# 2009–10 Football League Championship

The 2009–10 Football League Championship (known as the Coca-Cola Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format. It started on 7 August 2009.

## Changes from previous season
### Team changes
#### From Championship

Promoted to Premier League
* Wolverhampton Wanderers
* Birmingham City
* Burnley
Relegated to League One
* Norwich City
* Southampton
* Charlton Athletic

#### To Championship

Relegated from Premier League
* Newcastle United
* Middlesbrough
* West Bromwich Albion
Promoted from League One
* Leicester City
* Peterborough United
* Scunthorpe United

### Rule changes
#### On field rule changes

* 'Home Grown Players' rule which aims to encourage the development of young footballers at League clubs. The new rule will require clubs to name at least four players in their matchday squad that have been registered domestically, for a minimum of three seasons, prior to their 21st birthday
* For the first time clubs will also have the opportunity to name seven substitutes (previously five), three of which may enter the field of play (no change)
Note: "Amendments to the laws of the game 2009–2010" also applied

#### Off field rule changes

* Financial regulations relating to tax payments. From now on, any club that falls behind with its employee related payments to HMRC will be subject to a transfer embargo until such time as the debt is cleared

## Team overview
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Barnsley | Barnsley | Oakwell | 23,009 |
| Blackpool | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 12,555 |
| Bristol City | Bristol | Ashton Gate | 21,497 |
| Cardiff City | Cardiff | Cardiff City Stadium | 26,828 |
| Coventry City | Coventry | Ricoh Arena | 32,609 |
| Crystal Palace | London | Selhurst Park | 26,309 |
| Derby County | Derby | Pride Park Stadium | 33,597 |
| Doncaster Rovers | Doncaster | Keepmoat Stadium | 15,231 |
| Ipswich Town | Ipswich | Portman Road | 30,311 |
| Leicester City | Leicester | Walkers Stadium | 32,500 |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | 35,100 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Nottingham Forest | Nottingham | City Ground | 30,602 |
| Peterborough United | Peterborough | London Road Stadium $^1$ | 15,460 |
| Plymouth Argyle | Plymouth | Home Park | 19,500 |
| Preston North End | Preston | Deepdale | 24,500 |
| Queens Park Rangers | London | Loftus Road | 19,128 |
| Reading | Reading | Madejski Stadium | 24,161 |
| Scunthorpe United | Scunthorpe | Glanford Park $^1$ | 9,088 |
| Sheffield United | Sheffield | Bramall Lane | 32,609 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield | Hillsborough Stadium | 39,814 |
| Swansea City | Swansea | Liberty Stadium | 20,532 |
| Watford | Watford | Vicarage Road | 19,920 |
| West Bromwich Albion | West Bromwich | The Hawthorns | 26,500 |
$^1$ Ground contains some terracing

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Manager | Team captain | Kit maker | Sponsor |
| Barnsley | Mark Robins | Stephen Foster | Lotto | Barnsley Building Society |
| Blackpool | Ian Holloway | Jason Euell | Carbrini | Carbrini |
| Bristol City | Steve Coppell | Louis Carey | Puma | DAS |
| Cardiff City | Dave Jones | Mark Hudson | Puma | SBOBET |
| Coventry City | Chris Coleman | Stephen Wright | Puma | Cassidy Group (home), StadiArena (away) |
| Crystal Palace | Paul Hart | Shaun Derry | Nike | GAC Logistics |
| Derby County | Nigel Clough | Robbie Savage | Adidas | Bombardier |
| Doncaster Rovers | Sean O'Driscoll | Brian Stock | Vandanel | Wright Investments |
| Ipswich Town | Roy Keane | Jon Walters | Mitre | Marcus Evans |
| Leicester City | Nigel Pearson | Matt Oakley | Joma | Loros (away) |
| Middlesbrough | Gordon Strachan | David Wheater | Adidas | Garmin |
| Newcastle United | Chris Hughton | Nicky Butt | Adidas | Northern Rock |
| Nottingham Forest | Billy Davies | Paul McKenna | Umbro | Victor Chandler |
| Peterborough United | Gary Johnson | Joe Lewis | Adidas | MRI Overseas Property |
| Plymouth Argyle | Paul Mariner | Carl Fletcher | Adidas | Ginsters |
| Preston North End | Darren Ferguson | Callum Davidson | Canterbury | Enterprise plc |
| Queens Park Rangers | Neil Warnock | Mikele Leigertwood | Lotto | Gulf Air |
| Reading | Brian McDermott | Ívar Ingimarsson | Puma | Waitrose |
| Scunthorpe United | Nigel Adkins | Cliff Byrne | Carlotti | Rainham Steel |
| Sheffield United | Kevin Blackwell | Chris Morgan | Macron | VisitMalta.com |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Alan Irvine | Darren Purse | Puma | The Children's Hospital Sheffield |
| Swansea City | Paulo Sousa | Garry Monk | Umbro | 32Red |
| Watford | Malky Mackay | Jay DeMerit | Joma | Evolution HDTV |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | England 2018 (9 August 2009) |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | Bluesqbet (15 December 2009) |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | SBOBET (21 February 2010 and 2 April 2010) |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | Bathams (20 March 2010) |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | Esprit (23 March 2010 and 10 April 2010) |
| West Bromwich Albion | Roberto Di Matteo | Scott Carson | Umbro | Leons (24 March 2010) |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Queens Park Rangers | Gareth Ainsworth | End of caretaker spell | 9 April 2009 | Pre-season | Jim Magilton | 3 June 2009 |
| Reading | Steve Coppell | Resigned | 12 May 2009 | Pre-season | Brendan Rodgers | 5 June 2009 |
| Watford | Brendan Rodgers | Signed by Reading | 5 June 2009 | Pre-season | Malky Mackay | 15 June 2009 |
| Swansea City | Roberto Martínez | Signed by Wigan Athletic | 15 June 2009 | Pre-season | Paulo Sousa | 23 June 2009 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Tony Mowbray | Signed by Celtic | 16 June 2009 | Pre-season | Roberto Di Matteo | 30 June 2009 |
| Barnsley | Simon Davey | Sacked | 29 August 2009 | 24th | Mark Robins | 11 September 2009 |
| Middlesbrough | Gareth Southgate | Sacked | 20 October 2009 | 3rd | Gordon Strachan | 26 October 2009 |
| Peterborough United | Darren Ferguson | Mutual consent | 9 November 2009 | 24th | Mark Cooper | 14 November 2009 |
| Plymouth Argyle | Paul Sturrock | Promoted to business support | 10 December 2009 | 23rd | Paul Mariner | 10 December 2009 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Brian Laws | Sacked | 13 December 2009 | 22nd | Alan Irvine | 8 January 2010 |
| Reading | Brendan Rodgers | Mutual consent | 16 December 2009 | 21st | Brian McDermott | 27 January 2010 |
| Queens Park Rangers | Jim Magilton | Mutual consent | 16 December 2009 | 14th | Paul Hart | 17 December 2009 |
| Preston North End | Alan Irvine | Sacked | 29 December 2009 | 16th | Darren Ferguson | 6 January 2010 |
| Queens Park Rangers | Paul Hart | Mutual consent | 14 January 2010 | 20th | Neil Warnock | 1 March 2010 |
| Peterborough United | Mark Cooper | Sacked | 1 February 2010 | 24th | Jim Gannon | 1 February 2010 |
| Crystal Palace | Neil Warnock | Signed by Queens Park Rangers | 1 March 2010 | 21st | Paul Hart | 2 March 2010 |
| Bristol City | Gary Johnson | Mutual consent | 18 March 2010 | 16th | Steve Coppell | 22 April 2010 |
| Peterborough United | Jim Gannon | Mutual consent | 6 April 2010 | 24th | Gary Johnson | 6 April 2010 |

## League table

A total of 24 teams contested the division, including 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the Premier League, and three promoted from League One.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Newcastle United (C, P) | 46 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 90 | 35 | +55 | 102 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 89 | 48 | +41 | 91 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 65 | 40 | +25 | 79 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Cardiff City | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 73 | 54 | +19 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Leicester City | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 6 | Blackpool (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 74 | 58 | +16 | 70 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 7 | Swansea City | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 69 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 65 | |
| 9 | Reading | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 68 | 63 | +5 | 63 | |
| 10 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 63 | |
| 11 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 62 | |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 60 | |
| 13 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 57 | |
| 14 | Derby County | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 56 | |
| 15 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 50 | 61 | −11 | 56 | |
| 16 | Watford | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 61 | 68 | −7 | 54 | |
| 17 | Preston North End | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 58 | 73 | −15 | 54 | |
| 18 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 54 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 47 | 64 | −17 | 54 | |
| 20 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 62 | 84 | −22 | 52 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 50 | 53 | −3 | 49 | |
| 22 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 47 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 23 | Plymouth Argyle (R) | 46 | 11 | 8 | 27 | 43 | 68 | −25 | 41 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 24 | Peterborough United (R) | 46 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 46 | 80 | −34 | 34 | Relegation to Football League One |
* ↑ Crystal Palace were given a ten-point deduction for entering administration.

## Play-offs

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final at Wembley | Final at Wembley | Final at Wembley |
| 6 | Blackpool | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Blackpool | 3 |
| | | | | | 4 | Cardiff City | 2 |
| 5 | Leicester City | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Cardiff City | 2 |
| 4 | Cardiff City (p) | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | |

### Second leg

Blackpool win 6–4 on aggregate
Cardiff City 3–3 Leicester City on aggregate. Cardiff City win 4–3 on penalties

### Final

Blackpool are promoted to the Premier League

## Results

Fixtures for the 2009–10 season were announced by The Football League on 17 June 2009.
| Home \ Away | BAR | BLP | BRI | CAR | COV | CRY | DER | DON | IPS | LEI | MID | NEW | NOT | PET | PLY | PNE | QPR | REA | SCU | SHU | SHW | SWA | WAT | WBA |
| Barnsley | | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Blackpool | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 |
| Bristol City | 5–3 | 2–0 | | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Cardiff City | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Coventry City | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 |
| Crystal Palace | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Derby County | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 |
| Ipswich Town | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Leicester City | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 |
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–5 |
| Newcastle United | 6–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 |
| Peterborough United | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 |
| Plymouth Argyle | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Preston North End | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Reading | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Sheffield United | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 |
| Swansea City | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Watford | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | |

## Top goalscorers and assists

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Peter Whittingham | Cardiff City | 20 |
| 1 | Nicky Maynard | Bristol City | 20 |
| 3 | Gary Hooper | Scunthorpe United | 19 |
| 4 | Andy Carroll | Newcastle United | 17 |
| 4 | Kevin Nolan | Newcastle United | 17 |
| 6 | Charlie Adam | Blackpool | 16 |
| 6 | Gylfi Sigurðsson | Reading | 16 |
| 6 | Michael Chopra | Cardiff City | 16 |
| 9 | Robert Earnshaw | Nottingham Forest | 15 |
| 9 | Darren Ambrose | Crystal Palace | 15 |
| 9 | Billy Sharp | Doncaster Rovers | 15 |
| Pos | Player | Team | Assists |
| 1 | Graham Dorrans | West Bromwich Albion | 19 |
| 2 | Wayne Routledge | Queens Park Rangers/Newcastle United | 15 |
| 3 | Danny Guthrie | Newcastle United | 13 |
| 4 | Jay Bothroyd | Cardiff City | 12 |
| 5 | Peter Whittingham | Cardiff City | 10 |
| 6 | George Boyd | Peterborough United/Nottingham Forest | 9 |
| 6 | Paul Hayes | Scunthorpe United | 9 |
| 6 | Radosław Majewski | Nottingham Forest | 9 |
| 6 | Jobi McAnuff | Reading | 9 |
| 6 | Gylfi Sigurðsson | Reading | 9 |
| 11 | Charlie Adam | Blackpool | 8 |

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Miles Addison for Derby County against Peterborough United, 4:00 minutes (8 August 2009)
* Fastest goal in a match: 23 seconds
** Billy Clarke for Blackpool against Preston North End (30 November 2009)
** Daryl Murphy for Ipswich Town against Middlesbrough (6 February 2010)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+6:12 – Pablo Couñago for Ipswich Town against Coventry City (16 January 2010)
* First own goal of the season: Kaspars Gorkšs (Queens Park Rangers) for Plymouth Argyle, 90+2:26 minutes (15 August 2009)
* First penalty kick of the season: Paul Hartley (scored) for Bristol City against Preston North End, 48:35 (8 August 2009)
* Widest winning margin: 6
** Bristol City 0–6 Cardiff City (26 January 2010)
** Reading 6–0 Peterborough United (17 April 2010)
* Most goals in one half: 6
** Newcastle United 6–1 Barnsley (5 March 2010)
** Bristol City 2–5 Doncaster Rovers (5 March 2010)
* Most goals in one half by a single team: 5
** Newcastle United 6–1 Barnsley (5 March 2010)
* Most goals scored by losing team: 3
** Sheffield United 3–4 Cardiff City (24 October 2009)
** Sheffield United 4–3 Plymouth Argyle (27 February 2010)
** Bristol City 5–3 Barnsley (23 March 2010)
** Doncaster Rovers 4–3 Scunthorpe United (24 April 2010)
** Nottingham Forest 3–4 Blackpool (11 May 2010)
* Most goals scored by one player in a match: 4
** Michael Chopra (Cardiff City vs. Derby County) – 36, 57, 62, 75 minutes (29 September 2009)
Hat-tricks :
| Player | Nationality | For | Against | Result | Goals scored | Date |
| Shola Ameobi | Nigeria | Newcastle United | Reading | 3–0 | 3 | 15 August 2009 |
| Michael Chopra | England | Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle | 3–1 | 3 | 18 August 2009 |
| Kevin Nolan | England | Newcastle United | Ipswich Town | 4–0 | 3 | 26 September 2009 |
| Michael Chopra | England | Cardiff City | Derby County | 6–1 | 4 | 29 September 2009 |
| Peter Whittingham | England | Cardiff City | Sheffield United | 4–3 | 3 | 24 October 2009 |
| Darius Henderson | England | Sheffield United | Bristol City | 3–2 | 3 | 28 November 2009 |
| Robert Earnshaw | Wales | Nottingham Forest | Leicester City | 5–1 | 3 | 5 December 2009 |
| Freddy Eastwood | Wales | Coventry City | Peterborough United | 3–2 | 3 | 12 December 2009 |
| Paul Gallagher | Scotland | Leicester City | Scunthorpe United | 5–1 | 3 | 13 February 2010 |

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Rhys Williams for Middlesbrough against Sheffield United, 49:15 minutes (7 August 2009)
* First red card of the season: Luke Chambers for Nottingham Forest against Reading, 87:41 minutes (8 August 2009)
* Card given at latest point in a game: Wes Morgan (yellow) at 90+7:07 minutes for Nottingham Forest against Bristol City (3 April 2010)
* Most yellow cards in a single match: 9
** Bristol City 2–3 Sheffield United – 4 for Bristol City (Lee Johnson, Louis Carey, Jamie McAllister and Ivan Sproule) and 5 for Sheffield United (Jamie Ward, Kyle Walker, Darius Henderson, Jordan Stewart and Stephen Quinn) (28 November 2009)
** Cardiff City 2–3 Leicester City – 3 for Cardiff City (Paul Quinn, Mark Hudson, Stephen McPhail) and 6 for Leicester City (Alex Bruce, Nolberto Solano, Andy King, Lloyd Dyer, Richie Wellens, Steve Howard) (11 May 2010)
* Quickest card given at the start of the match: 26 Seconds – Nicky Maynard for Bristol City against Nottingham Forest (7 November 2009)
* Quickest card given after coming on: 1:07 minutes – Alassane N'Diaye for Crystal Palace against Blackpool (20 March 2010)
* Most fouls: Jay Bothroyd 103 fouls
* Total number of yellow cards: 1636
* Total number of red cards: 86

## Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Notes |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Notes |
| August | Chris Hughton | Newcastle United | Shola Ameobi | Newcastle United | |
| September | Chris Hughton | Newcastle United | Leon Best | Coventry City | |
| October | Dave Jones | Cardiff City | Peter Whittingham | Cardiff City | |
| November | Chris Hughton | Newcastle United | Darren Ambrose | Crystal Palace | |
| December | Billy Davies | Nottingham Forest | Lee Camp | Nottingham Forest | |
| January | Alan Irvine | Sheffield Wednesday | Charlie Adam | Blackpool | |
| February | Nigel Pearson | Leicester City | Paul Gallagher | Leicester City | |
| March | Brian McDermott | Reading | Gylfi Sigurðsson | Reading | |
| April | Chris Hughton | Newcastle United | Kevin Nolan | Newcastle United | |

## Events
### Controversy

* 15 August 2009
During a game between Bristol City and Crystal Palace, Freddie Sears scored a goal that ricocheted off the stanchion and went back out, but the linesman didn't see the goal and so it was disallowed. Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock called for a replay. Following the game, the three officials were suspended until it could be solved.
* 28 November 2009
The tie between Plymouth and Barnsley was abandoned after 58 minutes because of heavy rain affecting the pitch. Barnsley were winning 4–1 and manager Mark Robins argued that it was a "let off" for Plymouth and that the travelling Barnsley fans should be reimbursed. The postponed match took place on 30 March, where it ended in a 0–0 draw.

### Crystal Palace administration

On 27 January 2010, the Football League had announced that Crystal Palace had been placed into administration and Sheffield firm P&A Partnership were appointed as administrators for the club. Palace were docked ten points and dropped from 9th to 21st. They managed to survive another season in the Championship, but only after drawing 2–2 with Sheffield Wednesday on the final day and confined Wednesday to League One football in 2010–11.