	27 February 2016
			5–0^[73]	15 April 2016

Discipline

Player

• Most yellow cards 14^[74]
  • Kyle McFadzean (Milton Keynes Dons)
• Most red cards 2^[75]
  • Patrick Bauer (Charlton Athletic)
  • Fernando Forestieri (Sheffield Wednesday)
  • Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
  • Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Club

• Most yellow cards 93^[76]
  • Leeds United
• Most red cards 4 ^[76]
  • Milton Keynes Dons
  • Bolton Wanderers
  • Nottingham Forest

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Reference
	Manager	Club	Player	Club
August	Chris Hughton	Brighton & Hove Albion	Kazenga LuaLua	Brighton & Hove Albion	^[77]
September	Aitor Karanka	Middlesbrough	Jordan Rhodes	Blackburn Rovers	^[78] ^[79]
October	Lee Carsley	Brentford	Alan Judge	Brentford	^[80] ^[81]
November	Mick McCarthy	Ipswich Town	Daryl Murphy	Ipswich Town	^[82]
December	Aitor Karanka	Middlesbrough	Adam Clayton	Middlesbrough	^[83]
January	Steve Bruce	Hull City	Abel Hernández	Hull City	^[84]
February	Sean Dyche	Burnley	Aden Flint	Bristol City	^[85] ^[86]
March	Neil Warnock	Rotherham United	Sam Vokes	Burnley	^[87] ^[88]
April	Chris Hughton	Brighton & Hove Albion	Anthony Knockaert	Brighton & Hove Albion	^[89]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Championship Top Scorers . 17 September 2015 . 16 November 2015.
2. Web site: English League Championship 2014–15 . statto.com . 12 March 2015 . 27 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927224052/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/league-championship/2015-2016/longest-sequences/full . dead .
3. Web site: English League Championship Statistics – 2015–16 . . . 7 May 2016.
4. Web site: Brentford 2-1 Cardiff City. BBC. BBC Sport. 19 April 2016.
5. Web site: The 2015–16 fixture list has been released by the FA . The FA . 12 May 2015 . 28 May 2015.
6. Web site: Bristol City secure promotion to the Championship. BBC. BBC Sport. 13 May 2015.
7. Web site: Watford secure promotion to the Premier League. . BBC Sport. 13 May 2015.
8. Web site: Hull City 0-1 Burnley . BBC. BBC Sport. 17 May 2015.
9. Web site: QPR's relegation to Championship confirmed. BBC. BBC Sport. 13 May 2015.
10. Web site: Birmingham City 2014/15 kit to be made by Carbrini. Birmingham Mail. 11 June 2014.
11. Web site: Birmingham City FC announce major shirt sponsorship deal with EZE Group . Birmingham City FC . 17 July 2015 . 21 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150721061418/http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/eze-group-birmingham-city-2493943.aspx . dead .
12. Web site: Rovers team up with Nike. Blackburn Rovers Fc. 9 May 2013.
13. Web site: Rovers agree deal with Dafabet. Blackburn Rovers FC. 29 May 2015.
14. Web site: Bolton Wanderers reveal 2015/16 Macron home kit. Bolton Wanderers FC. 20 August 2015. 30 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150630152930/http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/bolton-wanderers-reveal-201516-macron-home-kit-2504992.aspx. dead.
15. Web site: Bolton Wanderers announce ROK Mobile as new principal kit sponsors. University of Bolton. 2 August 2013. 4 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150704221727/http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/bolton-wanderers-announce-two-year-rok-mobile-sponsorship-2503218.aspx#GT1OuEDGkefas6yC.99. dead.
16. Web site: Matchbook.com on board as new Official Shirt Partner. Brentford FC. 9 July 2015. 13 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150713002831/http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk//news/article/matchbook.com-the-new-official-shirt-partner-of-brentford-fc-2535879.aspx. dead.
17. Web site: New Kit Partnership with Nike. seagulls. 3 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140606234056/http://www.seagulls.co.uk/news/article/brighton-and-hove-albion-announce-new-kit-partnership-with-nike-1432659.aspx/. 6 June 2014. dead.
18. Web site: Burnley sign new Puma kit deal. Lancashire Telegraph. 17 May 2013.
19. Web site: Adidas and Cardiff City announce partnership. Cardiff City. 15 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212930/http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news/article/cardiff-city-agree-long-term-kit-deal-with-adidas-2492404.aspx. 3 March 2016. dead.
20. Web site: Charlton Athletic announce Nike Kit Deal. footballshirtculture.com. 17 May 2013.
21. Web site: Derby County Announce Umbro Kit Deal. 10 June 2014.
22. Web site: Derby County and JUST EAT Announce Three Year Shirt Sponsorship Deal. 27 July 2013. www.just-eat.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20150722150704/http://www.just-eat.com/derby-county-and-just-eat-announce-three-year-shirt-sponsorship-deal/. 22 July 2015. dead. dmy-all.
23. Web site: adidas announcement. Fulham FC. 17 May 2013.
24. Web site: Kit Launch Update Fulham Football Club. 19 July 2015.
25. Football League Tonight - Trailer. Channel 5. July 2015.
26. Web site: PURE Legal: New Home Shirt Sponsor. Huddersfield Town A.F.C.. 2 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160801140617/http://www.htafc.com//news/article/huddersfield-town-pure-legal-limited-sponsorship-home-shirt-2519176.aspx. 1 August 2016. dead.
27. Web site: Hull City Announce Umbro Kit Deal. Hull City FC. 30 May 2015. https://archive.today/20140521225835/http://www.hullcitytigers.com/news/article/201314-umbro-announcement-1499841.aspx. 21 May 2014. dead. dmy-all.
28. Web site: Boro FC unveil new kit deal with Adidas for the next three seasons. gazettelive.co.uk. 17 May 2013.
29. Web site: Ramsdens sign new five-year sponsorship deal with Middlesbrough. gazettelive.co.uk. 17 May 2013.
30. Web site: Forest Team Up With Adidas . nottinghamforest.co.uk . 25 June 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130917205803/http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/article/forest-team-up-with-adidas-878245.aspx . 17 September 2013 .
31. Web site: 2014-15 shirt sponsors announced. Nottingham Forest FC. 9 August 2014.
32. Web site: Club Sponsors . . 25 July 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120807122743/http://www.pnefc.net/commercial/sponsors/ . 7 August 2012 .
33. News: Preston North End Agree Virgin Trains Partnership. 5 August 2014. 7 August 2014. Preston North End F.C..
34. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: R'S SIGN NIKE DEAL. . 25 May 2014.
35. . QPR agree new AirAsia sponsorship deal . . 4 June 2014 . 4 June 2014.
36. . QPR WELCOME SMARKETS ON BOARD . . 7 August 2015 . 19 January 2016.
37. Web site: New Puma away strip on sale on Saturday 22nd of August.
38. Web site: Owls shirt sponsorship deal revealed. Sheffield Wednesday FC. 1 June 2015.
39. Web site: Wolves announce Silverbug as new main sponsor. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 10 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150507203448/http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/wolves-introduce-silverbug-as-new-main-sponsor-2440954.aspx. 7 May 2015. dead. dmy-all.
40. Web site: Brentford manager Mark Warburton to leave in summer. 22 May 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
41. Web site: Marinus Dijkhuizen takes over as Brentford head coach. BBC. BBC Sport. 1 June 2015.
42. Web site: Uwe Rösler: Leeds United appoint fifth head coach in less than a year. 20 May 2015 . BBC. BBC Sport.
43. Web site: Uwe Rösler: Leeds United appoint fifth head coach in less than a year. 20 May 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
44. Web site: Steve McClaren: Derby County sack head coach. 25 May 2015 . BBC. BBC Sport.
45. Web site: Derby County appoint Paul Clement as head coach. BBC. BBC Sport. 1 June 2015.
46. Web site: Sheffield Wednesday seek fresh start after sacking Stuart Gray. 12 June 2015 . 15 June 2015 . The Times.
47. Web site: Sheffield Wednesday name Carlos Carvalhal as new head coach. . BBC Sport. 30 June 2015.
48. Web site: Brentford sack Marinus Dijkhuizen and appoint Lee Carsley . 28 September 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
49. Web site: Brentford sack Marinus Dijkhuizen and appoint Lee Carsley. BBC Sport. BBC.
50. Web site: Steve Evans: Rotherham United part company with manager. 28 September 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
51. Web site: Neil Redfearn: Rotherham United appoint ex-Leeds head coach . BBC. . 9 October 2015 . 9 October 2015.
52. Web site: Leeds United Sack Head coach Rosler . 19 October 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
53. News: Guy Luzon: Charlton Athletic sack manager after winless run . 24 October 2015. 24 October 2015. BBC. BBC Sport.
54. Web site: Club statement: Steve Clarke. readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C.. 2 November 2016. 4 December 2015.
55. Web site: Reading Football Club appoint Brian McDermott. www.readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C.. 17 December 2015.
56. Web site: Nigel Pearson: Derby County appoint former Leicester City boss as new manager. BBC Sport.
57. Web site: Dougie Freedman: Nottingham Forest manager sacked. BBC. BBC Sport. 15 March 2016.
58. News: Philippe Montanier takes over as Nottingham Forest head coach. BBC Sport.
59. News: Neil Lennon: Bolton Wanderers manager leaves by mutual consent. BBC. BBC Sport. 15 March 2016.
60. Web site: Phil Parkinson: Bolton Wanderers appoint Bradford City boss as new manager.
61. Web site: Championship clubs agree new Financial Fair Play rules. 10 May 2015. .
62. Web site: Financial Fair Play in The Football League . https://web.archive.org/web/20140604195858/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/FLExplainedDetail/0%2C%2C10794~2748246%2C00.html . 4 June 2014 . . 16 April 2013 . dead .
63. Web site: Dates confirmed for Sky Bet Football League play-offs . . 9 March 2016 . 10 March 2016.
64. Web site: Sky Bet Championship 15/16 Top goal scorers. statbunker.com. 2 November 2016.
65. Web site: Players Index. 23 April 2016. statbunker.com.
66. News: Reading 5-1 Ipswich Town. BBC. 11 September 2015.
67. News: Birmingham 4–2 Bristol City. BBC. 12 September 2015.
68. News: Rotherham 2–5 Ipswich Town. BBC. 7 November 2015.
69. News: Derby 4–0 Bristol City. BBC. 15 December 2015.
70. News: Burnley 4–0 Bristol City. BBC. 28 December 2015.
71. News: Hull City 6–0 Charlton Athletic. BBC. 16 January 2016.
72. News: Charlton Athletic 3-4 Reading. BBC. 27 January 2016.
73. News: Brighton & Hove Albion 5–0 Fulham. BBC. 15 April 2016.
74. Web site: Players Index . statbunker.com . 16 April 2016.
75. Web site: Players Index. statbunker.com. 16 April 2016.
76. Web site: Club index . statbunker.com. 16 April 2016.
77. Web site: Brighton duo Hughton and LuaLua land awards. 4 September 2015.
78. Web site: Aitor Karanka named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month. 2016-11-02. 2015-10-09. football-league.co.uk. English Football League.
79. Web site: Jordan Rhodes named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month. 2016-11-02. 2015-10-09. football-league.co.uk. English Football League.
80. Web site: Lee Carsley named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month. English Football League. 2016-11-02. football-league.co.uk. 2015-11-06.
81. Web site: Alan Judge named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month. English Football League. 2016-11-02. football-league.co.uk. 2015-11-06.
82. Web site: GALLERY: Sky Bet Manager and Player of the Month winners - November 2015/16. Ryan Percival. English Football League.
83. Web site: GALLERY: Sky Bet Manager and Player of the Month winners - December 2015/16. Ryan Percival. English Football League.
84. Web site: GALLERY: Sky Bet Manager and Player of the Month winners - January 2015/16. Ryan Percival. English Football League.
85. Web site: Sean Dyche named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month. English Football League. 15 March 2016.
86. Web site: Aden Flint named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month. English Football League. 15 March 2016.
87. Web site: Neil Warnock named Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month. English Football League. 8 April 2016.
88. Web site: Sam Vokes named Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month. English Football League. 8 April 2016.
89. Web site: Hughton and Knockaert win Skybet awards. English Football League. 8 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161207210355/http://www.seagulls.co.uk/news/article/chris-hughton-and-anthony-knockaert-win-aprils-skybet-awards-3097470.aspx. 7 December 2016. dead.