Frank Lampard leads five EFL narratives to keep you busy on Boxing Day | OneFootball

We get it. You’ve been distracted by the Premier League and now you feel like the family member told they are about to dive in blind to the fifth season of a TV series they know nothing about.

Sure, you recognise some of the characters (that Coventry manager looks familiar) or some of those teams even look like the ones that used to prop up the Premier League table but while the Premier League’s decision to show just one game on Boxing Day – starting at 8PM for that matter – has got Sean Dyche searching for his nearest green brick wall, the EFL is here to provide football addicts a much-needed hit as their stomachs process to convert a month’s worth of food.

And luckily for you, there is more narrative than you will know what to do with in your chocolate-filled haze…

Can Frank Lampard’s Coventry continue their promotion charge?

Remember when Frank Lampard wasn’t cut out for management? For those not keeping up with the Championship, the former Chelsea and Everton boss has not only found his feet but is currently masterminding the runaway leaders of the division.

If goals are your thing, then Swansea’s vicinity to the Coventry Building Society Arena is for you. The Sky Blues have whacked in 53 of them this season, a figure only Bayern Munich have surpassed. Of those, Brandon Thomas-Asante is the top scorer on 10 but the great thing about this Coventry side is that the goals are spread out with five players having hit at least five this year.

The question everyone is asking is: will they fall off? A 3-0 defeat away at Ipswich looked to be the start of a downfall and even they could only draw two of the next three, the rest of the league playing a game of ‘the promotion spots are lava’ means Lampard’s men are still 11 points clear of third place.

Like Coventry, Swansea are looking down rather than up and are seven points off the drop zone but have found some form, winning three of their last four.

For the sadists of you out there, Cameron Burgess scored his third own goal of the season during the Swans’ 2-1 over Welsh rivals Wrexham. The record for a single season in English football is five set by Middlesbrough’s Robert Stuart in the 1934/35 First Division and Coventry could well force another unwanted mark on the Australian’s record.

Does anyone actually want to get promoted?

Away from Coventry, it’s as if no one wants to get promoted. In second, Middlesbrough have had their post-break up glow-up and are five points clear in the automatics but you could throw a net over the other contenders.

Ipswich’s ability to lose 2-1 to relegation-threatened Oxford and then beat the league leaders has them third while three wins on the trot for Hull has pushed them up to fourth.

Three points separate fifth place Preston to ninth-placed Bristol City with the latter most recently beating Boro.

Of the Boxing Day fixtures, Ipswich’s visit to sixth-placed Millwall stands out, as does Preston’s visit to Stoke.

Hull will be hoping to make light work of bottom side Sheffield Wednesday, who are still on -9 having lost 18 points due to their ongoing financial issues.

Also keep an eye out for the late kick-off of Wrexham v Sheffield United. The Welsh/Hollywood side had been one of the surprise packages earlier in the year and had potential for the playoffs but a poor run of form has dropped them down to 15th.

Sheffield United meanwhile have the best form in the league and could overtake Wrexham with a win.

Sheffield Wednesday looking for companions on their one-way ticket to League One

Picture this. You’re in the drop zone but two points from safety. You are days away from back-to-back home games to kickstart the festive season which could well define your season. It’s the Championship so you could do with an experienced manager at this level. So who do you get?

Many of you may have thought of Gary Rowett but Oxford United have not been very Christmassy and given the long-term boss the boot.

In fairness to the United decision-makers, Rowett is of the school of thought that unattractive football is best if it gets results but that leaves you with little wiggle room when the scorelines don’t go your way. Three defeats in the past four have seen them fall into the drop zone, just one point ahead of Norwich.

Speaking of which, the Canaries were an outside bet for the play-offs heading into the year but instead have looked far more likely to be spending next season in League One.

Former Ipswich player/inside agent Liam Manning was given the boot after a seventh successive home defeat but new manager Philippe Clement has finally got a tune out of the Canaries, who have lost just one of the last five.

They still face an uphill battle though with three points separating them and a Portsmouth side who have a game in hand, but a home game against Charlton is eminently winnable.

Another one for the sadists – Sheffield Wednesday have only managed seven points this year but had to give all of them back with a -18 deduction. Beating them feels a bit like kicking a puppy.

League One and its many midfield managers

Cardiff are one of those clubs that fit into the ‘too big for League One’ category but as Bolton will contest, this league does not care about stature.

League One is very much the melting point of English football where some sizeable clubs with their matching infrastructure meet much smaller teams with less than half the wage budget but it is still a difficult league to escape.

The Bluebirds are currently top and are still owned by Vincent Tan (yep, the man who tucks his football shirt into jeans) and face an Exeter side with very real questions about their very existence even with the payday of an FA Cup visit to Man City on the horizon.

The nature of League One and some of its clubs means you also get a real mix of games played at this point in the year. Stevenage are fourth but if they win their two games in hand, they could be second; Lincoln are currently second but played a game more than those around them.

If you’re a fan of 2000s/2010s English midfielders, then this is the place for you with Tom Cleverley in charge at Plymouth and Kevin Nolan at Northampton. Of the two, it is the latter who is enjoying more success, having taken his relegation-tipped Cobblers to 12th.

Cleverley has ridden out a storm that looked more likely to sink his ship than a Shropshire canal and three wins on the trot – including a 5-1 away smashing of Doncaster – has lifted them to safety for now.

Another man with question marks about his future is Kieran McKenna disciple Lee Grant, who is at the helm at Huddersfield. Hopes the former goalkeeper could replicate the achievements of his former boss were quickly extinguished and there is still an uncertainty with the team three points outside of the playoffs.

They face rock-bottom Port Vale on Boxing Day and anything less than a win and Grant will have spent his Christmas Day evening in a hotel room for nothing.

In terms of the games to watch – second place Lincoln travel to fifth-place Stockport in a game that could see the two teams swap places.

A tight title race in League Two

If you thought League One and the Championship was competitive then let me introduce you to League Two.

A solitary point separates the top three, all of which are in the automatic promotion slots, but another five and you are out of the play-offs entirely.

Everyone’s favourite team they can see from the M6 Walsall are top, ahead of Swindon by a single goal while Bromley, who knocked Ipswich out of League Cup earlier this year, are third.

Walsall are experiencing a mini-blip with two back-to-back draws halting their momentum and they face 10th place Crewe at home while Swindon travel to the English stadium closest to an ODEON cinema to face fifth-place MK Dons.

Salford meanwhile are sixth after David Beckham and Gary Neville bought out the other members of the Class of ’92 in the summer.

At the bottom, Newport County are propping up the division on 13 points from 21 games while Harrogate Town, Bristol Rovers, Crawley and Shrewsbury are all separated by just two points in the race to not fill the final relegation spot.

Harrogate and Bristol Rovers both play teams currently in the top six meaning it could be an opportune time for Crawley and Shrewsbury to get some much-needed breathing room.