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As the Championship gets under way again this weekend, the division returns on the back of one of the most extraordinary play-off campaigns in its history. That drama is separate from another major change, but together they have altered the complexion of England’s second tier. The play-offs are expanding this season, while the richest single match in world football has taken on a fresh dimension, and the league itself has drawn wider global scrutiny after a scandal that quickly became known as Spygate.

The restart comes with a clear warning: standing behind a tree and recording a training session on an iPhone can carry a huge price, potentially £200m as well as serious reputational harm. It also means that, for neutrals at least, perhaps the most anticipated fixture of the campaign is already marked on the calendar: Southampton versus Middlesbrough on 27 November.

Under German coach Tonda Eckert, Southampton finished last season on a 19-match unbeaten run before the Spygate controversy led to their expulsion from the play-offs and a four-point deduction for this season.

The more traditional headline fixture on the opening weekend is Burnley hosting West Ham, bringing together two of the clubs relegated in May. West Ham’s return to the Football League, along with Wolves, is likely to draw added attention. There are also grounds to believe the quality of the division will be stronger and the fight for promotion more intense, and not only because teams finishing seventh and eighth now also qualify for the play-offs.

Last season delivered unpredictability in abundance. A year ago, very few would have predicted Coventry storming to the title. Hull were viewed as more likely to be dragged into relegation trouble than to push for promotion. This time, though, there is little argument over who begin as favourites: West Ham, and not just because they collected 39 Premier League points.

Co-owner David Sullivan has cast a shadow over West Ham’s summer, but beyond that the window appears to have gone well, even if the arrivals to date are limited to Joel Veltman and Manor Solomon. The club have brought in around £140m through the sales of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville, while captain Jarrod Bowen’s choice to remain gives them a footballer who should be above this level. The same can be said for a number of others. Given their spending and the talent available, relegation represented underachievement. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who also stayed on, previously collected 99 points in his only earlier Championship season with Wolves, which feels like an encouraging omen.

Nuno’s former side have turned Portuguese once more by bringing in manager Cesar Peixoto after the harsh dismissal of Rob Edwards. Before that change, Wolves seemed to be benefiting from having had months to plan for Championship life: Adam Armstrong, a proven source of second-tier goals, had already been signed in January. Before Edwards left, Wolves completed two marquee summer deals heavy on know-how, though together amounting to a combined age of 70, in Kieran Trippier and returning forward Raul Jimenez. Since then, the overhaul in playing personnel has been less extensive than many might have expected.

Burnley, meanwhile, have also gone back to a familiar model. They opted for a Belgian coach in Nicky Hayen, perhaps in the hope of uncovering another Vincent Kompany. The Clarets have won promotion in each of their previous four Championship seasons, reaching 100 points in the last two of them. There are valid questions over whether they can continue as a yo-yo club or whether that cycle is about to end with them stuck in the Football League, but they have sold effectively, bringing in about £85m so far. New signings have been limited, yet they already had an oversized squad and many of those players know what it takes to get out of this division.

In the United States, attention may centre on Wrexham, who exceeded expectations by finishing seventh last season, their highest placing ever. Phil Parkinson is still using the club’s commercial income in notably unspectacular fashion, with Danny Imray, Ben Whiteman and, seemingly, Anthony Patterson, but his straightforward methods have worked well. The other wealthy side promoted from League One in 2025, Birmingham, could be said to have underachieved by ending up 10th last year. Considering their ambition, it is somewhat surprising that manager Chris Davies is still in charge. There has also been continuity in the squad, although centre-back Dael Fry appears a shrewd addition.

Wolves are the bookmakers’ second favourites to make an immediate return, behind West Ham, whose 14-year stay in the Premier League ended on the final day of last season.

Fry arrived from Middlesbrough, who produced an unwanted slice of history last season by losing both the play-off semi-final and the final. They were reinstated after Southampton’s expulsion. Boro may even have wished they had not been, given how flat they looked in defeat to Hull at Wembley. They were forced to sell Championship player of the year Hayden Hackney, but with the money from that deal and the sell-on clause attached to Morgan Rogers, Kim Hellberg may have solved two weaknesses. Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek has come in after Sol Brynn’s error in the play-off final, while Tottenham striker Will Lankshear could reduce the frustration on Teesside over Tommy Conway’s finishing. American midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, meanwhile, looks both a strong and surprisingly inexpensive replacement for Hackney.

Southampton begin the season unbeaten in 19 Championship matches — 21 including the play-offs — yet sitting bottom on minus four as part of their punishment for spying. While they may have to get used to being labelled cheats at away grounds throughout the campaign, a more serious fallout may still be to come. Manager Tonda Eckert retained the backing of the club, although, irrespective of the ethics, his illegal approach to gathering information may rank as the costliest mistake football has seen. He is facing an FA charge, and a lengthy suspension could force Southampton into doing what many believed they should have done already: parting company with Eckert. Instead, they have converted two influential loanees, goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and striker Cyle Larin, into permanent signings, though the outstanding Shea Charles has departed.

Southampton and Middlesbrough, each with their own grievances, are among the sides involved in what looks like an extended battle for the play-off places.

There are several others capable of entering that race. Millwall defied expectations to finish third with 83 points last season, underlining that, in terms of value for money, few managers in the Championship are better than Alex Neil. Norwich started terribly but, after Philippe Clement’s appointment, won 13 of their final 20 matches and produced form worthy of the play-offs. Sheffield United also got last summer’s managerial decision wrong with Ruben Selles and had to turn back to Chris Wilder. Their summer has been relatively quiet, with Andre Brooks sold, and probably Gustavo Hamer too, while Wilder’s long-serving assistant Alan Knill has also left. Even so, there remains quality in the squad, which will be strengthened by Kalvin Phillips.

Sheffield United’s neighbours Sheffield Wednesday set an unwanted record of their own last season by finishing the campaign with no points, the result of deductions and administration. Their relegation had long seemed inevitable. Leicester’s fall, by contrast, came as a genuine surprise, with Oxford going down to League One alongside them.

Bolton, Cardiff and Lincoln have come up instead. Lincoln may have paid a price for their success by losing manager Michael Skubala to Bristol City, but they powered to the title on the back of a 29-game unbeaten sequence. They are back in the second tier for the first time since 1961. That underlines the Championship’s capacity to generate fresh storylines. Some themes, though, refuse to disappear. As the new season starts, Watford once again have a new manager.