The Championship. A league so brilliant to be in, some Premier League fans question what league they would rather be in. Despite Yeovil spending the solitary season in England’s second tier, I’m still an avid watcher of the league. Every season the league doesn’t let us down with mouth-watering fixtures and dramatic games.
The brilliance of the Championship is unrivalled with any team able to cause a shock. Look at Yeovil, we beat Watford 3-0 away from home during our short stint in the league and the next season we finished bottom of League One and they had just secured Premier League football. In the preview I will be selecting my promoted teams, play off contenders and unfortunate relegated sides, so let’s get straight into it.
Top of the league- Fulham
Whenever a team gets relegated to the Championship they will be looking to make a swift return before the parachute payments end. Fulham’s squad has surprisingly been relatively untouched despite a number of decent Prem standard players. Their wingers will certainly cause all Championship full backs havoc. Ivan Cavaleiro and Anthony Knockaert put in some good performances in the league above last season so who knows what they could do this season.
Second- Stoke
A little bit of bias may be sneaking in with this prediction as Stoke manager Nathan Jones was a Yeovil legend and quite frankly I love the bloke. Jones guided the Potters to a 16th place finish last season and the fans will definitely want a promotion push this time around. They have a capable squad, it just relies on whether the team will finally click and end Stoke’s 2 year wait for Premier League football.
Play-offs-
Leeds– It was heartbreak once again last year and this campaign will probably be no different. They definitely have the players and manager to go up but can they finally go one better, I think maybe!
Huddersfield– Another West Yorkshire side, but this one has been in the Prem a lot more recently. Huddersfield spent the last two seasons a division above and I can see them giving it a right go to return at the first try.
Derby– It must be an absolute roller-coaster following the Rams. Every season they are in the play off race and every season they seem to bottle it in different fashion. I can see more of the same coming this season.
Brentford– The final play off position was the hardest to call but I have opted for Brentford. They took a dip last season after the departure of Dean Smith but now Thomas Frank has made the team his own, they can push on.
The likes of Bristol City and Middlesbrough will run the teams close as will West Brom who have lost some of their key players which is why they don’t make the play offs for me.
Bottom of the league- Charlton
The three relegated sides were tough picks as the league looks as strong as it has ever been. The League One play off winners are my pick for bottom as they haven’t improved enough in the transfer window for me to feel that they could avoid the drop. The signings of Chuks Aneke and Tom Lockyer are promising but may not be enough to survive.
Second bottom- Millwall
Neil Harris’ side finished a place above the drop last season but I think there time will be up after this season. They lost star striker Lee Gregory to Stoke and have replaced him with a couple of decent striking options. Despite a couple of cute signings this summer, it will be a tough ask for Harris and Millwall to continue their stay in the second tier.
Third bottom- Barnsley
Another recently promoted side with the Tykes and once again a decision which is purely based on them only just joining the league. They seam to yo-yo between the two leagues, which must be so frustrating for the fans. Kieffer Moore and Cauley Woodrow are decent strikers for this level but I don’t think they will suffice for staying up.
Top scorer- Karlan Grant
The 21 year old left Charlton for Huddersfield last January but couldn’t help keep the Terriers up. He did managed to score four Premier League goals in 13 games whilst being in arguably one of the worst Premier League teams ever. I think Huddersfield and Grant will cause havoc in this brilliant league and surprise a few people with how good some of their players actually are.
Full table-
- Fulham
- Stoke
- Leeds
- Huddersfield
- Derby
- Brentford
- Bristol City
- Middlesbrough
- West Brom
- Nottingham Forest
- Preston
- Cardiff
- Blackburn
- Swansea
- QPR
- Hull
- Reading
- Luton
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Birmingham
- Wigan
- Barnsley
- Millwall
- Charlton
For the love of the game 