| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Burnley 1st Championship title 3rd2nd tier title |
| Promoted | Burnley Middlesbrough Hull City |
| Relegated | Bolton Wanderers Milton Keynes Dons Charlton Athletic |
| Matches | 552 |
| Goals | 1,337 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Andre Gray (Brentford)/(Burnley) (25 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Hull City 6–0Charlton Athletic (16 January 2016) Bristol City 6–0Bolton Wanderers (19 March 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Milton Keynes Dons 0–5Burnley (12 January 2016) |
| Highest scoring | Queens Park Rangers 4–3Bolton Wanderers (3 October 2015) Fulham 2–5Birmingham City (7 November 2015) Rotherham United 2–5Ipswich Town (7 November 2015) |
| Longest winning run | 6 matches[2] Burnley Middlesbrough |
| Longest unbeaten run | 23 matches[2] Burnley |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches[2] Bolton Wanderers |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches[2] Bolton Wanderers |
| Highest attendance | 33,806[3] Middlesbrough 1–1Brighton & Hove Albion (7 May 2016) |
| Lowest attendance | 8,363[4] Brentford 2–1Cardiff City (19 April 2016) |
| Total attendance | 9,703,004[3] |
| Average attendance | 17,578[3] |
2016–17 → | |
The2015–16 Football League Championship (referred to as theSky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the twelfth season of theFootball League Championship under its current title and it was the twenty-fourth season under its current league structure.The season started on 7 August 2015, and concluded on 7 May 2016.[5] The fixtures were announced on 17 June 2015.
A total of 24 teams contested the league, including 18 sides from the2014–15 season, three relegated from the2014–15 Premier League and three promoted from the2014–15 Football League One.
The following teams changed division after the 2014–15 season. Blackpool were relegated on 6 April afterRotherham United won againstBrighton & Hove Albion.Bristol City secured promotion to the Championship on 14 April after beatingBradford City 6–0.[6]Watford secured promotion to the Premier League on 25 April.[7] Rotherham United won againstReading on 28 April to also sendMillwall andWigan Athletic to League One.Bournemouth secured promotion to the Premier League on the final day on 2 May againstCharlton Athletic and won the2014–15 Football League Championship after Watford slipped up againstSheffield Wednesday.Milton Keynes Dons secured promotion to the Championship after beatingYeovil Town 5–1 afterPreston North End slipped up againstColchester United. On 9 May,Burnley became the first team to be relegated from thePremier League despite winning away 1–0 againstHull City as results on the day went against them.[8] On 10 May,Queens Park Rangers were the second team to be relegated from the Premier League after suffering a 6–0 defeat toManchester City.[9]On 24 May 2015,Hull City were the 3rd and final team to be relegated from thePremier League, finishing 18th in thePremier League. On the same dayPreston North End achieved promotion at Wembley via the play-offs. On 25 May 2015,Norwich City won the playoff final, and were promoted to the Premier League.
Promoted fromLeague One
Relegated fromPremier League
Relegated toLeague One
Promoted toPremier League
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentford | End of contract | 15 May 2015[40] | Pre-season | 1 June 2015[41] | ||
| Leeds United | Sacked | 20 May 2015[42] | 20 May 2015[43] | |||
| Derby County | 25 May 2015[44] | 1 June 2015[45] | ||||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 12 June 2015[46] | 30 June 2015[47] | ||||
| Brentford | 28 September 2015[48] | 19th | 28 September 2015[49] | |||
| Rotherham United | Mutual consent | 28 September 2015[50] | 20th | 9 October 2015[51] | ||
| Leeds United | Sacked | 19 October 2015[52] | 18th | 19 October 2015[52] | ||
| Charlton Athletic | 24 October 2015[53] | 22nd | 14 January 2016 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 4 November 2015 | 18th | 5 November 2015 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 4 November 2015 | 13th | 4 December 2015 | |||
| Fulham | 8 November 2015 | 12th | 27 December 2015 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 10 November 2015 | 16th | 15 November 2015 | |||
| Brentford | End of caretaker spell | 30 November 2015 | 11th | 30 November 2015 | ||
| Reading | Sacked | 4 December 2015[54] | 7th | 17 December 2015[55] | ||
| Bristol City | 14 January 2016 | 22nd | 6 February 2016 | |||
| Rotherham United | 8 February 2016 | 11 February 2016 | ||||
| Derby County | 8 February 2016 | 5th | 27 May 2016[56] | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 13 March 2016[57] | 14th | 27 June 2016[58] | |||
| Bolton Wanderers | 15 March 2016[59] | 24th | 10 June 2016[60] |
The 2015–16 season was the last season under the initial Financial Fair Play rules before the switch to the new rules.[61] Changes to the Championship's financial fair play system allow clubs:[62]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley(C, P) | 46 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 72 | 35 | +37 | 93 | Promotion to thePremier League |
| 2 | Middlesbrough(P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 89 | |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 89 | Qualification for theChampionship play-offs[a] |
| 4 | Hull City(O, P) | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 83 | |
| 5 | Derby County | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 78 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 74 | |
| 7 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 69 | |
| 8 | Cardiff City | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 68 | |
| 9 | Brentford | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 72 | 67 | +5 | 65 | |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 63 | |
| 11 | Preston North End | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 62 | |
| 12 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 60 | |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 59 | |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 53 | 58 | −5 | 58 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 55 | |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 55 | |
| 17 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 52 | |
| 18 | Bristol City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 52 | |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 51 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 66 | 79 | −13 | 51 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 49 | |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic(R) | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 40 | 80 | −40 | 40 | Relegation toEFL League One |
| 23 | Milton Keynes Dons(R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 39 | |
| 24 | Bolton Wanderers(R) | 46 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 81 | −40 | 30 |
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | |||||||||
| 4 | Hull City | 1 | |||||||||
| 4 | Hull City | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||||
| 5 | Derby County | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
The four teams that finished from third to sixth played off, with the winning team,Hull City, gaining the final promotion spot to thePremier League.
In the play-off semi-finals the third placed team played the sixth placed team and the fourth placed team played the fifth placed team. The team that finished in the higher league position played away in the first leg and played at home in the second leg. If the aggregate score was level after both legs, then extra time would be played. If the scores were still level, a penalty shoot-out decided the winner. The away goals rule did apply in the semi-finals. The semi-finals were held on 13–14 and 16–17 May.[63]
The winners from the two semi-finals, Hull City andSheffield Wednesday, played atWembley Stadium on 28 May 2016 in the play-off final, where Hull City won 1–0.[63] The game is known as the richest game in football as the winning club is guaranteed significantly increased payments e.g. in the 2016-17 season the minimum payment for participating in the Premier League was £95 million. Due to a new TV rights deal, the average payment for a newly promoted club stood at around £100 million.
| Home \ Away | BIR | BLB | BOL | BRE | B&HA | BRI | BUR | CAR | CHA | DER | FUL | HUD | HUL | IPS | LEE | MID | MKD | NOT | PNE | QPR | REA | ROT | SHW | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Brentford | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Bristol City | 0–0 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | |
| Burnley | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Cardiff City | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | |
| Derby County | 0–3 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| Fulham | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
| Hull City | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Ipswich Town | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| Leeds United | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Middlesbrough | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | |
| Preston North End | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Reading | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Rotherham United | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[65] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 22 | |
| 2 | Burnley | 20 | |
| 3 | Hull City | 19 | |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 15 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | |||
| 5 | Derby County | 14 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | |||
| 6 | Rotherham United | 13 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 12 | |
| Cardiff City | |||
| Blackburn Rovers |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Ipswich Town | 5–1[66] | 11 September 2015 | |
| Birmingham City | Bristol City | 4–2[67] | 12 September 2015 | |
| Ipswich Town | Rotherham United | 5–2[68] | 7 November 2015 | |
| Derby County | Bristol City | 4–0[69] | 15 December 2015 | |
| Burnley | Bristol City | 4–0[70] | 28 December 2015 | |
| Hull City | Charlton Athletic | 6–0[71] | 16 January 2016 | |
| Charlton Athletic | Reading | 3–4[72] | 27 February 2016 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Fulham | 5–0[73] | 15 April 2016 |
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derby County | 682,249 | 33,010 | 26,834 | 29,663 | +1.5%† |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 588,415 | 30,292 | 21,397 | 25,583 | −0.2%† |
| 3 | Middlesbrough | 566,419 | 33,806 | 19,966 | 24,627 | +25.9%† |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 520,738 | 31,843 | 18,706 | 22,641 | +2.9%† |
| 5 | Leeds United | 516,261 | 29,311 | 17,103 | 22,446 | −7.5%† |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 463,609 | 24,238 | 17,387 | 20,157 | −10.1%† |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 452,543 | 27,551 | 16,449 | 19,676 | −16.2%† |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 436,756 | 23,615 | 16,488 | 18,989 | −5.1%† |
| 9 | Birmingham City | 404,867 | 20,302 | 14,366 | 17,603 | +9.3%† |
| 10 | Fulham | 404,023 | 20,316 | 14,283 | 17,566 | −3.9%† |
| 11 | Reading | 397,556 | 21,581 | 12,949 | 17,285 | +1.5%† |
| 12 | Hull City | 395,568 | 21,842 | 15,139 | 17,199 | −27.0%1 |
| 13 | Burnley | 384,305 | 20,478 | 12,430 | 16,709 | −12.7%1 |
| 14 | Cardiff City | 378,653 | 28,680 | 12,729 | 16,463 | −22.1%† |
| 15 | Queens Park Rangers | 367,857 | 18,031 | 14,007 | 15,994 | −10.2%1 |
| 16 | Charlton Athletic | 359,541 | 21,506 | 12,294 | 15,632 | −6.4%† |
| 17 | Bristol City | 351,705 | 15,854 | 14,291 | 15,292 | +26.8%2 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 346,299 | 18,423 | 12,257 | 15,056 | −2.3%† |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 325,003 | 21,029 | 12,002 | 14,131 | −5.2%† |
| 20 | MK Dons | 302,633 | 21,345 | 9,402 | 13,158 | +39.2%2 |
| 21 | Preston North End | 299,801 | 19,852 | 9,963 | 13,035 | +20.1%2 |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town | 290,505 | 17,118 | 9,736 | 12,631 | −7.2%† |
| 23 | Brentford | 237,120 | 12,202 | 8,363 | 10,310 | −4.7%† |
| 24 | Rotherham United | 230,578 | 11,658 | 8,534 | 10,025 | −2.1%† |
| League total | 9,703,004 | 33,806 | 8,363 | 17,578 | +2.9%† |
Source:"Sky Bet Championship 15/16 Home attendance".statbunker.com. Retrieved2 November 2016.
Notes:
1: Team played in Premier League last season.
2: Team played in League One last season.