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Note: to see my latest map-&-post of the English 2nd division, click on the following, category: Eng-2nd Level/Champ’ship.
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[Note: on this zoom map, I have added a new category, of total seasons in the 1st and 2nd Levels, with the last season each club was in the top flight noted. I also added club nicknames, and original names of the clubs.]
The (English) Football League was formed in 1888. The founding members comprised 12 clubs, all of which came from north of Birmingham {see this}. With the assimilation of the rival Football Alliance {see this}, in 1892, a second tier was created. The two levels were the First Division, and the Second Division, each with 14 clubs. At the end of each season, the bottom two clubs in the lower division were forced to apply for re-election to the League.
In 1898, the League expanded to 36 clubs (18 in each division). Automatic Promotion and Relegation was introduced, whereby the 1st and 2nd place clubs in the Second Division each season moved up to the top flight, and the bottom two clubs in the First Division were sent down to the Second Division {see this}.
Fast forward to today. The 3 clubs in the 2nd Level of English football, the League Championship {see this}, which are annually promoted to the top flight of English Football, the Premier League (est. 1992 {see this}), each receive around 60 million pounds in new revenue (that’s about $110 million). This is according to the accounting firm Deloitte. Which makes the struggle for promotion such a huge matter.
Tuesday, at Blackpool, West Bromwich Albion provided another example of their high octane offense, with 3 late goals (including a brace by Kevin Phillips). {See this article, from the Sky Sports site.} The win vaulted the Baggies back to the top of the League Championship, knocking this season’s surprise team, Bristol City, to 2nd place.
West Brom’s loss to Portsmouth in the FA Cup Semi-Finals last weekend may prove to be a blessing in disguise, as the squad can now focus on their promotion bid. They lead the league in scoring, with 84 goals (3rd place Stoke City has the second most goals, with 64), and their goal difference of +29 dwarfs the competition (Hull City, in 4th place, has the next highest, at +18) . But in this highly competetive second tier, WBA has struggled since the Holidays. Now they are back in first, with a game in hand on half their main competitors for automatic promotion.
Realistically, it’s down to 5 clubs competing for the 2 automatic promotion spots: 1. West Bromwich Albion, 2. Bristol City, 3. Stoke City, 4. Hull City, and 5. Watford. Just 2 points separate the five clubs.
In 6th place, 8 points off the automatic promotion places, is Crystal Palace, who beat Stoke 1-2 away, on Monday. And right behind Palace are no less than 7 clubs within 6 points of the playoff places. The clubs realistically out of the running for automatic promotion, and competing for the playoff places (of which there are four) are: 6. Crystal Palace 7. Wolves 8. Ipswich Town 9. Charlton Athletic 10. Plymouth Argyle 11. Burnley 12. Sheffield United 13. Cardiff City.
Thanks to http://www.colours-of-football.com, for the kits.
{Click here, for the League Championship table (SoccerStats[dot]com).}
