Promotion Hopefuls
West Ham
West Ham, rightfully so, will be the outright favourites to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. The Hammers have so far reportedly received no bids for any of their star players such as Scott Parker, Carlton Cole or Robert Green. Add to this the fantastic signing of Kevin Nolan for a hefty £4million and Abdoulaye Faye you have a team that will strike fear in to any team in the second tier of English football. Sam Allardyce was not seen as the most popular choice to take the helm this summer but is still a big name for this level and will get results, whether it be ‘the West Ham way’ or not.
The snakey Swede has a plethora of talent already to choose from at the Walkers Stadium – combine this with his football contacts and you can’t help but think this will be a very, very exciting season for The Foxes. After loan signings last season such as Yakubu, Kamara and Kirkland
The unfortunately nicknamed ‘wally with the brolly’ is back in English football – and what an exciting job he has on his hands. After proving himself with a historic season at FC Twente Steve McClaren moved to pastures new with Wolfsburg Forest are exciting as it is, there’s no doubt about that – with McClaren at the helm I believe things can only get better. I fully expect McClaren to achieve what Billy Davies simply could not – promotion. Forest already has a team more than capable of promotion and with McClaren’s reputation as a fantastic coach this capability is increased. Lewis McGugan, Luke Chambers and Lee Camp are just some of the unbelievable talent that Forest have to offer – if they were to attract Nicky Maynard then they could be a very scary proposition come August.
Relegation Candidates
In Keith Hill, Barnsley has a manager full of self belief. Known for his superb man management skills Hill will need to get the very best out of players for the full 46 games for Barnsley to stand a chance of staying up. With signings so far of David Perkins and Craig Davies (both decent enough in league one and two respectively, but not stand-out) they will need to pull in some fantastic loan signings to make a real go of it. Hill is inexperienced at this level which perhaps isn’t a problem, but he needs to gain the respect of a decaying squad. Gone are the days of Neil Redfearn et al.
Although it is early still in terms of the football summer, Rovers are yet to do anything except reject a bid for Billy Sharp. Rightfully so! If Rovers are to stay up then hanging on to Sharp is paramount; a real threat at this level, Sharp’s goals are of the highest importance to O’Driscoll’s side. For the football they play I hope that Rovers aren’t dragged in to a relegation dog fight, but unless they improve on a squad that survived by the skin of their teeth last season then that’s exactly what they’ll be in.
Until Simon Jordan can find someone to take the club off his hands then Palace are going to continue to languish in the lower echelons of the Championship. Palace should have enough individual talent with players like Ambrose and Speroni in their line-up but they only just managed to survive last season. Bringing Glenn Murray in on a free is a very good piece of business regardless of him being unproven in the Championship. I can’t help but think that uncertainty off the field leads to uncertainty on it, and this is my fear for Palace. I hope they stay up, but their big players need to stay and – most importantly – perform.
Surprise Packages
You can’t help but respect the set-up of Derby County
Brighton & Hove Albion
Let’s face it; they absolutely walked League One last season. They were fantastic. Brilliance of players like Kazenga Lua Lua (earlier on in the season) along with a manager that likes to play the right way in Gus Poyet, The Seagulls could be in for a real shout at the top 6 this season I believe. The new stadium must be as exciting for away fans as it was home, I for one certainly won’t miss the Withdean. Brighton will take some stopping with such a team spirit which is vital to be kept intact, they have also added very expertly with the ever-impressive Will Hoskins (on a free, what a steal) and Buckley from Watford, the latter of which needed to be made after losing Bennett to Norwich. Top half for me at least.
Can anybody tell me the last time a team got promoted after conceding 75 in a season? Scoring 106 league goals helps. The entertainers of League One will be hoping to keep up the reputation again in the Championship; most of the squad who suffered an embarrassing relegation just over a year ago are still intact and will hopefully have learned from the experience. Losing Mackail-Smith (a certainty) will be a massive dent in the attacking threat and it will be interesting to see who The Posh replace him with, but with Lee Tomlin and George Boyd they have magicians that can make things happen out of nothing. I don’t dare to predict where they’ll end up this season; a good start is an absolute must.
Money Matters
The gap in revenue is becoming increasingly alarming between the Premier League and the Championship. The £40m parachute payments you are ‘awarded’ for relegation from the top flight isn’t making it any easier for teams from the lower leagues to enter the Championship with a fighting chance – how can they compete? They can’t. With there already an embarrassing gulf in class in the Premier League (top 6, then 7-10, then the rest) it is a worrying thought that the Championship will follow suit and perhaps even further down!
I know what you’ll say – look at Norwich Barnsley … The proof is in the pudding with teams like Doncaster , a fully established championship team for years that are simply failing to keep up with the rest of the clubs in the division financially.
I can’t help but think that with this comes a change in a clubs philosophy - just look at Wolves - a great attacking unit in the Championship that last season in the PL were forced to play a 4-5-1 in the Premier League in hope of getting draws against at least 8 of the teams above them. In comparison look what happened to Blackpool, open attacking football gets you relegated in the Premier League if you can’t afford the big bucks - where is the incentive to play the beautiful game? They’re in for a bumpy ride too, Blackpool, with Adam + Campbell as good as gone and David Vaughan opted to leave on a free. I’m not sure about you readers, but as a Peterborough United fan I can’t see the appeal of that week in week out; even if it does mean a season in the top flight (which you don’t have to tell me is a long way off!).
It comes down to the question - Would you prefer to see your team give it a ‘right good go’ from week to week with entertaining football at a slightly lower level or see your team aiming for damage limitation? I know there are massive highlights of the Premier League, the chance of playing at the Theatre of Dreams, seeing Arsenal tear you a new one – but I’m pretty sure the novelty would wear off after not so long a time.
Next blogs will be on best and worst stadiums and why + other league previews…
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