The Football League 2011–12, called the Npower Football League, is the 112th season of the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. It began in August 2011 and will conclude in May 2012, with the promotion play-off finals.
The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The divisions are the Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

, League One

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 and League Two

Football League Two

Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....

. The winner and the runner up of the League Championship will be automatically promoted to the Premier League and they will be joined by the winner of the Championship playoff. The bottom two teams in League Two will be relegated to the Conference National

Conference National

Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

.

From Premier League

2010–11 Premier League

The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011...

Relegated to Championship

• Birmingham City
  Birmingham City F.C.
  Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
  
  
• Blackpool
  Blackpool F.C.
  Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
  
  
• West Ham United
  West Ham United F.C.
  West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
  
  

From Championship

2010–11 Football League Championship

The 2010–11 Football League Championship was the seventh season of the league under its current name and nineteenth season under its current league division format...

Promoted to Premier League

• Queens Park Rangers
  Queens Park Rangers F.C.
  Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
  
  
• Norwich City
  Norwich City F.C.
  Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
  
  
• Swansea City

Relegated to League One

• Preston North End
  Preston North End F.C.
  Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
  
  
• Sheffield United
  Sheffield United F.C.
  Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
  
  
• Scunthorpe United
  Scunthorpe United F.C.
  Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
  
  

From League One

2010–11 Football League One

The 2010–11 Football League One is the seventh season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format...

Promoted to Championship

• Brighton & Hove Albion
  Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
  Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
  
  
• Southampton
  Southampton F.C.
  Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
  
  
• Peterborough United
  Peterborough United F.C.
  Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...
  
  

Relegated to League Two

• Dagenham & Redbridge
  Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
  Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club , informally known as Daggers, is an English association football club based in Dagenham, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, East London. It was formed in 1992 after a merger between Redbridge Forest and Dagenham...
  
  
• Bristol Rovers
  Bristol Rovers F.C.
  Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
  
  
• Plymouth Argyle
  Plymouth Argyle F.C.
  Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
  
  
• Swindon Town
  Swindon Town F.C.
  Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
  
  

From League Two

2010–11 Football League Two

The 2010–11 Football League Two season, , was the lowest division of the Football League for that season...

Promoted to League One

• Chesterfield
  Chesterfield F.C.
  Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...
  
  
• Bury
  Bury F.C.
  Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
  
  
• Wycombe Wanderers
  Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
  Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
  
  
• Stevenage

Relegated to Conference National

• Lincoln City
  Lincoln City F.C.
  Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....
  
  
• Stockport County
  Stockport County F.C.
  Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
  
  

From Conference National

2010–11 Football Conference

The 2010–11 Football Conference season was the seventh season with the Conference consisting of three divisions and the thirty-second season overall. The Conference covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference National is the fifth highest level of the overall...

Promoted to League Two

• Crawley Town
  Crawley Town F.C.
  Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...
  
  
• AFC Wimbledon
  AFC Wimbledon
  AFC Wimbledon is a professional English football club that traces its origins to Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton. Based at Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, the club are members of Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football....
  
  

Championship

A total of 24 teams contest the division, including 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the Premier League, and three promoted from League One.

League One

A total of 24 teams contest the division, including 17 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the Championship and four promoted from League Two.

League Two

A total of 24 teams contest the division, including 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, four relegated from the League One, two promoted from 2010–11 Football Conference

2010–11 Football Conference

The 2010–11 Football Conference season was the seventh season with the Conference consisting of three divisions and the thirty-second season overall. The Conference covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference National is the fifth highest level of the overall...

.

Championship

League One

League Two

Managerial Changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table at time of departure	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Position in table at time of appointment
Bristol Rovers	Dave Penney	Sacked	7 March 2011	2010–11 2010–11 Football League One The 2010–11 Football League One is the seventh season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format...  season	Paul Buckle Paul Buckle Paul John Buckle is an English professional footballer and football club manager. He is currently manager of League Two side Bristol Rovers.-Career:...	30 May 2011	Pre-season
Swindon Town	Paul Hart Paul Hart Paul Hart is an English football manager and former football defender, who is currently Academy Director at Charlton Athletic. The son of Johnny Hart, a football inside forward and manager, Hart had five-year spells with both Blackpool and Leeds United, while also playing for Nottingham Forest and...	Sacked	28 April 2011	2010–11 2010–11 Football League One The 2010–11 Football League One is the seventh season of the league under its current title and nineteenth season under its current league division format...  season	Paolo di Canio Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....	20 May 2011	Pre-season
Morecambe	Sammy McIlroy Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter "Sammy" McIlroy is a former Northern Ireland international footballer whose clubs included Manchester United....	Mutual consent	9 May 2011	Pre-season	Jim Bentley Jim Bentley Jim Bentley is an English footballer, currently employed as player-manager for League Two club Morecambe.Bentley, who debuted for Telford United in 1997, moved to Morecambe in 2002...	13 May 2011	Pre-season
Sheffield United	Micky Adams Micky Adams Michael Richard "Micky" Adams is an English former professional footballer turned football manager who is in charge of League Two side Port Vale. As a player he was a full back, and made a total of 438 league appearances in a nineteen year professional career in the Football League, including five...	Sacked	10 May 2011	Pre-season	Danny Wilson	27 May 2011	Pre-season
Barnet	Giuliano Grazioli Giuliano Grazioli Giuliano Stephano Grazioli is a former English footballer of Italian descent who played as a striker from 1995 until 2009, notably for Barnet where he is currently employed as Assistant Manager....	End of tenure as caretaker	13 May 2011	Pre-season	Lawrie Sanchez Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...	13 May 2011	Pre-season
West Ham United	Avram Grant	Sacked	15 May 2011	2010–11 2010–11 in English football The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...	Sam Allardyce Sam Allardyce Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....	1 June 2011	Pre-season
Barnsley	Mark Robins Mark Robins Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager, appointed manager of Barnsley in 2009.As a player, he was most notable for his exploits with Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City...	Resigned	15 May 2011	Pre-season	Keith Hill Keith Hill (footballer) Keith John Hill is an English former footballer, currently manager of Barnsley. As a player, Hill was a central defender...	1 June 2011	Pre-season
Brentford	Nicky Forster Nicky Forster Nicholas Michael "Nicky" Forster is a former professional footballer who has also been player-manager at Brentford, and is now manager of Dover Athletic...	End of contract	19 May 2011	Pre-season	Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler is a German football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Brentford.Rösler was previously a successful player who played for several clubs, most notably Manchester City , where he was the leading goalscorer for three consecutive seasons from 1995–96 to 1997–98, and 1...	10 June 2011	Pre-season
Torquay United	Paul Buckle Paul Buckle Paul John Buckle is an English professional footballer and football club manager. He is currently manager of League Two side Bristol Rovers.-Career:...	Signed by Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers F.C. Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....	30 May 2011	Pre-season	Martin Ling Martin Ling Martin Ling is an English football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Torquay United in League Two. He played in over 100 Football League matches for Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, before moving into management where he led Orient for over five...	13 June 2011	Pre-season
Cardiff City	Dave Jones	Sacked	30 May 2011	Pre-season	Malky Mackay Malky Mackay Malcolm George "Malky" Mackay is a Scottish football manager and former player, who played as a central defender. He is currently the manager of Cardiff City. Mackay began his playing career in Scottish football, with Queen's Park and Celtic. He joined English side Norwich City in 1998, remaining...	17 June 2011	Pre-season
Rochdale	Keith Hill Keith Hill (footballer) Keith John Hill is an English former footballer, currently manager of Barnsley. As a player, Hill was a central defender...	Signed by Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...	1 June 2011	Pre-season	Steve Eyre Steve Eyre Steve Eyre is a football manager, now at Rochdale. He was appointed manager of Rochdale on 13 June 2011. Born in Salford, His father is ex-player and radio pundit Fred Eyre.-Managerial career:...	13 June 2011	Pre-season
Nottingham Forest	Billy Davies Billy Davies William McIntosh "Billy" Davies is a Glasgow-born Scottish football manager, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship with East Midlands Rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest and Preston North End which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at...	Sacked	12 June 2011	Pre-season	Steve McClaren Steve McClaren Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...	13 June 2011	Pre-season
Birmingham City	Alex McLeish Alex McLeish Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...	Signed by Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	17 June 2011	Pre-season	Chris Hughton Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard "Chris" Hughton is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Birmingham City F.C....	22 June 2011	Pre-season
Watford	Malky Mackay Malky Mackay Malcolm George "Malky" Mackay is a Scottish football manager and former player, who played as a central defender. He is currently the manager of Cardiff City. Mackay began his playing career in Scottish football, with Queen's Park and Celtic. He joined English side Norwich City in 1998, remaining...	Signed by Cardiff City Cardiff City F.C. Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...	17 June 2011	Pre-season	Sean Dyche Sean Dyche Sean Dyche is an English former footballer. Dyche played for six clubs in his career, with his longest spell being with Chesterfield. He is currently the manager at Watford having previously been assistant manager to Malky Mackay. Dyche cites current Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson as an...	21 June 2011	Pre-season
Bradford City	Peter Jackson	Resigned	25 August 2011	21st	Phil Parkinson Phil Parkinson Philip John "Phil" Parkinson is an English football manager and former player who currently manages Bradford City.-Playing career:...	28 August 2011	21st
Plymouth Argyle	Peter Reid Peter Reid Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...	Sacked	18 September 2011	24th	Carl Fletcher	1 November 2011	24th
Doncaster Rovers	Sean O'Driscoll Sean O'Driscoll Sean Michael O'Driscoll is an English-Irish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having been relieved of his duties as manager of Doncaster Rovers in September 2011. He joined Doncaster in September 2006 following Dave Penney's departure. He was previously manager at...	Sacked	23 September 2011	24th	Dean Saunders Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders is a former Wales international footballer who played as a striker in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager of Doncaster Rovers....	23 September 2011	24th
Nottingham Forest	Steve McClaren Steve McClaren Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...	Resigned	2 October 2011	21st	Steve Cotterill Steve Cotterill Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...	14 October 2011	21st
Bristol City	Keith Millen Keith Millen -External links:...	Mutual consent	3 October 2011	24th	Derek McInnes Derek McInnes Derek John McInnes is a former Scottish football player and current manager of Bristol City. McInnes featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich Albion and Dundee United during his playing career. He won two caps for the Scotland national football team while with West...	19 October 2011	24th
Portsmouth	Steve Cotterill Steve Cotterill Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...	Signed by Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...	14 October 2011	18th	Michael Appleton Michael Appleton Michael Antony Appleton is an English former footballer who is the current manager of Portsmouth.He played as a midfielder until his playing career was cut short by a serious knee injury. He also played as a professional for Manchester United, Lincoln City, Grimsby Town and Preston North End...	10 November 2011	16th
Leicester City	Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....	Mutual consent	24 October 2011	13th	Nigel Pearson Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...	15 November 2011	12th
Crewe Alexandra	Dario Gradi Dario Gradi Dario Gradi MBE is an Italian-born English football manager and former player, who was serving as manager of the Crewe Alexandra F.C. Academy. He is a former manager of Crewe Alexandra, with whom he has been associated for almost thirty years.Gradi is notable for his 24-year first spell as manager...	Resigned	10 November 2011	18th	Steve Davis Steve Davis (footballer born 1965) Steven Peter "Steve" Davis is an English footballer and is the manager at Crewe Alexandra.-Playing career:...	10 November 2011	18th
Northampton Town	Gary Johnson Gary Johnson (footballer) Gary Johnson is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Npower League Two's Northampton Town....	Mutual consent	14 November 2011	20th	Aidy Boothroyd	30 November 2011	21st
Hull City	Nigel Pearson Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson is an English football manager and former professional player. He is currently in his second spell as manager of Leicester City, having previously managed Hull City, Southampton and Carlisle United, and been assistant manager for England Under-21s and Newcastle United...	Signed by Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...	15 November 2011	9th	Nick Barmby Nick Barmby Nicholas Jon "Nick" Barmby is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a midfielder, where he is also caretaker manager. At his peak he earned a total of 23 caps for England between 1995 and 2001...

External links

• Football League website
• BBC Sport