Thank God for that, football’s back – and it all kicks-off at the KC Stadium in Hull, which is a fitting place for the season to start, as I quite like the look of those Tigers.
Despite their mundane 11th-place finish, Hull had their moments last season, like going a staggering seventeen matches on the road unbeaten. It was actually their ordinary form at The KC that let them down come the end, but as everyone I’m sure has told you in their pre-season previews of either the Championshio or of Hull, it’s far easier to amend your form at home than it is elsewhere.
Furthermore, manager Nigel Pearson has seriously instilled some discipline and organisation throughout the team, in particular in defence, which was their strongest area last term; only three teams conceded fewer goals than Hull over the course of the season. Scoring them, however, was an issue; only three teams conjured fewer goals, and two of those ended up being relegated while the other escaped by the skin of their teeth. But that’s strange, as I see no reason why the forward personnel at the club of Aaron McLean, Matty Fryatt, Jay Simpson and summer signing Dele Adebola cannot put their heads together and come up with the goals needed to compliment their resolute back-line that would surely propel The Tigers into promotion territory.
Hull are available at handsome odds to stun bookies’ favourites Leicester City and West Ham, who I’ll discuss a little further on, while another team I’ve taken a fancy to at alluring odds is Ipswich Town – a club renowned for giving supporters false hope during the build-up to a new campaign which promises some kind of promotion push but only ends in collective desolation.
Roy Keane’s forgettable spell in charge of Ipswich has just about been forgotten, partly because his miserable spell in charge didn’t leave too much lasting damage. His replacement came in the form of former Wigan manager Paul Jewell, who has a great deal more experience then his predecessor and has slowly but surely restored confidence within Portman Road; guiding The Tractor Boys to a strong finish in an otherwise disappointing 2010-2011 season certainly helped his cause, when masterminding five victories from Ipswich’s final nine games.
Plus, Jewell appears to have done some shrewd business over the summer months. Fulham’s David Stockdale will take full control of the gloves after signing on a season-long loan; Ivar Ingimarsson and Tommy Smith will help shore up a defence that conceded too many last season, while in midfield, Grant Leadbitter will be partnered by the always combative Lee Bowyer, and the pair will provide the side with some useful steel in the middle of the park. Meanwhile, up front they have a plethora of individuals who could do some serious damage. Jason Scotland and Michael Chopra can both score goals in this division, while some direct-play and guile is brought to the table by former Arsenal youth product, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
I’m going to presume that for most of you, looking past Leicester and West Ham for the Championship will prove a daunting task. I suppose you’re not to be blamed, both have exceptionally talented squads for this level and anything less than promotion for either would be both a turn up for the books and a massive disappointment for the fans. In terms of value, though, I just don’t see much in either – although that’s mainly due to my stubborn attitude when it comes to backing favourites in a large, competitive field.
Just about every fan in the land has got Sven Goran Eriksson’s Leicester (To Win Championship: 5/1 WilliamHill) on the brain. That’s because they’ve invested heavily in building a team strong enough to take a tough league – the fourth most-watched in Europe, so I’m led to believe – by storm, and they definitely could this season.
Last season, Leicester could score goals but struggled to prevent them being shipped at the other end. So Sven took the proverbial bull by the horns, as well as his cheque book in hand, and bought a whole load of players to bolster the club’s chances of restoring their top-flight status. Their defensive problem looked fixed when they signed arguably the best centre-half in the division in Matt Mills from Reading, for a large sum. Then the dosy Swede went and bought a pair of suicidal full-backs by the names of Paul Konchesky and John Pantsil, the latter an own-goal scoring machine.
On the whole, though, Sven has bought wisely. Kasper Schmeichel will do a job in goal (Signed from Leeds), Matt Mills and Sean St Ledger are fantastic captures at the back, Michael Johnson and Gelson Fernandes arrive on loan deals and both played under Sven while at Man City, while David Nugent has added to their attacking options, just in case Paul Gallagher, Steve Howard, Martyn Waghorn or Darius Vassel fail to impress.
So then, The Foxes are certainly a force to be reckoned with this season. However, the quality within Sam Allardyce’s ranks at West Ham (To Win Championship: 5/1 WilliamHill) is keeping Leicester’s odds of success this season honest.
If those barmy Hammers aren’t blowing bubbles at Upton Park, they’re bouncing between divisions. And many rate their chances of promotion straight back to the promised land at the very first time of asking following a bottom-place finish in the Premier League, especially under a manager who promises results in former Bolton and Newcastle gaffer, Sam Allardyce.
‘Big Sam’ has freed up some funds by releasing some who were on catastrophic wage sums, with the likes of Matthew Upson, Kieron Dyer and Thomas Hitzlsperger all booted out the club. In the opposite direction came Matty Taylor from Bolton, Abdoulaye Faye from Stoke and Kevin Nolan from Newcastle, who has quickly been installed as West Ham skipper – which doesn’t sound at all promising for those fans desperate to see the club retain the services of Scott Parker, their captain for the last two seasons and whom won countless awards for his valiant displays last term.
Some useful individuals remain at Upton Park, though; including Robert Green between the sticks, James Tomkins in defence – who I do genuinely rate, Mark Noble, Jack Collison and Freddie Sears in midfield, while Carlton Cole and Frederic Piquionne really ought to help themselves to a hatful of goals this season should they not find new clubs before the end of the transfer window.
Outside of the ‘Big-Two’, the usual bunch lye in waiting, all with varying levels of potential and appeal.
Nottingham Forest (To Be Promoted: 4/1 SkyBet), now without Billy Davies at the helm, could be absolutely anything under Steve McClaren. The Reds don’t usually relinquish too many points at home either, so if Forest travel well under their mercurial tactician, who has done a fair bit of travelling himself of late, then another play-off could be on the cards.
Middlesbrough (5/1 Bet365) haven’t done much business over the summer, to the displeasure of both their manager, Tony Mowbray, and the fans, but play some decent stuff on the deck and could possibly surprise a few – although you cannot help but feel that Mowbray’s squad was crying out for some fresh, new faces.
Financial restraints at Reading (5/1 Coral) mean another play-off finish would be considered a successful campaign, this, of course, a club which narrowly missed out on promotion last season after losing to Swansea in the play-ff final at Wembley. However, perhaps if they could keep their sought after stars sweets, more notably midfielder Jimmy Kebe and forward Shane Long, then who knows, Brian McDermott’s men could surpass expectations again.
The two teams which gained automatic promotion from League One aren’t being ruled out of the equation, with bookmakers of the opinion that both Brighton (To Be Promoted: 6/1 Totesport) and Southampton (11/2 Totesport) are capable of causing a stir.
Brighton were dominant en route to securing the League One title, ending the season with some impressive figures; only two clubs scored more than them, while only Southampton conceded fewer. Moreover, their brand-spanking new Falmer Stadium is officially up-and-running, while in Gus Poyet the Seagulls have a manager who refuses to abandoned his principles of playing an attractive brand of pass-and-move football. Well, if they play with the same attacking intent as last season, they should be fine, especially with Craig Mackail-Smith slamming them home – who, by the way, became the club’s most expensive ever signing at a little over £2.5m.
Much of Southampton‘s promotion success was down to Nigel Adkins. The former Scunthorpe manager has transformed a youthful, exuberant Saints side into one that can certainly play football whilst getting the job done. Scrooge-like in defence but ruthlessly clinical in the final third, I don’t see Southampton having any problems with relegation this season. That said, I do think promotion is beyond them in their first season back in the second tier – but it is a shop window for some, Arsenal target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to name but a few, so expect several decent performances from Adkins’ Saints over the course of the season, which should culminate in some sizeable scalps, in particular down at St Mary’s.
They were a breath of fresh air in their first ever spell in the Premier League, however Blackpool (Promotion: 6/1 WilliamHill) will probably require a good season or two to find their feet again, especially after losing their two stand-out performers from last season as Charlie Adam finally got his dream move to Anfield and QPR eventually got their man in striker DJ Campbell. Ian Holloway’s capture of midfielder Barry Ferguson from Birmingham is interesting, though.
Fans at Cardiff (11/2 Bet365) are optimistic about what the new season has in store, with former Watford chief Malky Mackay replacing Dave Jones at the Bluebirds helm. Strikers Jay Bothroyd and Craig Bellamy have left the club, but all that’s done is free-up some valuable funds. In their places are Robert Earnshaw, who is proven at this level, and former Rangers hitman Kenny Miller, who will appreciate being back in the British Isles but will be wary of how former SPL stars Scott MacDonald and Kris Boyd fared at Middlesbrough last term, which was miserably.
Another club who have undergone a major overhaul is Birmingham City (9/2 SportingBet). Alex McLeish controversially walked out on the club to join fierce arch-rivals Aston Villa, despite protests from the Villa faithful. Chris Hughton was his successor and although he has inherited a decent group of players who should quickly acclimatise to their new Championship surroundings, he may not have the likes of Scott Dann, Liam Ridgewell, Cameron Jerome or Nikola Zigic for much longer. Ben Foster has also joined West Brom on a season-long loan, with Boaz Myhill joining in the other direction on a similar deal; Steven Caldwell arrives from Wigan, while Marlon King was snapped up after starring for Coventry last season. So a mixed bag really, and while they have had this knack of bouncing back quickly, it is unlikely they’ll perform the same trick on this occasion.
Not much has happened with Leeds over the summer, nor at Portsmouth for that matter – though the latter will be delighted with that, as Posh have had to deal with their fair share of drama over the last couple of seasons.
At alluring odds, Burnley (7/1 bWin) and Derby (16/1 WilliamHill) look interesting; potential dark horses for promotion.
Eddie Howe’s Clarets only missed out on the play-off’s by a few points – okay, seven – however this will be his first full season in charge at Turf Moor and although he will have to sieve through a relatively small squad, his optimum XI will be a match for anyone on their day.
As for Derby, Nigel Clough’s men encountered so much bad luck last season; conceding an alarming amount of late goals yet rarely managing one themselves. However, the majority of their football wasn’t as bad as their finishing position of 19th would suggest. The board clearly have faith in their man, why else keep on a manager which failed to meet their targets last season, or hand him the necessary funds to complete eye-catching moves for goalkeeper Frank Fielding – on loan from Blackburn, Kevin Kilbane, Nathan Tyson, Theo Robinson and Jamie Ward; the latter three are strikers so Clough has clearly focused on Derby’s weakest area from last season, which was their inability to score goals regularly. The Rams are definitely worth a punt, I feel.
Despite scoring at a cantor in League One, newly-promoted Peterborough are among those tipped for relegation, along with Barnsley, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Coventry, Doncaster and Watford.
Posh (Relegation: 5/2 VictorChandler) have lost several players who made scoring such a breeze last season, in particular striker Craig Mackail-Smith, who moved to Championship rivals Brighton. But everyone at the club are more humble and honest with their capabilities at this level than they were two seasons previous, when finishing rock-bottom at the end of the 2009-2010 Championship season, and the focus this time will be on consolidating their status as a second tier club.
The changes that have occurred at Barnsley (2/1 Bet365) over the summer have spiced things up a little; given supporters something new to ponder rather than the imminent threat of relegation yet again. Keith Hill left Rochdale to manage Barnsley’s first-team affairs and he hasn’t held back in stamping his mark on the team, recruiting half-a-dozen new faces during the off-season. Of those, Miles Addison has joined on loan from Derby, defender Rob Edwards is also on loan from Blackpool, but it’s Craig Davies, scorer of 25 goals as Chesterfield gained promotion from League Two last season, who could be the difference between The Tykes having an enjoyable campaign or fans having to typically endure the season near the foot of the table.
Hot favourites for the drop were Doncaster (9/4 VictorChandler) originally, and it’s easy to see why. When injuries hit them hard during 2010-2011, their threadbare squad was exposed for all to see. But one things for sure, Rovers battle gamely under Sean O’Driscoll, who has strengthened over the summer, bringing in Ryan Mason and Giles Barnes on loan from Tottenham and West Brom respectively, while Chris Brown, Kyle Bennett, Richard Naylor and Tommy Spurr also signed permanent deals. But there is still a distinct lack of physical presence in this squad which, in my honest opinion, leaves them exposed and worryingly vulnerable.
Coventry (15/8 PaddyPower) were a little unfortunate to lose top-scorer Marlon King during the summer, as the club basically took him in when no other dare would. But that’s the harsh nature of football these days. Even so, I reckon manager Andy Thorn, who performed minor miracles with limited resources to guide The Sky Blues to a reasonable finish of 18th, can get even more from a group who certainly aren’t the most talented bunch you’ll see this season but do have sparks in certain areas; Joe Murphy in goal and Freddy Eastwood up front are two examples.
Crystal Palace‘s Dougie Freedman worked wonders in convincing last season’s second most prolific goalscorer in League One, Glenn Murray, who scored 22 times as Brighton cruised to promotion, to swap Brighton’s Swanky new Falmer Stadium for Selhurst Park. Palace were crying out for a striker after amassing just 44 goals from 46 league games last season; the joint-second worst tally in the division, and Murray’s arrival could prove to be a stunning piece of business by Freedman. The club have evaded the clutches of relegation in each of the previous two seasons by the slimmest of margins, so fans would be appreciative if they could avoid the drop with a little more comfort this time around.
Betting Picks
Naps:
Hull City (To Win Championship: 30/1 WilliamHill – To Be Promoted: 7/1 Bet365)
Ipswich Town (To Win Championship: 22/1 WilliamHill – To Be Promoted: 6/1 bWin)
E/W Value: Derby County To Be Promoted @ 16/1 WilliamHill
To Be Relegated: Doncaster Rovers @ 9/4 VictorChandler
