Championship news: The three relegated clubs - Where did it all go wrong?

While the likes of Leeds United and Burnley celebrate a return to the Premier League, there are three Championship sides that ended their season on a sour note, being relegated to the third tier of English football.

Here, Sports News Blitz’s Dylan Easton breaks down what went wrong for the three clubs.

24th Place - Cardiff City

After a 12th place in the 2023/2024 season, Cardiff entered this season with optimism under head coach Erol Bulut.

During the summer transfer window, Bulut was backed by the board - spending a reported £7.5m along with some free agents such as Callum Chambers and Anwar El Ghazi.

After a positive summer from a recruitment perspective, Cardiff fans were hoping to build on last season and push for the playoffs - but this wasn’t to be the case.

In the first seven matches of the 2024/2025 season, Cardiff won one point which ultimately led to the board parting ways with Erol Bulut.

In the interim, Bulut’s assistant Omer Riza was put in charge of the side which saw Cardiff go on an unbeaten streak of six matches.

Due to such form, Riza held his post, but results began to decline quickly after with no wins in the next five matches.

Despite such a sudden drop in form, Cardiff decided to give Riza the job anyways just 74 days after the sacking of Erol Bulut.

Performances never improved, with Cardiff dropping down the table which saw Riza dismissed with just three games of the season remaining.

Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey was given the impossible task of keeping Cardiff in the Championship.

However, Cardiff were relegated to League One after a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion with one fixture remaining.

Ultimately, it is the Cardiff City board that is responsible for the relegation, as they have failed on numerous occasions to make decisions that are to benefit the club.

For example, after sacking Bulut, the board should have drawn up a shortlist of candidates and hired a new manager rather than hoping Omer Riza would be the answer to all their problems.

Furthermore, the board have never spent money wisely with over £35m spent since relegation from the Premier League, and only four players in that time have been sold for a profit.

Caretaker manager Aaron Ramsey has come out and said, “I think if the right structures are in place with coaching staff and things, these players will give you everything.”

With no sporting director or director of football, the running of the club is run by owner Vincent Tan, chairman Mehmet Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo.

Due to such structure, Ramsey’s comments are unlikely to be acted upon with relegation to League One expected to hit the club hard with promotion next season looking unlikely.

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23rd - Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth stayed up on the last day of the 2023/2024 season and went into this season hoping to cement themselves as a Championship club.

The first incoming at the club was managerial, with former England captain Wayne Rooney taking the reins at the club.

The summer window was poor. Michael Cooper left for Sheffield United which was a detrimental loss for The Pilgrims.

The season started poorly, winning just four games out of the opening 14 fixtures.

Form didn’t pick up over the festive period which led to Wayne Rooney being sacked on New Year’s Eve.

To replace Rooney was Miron Muslic who was most recently at Belgian side Cercle Brugge.

Muslic registered a few inspiring victories during the second half of the season, with victory against Premier League champions Liverpool shocking the entire country.

Despite an upturn in form, Plymouth fell just short, with defeat to Leeds on the final day sealing their fate back to League One for the 2025/2026 season.

Ultimately, Plymouth did not start the season with the right manager or players to stay up this season, which proved all too late at the hands of Muslic.

Heading into next season, Plymouth fans are optimistic on the premise that Muslic stays. If he doesn’t it could be a long season at Home Park.

22nd - Luton Town

The Hatters were favourites to win the league heading into this season after Luton put up a valiant effort to stay in the Premier League.

During the summer window, Rob Edwards stayed on, and the squad remained, with Ogbene and Ross Barkley being the notable departures.

Luton struggled to adapt back to Championship football, going without a win in their first five matches of the season.

Back-to-back wins against Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday sparked the fanbase again, making them believe the poor form was just an adaptation period.

However, the form did not pick up leading to Luton lingering around the drop zone at Christmas.

On January 9, Rob Edwards left the club after four straight defeats leading to Wycombe’s Matt Bloomfield taking charge for the remainder of the season.

January recruitment wasn’t bad, with Millenic Alli joining from Exeter City along with Thelo Aasgaard from Wigan who put in spirited performances after their arrivals.

Sadly, Bloomfield was unable to keep Luton Town in the Championship, with The Hatters suffering successive relegations which was completely out of the blue.

Next season, it is hoped that Bloomfield is the right man to bring them back after proving at Wycombe that he is a strong manager at League One level.

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