We are yet to reach the end of January and more than half the clubs in the Championship have already changed manager since the start of the season.
In current league order, Sky Sports take a look at which clubs have stuck, and those that have twisted…
1st – Burnley, no change
Manager – Vincent Kompany (Appointed June 14, 2022)
Kompany is not going anywhere. The Burnley boss has led his side to the top of the Championship, 16 points clear of third place. They are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League.
2nd – Sheffield United, no change
Manager – Paul Heckingbottom (Appointed November 25, 2021)
Trending
- Transfer Centre LIVE! Gallagher, Rice, Trossard latest
- Papers: Liverpool planning significant changes – but Klopp is safe
- Mudryk’s eight-year deal? Chelsea’s long contracts explained
- Klopp: I’m not too loyal to Liverpool players | Something has to change
- Murray holds off Berrettini fightback to win five-set classic at Australian Open
- Neville: I’m mesmerised by job Ten Hag’s doing at Man Utd
- Arsenal transfer rumours: Gunners confident of beating Chelsea to Rice
- Ref Watch: 60 pivotal seconds in title race – should Fernandes’ goal have stood?
- Meet the Smiths, the most extraordinary family in British boxing
- Prescott throws four TDs as Cowboys knock out Brady’s Bucs
- Video
- Latest News
Heckingbottom recently celebrated his one-year anniversary in charge of Sheffield United. He led the club to last season’s play-offs and has them on course for a return to the top flight. They are 11 points clear of third.
Summer swaps
There was a summer of upheaval in the Championship, with seven clubs changing managers following the end of last season.
May 23: Watford appoint Rob Edwards on following the expiry of Roy Hodgson’s contract after their relegation from the Premier League.
June 1: QPR appoint Michael Beale after Mark Warburton’s contract expires.
June 14: Blackburn appoint Jon Dahl Tomasson following the expiry of Tony Mowbray’s contract.
June 14: Burnley appoint Vincent Kompany following the end of Mike Jackson’s caretaker spell.
June 17: Blackpool appoint Michael Appleton after Neil Critchley joins Aston Villa’s coaching staff.
July 3: Birmingham appoint John Eustace after the sacking of Lee Bowyer.
July 7: Huddersfield appoint Danny Schofield following the resignation of Carlos Corberan.
- Championship table | Fixtures | On Sky
- Get Sky Sports
3rd – Watford, one change
Manager – Slaven Bilic (Appointed: September 26, 2022)
Previously – Rob Edwards (Sacked: September 26, 2022)
Also See:
Bilic helped steady the ship somewhat at Watford after previous incumbent Edwards was given just 10 games – in which he recorded three wins. The Croatian manager, who led West Brom to the top flight in 2020, has nine wins in 18 so far.
4th – Middlesbrough, one change
Manager – Michael Carrick (Appointed: October 24, 2022)
Previously – Chris Wilder (Sacked: October 3, 2022)
Hopes were so high for Wilder at Middlesbrough after his previous heroics with Sheffield United. But it simply didn’t work out for him and with Boro in the bottom three at the start of October, after just 11 months in charge.
Carrick has proven a revelation since in his first senior management role. He has won eight of his first 11 games in charge to take the club from 21st to fourth.
5th – Blackburn Rovers, no change
Manager – Jon Dahl Tomasson (Appointed: June 14, 2022)
Tomasson is nearly a Championship veteran now, having been appointed way back in mid-June.
He took over the club after Tony Mowbray’s contract ended, and has led them through what has been an extremely topsy-turvy spell, in which they have failed to draw in any of their 27 games so far.
They have won 14 games – more than any side other than the runaway top two. But they have also lost 13, which is the joint second-most defeats of any side in the Championship.
6th – West Brom, one change
Manager – Carlos Corberan (Appointed: October 25, 2022)
Previously – Steve Bruce (Sacked: October 10, 2022)
Another change that has proven fully justified. West Brom were languishing in the relegation zone when Bruce was sacked after just eight months in charge.
Corberan was beaten in his first game in charge at the end of October, but has since won nine out of 10 to move the club into the play-off shake-up.
Championship managerial changes: By numbers
| No. of managers to leave jobs since start of season | 14 |
| No. of managers appointed since end of last season | 20 |
| No. of clubs to change manager since end of last season | 17 |
| No. of clubs to change manager at least once since start of season | 13 |
| No of managers in charge for more than one year | 6 |
| No of managers in charge for more than two years | 2 |
7th – Norwich City, one change
Manager – David Wagner (Appointed: January 6, 2023)
Previously – Dean Smith (Sacked: December 27, 2022)
Expectations are high in the Championship for Norwich. They have won the title in their last two second-tier expeditions, and with the club fifth in the table, Smith was sacked after 13 months in charge.
Wagner – who led Huddersfield to promotion in 2017 – kicked things off with an FA Cup defeat against Blackburn, but romped to a 4-0 win at Preston in his first league game in charge.
8th – Millwall, no change
Manager – Gary Rowett (Appointed: October 21, 2019)
Stability is king at Millwall. Rowett is the second longest-serving manager in the Championship, and the 11th in the country.
9th – Luton Town, one change
Manager – Rob Edwards (Appointed: November 17, 2022)
Previously – Nathan Jones (Left: November 10, 2022)
It was, in truth, a change Luton would have preferred not to make. Jones’ second spell at the club ended when he moved on to Premier League Southampton in November.
Edwards has carried on his good work so far at Kenilworth Road, as he made the leap after being sacked by fierce rivals Watford earlier in the season. A second-successive play-off campaign for a club with one of the lowest budgets in the Championship is not out of the question.
10th – Sunderland, one change
Manager – Tony Mowbray (Appointed: August 30, 2022)
Previously – Alex Neil (Left: August 28, 2022)
Another change that caught many unawares. Neil had brought Sunderland through the League One play-offs last season, ending their four-year spell in the third tier, before jumping ship to join Stoke.
Mowbray, who left Blackburn after his contract expired in June, has come in and steadied the ship and they remain firmly in play-off contention.
11th – Swansea City, no change
Manager – Russell Martin (Appointed: August 1, 2021)
No change at Swansea. Martin continues to build his reputation and their style and will hope to improve upon last season’s 15th-placed finish.
12th – QPR, one change
Manager – Neil Critchley (Appointed: December 11, 2022)
Previously – Mick Beale (Left: November 28, 2022)
Beale took up his first managerial role in the summer at QPR, and his excellent start saw him coveted by Wolves. He turned down their overtures and underlined his commitment to Rangers, before leaving a few weeks later for Rangers (The Scottish giants, this time). They were briefly top of the league in October.
QPR turned to another of Steven Gerrard’s former assistants, although Critchley was also Blackpool boss – steering them to promotion to the Championship in 2021 before consolidating their position last season. He has just one win in five so far in the league.
13th – Preston, no change
Manager – Ryan Lowe (Appointed: December 7, 2021)
Lowe has enjoyed just over a year in charge of Preston. Last season they finished 13th, and the man who led Bury and Plymouth to promotions from League Two will hope for at least top half this time around in his first full campaign in charge.
14th – Reading, no change
Manager – Paul Ince (Appointed: February 19, 2022)
Originally appointed as interim manager last season, Ince steered the club to survival and was given the job on a permanent basis before the start of this campaign. They were tipped by many for relegation but have enjoyed a comfortable time so far, and were even in and around the play-off places for much of August and September.
15th – Coventry City, no change
Manager – Mark Robins (Appointed: March 6, 2017)
The longest-serving manager in the Championship. The sixth longest-serving manager in the country. The fourth longest-serving manager in the EFL, and the third longest-serving ever-present manager in the EFL.
Nearly six years is a lifetime in football management nowadays, and Coventry continue to go from strength to strength despite the constant chaos that has surrounded the club. From League Two to the Championship, now with new owners and a bit more financial backing, it will be fascinating to see what Robins can achieve.
16th – Hull City, one change
Manager – Liam Rosenior (Appointed: November 3, 2022)
Previously – Shota Arveladze (Sacked: September 30, 2022)
Arveladze had been brought in last season by Acun Ilıcalı following his takeover of the club, but was sacked after eight months at the helm.
The search for a new manager took more than a month, but eventually former Hull player Rosenior was appointed, having spent the first part of the season in charge of League One Derby County – after previously serving on Wayne Rooney’s coaching staff at Pride Park.
The early signs have been good. Hull have lost just once so far in 10 league games under Rosenior to ease away from the bottom three.
17th – Bristol City, no change
Manager – Nigel Pearson (Appointed: February 22, 2021)
Pearson is approaching two years in charge at Bristol City. Last season they finished 17th. They are currently 17th.
18th – Birmingham City, no change
Manager – John Eustace (Appointed: July 3, 2022)
Eustace’s only previous managerial role before he was appointed as Birmingham boss was in charge of National League side Kidderminster Harriers from 2016-18.
Birmingham had spent much of the first half of the season comfortable in mid-table as he enjoyed a good start after taking over from the sacked Lee Bowyer in the summer, but they have lost their last four on the bounce.
19th – Rotherham United, one change
Manager – Matt Taylor (Appointed: October 4, 2022)
Previously – Paul Warne (Left: September 22, 2022)
Another club that was reluctantly forced into a change earlier in the season after long-serving Paul Warne left for Derby County in League One following six years in charge.
Rotherham moved to bring in Matt Taylor, who had been tasked with building on a very good start to the season. It remains to be seen whether he can keep a club up that have failed to stay in the Championship in their last three attempts.
20th – Stoke City, one change
Manager – Alex Neil (Appointed: August 28, 2022)
Previously – Michael O’Neill (Sacked: August 25, 2022)
Having won just one of their first five games of the season, Stoke opted to dismiss O’Neill after just under three years in charge.
The Potters moved to poach Neil from Sunderland, but it hasn’t served to improve their fortunes thus far. He has just six wins from 21 in the Championship.
21st – Cardiff City, two changes
Manager – Dean Whitehead (Appointed as caretaker boss: January 14, 2023)
Previously – Mark Hudson (Sacked: January 14, 2023), Steve Morison (Sacked: September 18, 2022)
It has been a roller coaster for Cardiff this season. Morison was sacked after three wins from 10, having only taken caretaker charge in October 2021, before being given the role permanently a month later.
Hudson stepped up from his coaching staff to take caretaker charge in September, before finally being given the job until the end of the season in November. He was then sacked in January after a run of no wins in eight games.
Cardiff are yet to appoint his successor, with Dean Whitehead now in caretaker charge.
22nd – Huddersfield Town, one change
Manager – Mark Fotheringham (Appointed: September 28, 2022)
Previously – Danny Schofield (Sacked, September 14, 2022)
Huddersfield were just 90 minutes away from the Premier League in May as they lost to Nottingham Forest in the play-off final at Wembley, but former boss Carlos Corberan resigned over the summer and this season has been a major struggle.
Schofield stepped up from his coaching staff as his successor, but one win in eight saw him dismissed in September. His replacement, Fotheringham, has just four wins since and the Terriers remain in the bottom three.
23rd – Blackpool, no change
Manager – Michael Appleton (Appointed: June 17, 2022)
The only club in the current bottom six not to have changed manager this season, Blackpool lost former boss Neil Critchley in the summer as he moved to become Steven Gerrard’s No 2 at Aston Villa, after he had steered them to promotion and then stabilised them in the Championship.
The Tangerines turned back to a familiar face in Appleton, who had managed the club a decade before, but he has won just six games in 27 so far this season.
24th – Wigan Athletic, one change
Manager – Kolo Toure (Appointed: November 29, 2022)
Previously – Leam Richardson (Sacked: November 10, 2022)
Wigan’s attempts to stay in the Championship saw them sack Richardson before the World Cup break, despite his success in leading them out of League One.
Toure is now in charge in his first management role, but he has just two points to show from his first six games in charge.
Win £250,000 with Super 6!
Another Saturday, another chance to win £250,000 with Super 6. Play for free, entries by 3pm.
Sourse: skysports.com
