2020–21 EFL Championship
17th season of the Football League Championship
Football league season
The 2020–21 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th season of the EFL 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:
^ Wigan Athletic were deducted 12 points by the EFL for entering administration. The club appealed the decision, but it was confirmed on 4 August 2020 that the appeal was unsuccessful. Therefore Wigan were not reprieved from relegation.[ 4] [ 5]
Stadiums
Locations of the 2020–21 EFL Championship teams
Greater London Championship football clubs
Team
Location
Stadium
Capacity
Barnsley
Barnsley
Oakwell
23,287
Birmingham City
Birmingham
St Andrew's
29,409
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn
Ewood Park
31,367
Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Dean Court
11,364
Brentford
London (Brentford )
Brentford Community Stadium
17,250
Bristol City
Bristol
Ashton Gate
27,000
Cardiff City
Cardiff
Cardiff City Stadium
33,316
Coventry City
Birmingham
St Andrew's
29,409
Derby County
Derby
Pride Park Stadium
33,600
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield
Kirklees Stadium
24,121
Luton Town
Luton
Kenilworth Road
10,356
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Riverside Stadium
34,742
Millwall
London (South Bermondsey )
The Den
20,146
Norwich City
Norwich
Carrow Road
27,244
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham
City Ground
30,445
Preston North End
Preston
Deepdale
23,408
Queens Park Rangers
London (White City )
Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium
18,439
Reading
Reading
Madejski Stadium
24,161
Rotherham United
Rotherham
New York Stadium
12,021
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield
Hillsborough Stadium
39,732
Stoke City
Stoke-On-Trent
Bet365 Stadium
30,089
Swansea City
Swansea
Liberty Stadium
21,088
Watford
Watford
Vicarage Road
22,200
Wycombe Wanderers
High Wycombe
Adams Park
9,448
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.
^ 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
^ Rooney was initially appointed as interim manager until the end of the season, but the move was made permanent on 15 January 2021.
^ Woodgate was initially caretaker manager, but was then appointed as manager until the end of the season on 21 February 2021.
League table
Source:
EFL Official Website 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) Champions;
(O) Play-off winners;
(P) Promoted;
(R) Relegated
Notes:
^ Sheffield Wednesday received a 12 point deduction for breaching the League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. This was later reduced to 6 points by an Independent League Arbitration panel.[ 69] [ 70]
Play-offs
First leg
Second leg
Final
Results
Updated to match(es) played on 8 May 2021. Source:
"Championship Results" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 13 November 2020 .Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Season statistics
Scoring
Ivan Toney won The Golden Boot for Brentford in his debut season at the club, scoring 33 goals for The Bees, as they won the play–offs to seal promotion to The Premier League, ending a seventy-four year absence from the top flight.
Top scorers
1 Includes 2 goals in The Championship play-offs.
2 Includes 1 goal in The Championship play-offs.
Hat-tricks
Clean sheets
Freddie Woodman won The Golden Glove this season with 21 clean sheets, as he helped Swansea City reach the play-off final, whilst on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United .
1 Includes 1 clean sheet in The Championship play-offs.
Discipline
Players
Most yellow cards: 12 [ 80]
Most red cards: 2
1 Includes 1 yellow card in The Championship play-offs.
Club
Most yellow cards: 80 [ 81]
Most red cards: 7
Awards
Monthly
Annual
Championship Team of the season
PFA Championship Team of the Year
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. Archived from the original on 5 October 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. https://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. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2019 .
^ "BLUES AGREE PRINCIPAL PARTNERSHIP WITH BOYLESPORTS" . Birmingham City F.C. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2020 .
^ "Rovers secure ground-breaking shirt sponsorship with Recoverite Compression" . 29 August 2020.
^ AFC Bournemouth 🍒 [@afcbournemouth] (1 September 2020). "New @UmbroUK third kit ✅ New front of shirt sponsor ✅ All three kits will be available for pre-order tomorrow, full details coming 🙌 https://t.co/SZiUfeXuFi" (Tweet ). Retrieved 29 December 2020 – via Twitter .
^ "CAPTAIN KALAS TO LEAD ROBINS" . Bristol City F.C. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020 .
^ "MANSIONBET UNVEILED AS PRINCIPAL SPONSOR" . Bristol City .
^ "NEWS: Coventry City announce BoyleSports as the Club's New Principal Partner!" . Coventry City F.C. 20 August 2020.
^ "Wisdom On Temporary Captains Role It Is An Honour" . www.dcfc.co.uk .
^ "Derby County Announce Umbro Kit Deal" . Retrieved 12 June 2017 .
^ "Huddersfield Town unveil shirt sponsorship plans for season – with two twists" . 4 November 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021 .
^ "Millwall announce Huski Chocolate as new principal partner" . Millwall FC. Retrieved 21 June 2019 .
^ "Casumo signs two-year partnership deal with Reading Football Club" . www.readingfc.co.uk .
^ "Swansea City name new club captain for 2019/20 season" . Wales Online. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019 .
^ "Swans sign Joma for new campaign" . swanseacity.com . Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016 .
^ "SWANSEA UNIVERSITY BECOME SWANS' NEW FRONT OF SHIRT SPONSOR" . swanseacity.com . 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Watford Announces Record Four-Year Kelme Kit Deal" . Footy Headlines . 15 May 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020 .
^ "#ChairboysNewKit: Pre-order yours now!" . Wycombe Wanderers F.C. 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Third kit launches live on TV!" . Wycombe Wanderers F.C. 7 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020 .
^ "What has happened to Football Index?" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ a b "What happened on a remarkable last night of the Championship season?" . BBC Sport. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020 .
^ "Aitor Karanka: Birmingham City confirm Spaniard as new head coach" . BBC Sport. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020 .
^ "Carlos Corberan: Huddersfield Town appoint Leeds United assistant as new head coach" . BBC Sport. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020 .
^ "Arsenal v Watford, 2019/20" . Premier League . 26 July 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020 .
^ "Mullins: "It Hurts A Lot" – Watford FC" . Watford Football Club Official Website . Retrieved 27 July 2020 .
^ "Official: Ivić Appointed New Head Coach" . www.watfordfc.com . Retrieved 29 November 2020 .
^ "Statement: Eddie Howe Leaves Club by Mutual Consent" . A.F.C. Bournemouth . 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020 .
^ "Jason Tindall: Bournemouth appoint Eddie Howe's former assistant as manager" . BBC Sport . 8 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020 .
^ a b "Veljko Paunovic: Reading appoint Serbian as manager, replacing Mark Bowen" . BBC News] . 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020 .
^ "Gerhard Struber leaves Oakwell" . Barnsley F.C. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020 .
^ "Valerien Ismael: Barnsley appoint new head coach to succeed Gerhard Struber" . BBC Sport . 23 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020 .
^ a b "Hughton replaces Lamouchi at Forest" . BBC Sport . Retrieved 29 November 2020 .
^ "Garry Monk: Sheffield Wednesday sack ex-Swansea, Leeds and Birmingham boss" . 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020 .
^ "Tony Pulis: Sheffield Wednesday appoint former Stoke City manager as new boss" . 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020 .
^ "Derby County Statement: 14th November 2020" . Retrieved 15 November 2020 .
^ Parker, Ian (27 November 2020). "Wayne Rooney to take sole charge of Derby against Wycombe" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 27 November 2020.
^ "Wayne Rooney: How impressive interim Derby County spell led to permanent manager's job" . BBC . 15 January 2021.
^ "Vladimir Ivic: Watford sack head coach after four months" . BBC Sport. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020 .
^ "Xisco Munoz: Watford appoint Dinamo Tbilisi boss as head coach" . BBC Sport. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020 .
^ "Club Statement" . swfc.co.uk . Sheffield Wednesday. 28 December 2020.
^ "Sheff Wed name Moore as new manager" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Cardiff sack manager Harris" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Cardiff City name Mick McCarthy new manager after sacking Neil Harris" . BBC Sport. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021 .
^ "Bournemouth sack manager Tindall" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Jonathan Woodgate: Bournemouth appoint ex-Middlesbrough boss for rest of season" . BBC Sport. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021 .
^ "Club statement" . Bristol City .
^ "Nigel Pearson: Bristol City appoint ex-Leicester and Watford manager" . BBC Sport. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021 .
^ "Club statement" . Birmingham City . Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021 .
^ "Lee Bowyer Appointed As Head Coach" . Birmingham City . Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021 .
^ "Preston sack manager Neil after dismal run" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Preston appoint interim boss Frankie McAvoy as new head coach" . BBC Sport. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021 .
^ "EFL Statement: Sheffield Wednesday verdict" . English Football League. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021 .
^ "EFL statement: Sheffield Wednesday" . English Football League. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021 .
^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions" . English Football League. Retrieved 30 July 2019 .
^ "Blackburn Rovers 5–0 Wycombe Wanderers: Adam Armstrong scores hat-trick for hosts" . BBC Sport . 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020 .
^ "Luton Town 3–0 Preston North End: Collins scores hat-trick in Luton win" . BBC Sport . 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020 .
^ "Cardiff City 2–3 Brentford: Canos' treble wins it for Bees" . BBC Sport . 26 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020 .
^ "Brentford 7–2 Wycombe Wanderers: Ivan Toney scores hat-trick for the Bees" . BBC Sport . 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021 .
^ "Norwich City 7–0 Huddersfield Town: Teemu Pukki nets hat-trick in Canaries rout" . BBC Sport . 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021 .
^ "Blackburn Rovers 5–2 Huddersfield Town: Adam Armstrong hat-trick helps crush Terriers" . BBC Sport . 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021 .
^ "Birmingham City 0–4 Cardiff City: Harry Wilson scores hat-trick for Bluebirds" . BBC Sport . 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021 .
^ "Blackburn Rovers 5–2 Birmingham City: Adam Armstrong scores hat-trick for hosts" . BBC Sport . 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021 .
^ "Championship Player Statistics" . www.whoscored.com . Retrieved 19 September 2020 .
^ "Championship Team Statistics" . www.whoscored.com . Retrieved 19 September 2020 .
^ "Blackburn midfielder Bradley Johnson and Reading boss Veljko Paunovic win Sky Bet Championship September awards" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 29 November 2020 .
^ "Brentford striker Ivan Toney and Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock win Sky Bet Championship October awards" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 29 November 2020 .
^ "Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks and Watford manager Vladimir Ivic win Sky Bet Championship November awards" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 11 December 2020 .
^ "Sky Bet Championship: December Manager and Player of the Month winners" . www.efl.com .
^ "Rotherham's Matt Crooks and Swansea's Steve Cooper win Sky Bet Championship January awards" . Sky Sports .
^ "Norwich City's Teemu Pukki and Cardiff City's Mick McCarthy win Sky Bet Championship February awards" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 12 March 2021 .
^ "Barnsley's Alex Mowatt and Watford's Xisco Munoz win Sky Bet Championship March awards" . Sky Sports .
^ "Bournemouth duo Arnaut Danjuma and Jonathan Woodgate win Sky Bet Championship April awards" . Sky Sports. 7 May 2021.
^ a b c "2021 EFL Awards winners announced" . EFL . 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021 .
^
Seasons Clubs
Competition Statistics and awards Finances Sponsors Associated competitions Prospects
Competitions Play-offs Finals
Championship League One League Two
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–8 Levels 9–10
Combined Counties League (Premier , One )
East Midlands Counties League (level 10 only)
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One North , One South )
Essex Senior League (level 9 only)
Hellenic League (Premier , One East , One West )
Midland League (Premier , One )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
North West Counties League (Premier , One North , One South )
Southern Combination League (Premier , One )
Southern Counties East League (Premier , One )
South West Peninsula League (Premier East , Premier West - level 10 only )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier , One )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (Premier , One )
Western League (Premier , One )
West Midlands (Regional) League (Premier - level 10 only )
Cup competitions
Youth competitions