2004–05 Football League

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

The Football League

Season	2004–05
Champions	Sunderland
Promoted	Sunderland Wigan Athletic West Ham United
Relegated	Kidderminster Harriers Cambridge United
New Clubs in League	Chester City Shrewsbury Town
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

2004–05 was the first season of the rebranded Football League, with the First, Second and Third Divisions becoming the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two respectively. Coca-Cola replaced the Nationwide Building Society as title sponsor.

Wigan Athletic were promoted to the Premier League as Championship runners-up. They had only been elected to the Football League in 1978, had been the league's fourth-lowest placed club in the 1993–94 season, and before 2003 had never reached the second tier of English football.

Nottingham Forest were relegated from the Championship to League One, becoming the first former European Cup winners to be relegated to the third tier of their domestic league – having won two straight European Cups a quarter of a century earlier. Only ten seasons previously, in 1994–95, they had finished third in the Premier League, and had reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup the following season.

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.
• 29 April 2005 – League Two side Cambridge United enters financial administration, six days after being formally relegated from the Football League.^[1]
• 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,^[2] with home and away statistics separated. Play-off results are from the same website.

Championship

Main article: 2004–05 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	1,342 (2.43 per match)
Top goalscorer	Nathan Ellington (Wigan Athletic), 24 [3]
← 2003–04 (First Division) 2005–06 →

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Sunderland (C, P)	46	29	7	10	76	41	+35	94	Promotion to the FA Premier League
2	Wigan Athletic (P)	46	25	12	9	79	35	+44	87
3	Ipswich Town	46	24	13	9	85	56	+29	85	Qualification for Championship play-offs
4	Derby County	46	22	10	14	71	60	+11	76
5	Preston North End	46	21	12	13	67	58	+9	75
6	West Ham United (O, P)	46	21	10	15	66	56	+10	73
7	Reading	46	19	13	14	51	44	+7	70
8	Sheffield United	46	18	13	15	57	56	+1	67
9	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	15	21	10	72	59	+13	66
10	Millwall	46	18	12	16	51	45	+6	66
11	Queens Park Rangers	46	17	11	18	54	58	−4	62
12	Stoke City	46	17	10	19	36	38	−2	61
13	Burnley	46	15	15	16	38	39	−1	60
14	Leeds United	46	14	18	14	49	52	−3	60
15	Leicester City	46	12	21	13	49	46	+3	57
16	Cardiff City	46	13	15	18	48	51	−3	54
17	Plymouth Argyle	46	14	11	21	52	64	−12	53
18	Watford	46	12	16	18	52	59	−7	52
19	Coventry City	46	13	13	20	61	73	−12	52
20	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	13	12	21	40	65	−25	51
21	Crewe Alexandra	46	12	14	20	66	86	−20	50
22	Gillingham (R)	46	12	14	20	45	66	−21	50	Relegation to Football League One
23	Nottingham Forest (R)	46	9	17	20	42	66	−24	44
24	Rotherham United (R)	46	5	14	27	35	69	−34	29

Updated to match(es) played on 9 December 2011. Source: Football League Tables
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) 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 2004–05 Championship teams

Play-offs

Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 2005

	Semi-finals 1st leg – 14/15 May; 2nd leg – 18/19 May 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 30 May 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

^[2]

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
12	Marcus Stewart	Sunderland	16

^[4]

League One

Main article: 2004–05 Football League One

Football League One

Season	2004–05
Champions	Luton Town (1st divisional 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	1,551 (2.81 per match)
Top goalscorer	Stuart Elliott (Hull City), 27 Dean Windass (Bradford City), 27 [3]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Luton Town (C, P)	46	29	11	6	87	48	+39	98	Promotion to Football League Championship
2	Hull City (P)	46	26	8	12	80	53	+27	86
3	Tranmere Rovers	46	22	13	11	73	55	+18	79	Qualification for League One play-offs
4	Brentford	46	22	9	15	57	60	−3	75
5	Sheffield Wednesday (O, P)	46	19	15	12	77	59	+18	72
6	Hartlepool United	46	21	8	17	76	66	+10	71
7	Bristol City	46	18	16	12	74	57	+17	70
8	Bournemouth	46	20	10	16	77	64	+13	70
9	Huddersfield Town	46	20	10	16	74	65	+9	70
10	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	18	12	65	60	+5	66
11	Bradford City	46	17	14	15	64	62	+2	65
12	Swindon Town	46	17	12	17	66	68	−2	63
13	Barnsley	46	14	19	13	69	64	+5	61
14	Walsall	46	16	12	18	65	69	−4	60
15	Colchester United	46	14	17	15	60	50	+10	59
16	Blackpool	46	15	12	19	54	59	−5	57
17	Chesterfield	46	14	15	17	55	62	−7	57
18	Port Vale	46	17	5	24	49	59	−10	56
19	Oldham Athletic	46	14	10	22	60	73	−13	52
20	Milton Keynes Dons	46	12	15	19	54	68	−14	51
21	Torquay United (R)	46	12	15	19	55	79	−24	51	Relegation to Football League Two
22	Wrexham (R)	46	13	14	19	62	80	−18	43[a]
23	Peterborough United (R)	46	9	12	25	49	73	−24	39
24	Stockport County (R)	46	6	8	32	49	98	−49	26

Updated to match(es) played on May 2005. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Wrexham deducted 10 points for entering administration.^[5]

Bournemouth

Barnsley

Blackpool

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 2004–05 League One teams

Play-offs

Main article: Football League One play-offs § 2005

	Semi-finals 1st leg – 12/13 May; 2nd leg – 16/17 May 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 29 May 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

^[2]

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	AFC Bournemouth	19
=	Luke Beckett	Oldham Athletic	19

^[6]

League Two

Main article: 2004–05 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	1,347 (2.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	Phil Jevons (Yeovil Town), 27 [3]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Yeovil Town (C, P)	46	25	8	13	90	65	+25	83	Promotion to League One
2	Scunthorpe United (P)	46	22	14	10	69	42	+27	80
3	Swansea City (P)	46	24	8	14	62	43	+19	80
4	Southend United (O, P)	46	22	12	12	65	46	+19	78	Qualification for League Two play-offs
5	Macclesfield Town	46	22	9	15	60	49	+11	75
6	Lincoln City	46	20	12	14	64	47	+17	72
7	Northampton Town	46	20	12	14	62	51	+11	72
8	Darlington	46	20	12	14	57	49	+8	72
9	Rochdale	46	16	18	12	54	48	+6	66
10	Wycombe Wanderers	46	17	14	15	58	52	+6	65
11	Leyton Orient	46	16	15	15	65	67	−2	63
12	Bristol Rovers	46	13	21	12	60	57	+3	60
13	Mansfield Town	46	15	15	16	56	56	0	60
14	Cheltenham Town	46	16	12	18	51	54	−3	60
15	Oxford United	46	16	11	19	50	63	−13	59
16	Boston United	46	14	16	16	62	58	+4	58
17	Bury	46	14	16	16	54	54	0	58
18	Grimsby Town	46	14	16	16	51	52	−1	58
19	Notts County	46	13	13	20	46	62	−16	52
20	Chester City	46	12	16	18	43	69	−26	52
21	Shrewsbury Town	46	11	16	19	48	53	−5	49
22	Rushden & Diamonds	46	10	14	22	42	63	−21	44
23	Kidderminster Harriers (R)	46	10	8	28	39	85	−46	38	Relegation to Conference National
24	Cambridge United (R)	46	8	16	22	39	62	−23	30[a]

Updated to match(es) played on 15 September 2009. Source: 2004–05 League Two
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Cambridge United deducted 10 points for entering administration^[7]

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 2004–05 League Two teams

Play-offs

Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 2005

	Semi-finals 1st leg – 14/15 May; 2nd leg – 21 May 2005							Final at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 28 May 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

^[2]

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

^[8]

See also

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