2015–16 Football League
The 2015–16 Football League was the 117th season of The Football League. It began on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 30 May 2016, with the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. The Football League was contested through three Divisions; Championship, League One and League Two. The winners of the Championship, Burnley and runner-up Middlesbrough were automatically promoted to the Premier League and on 28 May 2016 were joined by the winner of the Championship play-off, Hull City. The bottom two teams in League Two, Dagenham & Redbridge and York City, were relegated to the National League.
It was the last season that the league would be known simply as The Football League; from the 2016–17 season onwards, it will be known as the English Football League.
Promotion and relegation
From the Premier League
; Relegated to the Championship- Hull City
- Burnley
- Queens Park Rangers
From the Championship
; Relegated to League One
- Millwall
- Wigan Athletic
- Blackpool
From League One
; Relegated to League Two
- Notts County
- Crawley Town
- Leyton Orient
- Yeovil Town
From League Two
; Relegated to the National League
- Cheltenham Town
- Tranmere Rovers
From the Conference National
- Barnet
- Bristol Rovers
Championship
Table
Play-offs
Results
League One
Table
Play-offs
Results
League Two
Table
Play-offs
Results
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 |
| Portsmouth |  Andy Awford | Mutual Consent | 13 April 2015 | 2014–15 season | Paul Cook | 12 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Blackpool | Lee Clark | Resigned | 9 May 2015 | Pre-season | Neil McDonald | 2 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Chesterfield | Paul Cook | Signed by Portsmouth | 12 May 2015 | Pre-season |  Dean Saunders | 13 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Crawley Town | Dean Saunders | Signed by Chesterfield | 13 May 2015 | Pre-season | Mark Yates | 19 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Leyton Orient |  Fabio Liverani | Mutual Consent | 13 May 2015 | Pre-season | Ian Hendon | 28 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Leeds United | Neil Redfearn | Sacked | 20 May 2015 | Pre-season |  Uwe Rosler | 20 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Stevenage | Graham Westley | Out of Contract | 21 May 2015 | Pre-season | Teddy Sheringham | 21 May 2015 | Pre-season |
| Derby County | Steve McClaren | Sacked | 25 May 2015 | Pre-season | Paul Clement | 1 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Sheffield United | Nigel Clough | Sacked | 25 May 2015 | Pre-season | Nigel Adkins | 2 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Plymouth Argyle |  John Sheridan | Mutual consent | 28 May 2015 | Pre-season |  Derek Adams | 11 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Brentford | Mark Warburton | End of Contract | 1 June 2015 | Pre-season |  Marinus Dijkhuizen | 1 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Stuart Gray | Sacked | 11 June 2015 | Pre-season |  Carlos Carvalhal | 30 June 2015 | Pre-season |
| Peterborough United | Dave Robertson | Sacked | 6 September 2015 | 20th | Graham Westley | 21 September 2015 | 18th |
| Doncaster Rovers | Paul Dickov | Sacked | 8 September 2015 | 17th | Darren Ferguson | 16 October 2015 | 20th |
| Oldham Athletic | Darren Kelly | Sacked | 12 September 2015 | 19th |  David Dunn | 7 October 2015 | 18th |
| Brentford | Marinus Dijkhuizen | Sacked | 28 September 2015 | 19th | Dean Smith | 30 November 2015 | 11th |
| Rotherham United | Steve Evans | Sacked | 28 September 2015 | 20th | Neil Redfearn | 9 October 2015 | 21st |
| Fleetwood Town | Graham Alexander | Sacked | 30 September 2015 | 20th | Steven Pressley | 6 October 2015 | 23rd |
| Newport County | Terry Butcher | Sacked | 1 October 2015 | 24th | John Sheridan | 2 October 2015 | 24th |
| Swindon Town | Mark Cooper | Sacked | 17 October 2015 | 20th | Martin Ling | 3 November 2015 | 23rd |
| Leeds United | Uwe Rosler | Sacked | 19 October 2015 | 18th | Steve Evans | 19 October 2015 | 18th |
| Charlton Athletic |  Guy Luzon | Sacked | 24 October 2015 | 22nd |  Karel Fraeye | 26 October 2015 | 22nd |
| York City | Russ Wilcox | Sacked | 26 October 2015 | 21st | Jackie McNamara | 4 November 2015 | 22nd |
| Cambridge United | Richard Money | Sacked | 2 November 2015 | 18th | Shaun Derry | 12 November 2015 | 18th |
| Huddersfield Town | Chris Powell | Sacked | 4 November 2015 | 18th | David Wagner | 5 November 2015 | 18th |
| Queens Park Rangers | Chris Ramsey | Sacked | 4 November 2015 | 13th | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | 4 December 2015 | 12th |
| Fulham | Kit Symons | Sacked | 8 November 2015 | 12th |  Slaviša Jokanović | 27 December 2015 | 18th |
| Blackburn Rovers | Gary Bowyer | Sacked | 10 November 2015 | 16th | Paul Lambert | 15 November 2015 | 16th |
| Colchester United | Tony Humes | Mutual Consent | 26 November 2015 | 19th | Kevin Keen | 21 December 2015 | 24th |
| Chesterfield | Dean Saunders | Sacked | 28 November 2015 | 16th | Danny Wilson | 24 December 2015 | 18th |
| Walsall | Dean Smith | Signed by Brentford | 30 November 2015 | 4th | Sean O'Driscoll | 18 December 2015 | 3rd |
| Yeovil Town | Paul Sturrock | Sacked | 1 December 2015 | 24th | Darren Way | 31 December 2015 | 24th |
| Burton Albion | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Signed by QPR | 4 December 2015 | 1st | Nigel Clough | 7 December 2015 | 1st |
| Reading | Steve Clarke | Sacked | 4 December 2015 | 9th | Brian McDermott | 17 December 2015 | 13th |
| Luton Town | John Still | Sacked | 17 December 2015 | 17th | Nathan Jones | 6 January 2016 | 15th |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | Wayne Burnett | Sacked | 21 December 2015 | 24th | John Still | 31 December 2015 | 23rd |
| Swindon Town | Martin Ling | Resigned | 29 December 2015 | 16th | Luke Williams | 21 January 2016 | 14th |
| Notts County | Ricardo Moniz | Sacked | 29 December 2015 | 15th | Jamie Fullarton | 10 January 2016 | 18th |
| Oldham Athletic | David Dunn | Sacked | 12 January 2016 | 22nd | John Sheridan | 13 January 2016 | 22nd |
| Newport County | John Sheridan | Signed by Oldham Athletic | 13 January 2016 | 20th | Warren Feeney | 15 January 2016 | 20th |
| Charlton Athletic | Karel Fraeye | Sacked | 13 January 2016 | 23rd | José Riga | 14 January 2016 | 23rd |
| Bristol City | Steve Cotterill | Sacked | 14 January 2016 | 22nd | Lee Johnson | 6 February 2016 | 22nd |
| Leyton Orient | Ian Hendon | Sacked | 18 January 2016 | 11th | Kevin Nolan | 21 January 2016 | 11th |
| Scunthorpe United | Mark Robins | Sacked | 18 January 2016 | 16th | Nick Daws | 22 February 2016 | 13th |
| Stevenage | Teddy Sheringham | Sacked | 1 February 2016 | 19th | Darren Sarll | 8 May 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Barnsley | Lee Johnson | Signed by Bristol City | 6 February 2016 | 12th | Paul Heckingbottom | 15 June 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Derby County | Paul Clement | Sacked | 6 February 2016 | 5th | Darren Wassall | 6 February 2016 | 5th |
| Rotherham United | Neil Redfearn | Sacked | 8 February 2016 | 22nd | Neil Warnock | 11 February 2016 | 22nd |
| Hartlepool United | Ronnie Moore | Mutual Consent | 10 February 2016 | 22nd | Craig Hignett | 10 February 2016 | 22nd |
| Walsall | Sean O'Driscoll | Sacked | 6 March 2016 | 4th | Jon Whitney | 1 June 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Nottingham Forest | Dougie Freedman | Sacked | 13 March 2016 | 14th |  Philippe Montanier | 26 June 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Bolton Wanderers | Neil Lennon | Mutual Consent | 15 March 2016 | 24th | Phil Parkinson | 10 June 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Notts County | Jamie Fullarton | Sacked | 19 March 2016 | 19th | Mark Cooper | 20 March 2016 | 19th |
| Scunthorpe United | Nick Daws | Appointed Assistant Manager | 22 March 2016 | 13th | Graham Alexander | 22 March 2016 | 13th |
| Leyton Orient | Kevin Nolan | Removed From Managerial Role | 12 April 2016 | 11th | Andy Hessenthaler | 3 June 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Peterborough United | Graham Westley | Sacked | 23 April 2016 | 14th | Grant McCann | 16 May 2016 | 2016–17 season |
| Crawley Town | Mark Yates | Sacked | 25 April 2016 | 18th | Dermot Drummy | 27 April 2016 | 18th |
| Colchester United | Kevin Keen | Resigned | 26 April 2016 | 23rd | John McGreal | 4 May 2016 | 23rd |