Ranking the last 12 EFL Championship title-winning managers from worst to best | OneFootball

FLW attempts to rank last 12 EFL Championship title-winning managers from worst to best

The EFL Championship has had the privilege of witnessing some incredible managers managing some incredible teams over the years, with Frank Lampard's Coventry City the latest instalment in that category.

Indeed, Coventry are this year's Championship winners, romping to the title under former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard, ending their 25-year absence from the top-flight.

The Sky Blues are the latest club to get their hands on that illustrious trophy, and will be preparing for a huge summer ahead of them, where they will hope to sustain themselves in the top flight.

Lampard has silenced numerous critics for his performance at the CBS Arena, writing his name down in the second-tier history books alongside some notable names, as FLW attempts to rank each of the last 12 Championship title-winning managers from worst to best.

12 ? ? Malkay Mackay

Malkay Mackay took charge at Welsh club Cardiff City in the summer of 2011 after a two-year stint with Watford, and in the Scot's first season in charge, he would guide the Bluebirds to a League Cup final against Liverpool, only losing out on penalties.

In his second, he went one better, lifting the Championship title on 87 points, eight ahead of Hull City in 2nd, despite numerous off-field issues surrounding the club's identity, most notably Malaysian chairman Vincent Tan changing the club's colours from blue to red, and the club's badge from a bluebird to a dragon.

Six months after that success, Mackay was dismissed with Cardiff languishing in the lower reaches of the top-flight, and he has since had spells in charge of Wigan Athletic, Scotland, and Ross County, but now works at Hibernian as sporting director since May 2024.

11 ? ? Nigel Pearson

Nigel Pearson enjoyed two separate stints with Leicester City, both yielding success.

The first came between 2008 and 2010, where he would help guide the Foxes from their one and only, soon-to-be second, season in League One back to the Championship.

His second, coming between 2011 and 2015, was more notable, in that the Englishman would spearhead the club back to the Premier League in style, finishing on 102 points, nine ahead of Burnley beneath them, with players such as Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, and Riyad Mahrez helping them along their way.

Unfortunately for Pearson, he hasn't been able to find similar success elsewhere with either Derby County, OH Leuven, Watford, or Bristol City, with his best moment in management coming over a decade ago now.

10 ? ? Frank Lampard

The most recent entry on this list, Frank Lampard, has done a truly wonderful job at Coventry City, building on the foundations set by his predecessor Mark Robins and doing what the current Stoke City boss couldn't - take the Sky Blues to the Premier League.

Eyebrows were raised when the former midfielder replaced Robins at the helm at the CBS Arena, with neither one of his stints with Derby County, Chelsea, or Everton yielding much success.

However, having narrowly missed out in the play-offs in his first season in charge, he returned with a vengeance in the 2025/26 campaign, running away with the league and deserving of their place in the top-flight.

He ranks so low purely because of the experience and success ahead of him, but if he continues this trajectory with Coventry, there is no reason why he couldn't rank higher sooner rather than later.

9 ? ? Marco Silva

Marco Silva has cemented Fulham's status in the Premier League in each of the last four seasons, with the Portuguese head coach having almost never come under scrutiny during his time at Craven Cottage, but instead being linked with bigger jobs.

The former Sporting CP boss first arrived on English shores with Hull City, and despite the Tigers' struggles, landed the job with Everton shortly after.

He'd take charge in West London with Fulham following the club's relegation in 2021, and would instantly guide them back to the top flight in emphatic style, scoring a record 106 goals along the way, including a staggering 43 alone from Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Silva is destined to continue his rise to the very top and will likely rank as one of the very best in this list in the future.

8 ? ? Daniel Farke

To have won the Championship on three separate occasions but still rank as low as this is a testament to the sheer strength of this list.

German boss Daniel Farke has won the second-tier title thrice, twice with Norwich City in 2019 and 2021, and most recently with Leeds United in 2025.

Farke was never able to quite make the jump to the Premier League; however, relegated on both occasions with Norwich until he was finally able to get that monkey off his back recently with Leeds, confirming their place in the top flight for another year.

He will be hoping to build upon this success by climbing the Premier League table next year, and, in the process, boost his reputation as a head coach.

7 ? ? Sean Dyche

Sean Dyche's football, whilst not the prettiest on the eye, has proven to be incredibly effective almost everywhere he has been.

The former Chesterfield defender, like Mackay, started his managerial journey with Watford, but found success elsewhere, spending over a decade in charge of Burnley between 2012 and 2022.

He would guide the Clarets to promotion to the Premier League in 2014, and then, after suffering relegation at the first time of asking, he would go one better and lift the second-tier title in 2016 on 93 points, four ahead of Middlesbrough.

A 7th-placed finish gave Burnley and Dyche the opportunity to play Europa League qualification football in 2018, and following his dismissal in 2022, he has since had spells in charge of Everton and Nottingham Forest, and is on the hunt for his next project.

6 ? ? Enzo Maresca

Enzo Maresca, before his appointment as Leicester City head coach in the summer of 2023, was a relative unknown, having worked as one of Pep Guardiola's assistants at Manchester City previously.

Clearly, his time at the Etihad paid off, as the Italian head coach would guide the Foxes back to the Premier League at the first time of asking in convincing style.

He would spend just one year at the King Power Stadium before Chelsea came calling, where he would continue his success by lifting both the Europa Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup, before being dismissed by the Blues in January 2026 after falling out with the hierarchy.

5 ? ? Nuno Espirito Santo

Portuguese boss Nuno Espirito Santo arrived on English shores with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017, and brought along with him a cohort of compatriots in the form of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Ivan Cavaleiro, and Helder Costa.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Wolves charged to the Championship title in Nuno's first year at the Molineux helm, finishing on 99 points, before going on to secure back-to-back 7th-placed finishes in the Premier League and guiding the Black Country outfit to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

His journey with Wolves came to an end in 2021 after four years, and he has since had spells in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, Al-Ittihad, Nottingham Forest, with whom he guided to Europa League qualification as well, and West Ham United.

4 ? ? Vincent Kompany

Vincent Kompany ended his incredible playing career with Manchester City and immediately went into management back in his native Belgium with Anderlecht, before returning to England in 2022 with Burnley.

In his first season in charge of the Clarets, he would guide Burnley immediately back to the Premier League, losing just three games all season and accumulating 101 points.

He was unable to keep them afloat in the top flight, but did enough to warrant Bayern Munich offering him the top job in Bavaria, where he has since won back-to-back Bundesliga titles, breaking the record for the most amount of goals scored by a side across a league campaign, and narrowly lost out to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.

3 ? ? Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe's spell at Bournemouth doesn't yield the credit it deserves.

Having made 200 appearances for the Cherries as a player, he would become the club's permanent manager in January 2009, whilst in League Two, and effectively saved the club from liquidation, despite a 17-point deduction.

The journey they have gone on since has been nothing short of magical, as Bournemouth completed a truly incredible rise to the Premier League in 2015, lifting the Championship trophy on 90 points, as Howe stabilised the club in the top flight, albeit ending in disappointing circumstances with relegation in 2020.

He has since helped to rebuild Newcastle United to a Premier League powerhouse, reaching the Champions League on two occasions and ending their 56-year wait for a major trophy when the Magpies lifted the League Cup in 2025, staking his claim as one of, if not the best, English head coaches around.