We'll miss you Gylfi!

Well now that Sky Sports is calming down a bit from its day of “twist and turns” (sure), the transfer deadline is upon us and teams can no longer make any more permanent signings. The football league sides can still sign free agents and make short term loan signings, but any permanent signings in these hard economical times are all complete until January. When it comes to the Championship, teams are often on a strict budget and new signings are very common, but who were the biggest winners and losers in this window?

Winners:

Cardiff City:

Craig Bellamy. That is without a doubt THE Championship signing of the summer and arguably one of the top signings in English football all together. Put on top of that the fact they’ve kept hold of Peter Wittingham, who may be signing a new contract soon, and Michael Chopra who disappointed some fans by announcing his intention to leave the club. Regardless of that, Cardiff City have the strongest attack in the Championship and they can only build on their good start to the season which has seen them gain 10 points from four games. Jason Koumas has also returned for his second spell on loan at the Bluebirds along with Manchester United youngster Danny Drinkwater, Hull City’s Seyi Olofinjana and Wolves striker Andy Keogh. Under new ownership, the future looks a little brighter for the Welsh outfit, after last season’s protests against Peter Ridsdale.

Middlesbrough:

Or team SPL as many people are calling them now, ‘Boro made the big signing of Kris Boyd this summer and excellent Steve Gibson has certainly took a gamble and shown his support to Gordon Strachan. Brad Jones is out and to be honest I think ‘Boro got a good deal from Liverpool as I always thought that he was a terrible goal keeper, they may not have brought in a replacement yet but I would expect a loan signing or free transfer to come in soon. Nicky Bailey is another honourable mention as well as Matt Kilgallon, who has come on loan from local rivals Sunderland. You could argue that they’ve not exactly taken the league by storm in the first four games, but as Sir Bobby Robson once said “there’s no point in looking at the table until November”. The defeat to Barnsley was a bit of a shock, but I’ve been to Barnsley before and they always make it hard for the opposition, despite many labelling them for relegation this season I think they may stay up. The fact for ‘Boro is that the team will still be growing relationships with each other and the side has fantastic depth that will benefit them greatly through the winter.

Losers:

Hull City:

I was quite shocked to hear that Nigel Pearson was admitted to hospital after complaining about a tight chest, but luckily the Hull manager is set to return. Pearson had hoped that a number of top earners would move on and although a number were sent out on loan and a few released/sold, there still remains a lot of players damaging an already tricky financial situation at Hull. Most notably is Jimmy Bullard, who wasn’t played in pre-season in order to ensure that he would remain fit in the prospect of a sale or loan move. Robert Koren and Jay Simpson are decent signings, but the club still has a lot of top earners that they were hopeful to get rid of and if Jay Simpson doesn’t start smashing in the goals then the club could really struggle to bounce back at the first time of asking.

Reading:

If you’re a Reading fan you’ll probably know why your club was one of the big losers this transfer window and that reason is Gylfi Sigurdsson. It appears that my article regarding the 5 players to watch this season has been a kiss of death for these guys, particularly Nicky Maynard who is out for 4 months (which all but ended my bet for him to finish top goal scorer this season!). Sigurdsson has made the move to Germany for a reported £4.25m, as he will wear the colours of Hoffenheim next season. I know it’s quite a bit of money for a Championship side, but this guy got 21 goals for Reading last season and he is a midfielder. At only 20 years old he still has a lot of progress to make and it would seem that Reading have lost the main cog in their system. On deadline day the ageing Ian Harte and Zurab Khizanishvilli (took me a while to spell that one) have came in, and although they’ll provide much needed support in the full back positions, Reading have lost their top player and it’s a shame that one of the Championship’s top players has left this season.

Derby County:

The board at Derby should be ashamed. They’ve promised to fund the squad for every transfer window and rarely does there appear to be any sort of ambitious investment from them. The reason they are in the losers section is the fact that Derby County have one of the loyalist, if not THE loyalist, fan base in the country and if you were to put teams in the top league based on their fans then Derby would be up there every season. Luke Varney is off the wage bill, but the squad hasn’t exactly been strengthened to challenge in the league too much. Supporters of the Rams will be hopeful that loan signing Alberto Bueno comes good, but truth be told this is another transfer window of what could have been for Derby, the squad really does need quite a lot of fresh talent. As I write this Rob Hulse may also be on his way out to QPR and Derby fans will be disappointed to see him leave.

Snodgrass: One to look out for

The start of the newly named Npower football league is almost upon us and it all gets under way on Friday night at Carrow Road when Norwich take on Watford. As well as a preview I will be writing on Thursday, I thought I’d pick out 5 players from this season that are worth keeping an eye on, I expect these five lads to really shine this season (let’s see how right I am when the Championship team of the season is announced next year – probably 0 right).

1. Nicky Maynard:

In my previous blog, I spoke about how Bristol City had one of their best sides in years and with a manager like Steve Coppell who has experience of success in this league with Reading, they have become a bit of a dark horse for promotion. David James aside, Bristol City fans will be hopeful that Nicky Maynard can build upon his 20 league goals from last season and be the spearhead of their attack. At only 23, Maynard is showing great potential and he is a proven goal scorer at this level. With the addition of more strength and depth in the Bristol City line up after a summer of signings (more to come!), Maynard is bound to have a chance to get even more goals this season. He is 14/1 on sky bet to be the Championship’s top scorer and he’s the player I’m backing to achieve that award. You may recognise Maynard from his goal against QPR last season, which even made its way into some journalist’s lists of “top European goals of the season” (never mind domestic!). Check it out below:

2. Robert Snodgrass:

Snodgrass – the unsung hero of Leeds United (by the media at least). For the past several seasons, Beckford has taken the plaudits for his goal scoring ability, but he often relied upon this man to provide the chances. Snodgrass is a gifted winger that can play on either flank and has great technical ability and patience on the ball. Now that Beckford has moved on to Everton, Leeds will be hopeful that Snodgrass can provide for whoever Beckford’s replacement is and he will be an important part of their bid for survival. He was one of League One’s best kept secrets and now he will have a chance to show what he can do at a higher level, I expect him to take many plaudits this season:

3. Kris Boyd:

Yes, it’s an obvious choice, but Boyd’s season will be an interesting one considering his reputation. Middlesbrough are the bookmakers favourites to gain promotion this season and much of that is due to the signing of the SPL’s top goal scorer of all time, if he picks up a bad injury than many may be reconsidering their choice (although ‘Boro do have a lot of strength and depth this season). He’s favourite to be the top goal scorer and he is all set to prove that he can be a prolific scorer in England just like he was in Scotland; failure to do this would be a disaster for Boyd, Scottish football and Middlesbrough:

4. Gylfi Sigurðsson:

Reading had a Jekyll & Hyde season last year. After selling off players in order to balance the books, Brendan Rodgers struggled at the club and was dismissed in December. Brian McDermott took temporary charge of the club and one of his first tasks was to play Liverpool in the F.A cup. The club got a respectable draw at the Madjeski, but few predicted that Reading would out play Liverpool at Anfield. Sigurosson was the star of the show that night and Jamie Carragher seemed frightened when he came running at him with the ball. At only 20 years old, he is one for the future and Reading fans will be glad that the Premiership hasn’t come calling for their 09/10 player of the season. I think we can expect more from Sigurosson this season and if you get the chance I highly recommend seeing him as he is a very exciting player to watch:

5. Connor Wickham:

It’s ironic really, Roy Keane spends loads of money on new recruits and a product of the Ipswich youth system ends up being the most capable. Wickham was recently rumoured to be the subject of a bid from Tottenham, with Spur’s apparently bidding £5m with an offer to loan the player back to the Tractor Boys. Ipswich are holding out for more money and you know you have something good if a Premier League team is offering that sort of money to a Championship club.  He may have only for four goals last season, but the 17 year old can expect to be more involved in club matters from start to finish this season. All the buzz about Wickham was started with his impressive performances at England U17 level where he helped his country win the U17 European Championship’s, some have even asked Capello if he would consider him for a full cap:

Steve Coppell is a popular figure in football. Fondly remembered at every club he has either played for or managed, the former Manchester United man is about to embark on a new challenge.

Bristol City are the club fortunate enough to welcome Coppell, as the 54 year old looks to take the Robins back to previous heights, and City couldn’t have picked a better man for the job

In his previous job at Reading, Coppell guided the Royals to the Premier League, amassing 106 points, and scoring 99 goals. Reading were the entertainers of the Championship. The following season Coppell excelled once again, with Reading finishing in eighth place in the Premier League.

For this remarkable achievement Coppell was named Manager of the Year for the second year in a row. Speaking of Coppell’s achievements Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I think it’s totally deserved. It’s a marvellous contribution he’s made.”

But during this time Coppell remained as modest as ever saying: “It is testimony to what everyone is doing at the club. I get the prize but it is everyone else who is doing all the work I can assure you.”

And this is why Coppell is so popular in football. In an era of brash flamboyancy, it makes a refreshing change for a manager that doesn’t want to be in the limelight.

But Coppell has always been this way. After leaving Crystal Palace to take over at Manchester City in 1996, Coppell lasted just 33 days in charge citing the pressure of the job Maine Road as too much. Coppell would return to Selhurst Park the following year, and then eagles chairman Ron Knowles said: “I think he found the club [Manchester City] too enormous.”

While the pressure at Bristol City might not be quite what it was in Manchester, Coppell is well aware of the demands from his new employer: “I think every manager knows that promotion is his brief. This is a club who want to go forward, they want to progress and they want to be in the top division. I think every manager wants to ply his trade in the top flight, and I’m no different. The ambition is to go forward.”

One of the reasons why Coppell was so successful at Reading was togetherness he installed at the club. And Coppell knows that he will need everybody on board if he is to have an equally successful tenure at Ashton Gate: “Our challenge is to get the club in the top division. I’m just here to direct the ship. No one person can do it.

“What do we need? We need to win games. Football is a strange business, its a very much week to week industry, everybody is judged by results in football, myself and the players know this, but the challenge is very much there for next season.”

Football was more of a season to season industry for Coppell at Reading, After their incredible first season in the top flight, they struggled to reach the same standard the following year, and were eventually relegated on the last day of the season.

But testimony to his popularity at the Madjeski Stadium, Reading fans gave Coppell universal backing despite the relegation. Reading looked set for an immediate return to the top flight the following year, but poor end of season form saw them eventually miss out on automatic promotion before losing to Burnley in the playoffs.

Reading fans would have again wanted Coppell to stay on but typical of his character, the self critic that Coppell is, feeling he had failed in his job decided it was time to move on. Speaking at a press conference following his resignation Coppell said, “I apologise, we had more then enough opportunities and fire power to be promoted, and we haven’t done it, it is the managers fault.”

Coppell looked like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders that day. But he has taken time out from the game, and looks refreshed and ready for his new challenge: “I’m excited but I am also a little nervous, that shows you how excited I am.

“I want to do well for the people that employ me, it is a good place and I’m looking forward to the challenge both personally and collectively as a club. I feel this club has the potential to go forward. But potential is tomorrows word, you have got to make it happen. It is my job to help realise the huge ambitions that the chairman holds for the future of this club by producing a winning football team.”

The chairman referred to is Steve Lansdown, and Coppell admits the two have discussed a budget for next season: “There haven’t been any figures put on it, but looking at the chairman’s record in the past, he has obviously been very supportive of whoever has been in charge.

“I recognise there is a market for this club in terms of the players they are capable of bringing in.

I won’t make any stupid requests but I’m sure the chairman will be very supportive if there are players who need to come in”

The transfer market was an area where Coppell achieved some great success at Reading, with Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt some of the bargain buys he picked up. If Coppell is able to produce similar finds for Bristol City, then there is no doubt that Coppell he will become one of the most popular figures in yet another clubs history.

Less than two weeks to go until the new Championship season. Squads are coming together. Some managers are content, others are panicking. Fans are enjoying a final fortnight of optimism before reality sets in.

Can Billy Davies take Forest to the top?

With this in mind, here are five random predictions for the coming season, hung on a flimsy animal theme:

Dark Horses: Nottingham Forest

When Billy Davies took over in January, Forest looked likely to go down. In fact, even with a few weeks of the season left they were still teetering, but now they mean business.

Billy Davies has brought in Lee Camp, Dexter Blackstock, Dele Adebola, Paul McKenna, David McGoldrick, Chris Gunter and Joel Lynch. It’s reminiscent of Davies’ last full season at Derby, where he transformed a team of strugglers into promotion material in just 12 months. I’m not saying they’ll win the league, but with all their attacking options and a proven manager, this could be an enjoyable season for the Tricky Trees. Prediction: 5th.

Stinking Skunks: Newcastle United

You can see what I did here: skunks are black and white and so is Newcastle’s kit… well, the one that doesn’t contain shades of urine-yellow, anyway.

Newcastle are in serious trouble. They looked bereft of desire last season after Keegan left and this year they won’t even have the excitement of playing against Manchester United or Fulham.

Currently, they have no manager. Their owner is desperate to sell, but no one really fancies buying them for the asking price. Their squad holds enough quality to win this league with some ease, but it’s a club with more than a whiff of Leeds about it. Every game they play will be against a team desperate to knock over the largest team in the division. Every team will get a big gate against Newcastle. Fans will back their underdogs all the way. I just can’t see, at the moment, how Newcastle will be able to cope.

New owners, a strong manager and a bit of stability could change all that. After all, Sunderland were flailing around like a flock of drowning giraffe a couple of years back until Roy Keane dragged them from bottom to top. But at the moment, 23 clubs are rubbing their hands at the prospect of playing the Magpies. Prediction: 14th.

Irritating Wasps: Peterborough United

Peterborough are at the other end of the scale to Newcastle. They have a much-coveted manager. After years of worrying if they have enough money to pay for the floodlights on evening games, they are now financially stable. They have just been promoted. The club is possibly in its best shape ever.

The problem is that despite these positives, every fan of every club will look at Peterborough and say: “We have to be beating teams like this.” Peterborough are still a small club, but they possess a genuine sting and players, especially of the larger teams, are going to feel pressure to swat them aside. I can’t see that happening. They have a winning mentality and that will continue, at least for this season. Prediction: 9th.

Suicidal Lemmings: Coventry City

What is going on here? The rumour is that Cov are selling off their players so that they can buy their cavernous stadium that can make a tremendous noise when full, but echoes horribly the rest of the time. Two of their best performers last season, Scott Dann and Daniel Fox, have both gone. Michael Mifsud has been released along with Leon McKenzie. It’s not even as if they were much of a force last season and with the Championship now spitting out former Premier League clubs on an annual basis, I fear the same fate could be about to befall poor Cov. Prediction: 22nd.

Harmless Pussycats: Reading

That 100 point+ season now seems a long time ago. The player turnover since then makes alarming reading: Leroy Lita, Dave Kitson, Graeme Murty, Kevin Doyle, Marcus Hahnemann, Nicky Shorey, Steve Coppell… They still have the Hunt brothers and Shane Long, but this season smells like transition to me.

Clubs who lose long serving managers often seem to struggle for a while afterwards as the club creakily adapts to a new regime (just look at Charlton) and although Brendan Rogers has a fine reputation in the game, he’s still inexperienced and is now charged with re-building a Reading force.

The Royals were poor for much of the second half of last season, their vaunted attacking force failing to score in 50% of their last dozen games. Royals fans are going to need to show some patience. Prediction: 13th.

ALL ABOARD! But who will be riding the open-top buses this year?

Well it’s here yet again, that time of the season where supporters of clubs at both ends of the table are suffering ‘twitchy-backside’ syndrome (a genuine medical term).

Naturally a popular subject of conversation now is ‘who is going up’. Here are my thoughts.

Wolves

Mick Mcarthy’s men appear to have overcome that dreadful run of results from December to March where they only picked up two league wins in eleven games. The men from Molineux have won four from their last five games and next up is an enormous clash with Birmingham in The Blues back yard. The run in sees games against mid table QPR and Derby but the games against relegation threatened Southampton, Barnsley and Doncaster may spring some unwanted surprises.

Verdict

Wolves will win the title with a few monumental battles on the way – just about.

Birmingham City

Despite an away loss to promotion rivals Sheffield United, City are still sitting in second place four and six points above Reading and Sheffield United respectively. Albeit the Blues have played a game more than their two nearest rivals. Defeat against Wolves in the aforementioned top of the table clash could put a real dent in their promotion bid, City also face Reading away in the final game of the season that stands a chance of effectively being a play-off final at the Madejski.

VerdictBirmingham cannot afford to lose to Wolves and Reading. Defeat in both games could cost them the chance to land the coveted 2nd spot. It will be a dogfight for second but the Blues have to be favourites as Reading and Sheffield United still have to win their ganes in hand to keep the pressure on.

Reading

The Royals have won only two of their last ten championship games after that superb pre-Christmas run that saw them win six games back to back. At that time I thought that it was only a matter of time that the Berkshire club would storm to the title. However, since beating Wolves in late January the title challenge appears to have lost momentum with Steve  side struggling to find a consistent run of good form. Having said all this they have a game in hand on 2nd place Birmingham that would cut the gap to a mere point. That, coupled with that impending possible promotion decider with ‘The Brum’ in the final game at the Madejski could see the club return to the top flight.

 Verdict

Aside from a huge game against Sheffield United at home on Good-Friday, this is Reading’s to lose. Dogged-determination and a vociferous home crowd should see the Royals up on the final day if they land those big six points against The Blades and The Blues.

Sheffield United

The in-form side in the top four, The Blades are no doubt in with a real shout. Winning their game in hand is a must. That game is the clash with local rivals, Barnsley and is likely to be a thunderous battle in the wake of the Iain Hume and Chris Morgan elbowing incident. The Blades, like Reading have a lot in their own hands but face a difficult run-in, with Burnley and Reading away being the key fixtures. Should the Blades overhaul Reading at the Madejski and Wolves beat Birmingham, Kevin Blackwell’s men have four home games from their last seven with a potentially huge final game awaiting them when they visit Bramall Lane old-boy Neil Warnock’s Crystal Palace.

 Verdict

If the Blades can continue their current form and pick up big wins at Reading and Burnley they have every chance of making a return to the Premier League. However, other results must go the Blades way for them to achieve this.

Cardiff City

A calamitous refereeing performance from match official Paul Taylor saw the Bluebirds reduced to the nine men in their last game against the Sheffield United at Ninian park, culminating in 3-0 defeat at the hands of their rivals. This was a huge loss for Cardiff but they still have two games in hand which could see them cutting the gap to 2nd place down to three points. Next-up for City is a massive South Wales derby at home and how The Swans would love to kill off their bitter-rivals automatic promotion challenge. Should the Bluebirds prevail they still have to win two games in hand and face play-off hopefuls Burnley and Preston.

Verdict 

Far from impossible but realistically Dave Jones’ side needs to win six from their last eight games while depending on other results. I’m afraid I think it may be a little too much to ask. It’s looking like the Play-Offs could be a more realistic way to send Ninian Park, their home for 99 years off in the way the club would like to.

Apologies to Burnley but without games in hand I cannot see the Clarets closing a seven-point gap at this stage. I will try and call the play-offs after the traditional end of season shake-up.

After another action packed weekend the sides in the Championship look like they are sorting themselves into the areas we can expect to find them in for the remainder of the season. Reading and Birmingham looking like they are going to bounce straight back whilst Doncaster and Notts Forest look destine to be involved in a relegation battle for the next 8 months.

However there are those that prove the rule that the Championship is the most unpredictable league with Plymouth currently occupying fourth whilst Watford and Crystal Palace are currently struggling near the bottom. However I don’t expect that to be the case come the end of the season, although following the relegation of Leicester and the promotion of Hull you can never say never.

Everyone knows that the Championship is unpredictable but it seems unlikely that we will have a season like the last with Hull and Bristol contesting the play-off final and Stoke going up. This season looks like it is going to go by the book though with Birmingham and Reading, who have managed to keep hold of their best players and use their parachute payments to their benefit, certainly looking like two of the best sides in the league.

Even Derby are starting to take steps in the right direction and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they were up there come the end of the season. It seems then that the £30m the Premier League give to relegated clubs is starting to effect the Championship whilst newly promoted clubs, with the exception of Swansea, are struggling to make the step up. It seems then that if the Football League wanted the Championship to be more like the Premier League then they are succeeding.

Whilst it may now be easier to bet on the Championship parachute payments are in danger of taking the unpredictability of the league away, one of the elements which makes this league so watch able.

As for the future well normally I would say who knows what it will hold but this season things look a little more predictable. The only thing that will change the way this season is going is the January transfer window. QPR have plenty to spend whilst others may stick their hands in their pockets if they believe there is a chance for promotion or to save themselves from relegation. At the minute though the odds for the Championship look like they aren’t going to change until we find ourselves at the play-off final again.

One of the bizarrest goals you’ll ever see was awarded this past weekend in the Watford against Reading match. You have to see this “ghost goal” to believe it:

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It was an obvious mistake by assistant referee Nigel Bannister as he believed the ball had gone in the back of the net when it was nowhere close. The end result in the game was 2-2.

Expect to see the clip on a ton of highlight DVDs in years to come.

Reading

Founded: 1871

Nickname: Royals

Ground: Madejski Stadium (32,609)

Last Season: 18th in the EPL 36 points- Relegated to the CCC

CCC Winners: 2006

Second Division/League One Winners: 1994

Sky Sports has announced its schedule of televised Championship matches for the first few months of the 2008/2009 season. Here’s the schedule:

• Sunday, August 10: Nottingham Forest v Reading
• Saturday, August 16: Bristol City v Derby County
• Saturday, August 30: Watford v Ipswich
• Saturday, October 4: Coventry City v Southampton
• Saturday, October 25: Reading v QPR
• Saturday, November 8: Southampton v Bristol City
• Saturday, November 22: Nottingham Forest v Norwich City
• Sunday, November 30: Swansea City v Cardiff City

Chances are quite good that these matches will also be shown on Setanta Sports for viewers in the United States.

After extensive research ie a quick visit to Wikipedia I found that 3 players who ply thier trade in the Coca-Cola Championship are on a countries roster for Euro 2008.

For the Czech Republic are Midfielder Marek Matejovsky who players for Reading and Midfielder Rudolf Skacel who plays for Southamption. Poland has Forward Marek Saganowski who plays for Southampton as well. That covers all CCC players who are Euro 2008 Rosters.