2004/05 RESULTS GRID
| Pld W D L F A | Pld W D L F A | Pld W D L F A GD Pts |
1. SUNDERLAND 23 16 4 3 45 21 23 13 3 7 31 23 46 29 7 10 76 44 +32 94
2. Wigan Athletic 23 13 5 5 42 15 23 12 7 4 37 20 46 25 12 9 79 35 +44 87
- - - - - - - - - - - PROMOTED TO PREMIERSHIP - - - - - - - - - -
3. Ipswich Town 23 17 3 3 53 26 23 7 10 6 32 30 46 24 13 9 85 56 +29 85
4. Derby County 23 10 7 6 38 30 23 12 3 8 33 30 46 22 10 14 71 60 +11 76
5. Preston North End 23 14 7 2 44 22 23 7 5 11 23 36 46 21 12 13 67 58 +9 75
6. West Ham United 23 12 5 6 36 24 23 9 5 9 30 32 46 21 10 15 66 56 +10 73
- - - - - - - - - - - PLAY-OFFS - - - - - - - - - -
7. Reading 23 13 7 3 33 15 23 6 6 11 18 29 46 19 13 14 51 44 +7 70
8. Sheffield United 23 9 7 7 28 23 23 9 6 8 29 33 46 18 13 15 57 56 +1 67
9. Wolverhampton Wanderers 23 9 11 3 40 26 23 6 10 7 32 33 46 15 21 10 72 59 +13 66
10. Millwall 23 12 5 6 33 22 23 6 7 10 18 23 46 18 12 16 51 45 +6 66
11. Queen's Park Rangers 23 10 7 6 32 26 23 7 4 12 22 32 46 17 11 18 54 58 -4 62
12. Stoke City 23 11 2 10 22 18 23 6 8 9 14 20 46 17 10 19 36 38 -2 61
13. Burnley 23 10 7 6 26 19 23 5 8 10 12 20 46 15 15 16 38 39 -1 60
14. Leeds United 23 7 10 6 28 26 23 7 8 8 21 26 46 14 18 14 49 52 -3 60
15. Leicester City 23 8 8 7 24 20 23 4 13 6 25 26 46 12 21 15 49 46 +3 57
16. Cardiff City 23 10 4 9 24 19 23 3 11 9 24 32 46 13 15 18 48 51 -3 54
17. Plymouth Argyle 23 9 8 6 31 23 23 5 3 15 21 41 46 14 11 21 52 64 -12 53
18. Watford 23 5 10 8 25 25 23 7 6 10 27 34 46 12 16 18 52 59 -7 52
19. Coventry City 23 8 7 8 32 28 23 5 6 12 29 45 46 13 13 20 61 73 -12 52
20. Brighton & Hove Albion 23 7 7 9 24 29 23 6 5 12 15 36 46 13 12 21 39 65 -26 51
21. Crewe Alexandra 23 6 8 9 37 38 23 6 6 11 28 47 46 12 14 20 65 85 -20 50
- - - - - - - - - - - RELEGATED TO LEAGUE ONE - - - - - - - - - -
22. Gillingham 23 10 6 7 22 23 23 2 8 13 23 43 46 12 14 20 45 66 -21 50
23. Nottingham Forest 23 7 10 6 26 28 23 2 7 14 16 38 46 9 17 20 42 66 -24 44
24. Rotherham United 23 2 7 14 17 34 23 3 7 13 18 35 46 5 14 27 35 69 -34 29
CHAMPIONS: Sunderland
2ND (PROMOTED): Wigan Athletic
PLAY-OFF WINNERS: West Ham United
RELEGATED: Gillingham, Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United
PROMOTED FROM LEAGUE ONE:
CHAMPIONS: Luton Town
2ND (PROMOTED): Hull City
PLAY-OFF WINNERS: Sheffield Wednesday
LEAGUE ONE PLAY-OFF FINAL:
Hartlepool 2-4 Sheffield Wednesday (After Extra Time)
Saturday 14th May 2005:
West Ham United 2-2 Ipswich Town
Sunday 15th May 2005:
Preston North End 2-0 Derby County
Wednesday 18th May 2005:
Ipswich Town 0-2 West Ham United
Aggregate: 2-4
Thursday 19th May 2005:
Derby County 0-0 Preston North End
Aggregate: 0-2
FINAL:
Monday 30th May 2005:
West Ham United 1-0 Preston North End
West Ham United review: After last year's shocking display in the Championship final against Palace, it was absolutely vital that Hammers came up this time around, although it didn't look likely after consistently inconsistent performances throughout the season. It was a very frustrating season for West Ham fans, as our automatic promotion charge never really took shape - Hammers failed to reach the top two all season. Although the most irritating thing was that West Ham could visit the top three teams (Sunderland, Wigan and Ipswich) and win comfortably, Hammers really struggled to beat the teams below us in the league; we could play so poorly that Rotherham United nearly defeated us (we escaped with a point in a 2-2 draw through two late, lucky penalties after going 2-0 down). Due to our inability to put a long winning unbeaten run together, Pardew's job was constantly under threat, and after Hammers failed to win any of their 5 league games in March (losing our three away games and drawing home matches against Crewe and Leicester which we should have won), our promotion bid seemed to be collapsing completely. Luckily, Hammers finally hit form at the right time, losing just once until the end of the season, but only sealed our play-off spot on the final day, as Reading lost at Wigan. Another double-meeting with Ipswich Town in the play-offs beckoned - although this time they finished 12 points and three places above us. Hammers threw away an early 2-0 lead in the 1st leg at Upton Park, settling for a 2-2 draw, but Bobby Zamora (who had struggled for form all season) netted twice in another fantastic, dominant display at Portman Road, with West Ham triumphing 4-2 on aggregate. Preston were our play-off final opponents - a difficult task, as they had finished above us in 5th and beaten us 2-1 twice this season. But Zamora was the hero again, as he scored the winner in the second half, in what I consider my most important game as a Hammers' fan. A very tough season, a major struggle at times, but we return to the Premiership after an absence of two seasons... WE DID IT!!!!
Review of other Clubs:
Brighton And Hove Albion: After promotion from Division 2 (Now League 1) last year, Mark McGhee was successful in keeping the Seagulls in the Championship for a second successive season, although their safety was only confirmed on the final day of the season, with a point against Ipswich. The most depressing fact is that Hammers' couldn't beat this lot - losing 1-0 at home, and throwing away a victory in the final minute of the game at the Withdean Stadium.
Burnley: Another solid season for Burnley, their excellent defensive record was the 3rd-best in the league, although they only managed 38 goals at the other end.
Cardiff City: After the sale of Robert Earnshaw to West Bromwich Albion early on in the season, the Bluebirds were struggling at the wrong end of the table for most of the season, but managed to avoid relegation comfortably in the end, ensuring they would be playing Championship football next season with a 1-1 draw at Gillingham in late April.
Coventry City: City actually went top after an opening day win against eventual champions Sunderland, but Peter Reid lost his job, and the Sky Blues sunk towards the bottom end of the table. Micky Adams, who left his post at Leicester City, took after and guided them to safety, and in their last ever game at Highfield Road, Coventry defeated 4th-placed Derby County 6-2.
Crewe Alexandra: No doubt one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the division, Alex couldn't defend for toffee, and were free-scoring until the sale of star striker Dean Ashton, who moved to Norwich during the January transfer window, which resulted in a major loss of form - Crewe recorded just one win in the second half of the season, as Dario Gradi's side got sucked into a relegation battle. Indeed, their only league win of 2005 came on the final day, which saw Alex survive by one solitary goal, as they climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win at home to Coventry, after trailing 0-1 at the break. Had Nottingham Forest not equalised against Gillingham in the 85th minute, it would have been Crewe and not the Gills who went down.
Derby County: A much improved season for Derby, who only just avoided relegation in 2003/04. George Burley took his side to the play-offs, but they were defeated by 5th-placed Preston North End 2-0 on aggregate.
Gillingham: Heartbreak for Gills, as despite only one defeat in their final 11 games under Stan Ternent, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest on the final day, meaning they were relegated to League One due to Crewe's marginally better goal difference.
Ipswich Town: For the second successive season, Joe Royle and Town ended in the play-off positions, but this time they missed out on the 2nd automatic spot on the final day, after Wigan's win over Reading. An improvement on last season's 5th spot, but Town again faced the Hammers in the play-off semi-finals, where after a tight first leg, which to be fair Ipswich had a slight advantage (like last season), Hammers turned in a superb performance to defeat the Tractor Boys. Still only one success via the play-offs for Ipswich.
Leeds United: Life was never going to be easy for Leeds after the sales of so many high-profile names, and they were unable to make any major impact on the division, as they managed only 14th spot under Kevin Blackwell. The most forgettable moment of the season must be the 4-0 home loss against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United.
Leicester City: Micky Adams resigned after City's poor start to the season, with Hearts boss Craig Levein taking over. Too many drawn games for Leicester saw them stuck in the lower reaches of the table for pretty much all of the season.
Millwall: (Good old thuggish) Dennis Wise left the New Den after the season ended, after the Lions finished 10th for the second season running. Again the Hammers failed to beat our friendly neighbours in the two league games.
Nottingham Forest: Disaster for Forest, as they became the very first European Cup winners to be relegated to the 3rd tier of the English league. In a truely awful season, they had to wait 11 games before recording their first win, against (guess who? yeh, that's right...) the Hammers, but that was one of only 9 league wins in 46 matches. Joe Kinnear parted company with the club during December, and it was left to Gary Megson to motivate a side that had been in the bottom three nearly all season. And, just as it seemed Forest were mounting a revival, they received 6-0 spanking at Ipswich Town in March - sums up their season really...
Plymouth Argyle: Last season's Divison Two champions got their 2004/05 Championship campaign off to a great start, winning 3 out of their first 4 games, taking them to top spot. However, a long winless run dragged Argyle towards the wrong end of the table, but they comfortably staved off the threat of relegation, finishing 17th and securing their place in the Championship for another season.
Preston North End: Things started poorly for North End, as ex-Scotland manager Craig Brown departed during August, with the club struggling at the bottom of the table. However, new manager Billy Davies took his team to the play-offs, and only a last-day defeat at their eventual play-off semi-final opponents - Derby County - deprived them of 4th spot which they had held for the last few weeks of the season. Preston's superb home form and fast-improving away record was the key behind their cruise into the play-offs, where they were defeated 1-0 by the Hammers in the final. A very promising season for North End, who couldn't quite make it at the last hurdle.
Queen's Park Rangers: Rangers got off to a slightly shaky start to 2004/05, but last season's Division Two runners-up put together 7 successive league wins to steer them into the top 4 during the autumn. A loss of form meant QPR slipped down the table, but they remained in the top half of the table from there on, finishing a more than respectable 11th.
Reading: The Royals again just missed out on the play-offs, as a dramatic loss of form during 2005 saw them fall out of the top six - indeed Reading were 4th on Boxing Day, but after a 3-0 win over Watford that day, they had to wait until March to record their next league win against (typically) the Hammers. They recorded only 3 more wins before the end of the season, and on the final day, Reading travelled to promotion-chasing Wigan, needing a better result than the Hammers to seal their play-off spot. a 3-1 defeat for the Royals saw Wigan promoted to the Premiership, West Ham finish in the play-offs, and Reading finish 7th.
Rotherham United: A forgettable season for the Millers, who won only 5 league games all season - the first of which came more than two months after the season had begun (a 1-0 win against Leeds United). Manager of 8 years, Ronnie Moore left the club in early 2005, but with United hopelessly adrift at the bottom, they were condemned to the drop. Their inevitable fate was sealed during early April.
Sheffield United: The Blades again just missed the play-offs, finishing 8th, but poor home form and a long FA Cup run prevented them from making the top six. A 1-0 defeat against Millwall in their final home game of the season effectively ended their play-off hopes.
Stoke City: City actually rose to 2nd spot by the end of August, going unbeaten in their first six games; only Wigan - who had an identical record - were ahead of them. But Stoke were never able to recapture their early impressive form, and any chance they had of promotion slipped away. They did, however, have the 2nd-best defensive record, although they scored just 36 goals (only Rotherham netted less), but finished in the top half of the division for a second season running.
Sunderland: A terrific season for the Black Cats, who returned to the Premiership at the second time of asking. Although they began poorly, losing at Coventry and Plymouth, Mick McCarthy's team soared up the table and sealed the Championship on the 30th April at Upton Park, defeating West Ham 2-1 (would have to be at our place...).
Watford: Although the Hornets got off to a decent start, their form fell away during the Spring, and new young manager Adrian Boothroyd took over from Ray Lewington, who had guided the team to the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. With relegation a real possibility, two important wins at Rotherham and Stoke at the end of April guaranteed Championship football for 2005/06.
Wigan Athletic: Paul Jewell did an amazing job to take his team to the Premiership, after his side had remained in the top three for the entire season. The Latics remained unbeaten until November, when Plymouth became the first team to triumph over the Latics with a 2-0 win. Despite this minor blip, Wigan kept up their impressive form, and went into the final game knowing a win over Reading would seal automatic promotion. They got the win, and joined Sunderland in next season's Premiership.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Wolves got off a poor start, and Glenn Hoddle took over from Dave Jones mid-season, and guided the team to 9th spot. Hoddle only lost one league game out of more than 20, but Wolves' problem was the number of drawn games they were involved in - Hoddle endured 5 straight 1-1 draws in his first 5 league games.
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