The Championship kicks-off this weekend and I am really excited about the season we have in store. There are so many strong teams in this division, which will make for another entertaining and unpredictable ride ahead.
Out of all the teams that have been active in the transfer market I really like the signings that Mick McCarthy has made. This time last year he didn't have the opportunity to be as active because he didn't take the job on at Wolves until July - after Glen Hoddle decided the transfer budget offered to him wasn't enough to make a sustained Championship challenge.
Eastwood: A snip at £1.5million
So for Mick to get to the Play-Offs under those circumstances was a brilliant effort. That poor performance in the semi-final second leg cost them promotion and in that defeat to bitter rivals, West Brom his top players just didn't turn up. Michael Kightly had a disappointing game that day but credit to him for what he achieved last season.
To come out of non-league football and perform as he did last season was great - he took to the Championship like a duck to water. And he wasn't the only one who didn't perform against the Baggies that night.
The Championship is getting stronger with each season. It was so exciting last year and you just couldn't pick a winner, so imagine just how good it will be this season!
Chris Kamara
Quotes of the week
Having experienced the hurt of losing a Play-off semi last season the squad will be stronger and when you look at the addition of Freddy Eastwood you would have to believe that they will be challenging at the top this season.
I'm not knocking the signing of Billy Sharp by Sheffield United or Luke Varney, who has moved to Charlton for £2 million, because I think they are both good signings. But Eastwood scored goals on a regular basis for Southend who struggled all last season and he cost Wolves £500,000 less than those two.
This season he will be playing in a team that won't be struggling week in, week out and he will be guaranteed to get more chances than last season. He will score goals. The problem that Wolves have had in the past is conceding early goals at Molineux. If they can cut that out then I can see them being very difficult to stop.
From the Premiership
The three teams that were relegated from the Premiership you would expect to see at the top, striving to get back to the big time. Sheffield United have bolstered their attack with the signing of James Beattie and Sharp. Having sold him for £100,000 a couple of years ago, to buy Sharp back for £2million tells you how much they think of him. It's not easy to swallow your pride and bring a player back to a club, so Bryan Robson obviously feels that he can help get them back to the Premiership.
Marlon King was the top scorer in the Championship two seasons ago and if he had an injury free season last year Watford might still be in the Premiership, so I expect him to be up there in the goal scoring charts. You can't look too far past Sheffield United, Watford and Charlton as they will be desperate to make an immediate return to the top flight.
Charlton have a new strike partnership this season. As mentioned, Varney has been signed from Crewe by Alan Pardew who has also brought in Chris Iwelumo from Colchester United. The big target-man formed a great partnership with Jamie Cureton last season, scoring 18 goals and he will be looking to do that again with Varney.
There are just so many teams that have a chance of winning the Championship this season. I haven't even mentioned West Brom who have a lot of good players and have signed Craig Beattie from Celtic. The fact that Southampton have turned down £5million for Kenwyne Jones would suggest that they believe that he can power them into the Premiership. £5million is a lot of money and that just shows you how much stronger the Championship is getting with each season. It was so exciting last year and you just couldn't pick a winner, so imagine just how good it will be this season!
From League One
The three clubs that gained promotion to the Premiership - Sunderland, Birmingham and Derby - all spent money at the right time, in January. Sunderland got on that roll in January and they managed to maintain it. So a lot of teams this season are going to have to speculate to accumulate when they think they have a chance. The teams that didn't speculate last year missed out, like Preston and Cardiff.
When you look at who has money this season, look no further than Leicester City. They have spent £8million already and Milan Mandaric will probably be willing to spend more if Leicester are in a position to push for promotion come January.
Out of the promoted teams - Bristol City, Scunthorpe and Blackpool - I think Bristol City will have the best chance of settling in to Championship football. Some would say they have gambled with the £1million signing of Lee Trundle. A lot of teams have looked at him but Gary Johnson has taken the plunge and taken him to a level that he thinks he can play at. If Trundle settles immediately then that will give Bristol City more than a good chance.
The season that Scunthorpe had last year was just something else but they have now lost their two main strikers in Andy Keogh, who joined Wolves in January, and Billy Sharp. They are going to find it tough to replace those two and find the goals to keep them in the Championship.
And Blackpool went on an unbelievable roll at the end of the season, creating club history along the way with a record of 10 consecutive wins. When you think that they managed to beat the record set by the great Blackpool team of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen then that was a great achievement by Simon Grayson's team. It will be interesting to see if they will be able to adapt to the Championship.
It promises to be an even better season than last year in the Championship as there are so many good teams that it will again be almost impossible to see who will win that golden ticket to the Premiership.
Wolves v Watford, Saturday, 5pm, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Comments (7)
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Phil Manning (Blackpool fan) says...
Blackpool higher in the league than Preston and Burnley, first time in 29 years, it doesnt get much better than that, come on you Pool
Posted 05:12 18th August 2007
Matt R (Southampton fan) says...
Oh dear, a 1-4 loss to Crystal Palace at home, followed by a 2-1 loss to Peterborough away, I hope our future gets brighter. This is not good enough at the moment for Southampton.
Posted 16:09 14th August 2007
Gary T (Blackpool fan) says...
Great start to the season with an away win at Leicester, lets hope they can keep it up.
Posted 15:27 12th August 2007
T B (Charlton Athletic fan) says...
We never thought it would be easy, We have a new young and inexperienced side who need to learn to play together. But the foundations look good. Heres to a long, difficult but HOPEFULLY succesful season, its a long long way to go......
Posted 21:28 11th August 2007
Damien Heathfield (Crystal Palace fan) says...
Maybe the easy 4-1 win at the Saints today will make a few people look up and take note tat we are a real danger team in the Championship! Also welcome Charlton fans, not as easy a league as you all thought!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 20:20 11th August 2007
Matt Uhugu (West Bromwich Albion fan) says...
I believe Chris is totally wrong in his article. Wolves were a fairly battling side last season and did well with resources not avaliable. But they havent exactly added top class to fight for the title. Eastwood is a good striker but surely if there was that much talent he would already be at a higher level. Kightly in my opinion was very over rated by commentators and pundits alike last season. He did what a normal wide player should do and attack defenders at pace but did not set the world alight. Although i am tryng to be unbiased here as a baggies fan surely we deserved more of a mention? Signings of Morrisson only 21 with bags of premiership experience and some european didnt get mentioned on top of astute portugese midfielders teixeria and pele. I think most people with any knowledge on the ins and outs in the league would be more astute with their predictions.
Posted 00:25 10th August 2007
Joe B (Leicester City fan) says...
Leicester have spent 8 million! on who? DJ Campbell, Clemence and possibly neilson we have spent money on, but no one else
Posted 20:35 9th August 2007
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