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Eight managers gone already after just 11 games of 2022/23 campaign | Championship silly season

Football   |   October 4, 2022

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We have only just passed the first weekend of October, but eight Championship clubs have already changed managers this season. all 12 midweek matches are live across Sky Sports on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Chris Wilder’s sacking by Middlesbrough on Monday means eight of the 24 clubs in the second tier have either sacked or seen their boss depart since the start of the season.

By the same stage in the last two campaigns there had been just one.

Summer swaps

There was also a summer of upheaval in the Championship, with seven clubs changing managers following the end of last season. Two, Watford and Huddersfield, have since sacked their off-season appointment.

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.

Aug 25: Stoke swap O’Neill for Neil

The first managerial departure of the season came at Stoke City on August 25, when the Potters parted company with Michael O’Neill after just one win in their first five games. He had been in charge for nearly three years, having joined in November 2019.

His departure led to Stoke moving for Sunderland boss Alex Neil, who was hired three days later. Two days after that, the Black Cats brought in Tony Mowbray.

It is yet to really pay off for Stoke. Neil has just one win from five so far, while Sunderland have picked up eight points in the intervening time, and sit nine places higher in the Championship table.

Sep 14: Huddersfield kick off September spree

Huddersfield were just 90 minutes away from the Premier League in May, after a fantastic run to the play-off final. But Carlos Corberan resigned in July, and was replaced from within by Danny Schofield.

“Danny Schofield will now step up to lead the team,” said head of football operations Leigh Bromby. “He knows the club, the players, our coaching programme, and our structure as well as anyone and is ideally positioned to give us continuity.”

That ‘continuity’ would last just nine games. Just one win and a draw in that time brought an end to his time at the club on September 14.

A fortnight later, Huddersfield appointed Mark Fotheringham, but his tenure began on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat at Reading.

Sep 18: Cardiff dismiss Morison

Steve Morison had been brought in as caretaker manager of Cardiff after the sacking of Mick McCarthy last October. He was then given the job on a permanent basis in November until the end of the season after impressing, before being given a year extension until the summer of 2023 in March.

Tasked with an overhaul of the club’s squad and playing style over the summer, including the arrival of 17 new signings, Morison lasted just 10 games, being sacked on September 18 off the back of three wins and two draws with the club in 18th. Cardiff are yet to appoint a replacement.

Sep 22: Rotherham see Warne poached

Rotherham have been relegated in their last two Championship campaigns under Paul Warne, but things had started very brightly this season, with just one defeat in their first nine games.

However, his impressive record in League One and his good start drew the attention of Derby County, who are trying to force their way out of the third tier and managed to lure Warne to Pride Park to replace interim boss Liam Rosenior on September 22.

It would have come as a real blow to the Millers in their attempts to survive in the Championship for the first time since 2016.

Sep 26: Watford swing the axe again

“We will be supporting Rob Edwards come hell or high water. We believe that he will deliver what we all want – sustained and successful Premier League football.”

That was the statement from Watford when they brought Edwards in from Forest Green in June. That backing would last just 11 Championship matches and three months at the helm on September 26.

Edwards was their 17th permanent manager in 10 years under the ownership of Gino Pozzo. On the same day, Slaven Bilic became their 18th.

The Croatian – who took West Brom to the Premier League in 2020 – started well, however, winning 4-0 at Stoke in his first game on Sunday.

Sep 30: Hull sack Shota

One of the first acts of Acun Ilicali following his takeover at Hull City in January was to sack Grant McCann and appoint Shota Arveladze as his new manager – despite the fact McCann had brought the club up from League One and was on his way to consolidating the club back in the Championship.

Hull started this season well after a summer recruitment drive, winning three and drawing two of their first six games. But four defeats on the bounce, with just a single goal scored, brought Arveladze’s time at the club to an end on September 30.

He was, quite, bizarrely, sacked on the morning of a game last Friday. Although his departure did not help Hull, as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Luton. The Tigers are still on the hunt for a new manager.

Oct 3: Middlesbrough part with Wilder

There was huge fanfare on Teesside when Middlesbrough appointed Chris Wilder last November to replace Neil Warnock.

The man who had taken Sheffield United from League One to the Premier League was seen as a major coup by the club, but they narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season – finishing seventh in the table and five points behind Luton in sixth.

This season Boro were supposed to kick on, after Wilder had the summer to implement his unique playing style, but it never quite gelled and just two wins from 11 games has left the club in the bottom three and Boro on the lookout for a new boss.