Don Goodman names the most exciting EFL Championship managers to watch in the 2025/26 season | OneFootball

Some of the bosses in the second tier are incredibly impressive.

The Championship has become one of the great hubs for top managers to come and show off their skills.

Despite the relative lack of teams at the highest level who have opted to employ managers from the English second tier - Carlos Corberan, Enzo Maresca and Vincent Kompany, of late, aside - those who are leading clubs at this level are very impressive.

What we are seeing more of is the potential top bosses of the future coming to the level to show what they're all about, even if, eventually, they don't end up like a Maresca at one of the top clubs. Ryan Mason, Danny Rohl and Will Still: all managers that are in their 30s and could one day lead clubs that are higher up the pyramid.

The Championship's most exciting managers

Don Goodman, an EFL pundit for Sky Sports, sees a lot of intriguing scenarios surrounding the managers in the second tier.

There have been a lot of changes made over the summer to the coaching landscape, throwing up a number of questions and new permutations, but Goodman struggled to highlight just two bosses to watch out for next term.

"I'd say it's impossible to name the two most exciting managers that'll be in the Championship this season, but there's certainly a few that I'm curious to see how they do," the pundit exclusively told Football League World.

"Obviously, Chris Davies at Birmingham. It's a big season for him. Can he do it in the Championship? Frank Lampard, big expectations of Coventry this season.

"A couple of big clubs with new managers in Sheffield United and Middlesbrough. How are they going to do? How are they going to cope? [I'm] obviously interested to see how new managers like Ryan Mason do. So there are loads of managers.

"I think people like Kieran McKenna, we know about, I think Marti Cifuentes, how will he do a bigger club, with respect to QPR? A bigger club with expectations in Leicester. So there are so many that we're looking forward to finding out.

"Probably the biggest one of all is Will Still at Southampton. He's made a real name for himself abroad in terms of a great reputation. Can he do it in England? We're about to find out."

Championship managers are becoming better suited to the highest levels

There has been such a shift in management style in the Championship over the past decade or so. Largely inspired by the slow drip effect enacted by Pep Guardiola's arrival on these shores, more and more head honchos are trying to implement much more technical styles and philosophies.

Of course, the general improvement in players over that time period helps these bosses apply more tactical complexities to their teams, but it's made them a bit more adapted to the highest level, so that the likes of Kompany, with little experience in the role, can quickly transition to one of the biggest clubs in world football: Bayern Munich.