Championship 2022/23: Top Five Managers of the Season
There’s been an array of managerial class on display in the Championship in 2022/23, so much so that Jon Dahl Tomasson, Gary Rowett, Tony Mowbray, John Eustace, and Carlos Corberan don’t make this five-man list, while Neil Warnock has only an honourable mention for concluding his esteemed 43-year career by keeping Huddersfield in the Championship.
Without further ado, EFL pundit Gab Sutton gives us his quintet…
5. Mark Robins
It’s been some journey for Coventry City and Mark Robins, who took charge with the club at its lowest ebb, on course for fourth-tier football for the first time in 58 years.
Robins brought the club a ray of light early on, beating Oxford in the EFL Trophy Final, before overseeing two promotions, including one title, in five years, and progression every season in six, all whilst evolving the style to adapt to the needs of different seasons.
Early on, it was a case of carving out a template of solidity and experience to get out of League Two, with individual quality coming from Jodi Jones in the first half of 2017/18 and Marc McNulty in the second.
The Sky Blues grew into more of a counter-attacking outlet in 2018/19’s top half League One finish, before deploying a possession-heavy, 3-4-2-1 setup for the title win the following season.
Key man Liam Kelly got injured, but Liam Walsh played so well in his absence that Robins wanted to incorporate both, and he embraced what proved a genius box midfield from half-time of October’s 2-1 win over Fleetwood and stuck with it thereon.
The first season in the Championship required some pragmatic tweaks, but a strong finish saw the Midlanders finish a comfortable 16th, before Gus Hamer, Callum O’Hare and Viktor Gyokeres starred in a top half campaign the following year.
Despite O’Hare’s long-term injury, Robins has still been able to find a blueprint that has got Coventry into the Play-Offs this season, even after a tough start.
The Ricoh Arena hosted Commonwealth Games in the summer, which damaged the pitch, and a subsequent series of home postponements, combined with poor early results, saw the Sky Blues bottom of the league 10 games in, already seven points off safety with three games in hand.
It looked a tough season in prospect, but October’s 1-0 win over Middlesbrough sparked a run of eight wins in 12 which kicked their season into life, before a strong finish got them over the line in an open Play-Off scramble.
While the Midlanders have been able to rely on the individual quality of Hamer and Gyokeres, they wouldn’t be able to get where they are without Robins’ incredible management, which has elevated the likes of Kyle McFadzean and Jamie Allen way above their natural level.
Play-Off success or not, it’s been another incredible season’s work from Robins – and with the Doug King takeover offering fresh hope for the summer, the sky’s the limit for the Sky Blues.
4. Paul Heckingbottom
There might have been a debate to be had, last season, about how much of Sheffield United’s transformation was down to Paul Heckingbottom being brilliant, and how much was him simply having common sense.
The Blades had been built to play 3-5-2 under Chris Wilder, and when Slavisa Jokanovic took charge in 2021, he deployed a back-four without having the personnel for it.
Heckingbottom reverted to 3-5-2, and the result was a surge from 14th to 5th, his side ultimately defeated by a Brice Samba masterclass for Nottingham Forest, in a Play-Off Semi-Final shootout.
In some respects, this season was a truer test of Hecky’s mettle: a simple formation change can account for a greater proportion of an in-season turnaround, than it can for success over a whole campaign.
The 45-year-old has led United to automatic promotion, as well as a run to the FA Cup Semi-Finals, with only one permanent signing.
Anel Ahmedhodzic has been an inspired addition to the Blades’ defence, while Tommy Doyle and James McAtee have been outstanding, on loan from Manchester City, to say neither had much senior experience prior.
Heckingbottom may go under the radar against bigger names like Michael Carrick and Vincent Kompany, but his tactical nous and man management qualities have earnt him a well-deserved chance to mix it with the big boys.
Plus, Hecky has got the best out of Illiman Ndiaye, who’s been directly involved in 24 goals: the lanky yet graceful forward is described by some Blades fans as the best player they’ve ever seen don the red and white at Bramall Lane.
3. Michael Carrick
Sometimes high-profile ex-players come with scepticism in the coaching scene, with the thought that they have relied on their reputation to get the career path they’ve had.
It certainly hasn’t done Michael Carrick any harm to play for Manchester United for 12 years, before taking on a coaching role under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, even being interim boss at the end of his time.
Carrick has proved himself the real deal, though, at Middlesbrough, overseeing an instant transformation, after taking charge in October with the team languishing in one point and one place above the relegation zone.
The caveat, of course, would be that Boro were widely tipped for the title in pre-season and, performance wise, weren’t a million miles away under predecessor Chris Wilder: they had been creating chances, but suffered from wasteful finishing and individual errors.
As such, some sort of improvement under Carrick was to be expected, the speed and scale of it less so.
Carrick switched from Wilder’s 3-5-2 with two attacking wing-backs to a more balanced 4-2-3-1, which has been the blueprint for Boro to climb the table at speed, enter the top six by New Year, and the automatic promotion conversation by February.
Tommy Smith came in at right-back for a little extra defensive insurance, while Ryan Giles has been deployed as an attacking left-back, the Championship’s joint-top assister with 11.
Jonny Howson has been a reborn player under Carrick, thanks to the emergence of midfield partner Hayden Hackney, introduced by Leo Percovic, who has brought energy, exuberance and dynamism to the side.
A couple of subtle tweaks, the staggering form of 2022/23’s unlikely hero Chuba Akpom, combined with a change of luck that Boro were probably due anyway, and the turnaround was stark.
April’s 4-2 loss at Huddersfield put pay to automatic promotion hopes, especially followed by Good Friday’s defeat to Burnley, but Carrick comes out of this season with immense credit - regardless of the outcome of the Play-Offs.
2. Rob Edwards
Rarely can a manager who was sacked 10 games into the season be arguably Manager of the Year for the same league in the same season, but that’s the case for Rob Edwards.
After poaching the League Two title-winner from Forest Green, Watford claimed they would back Edwards, infamously, “by hell or high water”, only to give him the boot after two defeats in 10 – presumably being 10th in mid-September is worse than hell?
The decision has made a mockery of the self-parodic Hornets, especially since the England Under-20s coach replaced Nathan Jones at Luton, then ripped it up at their bitter rivals.
In fact, the Hatters have taken 50 points from Edwards’ 25 games in charge, while Watford have accrued a mere 30 from the same number played in that timeframe.
The former Wolves Under-23s boss has got Town playing more football on the deck than they did under Jones, and more patient in working the ball wide and getting into more precise, crossing positions, whilst retaining excellent organisation.
Luton have conceded a mere 17 goals under Edwards, with only Burnley shipping fewer in the same timeframe, all whilst operating with just the one sitter, two highly attacking wing-backs in Cody Drameh and Alfie Doughty, and two up top in Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo.
Edwards’ recruitment in January was exemplary, too, although some credit must go to the team including Jay Socik: Marvellous Nakamba has brought excellent protection for the three-man defence, allowing the wide centre-backs to push forward, while Drameh has proved a revelation.
1. Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany’s start to management was fourth and third placed finishes in the Jupiler Pro League, hardly an inspiring return on paper, when simply considering the name Anderlecht in Belgian football.
The former centre-back was popular at Constant Vanden Stock, though, as ownership issues meant RSCA weren’t able to dominate as they might have done previously, a theory backed up by an 11th-placed finish in Kompany’s absence.
Inspirational captains don’t always make great managers, yet it’s hard to avoid the notion that Kompany’s leadership skills that won him 16 playing honours have been applicable to his managerial career, in which the Uccle-born boss has produced incredibly captivating team talks, and motivation from the sidelines.
On top of that, the 37-year-old has transformed Burnley’s style of play, with immediate efficiency.
It’s easy to say the Clarets had the spending power to make 15 senior summer additions, for a combined £25-30m, and of course that helped, but a lot of the investment was in potential, to drastically increase the value of what had been an aging squad, as much as current ability.
Under different leadership, Burnley’s season could easily have gone the other way, with all the new faces adjusting to new environment, league and in many cases country possibly taking time to gel.
The East Lancashire outfit weren’t exactly a popular title tip before the season, and with bad management the transformation could have backfired, and even with decent management, the team could have been promising but unrefined, and perhaps missed out on the Play-Offs.
For Burnley to dominate the league they have is an enormous testament to the work Kompany has done, and his potential as a manager.
Long-term, there’s a great chance of Vinny replacing Guardiola at Man City – but for now, he’s working wonders at Burnley, and heads an exciting era at Turf Moor.
