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

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

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

Pos Team 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

Play-offs

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
1England Nathan Ellington Wigan Athletic 24
2Grenada Jason RobertsWigan Athletic21
=England Teddy SheringhamWest Ham21
4Finland Shefki KuqiIpswich Town20
=England Darren BentIpswich Town20
6Scotland Kenny MillerWolverhampton Wanderers19
=England Dave KitsonReading19
8England Marlon HarewoodWest Ham18
=England Paul FurlongQueens Park Rangers18
10England Richard CresswellPreston North End17
=England Dean AshtonCrewe Alexandra17
12England Marcus StewartSunderland16

[4]

League One

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: Soccerbase
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]

Play-offs

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
1England Dean Windass Bradford City 27
=Northern Ireland Stuart Elliott Hull City 27
3Poland Paweł AbbottHuddersfield Town26
4England Adam BoydHartlepool United24
=England Leroy LitaBristol City24
6England Sam ParkinSwindon Town23
7England Steve BrookerBristol City21
8Scotland Steven MacLeanSheffield Wednesday19
=England James HayterAFC Bournemouth19
=England Luke BeckettOldham Athletic19

[6]

League Two

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]

Play-offs

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
1England Phil Jevons Yeovil Town 27
2Northern Ireland Andy KirkNorthampton Town26
3England Jon ParkinMacclesfield Town22
=England Lee TrundleSwansea City22
=England Nathan TysonWycombe Wanderers22
6Wales Freddy EastwoodSouthend United21
=England Simon YeoLincoln City21
8Ghana Junior AgogoBristol Rovers19
9England Paul HayesScunthorpe United17
=England Grant HoltRochdale17

[8]

See also

References

  1. "Cambridge United file for administration... is this the end of the U's?". BBC. 29 April 2005. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "England 2004–05". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  3. 1 2 3 "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  4. "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  5. "Wrexham fail in 10-point appeal". BBC Sport. 6 January 2005.
  6. "ESPN". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  7. "Cambridge United file for administration". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  8. soccernet.espn.go.com