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Three of the best sides in the recent history of the Championship

Three of the best sides in the recent history of the Championship

In the tough, unforgiving world of Championship football, Burnley's defence this season has been a standout strength. Under Scott Parker's calm and organised leadership, Turf Moor has become a place where few teams find joy. Their solid back line has been key to their promotion push, showing that success is built on strong foundations, not flashy moments.

Yet the Championship remains football's most beautiful uncertainty-a realm where dominance is never given, only earned through the relentless pursuit of perfection, and teams in the Championship relegation odds can put together performances against the title challengers.

The division demands more than fleeting brilliance; it requires sustained excellence across the marathon of a season, with teams needing to rise above the chaos and establish their narrative of inevitability midst the turbulence of a 46-game campaign.

In this landscape of fierce competition, certain teams have transcended mere participation to achieve something approaching footballing divinity.

They didn't merely win promotion-they conquered with such authority that their seasons became benchmarks against which all others are measured. Here, we revisit three such dynasties that painted masterpieces across Championship canvas.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017/18

When Nuno Espirito Santo's Wolves emerged from the shadows of mediocrity, they brought with them a golden revolution that forever altered Championship mythology. Fuelled by the visionary ownership of Fosun and the puppeteer-like influence of Jorge Mendes, they assembled a constellation of talent that seemed to belong to another competitive universe entirely.

The Portuguese influence-Ruben Neves orchestrating from deep with passes and long-range screamers, Diogo Jota dancing through defences with balletic grace-transformed Molineux into a theatre of dreams.

Their 99-point campaign wasn't merely about promotion; it was a statement about how football could be played at this level-with courage, technical precision, and unshakable belief in artistic expression.

What separated this Wolves side was not just their dominance but their stylistic authority-they didn't adapt to the Championship; they forced the Championship to adapt to them. In doing so, they rewrote expectations of what could be achieved in England's second tier, leaving behind a legacy of golden wonder that still echoes today.

Fulham 2021/22

In 2021/22, Marco Silva's Fulham painted the Championship canvas with strokes of attacking brilliance so bold they seemed to belong in another gallery entirely.

At the heart of this masterpiece stood Aleksandar Mitrovic, a Serbian colossus whose 43-goal haul shattered records and defences with equal abandon-each finish a different verse in a season-long poem to goalscoring artistry.

The Cottagers accumulated 106 goals and 90 points, but statistics alone cannot capture the breathtaking abandon with which they approached their craft and how they controlled favouritism in the Championship betting.

Their football was a riverside symphony-Harry Wilson's visionary passing combining with Fabio Carvalho's youthful exuberance and Mitrovic's ruthless poetry to create harmony that opposition teams could admire but never silence.

What made this Fulham side transcendent was their refusal to compromise artistic principles for practicality. Even in a division notorious for pragmatism, they remained true to attacking ideals-their promotion not just earned, but authored with such flourish that it resembled less a sporting achievement and more a creative manifesto about football's highest possibilities.

Leicester City 2023/24

From the ashes of Premier League relegation, Enzo Maresca conjured perhaps the most complete Championship side ever witnessed. His Leicester City side's renaissance wasn't merely about returning to the elite-it was about proving that fall from grace need not be permanent when excellence becomes cultural rather than circumstantial.

Their 97-point procession to the title combined tactical sophistication with relentless winning psychology.

Jamie Vardy, defying time's cruel mathematics, continued finding the net with predatory instinct, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall emerged as the division's most complete midfielder-capable of dictating rhythm, breaking lines, and delivering in decisive moments.

What distinguished Leicester was their championship mentality-their refusal to allow relegation to define them. Each match became not just a contest but a statement of identity recovery. They transformed the narrative from one of decline to one of rebirth, reminding the football world that true champions may stumble but never lose sight of their intrinsic excellence.

In these three teams, we find different expressions of the same championship truth: that promotion is earned not just through talent but through the courage to impose one's vision on a division designed to resist such dominance. They stand as monuments to what becomes possible when ambition meets execution in football's most competitive proving ground.




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