The Championship Preview

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m a West Ham fan, there I’ve said it, now we can move on without me having to explain why I’m doing the Championship preview, I’m hurting enough as it is without you bringing it up again.

One fundamental characteristic of the Championship is that it’s usually pretty impossible to call. It was expected that Middlesbrough would shoot back into the Premiership after the signing of Kris Boyd, and no-one would have predicted that Norwich would gain back to back promotions.

The league this season is as strong as ever, two ex England bosses now manage in the division and there is far more financial muscle in this league with teams pulling out the stops to gain their place in the promised land of the Premier League.

Let’s kick off with the favourites. Obviously West Ham are up there as the bookies favourites to go straight back up. Despite losing 12 first team players, (although Kieron Dyer doesn’t really count), the Hammers still find themselves in a decent position. The signing of Kevin Nolan will be seen as somewhat of a coup and will provide the Irons with some grit and determination, as well as a fair few goals.

Time to shine Junior (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)

The difference in standard should allow last season’s fringe players to step up and play a more pivotal role. Youngsters like Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines, James Tompkins and Jordan Spence have the potential to become the next generation of graduates from the Academy of Football. Some investment is needed, but I cannot see West Ham languishing in the Championship for too long.

The Irons’ biggest rivals this season will almost certainly be Leicester. The East Midlands club haven’t been shy in splashing the cash, bringing in no less than five players at the time of writing. With Sven-Goran Eriksson at the helm, Leicester’s chances are better than most. Sven is a great manager and since he has the financial backing, I can see The Foxes pushing for automatic promotion this season.

There are of course more than two challengers for the automatic promotions spots, and the competition is likely to be fierce. Both Leeds and Nottingham Forrest will be aiming for these places. Forrest, under their new manager Steve McClaren, has a great chance. They were out classed by Swansea in the play-offs last season, but still posses a decent attacking side capable of great things. Signing Andy Reid could well prove to be a great piece of business for the reds, his exceptional eye for a pass can help unlock defences this season. A replacement for Rob Earnshaw is likely to be high on McClaren’s list of priorities too.

Leeds dazzled the league and cup competitions with some breathtaking displays last year, although to really challenge this season they’ll need to tighten up that leaky backline, which conceded 70 goals last season. I’m not sure letting Kasper Schmeichel go was such a good piece of business but keeping hold of top scorers Luciano Becchio and Max Gradel will ensure they are taken seriously as challengers next year.

Shouldn’t have said goodbye so soon

The push for the play offs is likely to be contested by around seven teams; Leeds, Forrest, Cardiff, Reading, Birmingham, Blackpool and, if they can stop conceding goals, Watford stand a great chance.

Cardiff have bolstered their ranks this season with some smart signings, none more so than Robbie Earnshaw and Aron Gunnarsson, they’ll have to hope that Earnshaw fires in plenty of goals as replacing the 38 scored by Chopra, Bothroyd and Bellamy, who have all since departed, will be no easy task. Expect another striker to be brought in this season.

Reading will be on the hunt for a striker too if the mooted £8million transfer of Shane Long, to any of a number of Premier League suitors goes ahead. The Irishman scored 21 goals last season and if he departs, the £8million should be reinvested wisely in a similar player as they’ll lack raw pace up front this season.

Birmingham are at present an unknown quantity, with their chairman under police investigation and most of their squad being snatched from underneath them by various Premier league clubs. They’ll need to reinvest any money they receive in adding to their desperately under strength strike force and replacing Scott Dann who looks certain to leave, and Roger Johnson who has moved across Birmingham to play for Wolves. However with their remaining players full of top flight experience, they should have enough grit and determination to make a challenge for play-off qualification, under new boss Chris Houghton, it would certainly not be unlikely.

Blackpool almost achieved the seemingly impossible last season by nearly beating the drop, and doing so with a below average Premiership side and a no fefar attacking approach. If Ian Holloway can bring in some players and unlock their potential like he managed last year, plus adequately replace Charlie Adam, his side could find themselves back in line for another shot at the big time.

It’s just as tight at the bottom as it is at the top this season. Out of the promoted teams, I would imagine that Brighton and Hove stand the best chance at survival; this comes from their manager, the highly talented Gus Poyet, coupled with the excellent signing of Craig Mackail-Smith. The hardworking striker, who scored 34 goals last season, turned down a move to West Ham to play for The Seagulls and his goals will be integral to keeping them in the division.

Brighton’s gain, Peterborough’s loss (Photo PA)

However, one club’s gain is another’s loss. Peterborough, without their top scorer, may find the Championship more than a little taxing. They’ll benefit from keeping it in the family with a number of loan signings from Manchester United, but unless they find a striker of Mackail-Smith’s prolificacy they could be going straight back down. 

Southampton, I imagine, will be in and around the drop zone for most of the season, although with their financial backing, they could bring in a few players who can make a difference this season. However, a team without financial backing is Crystal Palace. They are skint, for lack of a better word, and only survived last season as three teams were simply worse than they were, I foresee a difficult campaign ahead for them. Talking of difficult challenges, Doncaster Rovers, who finished level on points with Crystal Palace last year, look likely to struggle this season. They have to hope that they can hold onto Billy Sharp – who was their top scorer last season with 15, lose him which is more than likely – Ipswich and Southampton are apparently very interested - and they don’t stand a chance.

The Championship has certainly improved it’s standards over recent years, which is reflected in the increase demand for TV rights and live matches, with big sides coming down and strong sides coming up, this season could prove to be it’s most interesting yet.

Winner

West Ham United

Runner Up

Leicester City

Play-off Winner

Leeds United

Relegated

Peterborough United

Crystal Palace

Doncaster Rovers


 Owain