Coventry City have made a return to the Championship for the first time since 2011/12. It’s fair to say that, as a club, they have had numerous ups and downs since then. Today, we look at the final Championship table from that season and assess where some of the clubs are now.
Coventry City Championship Return – Rewind to 2011/12
Coventry City in the Championship
The Sky Blues spent 11 seasons in the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League in 2000/01. Those 11 years followed 34 years in the top flight, which highlights just how important it was for Mark Robins’ side to make a return having dropped down to League Two as recently as 2017/18.
Other than an eighth-placed finish in 2005/06, the Sky Blues finished in the bottom half in nine of the seasons spent in the Championship. But, the season they suffered relegation was the first time the club were in the third tier since 1963/64.
Promotion From the Championship
Reading won the division, as they did six years previous, to secure promotion to the Premier League. Joining them were Southampton and West Ham United.
For the Saints, they had secured back to back promotions after finding themselves down in League One. It was also the end to a seven-year spell out of the top flight.
Southampton had Rickie Lambert to thank. The Englishman was the leagues’ top scorer with 27 goals.
West Ham had to do it the hard way. Having suffered relegation from the Premier League, Sam Allardyce guided the Hammers to promotion through the playoffs.
Despite finishing just two points behind Southampton, West Ham saw off Blackpool in the playoff final to restore their top-flight status.
Relegated
Doncaster Rovers joined Coventry in relegation to League One. They finished bottom with 36 points, 12 points from safety. It ended a four-year stay in the division, but they bounced back the following season.
Coventry only finished four points above Doncaster, but Andy Thorn’s side were relegated on the penultimate weekend after a home defeat against Donny. The club were only out of the bottom three for eight of the 46 rounds.
They suffered their heaviest defeat of the season on the final day as Southampton secured promotion, and recorded an 11 game winless run – the longest of that season in the league.
Portsmouth were the last team to go. Like Coventry, the south coast club were another to have spent time in the top flight and fight down in League’s One and Two. Pompey spent seven seasons in the Premier League but spent beyond their means.
That continued in the Championship and they were relegated following a ten-point deduction after going into administration. However, they would have survived if it wasn’t for the deduction.
Notable clubs
Blackpool almost made an immediate return to the Premier League after Ian Holloway’s side were relegated the season before. However, despite a fifth-place finish, West Ham saw off the Tangerines in the playoff final.
Leicester City and Crystal Palace are now established Premier League clubs, while Brighton and Hove Albion, Watford and Burnley are also enjoying life in the top-flight. However, they all had average seasons during the 2011/12 Championship season.
Like Coventry, the Foxes spent much of the 90s in the top flight but also faced struggles, before suffering relegation to League One. But, they would spend just two more seasons in the Championship before securing their Premier League status.
Palace are in their seventh season back in the top flight but, similarly to Leicester, were in the second division for numerous years. Although they finished 17th the season Coventry went down, Palace won promotion the following season.
For Brighton, it was their first season back in the Championship after five years in League One. A 10th placed finish was respectable. Like Leicester, Watford spent eight seasons in the Championship before eventually securing promotion to the Premier League in 2014/15.
Burnley had their ups and downs and this season was the second of four years back in the Championship. Although they won promotion before suffering relegation straight away, the Clarets returned immediately.
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