Exclusive: Don Goodman names Ian Holloway and 2 others as best current EFL managers | OneFootball

Don Goodman has told FLW his picks for the three best coaches in the EFL so far this season

Don Goodman has named Coventry City’s Frank Lampard, Lincoln City’s Michael Skubala and Swindon Town’s Ian Holloway as the three best managers in the entirety of the EFL.

We are coming up to an incredibly busy period of the season, with most teams in the EFL set to play close to a dozen times between now and 4 January.

The start to the campaign has thrown up plenty of surprises across the EFL, which has been a real test for managers both experienced and fresh to the job.

The Sky Blues and Swindon both top their respective divisions, while Skubala’s team sit second in League One going into this weekend’s action.

All three clubs are performing above expectations, and will have their sights set on promotion up the English football pyramid as long as they get through these next six weeks unscathed.

Don Goodman names the best three managers in the EFL

Goodman has selected the best manager in each of the three divisions in the EFL, starting with Lampard in the Championship.

He believes the Coventry boss stands out as an obvious choice, despite the brilliant work being done throughout the league from the likes of Paul Heckingbottom and Nathan Jones, among others.

“It’s almost impossible to narrow it down to three, so I’ll give you one from each league,” Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

“Ultimately, you’ve got to be impressed in the Championship with what Alex Neil has done, Gerhard Struber, Nathan Jones, Sergej Jakirovic, Paul Heckingbottom with their resources at Preston — remarkable — Mark Robins transforming Stoke.

“But there can only be one winner and that’s Frank Lampard, who is residing over the only team in the EFL that are averaging more than two points per game.”

Goodman has chosen Skubala at Lincoln, who are in promotion contention, despite again suggesting he faces stiff competition for the nod as the best manager in League One.

“Little more difficult in League One, where there are some surprises, to be honest with you,” he continued.

“I’m a massive fan of Dave Challinor, so that’s not a surprise.

“Teams like Stevange, Alex Rovell, what a job he’s done, AFC Wimbledon, Johnnie Jackson, Brian Barry-Murphy took over a difficult club in Cardiff, Graham Alexander at Bradford I don’t think were expected to be up there.

“But the vote in League One goes to Michael Skubala, didn’t expect Lincoln to be challenging for automatic promotion.”

Finally, Holloway’s work at Swindon has earned him the recognition of Goodman after their impressive start to the campaign, particularly due to how the 62-year-old had been written off by so many in previous years.

“And then in League Two, pretty similar in some surprises up there in Bromley, really,” he added.

“Andy Woodman, what an incredible job he is doing, they went through last season, losing most of his best players, quite remarkable that he’s got Walsall up there again.

“But the winner for me in League Two would be Ian Holloway.

“He’s been written off a few times in the last few years.

“Just wanted to get back in, get to 1000 games, done that easily.

“Took over a struggling side last season, made them solid and has kicked them on and they sit proudly at the top of League Two, so Ian Holloway, for me.”

Competition will be stiff for automatic promotion in League One and League Two, with nothing really separating the sides at the top of those respective divisions, but Coventry’s impressive form has earned them a seven-point gap to third place Stoke after just 15 games.

A lot of managers are doing great work in the EFL this season

The three chosen managers by Goodman are all excellent picks, and it’s also great that it is such a difficult question to answer.

There are a lot of coaches doing really great work so far this season under all sorts of different circumstances in the EFL.

Coventry are well on their way to earning a long-awaited return to the Premier League, so it’s hard to deny Lampard as the best in the Championship.

Meanwhile, the promotion battle in League One and League Two is incredibly intense already, and it could be the coaches that best manage this festive period that earn their stripes when these awards are ultimately evaluated at the end of the campaign.