The New Boys: West Ham, Wolves, Burnley, York and Rochdale
Countdown to Kick-Off #2 | What can we expect from the five newest members of the EFL?
Sam Parry: ELI5. It’s an acronym you see on the internet, although why anyone would want something explained to them as though they were five has always seemed a little odd to me. Perhaps that is because most explanations given to my five-year-old self amounted to a simple “no”.
Today, we ELIAAEFLF: explain like I am an EFL fan.
“Explain” sounds a little too didactic, though. Instead, Huw Davies, Matt Watts, Ryan Deeney and I have put together a short primer on the EFL’s five new — or, more accurately, old — boys.
Burnley, West Ham and Wolves arrive in the Championship after relegation from the Premier League, each carrying different levels of baggage and expectation. Rochdale and York City return from the National League with momentum, ambition and, in York’s case, the usual helping of chaos.
Here is what has changed, what still might need fixing and what we can expect from the five clubs entering unfamiliar territory in 2026/27.
The New Boys in the Championship
Burnley
Huw Davies
Anyone who has ever played with a bouncy ball knows these three truths:
They’re great fun at first;
They become less fun over time;
They lose their bounce.
Supporters are very much at that second stage as Burnley re-enter the second tier. Five years of relegation, promotion, relegation, promotion and relegation again have brought fun and false dawns; last season, however, was nothing more than a limp surrender. Wolves were regarded as arguably the Premier League’s worst ever team as they took two points from 18 games, yet they sat above Burnley at half-time on final day, until Zian Flemming’s equaliser restored the Clarets’ last remaining scrap of dignity.
It may have gone broadly unnoticed that Burnley’s 22-point tally entered the Premier League’s ‘all-time’ bottom 10 (level with Norwich in 2021/22 and Ipswich in 2024/25), but the fans are all too aware. There’s a growing discontent in the fanbase that sits somewhere between apathy and antipathy. Club chairman Alan Pace is also president of Espanyol, and some feel they are his favoured son. The sense is that, since ALK Capital took ownership in December 2020, Burnley FC hasn’t just lost some of its identity but it hasn’t really progressed, either, except commercially.
And, to return to Law #3 of Bouncy Balls, it’s becoming less of a sure thing that they’ll simply bounce straight back up. Although success wasn’t certain in 2022/23, as Vincent Kompany took his first coaching role in England, bringing in Anderlecht’s manager and £50m+ worth of players (if not more) meant an immediate return to the Premier League was at least very likely. In 2024/25, Burnley hired Championship promotion specialist Scott Parker. Both times, they reached 100 points. Doing so in 2026/27 would be the greatest achievement of all.
That’s not to say Burnley have a bad squad – only in parts. The attack looks excellent on paper and on its day: even if Flemming leaves, as expected, Burnley can line up with two of Marcus Edwards, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Aaron Ramsey and Hannibal Mejbri behind Armando Broja or Lyle Foster. It’s further back that there are questions.
Burnley have high hopes for 22-year-old goalkeeper Max Weiß but they’re also looking into alternatives, perhaps spooked by the German having made fewer than 50 career appearances. The defence that conceded two goals per game in the Premier League needs strengthening, especially with Quilindschy Hartman and star man Maxime Estève having left (the former, on loan). Florentino Luis is linked with the exit and, with Josh Cullen injured, that would leave Burnley with a sizable midfield rebuild. Hannibal can play deeper – though he, too, may be sold – but otherwise it’s just Josh Laurent and new signing Ugo Raghouber.
The new man in the dugout is intriguing. For one thing, a full 10 weeks passed between Parker’s departure and his full-time replacement’s arrival, due to a prolonged search and the protracted Craig Bellamy saga. Eventually, Burnley appointed Nicky Hayen from Genk. He’s one of the more successful former Haverfordwest County managers, having gone on to win the 2023/24 Belgian title with Club Brugge in a barnstorming caretaker spell, adding the 2024/25 Belgian Cup before getting the sack. He has the Clarets fans onside already.
New players will arrive. Burnley will win plenty of football matches. The ball just seems to have lost some of its kinetic energy.
West Ham
Matt Watts
A sixth-place finish, a seventh-place finish, a European trophy. Three years on from this three-year sequence, West Ham find themselves back in the Championship for the first time since 2011/12.
