Norwich City

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

Watford 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 Features

Portsmouth - 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 Features

Plymouth 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 Features

Watford 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

It's certainly been quite a day at Carrow Road.

Time to enjoy Liam Manning's first interview with BBC Radio Norfolk, which you can find below.

You can also watch his first press conference back by clicking here.

And what better way to end such a momentous day than by listening to the latest edition of the Canaries' podcast, The Scrimmage, from BBC Radio Norfolk?

The team catch up with Manning and sporting director Ben Knapper.

Listen to The Scrimmage podcast on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

You will be able to watch and listen to Liam Manning's first press conference as Norwich City head coach live on the BBC website on Monday.

Manning, the first Norwich native to take on the role, will be speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk for the first time.

It will also be streamed on BBC Norfolk's news page.

Click here to tune in at 10:00 BST on Monday.

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

The 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.

At the bottom...

Image source, Getty Images

You 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.

And the rest...

Image source, Getty Images

*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25

Image source, Getty Images

We asked you what you thought of Norwich City appointing Bristol City boss Liam Manning to take up their vacant head coach role.

Some of you think he's the right man for the job based on his success with the Robins last season, while others worry about what his appointment says about the transfer window.

Here's what you had to say:

Lee: It's a bit underwhelming. Manning has done a decent, though not exceptional job with his other clubs but he doesn't stay at one place very long. He also has links with Ipswich, despite being born in Norwich, and that's never going to go down well here. We have to give him a chance, but this doesn't feel like it's part of a long term plan to me.

Kevin: I think this is a brilliant appointment by Norwich. Unlike JHT, he has a track record in the UK. He gets more out of teams than the sum of their parts. It's all very well choosing a manager who has potential, but so much better to appoint someone who has shown that they can deliver.

Simon: He did well at Bristol with inferior players but instilled a great team work ethic, which Norwich lacked. Lets hope he can sort out the defence that's been a problem area for many seasons.

Paul: Whoever was appointed was always facing a tough task facing a new season without Sargent and Sainz… he will need to hit the ground running to get the fans fully engaged. Huge transfer window. Good luck to him. OTBC.

Paul: Concerns me that they're impressed with his ability to do well with little resource, I think this will prompt a miserly venture into the transfer market yet again.

Matthew: I'll be interested to see how this plays out for Ben Knapper. Thorup was almost naively loyal in following the club line in all his media, only to be betrayed and made the scapegoat with two games left. Had he known the loyalty didn't go both ways, I wonder if he would have talked more of mitigations and criticised Knapper and the complacent, entitled squad of players he took on. I don't think Manning will make the same mistake so we may see manager and club collide at some point. I'm hopeful Manning is the kind of character who shakes people up and makes them realise having a fancy training ground and a 'talented' squad means nothing without consistent hard work.

Tony: Manning has a track record which he can build on at Norwich City, his priority must be sorting out our defence and being able to manage games at the end.

Rob: Lots of work to do, feels like the squad needs almost a complete rebuild from keeper to striker. Bristol did very well on a smaller budget so I'm optimistic but time will tell.

Listen to more thoughts on Manning's appointment in a special episode of Canary Calls on BBC Sounds.

So, the rumours were correct - Norwich-born Liam Manning has been revealed as the Canaries' choice to succeed Johannes Hoff Thorup at Carrow Road.

What do you make of the appointment, Norwich fans?

Happy to see a hometown boy have the chance to lead you back to the Premier League?

Or were you hoping for a different face in the dugout?

Let us know your thoughts here.

Chris Goreham
BBC Radio Norfolk

Norwich City's extensive search for a new head coach has led to the club's first ever Norwich-born boss.

Liam Manning's formative years as a Carrow Road season ticket holder are a nice extra but it's not why he's been appointed.

Canaries sporting director Ben Knapper has expressed frustration they fell so far short of the play-offs last season.

"When I look at the teams that did make it, it confirms that kind of belief," he said.

Envious eyes were being cast in the direction of Ashton Gate where Manning's well-coached team was outperforming the sum of its parts.

It felt like Manning was on to a good thing at Bristol City - so the fact Knapper has managed to sell him the project of rebuilding a squad that finished 13th should offer any concerned Canaries fans some much-needed encouragement.

Image source, Rex Features

Former Norwich City defender Che Wilson believes the chance to return to the area will be a big attraction for Bristol City boss Liam Manning.

Manning has been lined up for the manager's job at Norwich despite the club ending last season seven places below the Robins, who reached the play-offs.

The 39-year-old is from Norwich and was part of the Canaries academy during his early playing career. His backroom staff equally have links to East Anglia.

"From a footballing point of view, I'm not sure if it was just purely on that that he'd come back, judging from the fact that Bristol City have snuck in the play-offs," Wilson told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"They look to be on the up and Norwich have a somewhat indifferent season, so that's probably a little bit surprising.

"But because of the geographical implications with his family, there's a bigger picture to be looked at. It's obviously a big appeal to come back to Norfolk."

Wilson added: "I think he's going to flourish there and do really well.

"He's in a part of the world he's familiar with, he knows the football club, his family are settled.

"I think it's a win-win for both parties."

Image source, Rex Features

Norwich City have confirmed that forward Jonathan Rowe's move to Marseille will become permanent this summer.

The 22-year-old moved to Ligue 1 on an initial loan and the Canaries say he will remain in France under an "obligation to buy in the agreement between the two clubs".

Rowe has scored three goals in 27 league appearances for Marseille but only five of them have been starts.

He told the club website, external last week: "The season has been a bit disappointing because I haven't played as much as I would have liked. I love playing here and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

"Last season I was a regular starter at Norwich and I took a step forward. OM is a very big club. There have been good times here, even if there have been some difficult ones. I've learned a lot.

"I'm happy to fight for my place. I try to be decisive on the pitch. I'm convinced I can bring more to the team. I'm convinced you haven't seen the best of me yet."

On the Canaries, he said: "Norwich is the club I grew up with, from the academy to the first team. I follow the club's results and I'm still in touch with some of the players."

At the time of his move last August, BBC Sport understood the deal was worth £17m in total, with Norwich also including a sell-on clause.