Witney Town F.C. from the
Hellenic Football League Premier Division (level 9, step 5) were evicted from their ground in early February 2013 for failing to pay the rent. The club subsequently folded due to lack of funds.[6]
In
Sir Alex Ferguson's final season as manager, Manchester United comfortably won their 13th Premier League title and their 20th overall, topping the table in mid-November and never surrendering their lead, though a run of just three wins in their last eight matches meant that they squandered the chance to become the first ever top-flight side to earn a hundred points in a season. Neighbours and defending champions Manchester City finished in second place, though they never looked like seriously challenging for a second successive title, and this, combined with poor performances across other competitions, cost
Roberto Mancini his job. Despite enduring a turbulent season in which Champions League-winning manager
Roberto Di Matteo was dismissed early in the campaign and replaced by the extremely unpopular appointment of former Liverpool boss
Rafael BenΓtez on an interim basis, Chelsea did improve on the previous season's finish by three places and 11 points, and also won the
Europa League for the first time in their history. The final Champions League spot was taken by Arsenal; despite being well off the pace for much of the season following the Β£24 million departure of
Robin van Persie in the summer, they managed to snatch fourth place with an excellent late run of form, consigning rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the Europa League once again.
David Moyes ended 11 years in charge of Everton by guiding the Toffees to a solid finish of sixth place, finishing two points ahead of arch rivals Liverpool, who hit the headlines again for all the wrong reasons when striker
Luis SuΓ‘rez received a lengthy ban after biting Chelsea defender
Branislav IvanoviΔ during a league game. Swansea City qualified for the Europa League by winning the League Cup, becoming the first Welsh club to qualify for a major European club competition, whilst West Bromwich Albion finished eighth, their best finish in the Premier League era.
West Ham United fared the best out of the three promoted teams, losing just four home games all season and finishing impressively in tenth place, despite repeated speculation that manager
Sam Allardyce would be sacked and replaced with a manager with a reputation for a more attractive style of play. Southampton finished four places below them, flirting with relegation all season before
Nigel Adkins was sacked and replaced by the relatively unknown
Mauricio Pochettino, who guided the Saints to 19 points from their remaining 16 games.
At the bottom of the table, Queens Park Rangers were relegated after a thoroughly dismal campaign in which they recorded the worst start in Premier League history, not winning a league game until December, and with not even
Harry Redknapp's appointment as manager and a substantial investment in players during the January transfer window significantly improving their fortunes. Reading, who never quite adjusted to the pace of the top-flight after being promoted as champions the previous year, fared little better and were relegated in second-bottom place. Both Reading and QPR were relegated on the same day after a 0-0 draw against each other. Despite winning the FA Cup (and thereby qualifying for the following season's Europa League), Wigan Athletic finally succumbed to relegation after eight years of battling against the odds in the Premier League.
Source:
Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[7] (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
After a decade of trying and play-off heartbreak, Cardiff City finally secured their long-awaited promotion to the Premier League, leading the division for nearly the entire season and being promoted as champions. Hull City finished the season as runners-up under manager
Steve Bruce, returning to the top-flight after an absence of three years. This was despite a shaky end to the season which saw them fail to win any of their last four fixtures.
Ian Holloway made it two promotions in three attempts as Crystal Palace were promoted through the play-offs, earning a record-breaking fourth promotion to the Premier League. The Eagles' success ensured that they became the first club to win the second-tier play-off final four times, and also the first club to win the play-off final at four separate venues β at home at Selhurst Park in a two-legged final format in 1989, the old Wembley in 1997, the Millennium Stadium in 2004 and the new Wembley in 2013.
Bolton Wanderers fared the best out of the newly relegated clubs and looked good value to secure a play-off place throughout the season, but narrowly missed out after drawing their final game and Leicester's last minute win at Nottingham Forest. Blackburn Rovers in contrast, despite a strong start to the season spent the latter part of it battling relegation, with indifferent spells of form during the season and the presence of three permanent managers seeing them slide towards the bottom 3 before finally pulling away under the caretaker management of
Gary Bowyer.
Bristol City, who had been in a gradual downward spiral since failing to win promotion to the Premier League in 2008, were relegated in bottom place after a dismal end to the season. The arrival of
Sean O'Driscoll and a run of 5 home victories from 6 failed to save them. Making even bigger headlines were Wolverhampton Wanderers, who suffered their second successive relegation, giving them the unwanted distinction of having suffered successive relegations from the top and second tiers on two separate occasions (the first being in the
1983β84 and
1984β85 seasons). The final relegation spot was filled by Peterborough United, who despite recovering well from seven consecutive losses at the start of the season, ended up being relegated with the joint-highest ever points total for a relegated team.
League table
A total of 24 teams contest the division: 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the
Premier League, and three promoted from the
League One.
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2013. Source:
BBC Sport Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Leading goalscorer:
Glenn Murray (Crystal Palace) β 30
Despite the departure of manager
Dean Saunders, Doncaster Rovers made an immediate return to the Championship, winning the title in dramatic fashion on the final day of the season. Bournemouth were promoted as runners-up; they had initially looked set to battle relegation this season following an awful start under previous manager
Paul Groves, but the decision to re-employ successful former manager
Eddie Howe paid off handsomely, and saw them promoted to the second tier for only the second time in their history, and the first time since 1990. Yeovil Town won promotion through the play-offs, entering the Championship for the first time ever, and also meaning that manager
Gary Johnson (who returned for his own second spell late in the previous season) had earned his third promotion with the club, having gotten them promoted from the Football Conference and League Two in 2003 and 2005 respectively. None of the three promoted clubs had ever played in the top flight at the time, be it the old
Football League First Division or the current Premier League. The previous time this had happened was in 1979, when Shrewsbury Town, Watford and Swansea City were promoted (the latter two eventually competed in the top flight under both denominations).
Financially stricken Portsmouth finally hit rock-bottom, and were relegated to the Football League's lowest tier for the first time since 1980, just five years after winning the FA Cup, and three years after playing in the Premier League. They were consigned to bottom place after their second ten-point deduction in as many seasons, though unlike the previous season would have been relegated even without the deduction. Hartlepool United were relegated in second-bottom place, mostly due to a dreadful first half of the season which saw them win just once in their first 23 games, bringing an end to what had been the club's longest spell outside the bottom tier. Bury, who suffered their own financial problems and never quite recovered from the loss of manager
Richie Barker days before the season began, also suffered relegation, and only finished above Hartlepool on goals scored. Scunthorpe United occupied the final relegation spot, being relegated for the second time in three seasons.
League table
A total of 24 teams contest the division: 17 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from the
Championship, and four promoted from
League Two.
Updated to match(es) played on 27 April 2013. Source:
BBC Sport Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
Gillingham won the division and returned to League One after a three-year absence, as
Martin Allen's appointment as manager brought immediate success. Rotherham United celebrated their return to their hometown (after four years of playing in Sheffield) by winning promotion as runners-up. Port Vale, whose promotion challenge had been derailed by a ten-point administration penalty in the previous season, took the final automatic promotion spot. The play-offs were won by Bradford City, who were victorious in their second Wembley appearance this season (their first being in the League Cup final).
Aldershot Town were relegated back to the Football Conference after five years, experiencing relegation for the first time since the club's formation in 1992. After surviving relegation on the last day for three seasons in a row, Barnet's luck finally ran out (despite their best points total in four years and the high-profile appointment of
Edgar Davids as player-manager) and they were relegated from the Football League for the second time.
League table
Twenty-four teams contest the division: 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, four relegated from
League One, and two promoted from
Conference National.
Updated to match(es) played on 27 April 2013. Source:
BBC Sport[needs update] Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated Notes:
Promoted as champions of the Football Conference were
Mansfield Town, who coincidentally were one of the teams replaced by Aldershot at the end of the
2007β08 season. They were joined by
2013 Conference National play-off final winners
Newport County, who joined the Football League for the first time as the current incarnation of the club (their forerunners last played in the League in 1988). The play-off final between Newport County and Wrexham was the first Wembley Stadium final to feature two Welsh clubs.
AFC Telford United were relegated in bottom place after a terrible run of form which saw them win just one of their last 30 matches, along with getting through four different managers during the course of the season.
Ebbsfleet United finished second-bottom amid financial worries caused by the collapse of their
MyFootballClub ownership scheme.
Barrow occupied third-bottom place, ultimately being cost dearly by their poor goalscoring record.
Stockport County were the final relegated side, being relegated to the Conference North just three years after being in League One, and eleven years after being in the second tier.
Updated to match(es) played on 20 April 2013. Source:
Football Conference Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
31 August 2012: August ends with Chelsea looking to make up for their poor form the previous season as they stand top with 9 points from their first three games. Swansea City and Everton are joint second, having won their opening two matches. West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City, Fulham and Manchester United complete the top seven, while QPR, Southampton and Aston Villa prop up the table.[94] In the Championship, Blackpool appear to be unaffected by the previous season's play-off heartbreak and stand top with 9 points from three games; newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday and recently relegated Blackburn Rovers are joint second. Bristol City, Watford and Middlesbrough (joint sixth with Leeds United) make up the play-off places and Birmingham City, Peterborough United and Crystal Palace the relegation zone.[95]
28 September 2012: Under-fire Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean resigns after a turbulent 21 months in charge.[96]
30 September 2012: Chelsea remain top of the Premier League as September ends, undefeated in six matches and three points ahead of surprise title contenders Everton, in second. The two Manchester clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, West Brom and Arsenal make up the rest of the top seven and Norwich City, Reading and QPR the relegation zone.[97] Brighton, Cardiff City and Wolves are joint top of the Championship, joined by Blackburn, Leicester City and Huddersfield Town in the play-off places. Sheffield Wednesday, who lost all their games in September, have dropped from third to twenty-second, joined in the relegation zone by Ipswich Town and Peterborough.[98]
9 October 2012: Sheffield Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric assures Dave Jones that his job is not under threat.[99] Bolton Wanderers sack boss Owen Coyle with the club 18th in the Championship table.[100] Meanwhile,
Kettering Town are unable to name a team for their match against Leamington.[101]
19 October 2012: Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper
Chris Kirkland is assaulted by a Leeds United fan during a derby match at Hillsborough. The incident leads to calls from Dave Jones and certain sections of the press for sanctions against Leeds and their fans, though the FA and Football League both state that they consider this a civil matter. The fan is subsequently apprehended and receives a four-month prison sentence.[102]
30 October 2012: Arsenal come from 4β0 down to defeat Reading 7β5 after extra time in the fourth round of the League Cup, with
Theo Walcott scoring a hat-trick. The other fixtures played on the Tuesday night see several shocks, with Southampton, Wigan and Sunderland all knocked out by lower-league competitors.[103]
31 October 2012: October ends with Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premiership cut down to one point after a controversial home defeat by Manchester United, who are ahead of third-placed Manchester City on goal difference. Tottenham currently hold the coveted fourth spot, while Everton, Arsenal and Fulham are maintaining their challenge for European football. QPR remain bottom of the Premiership, joined in the bottom three by Southampton and Reading.[104] In the Championship, Cardiff are looking to end a 50-year exile from England's top flight, standing three points clear of Leicester and Middlesbrough. Crystal Palace, Blackburn and Hull City complete the top six. Ipswich, meanwhile, are five points adrift of safety at the foot of the Championship, with 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday and 23rd-placed Bristol City putting the pressure on Charlton and Peterborough.[105]
22 November 2012: Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo becomes the first Premier League manager to be sacked after a run of one win in their last eight matches in all competitions culminates in a 3β0 loss at Juventus that leaves Chelsea in peril of becoming the first reigning European champions to be eliminated in the Champions League group stage.
Rafael BenΓtez, who twice masterminded Chelsea's elimination in the Champions League semi-finals at the hands of his former club Liverpool, takes over as interim manager until the end of the season.[106]
30 November 2012: November ends with Manchester United a point clear at the top of the Premiership, ahead of unbeaten Manchester City. Chelsea have gone November without a win and stand in third, seven points behind United. West Bromwich Albion have won four straight matches in November to stand fourth, behind Chelsea only on goal difference, giving fans hope of a shock title challenge just two seasons after promotion, or at the very least a charge for European qualification. Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal make up the rest of the top seven. The relegation zone remains unchanged from the end of October, although 18th-placed Southampton are piling the pressure on Aston Villa, Sunderland, Wigan and Newcastle. QPR are 8 points adrift in 20th place, although the appointment of
Harry Redknapp, who arrived at Tottenham in similar circumstances in 2008 and led them to eighth place that season, has given Rangers fans hopes of an escape.[107] In the Championship, Cardiff continue to top the table, a point ahead of Crystal Palace; Middlesbrough, Leicester, Millwall and Hull complete the top six. Ipswich have responded well to the appointment of
Mick McCarthy and are now two points clear of the relegation zone, at the expense of Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough.[108]
5 December 2012: Chelsea become the first reigning European champions to be eliminated from the Champions League: in spite of a 6β1 home victory over Danish champions NordsjΓ¦lland, Juventus' 1β0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk means that the Italian and Ukrainian champions progress to the first knockout round. Chelsea are demoted to the Europa League.[109]
31 December 2012: 2012 ends with Manchester United looking well placed to win a record 20th title as they stand seven points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Chelsea are four points behind in third with a game in hand, followed by Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton and West Brom. QPR prop the table at the end of the year, with Reading (who were bottom on Christmas Day) and Southampton also in the relegation zone, although the pressure is being felt by Aston Villa, Wigan, Newcastle and Fulham.[110] Cardiff are five points clear of second-placed Hull City and look safe bets for a return to the top tier. Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Watford make up the rest of the top six and Bristol City, Peterborough and Barnsley the bottom three.[111]
23 January 2013: Swansea City confirm their first appearance in a major Wembley cup final with victory over Chelsea in the semi-final of the
Football League Cup. The second leg match is marred however, by a bizarre incident involving Chelsea player
Eden Hazard, who was sent off after appearing to kick a ball boy who was lying on top of the ball in an effort to retrieve it quickly.[112] Swansea will play Bradford City who became the first team from the bottom tier of English football to reach a major final since Rochdale in 1962, after knocking Aston Villa, Arsenal and Wigan, all of the Premier League, out of the competition during their run to the final.[113]
26 January 2013: Luton Town make the
headlines by defeating Norwich City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, becoming the first non-league side to reach the fifth round since
Sutton United in 1989.[114] Another upset is achieved by League One side MK Dons, who defeat Queens Park Rangers.[115]
27 January 2013: A week of shock cup results is capped off by a day which sees a series of successively bigger surprises. Firstly, FA Cup holders and European champions Chelsea are left needing a late equaliser to avoid being knocked out by League One side Brentford, setting up a replay at Stamford Bridge.[116] Two hours later, fellow London and Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur are eliminated by Leeds United, once Premier League giants themselves, but currently 11th in the Championship after a decade of minimal on-pitch success.[117] Two hours after that, another Premier League team, Liverpool are knocked out by League One side Oldham Athletic, who like Leeds were founder members of the Premier League but have had little to cheer about in recent years (having been in their current league since 1997, the longest period without promotion or relegation for a club outside the top-flight).[118]
31 January 2013: January ends with Manchester United seven points clear of second-placed Manchester City, and looking well placed to win a record twentieth title. In spite of Chelsea's relatively mediocre (by their standards) form, the West London club stand four points ahead of fourth-placed Tottenham. Everton stand a point behind Spurs, while Arsenal and Liverpool have not given hopes of Champions League qualification.[119] In the Championship, Cardiff have extended their lead at the top of the Championship to seven points, ahead of Leicester City, although Hull, Watford, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough are still with a chance of automatic promotion. Peterborough sit at the bottom of the Championship, two points adrift of Bristol City and Barnsley, who are in turn four points adrift of 21st-placed Ipswich.[120]
24 February 2013: Swansea City win the
League Cup final in comprehensive fashion, defeating League Two side Bradford City 5β0, earning the Welsh club their first trophy from within the English league system.[121]
28 February 2013: The month ends with Manchester United a massive fifteen points (albeit having played a game more) ahead of second-placed Manchester City, with the question on most pundits' minds being not whether United will win the title, but how soon it will be, and whether they will set a new record points total. Despite being well adrift of their neighbours, City themselves have a comfortable five-point gap between them and Tottenham Hotspur, who have taken over third place and are two points in front of Chelsea. At the other end of the table, Queens Park Rangers are six points adrift in bottom place, with Reading second-bottom and Aston Villa a point ahead in third-bottom place, and Wigan Athletic ahead of Villa on goal difference alone.[122] The situation in the Championship is looking a similar procession for the leaders, with Cardiff City eight points ahead of second-placed Watford with a game in hand, though the race for the second automatic spot is much more competitive, with only five points separating Watford from fifth-place Leicester City. Peterborough United and Bristol City are falling further adrift of safety at the bottom, but in a surprise turn of events, Wolverhampton Wanderers are now occupying the last relegation spot following a revival by Barnsley, and are in serious danger of a second successive relegation.[123]
5 March 2013: Manchester United are eliminated from the Champions League second round in controversial fashion, after
Nani is sent off during the second leg of their tie against
Real Madrid at Old Trafford for a flying tackle on
Γlvaro Arbeloa, which most pundits agreed barely even merited a yellow card, much less a red. Following the red card, Real, who had been 2β1 down on aggregate, rally to score two quick goals and win the tie 3β2.[124]
13 March 2013: Despite a 2β0 victory over
Bayern Munich at the
Allianz Arena, Arsenal exit the Champions League on the away goals rule. This means that for the first time since the 1995β96 season (and the first time overall since it began admitting more than one team per country), no English team will be in the quarter-finals of the competition.[125]
19 March 2013: Blackburn Rovers sack
Michael Appleton their third permanent manager of the season and fifth manager overall after just 67 days in charge at
Ewood Park.[126]
28 March 2013: League One
Coventry City enter administration and are subsequently deducted 10 points. The team drops from tenth to fourteenth as a result.[127]
31 March 2013: As of
Easter Sunday, little has changed in the Premier League; Manchester United are still fifteen points clear of neighbours Manchester City, who no longer even have the game in hand that they did a month previously. City in turn remain five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who are a further two points ahead of Chelsea. However, Arsenal and Everton are now starting to close in on the top four, being just two and four points behind Chelsea respectively. At the bottom, Reading have fallen to the foot of the table after a horrible month, and Queens Park Rangers have moved off the bottom on goal difference, though both teams are still a massive seven points away from safety. Aston Villa are still behind Wigan on goal difference, though Wigan can go above Sunderland by winning their game in hand.[128] In the Championship, Cardiff City's lead has been pegged back to four points, while Hull City have broken clear of the rest of the chasing pack, being four points ahead of third-placed Watford, who along with Crystal Palace look to be the only teams with any hope of catching the top two. Bristol City have fallen adrift at the bottom of the division and are looking increasingly doomed, but a revival in form has seen Peterborough United leap out of the relegation zone at the expense of Barnsley, with Wolverhampton Wanderers also still in the bottom three.[129] Doncaster Rovers are heading up an incredibly competitive race for promotion from League One, with just four points separating them from fifth-placed Sheffield United (who are arguably the best-placed club in this race, having played two games fewer than any of their rivals).[130] In League Two, Gillingham have a six-point lead, with Port Vale and Northampton Town (who both have games in hand) occupying second and third place. York City and Aldershot are three and four points from safety at the bottom of League Two.[131]
6 April 2013:
Gillingham beat struggling
Torquay to seal automatic promotion to League 1.[132]
20 April 2013: Cardiff City and Gillingham secure the titles for the Championship and League Two respectively, while
Bournemouth win promotion from League One, and
Port Vale virtually assure promotion from League Two, barring an infeasibly large defeat in their final match of the season. In the
Conference National,
Mansfield Town end their five-year exile from the Football League, while
Stockport County are relegated to the
Conference North, just three years after they were playing in League One, and eleven years after playing in what is now the Championship. On top of that, their match against Conference runners-up
Kidderminster Harriers is disrupted by a pitch invasion early in the second half.[136]
22 April 2013: Manchester United clinch a record 20th title by beating Aston Villa 3β0.[137]
27 April 2013: The last day of the season in League One and League Two.
Doncaster Rovers defeat
Brentford with a last minute goal to become promoted as champions of the League One title, with
Bournemouth the runners-up after being held 0β0 at
Tranmere.
Scunthorpe United are relegated to League Two despite winning 3β1 against Swindon, while rivals Colchester United stay up after winning 2β0 at Carlisle United. In League Two,
Rotherham United are promoted to League One after winning 2β0 against
Aldershot Town, who are relegated as a result. Joining them in the fifth tier of English Football were
Barnet after they lost the same score line at
Northampton Town, while
AFC Wimbledon and
York City stay up with their wins. York's win at
Dagenham & Redbridge means that Dagenham finish the season on level points with Barnet but they survive on goal difference.[138]
28 April 2013:
Queens Park Rangers and
Reading are relegated from the Premier League to the Championship following a draw between the sides.[139]
30 April 2013: As the season draws to its conclusion, Manchester United have secured their title, but their hopes of setting a new records points total have been ended by dropping points in three of their matches this month. Manchester City are looking a solid bet to finish runners-up, being six points ahead of Chelsea, who have taken over third place. Arsenal are occupying the fourth Champions League spot, and Tottenham Hotspur have dropped into fifth place, though have a game in hand over Arsenal. Everton are not entirely out of the European race, but face a tall order to catch the leading pack. At the bottom, Reading and QPR are both doomed to the drop, with QPR being ahead of Reading by virtue of just a single goal. Wigan Athletic have fallen into the relegation zone following a terrible month, and are five points behind a clutch of sides including Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Sunderland, though do have a game in hand over that trio.[140] With one round of matches to go in the Championship, Cardiff City have already sealed top spot, and Hull City remain ahead of Watford in second place, but by just one point and with a far worse goal difference. Brighton have sealed fourth place and a play-off spot, and Crystal Palace are also looking almost certain to qualify for the play-offs. Bolton Wanderers occupy the final play-off place by virtue of a better goal difference than Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City are also in with a chance. At the other end of the table, Bristol City are ten points adrift and long-since relegated, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are also looking likely to suffer their second successive relegation, barring a highly unlikely set of results on the final day. Barnsley are in the final relegation spot, though any of the four sides above them could still be dragged down into League One.[141]
4 May 2013: On the final day of the Championship season, Hull City are promoted to the Premier League[142] while Wolverhampton Wanderers become the first team to be relegated from the top flight to the third tier of English football in successive seasons.[143] They are joined in League One by Peterborough United following their last minute defeat by Crystal Palace, replacing
Barnsley who stay up despite being held to a draw at
rivalsHuddersfield Town, who too survive. Peterborough's defeat means that Crystal Palace automatically take a play-off place along with
Leicester City, following their late 3β2 win at rivals
Nottingham Forest, who miss out.[144][145]
8 May 2013:
Manchester United manager
Alex Ferguson announces that he will retire when the current season ends, after nearly 27 years in charge of the club.[147]
14 May 2013: Three days after winning the FA Cup
Wigan Athletic lose 4β1 at
Arsenal and are relegated to
The Championship after an eight-year stay in the Premier League. It is the first time that the FA Cup winners are relegated from the top flight in the same season.[148]
15 May 2013:
Chelsea become the first English club to win all three European club competitions with a 2β1 victory over
Benfica in the 2013 Europa League Final in Amsterdam.
19 May 2013:
Alex Ferguson's conclusion as manager of Manchester United ended in style with a dramatic 5β5 draw at
West Bromwich Albion while
Arsenal win 1β0 at
Newcastle United to take fourth spot over rivals
Tottenham Hotspur, who miss out despite winning the same score line against
Sunderland. Elsewhere,
Yeovil are promoted to the
Championship following their 2β1 win over
Brentford.[149] It will be the first time that Yeovil have reached that level in the Football League.