Highlights

• Relentless turnover of managers in the Championship underscores the pressure and high ambitions within the league.
• Successful managers like Chris Hughton leave a lasting legacy with promotions and strong standings in the division.
• Scott Parker, Vincent Kompany, and others showcase the importance of successful promotion campaigns in the Championship.

The Championship has seen a continuous conveyor belt of managers arrive and depart in equal measure almost every season, with the ambitions of many clubs there for all to see.

There are many which have succumbed to the pressures of the arduous 46-game season thrown their way by English football's second tier, but for those who are successful in the dugout, it further cements their legacy at their respective clubs and also aids them when becoming synonymous with the division as a whole.

Here at Football League World, we're ranking the twelve best managers the division has ever seen, so with that in mind, let's kick-start the list.

12 Chris Hughton

Chris Hughton gets our list of twelve underway, having overseen two promotions from the second tier to the Premier League since the rebranding of the division back in 2004.

The first of those came with Newcastle United in the 2009/10 season, in what was the Geordies' first season at this level since 1992/93. This campaign saw his side romp to the title with a tally of 102 points, and they recorded the joint-second highest number of victories in a Championship season with 30 - averaging 2.22 points per game and finding the back of the net 90 times.

Hughton's next spell in the second tier came in the form of another newly-relegated outfit, as he took charge of Birmingham City in the 2011/12 season. As a result of their prior EFL Cup Final success over Arsenal, the former Tottenham defender had the added distraction of the UEFA Europa League to contend with. The Blues played a total of 62 matches across all competitions that season, winning 26 of those. However, they were unable to regain their Premier League status as they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Blackpool in the play-off semi-finals.

After a spell in charge of Norwich City, the 65-year-old returned to the Championship to take charge of Brighton and Hove Albion in December 2014, with the Seagulls only ahead of the relegation zone on goal difference. After steering the side to safety, Hughton then guided Albion to the play-offs in 2015/16 after missing out on automatic promotion on goal difference in a final day shootout against Middlesbrough, but they used this as added motivation to secure promotion the following season, although they would also miss out on the title on the final day after conceding an 89th minute equaliser against Aston Villa.

Hughton's most recent spell in the Championship came at Nottingham Forest between October 2021 and September 2021. However, he would lose 20 of his 49 league games in charge, and was eventually replaced by Steve Cooper, who subsequently guided the club to promotion.

11 Steve Coppell

Coppell is next, having managed the side who hold the record points total in Championship history, as his 2005/06 Reading side accumulated an astonishing 106 points.

During his tenure as the Royals' manager, Coppell won 71 of his 137 second-tier games, 31 of which came in the aforementioned record-breaking season, where he averaged 2.3 points per game, only losing on two occasions all season, as well as scoring 99 times.

After recording their highest ever league position the following season - 8th in the Premier League - Reading were relegated in 2007/08, and the former Manchester United player almost guided his side to an immediate return to the top flight. However, they were ultimately defeated in a last game showdown against Birmingham City, who won 2-0 to secure automatic promotion, before they lost 3-0 over two legs to the eventual play-off winners Burnley.

10 Scott Parker

Scott Parker's managerial career in English football has, in a way, followed the pattern of the two clubs he took charge of at the time, with many believing that Fulham and Bournemouth were too good for the Championship, but couldn't quite make the step-up to the Premier League.

Regardless, he has two promotions from the division in as many seasons, winning 48 of his 92 regular season games as a Championship manager, as well as winning the play-offs with the Cottagers back in the 2019/20 season.

Fulham were in the automatic promotion race all season long, but came 2 points behind West Bromwich Albion before defeating Cardiff City in the semi-finals, before Joe Bryan was the unexpected hero in the behind closed doors final against West London rivals Brentford, which they won 2-1.

After being dismissed following a poor Premier League campaign, Parker took charge at the Vitality Stadium looking to go one better than Bournemouth's prior season, where they were defeated by Brentford in the play-off semi-finals.

In a season where Dominic Solanke netted 29 times for the Cherries, they gained automatic promotion with 88 points and an average of 1.91 points per game.

However, Parker's tenure on the South Coast didn't last much longer after he was sacked following a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool in August 2022.

9 Kieran Mckenna

Kieran Mckenna is one of two current active managers in the Championship who is on this list. Mckenna guided Ipswich Town from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons between 2022 and 2024. The Tractor Boys are the first team to have done this since Southampton in 2011/12.

Ipswich had a strong start to the season, making the second-best start in Championship history after 20 games, picking up 48 points and were only one point behind league leaders Leicester City.

Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead lead the scoring charts for Ipswich with both attackers netting 13 goals each in the Championship, but the standout player for the Tractor Boys was Chelsea loanee, Omari Hutchinson, who scored 10 goals and had six assists.

Ipswich gained promotion on the last day of the season as they beat Huddersfield to confirm their Premier League status for the 24/25 season. They finished on 96 points, which was six clear of third place Leeds United and only one behind champions Leicester. Ipswich averaged 2.08 points a game.

8 Marco Silva

Marco Silva may have only managed in the Championship for one season, but it was an extraordinary season for all concerned with Fulham.

After being relegated under the aforementioned Parker, the former Everton boss was installed in the summer of 2021, and inherited a squad which included the likes of Aleksander Mitrovic, Tom Cairney and Jean Michael Seri to name a few.

This title-winning season included a run of just one defeat between October 2nd and February 19th, and a remarkable tally of three 7–0 scorelines - two of which came away to Blackburn Rovers and Reading, as well as their title-clinching victory over Luton Town.

Obviously, it was Mitrovic who grabbed the headlines on many occasions in this dynamic, free-flowing side, as he netted 43 times in 44 league games across the campaign.

7 Vincent Kompany

He may be enduring a difficult Premier League season at present, but Vincent Kompany produced a remarkable 2022/23 campaign to see Burnley lift the Championship title for the second time in the last ten years.

After a steady start to the campaign, the Clarets moved top after a 1-0 win over Norwich City in October 2022, and they remained there for the rest of the season, and became the fastest team to ever secure promotion in the Championship, doing so with seven games to spare.

Many believe that this team could have broken Reading's record total, but a run of three games without a win, which included a first defeat in 23 league games, put a dent in those aspirations.

Ultimately, Burnley supporters wouldn't have been overly concerned as they still confirmed the title with a 1-0 win away to arch rivals Blackburn through Manuel Benson's stunning effort.

They ended the campaign with 101 points, averaging 2.2 points per game.

6 Neil Warnock

Since the inception of the Championship in 2004, the most synonymous name linked with the league has been none other than Neil Warnock.

In total, the 75-year-old has managed 529 games in the division for eight different sides, and has been successful in relation to a number of those teams' ambitions at the time.

Warnock has won promotion on three occasions since 2004, with the first coming at his boyhood club Sheffield United in the 2005/06 campaign, where they came second with 92 points - 11 clear of third place Watford. He then guided QPR to the title in 2010/11, with Moroccan playmaker Adel Taarabt at the centre of proceedings with 19 goals and 21 assists, as the R's accumulated 88 points, winning 24 of their 46 games. He would also come in 2nd place with Cardiff City in the 2017/18 season, when a 0-0 draw with Reading on the final day was enough to secure promotion.

The EFL legend has also been successful in staving off survival with the likes of Rotherham United, Middlesbrough and latterly Huddersfield Town, where he resigned last September after a frustrating summer transfer window, as the Terriers failed to build on a tremendous run in the late stages of last season.

5 Steve Bruce

Similarly to Warnock, Steve Bruce is a name linked to the Championship at almost every possible opportunity, having recorded the most promotions from the division to the Premier League with a tally of four.

He guided Birmingham City to two promotions in 2002 and 2007, with the first of those coming just months after being given the job at St Andrew's, before instantly regaining Premier League status five years later, as the Blues came second to Sunderland, averaging 1.87 points per game to finish on 86 points.

After a spell in the Premier League, Bruce returned to the second tier five years later, this time taking charge of Hull City and statistically becoming the most successful manager in the club's history. The Tigers won promotion with 79 points in his first season in charge after a well-documented final day drama against champions Cardiff.

Despite subsequently finishing 16th in the top flight - a club record - an FA Cup Final appearance and a maiden venture into European competition, Bruce had to guide a high-quality squad to promotion in the 2015/16 season. A run of just five wins in the last 13 games saw Hull fade out of the automatic promotion race, but were successful at Wembley against Sheffield Wednesday, winning 1-9.

Bruce's final two spells in Championship management also came in the West Midlands, as he won 42 of his 92 Championship games in charge of Aston Villa between October 2016 and 2018, including a 1-0 defeat in the play-off final by Fulham.

He also took charge of West Bromwich Albion between February and October 2022, but departed with the Baggies sitting inside the relegation zone with just one win from their opening 13 games.

4 Rafa Benitez

The former Champions League winning manager is next, having secured promotion in his only season at Championship level with Newcastle back in 2016/17.

Despite losing their first two games against Fulham and Huddersfield, the Toon soon picked up the pace through the likes of Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey.

They would eventually win the title on the final day of the season, as three consecutive wins saw them leapfrog Brighton with 94 points.

3 Nuno Espírito Santo

We begin the top three with Nuno, who played a remarkable part in the transformation at Molineux.

After a disappointing 15th place finish the previous season, the Portuguese instantly set his stall out with the high-profile signings of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Willy Boly and Leo Bonatini in particular.

Wolves won the title with 99 points, nine clear of second place Cardiff, which in part was down to a dramatic affair between the two sides late in the season, as Neves' free-kick secured a vital victory for the West Midlands outfit.

The aforementioned Jota and Bonatini were responsible for 29 of their 82 goals this campaign, and they soon went from strength to strength in the top flight, which included a venture into the UEFA Europa League before Nuno departed in 2021.

2 Daniel Farke

Coming second is current Leeds United boss Daniel Farke, who has two previous promotions from the Championship on his CV.

Having arrived in England to take charge of Norwich City, Farke won promotion in his second season at Carrow Road as Norwich won the title with 94 points, with Teemu Puuki also the league's top scorer with 29 goals.

After relegation, he yet again masterminded another title-winning side, this time with 97 points, averaging 2.11 points per game. Puuki was yet again the Canaries' top scorer with 26, but what was even more remarkable was Emi Buendia's form in his final season at the club, scoring 15 and registering a further 16 assists.

The German guided Leeds United to a third place finish in the 23/24 season, just missing out on the automatic promotion spots. Crysencio Summerville was the Whites' top scorer with 19, whilst also getting nine assists. Leeds finished on 90 points and averaged 1.95 points a game - an incredible season but not enough to beat Ipswich and Leicester to automatic promotion.

1 Marcelo Bielsa

Rounding off this list is 'El Loco', who is still endeared by the Elland Road faithful to this day.

It was a major coup to see Bielsa in the Championship, but he soon justified Andrea Radrizzani's decision, as Leeds became one of the dominant forces in the second tier.

Not only was his relentless and intense 3-3-3-1 system a breath of fresh air to the division, but Leeds were involved in a number of dramatic encounters, particularly in his first season.

Two of those came against Derby County, with the first of those being the infamous 'spygate' incident in the lead up to a 2-0 win for United, before Aston Villa were ultimately awarded a free goal after Mateusz Klich gave Leeds the advantage in a must-win game to keep their automatic promotion dreams alive. Leeds would then be undone by the Rams in the play-off semi-finals, as Frank Lampard's side staged a remarkable comeback in West Yorkshire to win 4-3 on aggregate.

This didn't deter Bielsa's promotion dream, as they returned to the Premier League after sixteen years in a season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, United's run of seven wins in their final nine games saw them finish seven points ahead of West Brom, as they secured the Championship title.

Bielsa won 81 of his 170 games in charge at Elland Road, leaving with a win percentage of 47.65%