Predicting the final 23/24 Championship table: Leicester City first, Leeds second, Huddersfield relegated
Even though this league is known for its unpredictable nature, I’ve set myself the difficult task of projecting the final table’s appearance 16 games into the Championship 2023–2024 season. What a fool.
Sheffield Wednesday (24th): The Owls have only managed one victory in 16 games, and that came against fellow struggling team Rotherham United. Under new head coach Danny Rohl, things don’t seem quite as bad, but a miraculous comeback seems improbable.
Dejphon Chansiri has made things awful over at Hillsborough. 23rd) Rotherham United: This one breaks my heart. If the Championship was decided solely on home form, the Millers would stay up at a canter.
However, their road form (one point out of a possible 24) is letting Rotherham United down. Unless Matt Taylor’s successor can find a way to curb their Jekyll and Hyde tendencies, Rotherham United’s terrible away form (nine victories in previous 102 Championship away trips) will send them down to League one.
22nd) Huddersfield Town
Had it not been for Neil Warnock’s heroics, the Terriers would already be in League One and with Darren Moore not settling in as well as he would have hoped, they are firmly placed as one of the four worst teams in the Championship.
It’ll be pretty tight between the bottom four, but (sorry, Winty) I’m expecting the West Yorkshire outfit to just fall short this time around and the subsequent re-set in the third tier will do them good.
21st) QPR
The Hoops stayed up by the skin of their teeth in 2023/23 as Gareth Ainsworth (with an element of fortune) just about managed to halt their downward spiral after being in the early-season promotion mix.
The ex-Wycombe boss has been on borrowed time for months and club chiefs pulled the trigger to replace him with up-and-coming Spaniard Marti Cifuentes earlier this month.
As proved by their start to last season, QPR have personnel capable of competing higher up the division and their new manager’s positive start (draws vs Rotherham and Bristol City) suggests they may be getting back on track and they have the quality required to edge out the three teams below.
 20th) Plymouth Argyle
Following their sensational promotion season in 2022/23, Plymouth’s sole aim this term was to avoid relegation and with the help of summer signings Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba, they – despite only being two places above the relegation places – will stay up comfortably and that is an indictment of how poor the bottom four are.
19th) Birmingham City
My pick for this season’s dark horse for promotion were flying under John Eustace and looked set to fulfil their potential before a Wayne Rooney-sized spanner was thrown into the works. This unnecessary managerial switch is derailing their season and the Manchester United legend’s P45 should already be in the process of being inked by the club’s new American owners.
18th) Bristol City
The Robins have ousted Nigel Pearson and replaced him with Liam Manning. Longmterm, this could prove to be an inspired call but I suspect Bristol City will continue to languish in the bottom half before the ex-Oxford United boss puts his stamp on this squad ahead of his first full season in charge.
Up until this season, Michael Duff had not been anything short of brilliant during his progressive managerial journey, but it did not take long for him to endure a sticky patch at Swansea. They have overcome their winless start to the campaign but another underwhelming season adrift from the promotion contenders is in progress
16th) Norwich City
The Canaries’ promotion-relegation yo-yo is finally broken as they have continued to decline following their 13th-placed finish in 22/23 and David Wagner is on the brink.
There really is very little between the bottom-half contingent so they could finish a few places higher/lower depending on how long the ex-Huddersfield boss sticks around, but they certainly won’t be in the play-off mix.
15th) Watford
The Hornets have suffered a similar rough patch to Norwich City over the past 18 months as they are now established among the sides enduring mid-table mediocrity.
Watford at least do appear to have one eye on the future as head coach Valerien Ismael recently signed a new contract. The club have needed stability for years, so for their sake, let’s hope the Pozzo family see this process through without getting trigger-happy.
14th) Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn’s inconsistency over the last 18 months has been ludicrous. After finishing last season with 20 wins and 17 losses, they now have seven wins and eight losses in 16 games. As entertaining as this record is, it does limit their progress and their supporters will have a lot of fun en route to seeing their side slip into the bottom half.
13th) Coventry City
The Sky Blues getting promoted to the Premier League would have been a heartwarming story, but they were pipped to the post by Luton Town, who completed their own uplifting tale with a win at Wembley.
Coventry have suffered a hangover following their play-off final heartache but – even without Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer – they are ‘too good to go down’ and will gradually rise up the table as the season progresses.
12th) Stoke City
The Potters were among the busiest sides during the recent summer transfer window as Alex Neil led a long overdue overhaul. It remains to be seen how successful this rebuild will be as their start to the new season has been a mixed bag, but they should have enough to sneak into the top half for the first time since their relegation in 2018.
11th) Millwall
Gary Rowett took the Lions to the next level but his unfashionable style of play led to his demise after they fell short in the play-off race last season. Ex-Chelsea coach Joe Edwards has been tasked with getting them over the line for the top six but given where they were when he took over, he will not do that this term but they will advance up the league.
 10th) Cardiff City
The Bluebirds would have been relegated last season had it not been for Reading’s point deduction and they are making the most of this reprieve as Erol Bulut is taking the Championship by storm and his team have been among this season’s surprise packages.
While a play-off finish may be too much to ask this time around, the club – for the first time in a while – are on an upward trajectory.
9th) West Brom
After finishing 10th and 9th in the past two seasons, I’m once again expecting the Baggies to settle just outside the play-off spots. Though as has been the case with most years in the Championship, only a couple of points will separate the contenders for sixth place.
8th) Preston
Last season we had Luton Town and Coventry as shock promotion contenders and Preston are threatening to take on that mantle this time around.
Ryan Lowe’s side were riding the crest of a wave having won six games in a row between August and September but they have plateaued in recent months.
The Lilywhites are solid but unremarkable and while that often serves teams well in the second tier, they should fall short of the play-offs and earn a (very respectable) eighth-place finish.
7th) Hull City
He may be being overshadowed by Ipswich Town’s main man, but Liam Rosenior has blossomed into one of the best young managers in the Football League following a vital learning experience at Derby County.
Previously Rooney’s assistant, the 39-year-old is now outdoing the Birmingham boss in the managerial game and while this may not be their year for promotion, Hull’s rise under their inexperienced head coach is on track to be one of this season’s major success stories.
6th) Middlesbrough
Following their rapid rise up the table last term, Boro were fancied to win the play-offs but Michael Carrick’s side ran out of steam when it mattered most. This end-of-season misery carried over into this campaign but even without Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer, the ex-Man Utd midfielder has got Middlesbrough firing and compared to 2022/23, they are well ahead of schedule.
5th) Sunderland
The North East contingent hated the play-offs last season as the Black Cats also lost at the semi-final stage. Like Boro, Tony Mowbray’s side are attempting to go one better this time around and Jack Clarke is leading their promotion charge. Their chances will be boosted significantly if the ex-Tottenham man sticks around beyond January.
 4th) Southampton
The Saints’ poor start to the new season pilled the pressure on Russell Martin, whose managerial philosophy has garnered criticism of suspect defending and a lack of final product.
But credit where credit is due, Southampton (six wins and two draws in the last eight games) have hit their stride to set up a gatecrash of the automatic promotion race.
With the help of Adam Armstrong – who is unsurprisingly loving life back in the Championship – Southampton will be in the mix but their frailties will limit their potential.
3rd) Ipswich Town
Given the strength of Southampton, Leeds United and Leicester City, it was going to take something special to separate the three relegated Premier League teams and Ipswich Town are producing something extraordinary.
Last season’s League One runners-up have a good but not spectacular team on paper, but former Man Utd coach Kieran McKenna is working wonders to turn his players into world beaters.
McKenna and Carrick are putting Erik ten Hag to shame and while the Tractor Boys are currently eight points clear in second place, I suspect the class of the two teams to come will prevent them from achieving automatic promotion in back-to-back seasons.
2nd) Leeds United
It’ll take some doing for Daniel Farke to reach the Neil Warnock level of Championship cheat code, but the ex-Norwich City boss could earn his third second-tier promotion this season and he has Leeds United building ominously.
Given the huge overhaul at Elland Road in the summer, they can be forgiven for making a slow start but they are now putting that right with last season’s struggling duo Georginio Rutter and Illan Meslier among their standout performers. From the board to the pitch, Leeds were a joke last season but their relegation-enforced rebuild has been just what they needed.
1st) Leicester CityÂ
If Enzo Maresca hadn’t managed to get this Leicester team promoted, his managerial career would have ended before it had ever started.
Two straight losses before this international break followed their nearly flawless start to the season, but with the incredible talent the former Manchester City coach has at his disposal, this should only prove to be a minor setback on the way to the Foxes becoming one of the greatest teams in Championship history.
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