Steve Bruce had recently been in talks with the Swedish winger and although the deal looked secure, Alex McLeish had made a last-minute move to acquire the player for Aston Villa.
Larsson recently left Birmingham City on free transfer, having worked under McLeish.
Bruce is also looking at Wigan’s Charles N’Zogbia and South Korean Ji Dong-won as targets to bolster his squad.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Leeds UnitedLeeds | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 12 | 16 | 32 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 32 |
| 3 | Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 32 |
| 4 | Burnley | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 30 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 27 |
| 6 | West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom | 16 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 26 |
| 7 | Watford | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 26 |
| 8 | Millwall | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 24 |
| 9 | Blackburn RoversBlackburn | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 22 |
| 10 | Bristol City | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 22 |
| 11 | Derby CountyDerby | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 12 | Stoke CityStoke | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 20 |
| 13 | Norwich CityNorwich | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 19 |
| 14 | Swansea CitySwansea | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 19 |
| 15 | Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 19 |
| 16 | Luton TownLuton | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 18 |
| 17 | Coventry CityCoventry | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 17 |
| 18 | Oxford UnitedOxford Utd | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 17 |
| 19 | Plymouth ArgylePlymouth | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 28 | -11 | 17 |
| 20 | Preston North EndPreston | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 24 | -8 | 16 |
| 21 | Cardiff CityCardiff | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 16 |
| 22 | Hull City | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 21 | -5 | 15 |
| 23 | Portsmouth | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 12 |
| 24 | Queens Park RangersQPR | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 26 | -13 | 11 |
| > Championship Full Table | |||||||||
