Championship: Sheffield United back on top, Sunderland edge to win at Derby

  • Swansea 1-2 Sheffield Utd, Derby 0-1 Sunderland
  • Middlesbrough 2-0 West Brom, Oxford 3-2 Luton

Sheffield United went back to the top of the Championship table after coming from behind to win 2-1 at 10-man Swansea.

After Florian Bianchini opened the scoring for Swansea in the seventh minute, the Blades came out firing in the second half with Rhian Brewster scoring a 47th-minute leveller.

Continue reading...

Championship: Sheffield United regain top spot and Cardiff claim derby spoils

  • Harrison Burrows scores twice in leaders’ 2-0 victory
  • Blackburn lose to Oxford; Pompey stun Middlesbrough

Harrison Burrows scored both goals as Sheffield United moved back to the top of the Championship with a dominant 2-0 win against Norwich. Burrows opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, chesting the ball down before firing in a shot which hit both posts before crossing the line. Gustavo Hamer went close with a spectacular effort before Harrison scored his and United’s second from the spot on the hour after Ben Chrisene fouled Sam McCallum.

Cameron Brannagan struck a stunning free-kick winner as Oxford United beat playoff chasing Blackburn 1-0 to make it six league games unbeaten under new manager Gary Rowett. Siriki Dembélé was brought down by Callum Brittain just outside the area and Brannagan drove the 67th-minut e free-kick high into the far corner with goalkeeper Aynsley Pears helpless. United have won all three home games since Rowett took over from Des Buckingham in December.

Continue reading...

Burnley threaten records by keeping it tight to eye Premier League return

Clarets have conceded only nine league goals in 26 games in a complete turnaround after last season’s leaky campaign

“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles,” was the old Sir Alex Ferguson adage but Burnley would happily accept automatic promotion. They sit second in the Championship thanks to the excellence of their back four and goalkeeper, who are on their way to break records, but a Premier League return is all Turf Moor wants.

Under Scott Parker, the Clarets have conceded nine goals in 26 league matches, collecting 17 clean sheets. Sunderland, one of two teams to have beaten Burnley, arrive on Friday night wondering how to break through the brick wall again.

Continue reading...

Rob Edwards leaves Luton with club 20th after four straight defeats

  • Edwards earned ‘legendary status’, says chief executive
  • Hatters currently in danger of relegation to League One

Rob Edwards has left his job as Luton’s manager by mutual consent with the club in danger of relegation to League One after four straight defeats.

Edwards led Luton to the Premier League in 2023 but they came down after one season and are only two points above the bottom three in their battle to avoid a second straight relegation.

Continue reading...

Rob Edwards claims ‘gods are against’ Luton as loss to QPR deepens drop fears

The Luton manager, Rob Edwards, claimed the footballing gods are against his side after they were beaten 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers to deepen their relegation fears.

A fortunate deflected goal by the QPR defender Morgan Fox condemned Town to a fourth straight Championship defeat – and 10th in a row away from home. Luton are in danger of successive relegations, sitting two points above the bottom three.

Continue reading...

Championship roundup: leaders Leeds drop points in six-goal thriller at Hull

  • Abu Kamara stars as Hull hold Leeds to 3-3 draw
  • Coventry left reeling by two late Norwich goals

Abu Kamara ended a difficult week with two goals as struggling Hull claimed a breathless 3-3 draw at home to Leeds, the league leaders.

Kamara apologised on Friday for posting “wrongly timed” emojis on former club Portsmouth’s Instagram account after Hull’s defeat to Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day. But redemption was as satisfying as it was dramatic as he bookended the scoring with a lovely early lob over a stranded Illan Meslier before scoring a precise shot after 89 minutes.

Continue reading...

Leeds 1-1 Blackburn, Burnley 0-0 Stoke, and more: Football League – as it happened

Leeds and Burnley held, Windass scores a worldie for Wednesday, managerless Plymouth scramble a late draw, WBA demolish Preston and more …

Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Bristol City: The Robins are back in front at Home Park, with Jason Knight firing them back into the lead.

QPR 3-1 Watford: Kwdwo Baah pulled a goal back for Watford with a deflected shot but QPR immediately restored their two-goal lead when captain Sam Field rose highest to head home a cross from Paul Smyth.

Continue reading...

Leeds and Burnley held at home while Windass hits Wednesday wonder goal

  • Blackburn and Stoke battle to hard-fought points on road
  • Plymouth claim 2-2 draw in first game since Rooney exit

Danny Batth’s last-minute equaliser clinched Blackburn a 1-1 draw at Elland Road and denied Leeds a 10th straight home win.

Pascal Struijk’s late penalty appeared to have snatched Leeds all three points in their push to extend their lead at the top of the Championship before Batth struck. Leeds poured forward in pursuit of a winner during 10 minutes of added time but John Eustace’s playoff-chasing visitors held firm for a deserved point. Daniel Farke’s side had taken maximum points from their previous three festive fixtures, but they failed to spark against Rovers.

Continue reading...

Stoke appoint Mark Robins as third manager of season on contract to 2028

  • Robins was sacked by Coventry in November
  • He takes over from Narcís Pelach with club 18th

Mark Robins has been appointed as Stoke’s manager on a three-and-a-half-year contract. The 55-year-old was sacked in November by Coventry and will watch Stoke’s game at Burnley on Wednesday from the stands before being in the dugout for the first time at home to Plymouth on Saturday.

Robins spent just over seven and a half years at Coventry and oversaw two promotions to reach the Championship. His team lost the 2022-23 Championship playoff final on penalties to Luton and were beaten in a shootout by Manchester United in last season’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Continue reading...

Wayne Rooney leaves Plymouth by mutual consent after seven months

  • Former England forward took over in May
  • Plymouth are bottom of Championship after 23 games

Wayne Rooney and Plymouth Argyle have “mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect”, the club have announced. The 39-year-old was appointed in May and leaves with the club sat bottom of the Championship, four points from safety after 23 games. They most recently lost 2-0 to fellow strugglers Oxford and 4-0 to Coventry.

In a statement on the Plymouth website, Rooney said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board of Plymouth, in particular Simon Hallett and Neil Dewsnip who I shared great relationships with.

Continue reading...

Alex Neil returns to Championship with appointment as Millwall head coach

  • Scot replaces Neil Harris on ‘long-term contract’ at Den
  • Neil has managed Norwich, Preston, Sunderland, Stoke

Millwall have appointed Alex Neil as their new head coach. The 43-year-old Scot replaces Neil Harris, who stepped down from the role earlier this month. Neil had been out of work since being sacked by Stoke last December, having previously managed Hamilton, Norwich, Preston and Sunderland.

Millwall, who were led by caretaker manager David Livermore in their last three fixtures, sit 13th in the Championship table following Sunday’s goalless draw at Coventry. Neil will take charge of the team for the first time when Oxford visit the Den on New Year’s Day.

Continue reading...

Championship roundup: Leeds end 2024 top but Rooney admits Argyle fears

  • Cannon fires Stoke past Sunderland for rare win
  • Burnley extend unbeaten run with Middlesbrough draw

Leeds will head into 2025 top of the Championship after a hard-fought 1-0 win at Derby. Sheffield United had briefly returned to the summit following their lunchtime kick-off against West Brom, which ended 1-1 at Bramall Lane.

However, Leeds closed out the year in pole position in the race for automatic promotion after Brenden Aaronson’s solitary second-half strike secured them an eighth win in their last 10 matches.

Continue reading...

Stoke sack head coach Narcís Pelach after three months in charge

  • Pelach only won three of 18 Championship matches
  • Stoke looking for third head coach of the season

Stoke have sacked Narcís Pelach after only 19 games as head coach, the Championship club have announced.

Pelach, who was appointed in September at the age of 36 after replacing Steven Schumacher, won just three of the 18 league games for which he was in charge and departs after a 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at home against Leeds which left Stoke sitting in 19th place in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Continue reading...

Championship roundup: Lampard humbles Rooney as Leeds go top

  • Coventry win 4-0 in duel between ex-England teammates
  • Leeds victory edges them past Sheffield United at summit

Coventry inflicted a 4-0 thrashing on Plymouth, heaping the pressure on Wayne Rooney after his first managerial meeting against his former England teammate Frank Lampard ended in embarrassment.

All of Coventry’s goals came before the break at the CBS Arena to seal a result which leaves Plymouth bottom of the Championship. The hosts raced into the lead after five minutes, when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was allowed a free header from Ben Sheaf’s cross. Coventry doubled their advantage in the 20th minute after a fine move that saw Ephron Mason-Clark lay the ball off for Josh Eccles to fire home from outside the area.

Continue reading...