Watford have appointed a new manager, so he’s obviously been ushered in as one of the favourites to be the next sacked in the Championship…
(Odds are taken from Sportscasting)…
9=) Phil Parkinson (Wrexham)
Wrexham’s return to the second tier of English football has not been as triumphant as Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Robert McElhenney would have been hoping for.
Despite spending a huge £33m on summer signings, the Welsh side sit 18th in the Championship after nine games and are only four clear of the relegation zone.
Parkinson has credit in the bank after guiding Wrexham to three consecutive promotions from the National League to the Championship, but his side are currently performing below expectations, and a relegation battle is unfathomable given how much they have spent.
9=) Chris Wilder (Sheffield United)
For a change, Watford did not win this season’s Championship Sack Race as they came second to Sheffield United, who dismissed Ruben Selles after only 75 days in charge.
Selles has been succeeded by the man he replaced at Bramall Lane, with club legend Wilder returning for a third stint in the dugout following the club’s controversial decision to part ways with the 58-year-old following last season’s promotion near-miss.
So far, Wilder has yet to oversee a significant improvement, winning one and losing three of his four games as the Blades remain bottom of the Championship.
READ: Chris Wilder’s return to Sheffield United doomed to fail despite no-brainer decision on Hail Mary
9=) John Eustace (Derby County)
Eustace took an almighty risk in February 2025 by ditching fifth-placed Blackburn Rovers for 21st-placed Derby County because he felt the Rams had a higher ceiling.
This decision has paid off to a certain extent as he guided them to Championship safety last season, but there has been a lack of progress in recent months as they are 20th in the table and winless in four league games.
8) Sergej Jakirovic (Hull City)
Hull City appointed Jakirovic to replace Selles in the summer after the 48-year-old guided Super Lig side Kayserispor to safety from relegation, winning eight of his 17 games in charge.
Turkish owner Acun Ilicali exploited the free agent market in the summer to make several notable additions, including Ollie McBurnie, Semi Ajayi and Joe Gelhardt.
Despite this, Jakirovic’s start at Hull City has been a mixed bag as he has three wins, four draws and three losses from his ten matches in charge.
7) Javi Gracia (Watford)
At this point, I’ve given up trying to make sense of the Pozzo family’s hiring and firing at Watford, with Paulo Pezzolano the latest to fall victim to their cut-throat approach regarding managers.
Being mid-table with three wins, three draws and three losses is clearly not good enough for the Pozzo family, who have brought back former Leeds United boss Gracia to have a second attempt at managing Watford.
His first reign was successful as he guided the Hornets to Premier League safety and an FA Cup semi-final in 2018/19, but he was harshly sacked at the start of the following campaign. His last spell at Watford lasted for 66 games, but it would be surprising if he gets anywhere close to that tally this time around.
6) Henrik Pedersen (Sheffield Wednesday)
Given the dire circumstances at Hillsborough, Pedersen, who was initially Danny Rohl’s assistant, has not done too badly as head coach, losing 50% of his 12 matches in charge across all competitions.
The sooner Dejphon Chansiri is gone, the better for Sheffield Wednesday. Relegation at least is inevitable this season, though Pedersen is doing all that he can to steady a sinking ship. At least they are ahead of Sheffield United in the table…
4=) Gary Rowett (Oxford United)
Oxford United are always likely to be fighting a losing battle as they look to cement themselves in the Championship, with the relative minnows massively surpassing expectations last season to survive.
That was largely down to the experience of Rowett, who has a proven record of fighting fires in the Championship, though this season was always likely to be another slog.
Oxford currently sit in the relegation zone and have only one win from their opening nine games.
4=) Chris Davies (Birmingham City)
Birmingham’s owners recently insisted that Davies has the “total confidence” of the board, but patience must be wearing thin…
Like Wrexham, Birmingham spent heavily in the summer and were backed by many to contend for promotion after steamrolling League One foes last season, but they are currently among a host of mid-table clubs sitting on 12 points from nine games and seven adrift of Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.
There is plenty of time to bridge that gap to the promotion contenders, but Davies will need to quickly find a solution for Birmingham’s inconsistency because their ambitious owners will not accept mediocrity.
3) Will Still (Southampton)
Most suspected that Leicester City would be the weakest of the three relegated sides this season due to their off-field problems, but Southampton have comfortably had the worst start of the three teams.
Still’s side have been bogged down by having the most draws in the Championship (five) and currently looking over their shoulders rather than at the promotion picture.
2) Valerien Ismael (Blackburn Rovers)
Ismael has never come close to repeating his achievements at Barnsley as he’s struggled at West Brom, Watford and now Blackburn Rovers.
The 50-year-old was given the unenviable task of replacing Eustace last season and they missed out on the play-offs despite a late charge for the top six, while Rovers have reverted to type this season to sit a point and a place above the relegation zone.
1) Liam Manning (Norwich City)
Optimism was high at Norwich in the summer as they had a real go in the transfer market, spending around £25m on several notable incomings, while Manning is considered one of the brightest young managers in the division.
A push for promotion was expected, but a woeful five-game winless run leaves them deep in the bottom half and Manning is under immense pressure following last weekend’s damaging 3-1 loss to arch-rivals Ipswich Town.
