2004–05 Football League

The Football League

Season	2004–05
Champions	Sunderland
Promoted	Sunderland Wigan Athletic West Ham United
Relegated	Kidderminster Harriers Cambridge United
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

The 2004–05 Football League (known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 106th completed season of The Football League.

This season the league was contested through three divisions. 2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two respectively. Coca-Cola replaced the Nationwide Building Society as title sponsor.

Wigan Athletic reached the Premiership as Championship runners-up. They had been elected to the Football League only 27 years earlier, had been the league’s fourth lowest club 11 years earlier and until 2 years before reaching the Premiership they had never played in the upper half of the English league.

Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Championship to League One, becoming the first former European Cup winners to slide into the third tier of their domestic league – having won two straight European Cups a quarter of a century earlier. Just ten years ago they had finished third in the Premiership and reached the following season’s UEFA Cup quarter finals.

Events

• 3 December 2004 –League One side Wrexham enters financial administration. Under new Football League rules, the club is penalised 10 league points, placing the club in relegation danger.
• 21 January 2005 – Former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates finalises a deal to buy a controlling interest in the debt-riddled Championship club Leeds United.
• 2 April 2005 – Stockport County become the first League team this season to be relegated.
• 7 June 2005 – George Burley resigns as manager of Derby County, citing differences with the club’s board.
• 24 June 2005 – Former Bolton Wanderers assistant manager Phil Brown becomes Derby County’s fifth manager in four years.

Final league tables and results

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,^[1] with home and away statistics separated. Play-off results are from the same website.

Football League Championship

Football League Championship

Season	2004–05
Champions	Sunderland (4th second tier title)
Direct promotion to FA Premier League	Sunderland, Wigan Athletic
Promoted to FA Premier League through play-offs	West Ham United
Relegated	Gillingham, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1342 (2.43 per match)
Top goalscorer	Nathan Ellington (Wigan Athletic), 24 [2]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GD		Pts	Notes
1	Sunderland	46		16	4	3	45	21		13	3	7	31	20		76	41	+35		94
2	Wigan Athletic	46		13	5	5	42	15		12	7	4	37	20		79	35	+44		87
3	Ipswich Town	46		17	3	3	53	26		7	10	6	32	30		85	56	+29		85
4	Derby County	46		10	7	6	38	30		12	3	8	33	30		71	60	+11		76
5	Preston North End	46		14	7	2	44	22		7	5	11	23	36		67	58	+9		75
6	West Ham United	46		12	5	6	36	24		9	5	9	30	32		66	56	+10		73
7	Reading	46		13	7	3	33	15		6	6	11	18	29		51	44	+7		70
8	Sheffield United	46		9	7	7	28	23		9	6	8	29	33		57	56	+1		67
9	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46		9	11	3	40	26		6	10	7	32	33		72	59	+13		66
10	Millwall	46		12	5	6	33	22		6	7	10	18	23		51	45	+6		66
11	Queens Park Rangers	46		10	7	6	32	26		7	4	12	22	32		54	58	–4		62
12	Stoke City	46		11	2	10	22	18		6	8	9	14	20		36	38	–2		61
13	Burnley	46		10	7	6	26	19		5	8	10	12	20		38	39	–1		60
14	Leeds United	46		7	10	6	28	26		7	8	8	21	26		49	52	–3		60
15	Leicester City	46		8	8	7	24	20		4	13	6	25	26		49	46	+3		57
16	Cardiff City	46		10	4	9	24	19		3	11	9	24	32		48	51	–3		54
17	Plymouth Argyle	46		9	8	6	31	23		5	3	15	21	41		52	64	–12		53
18	Watford	46		5	10	8	25	25		7	6	10	27	34		52	59	–7		52
19	Coventry City	46		8	7	8	32	28		5	6	12	29	45		61	73	–12		52
20	Brighton & Hove Albion	46		7	7	9	24	29		6	5	12	16	36		40	65	–25		51
21	Crewe Alexandra	46		6	8	9	37	38		6	6	11	29	48		66	86	–20		50
22	Gillingham	46		10	6	7	22	23		2	8	13	23	43		45	66	–21		50
23	Nottingham Forest	46		7	10	6	26	28		2	7	14	16	38		42	66	–24		44
24	Rotherham United	46		2	7	14	17	34		3	7	13	18	35		35	69	–34		29

• Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
• NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Key
	Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League
	Promoted to FA Premier League
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted to Premier League through play-offs
	Relegated

Brighton & Hove

Burnley

Cardiff City

Coventry

Crewe Alexandra

Derby County

Gillingham

Ipswich Town

Leeds United

Leicester City

Millwall

Nottingham Forest

Plymouth Argyle

Preston North End

QPR

Reading

Rotherham

Sheffield United

Stoke

Sunderland

Watford

West Ham

Wigan Athletic

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League Championship 2004–2005 teams

Championship play-offs

	Semifinals 1st leg –May 14th/15th; 2nd leg –May 18th/19th, 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff May 30th, 2005
	3rd	Ipswich Town	2	0	2
	6th	West Ham United	2	2	4
								5th	Preston North End	0
								6th	West Ham United	1
	4th	Derby County	0	0	0
	5th	Preston North End	2	0	2

^[1]

Championship Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	League
1	Nathan Ellington	Wigan Athletic	24
2	Jason Roberts	Wigan Athletic	21
=	Teddy Sheringham	West Ham	21
4	Shefki Kuqi	Ipswich Town	20
=	Darren Bent	Ipswich Town	20
6	Kenny Miller	Wolverhampton Wanderers	19
=	Dave Kitson	Reading	19
8	Marlon Harewood	West Ham	18
=	Paul Furlong	Queens Park Rangers	18
10	Richard Cresswell	Preston North End	17
=	Dean Ashton	Crewe Alexandra	17
11	Marcus Stewart	Sunderland	16

^[3]

Football League One

Football League One

Season	2004–05
Champions	Luton Town (1st third tier title)
Direct promotion	Luton Town, Hull City
Promoted through play-offs	Sheffield Wednesday
Relegated	Peterborough United, Stockport County, Torquay United, Wrexham
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1550 (2.81 per match)
Top goalscorer	Stuart Elliott (Hull City), 27 Dean Windass (Bradford City), 27 [2]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GD		Pts	Notes
1	Luton Town	46		17	4	2	46	16		12	7	4	41	32		87	48	+39		98
2	Hull City	46		16	5	2	42	17		10	3	10	38	36		80	53	+27		86
3	Tranmere Rovers	46		14	5	4	43	23		8	8	7	30	32		73	55	+18		79
4	Brentford	46		15	4	4	34	22		7	5	11	23	38		57	60	–3		75
5	Sheffield Wednesday	46		10	6	7	34	28		9	9	5	43	31		77	59	+18		72
6	Hartlepool United	46		15	3	5	51	30		6	5	12	25	36		76	66	+10		71
7	Bristol City	46		9	8	6	42	25		9	8	6	32	32		74	57	+17		70
8	Bournemouth	46		9	7	7	40	30		11	3	9	37	34		77	64	+13		70
9	Huddersfield Town	46		12	6	5	42	28		8	4	11	32	37		74	65	+9		70
10	Doncaster Rovers	46		10	11	2	35	20		6	7	10	30	40		65	60	+5		66
11	Bradford City	46		9	6	8	40	35		8	8	7	24	27		64	62	+2		65
12	Swindon Town	46		12	5	6	40	30		5	7	11	26	38		66	68	–2		63
13	Barnsley	46		7	11	5	38	31		7	8	8	31	33		69	64	+5		61
14	Walsall	46		11	7	5	40	28		5	5	13	25	41		65	69	–4		60
15	Colchester United	46		8	6	9	27	23		6	11	6	33	27		60	50	+10		59
16	Blackpool	46		8	7	8	28	30		7	5	11	26	29		54	59	–5		57
17	Chesterfield	46		9	8	6	32	28		5	7	11	23	34		55	62	–7		57
18	Port Vale	46		13	2	8	33	23		4	3	16	16	36		49	59	–10		56
19	Oldham Athletic	46		10	5	8	42	34		4	5	14	18	39		60	73	–13		52
20	Milton Keynes Dons	46		8	10	5	33	28		4	5	14	21	40		54	67	–14		51
21	Torquay United	46		8	5	10	27	36		4	10	9	28	43		55	79	–24		51
22	Wrexham	46		6	8	9	26	37		7	6	10	36	43		62	80	–18		43	[notes 1]
23	Peterborough United	46		5	6	12	27	35		4	6	13	22	38		49	73	–24		39
24	Stockport County	46		3	4	16	26	46		3	4	16	23	52		48	98	–49		26

• Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
• NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

1. Wrexham deducted 10points for entering administration.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	Relegated

Barnsley

Blackpool

Bournemouth

Bradford City

Brentford

Bristol City

Chesterfield

Colchester

Doncaster

Hartlepool

Huddersfield

Hull

Luton Town

MK Dons

Oldham

Peterborough

Port Vale

Sheffield Wednesday

Stockport

Swindon

Torquay

Tranmere

Walsall

Wrexham

Locations of the Football League One 2004–2005 teams

League One play-offs

	Semifinals 1st leg –May 12th/13th; 2nd leg –May 16th/17th, 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff May 29th, 2005
	3rd	Tranmere Rovers	0	2	2 (5)
	6th	Hartlepool United (pens.)	2	0	2 (6)
								5th	Sheffield Wednesday (a.e.t.)	4
								6th	Hartlepool United	2
	4th	Brentford	0	1	1
	5th	Sheffield Wednesday	1	2	3

^[1]

League One Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	League
1	Dean Windass	Bradford City	27
=	Stuart Elliott	Hull City	27
3	Paweł Abbott	Huddersfield Town	26
4	Adam Boyd	Hartlepool United	24
=	Leroy Lita	Bristol City	24
6	Sam Parkin	Swindon Town	23
7	Steve Brooker	Bristol City	21
8	Steven MacLean	Sheffield Wednesday	19
=	James Hayter	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	19
=	Luke Beckett	Oldham Athletic	19

^[4]

Football League Two

Football League Two

Season	2004–05
Champions	Yeovil Town (1st fourth tier title)
Direct promotion	Yeovil Town, Scunthorpe United, Swansea City
Promoted through play-offs	Southend United
Relegated to Conference	Cambridge United, Kidderminster Harriers
New club in the league	Chester City, Shrewsbury Town
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1347 (2.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	Phil Jevons (Yeovil Town), 27 [2]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GD		Pts	Notes
1	Yeovil Town	46		16	4	3	57	28		9	4	10	33	37		90	65	+25		83
2	Scunthorpe United	46		16	5	2	43	16		6	9	8	26	26		69	42	+27		80
3	Swansea City	46		15	5	3	36	16		9	3	11	26	27		62	43	+19		80
4	Southend United	46		13	5	5	31	14		9	7	7	34	32		65	46	+19		78
5	Macclesfield Town	46		15	3	5	39	24		7	6	10	21	25		60	49	+11		75
6	Lincoln City	46		11	8	4	37	22		9	4	10	27	25		64	47	+17		72
7	Northampton Town	46		11	9	3	35	20		9	3	11	27	31		62	51	+11		72
8	Darlington	46		13	4	6	33	21		7	8	8	24	28		57	49	+8		72
9	Rochdale	46		11	8	4	34	21		5	10	8	20	27		54	48	+6		66
10	Wycombe Wanderers	46		8	7	8	28	26		9	7	7	30	26		58	52	+6		65
11	Leyton Orient	46		10	8	5	40	30		6	7	10	25	37		65	67	–2		63
12	Bristol Rovers	46		10	12	1	39	22		3	9	11	21	35		60	57	+3		60
13	Mansfield Town	46		9	8	6	29	24		6	7	10	27	32		56	56	±0		60
14	Cheltenham Town	46		10	5	8	27	23		6	7	10	24	31		51	54	–3		60
15	Oxford United	46		11	4	8	29	24		5	7	11	21	39		50	63	–13		59
16	Boston United	46		11	8	4	39	24		3	8	12	23	34		62	58	+4		58
17	Bury	46		8	9	6	26	18		6	7	10	28	36		54	54	±0		58
18	Grimsby Town	46		8	10	5	28	19		6	6	11	23	33		51	52	–1		58
19	Notts County	46		6	7	10	21	27		7	6	10	25	35		46	62	–16		52
20	Chester City	46		7	8	8	25	33		5	8	10	18	36		43	69	–26		52
21	Shrewsbury Town	46		9	7	7	34	18		2	9	12	14	35		48	53	–5		49
22	Rushden & Diamonds	46		8	6	9	29	29		2	8	13	13	34		42	63	–21		44
23	Kidderminster Harriers	46		6	6	11	21	39		4	2	17	18	46		39	85	–46		38
24	Cambridge United	46		7	6	10	22	27		1	10	12	17	35		39	62	–23		30	[notes2 1][5]

• Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
• NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

1. Cambridge United deducted 10 points for entering financial administration.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	New clubs in the league
	Relegated to Conference

Boston United

Bristol Rovers

Bury

Cambridge Utd

Cheltenham

Chester City

Darlington

Grimsby Town

Kidderminster Harriers

Leyton Orient

Lincoln City

Macclesfield

Mansfield

Northampton Town

Notts County

Oxford

Rochdale

Rushden & Diamonds

Scunthorpe United

Shrewsbury

Southend

Swansea City

Wycombe

Yeovil Town

Locations of the Football League Two teams 2004–2005

League Two play-offs

	Semifinals 1st leg –May 14th/15th; 2nd leg –May 21st, 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff May 28th, 2005
	4th	Southend United	0	1	1
	7th	Northampton Town	0	0	0
								4th	Southend United (a.e.t.)	2
								6th	Lincoln City	0
	5th	Macclesfield Town	0	1	1
	6th	Lincoln City	1	1	2

^[1]

League Two Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	League
1	Phil Jevons	Yeovil Town	27
2	Andy Kirk	Northampton Town	26
3	Jon Parkin	Macclesfield Town	22
=	Lee Trundle	Swansea City	22
=	Nathan Tyson	Wycombe Wanderers	22
6	Freddy Eastwood	Southend United	21
=	Simon Yeo	Lincoln City	21
8	Junior Agogo	Bristol Rovers	19
9	Paul Hayes	Scunthorpe United	17
=	Grant Holt	Rochdale	17

^[6]

See also

• 2004-05 in English football
• 2004 in association football
• 2005 in association football

References

1. "England 2004–05". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
3. soccernet.espn.go.com
4. soccernet.espn.go.com
5. "Cambridge United file for administration". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
6. soccernet.espn.go.com

External links

• Football League Tables