Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
-
Tom Hamilton
Multiple authors
on the last day Championship Season, automatic promotion Premier League And the last playoff spot was still up for grabs. Hull City, Wrexham And Derby County All had designs on making the playoffs, while one point stood out Millwall from Ipswich Town in second place.
The second tier of English football is regularly described as the most competitive league in the world. Risks going into the final fraught moments of the season were still typical of this league, but this campaign was certainly one of the most roller-coaster seasons yet.
Ultimately, Hull City clinched the final play-off spot and will face Millwall over two legs in the semi-finals (first leg at 3 pm ET / 8 pm BST on Friday), with the winner playing in Southampton or Middlesbrough (First Leg Saturday 7:30 am ET / 12:30 pm BST) Football’s most lucrative game — Championship Play-off Final, May 23 at Wembley.
with Coventry City Already planning for life in the Premier League and with Ipswich securing a second automatic promotion spot, the playoffs will provide the final chapter in this frankly ridiculous campaign. Here are a few reasons why this season is so memorable.
The Hollywood story needs a part 2
Wrexham are chasing a fourth successive promotion this season, reaching England’s second tier for the first time in 43 years. They completely rebuilt their squad in the offseason, and after another campaign of glitz and Hollywood glamour, they finished seventh. Memorable moments include their 5–3 wins over Sheffield United and Ipswich and FA Cup third round penalty shootout win Nottingham Forest; Kudos to Phil Parkinson for doing his job. There was disappointment after their 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, but there was also pride in what they had achieved.
Frank Lampard is back in the big time
After a 25-year absence, Coventry returned to the Premier League after just eight years in the fourth tier of English football. Lampard found a home in the West Midlands in his first job after leaving the interim role Chelsea in 2023 and has done wonders with the Sky Blues. Their 7-1 walloping of QPR in August set the tone for the rest of the season, with Haji WrightEphron Mason-Clark, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Victor Torp and Matt Grimes are all outstanding.
1:29
Burley praised Lampard’s ‘amazing job’ following Coventry’s promotion
Craig Burley reflects on Coventry City’s promotion to the Premier League.
Exiled in February
Sheffield Wednesday Never stood a chance. They have dropped 18 points this season and started the campaign with just 12 senior players. Fans invaded the pitch midway through their 5–0 trouncing of Coventry in October and by the end of that month, the club was in administration. By February 2026, the club was on a record winless run, soon to be relegated by local rivals. Sheffield United.
They finished the season without a win in a record 40 league matches, although they finally got that elusive win on the final day of the season. Reflecting the club’s disarray, they fielded six different keepers during the 46-game campaign.
Cut points
Sheffield Wednesday weren’t the only team to pick up their points this year. West Brom Two points were cut, but thanks to wonder man James Morrison, who led them on a 10-match unbeaten run. They had seven clean sheets in that spell despite a small squad plagued by injuries. The other team took away the points from them Leicester CitySix of those were dropped in February for profit and sustainability violations.
Speaking of Leicester, the campaign was meant to be one of celebration, from season 10 When they won the Premier League. Instead, it ended up with them exiled and their highest earners, Harry WinksExchange verbal abuse with fans. They are managed by Gary Rowett, who started the season at Oxford United – meaning he has the unwanted “honour” of managing two relegated sides in one campaign.
The competition is stoking
Midfielder Marcelino Nunez Following in the footsteps of Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur from Arsenal) and Carlos Tevez (Manchester United from Manchester City) swaps a club for his arch rival. At the end of the August transfer window, Nunez angered the entire Norwich City fanbase by moving 45 miles from Carrow Road to Portman Road, while Ipswich fans wondered how much schadenfreude was possible. Ipswich completed the double derby win for the first time in 33 years.
Discard it like heat
We’re used to celebrities being the face of teams, and this year we saw Snoop Dogg get a royal welcome at Swansea City, where he’s a co-owner. He was paraded around the Liberty Stadium before their match with Preston, but the whole charade did not amuse opposing manager Paul Heckingbottom: “I think the smell of weed in the tunnel was the only thing where we realized something was different.”
Welcome back, Roy
As with many other storylines this season, Bristol City pulled a rabbit out of the hat in March when new CEO Charlie Boss fired and appointed Gerhard Struber. 78-year-old former retired manager Roy Hodgson As his successor until the end of the season. Sir Alex Ferguson told Hodgson he was “mad” to take the job, but he did a decent job at Ashton Gate and led the team to a top-half finish.
1:16
What does Roy Hodgson’s joining Bristol City mean?
Gabe Marcotti and Julien Lawrence react to Roy Hodgson joining Bristol City as interim head coach aged 78.
Tonda Eckert’s success at Southampton
Well, be honest — how many of you outside of Hampshire have heard of former Germany analyst Eckert earlier this season? At the time, he was Southampton’s under-21 head coach, with Will Steele in charge of the first team.
But fast forward a few months and still gone, when Eckert impressed as interim and landed the job on a full time basis. He led the club to the semi-finals of the FA Cup — a run that included knocking out Arsenal in the quarter-finals — and the play-offs. On a personal note, Eckert received back-to-back Manager of the Month awards in February and March to add to his growing reputation.
Roar of tigers
Few would have kept Hal in the playoff picture earlier in the season. Manager Ruben Seles was sacked, replaced by Sergej Zakirovic. With them under a transfer ban (barring free transfers and loan deals) until January 2027, it was remarkable that they reached the playoffs — and in last-minute fashion, just as it looked like it was going to pass them by. Oh, and striker Ollie McBurnie is now a certified Hull legend.
– Ogden: Leicester’s fall from grace: From PL champions to League One
– Hamilton: Wrexham had to wait as hopes of PL promotion ended
– Connelly: Soccer Watchability Rankings: How Fun Is Your Team?
The Brady Blues
Only three Championship clubs spent more on transfers than Birmingham this season, but it was not enough to see them promoted for a second season. Tom Brady’s side saw a documentary broadcast — which included a scathing assessment of the coaching strategy from Brady to former manager Wayne Rooney — and finished in midtable with the fourth-best home record and fourth-worst away from home in the league.
Lion’s pride
Millwall’s run to third place was astonishing. They were on the brink of automatic promotion until the last day, but now have to go through the play-offs. They last played in the top tier of English football in 1990, the “dark ages” before the start of the Premier League.
Director of football Steve Gallen has done a fantastic job, manager Alex Neil has worked hard to knit it together expertly. The team has a strong fighting spirit — center back Jack Cooper has played a key role — while they have also kept the most clean sheets in the league (18). Forward Femi Aziz has been outstanding, and Josh Coburn and Tristan Krama have also impressed.
Jan Vipotnik, goal scorer extraordinaire
In this season of wonder, who would have predicted Swansea’s Slovenian striker would end up as the league’s top scorer? He finished with seven goals last season. This term, he penned a new deal until 2030 amid talk of Premier League clubs eyeing him and finished with 23 goals.
Say hello, wave goodbye
In June, Middlesbrough welcomed Rob Edwards on a three-year deal. Five months later, he took them to second place in the table. All was well. then Wolverhampton Wanderers The knock came, and Edwards packed his bags and left. The two clubs could well cross each other this summer – Middlesbrough will be hoping to seal promotion under Kim Helberg, while Wolves slipped back to the second tier after a disappointing season.
All is forgiven
Chris Wilder loves Sheffield United and is quick to forgive. The club sacked him last June, and former Hull manager Seles was appointed. Sales served a 10-week stint and was fired on September 14, 2025. Wilder was welcomed with open arms — the third time he had taken charge of the club.
Pictures of the playoffs
Again, like many above, you can count on one hand the number of people who predicted this quartet to reach the playoffs. Millwall, who have never reached the Premier League, travel to Hull with a transfer ban. Southampton, who started the season with just two wins from their first 13 matches, will host Middlesbrough, who topped the league in January but have suffered a dip in form. It’s just amazing randomness, but as with the Championship, expect plenty more drama as we see who will be the third side to join Coventry and Ipswich in reaching the promised land.
