Former Luton manager Rob Edwards is the lead candidate to take over at Championship side Middlesbrough. (Sky Sports, external)
Want more transfer news? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.
Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty ImagesWatford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.
Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.
Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.
Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.
Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.
Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.
The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...
Image source, Rex FeaturesPortsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.
Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.
The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.
Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.
Image source, Rex FeaturesPlymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.
Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.
Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.
Image source, Rex FeaturesWatford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.
The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.
Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.
Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.
Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.
It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.
Data collated from Transfermarkt
Image source, Getty ImagesBirmingham City striker Jay Stansfield and Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney have been selected
A number of EFL players have been selected in England's Under-21 squad for the European Championships in Slovakia this month.
Birmingham City's Jay Stansfield, who scored 19 goals in 37 League One games to help the Blues win the title and promotion to the second tier, is included.
Stansfield played three times during qualifying but this will be his first appearance at a tournament.
Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, who netted five league goals and made three assists, is also named in Lee Carsley's 23-man squad, along with Samuel Iling-Junior, who spent time on loan at Boro and Bologna from Aston Villa during the 2024-25 season.
Two players are included from relegated Premier League clubs - Ipswich Town winger Omari Hutchinson and Southampton defender Ronnie Edwards - with the latter spending the second half of the campaign on loan at QPR.
Young Stoke City goalkeeper Tommy Simkin, who made 40 appearances on loan at Walsall in League Two and kept 14 clean sheets, has been picked.
Fellow goalkeepers Teddy Sharman-Lowe, who helped Doncaster Rovers win promotion to League One while on loan from Chelsea, and James Beadle, who spent the season at Sheffield Wednesday on loan from Brighton, will also be on the plane.
The U21 Euros will take place across eight host cities in Slovakia from 11-28 June with the Three Lions looking to retain the title they won in 2023.
England are in a group with Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany and the top two will progress to the quarter-final.
Craig Johns on Michael Carrick's departure
Michael Carrick's sacking by Middlesbrough has split opinions.
The 43-year-old was heavily criticised for tactical inflexibility and failing to guide Boro into a play-off place in a low-scoring season, but also drew sympathy for losing key players such as Emmanuel Latte Lath and Ben Doak.
While arguments could be made either way, journalist Craig Johns says the lack of unity demonstrates why he feels the decision to sack Carrick was the right one.
"I can understand why there is division in the fan base and I think that in itself suggests it probably is the right decision," Gazette reporter Johns told BBC Radio Tees.
"What Boro need right now is everyone united, everyone together, everyone on the same front. Ultimately going into the new season with a bit of hope.
"If Michael Carrick was still in charge, you very much get the impression that while half of the fan base would have been happy with that, half wouldn't."
As for the timing of Carrick's departure, Johns does not believe it will affect Boro's work in the transfer window.
"We know Boro did have a plan going into the summer, they've already identified five positions they feel need to be strengthened and the targets they would be interested in," he added.
"I can't imagine that will change much with a different manager."
Listen to the full discussion and more on BBC Sounds.
Were Middlesbrough right to sack Michael Carrick?
Middlesbrough's failure to reach the Championship play-offs is what ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job.
That is the view of Boro's BBC Radio Tees commentator Mark Drury and former midfielder Neil Maddison.
"Since they got to the play-offs, it's a story of regression," Drury told BBC Radio Tees.
"Basically, that's it. Boro have been going backwards. This season in isolation was a massive failure.
"To not reach the play-offs this season with the squad that had been assembled last August, with the make-up of the Championship as it was - to not get there was a failure and it was a big one."
Maddison agreed and said the club have "gone backwards" since they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Coventry in the play-off semi-final in May 2023.
"There were so many factors leading up to why it hasn't been a successful season," Maddison said.
"There wasn't enough. For me this season, it's one of those where I haven't really enjoyed watching us in terms of the football, the results.
"Go back to his [Carrick's] first season, I've never seen anything like it. It's the best football I've seen at the Riverside in my opinion. It was so exciting.
"But since then, we have gone backwards. And if you don't push on, this is the outcome."
Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty ImagesThe 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.
Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.
Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.
It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.
Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.
Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.
Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.
Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.
Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.
Image source, Getty ImagesYou might want to look away now, Hull City fans.
The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.
Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.
Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.
Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.
The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.
West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.
Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.
Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.
Image source, Getty Images*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked you what you thought about Middlesbrough's decision to sack boss Michael Carrick and it's fair to say there are some mixed feelings out there.
Here's what you had to say:
Tony: I think Carrick took us as far as he could. Started last season brilliantly, full out attack but it soon dropped off and became a boring possession team playing around our own box with no idea, then had no plan B and we were punished far too often. Would like to see Steve Cooper take over, he's a proven Championship winner.
Daniel: I think seeing Carrick is one of the better midfielders of his generation, he should have been given one more chance. His ball-playing ability and vision as a player clearly translated as a manager and results on the pitch improved vastly.
Martin: Yes it was time to go. The football was too laboured and he was too slow in adapting to the opposition's changes which cost us.
It really did end up a chore watching his tippy-tappy football and lots of fans like myself lost interest.
We lost 24 points from winning positions last season.
He's a great bloke but had taken the club as far as he could as he was too stubborn to change things.
Stuart: Sacking Carrick was not a good move. Like building a team you also build your managers/management rather than leave them to get on with things. Carrick has a lot more to offer and he will not be replaced by anyone better.
Craig: Shame it never worked out for Carrick but with no plan B we were sussed out by other teams. This club deserves to be in the top flight but it's been refreshing to see attacking football in the Championship rather than defensive grind in the Premier League. Sometimes grinding out wins is necessary in the Championship though, a la Bristol City, Coventry, Millwall etc. The season crumbled when Doak got injured but we shouldn't rely on a teenager on loan, and again selling our best players (ELL) was a big mistake. Hopefully no more talent will be allowed to leave again. Would like to see Mogga given another chance for his home club.
Dan: Understand the frustration with his in-game management and inexperience, but the question is who can we get next that's a step up? Carrick's style was entertaining, even when we weren't getting results. I can't go back to watching the sort of football we had under Wilder or Pulis.
Jerry: I think it was the right call to sack Carrick. He was determined to play a certain way, which is admirable, but he should have changed the team formation when the game needed it. He could have shown a bit more passion on the touchline.
Mark: Although the season was disappointing I feel the stewardship under Carrick has mostly been positive. I feel like the instability caused by changing the management team again when a promotion push next year is not beyond Middlesbrough could end up being short-sighted. The Championship is such a competitive league it does not take much to be towards the top or the bottom of the table. Will be happy to be proven wrong though!
Jack: It was definitely an announcement that no one was expecting but a lot of fans were certainly losing patience. It is probably the right time as well before pre-season and a transfer window.
Malcolm: The decision to sack Carrick is a mistake. The major problem this season was the injury list. So many key players out for long periods. Plus the sale of Latte Lathe. A new manager will be starting from scratch, whereas Carrick would just have needed a couple of new signings. Bringing back Doak will be important.
John: The new season is in eight weeks and transfer activity underway. Carrick's replacement has not been immediately announced. How long is the new manager going to get to prepare for 2025-26, especially if a clear out is required? If last season was sub par four weeks ago, why not make a change then?
Listen to more reaction on BBC Sounds.
Boro fans react to Carrick departure
Michael Carrick came under fire after Middlesbrough lost out in the race for the Championship play-offs and now he will not have an opportunity to make amends next season.
He has been the subject of a surprise sacking, but is it the right choice, Boro fans?
Should he have been given another shot or was his number up?
Do you think now is a good time to be in search of a new boss?
Mark Drury
BBC Radio Tees Middlesbrough commentator
Image source, Rex FeaturesMiddlesbrough's decision to sack Michael Carrick may surprise some outside Teesside but one thing it can't be described as is a knee-jerk reaction.
More than a month has passed since Boro's 2-0 defeat at Coventry on the final day of the Championship season.
That loss was their 18th of a desperately disappointing season and was followed by the head coach insisting "I'm carrying on" in his BBC Radio Tees Sport post-match interview.
Many Boro fans had come to the conclusion he would be doing just that as the days and weeks ticked by without any sign of white smoke from the club's Rockliffe Park training ground. However, that silence was not indicative of inaction.
Boro's hierarchy had let it be known they would be conducting an in-depth review into the reasons a season where promotion had been targeted and budgeted for ended in a failure to reach the play-offs despite an unusually low points total – the lowest for a decade - being required to make them.
They were as good as their word, conducting a series of meetings, a number of which involved the head coach, while trying to block out the chorus of disapproval from a fan base which had largely become disenchanted and detached by the season's end.
Chairman Steve Gibson is known to be a big supporter of Carrick and backed his man in February when it seemed his time was up after a home defeat by a Watford side in miserable form led to boos around The Riverside and a seeming acceptance from the man himself that the end could be nigh.
So Wednesday's news is a sign that despite how much everyone at Middlesbrough might have wanted it to work for Carrick, after nearly three years in charge he was judged to be more of the problem than the solution to their promotion woes.
Carrick's first season in charge proved to be his best. He succeeded Chris Wilder in October 2022 and hauled an underachieving squad away from the lower reaches of the table before launching a run to the play-offs boosted by the January loan signings of Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey and a striker having the season of his life in Chuba Akpom.
In hindsight, those play-offs were also a sign of problems to come as Boro lost out to a Coventry side they'd allowed to sneak into the top six on the final day of the season while failing to score a goal over 180 minutes of football.
The following season saw Boro start terribly, losing five of their first seven Championship games and not recording a win until the eighth game of the season.
Promotion was effectively lost in those early couple of months but a run to the EFL Cup semi-finals gave the season some excitement and a strong end to the campaign (Boro lost just one of their last 12 games) and an eighth-placed finish gave hope this season would be different.
That was the belief inside the club too with last summer's impressive transfer window and the retention of coveted players like Hayden Hackney, Rav Van den Berg and Emmanuel Latte Lath showing the strength of Boro's backing for their head coach.
Backing brings expectation though and throughout the season Boro failed to meet it.
Carrick's supporters will point to January and the club-record sale of Latte Lath as the reason for Boro's 10th-place finish. The counter to that is the fact the player who replaced him, Kelechi Iheanacho, was one the head coach pushed strongly for. Iheanacho's record of one goal and two assists tells its own story.
The fact less well resourced clubs like Bristol City, Millwall and Blackburn all finished above them was a damning indictment of Boro's performance this season while Sunderland's play-off promotion rubbed salt into the wound.
Regis Le Bris showed what was possible with a squad of largely young, inexperienced players allied to imaginative coaching from a tactically flexible manager.
There will be a sense of sadness on Teesside that Carrick was unable to follow up on the promise of that first season when some of the football left fans purring. That sadness will be weighed against the reality the club have gone backwards in the seasons since.
Attention now will be on who comes next? Rob Edwards is known to be highly rated by head of football Kieran Scott while Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl will be of interest to any Championship club without a manager after his sterling work at Hillsborough.
It is now 10 years since Boro's last promotion to the Premier League.
The next manager needs to be the one who brings that long wait to an end.
Image source, Getty ImagesMiddlesbrough's current crest was adopted in 2007, and is the fourth different version
Middlesbrough have notified the Football Association of its plans to change the club crest from next season.
The decision comes after a survey sent to 21,000 supporters came up with a 57% majority in favour of changing the design, which dates back to 2007.
Research company YouGov carried out the survey, which found 19% of supporters opposed to a new crest, which would coincide with Boro's 150th anniversary next year.
The responses also indicate that fans would prefer a round crest featuring the founding year of 1876, the lion rampant and the club's red and white colours, as well as using the full name of Middlesbrough Football Club.
Mark Drury
BBC Radio Tees Middlesbrough commentator
Image source, Rex FeaturesMichael Carrick took over as Middlesbrough boss in October 2022
"I'm carrying on."
Those were Michael Carrick's words to me in the bowels of Coventry City's CBS Arena in the minutes after Middlesbrough's 2-0 defeat had condemned them to another season in the Championship.
A win would have taken Boro into the top six and a play-off semi-final against Sheffield United. Instead, attention this week has centred on Carrick's future as the club embark on an internal review into a season that began with talk of pushing for automatic promotion and ended mired in mid-table mediocrity.
Boro's finishing position of 10th, four points outside the play-off places, cannot be viewed as anything other than a failure.
Head of football Kieran Scott told BBC Radio Tees Sport last September this was a season the club had identified as being an opportunity because of the particular nature of the Championship.
As it played out two things became clear. Firstly, Scott and Boro's hierarchy were absolutely correct. Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United excepted, the division was wide open. Secondly, Boro were making an almighty mess of things.
The points total required to make the top six this season was the lowest in more than a decade, yet Boro finished on 64 points, four behind Bristol City in sixth.
They finished 12 points behind Sunderland in fourth and found themselves below Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and West Bromwich Albion too.
For a bit of context, when Boro won at Blackburn at the beginning of April, Rovers were winless under new manager Valerien Ismael. The Rovers fans were in revolt and everyone confidently declared their season was over. Boro ended up two points beneath them.
Last summer's transfer window was widely regarded as Middlesbrough's best for years, but fans' frustrations built throughout the season as they watched a talented squad win back-to-back Championship games on just four occasions, with one of those incorporating their only three-game winning run of the season.
Then there was the January transfer window.
Striker Emmanuel Latte Lath was sold to Atlanta United for a club record fee of £22.5m, money that precious few Championship clubs can turn down. They did it late in the window and replaced him with Sevilla loanee Kelechi Iheanacho.
To say it did not work out for Iheanacho and Boro would be an understatement. One goal and two assists was the sum total of his output, and by the end of the season he was being jeered from the pitch by his own fans and booed on to it when introduced as a substitute.
Carrick also pushed for the signing of previous loanee Ryan Giles, who had been a great success two seasons ago. This time was different though and long before the season's end Giles had been displaced by another loanee, Sam Illing-Junior.
Injuries also hampered Boro considerably. Liverpool loanee Ben Doak lit up the Championship with his displays in the first half of the season, but his January injury deprived the team of his attacking verve and their only point of difference.
They also endured a sustained spell where there was not a fit senior central defender at the club. That put the spotlight on the manager's decision not to sign a replacement for Matt Clarke when he was allowed to join Derby County in January.
Despite all these issues, going into the final three games Boro's fate was in their own hands. Cue a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday from a position of 1-0 up and a missed penalty kick, a goalless draw against a Norwich City side who had just sacked their manager, and then the final day loss at Coventry.
Fans have bemoaned a style of football that was often slow, passive and predictable. Opposing managers queued up to lavish praise on Boro's squad while adding "we knew how they were going to play".
This team has a soft centre. Possibly the most damning statistic among many unfavourable numbers is that on the 18 occasions they conceded the first goal of the game they came back to win only twice, whilst losing 13 times. Both of those comeback wins came against newly promoted Oxford United.
Carrick is well liked by chairman Steve Gibson, who backed his man after February's home defeat by Watford, a game that seemed to signal the end of the road. However, with fans patience running out - this week's online poll in a local paper had 68% of respondents wanting Carrick sacked – the decision over whether to maintain his faith in his head coach is far from straightforward.
Nearly three years into the job, Carrick is the longest-serving manager in the Championship - we will find out in the coming days if that is a record he can hang on to.
72+: The EFL Podcast
Former Middlesbrough defender Tommy Smith says a lack of consistency was to blame for Middlesbrough's disappointing season.
Boro sat fifth with six games to go but a run of four points from their final half-dozen games saw them slide to finish 10th, four points short of the play-off places.
Smith, who retired in February due to an ankle injury, told the BBC's 72+ EFL podcast: "I think Middlesbrough have been one of the teams who have really struggled for that consistency.
"I've seen runs where we've gone unbeaten for a few games and runs where we haven't won for a few games.
"To finish 10th is obviously disappointing, it's a tough league but there are some big clubs who have languished in mid-table, you look at Norwich, Sheffield Wednesday, West Brom - it's a really difficult league to get out of and I think Middlesbrough are finding it tough.
"They've spent one season in the Premier League in the last 15 which just shows how tough the league is."
Smith feels the departure of his former teammate Emmanuel Latte Lath to MLS side Atlanta United in January was the key to Boro's season unravelling.
The Ivorian netted 11 in 29 league appearances, 20 of them starts, but Kelechi Iheanacho, brought in on loan from Sevilla, scored once in 15 appearances and Morgan Whittaker failed to scored in 16 games after his arrival from Plymouth, with the pair combining for only three assists.
Boro scored 38 goals in their first 23 games but only 23 in the second half of the campaign.
"I always find that January is a really tough window to bring people in and bed them in," Smith said.
"You need players to come in and hit the ground running. I don't blame them, I understand it's difficult for them to come in and hit the ground running.
"With Latte Lath the club received an offer that was too good to turn down. The timing of it was unfortunate, quite late in the window which didn't give the club a lot of time.
"The club have missed his goals – second half of the season they have scored nowhere near as many goals as they did in the first half."
It's Over
"I'm gutted at what I've seen, but I'm also so glad this season is finished because it's been one of the most unenjoyable campaigns that I've experienced in a long, long time and one of the most unlikable teams I have had the displeasure of watching."
The Red Alert team discuss Middlesbrough's final game of the season after missing out on the play-offs with a loss to Coventry City and look back at what went wrong - not just in the match but over the entire season.
From the coaches to the players to the tactics, what has to change?
Includes an interview with boss Michael Carrick.
Listen to the full episode and more on the Red Alert podcast.
Image source, Getty ImagesMiddlesbrough end in 10th - their lowest finish since 2021
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick says he is "gutted" after seeing his team fail to make the play-offs.
Needing a win to have any chance of reaching the top six, Boro lost 2-0 at Coventry City, as the Sky Blues finished fifth.
"It's a sickening feeling. I'm gutted for the boys," he told BBC Radio Tees.
"They gave everything, put in a really good performance for the most part and didn't get what we wanted from the game.
"We didn't manage to take our opportunities so in the end, we're feeling like we are.
"The fact we haven't got in the play-offs is hurtful enough. We've created our own expectations which is the positive. The boys have shown what they can do and we feel the disappointment we haven't got that."
The result caps a poor end to the season in which Carrick's side won only one of their last six games and ended 10th.
He added: "Seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, there is not really much difference to be honest."
