The greatest ever EFL Championship XI in history as named by AI | OneFootball

FLW has given ChatGPT the unenviable task of naming the greatest ever Championship eleven

A plethora of incredible players have graced the EFL Championship.

England’s squad for the 2024 European Championship included a staggering 19 players who had once plied their trade in the Championship, which goes to show the amount of quality the second tier in England has produced.

But whilst most of those names used their time in the lower tiers as a way to grow into the players they are now, how about those whose best days came during their time in the Championship?

It’s been 21 years since the Championship was rebranded from the old First Division, and its two-decade history has seen many top-quality players, and picking an all-time best eleven is one of the most difficult things a mere human can be asked to do.

With that in mind, Football League World has turned to popular AI-based website ChatGPT to get their opinion on who the definitive all-time eleven is, based on longevity, impact and proven winners at the level, whilst ensuring balance is created across the side.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Chat GPT did list a few honourable mentions, and some of the names that have missed out truly do show how competitive this side truly is.

Steve Sidwell is the first to be mentioned. The centre-midfielder was one of the driving forces of Reading’s 2005/06 106-point season, which still stands as a record to this day.

Record appearance holder Albert Adomah and all-time top goalscorer Billy Sharp haven’t made the final eleven, either - the latter of which will most definitely cause controversy, I’m sure.

Other names mentioned include Jack Grealish, who thrived at the level for Aston Villa, Tom Cairney, and Anthony Knockaert, who played their best football in the Championship, and despite only playing a season at Championship level, Ruben Neves has been named as an honourable mention too.

I’m sure that hasn’t caused any debate, right? Let’s get onto the actual eleven.

Goalkeeper - Kasper Schmeichel

Arguably, Kasper Schmeichel’s career outside of the Championship dwarfs his second-tier success, but it’s worth noting that the 100+ time Danish international and former Premier League winner paid his dues in the second tier before all that followed.

And for those who watched Schmeichel in the early 2010s for Leeds United and then Leicester City, it does really come as no surprise that he’s gone on to have the career he has had.

Schmeichel made the Championship Team of the Season in back-to-back Championship campaigns in 2012/13 and 2013/14, and kept 47 clean sheets in his three seasons at the level for Leicester.

It goes to show how incredible he truly was that he was named in The Guardian’s Championship Team of the Decade for the 2010s, despite leaving the division in 2014. So, it’s no real surprise that he leads this eleven.

Right-back - Kieran Trippier

One of the players alluded to in the 2024 England Euros squad, Kieran Trippier’s career since he last featured in the Championship in 2014 has skyrocketed to the top of La Liga whilst at Atlético Madrid and included a Wembley triumph with Newcastle United.

But, like Schmeichel before him, all of that came after a successful few seasons in the Championship, which included a promotion and back-to-back Team of the Season bows between 2012-2014.

Tripper notched 12-assist seasons in both of those campaigns, showing how he’d become one of the more creative full-backs in English history.

Centre-back - Wes Morgan

Wes Morgan made over 700 career appearances across two clubs, and despite their differences, both Nottingham Forest and Leicester City can be happy that their centre-back powerhouse has made this all-time eleven.

Morgan appeared in over 300 Championship games, played in the play-offs three times and won the division with Leicester in 2013/14.

He was named in three Team of the Seasons, and goes down as another player in this list to go on to win top-flight titles following his time in the Championship, lifting the Premier League with Leicester two seasons after he lifted the Championship with them.

Centre-back - Ben Mee

Ben Mee nips in ahead of the likes of Richard Keogh, Sol Bamba and Daniel Ayala in the all-time eleven, according to ChatGPT, but you can truly see why the former Burnley captain is in the side.

Mee was ever-present as Burnley won the Championship in the 2015/16 season, and was also a big part of the promotion-winning side, which included Kieran Trippier in it, two seasons before that, meaning he becomes the first player in the team to have achieved two promotions to the Premier League.

One of the more underrated English centre-backs in the game, he too would go on to be a Premier League regular following the title-winning 15/16 campaign at Turf Moor.

Left-back - Ian Harte

Unlike the rest of his back-line, Harte’s time in the Championship came towards the twilight of his career. The left-back had played in the Champions League semi-final with Leeds United in 2001, but the Whites’ financial issues and relegation in 2004 left his career rather directionless.

He made his Championship bow at the age of 31 for Blackpool, but enjoyed a small career resurgence at Carlisle United in League One and then in the Championship once more for Reading in the early 2010s.

Harte was always well known as a dangerous attacking full-back, and he netted 15 and assisted 11 in two seasons at the Madejski Stadium, two seasons where he ended up in the Team of the Season, as Reading earned promotion to the Premier League.

The Irishman may not have spent as long in the second tier, but the impact he made earns him a place in this team.

Right-wing - Pablo Hernandez

Like Ian Harte, Pablo Hernandez didn’t make his Championship bow until he was in his 30s, but you wouldn’t have known given the impact the Spaniard was able to make in his four seasons at the level.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side will go down in history as one of the most dynamic, entertaining teams in Championship history, and Hernandez was the main creative cog in that system, scoring and assisting 21 each in the two seasons for Bielsa’s side en route to promotion.

But even before then, under the likes of Gary Monk, Thomas Christansen and Paul Heckingbottom, Hernandez was a cut above the rest, showing why he was a regular for a Champions League-level Valencia side earlier in his career.

So many technically gifted wingers have played in the Championship, and Hernandez will go down among the best (but perhaps not THE best, as we’ll soon find out…)

Centre-midfield - Peter Whittingham

10 out of the 11 places in this all-time eleven can be contested. Not this one.

The late, great Peter Whittingham made the Championship Team of the Season three times in the space of four seasons, with his first of which coming in a 2009/10 season where he scored a league-best 20 and assisted a further 10 from centre midfield.

He helped his Cardiff side to promotion in 2013, and whilst his brief time in the Premier League with the Bluebirds, and for Aston Villa before his move to Wales, didn’t live up to his excellence in the Championship, there’s no doubting that Whittingham will go down in history as one of the greatest to grace the second tier.

Centre-midfield - Wes Hoolahan

Of all the players to be picked alongside Whittingham in the middle of the park, someone nicknamed ‘The Irish Messi’ will probably do the trick.

Hoolahan is the first Norwich City player to feature on this list, and played a big part in the Canaries’ promotions to the Premier League both in 2010/11 and 2014/15.

Additionally, he was named the club’s Player of the Year in their 2016/17 return to the second tier, too, following a campaign where he registered seven goals and 11 assists.

The Irishman registered 73 goal contributions in 222 Championship games, which is enough to get him in over the likes of Jonny Howson, Ollie Norwood or Tom Cairney.

Left-wing - Adel Taarabt

ChatGPT call Moroccan superstar Adel Taarabt arguably the most technically gifted player in Championship history, and can you really argue with that?

Taarabt’s two full seasons in the second tier saw him register 26 goals and 32 assists in 85 games as he helped Queens Park Rangers to a Championship title in the 2010/11 term. That season ended with him winning the division’s Player of the Year with 19 goals and 21 assists.

The winger made less than 100 appearances in the second tier in England, but the impact he made in the short time spent in the division has him among the fan favourites at QPR and among Championship neutrals, too.