The 5 best EFL Championship sides we’ve ever seen and why AI ranks them so highly | OneFootball

AI has ranked the five best Championship sides of all time and reasoned why it ranks them so highly

The EFL Championship has seen some incredible sides over the years, with it likely that numerous fanbases can make a strong claim for having the best squad the division has ever seen.

Indeed, over the years, the Championship has been a stepping stone not only for players to go on and launch themselves to stardom, but for teams as well.

Whilst the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Michael Olise, Aleksander Mitrovic, and Jude Bellingham can all credit the English second tier as having helped make them into the players they are today, many teams can credit the division too.

Aston Villa, Newcastle United, and Brighton have all played in the Championship within the past decade, and each can credit the division with providing the platform for where they are today.

However, some sides are more memorable than others, as FLW has asked AI chatbot ChatGPT to rank the top five Championship sides of all time, and provide a justification for their rankings.

5 ? ? Leicester City - 2013/14

ChatGPT says: Their legacy elevates them massively—knowing this was the foundation of a future Premier League-winning team makes them feel more historically important than most.

Kicking off this list is the Leicester City squad of 2013/14.

Although they would go on and win the league at a canter exactly a decade later under Enzo Maresca, it is the side that romped to the Championship title in 2014 which will still have many Foxes fans' hearts.

Leicester had just finished 6th in the second tier the previous season, losing dramatically to Watford in the play-off semi-finals due to the ever-iconic Troy Deeney strike at Vicarage Road following Anthony Knockaert's missed penalty.

Instead of taking a knock due to this disappointment, Leicester returned the following year with a vengeance, and under Nigel Pearson, began the season in style with a 2-1 away win over Middlesbrough, which set the tone for the rest of the campaign.

Boasting the likes of the aforementioned Knockaert, Jamie Vardy, Chris Wood, David Nugent, Wes Morgan, Andy King, Matty James, and Kasper Schmeichel, with Riyad Mahrez joining in January, as soon as the Foxes put their foot on the pedal, they rarely let up.

Five defeats in the first half of the campaign were followed up by just one in the second, as Leicester stormed to the Championship title ahead of Burnley in second place, amassing 102 points, and blowing numerous teams out of the water on their way.

Of course, an incredible survival in the Premier League followed in the season after, and just two years after lifting the Championship title, they lifted the Premier League title against the odds, with many of the squad from the second tier playing crucial roles in that success.

The blueprint for one of, if not the best, underdog stories in sporting history, Leicester's squad of 2013/14 deserve a place on this list.

4 ? ? Newcastle United - 2009/10

ChatGPT says: They’re remembered as the ultimate “too big for the league” side—and crucially, they actually lived up to that billing across the whole season.

Newcastle United have gone on to become European regulars once again under Eddie Howe, and have rarely dipped beneath the Premier League for much of their history, and when they have, it's usually been brief.

They spent one year in the second tier between 2016 and 2017, as they narrowly pipped Brighton and Hove Albion to the league title, though it's their 2009/10 year which earns them a spot in this list.

After a disappointing relegation from the Premier League, with none of Kevin Keegan, Chris Hughton, Joe Kinnear, or Alan Shearer able to keep them afloat, it was Hughton who returned to the dugout ahead of their first season back in the Championship.

It looked as though it was going to be a tough season on Tyneside, with the likes of Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen, Damien Duff, and Mark Viduka all leaving the club, whilst uncertainty over the club's ownership lingered.

As a result, no summer signings were made despite the departures, though this didn't deter them, as with each of Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Fabricio Coloccini, and Jonas Gutierrez in the squad, the Magpies drowned out all the outside noise to go on and amass 102 points on their way to the league title, securing an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.

In spite of all their setbacks during pre-season, Newcastle flexed their top-flight muscle and ensured their stay in the Championship was only brief, as they claim their place on this list.

3 ? ? Leeds United - 2019/20

ChatGPT says: One of the most iconic teams in the league’s history stylistically—Marcelo Bielsa’s system made them unforgettable, even beyond the points tally.

Marcelo Bielsa is widely regarded as one of the most influential coaches of all time, with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone, and Jorge Sampaoli crediting the Argentine as a huge influence on their careers.

It's no wonder then as to why it came as a shock when the Newell Old Boys legend rocked up at Elland Road in 2018 to take charge of Leeds United in the Championship.

Bielsa lost out to Frank Lampard's Derby County in the play-off semi-final in dramatic fashion to end his first season at the helm, and the following year, El Loco ensured his side wouldn't make the same mistake again.

With Ben White being the only significant arrival over the summer, Bielsa sought to improve upon the squad he inherited by making them better players instead of replacing them, which, of course, is easier said than done.

However, with his high-tempo, high-pressing style of play, Leeds took the second tier by storm, claiming the league title with three games to go after Pablo Hernandez's dramatic late winner against Swansea City.

Although COVID-19 would disrupt their season, Leeds wouldn't let that dampen the mood, as they finally secured a long-awaited return to the Premier League, largely in part due to Bielsa, who is still adored in West Yorkshire to this day.

Whilst Leeds would go on to surpass Bielsa's points tally of 93 under Daniel Farke in 2025, reaching 100 points on their way to the title, the 2019/20 season will forever go down as one of the most significant and best-remembered in Leeds' history.

2 ? ? Burnley - 2022/23

ChatGPT says: They’ve arguably become the modern benchmark—a team that didn’t just win, but did so playing elite, possession-based football. They’ve changed how people think a dominant Championship side can look.​​​​​​​

The most recent entry on this list, Burnley, under Vincent Kompany, redefined the bar for Championship-winning sides as we know it in the 2022/23 season.

Four promotions to the top flight since 2014, winning the title on two occasions, Clarets fans are no strangers to the upper echelons of the second tier, and whilst any of their promotion campaigns are worth a shout, it is their title-winning season of 2023 which makes the list.

Relegation from the top flight in 2022 saw a new era dawn upon Turf Moor, as Sean Dyche left the club to be replaced by former Manchester City captain and Belgian international Kompany.

Dyche garnered a reputation for his direct, no-nonsense style of play, whereas Kompany was the complete opposite.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Ian Maatsen, Josh Cullen, Nathan Tella, and Arijanet Muric all joined the club over the summer, all of whom quickly became integral to Kompany's high-possession system.

According to FotMob, Burnley average 64.7% possession across the season, scoring an average of 1.9 goals per game, and conceding an average of 0.8 goals per game, topping the table for each metric in the division on their way to the title.

The Clarets lost just three games all season, reaching 101 points in the process, and, to top it off, secured the Championship title against bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Burnley set the tone for what a title-winning side in the second tier is capable of being, turning dominance into points on their way to silverware, rightfully earning their place in this list.

1 ? ? Reading 2005/06

ChatGPT says: They’re still the reference point—when people talk about “the best Championship team ever,” this is the default answer. It’s not just the 106 points; it’s how inevitable they felt week to week.

Still the Championship's record point tally holders, Reading's 2005/06 season has yet to be matched nearly 20 years later, and for good reason.

The Royals, under Steve Coppell, had just finished 7th in the season prior, and were looking to go one better this time around and secure a top-six finish.

What transpired blew even the most optimistic of Reading fans away. The Berkshire-based outfit, with the likes of Dave Kitson, Steve Sidwell, Kevin Doyle, and Leroy Lita all hitting double digits for goals, James Harper and Michael Hunt in the midfield, protected by Ibrahima Sonko, Ivar Ingimarsson, and Nicky Shorey in defence, with Marcus Hahnemann in goal, stormed their way to 106 points and the Championship title.

Losing just twice all season, on the opening day at home to Plymouth Argyle and away to Luton Town, everything came together for Reading this campaign, at one stage enduring a ten-game winning streak.

Though this season proved to be no flash in the pan, as Reading, still under Coppell, would go on to finish 8th in their first season back in the Premier League, with much of the same side that had got them there.