Why are last season’s relegated trio struggling in the Championship?

This week’s Championship action has not just deepened long-standing hangovers suffered by the three clubs relegated from the Premier League but pointed to issues more wide-reaching than simply having to adapt to life back in the second tier.

For the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, all three recently relegated sides are currently outside of the top six of the Championship due to the midweek defeats suffered by Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton.

Marti Cifuentes, Kieran McKenna, and Will Still have plenty to think about as unbeaten leaders Coventry City show no signs of slowing down and second-placed Middlesbrough continue to lead the charge.

The Championship is a relentless, unforgiving division. A side can easily fly up the table with no effort during a run of form, though.

Leicester City – 8th – 11 played – 17 points (W4, D5, L2).

Following his side’s 2-1 defeat at the MKM Stadium by Hull City, Leicester manager Cifuentes was unfazed to voice his opinions.

He lamented a poor opening period for his side, where their hosts were dominant, before a late salvage operation attempt ended in vain after conceding two goals in the first half an hour on Humberside.

“Bad game, really bad first half. The worst game we have played this season, according to Cifuentes, who spoke to BBC Radio Leicester.

After being placed on gardening leave by previous club QPR, Cifuentes took the Leicester hot seat in July following the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Before the season began, the Spaniard was only allowed to strengthen his squad through free transfers and loan deals. He only had four weeks to play for his new team.

The strikers’ careers have also sputtered.

While the iconic Jamie Vardy departed for Italy, Patson Daka has failed to step up. Since February 2024, he has not scored for the club this calendar year and has only scored once in 45 league games.

In their 27 league starts this year, Daka, Jordan Ayew, and Argentine loanee Julian Carranza have each scored one goal.

“Life for Leicester City back in the Championship hasn’t kicked off the way they would have liked”, said BBC Radio Leicester’s Owynn Palmer-Atkin.

“First of all, it’s crucial to acknowledge that this is a completely different scenario than the campaign’s opening of 2023-24.

The Foxes had a better squad, a successful transfer window, and manager [Enzo Maresca] who worked with his players throughout the pre-season on his meticulous play.

“This time around, there was a delay before proceedings could even get going. Ruud van Nistelrooy was probably aware of the end of May when his time was up, but he remained in charge until a few days before the start of the new pre-season campaign.

“Marti Cifuentes arrives a few weeks later. I do believe that this has had a significant impact on his ability to work with the players enough to instill the gameplan, the tactics, the philosophy ready for the beginning of the season.

“The Foxes, along with the manager, did not make any new outfield signings until much later in the year when the new faces started to emerge. When first-team players were lobbying for moves away at the time, it gave off a sense of uncertainty.

” On the pitch though, this season, is the season no Foxes fan wanted to see – a Leicester squad without Jamie Vardy in it.

He was the man you could rely on for so long, even when things weren’t going well. The man who rescues Leicester from peril. To score the goals. to be team leader. to be the complete legend.

Ipswich Town – 14th – 10 played (1 abandoned) – 13 points (W3, D4, W3).

Since Ipswich’s first East Anglian derby win against struggling bitter rivals Norwich City for 16 years, McKenna’s side have experienced back-to-back defeats by Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic.

In contrast to Cifuentes, McKenna was given permission to loosen the purse strings in the summer and spent close to £40 million on players, including Norwegian forward Sindre Walle Egeli, who broke the record transfer signing, and Kasey McAteer, Marcelino Nunez, with help from Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson.

He has credit in the bank after guiding Town back to the Premier League following two decades away, but he faces an important, and arguably his most testing period, as he approaches his four-year anniversary in charge of the club.

After making seven changes on Tuesday from the team that lost to Boro just four days prior, it seems like he is still to decide on his preferred starting lineup.

While we all anticipated Liam Delap’s departure, Omari Hutchinson, Cameron Burgess, Conor Chaplin, Massimo Luongo, Axel Tuanzebe, Nathan Broadhead, and Luke Woolfenden all had significant influence, according to BBC Suffolk’s Brenner Woolley.

” These were key men, both on and off the pitch, during Town’s most successful period for decades.

The group was “a band of brothers,” as Chaplin put it, and it was an incredible camaraderie that led to back-to-back promotions.

In one of the most difficult, unforgiving, and difficult divisions in football, McKenna is currently attempting to form a new team. It will take time.

Given how amazing it was to transition them from League One to the Premier League in his first two full seasons as manager, “I firmly believe it will be his greatest achievement if he gets them up this season.”

The numerous summer arrivals have taken some time to adapt, so performances have been inconsistent so far.

“Making six changes for the recent trip to Bristol City and then seven against Charlton in midweek also hasn’t gone down well with fans”.

Because of the scale of the revamp, he continued, “I always thought bookmakers were being overly optimistic when they had them down as favorites and went straight back up.”

Southampton – 18th – 11 games (W2, D6, L3), 11 points.

When Southampton picked up a stoppage-time victory at home to Wrexham on the opening day of the season, you could have forgiven fans for getting a little carried away.

Hopes of better things to come were almost unavoidable after a disastrous Premier League campaign that included just two victories and 30 defeats as well as the league’s first ever relegation.

However, Saints have only managed one league win since then, with some fans dissatisfied with the team’s slow build-up play and a few goals that have proved difficult to come by.

Former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who was also ominously pictured in the Ashton Gate crowd, was also ominously pictured in the stands for Bristol City’s 3-1 defeat on Tuesday.

Still is a target for criticism because he and Sports Republic are still in his first managerial position in England.

” The last couple of games they have actually played quite good football and they’ve created good chances, “said former Saints midfielder and BBC Solent summariser Jo Tessem.

The scoring of goals is the biggest issue in football, and it’s the most challenging.

They have struggled to find a solution to Ross Stewart’s injury because he unlocked the issue they’ve been having with the striker. Unfortunately, he is now injured until Christmas and that is not good news.

They have, however, been generating a lot of opportunities. The play is moving forward and putting the ball in the box, but chances are not being converted.

“Will Still is playing possession football in a different way, more aggressive than under Russell Martin.

In the first half, Bristol City sat back and defended, and I believe he finds that a little challenging.

The good news is that we should have won both games [versus Swansea and Bristol City] and that we have created chances, which is a positive thing.