Many people rightly scoffed when Paul Ince returned to manager, but he is doing wonders at Reading.
He and Man City legend Vincent Kompany are among the crème de la crème of Championship managers…
Michael Beale (RPQ)
Beale/Keith Harris left Steven Gerrard/Orville the Duck high and dry this summer to take center stage as QPR manager.
He was alongside Gerrard on his managerial debut at Rangers and Aston Villa, and Gerrard looked a bit lost without his trusted right arm at Villa Park.
As Gerrard flounders, Beale thrives as Championship manager.
QPR drifted to finish 11th last season and the club made the brave decision to part ways with Mark Warburton. A perhaps even braver call has been made to give Beale his first chance as manager.
But that decision has proven to be inspired so far; QPR currently sits fourth in the second tier. A top-six finish would count as a good season for the Rs, and they’re on track to achieve that.
Beale is lucky to have one of the best players in the league to call on Ilias Chair and the inexperienced boss is making the best of him.
Breaking into the top two is a tough ask for QPR this season, but a push from the play-offs would be seen as real progress in a transitional season.
Paul Ince (Reading)
Here is a man most would expect to see out of work by the end of the year. But there’s no way Ince will be fired anytime soon.
Under him, Reading benefited from Derby County’s points deduction last season as they stayed on 41 points (they would have been 47 without their own deduction).
Unsurprisingly, most backed Reading to complete this term, with Ince’s permanent appointment among the factors taking away the optimism around the club.
Ince’s last permanent job as a manager was in 2014 at Blackpool and even then he felt his managerial prospects had collapsed.
At first glance, this time away seems to have reinvigorated the former England international. And Reading is reaping the rewards.
Seven wins in 12 is a superb comeback and he brought his son – Tom Ince – back to performances close to his best.
To continue reading this season would have been considered a success. Instead, they flirt with a promotion challenge to confirm the championship is truly batsh*t.
Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United)
Heckingbottom not only has the best name of any manager in the Championship, but he is also in charge of the best team in the league.
The 45-year-old’s managerial career declined somewhat after leaving Barnsley, with his spells at Leeds United and Hibernian ending prematurely.
But rising through the ranks at Bramall Lane as Under-23 and caretaker first-team coach has helped him immensely. He was later handed the job full-time after Slavisa Jokanovic’s brief shitty spell at the helm.
The Blades failed in the play-offs last season but now look good for the top two alongside Norwich City.
Their outlook is undoubtedly aided by their abundance of rear options and Anel Ahmedhodzic was a revelation.
Heckingbottom wisely stuck to the 3-5-2 formation that was so brilliantly adopted by Chris Wilder during his tenure. If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
He even got Ollie McBurnie back by scoring goals. If that’s not the mark of a genius manager, I don’t know what is.
Vincent Kompany (Burnley)
While Heckingbottom didn’t reinvent the wheel at Bramall Lane, that’s exactly what Kompany did at Turf Moor.
The club grew to reflect the ideology of Sean Dyche as he exceeded expectations to stay in the Premier League far longer than he was entitled to.
But there comes a time when a change and a fresh perspective is needed, and the Burnley hierarchy felt the summer was an opportune time to embrace that with Kompany’s arrival.
The Man City legend had a mixed spell at Anderlecht in Belgium and he has no experience of life in the Championship, which is a tough division even for top managers.
But Kompany was a breath of fresh air. He always presented himself well at City and that continued with the Belgian showing a lot of charm in press conferences.
But that only gets you so far, so it will be reassuring to Kompany that Burnley have started well in the league.
Anyone who has forgotten how good Josh Brownhill is at this level quickly regained their memory and Nathan Tella has been an inspired signing on the wing, while Ian Maatsen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis form a solid back four with Charlie Taylor and Connor Roberts. .
The Clarets have drawn too many games so far (seven out of 12) but if that’s sorted they’ll be there with Sheff Utd and Norwich. Let’s hope so anyway because Kompany vs Pep Guardiola would be a great story next season.
Leam Richardson (Wigan Athletic)
This list is heavy for those new to the Championship and we end with a third boss who is off to a positive start in his first season as manager at the second tier.
Much like Beale, Richardson has spent much of his coaching career as a backing dancer.
He followed Paul Cook around the country before new Wigan owners trusted him to become manager last year as the club floundered in the bottom half of League One after administration.
The Latics were sensational last season in Richardson’s first term and they deservedly edged out Rotherham United for the title on the final day.
After being promoted, you can take two approaches. Either trust the players who brought you up, or overhaul your team with more experienced Operators at the new level.
Nottm Forest opted for the latter, and it’s going badly for them. Wigan meanwhile only made a handful of additions, with Nathan Broadhead (on loan from Everton) and Ryan Nyambe (free from Blackburn Rovers) being the pick of the pack.
As with Reading, if Wigan were asked before the season what would make for a successful campaign, securing league status would surely have been their answer.
But the newly-promoted side are doing just fine, losing just three games in 11 to sit in 12th place.
Wigan are tough defensively and Charlie Wyke, Will Keane, Thelo Aasgaard and Broadhead form an enviable forward line.
A return to the Premier League is still a few steps away, but they are at least on track to do so under Richardson. And that hasn’t been the case for some time now.
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