The EFL Championship, in its current guise, has thrown up many weird and wonderful surprises over its 20-year lifespan. There have been 14 different winners since the competition’s rebranding in 2004, and of those winners, half will be competing in this year’s enthralling edition.
To mark the anniversary we have picked out some of the most compelling stories that will contribute to the chronicles of the Championship across 2024-25, including Wayne Rooney’s return to management with Plymouth, Portsmouth’s 12 years in exile and the prime contenders for promotion.
Vincent Kompany’s departure to Bayern Munich felt like a major blow to Burnley’s hopes of an immediate return to the Premier League, before a ball has even been kicked.
And the appointment of Scott Parker, a month or so later, did little to reignite the faith.
The former West Ham midfielder has been out of management since leaving Club Bruges in March 2023, having won just two of his 12 matches in charge.
But let our rationale not simply be informed by short-term memory, but by the overall picture.
Parker has twice won promotion from the Championship. Fact. Fulham secured the golden ticket via the play-offs in 2019-20 and Bournemouth achieved automatic promotion in 2021-22. There is precedent. Not only that, but they did so playing attractive football.
Burnley begin the new season away to fellow newly-relegated Luton Town, which will be an early indicator of which way the Parker pendulum is likely to swing this season. A reminder that the last time Burnley competed in the Championship, they reached 101 points.
A hat-trick of promotions on the horizon, perhaps? Or does this project require more longer-term thinking?
Luton did not go down without a fight. Many wrote them off before a ball was kicked last season, and despite eventually succumbing to the pressures of the Premier League, they were only cut adrift on the final day.
Rob Edwards’ side enjoyed their moment in the sun, and so they should, having played in the National League – the fifth level of the pyramid – as recently as 2015.
Some continuity ahead of this new term will serve them well. Their rise through the tiers had been swift and unexpected, but now it is stability they need, something offered by the steady guidance of Edwards and his settled coaching team.
Luton fans love him. General football fans seem to have developed an affection too. Edwards is, above all, relatable, seen wiping tears from his bloodshot eyes as Luton’s fate was close to being sealed on the penultimate weekend at West Ham – the supporters’ response was to serenade him, and the club’s was to hand him a new four-year deal.
His – and Luton’s – efforts were applauded across the division. The assumption will be that they compete for promotion once again this term, but expectation draws pressure. And we all know how quickly things can unravel under pressure.
“I don’t want to become the next Gary Neville,” Rooney exclaimed, when asked about why he favoured a job in football management over punditry. Fair enough.
Both Manchester United stalwarts, Neville and Rooney shared a dressing room for seven years in their playing days, but, evidently, sharing a TV studio was less appealing.
Rooney’s previous full-time managerial role was an ill-fated 83-day spell at Birmingham City, which did more to tarnish his reputation than build it – so, can this time be different?
The 39-year-old certainly has a point to prove. Succeeding Ian Foster, who was dismissed in April after less than three months in charge at Home Park, feels like an easier act to follow than Stephen Schumacher – the man who led Plymouth to the League One title – but this remains a tough gig.
Plymouth’s budget is modest by Championship comparison, and Rooney may have to rely on youth to help bolster numbers – something that should not faze a player who made his professional debut at just 16. “If you are good enough, you are old enough,” he said in his first official press conference.
Rooney’s name comes with expectation, but all of that banked credit was achieved during his illustrious playing days, and not yet transferred into his coaching capacity. This is an experiment that could go either way.
Back in early July, Leeds announced that ownership of Elland Road has been transferred back to the club for the first time since 2004. It was a significant moment for a club that slipped out of the top tier that very same year.
Daniel Farke steered Leeds towards a third-place finish last term, only to be beaten in the play-off final by Southampton.
This time, the German will be reluctant to leave things to chance.
What needs to improve, then? A fast start always helps – it took until the fourth league game before Leeds got their first win last season, a thrilling 4-3 victory at Ipswich.
Not disastrous on the face of it, but that early stutter combined with a late-season drop-off is what ultimately cost them a top-two finish. What was impressive, though, was the shift from a counter-pressing system to Farke’s favoured possession-based style so quickly.
And so it feels like things are beginning to fall into place, with the environment more settled than it was last summer, in spite of some disappointing departures – Archie Gray to Spurs, for example.
Farke, nevertheless, has had a full pre-season to transmit ideas and fine-tune his squad.
He will firmly believe a promotion charge is on the cards.
Remember when Coventry City went within a toenail of beating Manchester United to the FA Cup final last season? Yes, that really happened. Football has such a funny way of throwing up unexpected enjoyment. Anyway…
Devoted Coventry fans will also remember when the club fell on far starker times, hitting rock bottom before a commanding comeback. In this case, Mark Robins has been the instigator.
Takeovers, promotions, cup classics, Robins has seen it all during his seven years in charge. Coventry have been quietly clawing their way up divisions, and were within touching distance of the Premier League, only to fall at the final hurdle when beaten by Luton in 2023’s play-off final.
To say that it has been a long journey to this point would be a gigantic understatement. Coventry’s plight has been murkier than most since falling out of the top tier in 2001, sliding as far as League Two, before finding solace under Robins.
The way they reset after last year’s play-off disappointment was symptomatic of the manager’s understated style – his achievements during his second stint at the club have rather flown below the radar. No matter, that is how he likes it.
Coventry fell some way short of their play-off ambitions last season but the general direction of the club is a positive one. Fans are happier. Relationships have been rebuilt and faith restored.
That is a good place to start.
Portsmouth fans have had a rough ride. Crashing out of the Premier League is one thing, but tumbling unceremoniously down the divisions, all the way to the fourth tier, and close to the brink of extinction is another entirely.
Dark days were aplenty. And Portsmouth’s long-suffering supporters were close to breaking point. Enter John Mousinho, a player-turned-coach, who openly admitted he was a “left-field” choice when appointed to his first managerial post in January 2023.
But the gamble worked. Portsmouth were promoted back to the Championship as League One champions in his first full season in charge, ending a 12-year exile.
There is a wonderfully endearing video of the Pompey dressing room after beating Barnsley to secure promotion in April, where the playing squad are regaling Mousinho with a rendition of “who needs Mourinho – we’ve got Mousinho”.
This is a unique club. One that has experienced the highs of the Premier League, Europe and FA Cup glory in the same 20-year period as three fateful relegations in four seasons, and two spells in administration. The rise and fall is quite extraordinary.
Fratton Park, one of the oldest stadiums in the country, has seen better days, but under Mousinho it is beginning to get its shine back.
Portsmouth have by far the hardest start across their opening five matches, but also the chance to lay a marker against heavy-favourites Leeds, and recently-demoted Luton, among others.
Mousinho, after all, has the best win percentage of any Portsmouth manager in the past 120 years – fans will be waiting with bated breath to see if that record can withstand the challenge of the Championship, and hopefully beyond.
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