2011–12 in English football

The 2011–12 season was the 132nd season of competitive football in England.

The season began on 5 August 2011 for The Football League, on 12 August for the Football Conference and 13 August for the Premier League. The Championship ended on 28 April 2012, whilst League One, and League Two ended on 5 May 2012. The Premier League ended on 13 May 2012.

Promotion and relegation (pre-season)
Teams relegated from the Premier League
 * Birmingham City
 * Blackpool
 * West Ham United

Teams promoted to the Premier League
 * Queens Park Rangers
 * Norwich City
 * Swansea City

Teams relegated from the Championship
 * Preston North End
 * Sheffield United
 * Scunthorpe United

Teams promoted to Championship
 * Brighton & Hove Albion
 * Southampton
 * Peterborough United

Teams relegated from League One
 * Dagenham & Redbridge
 * Bristol Rovers
 * Plymouth Argyle
 * Swindon Town

Teams promoted to League One
 * Chesterfield
 * Bury
 * Wycombe Wanderers
 * Stevenage

Teams relegated from League Two
 * Lincoln City
 * Stockport County

Teams promoted to League Two
 * Crawley Town
 * AFC Wimbledon

Premier League
In one of the most memorable finishes to a season in recent memory, Manchester City ended a 44-year wait to win their first Premier League title on goal difference, with Sergio Agüero scoring in the last minute of stoppage time during their dramatic 3–2 win over Queens Park Rangers on the final day. Despite being pushed all the way, they won their final six games, while cross-city neighbours Manchester United squandered an eight-point lead in what was largely a trophyless season for Sir Alex Ferguson's men for the first time in six years. Arsenal recovered from a poor start to the season to take third place, while striker Robin van Persie won the Players' Player of the Year Award by scoring 30 goals.

Newcastle finished fifth to qualify for the Europa League, recording their first top-six finish in eight years under Alan Pardew, who won the Manager of the Year award. Chelsea suffered their worst season in ten years, finishing sixth with 64 points; André Villas-Boas, the personal choice for owner Roman Abramovich, was sacked after just nine months with automatic qualification for the Champions League at risk. Under caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo, however, they excelled in the cup competitions, winning the FA Cup for the fourth time in six seasons. It was the Champions League, though, in which they stunned everyone, storming their way through each round to reach the final against Bayern Munich. Pushing the German powerhouse to penalties, they kept the advantage and ultimately won 4–3, giving them their first European Cup victory and ensuring they qualified for the elite competition once again; their victory meant that fourth-placed Tottenham had to enter the Europa League and caused Harry Redknapp to lose his job after three-and-a-half years in charge.

Liverpool were similar to Chelsea for parts of the league, but ultimately worse as they recorded their lowest league finish for 18 years, finishing in eighth place and only edging ninth-placed Fulham on a higher goal difference; their season was marred by striker Luis Suárez being convicted of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in October. They put this controversy behind them by winning the League Cup, ending five consecutive seasons without winning a trophy. Kenny Dalglish, fabled for his earlier Liverpool managerial reign in the late 1980s, was sacked after just 16 months following a poor finish to the season that saw them pick up just 13 points from 14 games.

For only the second time in Premier League history, all three promoted teams survived, though all finished in the bottom half. Swansea City were the pundit's choice to be relegated, but they defied their critics with their own unique style of football and claimed shock victories over the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool to finish a respectable 11th; by the season's end, Brendan Rodgers was starting to attract the attention of other Premier League teams. Norwich City finished just below them in 12th, impressing on their return to the top flight and also had manager Paul Lambert attracting the attention of other Premier League clubs. Queens Park Rangers were left needing to rely on other results on the last day to help them survive, though a run of 19 points from their last nine home fixtures played a major part in their survival.

The sacking of Mick McCarthy after nearly six years and the appointment of first team coach Terry Connor effectively ended Wolverhampton Wanderers' three-year spell in the top-flight. With just four points and no wins taken from Connor's final 13 games in charge, they finished bottom of the table. Having been clear of the relegation zone at the start of April, Blackburn Rovers were also undone by poor late-season form; losing eight of their last nine games as growing anger from the supporters toward owners Venky's and manager Steve Kean continued. Bolton Wanderers, who coincidentally had been promoted alongside Blackburn in 2001, went down on the last day of the season after a horrible start to the year that saw them bottom for most of the campaign.

Leading goalscorer: Robin van Persie (Arsenal) – 30

Championship
A year after suffering heartbreak in the play-off final, an excellent run of 50 points from their remaining 21 games saw Reading crowned divisional champions, earning promotion to the top flight for only the second time in their history. Having been in the top two for the majority of the season, Southampton finished in the runners-up spot to claim their second successive promotion, returning to the Premier League after a seven-year absence as their revival under Nigel Adkins continued, one year after Norwich won a second successive promotion. West Ham United, who lost out to Southampton on the last day of the season, won promotion via the play-offs, with manager Sam Allardyce passing his former clubs Blackburn and Bolton on the way up.

Doncaster Rovers' luck finally ran out after four years of operating on the division's lowest budget, and they were relegated in bottom place. 11 years after dropping out of the Premier League, Coventry City finally hit rock bottom as they suffered from an ongoing financial crisis and the loss of several key players pre-season, their never-ending downward spiral culminating in relegation to the third tier for the first time since 1964. Portsmouth fell back into financial difficulties and went into administration for the second time in three seasons, with the resulting ten-point deduction dealing a fatal blow to their survival hopes and sending them down to League One (had it not been for Portsmouth's points deduction, Barnsley would have been the third relegated side).

‡Portsmouth deducted 10 points for entering administration.

Leading goalscorer Rickie Lambert (Southampton) – 27

League One
Chris Powell's first full season in charge of Charlton earned the Addicks promotion at the third time of asking, leading the division for virtually the entire season to win the title with a club record of 101 points. The two Sheffield clubs contested the second automatic promotion spot; United were in the top two for most of the season, but struggled with form after top scorer Ched Evans was imprisoned for rape, allowing Wednesday to claim second place and a return to the Championship after a two-year absence. It was ultimately to be another Yorkshire side, Huddersfield Town, who were victorious over United in the play-offs, meaning they would be playing in the second tier for the first time since 2001.

After equalling their highest league finish last season, the departure of Keith Hill to Barnsley during the summer meant that Rochdale finished bottom, bringing their long-awaited spell in League One to an end after just two years. Exeter City also failed to build on their near-miss of the previous season's play-offs and finished second bottom, returning to League Two after three years. Chesterfield couldn't adjust to life in the third tier and they too were relegated, despite winning the Football League Trophy. Wycombe Wanderers, who finished six points behind the Spireites last season, didn't last long either, and they also suffered immediate relegation back to League Two.

Leading goalscorer: Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield) – 36

League Two
Swindon Town made an immediate return to League One, as Paolo Di Canio won the League Two title in his first season as a manager. Shrewsbury took the runners-up spot, going the entire season unbeaten at home and earning veteran manager Graham Turner his second promotion with the club 33 years after his first. Crawley Town were the third automatically promoted team, and earned their second successive promotion. Despite the resignation of legendary manager Dario Gradi early in the season, Crewe Alexandra rallied under new manager Steve Davis and won promotion via the play-offs.

Macclesfield Town dropped out of the Football League after fifteen years, ultimately being undone by a horrific second half of the season in which they didn't win a single game after the turn of the year. Hereford United suffered their second relegation from the League on the last day of the season, with Barnet securing last-day survival for the third season in a row.

Joining the League for the following season were newcomers Fleetwood Town, and York City, who returned to the League after an eight-year absence.

Leading goalscorers: Jack Midson (AFC Wimbledon), Izale McLeod (Barnet), Lewis Grabban (Rotherham United), and Adebayo Akinfenwa (Northampton Town) – 18