With the Championship play-off final between Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town looming large on the horizon, it’s a good time to reflect on what has been another cracking campaign in the second tier of English football.
As always, there has been no shortage of drama and intrigue, with those who bet online never quite being sure which way things are going to go. So, as the curtain falls on another season, let’s take a look back at some of the major stories from across the campaign.
Fulham setting new standards of excellence
It was no surprise to see Fulham return to the Premier League at the first time of asking — after all, they have won promotion in each of their last three Championship seasons. With Marco Silva taking the reins after the departure of Scott Parker last summer, Fulham have been simply sensational, winning the division with plenty of distance between them and the play-off spots.
A lot of the credit must go to star striker Aleksandar Mitrović, who notched a record-breaking 43 Championship goals across the 46 games. That is a phenomenal figure, and Fulham fans will be hoping the Serbian can take that sensational form into the Premier League next season.
Luton Town’s unlikely play-off charge
If you were looking for play-off tips at the beginning of the season, it’s unlikely that Luton Town would have featured in many people’s predictions, but Nathan Jones did an outstanding job at the Bedfordshire club to take them within a whisker of Wembley and the play-off final.
A solid season gained momentum in the second half of the campaign, and the bubble simply didn’t burst, with Luton recording an impressive sixth-place finish. That set up a play-off semi-final meeting with Huddersfield Town, and after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road, Huddersfield managed to pinch it in the return leg, with a late winner breaking Luton hearts and crushing their Wembley dream.
Derby County’s woes
With Derby facing 21 points in deductions for the off-field turmoil that has engulfed the club, Wayne Rooney really had a job on his hands to try and salvage anything from this season. Despite the team’s best efforts, Derby suffered relegation and are now staring down the barrel of their first campaign in the third tier for the best part of 40 years.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Derby. They made a sterling effort to try and get their heads above water, and if it hadn’t been for the points deductions, they would have been comfortably clear of the relegation zone. Unfortunately, they just had too much to do in the end.
Barnsley’s fall from grace
Another team to drop down into League One is Barnsley, which is somewhat surprising when you consider that the Tykes were in the play-offs last season. After head coach Valérien Ismaël departed for West Bromwich Albion last summer, Barnsley just couldn’t hit the same heights, and despite the best efforts of Markus Schopp and then Poya Asbaghi, relegation as the Championship’s bottom club represents a stark downturn in fortunes.
Barnsley are used to yo-yoing between League One and the Championship, but their supporters will view this campaign as a missed opportunity to build on the good work of last season.
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