The second division has unsurprisingly given us entertainment through each week of fixtures.
However, there have been some rather big surprises when looking at the league table.
Teams who did not perform well last season, such as Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers, are off to a flying start which many did not expect.
At the same time, there are certain teams who have plummeted from their expectations, especially from these three particular sides in the Championship.
Sheffield United
Without doubt, the worst team who have performed this season are currently sitting at the bottom of the table.
The Blades have truly had a shocking start to their 25/26 campaign, losing eight of their nine games with the only victory coming against Oxford United, winning 1-0 away from home.
In the previous season, Chris Wilder’s team finished third in the table and just missed out on promotion in the Play-Off final after Sunderland won in the 95th minute thanks to Tom Watson.
It is certainly one of the most significant and surprising downfalls we currently seen this season in English Football.
Ruben Selles began taking charge of the club and could not give the fans a piece of triumph in either league or cup competitions.
The return of Wilder did seem hopeful, at least giving the Yorkshire side something to cheer about at Oxford, but after suffering defeats to Southampton and Hull City, it’s beginning to question whether he can fix the issue.
With stand-out players like Gustavo Hamer, Ben Godfrey and Tom Cannon, you would think a team with that assortment of players would strive this season.
It’s going to take one tough job to revive Sheffield United, but are they really in danger in the long-term, or is this just a scare and a learning lesson after the owner sacked Wilder in June.
Norwich City
Currently winless in their last five, The Canaries have had a shaky start to the Championship season.
Although proceeding to at least the second round of the EFL Cup, unlike Sheffield United, they have only managed to gain two wins in the league, earning victories over Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers.
However, both of those occasions were away from home as fans have been frustrated with the results that have took place at Carrow Road.
Two seasons ago, Norwich finished just inside the play-off zone in sixth place, but now they’re teetering over the relegation area.
Liam Manning was appointed by the East Anglian club after pushing Bristol City to a play-off place last season.
Clearly, those were the same expectations for the Green and Yellow side, but have not exactly gone to plan.
While Josh Sargent is still scoring goals, just like last season, it seems that the defence has been a struggle, conceding 14 goals in nine games.
There is plenty of time for Norwich City to turn their season around, but if results don’t start going their way in the next coming weeks, the 19th-placed side are going to be in a very sticky situation.
Southampton
It’s fair to say that The Saints were always going to struggle last season in the Premier League, only winning two games, but a big bounce back at the start of the season was expected.
It’s a shock to see Will Still’s team in 17th, despite drawing five games, plus winning and losing two in the space of nine league games.
One common theme for Southampton’s draws is that they mainly break the deadlock first before eventually conceding an equaliser.
The Hampshire team at least had a decent cup run, making their way to the third round of the EFL Cup before they were knocked out by Liverpool 2-1.
Still made his well-known presence in Ligue 1, taking charge of Reims and Lens, so there was possible high hopes he could achieve a promising promotion side in the second tier of English Football.
However, that does not seem to be the case as the Belgium-born manager’s lowest win rate is currently with Southampton, although he hasn’t had a long tenure with the club.
Players such as Cameron Archer, Adam Armstrong and Finn Azaz have performed well, but not consistently through the start of the season.
There is still belief for Saints fan as the players are adapting and gradually getting used to Still’s style of play, but those high hopes can only be rewarded with good results in these next few fixtures before another international break.
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