When Alex Neil departed Sunderland in August, the Black Cats sat fifth in the Championship. Two wins and two draws from their five games gave them a points per game average of 1.6 and effectively made Neil the fifth best manager in the division.
With the Scotsman fresh from a League One promotion, Stoke could rightly claim to have pulled off something of a coup with his capture. However, after 23 second tier games in charge of Stoke, the Potters sit 19th and Neil has slid down to 20th in a league table of Championship bosses.
A return of just 26 points from 23 games in charge of the Potters - a points average of 1.13 - is behind Neil’s slide, with his season point per game average now down at 1.21. It is not surprising the knives are being sharpened at the Bet365 Stadium.
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Tony Mowbray, meanwhile, has failed to match Neil’s early season run of form, but nevertheless sits a not-to-shabby 11th in the table of 2022-23 Championship managers after amassing an average of 1.48 points a game for Sunderland.
Thirty-four managers have taken permanent charge of Championship sides this term for five games or more, with now-Luton boss Rob Edwards having also managed two sides in the division.
And there’s something of a surprise at the top. Vincent Kompany’s Burnley may be waltzing to the Championship title but the Belgian falls short when it comes to the best performing manager in the second tier.
Despite the Clarets being seven points clear at the summit and 17 points clear of Middlesbrough in third, it is the highly sought after Carlos Corberan who has actually picked up the most points per game.
Corberan’s West Brom have raked in 30 points from the 13 games he has been in charge, giving him a points per game average of 2.31 - the best in the division. Kompany’s 65 points from 29 games puts him on 2.24.
Middlesbrough’s climb up the table under Michael Carrick is reflected by the former Manchester United man’s third place on 2.21. Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom is fourth, with the Blades averaging exactly two points per game. Edwards, despite losing his job at Watford earlier in the season, is fifth on 1.78.
Of the ten managers who remain in their jobs from the opening day of the season, Birmingham City manager John Eustace is the lowest-placed despite the Blues’ stunning come-from-behind win over Swansea at the weekend. Birmingham are averaging just 1.21 points a game under Eustace.
At the bottom of the table it’s no surprise to see Kolo Toure whose eight games in charge of Wigan yielded just two points.
League table of Championship managers 2022-23
| Manager | Team(s) | Record | PPG |
1. Carlos Corberan |
(West Brom) | P13 W10 D0 L3 Pts30 | 2.31 |
| 2. Vincent Kompany | (Burnley) | P29 W19 D8 L2 Pts65 | 2.24 |
| 3. Michael Carrick | (Boro) | P14 W10 D1 L3 Pts31 | 2.21 |
| 4. Paul Heckingbottom | (Sheff Utd) | P29 W17 D7 L5 Pts58 | 2.00 |
| 5. Rob Edwards | (Watford/Luton) | P18 W9 D5 L4 Pts32 | 1.78 |
| 6. Liam Rosenior | (Hull City) | P12 W5 D5 L2 Pts20 | 1.67 |
| 7. Paul Warne | (Rotherham) | P9 W3 D5 L1 Pts14 | 1.58 |
| 8. Slaven Bilic | (Watford) | P20 W9 D4 L7 Pts31 | 1.55 |
| 9. Gary Rowett | (Millwall) | P28 W12 D7 L9 Pts43 | 1.54 |
| 10. Jon Dahl Tomasson | (Blackburn) | P29 W14 D2 L13 Pts44 | 1.52 |
| 11. Tony Mowbray | (Sunderland) | P23 W9 D7 L7 Pts34 | 1.48 |
| 12. Michael Beale | (QPR) | P21 W9 D4 L8 Pts31 | 1.48 |
| 13. Dean Smith | (Norwich) | P24 W10 D5 L9 Pts35 | 1.46 |
| 14. Nathan Jones | (Luton) | P20 W7 D8 L5 Pts29 | 1.45 |
| 15. Ryan Lowe | (Preston) | P29 W11 D7 L11 Pts 40 | 1.38 |
| 16. Russell Martin | (Swansea) | P20 W10 D9 L10 Pts39 | 1.34 |
| 17. Mark Robins | (Coventry) | P29 W10 D8 L11 Pts38 | 1.31 |
| 18. Paul Ince | (Reading) | P29 W11 D5 L13 Pts38 | 1.31 |
| 19. Nigel Pearson | (Bristol City) | P29 W9 D9 L11 Pts36 | 1.24 |
| 20. Alex Neil | (Sunderland/Stoke) | P28 W9 D7 L12 Pts34 | 1.21 |
| 21. John Eustace | (Birmingham | P29 W9 D8 L12 Pts35 | 1.21 |
| 22. Steve Morison | (Cardiff) | P10 W3 D2 L5 Pts11 | 1.10 |
| 23. Shota Arevladze | (Hull City) | P10 W3 D2 L5 Pts11 | 1.10 |
| 24. Mark Hudson | (Cardiff) | P16 W4 D6 L7 Pts19 | 1.06 |
| 25. Mark Fotheringham | (Huddersfield) | P20 W5 D6 L9 Pts21 | 1.05 |
| 26 Neil Critchley | (QPR) | P8 W1 D5 L2 Pts8 | 1.00 |
| 27. Leam Richardson | (Wigan) | P20 W5 D5 L10 Pts20 | 1.00 |
| 28. Michael Appleton | (Blackpool) | P27 W6 D8 L13 Pts26 | 0.96 |
| 29. Matt Taylor | (Rotherham) | P19 W4 D6 L9 Pts18 | 0.95 |
| 30. Chris Wilder | (Middlesbro) | P11 W2 D4 L5 Pts10 | 0.91 |
| 31. Steve Bruce | (West Brom) | P13 W1 D8 L4 Pts11 | 0.85 |
| 32. Michael O'Neill | (Stoke) | P5 W1 D1 L3 Pts4 | 0.80 |
| 33. Danny Schofield | (Huddersfield) | P8 W1 D1 L6 Pts 4 | 0.5 |
| 34. Kolo Toure | (Wigan) | P7 W0 D2 L6 Pts2 | 0.29 |
- Also managed: David Wagner (Norwich) P3 Pts6, Mick McCarthy (Blackpool) P2 Pts1, Sabri Lamouchi (Cardiff) P2 Pts0, Shaun Maloney (Wigan) P1 Pts1.
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