| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Newcastle United 2nd Championship title 4th2nd tier title |
| Promoted | Newcastle United Brighton & Hove Albion Huddersfield Town |
| Relegated | Rotherham United Wigan Athletic Blackburn Rovers |
| Matches | 552 |
| Goals | 1,441 (2.61 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Chris Wood (Leeds United) (27 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Norwich City 7–1Reading (8 April 2017)[2] |
| Biggest away win | Queens Park Rangers 0–6Newcastle United (13 September 2016)[2] |
| Highest scoring | Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–4Fulham (10 December 2016) Burton Albion 3–5Brentford (18 March 2017) Norwich City 7–1Reading (8 April 2017) |
| Longest winning run | 8 matches Newcastle United[3] |
| Longest unbeaten run | 18 matches Brighton & Hove Albion[3] |
| Longest winless run | 17 matches Rotherham United[3] |
| Longest losing run | 10 matches Rotherham United[3] |
| Highest attendance | 52,301 Newcastle United 1–1Leeds United (14 April 2017)[4] |
| Lowest attendance | 3,725 Burton Albion 1–1Queens Park Rangers (27 September 2016)[4] |
| Average attendance | 20,125[4] |
2017–18 → | |
The2016–17 EFL Championship (referred to as theSky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the first season of theEFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-fifth season under its current league structure.Newcastle United were crowned the champions and were promoted toPremier League after just one season in the Championship.Brighton & Hove Albion, alongsideHuddersfield Town, both achieved Premier League promotions, via the second automatic promotion place and play-off route respectively, Brighton and Huddersfield Town's first ever since the Premier League formed in 1992.
The season started on 5 August 2016 with the final round of regular league fixtures played on 7 May 2017.[5] The fixtures were announced on 22 June 2016.
A total of 24 teams contested the league, including 18 sides from the2015–16 season, three relegated from the2015–16 Premier League and three promoted from the2015–16 Football League One. The 2016–17 season was the first in which formerEuropean Cup winnersAston Villa played football outside of the top flight since the beginning of thePremier League era in 1992.
To Championship[edit]Promoted fromLeague One Relegated fromPremier League | From Championship[edit]Relegated toLeague One Promoted toPremier League
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United(C, P) | 46 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 85 | 40 | +45 | 94 | Promotion to thePremier League |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion(P) | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 74 | 40 | +34 | 93 | |
| 3 | Reading | 46 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 85 | Qualification for theChampionship play-offs[a] |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 60 | 45 | +15 | 81 | |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town(O, P) | 46 | 25 | 6 | 15 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 81 | |
| 6 | Fulham | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 85 | 57 | +28 | 80 | |
| 7 | Leeds United | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 75 | |
| 8 | Norwich City | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 85 | 69 | +16 | 70 | |
| 9 | Derby County | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 67 | |
| 10 | Brentford | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 75 | 65 | +10 | 64 | |
| 11 | Preston North End | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 64 | 63 | +1 | 62 | |
| 12 | Cardiff City | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 60 | 61 | −1 | 62 | |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 62 | |
| 14 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 58 | |
| 15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 54 | 58 | −4 | 58 | |
| 16 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 55 | |
| 17 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 60 | 66 | −6 | 54 | |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 53 | |
| 19 | Birmingham City | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 45 | 64 | −19 | 53 | |
| 20 | Burton Albion | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 49 | 63 | −14 | 52 | |
| 21 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 62 | 72 | −10 | 51 | |
| 22 | Blackburn Rovers(R) | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 53 | 65 | −12 | 51 | Relegation toEFL League One |
| 23 | Wigan Athletic(R) | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 42 | |
| 24 | Rotherham United(R) | 46 | 5 | 8 | 33 | 40 | 98 | −58 | 23 |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | Mutual consent | 28 April 2016 | Pre-season | 2 June 2016 | ||
| Cardiff City | Promoted to head of football | 8 May 2016 | 18 May 2016 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | Mutual consent | 12 May 2016 | 27 June 2016 | |||
| Rotherham United | End of contract | 18 May 2016 | 1 June 2016 | |||
| Reading | Sacked | 27 May 2016 | 13 June 2016 | |||
| Derby County | End of caretaker spell | 27 May 2016 | 27 May 2016 | |||
| Leeds United | Sacked | 31 May 2016 | 2 June 2016 | |||
| Aston Villa | End of caretaker spell | 2 June 2016 | 2 June 2016 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Sacked | 29 July 2016 | 30 July 2016 | |||
| Aston Villa | 3 October 2016 | 19th | 12 October 2016 | |||
| Cardiff City | 4 October 2016 | 23rd | 5 October 2016 | |||
| Derby County | Mutual consent | 8 October 2016 | 20th | 12 October 2016 | ||
| Rotherham United | Sacked | 19 October 2016 | 24th | 21 October 2016 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 25 October 2016 | 18th | 5 November 2016 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 25 October 2016 | 23rd | 2 November 2016 | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 5 November 2016 | 17th | 11 November 2016 | |||
| Rotherham United | Resigned | 16 November 2016 | 24th | 5 April 2017 | ||
| Birmingham City | Sacked | 14 December 2016 | 7th | 14 December 2016 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 14 January 2017 | 20th | 14 March 2017 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 21 February 2017 | 23rd | 22 February 2017 | |||
| Norwich City | 10 March 2017 | 8th | 25 May 2017 | |||
| Derby County | 12 March 2017 | 10th | 14 March 2017 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 13 March 2017 | 23rd | 31 May 2017 | |||
| Birmingham City | Resigned | 17 April 2017 | 20th | 18 April 2017 |
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||
| 3 | Reading | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 6 | Fulham | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Reading | 0 (3) | |||||||||
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 0 (4) | |||||||||
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | 1 | 1 (3) | |||||||
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 0 | 1 | 1 (4) | |||||||
The four teams that finished from third to sixth played off, with the winning team,Huddersfield Town, 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 was played. If the scores were still level, a penalty shoot-out decided the winner. The away goals rule does not apply in the playoffs.
The winners from the two semi-finals played atWembley Stadium in the play-off final. The game is known as the richest game in football as the winning club is guaranteed significantly increased television rights payments estimated to be in the order of £170M.[81][82]
| Home \ Away | AST | BAR | BIR | BLB | BRE | B&HA | BRI | BRT | CAR | DER | FUL | HUD | IPS | LEE | NEW | NWC | NOT | PNE | QPR | REA | ROT | SHW | WIG | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Barnsley | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | |
| Birmingham City | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Brentford | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Bristol City | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| Burton Albion | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | |
| Cardiff City | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Derby County | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | |
| Fulham | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Ipswich Town | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | |
| Leeds United | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Newcastle United | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Norwich City | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 7–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 0–2 | |
| Preston North End | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–6 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Reading | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Rotherham United | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich Town | Barnsley | 4–2[84] | 6 August 2016 | |
| Brentford | Preston North End | 5–0[85] | 17 September 2016 | |
| Newcastle United | Norwich City | 4–3[86] | 28 September 2016 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Norwich City | 5–0[87] | 29 October 2016 | |
| Nottingham Forest | Barnsley | 5–2[88] | 25 November 2016 | |
| Newcastle United | Birmingham City | 4–0[89] | 10 December 2016 | |
| Norwich City | Derby County | 3–0[90] | 2 January 2017 | |
| Brentford | Rotherham United | 4–2[91] | 25 February 2017 | |
| Derby County | Fulham | 4–2[92] | 4 April 2017 | |
| Wigan Athletic | Barnsley | 3–2[93] | 13 April 2017 |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Average | Minimum | Maximum | Percentage Full |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | Villa Park | 42,788 | 31,901 | 26,435 | 41,337 | 75% |
| Barnsley | Oakwell | 23,009 | 13,843 | 11,613 | 18,597 | 60% |
| Birmingham City | St Andrew's | 30,009 | 18,137 | 15,212 | 29,656 | 60% |
| Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 31,367 | 11,853 | 9,976 | 18,524 | 38% |
| Brentford | Griffin Park | 12,763 | 10,288 | 9,035 | 12,052 | 81% |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Falmer Stadium | 30,750 | 27,619 | 24,166 | 30,230 | 90% |
| Bristol City | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | 18,953 | 16,444 | 22,512 | 70% |
| Burton Albion | Pirelli Stadium | 6,912 | 5,078 | 3,725 | 6,746 | 73% |
| Cardiff City | Cardiff City Stadium | 33,280 | 16,335 | 13,894 | 22,776 | 49% |
| Derby County | Pride Park Stadium | 33,597 | 29,104 | 26,301 | 32,616 | 87% |
| Fulham | Craven Cottage | 25,700 | 18,665 | 13,735 | 24,300 | 73% |
| Huddersfield Town | John Smith's Stadium | 25,554 | 20,343 | 18,333 | 23,213 | 83% |
| Ipswich Town | Portman Road | 30,311 | 16,555 | 14,719 | 23,350 | 55% |
| Leeds United | Elland Road | 40,204 | 26,779 | 19,009 | 36,002 | 67% |
| Newcastle United | St James' Park | 52,389 | 51,111 | 47,907 | 52,231 | 98% |
| Norwich City | Carrow Road | 27,244 | 26,272 | 25,275 | 27,107 | 96% |
| Nottingham Forest | City Ground | 30,576 | 19,207 | 15,770 | 23,012 | 63% |
| Preston North End | Deepdale | 24,408 | 12,888 | 9,216 | 21,255 | 55% |
| Queens Park Rangers | Loftus Road | 18,360 | 14,426 | 11,635 | 17,404 | 79% |
| Reading | Madejski Stadium | 24,200 | 17,280 | 12,655 | 23,121 | 71% |
| Rotherham United | New York Stadium | 12,021 | 9,786 | 8,348 | 11,653 | 81% |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Hillsborough | 39,814 | 26,580 | 24,151 | 30,549 | 67% |
| Wigan Athletic | DW Stadium | 25,138 | 11,540 | 10,071 | 15,117 | 46% |
| Wolves | Molineux | 30,852 | 21,944 | 17,156 | 27,541 | 71% |
Source:Soccerway