LONDON pair Millwall and Dagenham & Redbridge completed the domestic football season in Britain over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend with wins at Wembley in their respective playoff finals.
Millwall skipper Paul Robinson scored the only goal as the Lions beat Swindon Town 1-0 on Saturday afternoon to achieve promotion to the Championship where they have not played since 2005/06.
Dagenham & Redbridge won a more open and entertaining game against Rotherham United 3-2 on Sunday to reach League One for the first time in their history, having been a non-league side as recently as 2007.
In a thrilling encounter, the Daggers twice took the lead through Paul Benson and Danny Green only to be pinned back by two goals from the Millers' Ryan Taylor.
But the Daggers took the lead for a third time through Jon Nurse's deflected strike and, this time, it proved to be decisive - the last act of season 2009/10.
A comprehensive list of the ups and downs, and Cup Final results, for 09/10 can be found below:
ENGLAND
PREMIER LEAGUE
Champions: Chelsea
Runners-up: Manchester United
Champions League: Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur
Europa League: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool
Relegated: Burnley, Hull City, Portsmouth
CHAMPIONSHIP
Champions: Newcastle United
Runners-up: West Bromwich Albion
Playoff winners: Blackpool (beat Cardiff City 3-2 in the Final)
Relegated: Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle, Peterborough United
LEAGUE ONE
Champions: Norwich City
Runners-up: Leeds United
Playoff winners: Millwall (beat Swindon Town 1-0 in the Final)
Relegated: Gillingham, Wycombe Wanderers, Southend United, Stockport County
LEAGUE TWO
Champions: Notts County
Runners-up: Rochdale
Also promoted automatically: Bournemouth
Playoff winners: Dagenham & Redbridge (beat Rotherham United 3-2 in the Final)
Relegated: Grimsby Town, Darlington
BLUE SQUARE PREMIER
Champions: Stevenage Borough
Playoff winners: Oxford United (beat York City 3-1 in the Final)
Relegated: Forest Green, Ebbsfleet United, Grays Athletic
BLUE SQUARE NORTH
Champions: Southport
Playoff winners: Fleetwood Town (beat Alfreton Town 2-1 in the Final)
Relegated: Vauxhall Motors, Harrogate Town
BLUE SQUARE SOUTH
Champions: Newport County
Playoff winners: Bath City (beat Woking 1-0 in the Final)
Relegated: Worcester, Weston-super-Mare, Weymouth
DOMESTIC TROPHY FINALS
All matches played at Wembley
FA Cup Final: Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth
League Cup Final: Manchester United 2-1 Aston Villa
FA Community Shield: Chelsea 2-2 Manchester United - Chelsea won on penalties
Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Southampton 4-1 Carlisle United
FA Trophy: Barrow 2-1 Stevenage Borough (after extra time)
FA Vase: Whitley Bay 6-1 Wroxham
SCOTLAND
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Champions: Rangers
Runners-up: Celtic
Europa League: Dundee United, Hibernian, Motherwell
Relegated: Falkirk
SCOTTISH DIVISION ONE
Champions: Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Runners-up (not promoted): Dundee
Relegated: Airdree United, Ayr United
SCOTTISH DIVISION TWO
Champions: Stirling Albion
Playoff winners: Cowdenbeath (beat Brechin City 3-0 on aggregate in the Final)
Relegated: Arbroath, Clyde
SCOTTISH DIVISION THREE
Champions: Livingston
Playoff winners: Forfar Athletic (beat Arbroath 2-0 on aggregate in the Final)
DOMESTIC TROPHY FINALS
FA Cup: Dundee United 3-0 Ross County
League Cup: Rangers 1-0 St Mirren
Challenge Cup: Dundee 3-2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
WALES/NORTHERN IRELAND
WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE
Champions: The New Saints
Europa League: Llanelli AFC (runners-up), Port Talbot Town (third)
Relegated: Rhyl, Connah's Quay, CPD Porthmadog, Welshpool Town, Caersws FC, Cefn Druids
IFA PREMIERSHIP
Champions: Linfield
Europa League: Cliftonville (runners-up), Glentoran (third), Portadown (losing Cup finalists)
Relegated: Institute
DOMESTIC TROPHY FINALS
Welsh FA Cup: Bangor City 3-2 Port Talbot Town
Welsh League Cup: The New Saints 3-1 Rhyl
IFA Cup: Linfield 2-1 Portadown
Irish League Cup: Glentoran 2-2 Coleraine - Glentoran won 4-1 on penalties
EUROPE
UEFA FINALS
Champions League: Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern Munich
Europa League: Athletico Madrid 2-1 Fulham (after extra time)
Super Cup: Barcelona 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk (after extra time)
MAJOR EUROPEAN LEAGUE WINNERS
Spain: Barcelona
Italy: Inter Milan
Germany: Bayern Munich
France: Marseille
Portugal: Benfica
Holland: FC Twente Enschede
*Why not click on the 2009/10 Label at the bottom of this post for a month-by-month account of this season?
Showing posts with label 2009/10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009/10. Show all posts
Monday, 31 May 2010
Sunday, 23 May 2010
The Season 2009/10: The Final Reckoning
Premier League
Final Table
CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti finished his first season in charge having won a historic League and Cup Double for the club.
The Blues finished a point ahead of Carling Cup winners Manchester United, and a Didier Drogba goal with 15 minutes left was enough to beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final.
While they prospered in the Cup, Pompey suffered a terrible season in the league. They became the first ever Premier League club to go into administration and a nine-point deduction all but ensured their relegation.
Burnley and Hull City were the other teams to be demoted, both falling well short of the level required to stay in the top flight.
The North London clubs had a decent season with Arsenal staying in the title chase longer than expected, and Tottenham Hotspur finishing in fourth place to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
But Merseyside had a miserable time of it. Liverpool, who were runners-up in 2008-09, collapsed badly and stumbled to a seventh-placed finish. Everton's poor start meant they could finish no higher than eighth.
Manchester City's big spending could only get them to fifth place just ahead of Aston Villa in sixth.
England's best performers in Europe were Fulham whose remarkable Europa Cup campaign saw them overcome holders Shakhtar Donestsk, Italian giants Juventus, and German pair Wolfsburg and Hamburg.
Unfortunately for the Cottagers, and manager Roy Hodgson, their run came to an end at the final hurdle against Athletico Madrid.
CHELSEA
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti (since June 2009)
Premier League: 1st
FA Cup: Winners, beat Portsmouth 1-0 in Final
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost on penalties to Blackburn Rovers
Europe: CL Second Round, lost to Inter Milan 3-1 on aggregate
Verdict: Carlo Ancelotti's men won a deserved title, breaking the record for number of Premier League goals scored in a season and beating their two main title rivals home and away. Big wins against Portsmouth (5-0), Sunderland (7-2), Aston Villa (7-1), Stoke City (7-0) and Wigan Athletic (8-0 on the final day) made this a more stylish title win that those achieved under Jose Mourinho. They capped off the season in style by winning a historic first ever double with victory over Portsmouth at Wembley in the FA Cup Final. A Champions League defeat in the second round to Mourinho at Inter Milan was the Blues' only disappointment.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (since November 1986)
Premier League: 2nd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Leeds United
League Cup: Winners, beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Final
Europe: CL Quarter Finals, lost on away goals to Bayern Munich
Verdict: United were unable to win a record 19th English league crown or a fourth successive title, falling just short of Chelsea after an intriguing title race. This season saw the real emergence of Wayne Rooney's real talent but the Red Devils seemed strangely more vulnerable in losses to Burnley, Fulham and Everton, and at home against Aston Villa. But their main defeats came against Chelsea twice in the league, a gut-wrenching knockout by Bayern Munich in Europe. The 2-1 comeback win against Villa in the Carling Cup Final will be of little consolation.
ARSENAL
Manager: Arsene Wenger (since October 1996)
Premier League: 3rd
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 3-1 at Stoke City
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 3-0 at Manchester City
Europe: CL Quarter Finals, lost 6-3 on aggregate to Barcelona
Verdict: This was a fifth season without a trophy for Arsenal but Arsene Wenger will be generally encouraged by the campaign. Written off as early as November after successive losses to Sunderland and Chelsea, the Gunners stayed in the title chase by showing more consistency over Christmas. At the start of February, Arsenal then lost successive matches against Manchester United and Chelsea but again they hung on in the title race by following those defeats with seven wins out of eight. But a derby defeat against Tottenham ended hopes of a surprise crown, with further last-season losses at Wigan and Blackburn dampening the mood.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Manager: Harry Redknapp (since October 2008)
Premier League: 4th
FA Cup: Semi Finals, lost 2-0 to Portsmouth after extra time
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 to Manchester United
Verdict: Free-scoring Spurs finally reached the Champions League after beating Manchester City to fourth place. It was a tight race but Tottenham's 1-0 win at City in the penultimate match proved decisive. The victory over City capped a fine last few weeks for Spurs who also beat London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea for the first time in years in two successive 2-1 wins in a strong finish marred only by a shock semi final loss to Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Spurs enjoyed several big wins during the season at home, most notably a 9-1 thrashing of Wigan in which Jermain Defoe scored five.
MANCHESTER CITY
Managers: Roberto Mancini (since December 2009). Previous manager: Mark Hughes.
Premier League: 5th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-1 at Stoke City after extra time in replay
League Cup: Semi Finals, lost 4-3 on aggregate to Manchester United
Verdict: Big-spending City achieved none of their goals despite a mid-season managerial change. Three gut-wrenching defeats to Manchester United, all in stoppage time, made this a particularly difficult campaign to bear for unusually optimistic City fans. The 1-0 home loss to Tottenham which decided the final Champions League place in their opponents favour confirmed the feeling that this was not City's season. That was Roberto Mancini's fifth league defeat, more than double the number suffered under Mark Hughes, although Hughes had presided over a remarkable seven successive league draws in October and November.
ASTON VILLA
Manager: Martin O'Neill (since August 2006)
Premier League: 6th
FA Cup: Semi Finals, lost 3-0 to Chelsea
League Cup: Runners up, lost 2-1 to Manchester United
Europe: Europa League first round, lost on away goals to Rapid Vienna
Verdict: Villa reinforced their reputation as nearly men, losing several key games towards the end of the season, though the defeats were not without controversy. Villa lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the Carling Cup final at the end of February but manager Martin O'Neill will argue that United defender Nemanja Vidic should have been sent off for a foul on Gabriel Agbonlahor. A second Wembley heartache followed in April when Chelsea eased to a 3-0 FA Cup semi final win but only after Villa had a legitimate goal ruled out at 0-0. Chelsea were also largely responsible for ending Villa's Champions League qualification hopes after Villa crashed 7-1 at Stamford Bridge. Martin O'Neill has already come under some pressure but his position looks safe enough for now.
LIVERPOOL
Manager: Rafa Benitez (since June 2004)
Premier League: 7th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Reading after extra time in replay
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 at Arsenal
Europe: Knocked out of CL group stage with seven points from six matches, lost in Semi Finals of Europa League on away goals to Athletico Madrid
Verdict: Liverpool went from title contenders to virtually mid-table fodder in the space of 12 months after a disastrous season at Anfield. The signs that this campaign would not match their second-place finish in 2008-09 were there early on with two defeats from the first three games. By Christmas, the Reds had lost seven league matches and they ended the season with 11. The over-reliance on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres was compounded by the loss of Xabi Alonso. Even the various Cups, so often Rafa Benitez's saviour, were no better. A fourth season without a trophy ended with a dire 0-0 draw at relegated Hull - surely Benitez's last in charge.
EVERTON
Manager: David Moyes (since March 2002)
Premier League: 8th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 at home to Birmingham City
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur
Europe: Europa League Second Round, lost 4-2 on aggregate to Sporting Lisbon
Verdict: A woeful first half to the season cost Everton dearly as they fell short of catching Merseyside rivals Liverpool who claimed the final European place. An injury-ravaged squad managed just four wins before Christmas and left Everton in 15th with just 18 points from 17 games. A second half recovery saw the Toffees come unstuck just twice more in the league, although one of these defeats was at Liverpool. A 3-0 defeat in Lisbon also ended any hopes of glory in Europe.
BIRMINGHAM CITY
Manager: Alex McLeish (since November 2007)
Premier League: 9th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 away to Portsmouth
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Sunderland
Verdict: A fine season for the Blues who celebrated their return to the Premier League with a top-half finish and the club's highest league placing for decades. Early struggles were dismissed as Lee Bowyer enjoyed a purple patch in a brilliant 12-match unbeaten run either side of Christmas which was only brought to an end at Chelsea. Birmingham's home form held up well all season with just two losses at St Andrew's all season, the last of which came in September. But that defeat at Chelsea in late-January caused a loss of form on the road with seven of their last eight away games also ending in defeat. Notably, none of Birmingham's wins came by more than one goal and it could be much tougher going for them next season.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Manager: Sam Allardyce (since December 2008)
Premier League: 10th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-1 away to Aston Villa
League Cup: Semi Finals, lost 7-4 on aggregate to Aston Villa
Verdict: Sam Allardyce achieved a top-half finish in his first full season at Ewood Park, and also reached the semi finals of the League Cup before a remarkable 6-4 loss at Villa. Rovers' home form was impressive with just three defeats all season in the league, including a win and two draws against the top three. But, as ever with Allardyce, away form was not particularly good. Blackburn won just three times on the road, and just once outside of Lancashire in the league.
STOKE CITY
Manager: Tony Pulis (since June 2006)
Premier League: 11th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 away at Chelsea
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-0 away at Portsmouth
Verdict: Stoke easily avoided second season syndrome with a finish of 11th, one position higher in 2008-09. The Potters also enjoyed a bit of a Cup run this year though it was predictably halted at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea. Indeed, in the league, Stoke really struggled against the three main title contenders, failing to pick up a single point and suffering heavy defeats at Chelsea (0-7) and Manchester United (0-4) in the final few weeks. By then, though, Stoke were already safe having been more than competitive against the rest of the league.
FULHAM
Manager: Roy Hodgson (since December 2007)
Premier League: 12th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 3-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 away to Manchester City in extra time
Europe: Europa League Runners up, lost 2-1 to Athletico Madrid in extra time
Verdict: Fulham failed to produce another top-half finish but this season was all about the Cups for Roy Hodgson's men. A decent run to the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup was bettered by an amazing Europa Cup campaign. Having emerged from a group featuring Roma, Basle and CSKA Sofia, the Cottagers beat holders Shakhtar Donetsk in the first knockout round. Then, they completed an amazing comeback against Juventus - from 4-1 down to 5-4 on aggregate - before beating Wolfsburg home and away. A 2-1 win over Hamburg at Craven Cottage in the semis set up Fulham's biggest ever match, a Final against Athletico Madrid. Sadly, there was not to be a fairytale ending to their 19th match in the competition going back to July. All the while, Fulham did enough in the Premier League to stay out of trouble, despite just once winning consecutive league games.
SUNDERLAND
Manager: Steve Bruce (since June 2009)
Premier League: 13th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 away to Portsmouth
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost on penalties to Aston Villa after 0-0 home draw
Verdict: Heavy investment last summer failed to push Sunderland into the top half or provide a Cup run. However, it is a good job the Black Cats had splurged some cash on Darren Bent as he scored more than half of the team's goals. Sunderland were actually in the lower reaches of the top half until Christmas thanks to a decent start which featured wins over Liverpool (courtesy of a beachball) and Arsenal, and a draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United. But the Arsenal win preceded a run of 14 league matches without a win stretching from the end of November until the end of February. Home form improved in the closing weeks to ensure Sunderland stayed out of harm's way.
BOLTON WANDERERS
Manager: Owen Coyle (since January 2010). Previous manager: Gary Megson.
Premier League: 14th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 4-0 in replay away to Tottenham Hotspur
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-0 away to Chelsea
Verdict: Bolton secured Premier League status for a ninth successive season but only after disgruntled fans forced a change at the top. Gary Megson had never been a particularly popular man at the Reebok Stadium and the Trotters struggled again in the first half of the season with just four wins. But it was two draws over Christmas - against fellow-strugglers Burnley and Hull - which proved terminal for Megson. In came Owen Coyle from Burnley and he got his first league win in controversial circumstances at his old club's ground. Still, Wanderers struggled and a five-match run without a goal left them in the bottom three. But three wins out of four and two late-season wins were more than enough.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Manager: Mick McCarthy (since July 2006)
Premier League: 15th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 3-1 away to Crystal Palace in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 to Manchester United
Verdict: Absolution for Mick McCarthy and Wolves after both manager and team had suffered badly in previous Premier League experiences. This season was never likely to be pretty and so it proved but, as time wore on, Wolves looked more and more assured. Wolves won just two of their first 14 games but three wins in the next four lifted spirits before another poor run of just five points from 36 after Christmas. But just one loss in eight followed that during March and April as the defence tightened significantly to secure top-flight status.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Manager: Roberto Martinez (since June 2009)
Premier League: 16th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 at home to Notts County in replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 4-1 away to Blackpool
Verdict: Wigan stayed up by the skin of their teeth and, most likely, would have gone down in any other season. A truly Jekyll and Hyde team, the Latics mixed some impressive results - home wins against Chelsea (3-1), Liverpool (1-0) and Arsenal (3-2) - with some absolutely nightmare away performances against Tottenham (1-9), Chelsea (0-8), Manchester United (0-5), Portsmouth, Arsenal and Bolton (all 0-4). It meant that, of Wigan's 79 goals conceded, 55 were on the road. And so, despite some impressive individual performances from the likes of Hugo Rodellega and Charles N'Zogbia, the Latics stayed up mainly because of the paucity of quality from Burnley and Hull.
WEST HAM UNITED
Manager: Vacant. Previous manager: Gianfranco Zola
Premier League: 17th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Arsenal
Carling Cup: Third Round, lost 3-1 away to Bolton Wanderers after extra time
Verdict: The end to a troubled season at the Boleyn Ground was also the end to Gianfranco Zola's time in charge. Despite being an undoubtedly likeable chap, Zola never convinced new owners David Sullivan and David Gold that he was good enough to keep the job. The Hammers struggled all season long with their sole away success coming on the opening day at Wolves. They won just twice more before Boxing Day when they beat Portsmouth though successive home wins over Birmingham and Hull in February seemed to ease worries. But a badly-timed run of six consecutive losses put the Hammers back in trouble before two wins and two draws from the last six games was enough to secure safety despite having just 35 points.
BURNLEY
Manager: Brian Laws (since January 2010). Previous manager: Owen Coyle.
Premier League: 18th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 1-0 away to Reading
League Cup: Third Round, lost 3-2 away to Barnsley
Verdict: Relegated Burnley ultimately raised the white flag when choosing to replace Owen Coyle with Brian Laws. Laws was struggling to keep Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship when he somehow go the call to become a Premier League manager. Not all the blame should be attached to Laws, however. Despite a decent start at home, the Clarets were useless away under previous manager Coyle and they had already embarked on a run of 11 matches without a win before he fled to Bolton. But Laws was never the man to rescue the situation and many Burnley fans also wonder if he is the right man for next season, too.
HULL CITY
Manager: Phil Brown (since December 2006, currently on 'gardening leave')
Premier League: 19th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 4-1 away to Wigan Athletic
League Cup: Third Round, lost 4-0 at home against Everton
Verdict: Hull City's ship finally sank this season having been unable to repair the psychological damage sustained from last season's second half struggle. Another good start was vital for Phil Brown but it never came and the Tigers' chances were only worsened by a run of 10 games without a win either side of Christmas. A 2-1 home win over Manchester City gave an illusion of hope but this was extinguished by a run of five successive losses, the last of which came under the stewardship of Iain Dowie. Dowie had been put in charge in place of Phil Brown who was put on gardening leave but his appointment was just as baffling as that of Brian Laws. As a player and coach, Dowie has now fought four relegation battles and won none of them.
PORTSMOUTH
Manager: Vacant. Previous managers: Paul Hart, Avram Grant.
Premier League: 20th
FA Cup: Runners up, lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the Final
League Cup: Quarter finals, lost 4-2 at home to Aston Villa
Verdict: Even before Pompey became the first ever Premier League team to enter administration, it had been a bad season at Fratton Park. A dreadful start saw Portsmouth take eight matches to get any points on the board and they remained rock-bottom all season, scraping 19 points by March, oddly the same number with which they finished. Players had not been paid on time on several occasions before the administrators came in and Pompey's points total was almost halved. Of course, this made their Cup run to the Final all the more remarkable but that would also fail to have a fairytale ending. Now, thoughts turn to keeping Pompey in business over the summer with worse-than-expected debts of up to £138m already revealed.
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The Championship
Final Table
NEWCASTLE UNITED made an instant return to the Premier League as 90 goals and 102 points ensured promotion at Easter.
Chris Hughton's men remained unbeaten at home all season to win the league ahead of West Bromwich Albion who won a fourth promotion in nine years.
While the Premier League experience is nothing new to the fans of the Magpies and the Baggies, the top flight for Blackpool will be massive.
The Seasiders caused a huge shock by winning the playoffs against Cardiff City having finished sixth in the regular season under unconventional manager Ian Holloway.
Nottingham Forest pushed the top two for much of the campaign before poor away form meant they had to settle for the playoffs lottery.
Forest's playoff nightmare gained another chapter against Blackpool while fellow East Midlanders Leicester City also went out at the semi finals.
Two of the relegated teams were predictable enough with Peterborough United never able to step up to the required level and Plymouth Argyle's valiant six-year stay brought to an end.
But the final relegation place was only decided on the final day when Crystal Palace got a 2-2 drew at Sheffield Wednesday to stay up at the expense of their hosts.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Manager: Chris Hughton (since June 2009)
Championship: 1st
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 away to West Bromwich Albion
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Peterborough United
Verdict: Newcastle bounced back to the big time at the first attempt, losing just four league games all season and racking up 102 points. The Magpies enjoyed a strong start with seven wins from the first nine league matches before a four-game blip in October which produced only two points. From then, though, Newcastle were imperious, losing just once more and they finished the season with eight wins and a draw from the last nine games.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Manager: Roberto di Matteo (since June 2009)
Championship: 2nd
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-2 at home to Reading after extra time in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Arsenal
Verdict: West Brom won a fourth promotion in nine years after fending off a strong challenge by Nottingham Forest. Like Newcastle, the Baggies had a strong start and sat second in the table at Christmas. But a January loss to Forest dropped them to third, as did further losses to Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers. But, just as Forest's challenge faded, West Brom showed all their experience at this level to go through the last 12 matches unbeaten.
BLACKPOOL
Manager: Ian Holloway (since May 2009)
Championship: 6th. Promoted via the playoffs.
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Ipswich Town
League Cup: Third Round, lost 4-3 away at Stoke City
Verdict: A Tangerine dream for Blackpool who will play in the top flight for the first time since 1971 next season after a 3-2 playoff final win over Cardiff at Wembley. It was no more than the Seasiders deserved after they played much of the season with a refreshing, attacking style under Ian Holloway. They overhauled Swansea City to reach the playoffs with a fine late run which began with a 5-1 defeat of the Swans before DJ Campbell's hat-trick saw off Forest in the semi finals. In the final, a breathtaking first half ended with Blackpool on top and only some poor decision-making meant they failed to extend their advantage after half time.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Manager: Billy Davies (since January 2009)
Championship: 3rd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Birmingham City in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers
Verdict: More playoff heartache for Forest, losing 6-4 on aggregate to buoyant Blackpool, having finished third in the regular season. Billy Davies' men were right up with the front-runners until March but a first away defeat - at Derby, of all places - precipitated a dreadful run on the road which saw them drop off the pace. To add insult to injury, their strong home record - unbeaten in 19 matches at the City Ground - came to an end at the worst possible time against Blackpool.
CARDIFF CITY
Manager: Dave Jones (since May 2005)
Championship: 4th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 4-1 away to Chelsea
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Aston Villa
Verdict: Defeat at Wembley to Blackpool consigns Cardiff to a seventh successive season in the Championship, a division which they seemingly just cannot crack. Fired by the goals of Peter Whittingham and Michael Chopra, the Bluebirds made a decent start but a poor run in November meant it was obviously going to be playoffs at best. A further poor run in February and March even made a top-six spot uncertain before a strong 10-match unbeaten run ensured an extension to their season. But a dramatic victory over Leicester on penalties was all for nought when Dave Jones' men came up against inspired Blackpool.
LEICESTER CITY
Manager: Nigel Pearson (since June 2008)
Championship 5th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 away at Cardiff City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away at Preston North End
Verdict: A fine first season back in the second flight saw the Foxes comfortably win a playoff place but manager Nigel Pearson will be gutted at losing on penalties in the semi final. Leicester lost just three times before the start of December to sit briefly in third place before a terrible 5-1 loss to Nottingham Forest began a poor run of form which lasted until February. Better form in February and March included a revenge 3-0 win over Forest before four consecutive defeats left a playoff place in doubt. But Leicester won their last five matches of the regular season to secure fifth place, only to blow their chance from 12 yards in the semi final against Cardiff.
SWANSEA CITY
Manager: Paulo Souza (since June 2009)
Championship: 7th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 away at Leicester City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 at home to Scunthorpe United after extra time
Verdict: Swansea overcame an unsteady start under new manager Paulo Souza but a desperate lack of goals proved costly as Blackpool took the final playoff spot. After just one win and three defeats from their first six league games, Swansea then lost just twice in their next 27 between September and March. But their tendency to draw more games than win meant the Swans remained vulnerable and a poor finish to the season combined with Blackpool's good run left the Swans just outside the playoffs.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Manager: Kevin Blackwell (since February 2008)
Championship: 8th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away to Bolton Wanderers
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 at home to Port Vale
Verdict: A disappointing season for Kevin Blackwell at Bramall Lane as the Blades failed to make the top-six cut, having finished third in 2008-09. Poor away form was mainly to blame with just the final-day win at Ipswich Town their only success on the road after the start of December. A decent first eight games was negated by a failure to win any of the following eight. A better run either side of Christmas left the Blades still in contention but three wins from 15 matches followed and, despite then winning three of the final four, it was never going to be enough.
READING
Manager: Brian McDermott (since December 2009). Previous manager: Brendan Rogers.
Championship: 9th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 4-2 at home to Aston Villa
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 at home to Barnsley
Verdict: This was truly a season of two halves at the Madejski Stadium with Reading looking like surprise relegation candidates until a dramatic FA Cup win at Anfield also turned their league form around. Just five league wins until the end of January cost Brendan Rogers his job and left the Royals second-bottom with 23 points from 27 games. In the meantime, Cup victories over Premier League pair Liverpool and Burnley began to give Reading some hope and their league form suddenly transformed. Eight wins out of nine lifted the Royals towards the top half and, though they suffered inconsistency in the last ten games, four wins were enough for an unlikely top-half finish.
BRISTOL CITY
Manager: Steve Coppell (since April 2010). Previous manager: Gary Johnson.
Championship: 10th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Cardiff City in replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 at home to Carlisle United
Verdict: This season spelled the end of Gary Johnson's four-and-a-half years at City but, in Steve Coppell, the board have brought in a sound replacement. Just two defeats until November had put the Robins in a handy early position but three wins from the next 20 league matches left them looking over their shoulders. It was a run that included two big home defeats against Cardiff (0-6) and Doncaster Rovers (2-5) with the latter bringing the curtain down on Johnson's largely impressive time in charge. One defeat from the last nine lifted City back into the top ten, though Coppell only oversaw the last two of those games.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Manager: Gordon Strachan (since October 2009). Previous manager: Gareth Southgate.
Championship: 11th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Manchester City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away at Nottingham Forest after extra time
Verdict: Middlesbrough's mid table finish was no more than they deserved after they demonstrated perfectly how not to bounce back to the Premier League. Boro started off brightly enough but there were enough worrying signs in early home defeats to West Brom (0-5), Leicester City and Watford (both 0-1) to make chairman Steve Gibson unusually trigger-happy. Oddly, it was a 2-0 win over Derby County which was Gareth Southgate's last game even though it left his side just a point off the summit. New manager Gordon Strachan struggled early on, winning just three of his opening 15 games and losing the talented Adam Johnson to Manchester City. Boro's home form improved in the New Year - they are undefeated at the Riverside in the league since December - but away form remained patchy at best and a final-day defeat at Leicester dropped them from eighth to 11th.
DONCASTER ROVERS
Manager: Sean O'Driscoll (since September 2006)
Championship: 12th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 1-0 away at Derby County
League Cup: Second Round, lost 5-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Verdict: Donny secured a third successive season of Championship football and a top half finish to boot after a generally impressive campaign in which they largely stayed out of trouble. A slow start featured just two wins - but nine draws - in their opening 16 league matches but Rovers soon shrugged off the draw specialists tag to win five out of six in the run-up to Christmas. Form in the New Year was far less consistent but O'Driscoll's men were through the 50-point barrier as early as mid-March, allowing them a relaxing last few weeks.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Manager: Neil Warnock. Previous managers: Jim Magilton, Paul Hart.
Championship: 13th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-2 at home to Sheffield United in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Chelsea
Verdict: Another season of upheaval off the field at Loftus Road unsurprisingly had a detrimental effect on the field as Rangers' fledgling promotion challenge faded fast. Three successive wins in October, each featuring four goals for the Rs, had lifted the team to sixth in the table. But Rangers would win just twice more until February, including a run of one point from 21 straight after Christmas. Defeat to Middlesbrough at the end of February left QPR in 20th and relegation became a real possibility. But Neil Warnock was appointed straight after that game and steadied the ship sufficiently.
DERBY COUNTY
Manager: Nigel Clough (since January 2009)
Championship: 14th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 2-1 at home to Birmingham City
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 away to Rotherham United
Verdict: There was little evidence of progress as Pride Park during 2009-10 as the Rams produced a similar season to 2008-09, finishing four places higher this time. Another slow start proved County's undoing with 10 defeats in the first 17 league games and further inconsistency in the New Year. Only for a brief spell in February when Derby beat rivals Nottingham Forest and eventual champions Newcastle did the Rams hit top form, though they always looked to have enough to beat the drop.
IPSWICH TOWN
Manager: Roy Keane (since April 2009)
Championship: 15th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 away to Southampton
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away to Peterborough United
Verdict: Ipswich won just one of their first 17 games, taking 15 matches to record their first win, thus destroying their season in the first couple of months. The Tractor Boys recovered somewhat in the second half of the campaign, finishing nine points clear of the bottom three but this was far below the fans' expectations under Roy Keane. Pre-season had been filled with talk of promotion but a 3-0 home defeat on the final day to Sheffield United showed the huge task which Keane still faces at Portman Road.
WATFORD
Manager: Malky Mackay (since June 2009)
Championship: 16th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 5-0 away to Chelsea
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away to Leeds United after extra time
Verdict: After a worrying season off the field at Vicarage Road, Watford will just be pleased to be playing back in the Championship this August. Faced with a winding up order at the High Court, Malky Mackay was left with a threadbare squad which performed admirably in the first part of the season but really struggled as time went on. A run of six defeats out of seven in February and March looked set to spell the end of Watford's Championship status but three late wins, including a final-day thrashing of Coventry City (4-0, away), were just enough.
PRESTON NORTH END
Manager: Darren Ferguson (since January 2010). Previous manager: Alan Irvine.
Championship: 17th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away at Chelsea.
League Cup: Third Round, lost 5-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Verdict: Traditionally hanging around the playoff places, this was one of Preston's most disappointing recent seasons. Eighteen points from the first nine league games suggested another top-six push was on the cards but, in the end, it was just as well the Deepdale club picked up so many early points as they struggled thereafter. They only once more won consecutive games and, in particular, became a soft touch on the road. Alan Irvine paid the price for Preston's poor results, losing his job at the end of December, but form under new man Darren Ferguson has hardly been spectacular.
BARNSLEY
Manager: Mark Robins (since September 2009)
Championship: 18th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Scunthorpe United
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 at home to Manchester United
Verdict: Barnsley proved the doubters wrong to secure another season of Championship football and it was to Mark Robins' credit that a final position of 18th seemed a little disappointing. The Tykes began as poorly as the pre-season doom-merchants had predicted with just one point from the first six games. Simon Davey was sacked and Robins took over to dramatic effect as the team lost just three times between mid-September and early January. Form then became patchy in the New Year though they remained outsiders in the playoff hunt until March. However, the last 10 league matches produced five draws and five defeats to drop Barnsley back down towards the bottom.
COVENTRY CITY
Manager: Aidy Boothroyd (since May 2010). Previous manager: Chris Coleman.
Championship: 19th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Portsmouth in a replay after extra time
League Cup: First Round, lost 1-0 at home to Hartlepool United after extra time
Verdict: This was another season of struggle for the Sky Blues at the wrong end of the Championship table. Just four wins, all by the end of September, from the first 20 league games left City needing something special to make anything more of the campaign than a relegation struggle. And yet, they almost did it - two mini-runs of four wins in five and five wins in six either side of Christmas lifted City to eighth. But that was as good as it got, and five draws and six defeats from the last 11 games dropped the Sky Blues back down the table. The 4-0 home defeat to Watford on the final day unsurprisingly brought an end to Chris Coleman's reign.
SCUNTHORPE UNITED
Manager: Nigel Adkins (since November 2006)
Championship: 20th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 at home to Manchester City
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 5-1 away to Manchester City
Verdict: Mission accomplished for Nigel Adkins who achieved safety in the Championship at the second time of asking at Glanford Park. After relegation in 2007-08, the Iron gained an immediate promotion back to the second tier through the playoffs but were instantly tagged relegation favourites. The season was always set to be tough and they lost all their away matches to the top seven. But, more notably, they won all but one of their home games against their fellow strugglers and Palace - who they failed to beat at home - were beaten 4-0 away instead.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Manager: Paul Hart (since March 2010). Previous manager: Neil Warnock.
Championship: 21st
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-1 away to Aston Villa in a replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City
Verdict: Survival in the most dramatic circumstances on the final day in Sheffield was the easy part - now Palace face a huge fight over the summer to sustain the club's existence. For the most part in 2009-10, Palace played well, losing just seven times before February to set up an unlikely playoff push. But the haunting spectre of administration had long hung over the club and, at the start of February, the club were plunged into a relegation battle after a 10-point deduction. Two wins immediately after the decision belied the fragile nature of the situation and just one win from the next 11 games put Palace in huge trouble. In the end, it went down to the final game - and 2-2 was enough for the Eagles at Hillsborough against Wednesday.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Manager: Alan Irvine (since January 2010). Previous manager: Brian Laws.
Championship: 22nd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 away to Port Vale
Verdict: Perhaps the saddest indictment of Sheffield Wednesday's situation is the fact that their relegation to League One hardly comes as much of a surprise. Wednesday have already played two seasons in the third tier in the middle of the last decade and rarely impressed when back in the Championship. The Owls had another inconsistent start in 2009-10 but it gave little warning of what was to come. A dreadful run before Christmas of three points and no wins from 11 games put Wednesday into the drop zone and yet Brian Laws secured a Premier League job at Burnley. Wednesday seemed to have got the better deal, replacing Laws with Alan Irvine. He produced five wins out of seven to ease worries but it was only a brief stay of execution and just one win from the final 12 games was one bad run too many.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
Manager: Paul Mariner (since December 2009). Previous manager: Paul Sturrock
Championship: 23rd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-0 away to Newcastle United in replay
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 away to Gillingham
Verdict: A predictable relegation for the Devon club, particularly after the Pilgrims woeful start which saw them draw their first two games then lose their next seven. Paul Sturrock survived that run but was moved upstairs after another five consecutive losses without scoring in December. Paul Mariner took over but the damage was already done, and the season rather appropriately ended with another run of defeats - five in a row - in which the Pilgrims scored just once.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED
Manager: Gary Johnson (since April 2010). Previous managers: Darren Ferguson, Mark Cooper, Jim Gannon.
Championship: 24th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 4-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 5-2 away to Blackburn Rovers
Verdict: A dreadful season at London Road which resembled a revolving door in the end with four managers taking charge in a single season. There had been little investment in the squad and the team struggled to compete at Championship level, winning just two games before November when Darren Ferguson was sacked. New manager Mark Cooper had caught the eye at Kettering but he also struggled with the step up, winning just one game. Former Stockport manager Jim Gannon was next in the hot seat and he improved the home form somewhat, recording four victories, before another dreadful run of form with just one point from a possible 27 between mid-March and the end of April. Gannon left after the 2-2 draw with Barnsley confirmed Posh's immediate relegation and Gary Johnson took over in time for his new team to beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day, but this was just their eighth league win of a long, hard season.
*Apologies for the lack of recent posts on theintrepidreporter.blogspot.com. This was mainly due to the volcanic ash cloud which extended a stay in the south of France from four days to six. A devastating predicament, I am sure you would all agree!
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See also
Earlier football 'mega-posts' on TheIntrepidReporter:
30.12.2009 Half time club-by-club review
11.08.2009 Premier League 2009-10 Guide
26.07.2009 Championship 2009-10 Guide
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Final Table
CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti finished his first season in charge having won a historic League and Cup Double for the club.
The Blues finished a point ahead of Carling Cup winners Manchester United, and a Didier Drogba goal with 15 minutes left was enough to beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final.
While they prospered in the Cup, Pompey suffered a terrible season in the league. They became the first ever Premier League club to go into administration and a nine-point deduction all but ensured their relegation.
Burnley and Hull City were the other teams to be demoted, both falling well short of the level required to stay in the top flight.
The North London clubs had a decent season with Arsenal staying in the title chase longer than expected, and Tottenham Hotspur finishing in fourth place to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
But Merseyside had a miserable time of it. Liverpool, who were runners-up in 2008-09, collapsed badly and stumbled to a seventh-placed finish. Everton's poor start meant they could finish no higher than eighth.
Manchester City's big spending could only get them to fifth place just ahead of Aston Villa in sixth.
England's best performers in Europe were Fulham whose remarkable Europa Cup campaign saw them overcome holders Shakhtar Donestsk, Italian giants Juventus, and German pair Wolfsburg and Hamburg.
Unfortunately for the Cottagers, and manager Roy Hodgson, their run came to an end at the final hurdle against Athletico Madrid.
CHELSEA
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti (since June 2009)
Premier League: 1st
FA Cup: Winners, beat Portsmouth 1-0 in Final
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost on penalties to Blackburn Rovers
Europe: CL Second Round, lost to Inter Milan 3-1 on aggregate
Verdict: Carlo Ancelotti's men won a deserved title, breaking the record for number of Premier League goals scored in a season and beating their two main title rivals home and away. Big wins against Portsmouth (5-0), Sunderland (7-2), Aston Villa (7-1), Stoke City (7-0) and Wigan Athletic (8-0 on the final day) made this a more stylish title win that those achieved under Jose Mourinho. They capped off the season in style by winning a historic first ever double with victory over Portsmouth at Wembley in the FA Cup Final. A Champions League defeat in the second round to Mourinho at Inter Milan was the Blues' only disappointment.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (since November 1986)
Premier League: 2nd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Leeds United
League Cup: Winners, beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Final
Europe: CL Quarter Finals, lost on away goals to Bayern Munich
Verdict: United were unable to win a record 19th English league crown or a fourth successive title, falling just short of Chelsea after an intriguing title race. This season saw the real emergence of Wayne Rooney's real talent but the Red Devils seemed strangely more vulnerable in losses to Burnley, Fulham and Everton, and at home against Aston Villa. But their main defeats came against Chelsea twice in the league, a gut-wrenching knockout by Bayern Munich in Europe. The 2-1 comeback win against Villa in the Carling Cup Final will be of little consolation.
ARSENAL
Manager: Arsene Wenger (since October 1996)
Premier League: 3rd
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 3-1 at Stoke City
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 3-0 at Manchester City
Europe: CL Quarter Finals, lost 6-3 on aggregate to Barcelona
Verdict: This was a fifth season without a trophy for Arsenal but Arsene Wenger will be generally encouraged by the campaign. Written off as early as November after successive losses to Sunderland and Chelsea, the Gunners stayed in the title chase by showing more consistency over Christmas. At the start of February, Arsenal then lost successive matches against Manchester United and Chelsea but again they hung on in the title race by following those defeats with seven wins out of eight. But a derby defeat against Tottenham ended hopes of a surprise crown, with further last-season losses at Wigan and Blackburn dampening the mood.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Manager: Harry Redknapp (since October 2008)
Premier League: 4th
FA Cup: Semi Finals, lost 2-0 to Portsmouth after extra time
League Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 to Manchester United
Verdict: Free-scoring Spurs finally reached the Champions League after beating Manchester City to fourth place. It was a tight race but Tottenham's 1-0 win at City in the penultimate match proved decisive. The victory over City capped a fine last few weeks for Spurs who also beat London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea for the first time in years in two successive 2-1 wins in a strong finish marred only by a shock semi final loss to Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Spurs enjoyed several big wins during the season at home, most notably a 9-1 thrashing of Wigan in which Jermain Defoe scored five.
MANCHESTER CITY
Managers: Roberto Mancini (since December 2009). Previous manager: Mark Hughes.
Premier League: 5th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-1 at Stoke City after extra time in replay
League Cup: Semi Finals, lost 4-3 on aggregate to Manchester United
Verdict: Big-spending City achieved none of their goals despite a mid-season managerial change. Three gut-wrenching defeats to Manchester United, all in stoppage time, made this a particularly difficult campaign to bear for unusually optimistic City fans. The 1-0 home loss to Tottenham which decided the final Champions League place in their opponents favour confirmed the feeling that this was not City's season. That was Roberto Mancini's fifth league defeat, more than double the number suffered under Mark Hughes, although Hughes had presided over a remarkable seven successive league draws in October and November.
ASTON VILLA
Manager: Martin O'Neill (since August 2006)
Premier League: 6th
FA Cup: Semi Finals, lost 3-0 to Chelsea
League Cup: Runners up, lost 2-1 to Manchester United
Europe: Europa League first round, lost on away goals to Rapid Vienna
Verdict: Villa reinforced their reputation as nearly men, losing several key games towards the end of the season, though the defeats were not without controversy. Villa lost 2-1 to Manchester United in the Carling Cup final at the end of February but manager Martin O'Neill will argue that United defender Nemanja Vidic should have been sent off for a foul on Gabriel Agbonlahor. A second Wembley heartache followed in April when Chelsea eased to a 3-0 FA Cup semi final win but only after Villa had a legitimate goal ruled out at 0-0. Chelsea were also largely responsible for ending Villa's Champions League qualification hopes after Villa crashed 7-1 at Stamford Bridge. Martin O'Neill has already come under some pressure but his position looks safe enough for now.
LIVERPOOL
Manager: Rafa Benitez (since June 2004)
Premier League: 7th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Reading after extra time in replay
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 at Arsenal
Europe: Knocked out of CL group stage with seven points from six matches, lost in Semi Finals of Europa League on away goals to Athletico Madrid
Verdict: Liverpool went from title contenders to virtually mid-table fodder in the space of 12 months after a disastrous season at Anfield. The signs that this campaign would not match their second-place finish in 2008-09 were there early on with two defeats from the first three games. By Christmas, the Reds had lost seven league matches and they ended the season with 11. The over-reliance on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres was compounded by the loss of Xabi Alonso. Even the various Cups, so often Rafa Benitez's saviour, were no better. A fourth season without a trophy ended with a dire 0-0 draw at relegated Hull - surely Benitez's last in charge.
EVERTON
Manager: David Moyes (since March 2002)
Premier League: 8th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 at home to Birmingham City
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur
Europe: Europa League Second Round, lost 4-2 on aggregate to Sporting Lisbon
Verdict: A woeful first half to the season cost Everton dearly as they fell short of catching Merseyside rivals Liverpool who claimed the final European place. An injury-ravaged squad managed just four wins before Christmas and left Everton in 15th with just 18 points from 17 games. A second half recovery saw the Toffees come unstuck just twice more in the league, although one of these defeats was at Liverpool. A 3-0 defeat in Lisbon also ended any hopes of glory in Europe.
BIRMINGHAM CITY
Manager: Alex McLeish (since November 2007)
Premier League: 9th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 away to Portsmouth
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Sunderland
Verdict: A fine season for the Blues who celebrated their return to the Premier League with a top-half finish and the club's highest league placing for decades. Early struggles were dismissed as Lee Bowyer enjoyed a purple patch in a brilliant 12-match unbeaten run either side of Christmas which was only brought to an end at Chelsea. Birmingham's home form held up well all season with just two losses at St Andrew's all season, the last of which came in September. But that defeat at Chelsea in late-January caused a loss of form on the road with seven of their last eight away games also ending in defeat. Notably, none of Birmingham's wins came by more than one goal and it could be much tougher going for them next season.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Manager: Sam Allardyce (since December 2008)
Premier League: 10th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-1 away to Aston Villa
League Cup: Semi Finals, lost 7-4 on aggregate to Aston Villa
Verdict: Sam Allardyce achieved a top-half finish in his first full season at Ewood Park, and also reached the semi finals of the League Cup before a remarkable 6-4 loss at Villa. Rovers' home form was impressive with just three defeats all season in the league, including a win and two draws against the top three. But, as ever with Allardyce, away form was not particularly good. Blackburn won just three times on the road, and just once outside of Lancashire in the league.
STOKE CITY
Manager: Tony Pulis (since June 2006)
Premier League: 11th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 2-0 away at Chelsea
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-0 away at Portsmouth
Verdict: Stoke easily avoided second season syndrome with a finish of 11th, one position higher in 2008-09. The Potters also enjoyed a bit of a Cup run this year though it was predictably halted at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea. Indeed, in the league, Stoke really struggled against the three main title contenders, failing to pick up a single point and suffering heavy defeats at Chelsea (0-7) and Manchester United (0-4) in the final few weeks. By then, though, Stoke were already safe having been more than competitive against the rest of the league.
FULHAM
Manager: Roy Hodgson (since December 2007)
Premier League: 12th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 3-1 away to Tottenham Hotspur in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 away to Manchester City in extra time
Europe: Europa League Runners up, lost 2-1 to Athletico Madrid in extra time
Verdict: Fulham failed to produce another top-half finish but this season was all about the Cups for Roy Hodgson's men. A decent run to the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup was bettered by an amazing Europa Cup campaign. Having emerged from a group featuring Roma, Basle and CSKA Sofia, the Cottagers beat holders Shakhtar Donetsk in the first knockout round. Then, they completed an amazing comeback against Juventus - from 4-1 down to 5-4 on aggregate - before beating Wolfsburg home and away. A 2-1 win over Hamburg at Craven Cottage in the semis set up Fulham's biggest ever match, a Final against Athletico Madrid. Sadly, there was not to be a fairytale ending to their 19th match in the competition going back to July. All the while, Fulham did enough in the Premier League to stay out of trouble, despite just once winning consecutive league games.
SUNDERLAND
Manager: Steve Bruce (since June 2009)
Premier League: 13th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 away to Portsmouth
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost on penalties to Aston Villa after 0-0 home draw
Verdict: Heavy investment last summer failed to push Sunderland into the top half or provide a Cup run. However, it is a good job the Black Cats had splurged some cash on Darren Bent as he scored more than half of the team's goals. Sunderland were actually in the lower reaches of the top half until Christmas thanks to a decent start which featured wins over Liverpool (courtesy of a beachball) and Arsenal, and a draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United. But the Arsenal win preceded a run of 14 league matches without a win stretching from the end of November until the end of February. Home form improved in the closing weeks to ensure Sunderland stayed out of harm's way.
BOLTON WANDERERS
Manager: Owen Coyle (since January 2010). Previous manager: Gary Megson.
Premier League: 14th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 4-0 in replay away to Tottenham Hotspur
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-0 away to Chelsea
Verdict: Bolton secured Premier League status for a ninth successive season but only after disgruntled fans forced a change at the top. Gary Megson had never been a particularly popular man at the Reebok Stadium and the Trotters struggled again in the first half of the season with just four wins. But it was two draws over Christmas - against fellow-strugglers Burnley and Hull - which proved terminal for Megson. In came Owen Coyle from Burnley and he got his first league win in controversial circumstances at his old club's ground. Still, Wanderers struggled and a five-match run without a goal left them in the bottom three. But three wins out of four and two late-season wins were more than enough.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Manager: Mick McCarthy (since July 2006)
Premier League: 15th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 3-1 away to Crystal Palace in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 to Manchester United
Verdict: Absolution for Mick McCarthy and Wolves after both manager and team had suffered badly in previous Premier League experiences. This season was never likely to be pretty and so it proved but, as time wore on, Wolves looked more and more assured. Wolves won just two of their first 14 games but three wins in the next four lifted spirits before another poor run of just five points from 36 after Christmas. But just one loss in eight followed that during March and April as the defence tightened significantly to secure top-flight status.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Manager: Roberto Martinez (since June 2009)
Premier League: 16th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 at home to Notts County in replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 4-1 away to Blackpool
Verdict: Wigan stayed up by the skin of their teeth and, most likely, would have gone down in any other season. A truly Jekyll and Hyde team, the Latics mixed some impressive results - home wins against Chelsea (3-1), Liverpool (1-0) and Arsenal (3-2) - with some absolutely nightmare away performances against Tottenham (1-9), Chelsea (0-8), Manchester United (0-5), Portsmouth, Arsenal and Bolton (all 0-4). It meant that, of Wigan's 79 goals conceded, 55 were on the road. And so, despite some impressive individual performances from the likes of Hugo Rodellega and Charles N'Zogbia, the Latics stayed up mainly because of the paucity of quality from Burnley and Hull.
WEST HAM UNITED
Manager: Vacant. Previous manager: Gianfranco Zola
Premier League: 17th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Arsenal
Carling Cup: Third Round, lost 3-1 away to Bolton Wanderers after extra time
Verdict: The end to a troubled season at the Boleyn Ground was also the end to Gianfranco Zola's time in charge. Despite being an undoubtedly likeable chap, Zola never convinced new owners David Sullivan and David Gold that he was good enough to keep the job. The Hammers struggled all season long with their sole away success coming on the opening day at Wolves. They won just twice more before Boxing Day when they beat Portsmouth though successive home wins over Birmingham and Hull in February seemed to ease worries. But a badly-timed run of six consecutive losses put the Hammers back in trouble before two wins and two draws from the last six games was enough to secure safety despite having just 35 points.
BURNLEY
Manager: Brian Laws (since January 2010). Previous manager: Owen Coyle.
Premier League: 18th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 1-0 away to Reading
League Cup: Third Round, lost 3-2 away to Barnsley
Verdict: Relegated Burnley ultimately raised the white flag when choosing to replace Owen Coyle with Brian Laws. Laws was struggling to keep Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship when he somehow go the call to become a Premier League manager. Not all the blame should be attached to Laws, however. Despite a decent start at home, the Clarets were useless away under previous manager Coyle and they had already embarked on a run of 11 matches without a win before he fled to Bolton. But Laws was never the man to rescue the situation and many Burnley fans also wonder if he is the right man for next season, too.
HULL CITY
Manager: Phil Brown (since December 2006, currently on 'gardening leave')
Premier League: 19th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 4-1 away to Wigan Athletic
League Cup: Third Round, lost 4-0 at home against Everton
Verdict: Hull City's ship finally sank this season having been unable to repair the psychological damage sustained from last season's second half struggle. Another good start was vital for Phil Brown but it never came and the Tigers' chances were only worsened by a run of 10 games without a win either side of Christmas. A 2-1 home win over Manchester City gave an illusion of hope but this was extinguished by a run of five successive losses, the last of which came under the stewardship of Iain Dowie. Dowie had been put in charge in place of Phil Brown who was put on gardening leave but his appointment was just as baffling as that of Brian Laws. As a player and coach, Dowie has now fought four relegation battles and won none of them.
PORTSMOUTH
Manager: Vacant. Previous managers: Paul Hart, Avram Grant.
Premier League: 20th
FA Cup: Runners up, lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the Final
League Cup: Quarter finals, lost 4-2 at home to Aston Villa
Verdict: Even before Pompey became the first ever Premier League team to enter administration, it had been a bad season at Fratton Park. A dreadful start saw Portsmouth take eight matches to get any points on the board and they remained rock-bottom all season, scraping 19 points by March, oddly the same number with which they finished. Players had not been paid on time on several occasions before the administrators came in and Pompey's points total was almost halved. Of course, this made their Cup run to the Final all the more remarkable but that would also fail to have a fairytale ending. Now, thoughts turn to keeping Pompey in business over the summer with worse-than-expected debts of up to £138m already revealed.
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The Championship
Final Table
NEWCASTLE UNITED made an instant return to the Premier League as 90 goals and 102 points ensured promotion at Easter.
Chris Hughton's men remained unbeaten at home all season to win the league ahead of West Bromwich Albion who won a fourth promotion in nine years.
While the Premier League experience is nothing new to the fans of the Magpies and the Baggies, the top flight for Blackpool will be massive.
The Seasiders caused a huge shock by winning the playoffs against Cardiff City having finished sixth in the regular season under unconventional manager Ian Holloway.
Nottingham Forest pushed the top two for much of the campaign before poor away form meant they had to settle for the playoffs lottery.
Forest's playoff nightmare gained another chapter against Blackpool while fellow East Midlanders Leicester City also went out at the semi finals.
Two of the relegated teams were predictable enough with Peterborough United never able to step up to the required level and Plymouth Argyle's valiant six-year stay brought to an end.
But the final relegation place was only decided on the final day when Crystal Palace got a 2-2 drew at Sheffield Wednesday to stay up at the expense of their hosts.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Manager: Chris Hughton (since June 2009)
Championship: 1st
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 away to West Bromwich Albion
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Peterborough United
Verdict: Newcastle bounced back to the big time at the first attempt, losing just four league games all season and racking up 102 points. The Magpies enjoyed a strong start with seven wins from the first nine league matches before a four-game blip in October which produced only two points. From then, though, Newcastle were imperious, losing just once more and they finished the season with eight wins and a draw from the last nine games.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Manager: Roberto di Matteo (since June 2009)
Championship: 2nd
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-2 at home to Reading after extra time in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 2-0 away to Arsenal
Verdict: West Brom won a fourth promotion in nine years after fending off a strong challenge by Nottingham Forest. Like Newcastle, the Baggies had a strong start and sat second in the table at Christmas. But a January loss to Forest dropped them to third, as did further losses to Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers. But, just as Forest's challenge faded, West Brom showed all their experience at this level to go through the last 12 matches unbeaten.
BLACKPOOL
Manager: Ian Holloway (since May 2009)
Championship: 6th. Promoted via the playoffs.
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Ipswich Town
League Cup: Third Round, lost 4-3 away at Stoke City
Verdict: A Tangerine dream for Blackpool who will play in the top flight for the first time since 1971 next season after a 3-2 playoff final win over Cardiff at Wembley. It was no more than the Seasiders deserved after they played much of the season with a refreshing, attacking style under Ian Holloway. They overhauled Swansea City to reach the playoffs with a fine late run which began with a 5-1 defeat of the Swans before DJ Campbell's hat-trick saw off Forest in the semi finals. In the final, a breathtaking first half ended with Blackpool on top and only some poor decision-making meant they failed to extend their advantage after half time.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Manager: Billy Davies (since January 2009)
Championship: 3rd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Birmingham City in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers
Verdict: More playoff heartache for Forest, losing 6-4 on aggregate to buoyant Blackpool, having finished third in the regular season. Billy Davies' men were right up with the front-runners until March but a first away defeat - at Derby, of all places - precipitated a dreadful run on the road which saw them drop off the pace. To add insult to injury, their strong home record - unbeaten in 19 matches at the City Ground - came to an end at the worst possible time against Blackpool.
CARDIFF CITY
Manager: Dave Jones (since May 2005)
Championship: 4th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 4-1 away to Chelsea
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Aston Villa
Verdict: Defeat at Wembley to Blackpool consigns Cardiff to a seventh successive season in the Championship, a division which they seemingly just cannot crack. Fired by the goals of Peter Whittingham and Michael Chopra, the Bluebirds made a decent start but a poor run in November meant it was obviously going to be playoffs at best. A further poor run in February and March even made a top-six spot uncertain before a strong 10-match unbeaten run ensured an extension to their season. But a dramatic victory over Leicester on penalties was all for nought when Dave Jones' men came up against inspired Blackpool.
LEICESTER CITY
Manager: Nigel Pearson (since June 2008)
Championship 5th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 away at Cardiff City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away at Preston North End
Verdict: A fine first season back in the second flight saw the Foxes comfortably win a playoff place but manager Nigel Pearson will be gutted at losing on penalties in the semi final. Leicester lost just three times before the start of December to sit briefly in third place before a terrible 5-1 loss to Nottingham Forest began a poor run of form which lasted until February. Better form in February and March included a revenge 3-0 win over Forest before four consecutive defeats left a playoff place in doubt. But Leicester won their last five matches of the regular season to secure fifth place, only to blow their chance from 12 yards in the semi final against Cardiff.
SWANSEA CITY
Manager: Paulo Souza (since June 2009)
Championship: 7th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 away at Leicester City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 at home to Scunthorpe United after extra time
Verdict: Swansea overcame an unsteady start under new manager Paulo Souza but a desperate lack of goals proved costly as Blackpool took the final playoff spot. After just one win and three defeats from their first six league games, Swansea then lost just twice in their next 27 between September and March. But their tendency to draw more games than win meant the Swans remained vulnerable and a poor finish to the season combined with Blackpool's good run left the Swans just outside the playoffs.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Manager: Kevin Blackwell (since February 2008)
Championship: 8th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away to Bolton Wanderers
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 at home to Port Vale
Verdict: A disappointing season for Kevin Blackwell at Bramall Lane as the Blades failed to make the top-six cut, having finished third in 2008-09. Poor away form was mainly to blame with just the final-day win at Ipswich Town their only success on the road after the start of December. A decent first eight games was negated by a failure to win any of the following eight. A better run either side of Christmas left the Blades still in contention but three wins from 15 matches followed and, despite then winning three of the final four, it was never going to be enough.
READING
Manager: Brian McDermott (since December 2009). Previous manager: Brendan Rogers.
Championship: 9th
FA Cup: Quarter Finals, lost 4-2 at home to Aston Villa
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 at home to Barnsley
Verdict: This was truly a season of two halves at the Madejski Stadium with Reading looking like surprise relegation candidates until a dramatic FA Cup win at Anfield also turned their league form around. Just five league wins until the end of January cost Brendan Rogers his job and left the Royals second-bottom with 23 points from 27 games. In the meantime, Cup victories over Premier League pair Liverpool and Burnley began to give Reading some hope and their league form suddenly transformed. Eight wins out of nine lifted the Royals towards the top half and, though they suffered inconsistency in the last ten games, four wins were enough for an unlikely top-half finish.
BRISTOL CITY
Manager: Steve Coppell (since April 2010). Previous manager: Gary Johnson.
Championship: 10th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Cardiff City in replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 at home to Carlisle United
Verdict: This season spelled the end of Gary Johnson's four-and-a-half years at City but, in Steve Coppell, the board have brought in a sound replacement. Just two defeats until November had put the Robins in a handy early position but three wins from the next 20 league matches left them looking over their shoulders. It was a run that included two big home defeats against Cardiff (0-6) and Doncaster Rovers (2-5) with the latter bringing the curtain down on Johnson's largely impressive time in charge. One defeat from the last nine lifted City back into the top ten, though Coppell only oversaw the last two of those games.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Manager: Gordon Strachan (since October 2009). Previous manager: Gareth Southgate.
Championship: 11th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 at home to Manchester City
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away at Nottingham Forest after extra time
Verdict: Middlesbrough's mid table finish was no more than they deserved after they demonstrated perfectly how not to bounce back to the Premier League. Boro started off brightly enough but there were enough worrying signs in early home defeats to West Brom (0-5), Leicester City and Watford (both 0-1) to make chairman Steve Gibson unusually trigger-happy. Oddly, it was a 2-0 win over Derby County which was Gareth Southgate's last game even though it left his side just a point off the summit. New manager Gordon Strachan struggled early on, winning just three of his opening 15 games and losing the talented Adam Johnson to Manchester City. Boro's home form improved in the New Year - they are undefeated at the Riverside in the league since December - but away form remained patchy at best and a final-day defeat at Leicester dropped them from eighth to 11th.
DONCASTER ROVERS
Manager: Sean O'Driscoll (since September 2006)
Championship: 12th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 1-0 away at Derby County
League Cup: Second Round, lost 5-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Verdict: Donny secured a third successive season of Championship football and a top half finish to boot after a generally impressive campaign in which they largely stayed out of trouble. A slow start featured just two wins - but nine draws - in their opening 16 league matches but Rovers soon shrugged off the draw specialists tag to win five out of six in the run-up to Christmas. Form in the New Year was far less consistent but O'Driscoll's men were through the 50-point barrier as early as mid-March, allowing them a relaxing last few weeks.
QUEENS PARK RANGERS
Manager: Neil Warnock. Previous managers: Jim Magilton, Paul Hart.
Championship: 13th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-2 at home to Sheffield United in replay
League Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Chelsea
Verdict: Another season of upheaval off the field at Loftus Road unsurprisingly had a detrimental effect on the field as Rangers' fledgling promotion challenge faded fast. Three successive wins in October, each featuring four goals for the Rs, had lifted the team to sixth in the table. But Rangers would win just twice more until February, including a run of one point from 21 straight after Christmas. Defeat to Middlesbrough at the end of February left QPR in 20th and relegation became a real possibility. But Neil Warnock was appointed straight after that game and steadied the ship sufficiently.
DERBY COUNTY
Manager: Nigel Clough (since January 2009)
Championship: 14th
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 2-1 at home to Birmingham City
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 away to Rotherham United
Verdict: There was little evidence of progress as Pride Park during 2009-10 as the Rams produced a similar season to 2008-09, finishing four places higher this time. Another slow start proved County's undoing with 10 defeats in the first 17 league games and further inconsistency in the New Year. Only for a brief spell in February when Derby beat rivals Nottingham Forest and eventual champions Newcastle did the Rams hit top form, though they always looked to have enough to beat the drop.
IPSWICH TOWN
Manager: Roy Keane (since April 2009)
Championship: 15th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-1 away to Southampton
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away to Peterborough United
Verdict: Ipswich won just one of their first 17 games, taking 15 matches to record their first win, thus destroying their season in the first couple of months. The Tractor Boys recovered somewhat in the second half of the campaign, finishing nine points clear of the bottom three but this was far below the fans' expectations under Roy Keane. Pre-season had been filled with talk of promotion but a 3-0 home defeat on the final day to Sheffield United showed the huge task which Keane still faces at Portman Road.
WATFORD
Manager: Malky Mackay (since June 2009)
Championship: 16th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 5-0 away to Chelsea
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-1 away to Leeds United after extra time
Verdict: After a worrying season off the field at Vicarage Road, Watford will just be pleased to be playing back in the Championship this August. Faced with a winding up order at the High Court, Malky Mackay was left with a threadbare squad which performed admirably in the first part of the season but really struggled as time went on. A run of six defeats out of seven in February and March looked set to spell the end of Watford's Championship status but three late wins, including a final-day thrashing of Coventry City (4-0, away), were just enough.
PRESTON NORTH END
Manager: Darren Ferguson (since January 2010). Previous manager: Alan Irvine.
Championship: 17th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 away at Chelsea.
League Cup: Third Round, lost 5-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Verdict: Traditionally hanging around the playoff places, this was one of Preston's most disappointing recent seasons. Eighteen points from the first nine league games suggested another top-six push was on the cards but, in the end, it was just as well the Deepdale club picked up so many early points as they struggled thereafter. They only once more won consecutive games and, in particular, became a soft touch on the road. Alan Irvine paid the price for Preston's poor results, losing his job at the end of December, but form under new man Darren Ferguson has hardly been spectacular.
BARNSLEY
Manager: Mark Robins (since September 2009)
Championship: 18th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 1-0 away to Scunthorpe United
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 2-0 at home to Manchester United
Verdict: Barnsley proved the doubters wrong to secure another season of Championship football and it was to Mark Robins' credit that a final position of 18th seemed a little disappointing. The Tykes began as poorly as the pre-season doom-merchants had predicted with just one point from the first six games. Simon Davey was sacked and Robins took over to dramatic effect as the team lost just three times between mid-September and early January. Form then became patchy in the New Year though they remained outsiders in the playoff hunt until March. However, the last 10 league matches produced five draws and five defeats to drop Barnsley back down towards the bottom.
COVENTRY CITY
Manager: Aidy Boothroyd (since May 2010). Previous manager: Chris Coleman.
Championship: 19th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Portsmouth in a replay after extra time
League Cup: First Round, lost 1-0 at home to Hartlepool United after extra time
Verdict: This was another season of struggle for the Sky Blues at the wrong end of the Championship table. Just four wins, all by the end of September, from the first 20 league games left City needing something special to make anything more of the campaign than a relegation struggle. And yet, they almost did it - two mini-runs of four wins in five and five wins in six either side of Christmas lifted City to eighth. But that was as good as it got, and five draws and six defeats from the last 11 games dropped the Sky Blues back down the table. The 4-0 home defeat to Watford on the final day unsurprisingly brought an end to Chris Coleman's reign.
SCUNTHORPE UNITED
Manager: Nigel Adkins (since November 2006)
Championship: 20th
FA Cup: Fourth Round, lost 4-2 at home to Manchester City
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 5-1 away to Manchester City
Verdict: Mission accomplished for Nigel Adkins who achieved safety in the Championship at the second time of asking at Glanford Park. After relegation in 2007-08, the Iron gained an immediate promotion back to the second tier through the playoffs but were instantly tagged relegation favourites. The season was always set to be tough and they lost all their away matches to the top seven. But, more notably, they won all but one of their home games against their fellow strugglers and Palace - who they failed to beat at home - were beaten 4-0 away instead.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Manager: Paul Hart (since March 2010). Previous manager: Neil Warnock.
Championship: 21st
FA Cup: Fifth Round, lost 3-1 away to Aston Villa in a replay
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 at home to Manchester City
Verdict: Survival in the most dramatic circumstances on the final day in Sheffield was the easy part - now Palace face a huge fight over the summer to sustain the club's existence. For the most part in 2009-10, Palace played well, losing just seven times before February to set up an unlikely playoff push. But the haunting spectre of administration had long hung over the club and, at the start of February, the club were plunged into a relegation battle after a 10-point deduction. Two wins immediately after the decision belied the fragile nature of the situation and just one win from the next 11 games put Palace in huge trouble. In the end, it went down to the final game - and 2-2 was enough for the Eagles at Hillsborough against Wednesday.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Manager: Alan Irvine (since January 2010). Previous manager: Brian Laws.
Championship: 22nd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace
League Cup: Second Round, lost 2-0 away to Port Vale
Verdict: Perhaps the saddest indictment of Sheffield Wednesday's situation is the fact that their relegation to League One hardly comes as much of a surprise. Wednesday have already played two seasons in the third tier in the middle of the last decade and rarely impressed when back in the Championship. The Owls had another inconsistent start in 2009-10 but it gave little warning of what was to come. A dreadful run before Christmas of three points and no wins from 11 games put Wednesday into the drop zone and yet Brian Laws secured a Premier League job at Burnley. Wednesday seemed to have got the better deal, replacing Laws with Alan Irvine. He produced five wins out of seven to ease worries but it was only a brief stay of execution and just one win from the final 12 games was one bad run too many.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
Manager: Paul Mariner (since December 2009). Previous manager: Paul Sturrock
Championship: 23rd
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 3-0 away to Newcastle United in replay
League Cup: First Round, lost 2-1 away to Gillingham
Verdict: A predictable relegation for the Devon club, particularly after the Pilgrims woeful start which saw them draw their first two games then lose their next seven. Paul Sturrock survived that run but was moved upstairs after another five consecutive losses without scoring in December. Paul Mariner took over but the damage was already done, and the season rather appropriately ended with another run of defeats - five in a row - in which the Pilgrims scored just once.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED
Manager: Gary Johnson (since April 2010). Previous managers: Darren Ferguson, Mark Cooper, Jim Gannon.
Championship: 24th
FA Cup: Third Round, lost 4-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur
League Cup: Fourth Round, lost 5-2 away to Blackburn Rovers
Verdict: A dreadful season at London Road which resembled a revolving door in the end with four managers taking charge in a single season. There had been little investment in the squad and the team struggled to compete at Championship level, winning just two games before November when Darren Ferguson was sacked. New manager Mark Cooper had caught the eye at Kettering but he also struggled with the step up, winning just one game. Former Stockport manager Jim Gannon was next in the hot seat and he improved the home form somewhat, recording four victories, before another dreadful run of form with just one point from a possible 27 between mid-March and the end of April. Gannon left after the 2-2 draw with Barnsley confirmed Posh's immediate relegation and Gary Johnson took over in time for his new team to beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day, but this was just their eighth league win of a long, hard season.
*Apologies for the lack of recent posts on theintrepidreporter.blogspot.com. This was mainly due to the volcanic ash cloud which extended a stay in the south of France from four days to six. A devastating predicament, I am sure you would all agree!
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See also
Earlier football 'mega-posts' on TheIntrepidReporter:
30.12.2009 Half time club-by-club review
11.08.2009 Premier League 2009-10 Guide
26.07.2009 Championship 2009-10 Guide
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Sunday, 9 May 2010
The Season 2009/10 - May: Chelsea are the champions
Premier League
Final Table
CHELSEA produced an imperious display to thrash Wigan Athletic 8-0 at Stamford Bridge and win the Premier League for the first time since 2005-06.
The Blues scored a Premier League record 103 goals to finish on 86 points, one point ahead of defending champions Manchester United, as Carlo Ancelotti won the title in his first season in charge.
Having hit seven goals at home three times already this season against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Stoke City, Wigan were always likely to suffer at the Bridge.
In a game that meant nothing to the Latics and everything to Chelsea, Ancelotti's men set about ripping their opponent's notoriously leaky defence to shreds from first whistle to last.
Drogba hit a hat-trick to win the golden boot with 29 league goals for the season. Nicolas Anelka scored twice and there was one goal each for Frank Lampard, Sebastian Kalou and Ashley Cole in the rout.
Chelsea's emphatic triumph rendered United's own fine 4-0 win against Stoke City at Old Trafford irrelevant.
Despite goals from Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Ji-Sung Park and another own goal, Sir Alex Ferguson's men had to settle for second place.
It meant United failed to win what would have been an English record of four successive titles and that they remain on 18 English league championships, still level with Liverpool.
Arsenal also won 4-0 to confirm their third-place finish against a Fulham side with more than one eye on their Europa League final against Athletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Andrei Arshavin, Robin van Persie, an own goal, and Carlos Vela ensured the Gunners ended the season at the Emirates on a high note.
Victory over the Cottagers also brought to an end a late-season slump which had seen Arsene Wenger's side take just one point from the previous 12 and which gave Tottenham Hotspur a sniff of third.
Spurs had beaten Manchester City 1-0 away in midweek to reach the Champions League qualifying round but disappointed on the final day in a 4-2 loss at already-relegated Burnley.
City had to settle for fifth place and the Europa League, ending the season with a timid 1-1 draw at West Ham United. That meant the season ended with just one win in five for Roberto Mancini's men.
And Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa also completed their season on a disappointing note, despite securing another top-six finish.
Villa lost for a second successive week, with the 1-0 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers following last week's 3-1 reverse at Manchester City, leaving O'Neill's future in some doubt.
Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez's days at Liverpool must surely be numbered after a desperate 0-0 draw at Hull City summed up a wretched season for the Reds.
It left Liverpool in seventh with just five wins from 19 away league matches, and eight losses. Anfield also bore witness to three home defeats against Chelsea, Arsenal and Villa.
Everton ended in eighth place after a final-day 1-0 win over Cup finalists Portsmouth, whose nine-point deduction left them a long way short of safety.
Since their semi final win over Spurs, Pompey have won just once in the league - against Wolverhampton Wanderers - and their final day defeat left them on just 19 points, 16 adrift of safety.
Despite slightly better results on the final day, both Burnley and Hull struggled over the past nine months to compete in the top division, managing only 30 points apiece.
Burnley finished above Hull, courtesy of one goal, but their woeful form meant only 31 points were required to stay in the Premier League this season, a record low.
The relegation places had been decided long before the final day, giving a stay of execution to West Ham who finished fourth-bottom on 35 points and Wigan who were 16th on 36 points despite conceding 79 goals.
Wolves, in 15th on 38 points, and Bolton Wanderers, in 14th on 39 points, also just failed to reach the 40-point mark.
The Championship
Final Table
CRYSTAL PALACE gained a point in final day thriller against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in a 2-2 draw which relegated the Owls.
Palace, who began the day two points ahead of Wednesday, further strengthened their position by taking the lead through Alan Lee on 24 minutes.
Alan Irvine's Owls responded and got a deserved equaliser before half time when Leon Clarke curled the ball around Palace keeper Julian Speroni.
Wednesday continued to dominate after the interval but left Darren Ambrose unmarked for an easy goal for 2-1 after a brilliant break by Dean Scanell.
Darren Purse set up a grandstand finish with a second equaliser with three minutes plus five stoppage-time minutes remaining.
But the Eagles were able to close out the game and secure Championship status, so long as the club survives off the pitch.
Palace had only got into relegation trouble after a 10-point deduction for entering administration and the Eagles survived in the end on 49 points.
Wednesday finished on 47 points, despite a brief resurgence in January, and they will join already-relegated Plymouth Argyle and Peterborough United in League One next season.
Peterborough won 2-1 at Plymouth on the final day but the Pilgrims, on 41 points, still finished above Posh, who were bottom on 34.
The only other issue to be decided on the final day was the identity of the team who would take the final playoff spot with Blackpool and Swansea City competing for one place.
Nerves seemed to get the better of both sides and Blackpool fell behind at home against Bristol City to give the Swans real hope.
But, despite their relatively lofty position, Paulo Sousa's men were the lowest scorers in the division and could not find a goal in a 0-0 draw at home against Doncaster Rovers.
Ian Holloway's Blackpool came back to get a point against Bristol City and that was enough to secure sixth place and a playoff semi final meeting with Nottingham Forest who they have been twice already.
Forest finished the season in third, some way short of promoted pair Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion in the end, after a collapse in their away form.
A 2-2 draw at Scunthorpe United on the final day of the regular season made it nine matches in a row without a win on the road, hardly the best form to be taking into the playoffs.
Fourth-placed Cardiff City have better form, going 10 matches unbeaten before a final day 2-0 defeat at Derby County.
But it is the Bluebirds' playoff opponents Leicester City who have the most momentum after a routine 2-0 home success over Middlesbrough made it five wins in a row for the Foxes.
League One
Final Table
LEEDS UNITED finally escaped League One after a dramatic final day win over Bristol Rovers at Elland Road secured the second automatic promotion spot.
Ten-man United came from behind to beat Rovers 2-1 with goals from Jonathan Howson and Jermaine Beckford cancelling out Darryl Duffy's opener.
The win brings to an end Leeds' three-year stay in the third tier but, looking back, it should have been much easier than this.
Simon Grayson's men had led the division by eight points with a game in hand before their famous FA Cup win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
But the Cup run proved to be a distraction and Norwich City overhauled Leeds' advantage to finish nine points clear at the top.
It got worse for Leeds when a whole host of other teams also caught them up though none of them could overcome the jitters to pull away.
It meant that any one of five teams - Leeds, Millwall, Swindon Town, Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town - could take the second automatic promotion spot on the final day.
Third-placed Millwall beat fifth-placed Swindon 3-2 in a dramatic game at the Den and, at one stage, the Lions were in the promotion spot with Leeds behind.
But Leeds' comeback scuppered their bid and that of Charlton Athletic who overtook Swindon to finish fourth after a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic.
Huddersfield only ever had an outside chance and were relying on all the results going in their favour.
But the Terriers could not even win their own match as Exeter City beat them 2-1 at St James's Park to haul themselves out the drop zone and secure League One safety on the final day.
Indeed, the bottom end of the division was no less dramatic than the top and Gillingham paid the price for failing to win away from the Priestfield Stadium all season.
A terrible final day 3-0 loss at Wycombe Wanderers meant the Gills dropped three places from 18th to 21st, joining Wycombe, Southend United and Stockport County in the basement division next season.
In addition to Exeter, Hartlepool United and Tranmere Rovers were the other beneficiaries of Gillingham's plunge.
Pools had only been put in a trouble after losing three points for fielding an ineligible player and a 0-0 draw at Brentford was enough to secure League One football at Victoria Park for 2010-11.
Tranmere's season had been wrecked by their terrible start under John Barnes but the Prenton Park club improved as the campaign went on and ensured survival with an easy 3-0 win over rock-bottom Stockport.
League Two
Final Table
GRIMSBY TOWN failed to pull off a great escape, losing their league status after a 99-year stay following a 3-0 loss at Burton Albion.
The Mariners had given themselves a chance of an unlikely escape after a 2-0 home win against third-bottom Barnet last week made it four wins and a draw from six games.
But Neil Woods' men, who went 25 matches without a win between September and March, reverted to type and two first half goals turned the final day into a damp squib.
Barnet got an impressive home win against promoted Rochdale while Cheltenham Town showed they always had just enough to avoid a second successive relegation in a 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley.
Meanwhile, in the Grimsby match, the mid-table Brewers added a third goal in the second period to confirm the Mariners will join Darlington in the Blue Square Premier next season.
The Quakers' fate had long since been decided and a 2-0 home loss to Dagenham & Redbridge left them on just 30 points, 18 adrift of safety.
That win was enough to put the Daggers in the playoffs in a dramatic scramble for the four places which involved most of the top half.
Like Darlington's demotion, the automatic promotion places had already been decided before the final day with a series of thumping wins giving Notts County a deserved title win.
Rochdale won a first promotion for 41 years and 32-year-old manager Eddie Howe achieved success against the odds at Bournemouth.
But none of teams below them was assured of a playoff spot going into a dramatic last day.
In the end, Sammy McIlroy's Morecambe took fourth place after a 1-0 win over Aldershot made it seven wins out of nine.
Despite that loss, Aldershot took sixth place with Bury and Port Vale missing out after draws against Northampton Town and managerless Shrewsbury Town.
Sandwiched in between Morecambe and Aldershot were Rotherham United in a fifth-place finish.
That is a little disappointing for the Millers who led the league in its early stages this season and remained in with a chance of automatic promotion until a collapse in late-March.
But Ronnie Moore's men could still go up. They face Aldershot in one playoff tie with Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge in the other.
Blue Square Premier
Final Table
OXFORD UNITED and York City will meet at Wembley next Sunday in the final of the Blue Square playoffs as both clubs look to return to the Football League.
Oxford beat Rushden & Diamonds 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate win to reach a Wembley final for the first time since their 1986 league cup win.
The Us became the first English team to have won a major trophy and fallen out of the League in 2006 but victory over York would end four years of Conference football.
Although they finished eight points behind in the final league standings, York will be no push-overs after two hard-fought 1-0 wins over favourites Luton Town secured a 2-0 aggregate victory.
The second match at Kenilworth Road was marred by a pitch invasion by the Luton fans which turned into a violent attack on the York players who had to run for cover in the stands.
But that nightmare end to the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon could all be forgotten if the Minstermen win back the league status which they lost in 2004.
The regular season had ended with Stevenage Borough 11 points clear at the top - a deserved championship for the club who will play in the Football League for the first time in August.
But Boro were unable to complete a non-league double after a surprise 2-1 defeat in extra time against Barrow in the FA Trophy at Wembley.
At the bottom, Ebbsfleet United suffered final day heartache, going down despite a 4-3 win at Tamworth Town.
Forest Green Rovers were also relegated but they can have few complaints, having blown the chance for survival by being beaten by rock-bottom Grays Athletic.
That allowed Gateshead to survive by a margin of just three goals after a tense 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon.
Blue Square Premier status was vital for the Tynesiders who will turn full time this summer in a bid to avoid a second season of struggle.
Eastbourne Borough and Histon also survived on the last day - Eastbourne beat Oxford 1-0 at home, while Histon did enough with a 2-2 home draw against Barrow.
Joining those clubs in the Blue Square Premier next season are Southport and Fleetwood who won promotion from the Blue Square North, and Newport County and Bath City who went up from the Blue Square South.
Final Table
CHELSEA produced an imperious display to thrash Wigan Athletic 8-0 at Stamford Bridge and win the Premier League for the first time since 2005-06.
The Blues scored a Premier League record 103 goals to finish on 86 points, one point ahead of defending champions Manchester United, as Carlo Ancelotti won the title in his first season in charge.
Having hit seven goals at home three times already this season against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Stoke City, Wigan were always likely to suffer at the Bridge.
In a game that meant nothing to the Latics and everything to Chelsea, Ancelotti's men set about ripping their opponent's notoriously leaky defence to shreds from first whistle to last.
Drogba hit a hat-trick to win the golden boot with 29 league goals for the season. Nicolas Anelka scored twice and there was one goal each for Frank Lampard, Sebastian Kalou and Ashley Cole in the rout.
Chelsea's emphatic triumph rendered United's own fine 4-0 win against Stoke City at Old Trafford irrelevant.
Despite goals from Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Ji-Sung Park and another own goal, Sir Alex Ferguson's men had to settle for second place.
It meant United failed to win what would have been an English record of four successive titles and that they remain on 18 English league championships, still level with Liverpool.
Arsenal also won 4-0 to confirm their third-place finish against a Fulham side with more than one eye on their Europa League final against Athletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Andrei Arshavin, Robin van Persie, an own goal, and Carlos Vela ensured the Gunners ended the season at the Emirates on a high note.
Victory over the Cottagers also brought to an end a late-season slump which had seen Arsene Wenger's side take just one point from the previous 12 and which gave Tottenham Hotspur a sniff of third.
Spurs had beaten Manchester City 1-0 away in midweek to reach the Champions League qualifying round but disappointed on the final day in a 4-2 loss at already-relegated Burnley.
City had to settle for fifth place and the Europa League, ending the season with a timid 1-1 draw at West Ham United. That meant the season ended with just one win in five for Roberto Mancini's men.
And Martin O'Neill at Aston Villa also completed their season on a disappointing note, despite securing another top-six finish.
Villa lost for a second successive week, with the 1-0 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers following last week's 3-1 reverse at Manchester City, leaving O'Neill's future in some doubt.
Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez's days at Liverpool must surely be numbered after a desperate 0-0 draw at Hull City summed up a wretched season for the Reds.
It left Liverpool in seventh with just five wins from 19 away league matches, and eight losses. Anfield also bore witness to three home defeats against Chelsea, Arsenal and Villa.
Everton ended in eighth place after a final-day 1-0 win over Cup finalists Portsmouth, whose nine-point deduction left them a long way short of safety.
Since their semi final win over Spurs, Pompey have won just once in the league - against Wolverhampton Wanderers - and their final day defeat left them on just 19 points, 16 adrift of safety.
Despite slightly better results on the final day, both Burnley and Hull struggled over the past nine months to compete in the top division, managing only 30 points apiece.
Burnley finished above Hull, courtesy of one goal, but their woeful form meant only 31 points were required to stay in the Premier League this season, a record low.
The relegation places had been decided long before the final day, giving a stay of execution to West Ham who finished fourth-bottom on 35 points and Wigan who were 16th on 36 points despite conceding 79 goals.
Wolves, in 15th on 38 points, and Bolton Wanderers, in 14th on 39 points, also just failed to reach the 40-point mark.
The Championship
Final Table
CRYSTAL PALACE gained a point in final day thriller against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in a 2-2 draw which relegated the Owls.
Palace, who began the day two points ahead of Wednesday, further strengthened their position by taking the lead through Alan Lee on 24 minutes.
Alan Irvine's Owls responded and got a deserved equaliser before half time when Leon Clarke curled the ball around Palace keeper Julian Speroni.
Wednesday continued to dominate after the interval but left Darren Ambrose unmarked for an easy goal for 2-1 after a brilliant break by Dean Scanell.
Darren Purse set up a grandstand finish with a second equaliser with three minutes plus five stoppage-time minutes remaining.
But the Eagles were able to close out the game and secure Championship status, so long as the club survives off the pitch.
Palace had only got into relegation trouble after a 10-point deduction for entering administration and the Eagles survived in the end on 49 points.
Wednesday finished on 47 points, despite a brief resurgence in January, and they will join already-relegated Plymouth Argyle and Peterborough United in League One next season.
Peterborough won 2-1 at Plymouth on the final day but the Pilgrims, on 41 points, still finished above Posh, who were bottom on 34.
The only other issue to be decided on the final day was the identity of the team who would take the final playoff spot with Blackpool and Swansea City competing for one place.
Nerves seemed to get the better of both sides and Blackpool fell behind at home against Bristol City to give the Swans real hope.
But, despite their relatively lofty position, Paulo Sousa's men were the lowest scorers in the division and could not find a goal in a 0-0 draw at home against Doncaster Rovers.
Ian Holloway's Blackpool came back to get a point against Bristol City and that was enough to secure sixth place and a playoff semi final meeting with Nottingham Forest who they have been twice already.
Forest finished the season in third, some way short of promoted pair Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion in the end, after a collapse in their away form.
A 2-2 draw at Scunthorpe United on the final day of the regular season made it nine matches in a row without a win on the road, hardly the best form to be taking into the playoffs.
Fourth-placed Cardiff City have better form, going 10 matches unbeaten before a final day 2-0 defeat at Derby County.
But it is the Bluebirds' playoff opponents Leicester City who have the most momentum after a routine 2-0 home success over Middlesbrough made it five wins in a row for the Foxes.
League One
Final Table
LEEDS UNITED finally escaped League One after a dramatic final day win over Bristol Rovers at Elland Road secured the second automatic promotion spot.
Ten-man United came from behind to beat Rovers 2-1 with goals from Jonathan Howson and Jermaine Beckford cancelling out Darryl Duffy's opener.
The win brings to an end Leeds' three-year stay in the third tier but, looking back, it should have been much easier than this.
Simon Grayson's men had led the division by eight points with a game in hand before their famous FA Cup win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
But the Cup run proved to be a distraction and Norwich City overhauled Leeds' advantage to finish nine points clear at the top.
It got worse for Leeds when a whole host of other teams also caught them up though none of them could overcome the jitters to pull away.
It meant that any one of five teams - Leeds, Millwall, Swindon Town, Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town - could take the second automatic promotion spot on the final day.
Third-placed Millwall beat fifth-placed Swindon 3-2 in a dramatic game at the Den and, at one stage, the Lions were in the promotion spot with Leeds behind.
But Leeds' comeback scuppered their bid and that of Charlton Athletic who overtook Swindon to finish fourth after a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic.
Huddersfield only ever had an outside chance and were relying on all the results going in their favour.
But the Terriers could not even win their own match as Exeter City beat them 2-1 at St James's Park to haul themselves out the drop zone and secure League One safety on the final day.
Indeed, the bottom end of the division was no less dramatic than the top and Gillingham paid the price for failing to win away from the Priestfield Stadium all season.
A terrible final day 3-0 loss at Wycombe Wanderers meant the Gills dropped three places from 18th to 21st, joining Wycombe, Southend United and Stockport County in the basement division next season.
In addition to Exeter, Hartlepool United and Tranmere Rovers were the other beneficiaries of Gillingham's plunge.
Pools had only been put in a trouble after losing three points for fielding an ineligible player and a 0-0 draw at Brentford was enough to secure League One football at Victoria Park for 2010-11.
Tranmere's season had been wrecked by their terrible start under John Barnes but the Prenton Park club improved as the campaign went on and ensured survival with an easy 3-0 win over rock-bottom Stockport.
League Two
Final Table
GRIMSBY TOWN failed to pull off a great escape, losing their league status after a 99-year stay following a 3-0 loss at Burton Albion.
The Mariners had given themselves a chance of an unlikely escape after a 2-0 home win against third-bottom Barnet last week made it four wins and a draw from six games.
But Neil Woods' men, who went 25 matches without a win between September and March, reverted to type and two first half goals turned the final day into a damp squib.
Barnet got an impressive home win against promoted Rochdale while Cheltenham Town showed they always had just enough to avoid a second successive relegation in a 1-1 draw with Accrington Stanley.
Meanwhile, in the Grimsby match, the mid-table Brewers added a third goal in the second period to confirm the Mariners will join Darlington in the Blue Square Premier next season.
The Quakers' fate had long since been decided and a 2-0 home loss to Dagenham & Redbridge left them on just 30 points, 18 adrift of safety.
That win was enough to put the Daggers in the playoffs in a dramatic scramble for the four places which involved most of the top half.
Like Darlington's demotion, the automatic promotion places had already been decided before the final day with a series of thumping wins giving Notts County a deserved title win.
Rochdale won a first promotion for 41 years and 32-year-old manager Eddie Howe achieved success against the odds at Bournemouth.
But none of teams below them was assured of a playoff spot going into a dramatic last day.
In the end, Sammy McIlroy's Morecambe took fourth place after a 1-0 win over Aldershot made it seven wins out of nine.
Despite that loss, Aldershot took sixth place with Bury and Port Vale missing out after draws against Northampton Town and managerless Shrewsbury Town.
Sandwiched in between Morecambe and Aldershot were Rotherham United in a fifth-place finish.
That is a little disappointing for the Millers who led the league in its early stages this season and remained in with a chance of automatic promotion until a collapse in late-March.
But Ronnie Moore's men could still go up. They face Aldershot in one playoff tie with Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge in the other.
Blue Square Premier
Final Table
OXFORD UNITED and York City will meet at Wembley next Sunday in the final of the Blue Square playoffs as both clubs look to return to the Football League.
Oxford beat Rushden & Diamonds 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate win to reach a Wembley final for the first time since their 1986 league cup win.
The Us became the first English team to have won a major trophy and fallen out of the League in 2006 but victory over York would end four years of Conference football.
Although they finished eight points behind in the final league standings, York will be no push-overs after two hard-fought 1-0 wins over favourites Luton Town secured a 2-0 aggregate victory.
The second match at Kenilworth Road was marred by a pitch invasion by the Luton fans which turned into a violent attack on the York players who had to run for cover in the stands.
But that nightmare end to the Bank Holiday Monday afternoon could all be forgotten if the Minstermen win back the league status which they lost in 2004.
The regular season had ended with Stevenage Borough 11 points clear at the top - a deserved championship for the club who will play in the Football League for the first time in August.
But Boro were unable to complete a non-league double after a surprise 2-1 defeat in extra time against Barrow in the FA Trophy at Wembley.
At the bottom, Ebbsfleet United suffered final day heartache, going down despite a 4-3 win at Tamworth Town.
Forest Green Rovers were also relegated but they can have few complaints, having blown the chance for survival by being beaten by rock-bottom Grays Athletic.
That allowed Gateshead to survive by a margin of just three goals after a tense 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon.
Blue Square Premier status was vital for the Tynesiders who will turn full time this summer in a bid to avoid a second season of struggle.
Eastbourne Borough and Histon also survived on the last day - Eastbourne beat Oxford 1-0 at home, while Histon did enough with a 2-2 home draw against Barrow.
Joining those clubs in the Blue Square Premier next season are Southport and Fleetwood who won promotion from the Blue Square North, and Newport County and Bath City who went up from the Blue Square South.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Newcastle United promotion review 2009-10 - Dignity restored
NEWCASTLE UNITED players made an ultimately appropriate choice when selecting their dressing room theme tune for this season last summer.
'Dignity', by Deacon Blue, is exactly what has been restored to the club after a tremendous title-winning campaign of 30 wins, 90 goals and 102 points.
Other notable achievements included:
*The only unbeaten home record in English professional football in 2009-10, and something not done at St James Park since 1906-07,
*Records in the Championship for the highest single attendance (52,181) and the highest average attendance (43,384)
*A club record for the number of clean sheets (22) in a season, and
*A club record unbeaten run of 17 games which lasted until the end of the season, beating the previous record of 15, also made during 2009-10.
There were 17 different scorers in the league with four players reaching double figures. Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan were joint-top league scorers with 17 goals, and local lad Carroll was the overall top scorer with 19 league and cup goals.
The success is a far cry from the bitter taste left by relegation which prompted me to write a scathing post about the ills of the club almost 12 months ago.
A troubled pre-season had done little to lift to gloom over Tyneside. On the field, a brawl at Huddersfield Town was followed by a 6-1 drubbing at Leyton Orient which led to certain senior players taking charge of the dressing room.
Off the field, owner Mike Ashley had put the club up for sale for a second time, and he was refusing to speak to Alan Shearer over the club legend's wish to become manager.
It was undertstandable, then, that Newcastle fans approached the club's first season in the second tier since 1992-93 with some trepidation.
A good start was vital but even the fixtures computer seemed to lack much sympathy, sending United to the Hawthorns for an opening day against West Bromwich Albion.
The Baggies may have finished below United in the previous season's Premier League but only just. Also, as a yo-yo club, they were far better prepared to deal with the pain of relegation.
The BBC cameras were rolling but the country failed to witness a Newcastle meltdown, as Damien Duff's equaliser was enough to secure a 1-1 draw.
Shortly afterwards, Duff signed for Fulham for £2.5m. But, while Oba Martins and Michael Owen also unsurprisingly departed, United had retained, relatively speaking, a strong squad for the division.
One player who seemed to have found his level was Shola Ameobi and he scored his first senior hat-trick in Newcastle's first home game against Reading, a 3-0 win.
Ameobi struck again four days later at home against Sheffield Wednesday for the only goal of the game.
Three days later, and United had their first away win since February as goals inside the first 20 minutes from Ryan Taylor and Nolan were enough to beat Crystal Palace at Selhurt Park.
And, after coming from 3-1 behind to beat Huddersfield 4-3 in the League Cup, Newcastle confirmed their good start to the season, moving top of the league with a 1-0 win over Leicester City.
Danny Guthrie scored the only goal of a game played in torrential rain on the night of the August Bank Holiday while injuries forced 18-year-old Nile Ranger to lead the line as a sole striker.
The first international break appeared to have come at an unfortunate time for United who were building up a head of steam with five league and cup wins in a row.
But, on their return, Chris Hughton's men ground out an impressive 1-0 win at Cardiff City as Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini scored his first for club with a header.
After the goal on 18 minutes, United were forced on the back-foot for long periods but displayed a tenacity and ruthlessness which would become a trademark of many away performances.
Not at Blackpool, though. United suffered the first defeat of the season at Bloomfield Road despite Carroll having given the Magpies the lead against the run-of-play.
Brett Ormerod struck on half-time and Jason Euell midway through the second half to give the Seasiders a deserved 2-1 win.
But the response from Newcastle was immediate as Plymouth Argyle were brushed aside 3-1, despite briefly holding parity at St James.
Steven Taylor had given United an early lead before Karl Duguid equalised early in the second half.
That seemed to wake Newcastle up as Nolan and Carroll scored for an ultimately comfortable win against the league's then-bottom side.
A midweek 2-0 loss in the League Cup to Peterborough featured mainly reserve players with the first-team held back for what would be an emotional match against Ipswich Town.
It came just a matter of weeks after the death of Sir Bobby Robson and he surely would have smiled from above at the swagger displayed by Newcastle in a 4-0 away win.
The contest had been fairly even in the first half an hour but a three-goal blast - two from Nolan and one from Ryan Taylor - in the space of five minutes put United in complete control.
Early in the second half, Nolan completed his first Newcastle hat trick, prompting a party in the away end in Suffolk.
Little did United fans know then that it would be another month before the team won again as the Magpies suffered their first proper blip.
First, United could only draw with Queens Park Rangers who became the first visiting team to take the lead at St James Park in 2009-10 when Ben Watson scored on seven minutes.
Loan signing Marlon Harewood ensured Newcastle retained their unbeaten home record with an equaliser on his home debut.
A second home draw followed four days later as United did everything but score in a 0-0 draw against Bristol City.
The four dropped points from two home games seemed to dent the Newcastle players' confidence and the 1-0 loss at in-form Nottingham Forest was a predictable outcome.
It got worse four days later as, despite Nolan's equaliser, United lost 2-1 at Scunthorpe United to make it just two points from 12.
At least, Newcastle were back at St James Park for the next game against Doncaster Rovers. But home advantage seemed to count for little and Rovers took the lead through Dean Shiels.
To the relief of another 40,000+ crowd, Carroll scored an equaliser midway through the second half but Zurab Khizanishvili's sending off seemed to end all hope of a first win in five.
That was until Nolan popped up with a priceless winner, hitting the net with a low shot in-off the post from just outside the box.
It was truly a vital three points from United, shaking them from their poor form and becoming the first of a run of seven successive wins.
Almost identikit 1-0 away wins against Sheffield United and Preston North End, where Nolan scored yet another winner, came either side of a 3-1 revenge win over Peterborough.
Jonas Gutierrez scored his first goal for the club against Posh but declined to display his Spiderman mask.
Carroll made it two inside 20 minutes before right-back Danny Simpson made it three early in the second half.
Dean Keates scored a consolation for Posh with ten minutes left but it was not enough to save Darren Ferguson from the sack.
United next home against Swansea City was meant to be a much tougher exercise but the Welsh opponents were blown away inside half an hour in a 3-0 win.
Harewood struck twice and Peter Lovenkrands scored the first goal of his second spell having re-signed for the club after finding no offers of gainful employment elsewhere.
Lovenkrands was at it again the following Saturday in a 2-0 home win against Watford, but the game is most memorable for Fabrice Pancrate's fabulous introduction to English football.
Going into the last 10 minutes and still leading 1-0, but without Nolan who had been sent off, sub Pancrate turned on a sixpence and fired a high shot into the net via the crossbar.
It ensured no doubt about that result and sent Newcastle to Coventry in high spirits. There, Ranger hit his first senior goal to seal a routine 2-0 win after Ameobi had scored in first half stoppage time.
That made it seven wins on the spin for Hughton's men who enjoyed a seven-point gap to second-placed West Brom and a gap of 12 points to Cardiff and Forest in mid-December.
The run came to an end at Barnsley in an entertaining festive encounter but only after Newcastle gave away the lead twice, failing to hold out with three minutes left on the second occasion.
Nolan's sixth-minute strike had been equalised early in the second half but the winning streak looked set to continue when Harewood scored with 12 minutes left until the late sting in the tail.
At least, in Middlesbrough, Newcastle found their opponents providing a goodwill gesture in keeping with the season as the Teessiders produced an insipid performance at St James Park.
Goals from Harewood and Ameobi made this one of the easiest 2-0 victories in a Tyne-Tees match that the Magpies will ever have.
But, Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day was another matter altogether.
Scrapping at the bottom, the Owls matched United in a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough as Newcastle fans were forced to travel for an eighth successive St Stephen's Day.
A Luke Varney header had given Wednesday a deserved lead after 15 minutes before United scored with their first two attacks through Nolan and Ameobi.
But a second successive 2-1 lead in South Yorkshire was given away in the second half when James O'Connor out-muscled Steve Harper on the hour mark.
Successive 0-0 draws followed - in the league at home against Derby County and in the FA Cup away at Plymouth before Reading away was postponed due to heavy snow.
The two nil-nils made it four draws in five games since the Coventry game in mid-December and the lead had been cut by Forest in second place to two points, although United had two games in hand.
Plymouth were sent packing in the Cup as Lovenkrands scored a 'perfect' hat-trick in a 3-0 win to send the Pilgrims to their second defeat at St James after the league win in September.
But all eyes were focused on the home league clash with West Brom who were six points behind in third. This was also one of those games in hand on Forest.
Perhaps unsurprisingly with the way things had gone recently, the match ended in yet another draw, a 2-2, but this time United were happy enough with that.
The visitors had twice taken the lead in a open match played at a much higher tempo than many other Championship games.
You could see why these were two sides vying for promotion back to the top flight but Newcastle were the happier of the two, having had to play catch-up.
First, Jonas Olsson was given too much space to prod home from six yards on 13 minutes before a Guthrie free-kick left Scott Carson rooted and got United back on terms at half time.
Within seconds of the restart, it was 2-1 to the Baggies as Roman Bednar took advantage of more slack defending to score with a diving header.
Thankfully, Newcastle equalised again as Lovenkrands scored with just 18 minutes left and, while it was a big goal for United, it was an even bigger one for the Dane.
Having made a late decision to play following the death of his father days before, an emotional Lovenkrands raised a finger and looked to the skies in tribute, before being surrounded by team mates.
As luck would have it, West Brom were back on the fixture list straightaway after the fourth round Cup draw had paired the teams at the Hawthorns.
After two draws in the league, Albion finally got the better of Newcastle, 4-2, but perhaps only because Graham Dorrans had been allowed to slot away two contentious penalties.
Olsson had again given West Brom the lead before the first of Dorrans' penalties despite Tamas Kadar's tackle taking place outside the box.
Into the second half, Newcastle got back into the game after Gutierrez set up Carroll for his first goal in two months before Dorrans' second penalty.
This time, Newcastle's disgruntlement surrounded the fact that Ameobi had been denied a clear penalty moments before Albion marched up the other end and won one of their own.
Jerome Thomas added insult to injury before Carroll got his second of the match as mere consolation.
At least, United were back in league action within four days and forgot about their Cup exit with their second 2-0 win of the season over Crystal Palace.
Newcastle had been gifted the opener on 13 minutes when Shaun Derry hooked a clearance into his own net.
But, this was no classic and the Magpies had to wait until stoppage time to add a second through Ranger after new signing Wayne Routledge set him up.
Next, an uneventful 0-0 draw at Leicester on a cold January night was a match so bad that barely anything memorable about it springs to mind.
Needless to say, Newcastle were due a performance and it came against Cardiff City.
Just like their Welsh neighbours Swansea in November, the Bluebirds were blown away in the first 15 minutes with two goals from Carroll either side of an own goal after Carroll had hit the post.
This time, United added to their score with two goals from Lovenkrands in the second half before a late Cardiff consolation. Full time - 5-1.
Yet, if Newcastle had taken any confidence from the big result, it did not show once Hughton's men got back on their travels.
In the worst week of the season, United lost 3-0 at bogey team Derby before a 1-1 draw at Swansea which was barely any better.
The Swans deserved to win by a comfortable margin but only had David Cotterill's early second half strike to show for their efforts.
Paulo Sousa's notoriously goal-shy team were made to pay for their profligacy when Carroll rescued a point with a towering header three minutes from time.
Back at St James and United enjoyed home comforts a lot more with successive three-goal wins over midtable plodders Coventry City and Preston North End.
Coventry actually had the temerity to take the lead through Clinton Morrison but it was completely against the run of play and United were soon back level.
A delicious volley by Routledge gave him his maiden Toon goal and capped a man-of-the-match performance from the tricky winger.
United took control in the second half as goals from Carroll, Lovenkrands and Ryan Taylor in stoppage time put the result beyond doubt.
Preston were dispatched still more easily with Lovenkrands scoring after just three minutes.
Nolan scored his first goal of the calendar year on 55 minutes before Ryan Taylor scored another stoppage time third.
United also struck early in each half at Vicarage Road to overcome struggling Watford 2-1 in a battling performance.
Coloccini scored his second goal for the club on four minutes and Carroll added a second on 50 before Will Hoskins ensured a nervy end to a professional performance.
Newcastle held firm in stoppage time for their first away win in eight league and cup matches since beating Coventry in December.
Having got back to winning ways on the road, United returned home to deliver their biggest win of the season against unfortunate Barnsley.
United had dominated their Yorkshire opponents in the first half but had struggled to make a breakthrough until Tykes keeper Luke Steele brought down Lovenkrands in the box.
Steele was slightly harshly sent off and sub keeper David Preece's first job was to pick the ball out of the net, something which he did repeatedly for the rest of his afternoon.
After Lovenkrands' penalty made it 1-0 to United at half time, the Dane scored a second early in the second half.
Then, there were further goals followed from Guthrie, Gutierrez, Guthrie again and Nolan in a pulsating period of 23 minutes which still left 20 minutes to play.
Rarely had I seen United so threatening against opponents short of a man. Barnsley fans may have a right to dispute the red card, but it really could have been more than six.
In the end, United had to settle for 6-1, as Daniel Bogdanovic scored a consolation that was barely noticed, and the smell of promotion began to fill the warm, spring air.
However, Hughton ensured feet stayed firmly on the ground ahead of the second Tyne-Tees match of the season, this time at the Riverside.
By all account, Middlesbrough had the better of the match and led with just 15 minutes left after Scott McDonald and Barry Robson had overturned Lovenkrands early goal.
But Boro did not take into consideration Carroll's handy knack of scoring late equalisers and the Gateshead lad delivered again with eight minutes left.
Carroll then enjoyed his best home game since Cardiff, scoring twice in a routine 3-0 home win against Scunthorpe United.
Lovenkrands scored the other goal in between Carroll's strikes as United set themselves up well ahead of two away trips to Bristol City and Doncaster.
The Robins really gave Newcastle a game and led 2-0 at half time leaving Hughton with much to do.
But an injection of pace down both flanks courtesy of Gutierrez and Routledge helped and Newcastle finally forced their way back into the game with 20 minutes left.
Gutierrez scored his third of the season before Carroll's trademark away strike left the Magpies with enough time to force a winner.
That did not come, but it did not make the point gained feel any less valuable.
The second away game in four days at Doncaster came after reports that Carroll had broken Steven Taylor's jaw in a training-ground bust-up.
With promotion still not assured, this was unwanted news, the kind of which United had done well to avoid throughout the season.
Hughton was forced into a big call and Carroll travelled with the team. Not only that but he scored the winner on the hour mark before being mobbed in celebration by team-mates.
That seemed to confirm that the squad's excellent team spirit had not been much dented although comments from Taylor or the club were not forthcoming.
It left a slightly sour taste in the mouth although it was sweetened by relief that, for once, the club did not wash its dirty laundry in public.
Fate intervened anyway to ensure Carroll would only have a bit-part in the next major chapter of the season - a big home match against Nottingham Forest.
Forest had made a real promotion push over the winter but poor away form in February and March meant they had dropped ten points off the pace though they still lay in third.
Billy Davies' men were certainly more enterprising than most who visited St James but United finished the stronger after Carroll went off injured for Ameobi.
First, the gangly striker gave Newcastle the lead with a quick turn-and-hit which went in-off the post, leaving Lee Camp in the Forest goal flat-footed.
Another moment of quality wrapped up a 2-0 win in stoppage time as Ameobi back-heeled the ball perfectly into Jose Enrique's path for the Spaniard to slam home his first ever career goal.
United were potentially within a win of promotion but were made to wait by Forest, despite a 3-2 win against Peterborough.
Not for the first time this season, the Magpies made hard-work of dispatching Posh who took the lead through Dominic Green.
Goals either side of half time from Nolan and Joey Barton before a further strike from Ameobi on the hour seemed to put United in control.
Liam Dickinson ensured a nervy end but United held out only to find that Forest had stopped their losing away run with a draw at Bristol City, which was good enough to deny Newcastle promotion.
But Newcastle did not need to wait for long. Indeed, they were promoted on Easter Monday without kicking a ball after Forest could only get another draw against Cardiff.
Newcastle still had a match to play that evening against Sheffield United and the Blades looked set to be party-poopers after Richard Cresswell gave them the lead.
The Magpies struggled to find any rhythm but they were given a lifeline on half-time when Chris Morgan, who had scored an own goal in the 1-0 win at Bramall Lane, fouled Carroll.
Lovenkrands fired home the resultant penalty and Newcastle found the going easier in the second half.
A 2-1 win against the Blades was completed by a spectacular scissor-kick goal at the Gallowgate End by Nolan, later to be unveiled as the Championship's player of the season.
It was a phenomenal way to celebrate promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Newcastle's next targets were to win the league and stay unbeaten at home. Both objectives were aided in another easy home win, 4-1 against Blackpool.
Gutierrez gave United the lead after just 12 minutes with his fourth of the season before Carroll doubled it with a header for a 2-0 half-time lead.
Nolan benefited from generous defending to make it 3-0 before sub Ameobi immediately set up Routledge for the fourth.
Only Brett Ormerod's goal spoiled the day as the veteran striker scored his second against Newcastle, having also scored in their 2-1 home win in September.
A sixth successive win came at the Madejski Stadium in Reading in a match that was played at the third time of asking after postponements for the weather and the Royals' cup run.
Nolan was the star performer with two first-half goals and, in the second half, only the width of a post denied him a second hat-trick of the season.
United defended deep and soaked up a lot of pressure until the hosts gained a chance of salvaing a point after Enrique slammed his clearance off Simpson's backside into the net.
Once again, though, Newcastle held on for a single-goal away win, a 10th on the road for the season.
Ten became 11 as United wrapped up the title with a 2-0 win that relegated Plymouth in the fourth meeting of the season between the sides.
Two goals in ten first-half minutes from Carroll and Routledge were enough to overcome the spirited Pilgrims who had some great chances but lacked a killer instinct up front.
Carroll inevitably scored from a header as United began to exert some pressure after a quiet first 20 minutes.
The second goal followed shortly afterwards and it will be long-remembered. Not only because it sealed the league but also for its quality as Barton slipped in Routledge for a cool finish reminscent of David Kelly's title-winning goal against Grimsby in 1993.
Newcastle received the Championship trophy after their final home game against Ipswich in front of a full house at St James Park.
Roy Keane's men tried to spoil the party, and came away with a 2-2 draw, but the point ensured United maintained a season-long unbeaten home record.
Not that the record was in much danger of being lost to the Tractor Boys. Newcastle took the lead on 26 minutes when Carroll placed a wonderful header from Routledge's cross but Conor Wickham levelled the scores just before half-time.
A second half devoid of action followed until Nicky Butt, making his last appearance in United colours, won a penalty which Ameobi converted.
Newcastle were denied a 19th home league win of the season by Jon Walters' strike deep into the stoppage time but even that goal could not prevent a party atmosphere at the cup presentation.
Finally, Hughton's men completed the season with a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, the eighth win out of nine and a club-record fifth successive away win.
Former United defender Peter Ramage was sent off for hauling down Ameobi but it took a while before Newcastle made use of their one-man advantage.
Indeed, the match was meandering towards a 0-0 draw until Lovenkrands prevented it with a fine strike with 20 minutes left.
A winning note to end on, then, for United who spent most of the season winning games - 32 of them in league and cup, in fact.
Not all of them have been pretty, especially those in the first half of the season.
But a never-say-die attitude mixed with hints of quality and a ruthlessness rarely seen recently in these parts ensured this dip into the second flight of English football could be enjoyed rather than endured.
An incredibly tough season back in the Premier League awaits Newcastle - there will be more defeats, for sure - and the squad will need to be strengthened.
For now, though, Newcastle fans can bask in this set of players giving something back restoring one of the values most cherished by all football fans. Dignity.
Match stats and scorers courtesy of NUFC.com
League table stats courtesy of Statto.com
'Dignity', by Deacon Blue, is exactly what has been restored to the club after a tremendous title-winning campaign of 30 wins, 90 goals and 102 points.
Other notable achievements included:
*The only unbeaten home record in English professional football in 2009-10, and something not done at St James Park since 1906-07,
*Records in the Championship for the highest single attendance (52,181) and the highest average attendance (43,384)
*A club record for the number of clean sheets (22) in a season, and
*A club record unbeaten run of 17 games which lasted until the end of the season, beating the previous record of 15, also made during 2009-10.
There were 17 different scorers in the league with four players reaching double figures. Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan were joint-top league scorers with 17 goals, and local lad Carroll was the overall top scorer with 19 league and cup goals.
The success is a far cry from the bitter taste left by relegation which prompted me to write a scathing post about the ills of the club almost 12 months ago.
A troubled pre-season had done little to lift to gloom over Tyneside. On the field, a brawl at Huddersfield Town was followed by a 6-1 drubbing at Leyton Orient which led to certain senior players taking charge of the dressing room.
Off the field, owner Mike Ashley had put the club up for sale for a second time, and he was refusing to speak to Alan Shearer over the club legend's wish to become manager.
It was undertstandable, then, that Newcastle fans approached the club's first season in the second tier since 1992-93 with some trepidation.
A good start was vital but even the fixtures computer seemed to lack much sympathy, sending United to the Hawthorns for an opening day against West Bromwich Albion.
The Baggies may have finished below United in the previous season's Premier League but only just. Also, as a yo-yo club, they were far better prepared to deal with the pain of relegation.
The BBC cameras were rolling but the country failed to witness a Newcastle meltdown, as Damien Duff's equaliser was enough to secure a 1-1 draw.
Shortly afterwards, Duff signed for Fulham for £2.5m. But, while Oba Martins and Michael Owen also unsurprisingly departed, United had retained, relatively speaking, a strong squad for the division.
One player who seemed to have found his level was Shola Ameobi and he scored his first senior hat-trick in Newcastle's first home game against Reading, a 3-0 win.
Ameobi struck again four days later at home against Sheffield Wednesday for the only goal of the game.
Three days later, and United had their first away win since February as goals inside the first 20 minutes from Ryan Taylor and Nolan were enough to beat Crystal Palace at Selhurt Park.
And, after coming from 3-1 behind to beat Huddersfield 4-3 in the League Cup, Newcastle confirmed their good start to the season, moving top of the league with a 1-0 win over Leicester City.
Danny Guthrie scored the only goal of a game played in torrential rain on the night of the August Bank Holiday while injuries forced 18-year-old Nile Ranger to lead the line as a sole striker.
The first international break appeared to have come at an unfortunate time for United who were building up a head of steam with five league and cup wins in a row.
But, on their return, Chris Hughton's men ground out an impressive 1-0 win at Cardiff City as Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini scored his first for club with a header.
After the goal on 18 minutes, United were forced on the back-foot for long periods but displayed a tenacity and ruthlessness which would become a trademark of many away performances.
Not at Blackpool, though. United suffered the first defeat of the season at Bloomfield Road despite Carroll having given the Magpies the lead against the run-of-play.
Brett Ormerod struck on half-time and Jason Euell midway through the second half to give the Seasiders a deserved 2-1 win.
But the response from Newcastle was immediate as Plymouth Argyle were brushed aside 3-1, despite briefly holding parity at St James.
Steven Taylor had given United an early lead before Karl Duguid equalised early in the second half.
That seemed to wake Newcastle up as Nolan and Carroll scored for an ultimately comfortable win against the league's then-bottom side.
A midweek 2-0 loss in the League Cup to Peterborough featured mainly reserve players with the first-team held back for what would be an emotional match against Ipswich Town.
It came just a matter of weeks after the death of Sir Bobby Robson and he surely would have smiled from above at the swagger displayed by Newcastle in a 4-0 away win.
The contest had been fairly even in the first half an hour but a three-goal blast - two from Nolan and one from Ryan Taylor - in the space of five minutes put United in complete control.
Early in the second half, Nolan completed his first Newcastle hat trick, prompting a party in the away end in Suffolk.
Little did United fans know then that it would be another month before the team won again as the Magpies suffered their first proper blip.
First, United could only draw with Queens Park Rangers who became the first visiting team to take the lead at St James Park in 2009-10 when Ben Watson scored on seven minutes.
Loan signing Marlon Harewood ensured Newcastle retained their unbeaten home record with an equaliser on his home debut.
A second home draw followed four days later as United did everything but score in a 0-0 draw against Bristol City.
The four dropped points from two home games seemed to dent the Newcastle players' confidence and the 1-0 loss at in-form Nottingham Forest was a predictable outcome.
It got worse four days later as, despite Nolan's equaliser, United lost 2-1 at Scunthorpe United to make it just two points from 12.
At least, Newcastle were back at St James Park for the next game against Doncaster Rovers. But home advantage seemed to count for little and Rovers took the lead through Dean Shiels.
To the relief of another 40,000+ crowd, Carroll scored an equaliser midway through the second half but Zurab Khizanishvili's sending off seemed to end all hope of a first win in five.
That was until Nolan popped up with a priceless winner, hitting the net with a low shot in-off the post from just outside the box.
It was truly a vital three points from United, shaking them from their poor form and becoming the first of a run of seven successive wins.
Almost identikit 1-0 away wins against Sheffield United and Preston North End, where Nolan scored yet another winner, came either side of a 3-1 revenge win over Peterborough.
Jonas Gutierrez scored his first goal for the club against Posh but declined to display his Spiderman mask.
Carroll made it two inside 20 minutes before right-back Danny Simpson made it three early in the second half.
Dean Keates scored a consolation for Posh with ten minutes left but it was not enough to save Darren Ferguson from the sack.
United next home against Swansea City was meant to be a much tougher exercise but the Welsh opponents were blown away inside half an hour in a 3-0 win.
Harewood struck twice and Peter Lovenkrands scored the first goal of his second spell having re-signed for the club after finding no offers of gainful employment elsewhere.
Lovenkrands was at it again the following Saturday in a 2-0 home win against Watford, but the game is most memorable for Fabrice Pancrate's fabulous introduction to English football.
Going into the last 10 minutes and still leading 1-0, but without Nolan who had been sent off, sub Pancrate turned on a sixpence and fired a high shot into the net via the crossbar.
It ensured no doubt about that result and sent Newcastle to Coventry in high spirits. There, Ranger hit his first senior goal to seal a routine 2-0 win after Ameobi had scored in first half stoppage time.
That made it seven wins on the spin for Hughton's men who enjoyed a seven-point gap to second-placed West Brom and a gap of 12 points to Cardiff and Forest in mid-December.
The run came to an end at Barnsley in an entertaining festive encounter but only after Newcastle gave away the lead twice, failing to hold out with three minutes left on the second occasion.
Nolan's sixth-minute strike had been equalised early in the second half but the winning streak looked set to continue when Harewood scored with 12 minutes left until the late sting in the tail.
At least, in Middlesbrough, Newcastle found their opponents providing a goodwill gesture in keeping with the season as the Teessiders produced an insipid performance at St James Park.
Goals from Harewood and Ameobi made this one of the easiest 2-0 victories in a Tyne-Tees match that the Magpies will ever have.
But, Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day was another matter altogether.
Scrapping at the bottom, the Owls matched United in a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough as Newcastle fans were forced to travel for an eighth successive St Stephen's Day.
A Luke Varney header had given Wednesday a deserved lead after 15 minutes before United scored with their first two attacks through Nolan and Ameobi.
But a second successive 2-1 lead in South Yorkshire was given away in the second half when James O'Connor out-muscled Steve Harper on the hour mark.
Successive 0-0 draws followed - in the league at home against Derby County and in the FA Cup away at Plymouth before Reading away was postponed due to heavy snow.
The two nil-nils made it four draws in five games since the Coventry game in mid-December and the lead had been cut by Forest in second place to two points, although United had two games in hand.
Plymouth were sent packing in the Cup as Lovenkrands scored a 'perfect' hat-trick in a 3-0 win to send the Pilgrims to their second defeat at St James after the league win in September.
But all eyes were focused on the home league clash with West Brom who were six points behind in third. This was also one of those games in hand on Forest.
Perhaps unsurprisingly with the way things had gone recently, the match ended in yet another draw, a 2-2, but this time United were happy enough with that.
The visitors had twice taken the lead in a open match played at a much higher tempo than many other Championship games.
You could see why these were two sides vying for promotion back to the top flight but Newcastle were the happier of the two, having had to play catch-up.
First, Jonas Olsson was given too much space to prod home from six yards on 13 minutes before a Guthrie free-kick left Scott Carson rooted and got United back on terms at half time.
Within seconds of the restart, it was 2-1 to the Baggies as Roman Bednar took advantage of more slack defending to score with a diving header.
Thankfully, Newcastle equalised again as Lovenkrands scored with just 18 minutes left and, while it was a big goal for United, it was an even bigger one for the Dane.
Having made a late decision to play following the death of his father days before, an emotional Lovenkrands raised a finger and looked to the skies in tribute, before being surrounded by team mates.
As luck would have it, West Brom were back on the fixture list straightaway after the fourth round Cup draw had paired the teams at the Hawthorns.
After two draws in the league, Albion finally got the better of Newcastle, 4-2, but perhaps only because Graham Dorrans had been allowed to slot away two contentious penalties.
Olsson had again given West Brom the lead before the first of Dorrans' penalties despite Tamas Kadar's tackle taking place outside the box.
Into the second half, Newcastle got back into the game after Gutierrez set up Carroll for his first goal in two months before Dorrans' second penalty.
This time, Newcastle's disgruntlement surrounded the fact that Ameobi had been denied a clear penalty moments before Albion marched up the other end and won one of their own.
Jerome Thomas added insult to injury before Carroll got his second of the match as mere consolation.
At least, United were back in league action within four days and forgot about their Cup exit with their second 2-0 win of the season over Crystal Palace.
Newcastle had been gifted the opener on 13 minutes when Shaun Derry hooked a clearance into his own net.
But, this was no classic and the Magpies had to wait until stoppage time to add a second through Ranger after new signing Wayne Routledge set him up.
Next, an uneventful 0-0 draw at Leicester on a cold January night was a match so bad that barely anything memorable about it springs to mind.
Needless to say, Newcastle were due a performance and it came against Cardiff City.
Just like their Welsh neighbours Swansea in November, the Bluebirds were blown away in the first 15 minutes with two goals from Carroll either side of an own goal after Carroll had hit the post.
This time, United added to their score with two goals from Lovenkrands in the second half before a late Cardiff consolation. Full time - 5-1.
Yet, if Newcastle had taken any confidence from the big result, it did not show once Hughton's men got back on their travels.
In the worst week of the season, United lost 3-0 at bogey team Derby before a 1-1 draw at Swansea which was barely any better.
The Swans deserved to win by a comfortable margin but only had David Cotterill's early second half strike to show for their efforts.
Paulo Sousa's notoriously goal-shy team were made to pay for their profligacy when Carroll rescued a point with a towering header three minutes from time.
Back at St James and United enjoyed home comforts a lot more with successive three-goal wins over midtable plodders Coventry City and Preston North End.
Coventry actually had the temerity to take the lead through Clinton Morrison but it was completely against the run of play and United were soon back level.
A delicious volley by Routledge gave him his maiden Toon goal and capped a man-of-the-match performance from the tricky winger.
United took control in the second half as goals from Carroll, Lovenkrands and Ryan Taylor in stoppage time put the result beyond doubt.
Preston were dispatched still more easily with Lovenkrands scoring after just three minutes.
Nolan scored his first goal of the calendar year on 55 minutes before Ryan Taylor scored another stoppage time third.
United also struck early in each half at Vicarage Road to overcome struggling Watford 2-1 in a battling performance.
Coloccini scored his second goal for the club on four minutes and Carroll added a second on 50 before Will Hoskins ensured a nervy end to a professional performance.
Newcastle held firm in stoppage time for their first away win in eight league and cup matches since beating Coventry in December.
Having got back to winning ways on the road, United returned home to deliver their biggest win of the season against unfortunate Barnsley.
United had dominated their Yorkshire opponents in the first half but had struggled to make a breakthrough until Tykes keeper Luke Steele brought down Lovenkrands in the box.
Steele was slightly harshly sent off and sub keeper David Preece's first job was to pick the ball out of the net, something which he did repeatedly for the rest of his afternoon.
After Lovenkrands' penalty made it 1-0 to United at half time, the Dane scored a second early in the second half.
Then, there were further goals followed from Guthrie, Gutierrez, Guthrie again and Nolan in a pulsating period of 23 minutes which still left 20 minutes to play.
Rarely had I seen United so threatening against opponents short of a man. Barnsley fans may have a right to dispute the red card, but it really could have been more than six.
In the end, United had to settle for 6-1, as Daniel Bogdanovic scored a consolation that was barely noticed, and the smell of promotion began to fill the warm, spring air.
However, Hughton ensured feet stayed firmly on the ground ahead of the second Tyne-Tees match of the season, this time at the Riverside.
By all account, Middlesbrough had the better of the match and led with just 15 minutes left after Scott McDonald and Barry Robson had overturned Lovenkrands early goal.
But Boro did not take into consideration Carroll's handy knack of scoring late equalisers and the Gateshead lad delivered again with eight minutes left.
Carroll then enjoyed his best home game since Cardiff, scoring twice in a routine 3-0 home win against Scunthorpe United.
Lovenkrands scored the other goal in between Carroll's strikes as United set themselves up well ahead of two away trips to Bristol City and Doncaster.
The Robins really gave Newcastle a game and led 2-0 at half time leaving Hughton with much to do.
But an injection of pace down both flanks courtesy of Gutierrez and Routledge helped and Newcastle finally forced their way back into the game with 20 minutes left.
Gutierrez scored his third of the season before Carroll's trademark away strike left the Magpies with enough time to force a winner.
That did not come, but it did not make the point gained feel any less valuable.
The second away game in four days at Doncaster came after reports that Carroll had broken Steven Taylor's jaw in a training-ground bust-up.
With promotion still not assured, this was unwanted news, the kind of which United had done well to avoid throughout the season.
Hughton was forced into a big call and Carroll travelled with the team. Not only that but he scored the winner on the hour mark before being mobbed in celebration by team-mates.
That seemed to confirm that the squad's excellent team spirit had not been much dented although comments from Taylor or the club were not forthcoming.
It left a slightly sour taste in the mouth although it was sweetened by relief that, for once, the club did not wash its dirty laundry in public.
Fate intervened anyway to ensure Carroll would only have a bit-part in the next major chapter of the season - a big home match against Nottingham Forest.
Forest had made a real promotion push over the winter but poor away form in February and March meant they had dropped ten points off the pace though they still lay in third.
Billy Davies' men were certainly more enterprising than most who visited St James but United finished the stronger after Carroll went off injured for Ameobi.
First, the gangly striker gave Newcastle the lead with a quick turn-and-hit which went in-off the post, leaving Lee Camp in the Forest goal flat-footed.
Another moment of quality wrapped up a 2-0 win in stoppage time as Ameobi back-heeled the ball perfectly into Jose Enrique's path for the Spaniard to slam home his first ever career goal.
United were potentially within a win of promotion but were made to wait by Forest, despite a 3-2 win against Peterborough.
Not for the first time this season, the Magpies made hard-work of dispatching Posh who took the lead through Dominic Green.
Goals either side of half time from Nolan and Joey Barton before a further strike from Ameobi on the hour seemed to put United in control.
Liam Dickinson ensured a nervy end but United held out only to find that Forest had stopped their losing away run with a draw at Bristol City, which was good enough to deny Newcastle promotion.
But Newcastle did not need to wait for long. Indeed, they were promoted on Easter Monday without kicking a ball after Forest could only get another draw against Cardiff.
Newcastle still had a match to play that evening against Sheffield United and the Blades looked set to be party-poopers after Richard Cresswell gave them the lead.
The Magpies struggled to find any rhythm but they were given a lifeline on half-time when Chris Morgan, who had scored an own goal in the 1-0 win at Bramall Lane, fouled Carroll.
Lovenkrands fired home the resultant penalty and Newcastle found the going easier in the second half.
A 2-1 win against the Blades was completed by a spectacular scissor-kick goal at the Gallowgate End by Nolan, later to be unveiled as the Championship's player of the season.
It was a phenomenal way to celebrate promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Newcastle's next targets were to win the league and stay unbeaten at home. Both objectives were aided in another easy home win, 4-1 against Blackpool.
Gutierrez gave United the lead after just 12 minutes with his fourth of the season before Carroll doubled it with a header for a 2-0 half-time lead.
Nolan benefited from generous defending to make it 3-0 before sub Ameobi immediately set up Routledge for the fourth.
Only Brett Ormerod's goal spoiled the day as the veteran striker scored his second against Newcastle, having also scored in their 2-1 home win in September.
A sixth successive win came at the Madejski Stadium in Reading in a match that was played at the third time of asking after postponements for the weather and the Royals' cup run.
Nolan was the star performer with two first-half goals and, in the second half, only the width of a post denied him a second hat-trick of the season.
United defended deep and soaked up a lot of pressure until the hosts gained a chance of salvaing a point after Enrique slammed his clearance off Simpson's backside into the net.
Once again, though, Newcastle held on for a single-goal away win, a 10th on the road for the season.
Ten became 11 as United wrapped up the title with a 2-0 win that relegated Plymouth in the fourth meeting of the season between the sides.
Two goals in ten first-half minutes from Carroll and Routledge were enough to overcome the spirited Pilgrims who had some great chances but lacked a killer instinct up front.
Carroll inevitably scored from a header as United began to exert some pressure after a quiet first 20 minutes.
The second goal followed shortly afterwards and it will be long-remembered. Not only because it sealed the league but also for its quality as Barton slipped in Routledge for a cool finish reminscent of David Kelly's title-winning goal against Grimsby in 1993.
Newcastle received the Championship trophy after their final home game against Ipswich in front of a full house at St James Park.
Roy Keane's men tried to spoil the party, and came away with a 2-2 draw, but the point ensured United maintained a season-long unbeaten home record.
Not that the record was in much danger of being lost to the Tractor Boys. Newcastle took the lead on 26 minutes when Carroll placed a wonderful header from Routledge's cross but Conor Wickham levelled the scores just before half-time.
A second half devoid of action followed until Nicky Butt, making his last appearance in United colours, won a penalty which Ameobi converted.
Newcastle were denied a 19th home league win of the season by Jon Walters' strike deep into the stoppage time but even that goal could not prevent a party atmosphere at the cup presentation.
Finally, Hughton's men completed the season with a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, the eighth win out of nine and a club-record fifth successive away win.
Former United defender Peter Ramage was sent off for hauling down Ameobi but it took a while before Newcastle made use of their one-man advantage.
Indeed, the match was meandering towards a 0-0 draw until Lovenkrands prevented it with a fine strike with 20 minutes left.
A winning note to end on, then, for United who spent most of the season winning games - 32 of them in league and cup, in fact.
Not all of them have been pretty, especially those in the first half of the season.
But a never-say-die attitude mixed with hints of quality and a ruthlessness rarely seen recently in these parts ensured this dip into the second flight of English football could be enjoyed rather than endured.
An incredibly tough season back in the Premier League awaits Newcastle - there will be more defeats, for sure - and the squad will need to be strengthened.
For now, though, Newcastle fans can bask in this set of players giving something back restoring one of the values most cherished by all football fans. Dignity.
Match stats and scorers courtesy of NUFC.com
League table stats courtesy of Statto.com
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