Neil Lennon made an immediate impact as Bolton boss as Wanderers climbed off the bottom of the Championship table with a 1-0 win at Birmingham.
Matt Mills put the visitors ahead on 20 minutes and they held on for victory despite a late missed penalty by substitute Craig Davies, with the Blues having goalkeeper Darren Randolph sent off in that incident.
Russell Slade also enjoyed a dream start to his Cardiff reign as Federico Macheda and Peter Whittingham netted in a 2-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest, who slipped to their first defeat of the season despite pulling one back through Britt Assombalonga.
Fulham caretaker manager Kit Symons boosted his hopes of securing that position on a permanent basis with a 1-0 defeat of Norwich at Craven Cottage, with Sean Kavanagh striking the crucial goal on 22 minutes.
Those last two results allowed Watford to power to the top of the table with a 3-0 triumph at Sheffield Wednesday as Odion Ighalo, Almen Abdi and Matej Vydra hit the net.
Derby are up to second after crushing Reading by the same scoreline at Madejski Stadium, with Chris Martin bagging a brace and Jordon Ibe also on target.
Middlesbrough are alongside the Rams, a point off the pace, thanks to a 2-1 success at Brighton, with Lee Tomlin and Albert Adomah putting the visitors in control before Gordon Greer pulled one back late on.
Blackpool are the new basement dwellers following a 4-2 defeat at Huddersfield, with Harry Bunn bagging a brace for Town in between goals for Grant Holt and Jacob Butterfield, while Tony McMahon and Donervon Daniels replied for the struggling Seasiders.
Millwall and Wolves shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller at The Den after strikes by Danny Blath, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Bakary Sako had put Wanderers 3-0 ahead.
Lee Gregory pulled one back for the Lions before Ricardo Fuller hit a double and the hosts survived having Shaun Williams sent off deep into time added on.
There was also late drama at Portman Road, where Ipswich went ahead through David McGoldrick but Blackburn recovered from having Matthew Kilgallon dismissed to level three minutes into stoppage time through Ben Marshall for a 1-1 draw.
Callum Wilson struck after just three minutes as Bournemouth beat Charlton 1-0, but there were no goals in the game between Wigan and Brentford.