This season has seen a ridiculous number of managers lose or change jobs in the Championship. Alex Neil, who took charge of Stoke in August, is now the 13th longest-serving in the division and we’re less than halfway through the season. It’s madness, but not entirely unexpected. The World Cup break has no doubt prompted several clubs to change managers due to the vast amount of time between games. This has ensured that new managers will get plenty of time to work with their squads, which seems entirely logical. On the other hand, some managers have been sacked that perhaps shouldn’t have been ..read more

The FA Cup Third Round is crucial to clubs outside the Premier League, and especially outside the Championship, for whom TV revenue may be scarce. In some respects, it’s a shame that Manchester City and Chelsea face one another at this stage of the competition, as opposed to giving the publicity to a lower league club. And likewise for Manchester United and Everton, who will meet at Old Trafford, or even Liverpool and Wolves when they clash at Anfield. Oxford United, however, have got their big moment in welcoming Arsenal to the Kassam, while other clubs are hopeful of making more cup memories ..read more

A chasm has begun to open up in the relegation battle as sides aim to avoid the drop from League One… Barring Accrington Stanley, led so reliably by John Coleman in 20th spot, everyone else in the third tier outside the bottom four is five or more points above it. So where does that leave Forest Green Rovers, Burton Albion, Morecambe and Milton Keynes Dons – the four sides currently sat in the division’s four lowest positions? EFL pundit Gab Sutton discusses the relegation situation in League One and shares his predictions for how the race for survival will pan out… Forest Green look in dange ..read more

That was nice, wasn’t it? Just a lovely weekend of Championship action before a completely unnecessary mid-season World Cup gets underway.  Yes, I’m disappointed that I won’t be seeing any second-tier action for a few weeks but it was a great way to see it off before the action returns in a month’s time. With another gameweek full of twists and turns, the picture for promotion, relegation and of course, mid-table obscurity became all the more difficult to predict. Here I digest what happened over the weekend… Burnley make a statement The Clarets made a massive statement by beating their ..read more

Five points from three games, one conceded, one place better off, through to the Second Round of the FA Cup and a galvanized group: it’s a solid start for Graham Coughlan. In his first three weeks as Newport County boss, the Irishman has gone some way in easing growing relegation fears. Coughlan led Bristol Rovers from 19th to 4th in League One in 2019 before moving to Mansfield Town, where his playing and man-management style was perceived as not quite the right fit with the personnel. Hoping his third stint as a manager will see results closer to those at the Mem than the Mill, the 47-year-o ..read more

The last 18 months for Grimsby Town have gone as well as could’ve been expected. Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit completed a takeover to begin an ownership regime which could set the club on the right path for decades to come. Their ascent starting with promotion from the National League at the first attempt last season, prior to a solid start to their EFL return. The Mariners are only four points off the play-offs as it stands, although that number could rise to seven after Carlisle, Bradford and Salford play on Tuesday night. Paul Hurst’s side did, though, thrash League One leaders Plymout ..read more

Swindon Town reached the League Two play-offs last season and while, on the one hand, they intend to go one better this time around, they are also at a stage of rebuilding as a club, clearing debt, investing in assets, and putting in place structural processes that could serve them well for decades. With the team currently sitting fifth in the table, two shy of the automatic promotion spots, supporter Ben Nicholls is happy with life under Head Coach, Scott Lindsey. “At the time of the appointment, it felt very underwhelming. We knew we were not going to sign a conventional experienced manager ..read more

Hull City fans will be hoping that the return of Liam Rosenior will be the catalyst the club needs as they look to avoid a relegation battle. The 38-year old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the MKM Stadium, where he spent five years as a player between 2010 and 2015. After Shota Arveladze was sacked in late September, caretaker manager Andy Dawson had been in temporary charge of first team affairs, winning three and losing four of his seven games in the dugout. Rosenior had been part of the Derby County coaching staff since 2019 – including two spells as interim manager either side of ..read more

It’s been a crazy October which saw almost too many games played.  It made picking this Team of the Month much harder, as the data pool was much larger. However, several teams had incredible runs throughout with individual players contributing massively. So, here’s a run down of my team of the month and why they deserve their place in a completely meaningless XI… GK – Thomas Kaminski (Blackburn Rovers) Kaminski has been the key reason as to why Blackburn rose into the automatic promotion places in October. He has literally saved points for Rovers and in October he was outstanding. Kamins ..read more

Last season, League One was something of a split division. Plymouth Argyle missed out on the top six with a whopping 80 points, while Fleetwood Town stayed up with merely half that tally. After a period in which Burton Albion, Shrewsbury Town and Wycombe Wanderers had all been able to win or challenge for promotion against the odds, underdog stories are starting to run a touch thin in our third tier. This season, so far, has been slightly more unpredictable than the last, with newly-promoted Exeter and Port Vale occupying top half berths along with Shrewsbury – though the trio are five points ..read more