Football365's Not Very In Depth Championship Preview

[Boxing Kangaroo]

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8...3944917,00.html

"Over the last ten years, 19 of 30 managers who were in charge when their side was relegated from the Premier League were not still in the job a year later. Charlton's Alan Pardew and Watford's Aidy Boothroyd bucked that trend last season, but it would be surprising to see both still in situ by Christmas.

Favourites for a return last season, the Addicks were the disappointment of a ridiculous Championship season and Pardew will have to start at a canter to stay in the saddle. Boothroyd may well need a miracle - having sold Darius Henderson and Marlon King and loaned out Nathan Ellington, I'm buggered if I can see where the goals are going to come from. They missed out on promotion from a wide-open league last season and I fear that may have been their one and only chance at an early return.

I can't see Birmingham making the same mistake. Alex McCleish will prepare a City side ready for the churn of the Championship, with James McFadden and Cameron Jerome joined by striking options Marcus Bent and Kevin Phillips to make easily the best strikeforce in the division, while you fancy that Liam Ridgewell will look half-decent at that level and Lee Carsley could well be an inspired import.

City are joint-favourites with QPR to win the Championship title but I'm not convinced by Rangers' claims. They may have a big potful of money but they still have Dexter Blackstock and Patrick Agyemang up front and I can't see anything on the pitch - rather than in the stands or the bank - that suggests they will be anything better than play-off hopefuls this season.

There have been no lessons learned at Reading, where Steve Coppell has once again failed to make any move in the tranfer market despite the exit of Dave Kitson and the likely one of Nicky Shorey - this despite two inactive transfer windows being the key to their failure last season. Much better candidates for an automatic return are Derby, with Paul Jewell ridding his side of a lot of last season's losers and adding hungrier players like Rob Hulse, Kris Commons and Nathan Ellington, who lost his way as soon as he left Jewell at Wigan.

Wolves will once again flatter to deceive (don't be surprised to see Sam Allardyce in the job by Christmas) while Ipswich may well get a lot of the plaudits but be slightly off the pace again. It's difficult to see Bristol City in the mix again - a decent bunch of lads they may be but after fluffing the chance to escape the worst Championship in recent memory, they don't deserve another chance.

Along with Birmingham, my own tip to take the division by the scruff of the neck are Sheffield United. Predictably awful under Bryan Robson, they flourished under the Sorcerer's Apprentice Kevin Blackwell at the tail-end of last season and have since brought in Darius Henderson (a decent Championship striker) as well as signed David Cotterill on a permanent deal. They may not be pretty but they will be at least as good as the Neil Warnock side that were promoted three seasons ago.

An outside bet are Coventry City. Now under the management of the very competent Chris Coleman, they sorted out their defence in January and are in the middle of surgery to the striking department, with Freddy Eastwood and probably Clinton Morrison coming in. Now that's a more-than-capable pairing if they can both find their form.

I do think that this season will see a reaction to last - that there will be no Hull or Bristol City in the mix come May, that the traditionally bigger clubs will re-group and be ready to do what nobody seemed willing to do last season - just dominate, week in and week out over a massive 46-game season. The quality might be low but concentration must be paramount.

As far as relegation battles go, Blackpool avoiding the drop for a second season might be a bridge too far, while Barnsley's FA Cup run masked rapidly-faltering league form. As much as I like Paul Sturrock, it's difficult to see anything but trouble for Plymouth - a club operating at a level outside their size and budget.

I am mindful that I suggested a lack of goals could put paid to Bristol City's survival hopes last season - little did I know that the division would be so odd that a relegation goals total would actually be enough for a promotion challenge - but I'll repeat that worry about Doncaster Rovers.

Let's face it, the only Championship prediction you can be absolutely certain will come true is that there will be many, many managers losing their jobs. Worryingly, that's the only thing guaranteed to happen in this division"

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A bit on harsh on our beloved City to say the least. It is written by a girl though so I guess we shouldn't take it too seriously

['Orns]

It's difficult to see Bristol City in the mix again - a decent bunch of lads they may be but after fluffing the chance to escape the worst Championship in recent memory, they don't deserve another chance.

That really p's me off!

Worst Championship in recent memory? I don't think so - just because Stoke, Hull and City done well it automatically makes it the worst. What a load of crap, does this idiot work for the Evil Post in their spare time.

Lazy journalism at it's worst.

I'd love it if we were in the mix with Swansea, Donny, Barnsley etc come next May - see how bad they think it is then.

Rant over

[chinapig]

To describe Commons and Ellington as hungry is laughable. Ellington is hungry for signing on fees and any hunger Commons may have only explains his girth. The internet and the press are full of self-appointed experts who know nothing about football. This is just another.

[Sir Colby-Tit]

It is written by a girl though

You should have pointed that out at the start of the post. That's 3 mins of my life I can't get back.

[rockin-robin]

You should have pointed that out at the start of the post. That's 3 mins of my life I can't get back.

Very True In all seriousness though, the bit regarding City should be sent to GJ to put in the dressing room. It would certainly motivate me if I were a city player

[redfred]

What a pile of sh1te!! I learnt nothing from that article except that she is clearly just a sheep who follows the line that the big spending clubs will do well, Birmingham City and Sheff Utd, and we were extremely lucky to have beaten so many teams last season!

And as for the Championship being the worst ever last season, well i personally did not see a dull game last year either involving BC or any other Championship team. So to describe what was actually lauded as the most exciting league in the world last year by many pundits as so poor, quite frankly stinks of a distinct lack of knowledge about football. But then she is a bird and perhaps it was a funny time of the day, week or even month (!) for her when she wrote it....... :noexpression:

[Drew Peacock]

I would agree with quite a bit of it though.

[cheese]

I would agree with quite a bit of it though.

Yes, the spelling and grammar are acceptable, and I thought the first paragraph was spot on. Unfortunately she lost concentration after that and was definite relegation material.

[Loderingo]

Written off again but that might well be a good thing. After all when Wilson is in charge we were constantly tipped to go up but never won anything. Hopefully some of the favourites like Wolves will buckle under the pressure again.