2020–21 EFL Championship
Season | 2020–21 |
---|---|
Champions | Norwich City |
Promoted | Norwich City Watford Brentford |
Relegated | Wycombe Wanderers Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday |
Matches played | 552 |
Goals scored | 1,274 (2.31 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Ivan Toney (33 goals)[1] |
Biggest home win | Norwich City 7–0 Huddersfield Town (6 April 2021) |
Biggest away win | Preston North End 0–5 Brentford (10 April 2021)[1] |
Highest scoring | Brentford 7–2 Wycombe Wanderers (30 January 2021) |
Longest winning run | Norwich City (9 games)[1] |
Longest unbeaten run | Brentford (21 games)[1] |
Longest winless run | Derby County Wycombe Wanderers (11 games)[1] |
Longest losing run | Sheffield Wednesday Wycombe Wanderers (7 games)[1] |
Highest attendance | 11,689[2] |
Lowest attendance | 1,000[3] |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 29 May 2021. |
The 2020–21 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the 29th season under its current league division format.
Team changes[]
The following teams have changed division since the 2019–20 season:
To Championship[]Promoted from League One
Relegated from the Premier League |
From Championship[]Promoted to the Premier League
Relegated to League One
|
Stadiums[]
![2020–21 EFL Championship is located in England](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/England_location_map.svg/550px-England_location_map.svg.png)
![London London](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Blue_pog.svg/8px-Blue_pog.svg.png)
![Birmingham City Birmingham City](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Coventry City Coventry City](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Middlesbrough Middlesbrough](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![Reading Reading](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/8px-Red_pog.svg.png)
![London teams Brentford Millwall Queens Park Rangers London teams Brentford Millwall Queens Park Rangers](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/TransparentPlaceholder.png/1px-TransparentPlaceholder.png)
Attendances[]
As with the end to the previous season, the season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in games being played behind closed doors. However, on 19 September 2020, two matches in the division, between Norwich City and Preston North End at Carrow Road, and between Middlesbrough and Bournemouth at The Riverside Stadium, were held in front of 1,000 spectators, as part of EFL pilots.[6]
This was seen as the beginning of fans gradually returning, but a rapid rise of cases from the end of September (eventually resulting in a second nationwide lockdown in November), led to plans being put on hold.[7]
With the second nationwide lockdown ending on 2 December 2020, it was announced England would return to its previous three tier system, with clubs in Tier 2 allowed to host a maximum of 2,000 spectators.[8] The first of these matches took place on 2 December 2020 itself, although the matches of Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers were capped at 1,000 spectators, as they had not previously held an EFL pilot event.[9]
On Saturday 5 December 2020, Reading, Millwall, Watford, Norwich City and Brentford all hosted matches in front of the maximum allotted 2,000 spectators permitted, with fans in attendance at Brentford Community Stadium for the very first time.[10]
However, it was then announced that from Wednesday 16 December 2020, that London, parts of Essex and parts of Hertfordshire, would move up to Tier 3, the highest tier of restrictions in England, meaning football clubs in these areas, (for The EFL Championship: Brentford, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers and Watford), would revert to playing behind closed doors without fans, due to a rise in coronavirus cases, following a tier review.[11]
It was then announced that from Saturday, 19 December 2020 that Bedfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire would also move into Tier 3, meaning for the EFL Championship that Luton Town, Reading & Wycombe Wanderers would also revert to playing behind closed doors without fans again, as of this date. Conversely, Bristol City, who had previously been unable to host fans, would now be able to allow fans back in, with Bristol being downgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2.[12] As of these updated restrictions, it now meant that only Bournemouth, Bristol City and Norwich City's stadiums would be open to host fans in The EFL Championship.[13] This was reversed on Wednesday 23 December 2020, with Bournemouth the sole team in the division eligible to host fans.[14][15] A week later on 30 December 2020, Tier 2 was removed in England, with mainland England in either Tiers 3 or 4, meaning once again, no clubs could host fans for the foreseeable future.[16] A third national lockdown in January 2021 meant that fans ultimately were barred from matches for the rest of the regular season. Following an easing of restrictions in May 2021, the play-offs were able to take place in front of crowds of up to 20% of a stadium's capacity.
Personnel and sponsoring[]
- ^ Club captain Wayne Rooney retired from playing on 15 January 2021 to manage the club on a permanent basis, having served as interim player-manager since the previous November following the dismissal of Phillip Cocu.
- ^ Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers' shirt sponsor was Football Index until 12 March 2021 when they entered administration.[37]
Managerial changes[]
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birmingham City | End of caretaker spell | 22 July 2020 | Pre-season | ![]() |
31 July 2020 | |
Huddersfield Town | ![]() |
![]() |
23 July 2020 | |||
Watford | ![]() |
26 July 2020 | ![]() |
15 August 2020 | ||
Bournemouth | ![]() |
Mutual consent | 1 August 2020 | ![]() |
8 August 2020 | |
Reading | ![]() |
29 August 2020 | ![]() |
29 August 2020 | ||
Barnsley | ![]() |
Signed by New York Red Bulls | 6 October 2020 | 21st | ![]() |
23 October 2020 |
Nottingham Forest | ![]() |
Sacked | 22nd | ![]() |
6 October 2020 | |
Sheffield Wednesday | ![]() |
9 November 2020 | 23rd | ![]() |
13 November 2020 | |
Derby County | ![]() |
Mutual consent | 14 November 2020 | 24th | ![]() |
27 November 2020 |
Watford | ![]() |
Sacked | 19 December 2020 | 5th | ![]() |
20 December 2020 |
Sheffield Wednesday | ![]() |
28 December 2020 | 23rd | ![]() |
1 March 2021 | |
Cardiff City | ![]() |
21 January 2021 | 15th | ![]() |
22 January 2021 | |
Bournemouth | ![]() |
3 February 2021 | 6th | ![]() |
21 February 2021 | |
Bristol City | ![]() |
16 February 2021 | 13th | ![]() |
22 February 2021 | |
Birmingham City | ![]() |
Resigned | 16 March 2021 | 21st | ![]() |
16 March 2021 |
Preston North End | ![]() |
Sacked | 21 March 2021 | 16th | ![]() |
10 May 2021 |
League table[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Norwich City (C, P) | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 75 | 36 | +39 | 97 | Promotion to the Premier League |
2 | Watford (P) | 46 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 63 | 30 | +33 | 91 | |
3 | Brentford (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 79 | 42 | +37 | 87 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
4 | Swansea City | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 56 | 39 | +17 | 80 | |
5 | Barnsley | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 78 | |
6 | Bournemouth | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 73 | 46 | +27 | 77 | |
7 | Reading | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 70 | |
8 | Cardiff City | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 66 | 49 | +17 | 68 | |
9 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 68 | |
10 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 64 | |
11 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 62 | |
12 | Luton Town | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 62 | |
13 | Preston North End | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 61 | |
14 | Stoke City | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 60 | |
15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 57 | |
16 | Coventry City | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 55 | |
17 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 52 | |
18 | Birmingham City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 37 | 61 | −24 | 52 | |
19 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 46 | 68 | −22 | 51 | |
20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 50 | 71 | −21 | 49 | |
21 | Derby County | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 44 | |
22 | Wycombe Wanderers (R) | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 43 | Relegation to EFL League One |
23 | Rotherham United (R) | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 42 | |
24 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 40 | 61 | −21 | 41[a] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[71]
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Play-offs[]
Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
3 | Brentford | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
6 | Bournemouth | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
3 | Brentford | 2 | |||||||||
4 | Swansea City | 0 | |||||||||
4 | Swansea City | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
5 | Barnsley | 0 | 1 | 1 |
First leg
Bournemouth | 1–0 | Brentford |
---|---|---|
Danjuma ![]() |
Report |
Barnsley | 0–1 | Swansea City |
---|---|---|
Report | A. Ayew ![]() |
Second leg
Brentford | 3–1 | Bournemouth |
---|---|---|
Toney ![]() Janelt ![]() Forss ![]() |
Report | Danjuma ![]() |
Swansea City | 1–1 | Barnsley |
---|---|---|
Grimes ![]() |
Woodrow ![]() |
Final[]
Results[]
Season statistics[]
- As of 29 May 2021[72]
Scoring[]
Top scorers[]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Brentford | 33 |
2 | ![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | 28 |
3 | ![]() |
Norwich City | 26 |
4 | ![]() |
Cardiff City | 20 |
5 | ![]() |
Reading | 19 |
6 | ![]() |
Swansea City | 17 |
![]() |
Bournemouth | ||
8 | ![]() |
Norwich City | 15 |
![]() |
Bournemouth | ||
10 | ![]() |
Swansea City | 14 |
- 1 Includes 2 goals in the Championship play-offs.
- 2 Includes 1 goal in the Championship play-offs.
Hat-tricks[]
Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | Wycombe Wanderers | 5–0 (H)[73] | 19 September 2020 |
![]() |
Luton Town | Preston North End | 3–0 (H)[74] | 12 December 2020 |
![]() |
Brentford | Cardiff City | 3–2 (A)[75] | 26 December 2020 |
![]() |
Brentford | Wycombe Wanderers | 7–2 (H)[76] | 30 January 2021 |
![]() |
Norwich City | Huddersfield Town | 7–0 (H)[77] | 6 April 2021 |
![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | Huddersfield Town | 5–2 (H)[78] | 24 April 2021 |
![]() |
Cardiff City | Birmingham City | 4–0 (A)[79] | 1 May 2021 |
![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | Birmingham City | 5–2 (H)[80] | 8 May 2021 |
Most assists[]
Rank | Player | Club | Assists[81] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Norwich City | 16 |
2 | ![]() |
Reading | 12 |
3 | ![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | 11 |
![]() |
Cardiff City | ||
5 | ![]() |
Brentford | 10 |
![]() |
Brentford | ||
7 | ![]() |
Swansea City | 8 |
![]() |
Bournemouth | ||
![]() |
Brentford | ||
![]() |
Coventry City | ||
![]() |
Bournemouth |
- 1 Includes 1 assist in the Championship play-offs.
Clean sheets[]
Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheets |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Swansea City | 21 |
2 | ![]() |
Millwall | 17 |
![]() |
Norwich City | ||
![]() |
Reading | ||
5 | ![]() |
Bournemouth | 16 |
![]() |
Brentford | ||
7 | ![]() |
Nottingham Forest | 14 |
8 | ![]() |
Watford | 13 |
![]() |
Middlesbrough | ||
![]() |
Birmingham City |
- 1 Includes 1 clean sheet in the Championship play-offs.
Discipline[]
Players[]
- Most yellow cards: 12[82]
- Most red cards: 2
Emiliano Buendía (Norwich City)
Kyle McFadzean (Coventry City)
- 1 Includes 1 yellow card in the Championship play-offs.
Club[]
- Most yellow cards: 80[83]
- Most red cards: 7
Awards[]
Monthly[]
Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
September | ![]() |
Reading | ![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | [84] |
October | ![]() |
Middlesbrough | ![]() |
Brentford | [85] |
November | ![]() |
Watford | ![]() |
Bournemouth | [86] |
December | ![]() |
Brentford | ![]() |
Middlesbrough | [87] |
January | ![]() |
Swansea City | ![]() |
Rotherham United | [88] |
February | ![]() |
Cardiff City | ![]() |
Norwich City | [89] |
March | ![]() |
Watford | ![]() |
Barnsley | [90] |
April | ![]() |
Bournemouth | ![]() |
Bournemouth | [91] |
Annual[]
Award | Winner | Club |
---|---|---|
Player of the Season | ![]() |
Norwich City |
Young Player of the Season | ![]() |
Reading |
Championship Team of the season
Pos. | Player | Club | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
GK | ![]() |
Bournemouth | [92][93] |
DF | ![]() |
Norwich City | |
DF | ![]() |
Norwich City | |
DF | ![]() |
Cardiff City | |
DF | ![]() |
Watford | |
MF | ![]() |
Norwich City | |
MF | ![]() |
Reading | |
MF | ![]() |
Barnsley | |
FW | ![]() |
Bournemouth | |
FW | ![]() |
Brentford | |
FW | ![]() |
Norwich City | |
Manager | ![]() |
Norwich City |
PFA Championship Team of the Year[]
Pos. | Player | Club | App. |
---|---|---|---|
GK | ![]() |
Norwich City | 1 |
DF | ![]() ![]() |
Norwich City | 2 |
DF | ![]() |
Brentford | 2 |
DF | ![]() |
Norwich City | 1 |
DF | ![]() |
Brentford | 2 |
MF | ![]() |
Norwich City | 1 |
MF | ![]() |
Reading | 1 |
MF | ![]() |
Norwich City | 1 |
FW | ![]() |
Blackburn Rovers | 2 |
FW | ![]() |
Brentford | 2 |
FW | ![]() ![]() |
Norwich City | 2 |
Notes and references[]
- ^ a b c d e f "English League Championship Performance Stats – 2020–21". ESPN. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Brentford 2-0 Swansea". bbc.com. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "EFL announce 10 pilot fixtures with 1,000 fans in attendance". The Independent. 16 September 2020.
- ^ Shaw, Dominic (22 July 2020). "EFL confirm position on Wigan Athletic as date is set for points deduction appeal". Teesside Live.
- ^ "Wigan Athletic lose points deduction appeal". BBC Sport. 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Clubs confirmed for weekend pilot". www.efl.com.
- ^ "EFL chairman disappointed by halt to pilot scheme". Watford Observer.
- ^ "Coronavirus tiers: London's clubs unable to host fans from Wednesday". BBC sport. 14 December 2020.
- ^ "In pictures: Football fans return to EFL matches". BBC sport. 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Reading welcome fans back as first Premier League teams prepare to follow suit". Irish Examiner. 5 December 2020.
- ^ "London, South Essex, and South Hertfordshire to move to Tier 3 restrictions". GOV.UK.
- ^ "Toughest Covid rules extended in south of England". BBC News. 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Which tier is your football club in?" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Bristol City FC [@BristolCity] (23 December 2020). "#BristolCity's games will continue to be played behind closed doors following the reclassification of Bristol into COVID-19 restriction Tier 3. It means that we will be unable to welcome fans to City's Boxing Day game against Wycombe Wanderers. t.co/1jikZiwJEq" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Norwich City FC [@NorwichCityFC] (23 December 2020). "Following today's announcement from the government, our upcoming home fixtures will now take place behind closed doors until further notice. All supporters who have purchased tickets for our games against QPR and Barnsley at Carrow Road will now be issued an automatic refund ⬇️" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Covid-19: Twenty million in England added to toughest tier of restrictions". BBC News. 30 December 2020.
- ^ Alex Mowatt on Barnsley FC Archived 11 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine Barnsley Football Club. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Take a closer look 20/21 Kit". Barnsley F.C. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "HARLEE DEAN NAMED BLUES NEW CAPTAIN". Birmingham City F.C. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "BLUES AGREE PRINCIPAL PARTNERSHIP WITH BOYLESPORTS". Birmingham City F.C. 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Rovers secure ground-breaking shirt sponsorship with Recoverite Compression". 29 August 2020.
- ^ WIKI