For every team in the world, football is undoubtedly an emotional rollercoaster, with fans known to experience both extreme highs and lows over an extended period of time.
However, it must be acknowledged that the Championship is one category that aptly captures the range of feelings and fortunes experienced by players, ownership groups, and spectators.
As we prepare for the season-defining winter break, the current campaign has undoubtedly produced many surprises. In addition, there is an interesting mix of clubs with differing degrees of recent and overall success or failure.
Having said that, Football League World has ranked each of the 24 teams according to the amount of pain they have endured over the last ten years, beginning in 2015.
24Millwall
Millwall is at the top of this list; overall, the Lions have had a rather modest decade.
There have been multiple top-half finishes since their return to the Championship in 2017, and it is hoped that under Alex Neil’s leadership, they will finally record their first play-off finish since 2002.
23Bristol City
Since moving back to the Championship from League One in 2014–15, Bristol City has found themselves in a similar situation.
Over the years, Ashton Gate has grown, making the Robins a far more alluring option for prospective purchasers.
However, a 6-0 aggregate loss to Sheffield United previous season caused them to experience play-off heartbreak.\
22Oxford United
Oxford United finished the 2015–16 season with promotion after starting the season in League Two.
After defeating Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium in May 2024, the U’s made a name for themselves in League One throughout the previous ten years before making a comeback to the Championship last season.
The team’s ability to play with numerous former Premier League teams is impressive, and plans for a new stadium with 16,000 seats have been authorized.
21Preston North End
In the last ten years, Preston North End has evolved into the quintessential mediocre Championship team, and Lilywhites fans hope that their team will eventually make a comeback to the top flight for the first time in 60 years.
Although it must be acknowledged that a disappointing conclusion to the previous season raised concerns about a possible return to League One prior to a last-day escape, there is a realistic probability that such accomplishments will be accomplished under Paul Heckingbottom this season.
20Wrexham
Wrexham started the 2015–16 season in the National League and finished as low as 19th in the fifth division in 2019–20.
But since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over, the Red Dragons’ journey has been nothing short of revolutionary for both the team and the community. Phil Parkinson oversaw a record-breaking run of three consecutive promotions before repeatedly breaking their transfer record in the summer of 2025.
19Swansea City
Next up come Swansea City, their Welsh rivals.
The Swans haven’t been in the Premier League for seven years, and since their May 2021 loss to Brentford at Wembley Stadium, they haven’t finished in the play-offs, so a return seems far off right now.
But as the team looks to climb the table, there will be hope that former Liverpool assistant Vitor Matos can revive pride and a sense of identity.
18Middlesbrough
Although they hope their own Premier League banishment ends soon, Middlesbrough supporters haven’t experienced much hardship in the last ten years.
As a longtime supporter done right, Steve Gibson has continued to fund these initiatives. He hopes that Rob Edwards, who controversially left the team to join relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers, will be the one suffering the most in the near future.
17Southampton
It is evident that Southampton fans are currently disenchanted with the owning group, Sport Republic.
Notwithstanding an incredibly turbulent comeback to the EFL following a second relegation in three seasons, these events and annoyances undoubtedly pale in contrast to the recent misery experienced by other divisional competitors.
16Norwich City
The same might be said in part for Norwich City, however there are legitimate concerns about their first League One appearance since 2010 that are presently circulating around Carrow Road.
Since leaving the Premier League in 2021–2022, the Canaries have consistently declined and have rarely seen strong returns on the significant investment made in the playing roster in recent seasons. Philippe Clement, who was recently appointed, is trying to change this.
15Watford
In the same season, Watford was demoted from the Premier League, and the Hertfordshire team continued to be associated with chaos in the seasons that followed.
As has been well-documented, the Pozzo family have never been hesitated to make large and rapid changes at Vicarage Road, with Javi Gracia currently in his second term in control of the Hornets, becoming their third boss of 2025 following the dismissals of Tom Cleverley and Paulo Pezzolano.
14Sheffield United
Although Sheffield United began the previous ten years in League One, it is currently impossible to rule out an unwelcome return to the third division.
But in between, Blades supporters have witnessed three promotions, two Premier League campaigns that ended in relegation, an FA Cup semi-final, an undefeated streak, and a higher league ranking than their cross-city rivals, Sheffield Wednesday.
13Leicester City
To be honest, it’s difficult to sum up Leicester City’s last ten years in a few words.
The Foxes won the Premier League against 5000/1 odds just ten seasons ago. They have also participated in all three major UEFA competitions, won the FA Cup and the Championship, and been relegated back to the EFL twice.
But it appears that they will have to pay the price for the rollercoaster’s disappointing conclusion, since they will soon lose points.
12Stoke City
Stoke City is at the halfway mark, and under Mark Robins, the Potters now seem to have made progress.
Prior to that, however, the Staffordshire team had a turbulent time after ten consecutive Premier League seasons, failing to place better than 16th in the Championship due to the departure of multiple players and managers.
11Ipswich Town
Compared to the last years of Marcus Evans’ tenure in the boardroom, Ipswich Town’s fortunes have changed under Gamechanger 20 Limited, and Portman Road is now a place of hope.
After years of inactivity, they finally played in League One for four seasons. But everything in Suffolk has changed since Kieran McKenna was hired in December 2021, as Town won consecutive promotions in 2022 and 2024.
The Tractor Boys had been predicted to return to the Premier League right away following a significant investment, which included the Championship’s record-breaking contract for Sindre Walle Egeli, and a talented team.
10West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion is in tenth place; under Shilen Patel, the Black Country team is still in the midst of a partial rebuild.
Guochuan Lai’s dismal tenure as club owner came to an end when the American took over in February 2024. To balance the accounts, he had to pay off a few loans and trade important players like Torbjorn Heggem and Tom Fellows.
There may be another management change since some Albion supporters are now not persuaded that Ryan Mason is the best candidate to guide the team ahead on the field.
9Queens Park Rangers
The next stop is Queens Park Rangers, but residents at Loftus Road are hopeful that a much better future is ahead.
Rangers and a number of managers have had to deal with the consequences of overspending in the Premier League under Tony Fernandes for the majority of the previous ten years, frequently operating on a tight budget.
At the end of 2022–2023, the R’s also came dangerously close to joining League One. Despite an uneven start to his term after an exciting recruitment campaign, Julien Stephan will finally try to persuade supporters that he is the best person for the job.
8Hull City
Drama has always been a part of Hull City’s history, and even when Acun Ilicali took charge in January 2022, this hasn’t changed.
East Yorkshire has undoubtedly experienced a rollercoaster during the last ten years.
An 8-0 loss to Wigan Athletic after a run of two wins in 20 league games, a Championship play-off final victory, starting a relegation season in the Premier League with 13 senior players, ongoing boycotts against the Allam family, winning the League One title the following season, a long-awaited takeover, firing Liam Rosenior after the team barely missed the play-offs, surviving relegation by goal difference, and now attempting another top six bid under new manager Sergej Jakirovic, despite a transfer fee restriction, is quite the soap opera plot.
7Portsmouth
In recent years, Portsmouth fans have also witnessed their share of mayhem. But under Michael Eisner’s leadership, Pompey appears to be moving in the right path.
Ten years ago, the South Coast team was in League Two. They won the fourth-tier championship in 2016–17, but they missed out on promotion in League One for seven years.
Two seasons ago, John Mousinho managed to bring Championship football back to Fratton Park, and despite having fewer resources than many of their divisional rivals, the team hopes to make improvement.
6Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic, who were just promoted, are among the top six.
Over the past ten years, the Addicks have been at the center of multiple ownership sagas and have experienced both League One and the Championship at different points in time.
Tahnoon Nimer, the majority shareholder, claimed he would continue in a boardroom role despite the club stating he had resigned from his position as director. He also sought to sell the club before his own takeover was approved by the EFL, which was one of the more bizarre incidents on this front that typified a particularly chaotic 2019–20 season.
5Coventry City
Next up is Coventry City, whose fans have had an amazing ten years, and they might be rewarded for their devotion this year.
Before returning to the CBS Arena in 2021—a venue they currently control after completing an almost £40 million takeover in 2025—the Sky Blues were forced to groundshare with Northampton Town and Birmingham City in two different stints.
On the field, City has imitated the city’s “Phoenix” mentality, going from League Two to the Championship in just three years under Mark Robins. However, they have since lost two play-off seasons to Sunderland and Luton Town, as well as a thrilling FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United in April 2024.
4Birmingham City
In a similar vein, Birmingham City’s previous ten years have been anything but simple.
Trillion Trophy Asia/BSHL’s takeover in October 2016 set off an exceptionally turbulent series of events, starting with Gary Rowett’s shocking dismissal two months later, after the team had already been embroiled in ownership scandal.
Under players like Harry Redknapp and Garry Monk, the Blues would then barely escape relegation and suffer a nine-point deduction in 2018–19 before St. Andrew’s was partially abandoned as a construction site at the start of the 2020s.
Knighthead Capital Management’s own tenure in the boardroom hasn’t been without controversy following years of disenchantment and demonstrations from fans.
The first League One season since 1995 was achieved in Tom Wagner’s first season as chairman. However, it’s safe to say that the Blues are now on the rise, as seen by the recent unveiling of plans for their new 62,000-seat stadium following a third-tier record-breaking season under Chris Davies.
3Blackburn Rovers
Third on this list are Blackburn Rovers, whose fans at Ewood Park are still venting their annoyance at The Venky’s.
Since being demoted from the Premier League in 2011–12, Rovers have not placed in the top six of the Championship; in fact, they were demoted to League One prior to their promotion-winning season in 2017–18.
However, Blackburn’s owners have been embroiled in a legal battle with the Indian Ministry of Finance for some time, with the 12th installment of the hearing reportedly scheduled for November 2025. Since returning to the second-tier, Blackburn has been forced to sell players like Adam Wharton and Sammie Szmodics for hefty fees in order to balance the books.
2Derby County
Derby County, who are in second place, are now hoping to advance steadily after the turmoil of the previous ten years.
Mel Morris, the former owner, was largely to blame for these incidents. Despite two play-off losses in 2016 and 2019, he was unable to get the Rams back to the Premier League.
In the fall of 2021, the East Midlands team was placed into administration after Morris acknowledged the club had lost more than £200 million during his leadership.
After being punished 21 points, Derby was ultimately demoted to League One. In the summer of 2022, David Clowes, a lifetime fan and Pride Park hero, purchased the team for £33 million.
Derby’s journey back up the pyramid hasn’t been the easiest, but they hope to improve on their strong finish from the previous season under John Eustace, despite rumors of yet another acquisition from former Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor.
1Sheffield Wednesday
However, it should not be surprising that Sheffield Wednesday sits at the top of this list.
The first full season of Dejphon Chansiri’s incredible career at Hillsborough began in 2015–16, but Wednesday’s loss to Hull City in the play-off final would be the closest they would get to snapping their Premier League break.
Twelve months later, the team lost to Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals, and after breaking spending regulations, they began the 2020–21 season with a 12-point disadvantage and were forced to return to League One for the first time in nine years.
Following their thrilling victories over Barnsley and Peterborough United in the play-off semi-final and final, Wednesday would end their two-year stay in the third division, but upheaval and uncertainty still surrounded the team.
Wednesday hoped to be looking upward in 2024–2025 after a fantastic escape act under Danny Rohl in 2023–2024. However, Chansiri continued to value the club at an unrealistic £100 million, and in March 2025 the first of multiple delayed wage payments became apparent.
Henrik Pedersen was left with a shabby team and no new players because of multiple transfer and restriction embargoes after Rohl and a number of seasoned players left amid more delayed or non-payment of salary.
The search for a new long-term custodian is still ongoing ahead of a League One season, barring the mother of all miracles, although Chansiri’s rule ended on October 24, 2025. Despite this, the team was inevitably docked 12 points.
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