Savage wins on debut as Middlesbrough climb into top two in busy EFL weekend

Robbie Savage won his first match as Peterborough United manager as his side beat Leicester City 3-1 at the King Power Stadium on 10 October 2026, part of a full programme of EFL fixtures following a three-week international break. Middlesbrough moved into the Championship's top two after a narrow win over Wolves, while Salford City sit top of League Two after a 2-0 victory at Cheltenham Town.

Final Score pundit Sam Parkin, a former striker for Swindon, Luton Town and Northampton Town, selected his takeaways from the Championship, League One and League Two for BBC Sport after the resumption of league action. Parkin reviewed managerial debuts, transfer impacts and team form across the divisions and spoke to BBC Sport England's Adam Lanigan.

Robbie Savage enjoyed a dream afternoon on his debut as an EFL manager as his Peterborough United side inflicted more misery on Leicester City and Russell Martin with a 3-1 victory at King Power Stadium. Parkin said: "What a start for Robbie Savage, going back to the club where he's probably most synonymous. There's been a lot talked and written about him this week when we don't have too great a knowledge of what he's like as a manager considering his journey so far through non-league."

On Savage's style and squad composition Parkin added: "I'm very open-minded about the appointment and what he can do. I've heard he wants to play with real intensity and really play aggressively from the front. I thought this could be a good game for him against a Leicester City team that have a unique style of play but take risks with the ball, so in terms of a game plan, it's probably worked perfectly the way he wants his team to play."

Middlesbrough celebrated their '150 Fixture' with a narrow win over Wolves which moved them into the Championship's top two, and Will Lankshear has scored eight goals for Middlesbrough since his summer move from Tottenham. Parkin reflected on the parallels with other promotion pushes and the impact of Lankshear, saying: "You look at the way Coventry were promoted last season after their brilliant finish to the previous one and I see a lot of similarities with Middlesbrough - the timescales that the bosses were in charge being one of them."

Parkin continued on Boro's recruitment and defensive display: "Boro came very close last season and the one gaping hole in their squad was an out-and-out goalscorer. They created so many chances, they were brilliant between both boxes, a great watch but they couldn't convert those chances. So to bring in Will Lankshear and for him to have had the start he's had could be pivotal in their push for promotion. Today Kim Hellberg got his best back four on the pitch, so I felt that was a real stand-out moment in the season, to keep a clean sheet against a good Wolves team because they have been conceding too many goals. So I expect them to really kick on from here."

Birmingham City secured a one-goal win away to West Bromwich Albion, their third away victory of the season, a result that lifted them into the expanded play-off positions in seventh. On the changes at Birmingham, Parkin said: "In League One, they got promoted playing really stylish football, trying to play out from the back at all costs. They can still do that but they're definitely a more direct team this season, there's a better balance and they are more forceful from set-pieces. The change has come at just about the perfect time for Chris Davies because he was under enormous pressure. They had to start winning because you know how ambitious they are as a club, how big the support is and how demanding they are. Davies rolled the dice and at the moment it's paid off in a big way. Now they just need to start winning at St Andrew's - four draws so far - and if they do that, they can be a force to be reckoned with in the Championship."

Graham Alexander's return to Preston North End began with a home defeat by Millwall that left Preston bottom of the Championship, and Parkin assessed the appointment and squad: "I don't think it's going to be a huge improvement overnight at Preston, but you can understand the appointment as he's a club legend, which is nice. Graham Alexander really knows how to set a team up. His strength has always been in the organisation, rather than being a manager of free-flowing attack-minded sides. I have no doubt his side will start keeping clean sheets, it's whether they've got the attacking players in the building or whether he can free them up to start scoring more. That would be my question mark. He deserves the opportunity, the work he did at Bradford was incredible but I don't feel it's a brilliant Preston squad that he's inherited. Given the way they've started, survival would be deemed a success this season, then consolidating with the aid of a few transfer windows and trying to improve the squad."

Salford City's 2-0 win at Cheltenham took them to the top of League Two after their sixth victory in seven matches, and Parkin urged caution before declaring them favourites. He said: "Karl Robinson fell at the final hurdle last season and I felt it was quite a harsh sacking as he's probably the one manager who looked like he was going to achieve the target of promotion. Peter Cklamovski has inherited a good squad and they've certainly got the players to go one better than last year. To add to that, they've got Macaulay Langstaff who scored freely for Notts County and Luke Molyneux, a stand-out performer for Doncaster. But it's still early days. Barnet are very free-scoring and to remain unbeaten is credit to them at this stage of the season. Crewe are another team that won today and have had a taste of the play-offs and had a terrific start to the season. I would also throw York and Bristol Rovers into the mix so I'll withhold judgement on Salford until I see a little bit more football."

The weekend's results moved Middlesbrough into the Championship's top two, elevated Birmingham into seventh place, and put Salford City at the summit of League Two; Sam Parkin delivered these assessments in conversation with BBC Sport England's Adam Lanigan.