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The Football League is filled with talented managers, but one man down in League One has now achieved an incredible record over the course of his career, and he deserves to be given an opportunity in the Championship.
As the football season draws to a close, we now have a good idea as to which teams are chasing promotion and which will be facing relegation.
Down in League One, all the talk has been around the record-breaking Birmingham City, and the battle between Wrexham and Wycombe for that second automatic promotion spot.
However, it’s not just a two-horse race there, with the likes of Charlton Athletic and Stockport County now pushing themselves into contention.
Dave Challinor’s impressive EFL record speaks volumes for his credentials
Stockport in particular are a fascinating case. Having come up from League Two with Wrexham last season, they’ve excelled in the third tier under Dave Challinor’s stewardship.
Currently sitting in fifth place with 81 points, Stockport are now guaranteed a play-off place, and still have a very slim, outside chance of snatching that second automatic promotion place.
Either way, it’s a huge signal of progress and success for a club that was playing National League football in 2021/22.
They won the National League that year, at the expense of Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham side, and also beat the Red Dragons to the League Two title last season.
In securing a play-off spot this season, Challinor has now achieved a rather impressive feat, in that in 14 years as a manager, he has never finished lower than a play-off place with any team across six different divisions.
His previous spells with Fylde and Hartlepool may have been lower profile, but his work at Stockport is severely underrated, and it’s safe to say their rapid rise through the EFL would not have been possible without him.
This season’s achievement with Stockport is just as impressive, if not more so, than that of Wrexham and Birmingham, who of course have huge sums of money behind them.
How Challinor hasn’t even been nominated for the Manager of the Season award is beyond us. Even neutrals are stunned by that, with one Charlton fan on Twitter/X writing: “Genuinely robbed not to be nominated for Manager of the Season.”
One Stockport fan got a little spooked by the fact Challinor’s success was being put in the spotlight, too, adding: “Please ensure he’s on a watertight long term contract before promoting the excellent career stats he has!”
- READ MORE: Three reasons why Barry Fry tips Birmingham City to be promoted to the Premier League next season
West Brom should give Dave Challinor a chance, he’s ready for Championship
Everything is kicking off in the Championship today, with managers losing their jobs left, right, and centre.
In that sense, it’s rather refreshing to see the loyalty both Stockport and Challinor have shown one another over the last four years. But, if they fail to get promoted this season, could we see the manager move on to bigger and better things?
Quite possibly. We already know West Brom need a new manager after sacking Tony Mowbray. Likewise, Norwich City are now on the hunt after parting ways with Johannes Hoff Thorup, as we suspected would happen just days ago.
West Brom feels like the right fit for Challinor. He’s a manager who likes to get his team well-organised, working hard, but with a touch of flair and exciting football sprinkled in there.
While those clubs may well end up looking at more tried-and-tested managers with Championship experience, they’re unlikely to find anyone with the drive and the impressive track record Challinor has when working with limited resources.
It would be a shame to see him leave Stockport, of course, but it would be an even bigger shame to see his immense talent overlooked this summer.