Championship Royalty: The Teams That Ruled England’s Second Tier

There is a certain genre of team that just cruised the Championship in motion.

They looked like Premier League quality sides in the second tier, outshining the rest of the league. As we have seen frequently, those teams halve also gone on to have great success in the top flight afterwards.

From points records to so called ‘dream-teams,’ each side has an asset which helped mark them as Championship royalty, as they are now planted in our memories for being the greatest teams the second tier has seen. Here are some of those teams…

Reading FC – 2005/06

Nicknamed the Royals and regarded as Championship royalty, it is only right that we start with the record holders for achieving the highest number of points in a Championship season.

Reading’s 106-point campaign is still a figure yet to be beaten in the 19 years since, holding a legacy like no other. With Steve Coppell in charge, the Royals managed to go the entire 46-game season losing just two matches and winning 31.

A REMINDER:

The Reading side of 2005/06 hold the record for most points in a season with 106, and won the Championship by 16 points 👏🏻👏🏻🏆 pic.twitter.com/vKRW0zrP0P

— Football Remind ⚽️ (@FootballRemind) November 12, 2016

That year, Reading were promoted alongside both Sheffield United and Watford; however, no team came within a 16-point margin of the Berkshire side. Astonishingly, Coppell’s men went 33 consecutive Championship games unbeaten, taking them over five months before they lost their second game of the season.

Both Dave Kitson and Kevin Doyle reached 18 goals each in the second tier that season, becoming the club’s joint-top scorers. Although neither in this pair won the Golden Boot, after Marlon King amassed 22 goals for fellow promoted side Watford.

Burnley FC – 2022/23

You would need two hands to count how many times Burnley have been promoted from the second tier, but their title-winning campaign under Vincent Kompany in 2022/23 felt extra special.

The Clarets outshone every team in the league that season, with a squad stacked with talent and a fresh manager with a point to prove.

Upon their arrival into the season, Burnley had just been relegated to the Championship after a six-year stay in the top flight, which even included time spent in the Europa League qualifiers. However, it became a new chapter in their history, with the departure of Sean Dyche and a squad clear-out.

Vincent Kompany’s men went on to be promoted by the beginning of April and then won the league with 101 points, ultimately displaying their dominance through the prematurity of their success.

VINCENT KOMPANY’S BURNLEY ARE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/HzeTvsBNco

— GOAL (@goal) April 25, 2023

Josh Brownhill alongside loanees Nathan Tella and Ian Maatsen each played a huge part on Burnley’s success, as the club lost just three games all season and only one at Turf Moor.

Leicester City 2013/14

A team full of future stars. Leicester’s title-winning campaign in the Championship 2013/14 foreshadowed years of success in the top flight, but little did they know they were about to win trophies such as the Premier League and the FA Cup.

It was Nigel Pearson who helped the Foxes make the Premier League cut, as he took them to a staggering 102 points in 2014. His team accomplished 31 wins in the second tier that season, promoted alongside Burnley and QPR – although topping the table was never in doubt.

There would also be a few familiar faces crop up from Leicester’s team, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, Wes Morgan and Kasper Schmeichael all honouring their Championship winners' medals before reaching the very top.

Riyad Mahrez’s career at Leicester City:

👕 179 games
⚽️ 48 goals
🎯 38 assists
🏆 1 x Premier League
🥇 1 x PL Player of the Season
🏆 1 x Championship

Incredible, @Mahrez22! 👏🏼🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/oHNowKm36R

— Dean Ammi (@AlgerianFooty) May 13, 2018

Alongside all of the miraculous silverware the Foxes would go on to win, they also spent nine years holding down their top tier status afterwards. However, today they find themselves back in the second tier for the second time in three seasons.

Newcastle United – 2016/17

There was utter heartbreak in the North East when Newcastle United found themselves relegated to the second tier back in 2016.

The season of horror was too late to save for new manager Rafa Benitez at the time. However, luckily the Spaniard wasn’t ready to give up on the Magpies, extending his stay to help bring them back to where they belong.

After they achieved just nine wins in the Premier League, Benitez took his Newcastle team and ran with it. The Magpies entered a two-horse race with Brighton in the Championship, but there was only one who came out on top.

(EFL Championship Table 2016/17: FotMob)

Newcastle won the league title on 94 points – beating the Seagulls’ 93 – and cemented their name into Championship history for the incredible season they had just pulled off. They had achieved 29 wins in the second tier; despite seeing higher numbers than that in recent seasons, a little amount of teams have been as competitive as what Newcastle were.

Benitez’s side consisted of talent such as Dwight Gayle, Ayoze Perez, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Richie and much more.

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 2017/18

How Wolves had a squad like this in second tier football is truly astonishing. Heading into the 2017/18 season and their sixth successive year in the Championship, Wolves had a roster of players that outshone the rest.

Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Ivan Cavaleiro, Léo Bonatini, Barry Douglas, Willy Boly, Matt Doherty to name a few. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men simply looked unstoppable.

And so they were. Wolves went on to finish at the very top of the Championship, on 99 points with only seven losses to their name. The title was always a certainty, although it was Cardiff and Fulham who came up alongside the West Midlands outfit.

Every member of the Wolves 2017-18 Championship winning squad has now officially left the club. pic.twitter.com/DrUiNZLwEH

— ຮς๏ŧŧ (@wwfcscott) July 1, 2023

Wolves have now reached incredible heights since, playing seven consecutive seasons in the top flight and even making Europa League football an occurrence at the Molineux.

Players such as Ruben Neves, Matt Doherty and the late Diogo Jota all went on to achieve greatness in the sport, which hands the plaudits to the early Wolves team that birthed them