Championship Final Day

Sunderland clinched the Championship title after, Birmingham went down 1-0 to Preston on what was a frantic last day of the Championship.

After thrashing Luton 5-0, Keane's side knew that anything but a win for the Blues would mean they were crowned Champions.

The victory for Preston was not enough to put them in the playoff places, and will surely signal the end of England international David Nugent's career at Deepdale.

Victories for Derby, Wolves, West Brom and Southampton saw them reach the playoffs, with Derby due to play Souhthampton in one of the semi-finals, and West Brom v Wolves in the other.

With Sunderland and Birmingham already promoted, the playoffs offer all four teams the last chance to grab that lucrative Premiership spot. Derby will be favourites, after finishing third and narrowly missing out on automatic qualification. However, Southampton have arguably played the most attractive football in the Championship all season, and as always with the playoffs, it is simply a lottery.

Relegated after going into administration - The demise of Leeds Utd

Leeds United have been put out their sorry misery and been relegated to League One after being deducted 10 points for going into administration. The 10-point deduction - in accordance with Football League rules - means Leeds will finish the season at the bottom of the Championship.

However on the flip-side, they will not lose any points for the start of their first season in League One in August. Administrator KPMG has already agreed to sell the club to a newly-formed company led by chairman ex- Chelsea fat-cat Ken Bates, scuppering any hopes of a fan's buyout. Cheer up Leeds Fans, there is always 'My Football Club!'.

The demise of Leeds Utd, from defeat in a Champions League Semi-Final against Valencia in 2001, to being relegated to League 1 in 2007 has been fast and brutal. In a chase for success, Leeds under Peter Risdale ran up massive debts in an effort to compete for honours at the top of the Premiership and in Europe. With a team starring the likes of Paul Robinson, Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka... the list goes on, Leeds continually overspent on mediocre players and their ridiculous wage demands.

Leeds still have a huge fan-base, with Elland Road capable of holding 40,000 fans. Whether that number will ever arrive through the turnstiles again is a different story. The diagram to the left shows what has been the ultimate fall from grace. The failure to qualify for the Champions League in seasons 2000-2001, and 2001-2002 after the £100 million gamble on players proved to be the straw that broke the camels back.

A host of failed management attempts culminated last year, when Leeds fell at the final hurdle in their quest for the return to the big-time, when under Kevin Blackwell they reached the play-off final. Sadly for Leeds fans, Boothroyd's Watford clinched the result that day. After now finishing bottom of the Championship this season, they now face the prospect of losing the majority of their remaining 'quality players', such as Northern Ireland international, and Euro 2008 leading scorer David Healy.

One glimmer of hope for Leeds Utd is that Manchester City were relegated to the same division in 1999-then called Division Two - and bounced back a year later with a play-off final victory that eventually led to a return to the Premiership.

So, all is not lost for Leeds and their fans. But when you look at what they have lost over the years, it is not only unbelievable but also quite disturbing. Could Newcastle eventually face the same fate? Only time will tell.

Sunderland & Birmingham Promoted

Derby's 2-0 loss to Palace left both Steve Bruce and Roy Keane jumping for joy, as their Birmingham and Sunderland sides were promoted back to the Premiership, just a season after getting relegated.

The Rams started the day four points adrift of Sunderland and five behind leaders Birmingham and were unable to close the gap, with one match to play. Derby will now have to fight it out in the play-offs for a place in the Premiership, after what has been a dismal run-in for them.

Sunderland's Carlos Edwards had put them to the brink of promotion on Friday, after his late stunner secured a 3-2 victory against Burnley. And Birminham managed to beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 on Saturday, which really put the heat on Derby.

Now Birmingham go to Preston and Sunderland visit Luton on the final day of the season as both teams battle for the Championship title. However neither side will be too worried if they lose the title, as the lucrative opportunity of playing in the best league in the world is what all the staff, players and fans have been aiming for.

Both clubs had shaky starts to the season, with Sunderland losing the first five games on the bounce under Niall Quinn, before Roy Keane took over. He since has taken Sunderland from the foot of the table, to promotion, in what has been his first season in management. Such a feat is truly incredible, and TTIAO takes are hat off to you Roy. The thought of Keane going up against Mourinho, or his old master Sir Alex is simply mouthwatering.

There were calls for Birmingham's Bruce to be sacked in mid-October, after his side were left 11 points adrift of leaders Cardiff. However, the board have been rewarded for their faith, and we will arguably now see the Championship's best side back where they belong. Villa fans will no doubt welcome the local-derby fixture!

Now we look forward to the final promotion spot being decided in the play-offs at Wembley. Our tip is for Derby to make up for their automatic promotion cock-up.