Sky Sports takes a look at all the managerial upheaval in the Championship so far this season, with 14 out of 24 clubs already making at least one change this campaign, and four clubs changing twice already
Monday 20 February 2023 12:03, UK
We are yet to reach the end of February 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...
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, and they are on course for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Manager - Paul Heckingbottom (Appointed: November 25, 2021)
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.
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 did not work out for him and, with Boro in the bottom three at the start of October, he was sacked after just 11 months in charge.
Carrick has proven a revelation since in his first senior management role. He has taken the club from 21st to third and a shot at automatic promotion.
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 very much on the cards.
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.
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.
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 into contention for a top-six finish.
Manager - Slaven Bilic (Appointed: September 26, 2022)
Previously - Rob Edwards (Sacked: September 26, 2022)
Bilic took over from previous incumbent Edwards after he had been given just 10 games. But Watford have recently slipped out of the play-off places.
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 - has won three of his six games in charge so far.
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 began with nine wins in 11 to see the Baggies charge up the table, but a slight dip of late with just one win in their last four has seen them slip back slightly.
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.
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.
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. Rosenior has steadied things and the Tigers are currently comfortable in mid-table.
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.
Manager - Nigel Pearson (Appointed: February 22, 2021)
Pearson is nearing the two-year mark at Bristol City. They are set for another season in mid-table under his watch.
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.
Manager - n/a
Previously - Neil Critchley (Sacked: February 19, 2023), Michael Beale (Left: November 28, 2022)
The most recent departure in this season's Championship. Critchley won just the first of his 11 league games in charge, as QPR have tumbled from play-off contenders to outsiders for relegation.
He had only taken over in December, after Beale had left for Rangers.
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.
They are currently seven points clear of the bottom three.
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 has not served to improve their fortunes thus far. They find themselves marooned in the bottom half of the table.
Manager - Sabri Lamouchi (Appointed: January 27, 2023)
Previously - Mark Hudson (Sacked: January 14, 2023), Steve Morison (Sacked: September 18, 2022)
It has been a rollercoaster 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.
The Bluebirds then turned to Lamouchi - the former Nottingham Forest manager - who began with three defeats on the bounce but has since steered them to back-to-back wins to slightly ease their relegation fears.
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.
Manager - Neil Warnock (Appointed: February 16, 2023)
Previously - Mark Fotheringham (Sacked: February 8, 2023), 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, was gone in early February.
Up stepped Warnock, out of retirement to lead a club he last managed in the 1990s and try and steer them away from relegation. He began with a win, but the club remain in the bottom three.
Manager - Mick McCarthy (Appointed: January 19, 2023)
Previously - Michael Appleton (Sacked: January 18, 2023)
Previously the only club in the bottom six not to have made a change, Blackpool parted company with manager Appleton after after a winless run of 10 games saw them plunge into the bottom three.
In came McCarthy, another seasoned Championship boss, who claimed a first win at the fifth attempt at the weekend.
Manager - Shaun Maloney (Appointed: January 28, 2023)
Previously - Kolo Toure (Sacked: January 27, 2023), 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 was brought in, but a failure to win any of his seven league games saw his time at the club brought to an end. Wigan then turned to former player Maloney, who is currently unbeaten in his first four in charge, although three of those games have been draws.
