Wednesday 4 August 2010

10/11 Championship Preview - The Front Runners

In a way it feels wrong to be doing this so early, when by rights we should all be watching cricket (and Rugby League) and taking a well earned break from the beautiful game, but just 27 days after the World Cup final (not that many of these players will have been involved), the first weekend of the English football league kicks off this Saturday, the 7th August. So with that in mind, CollinsBeans will give a breakdown of who is set to thrive, and who might be struggling to survive. Part 1 focuses on those clubs looking to take the two automatic promotion spots.

Front runners

As ever, the Promised Land (or road to ruin) are the vast riches on offer in the Premier League, and this seasons race to get there looks more open than ever. Last year, Middlesbrough were expected to join their fellow recently relegated friends Newcastle and West Brom in going straight back up, however underwhelming form under Gareth Southgate gave way to disastrous form under Gordon Strachan, as the club singularly failed to gain any momentum from having a new man at the helm. This season they will be hoping, and indeed expecting, much, much better.

Boro are the bookies’ favourites, as Strachan has invested heavily (compared with the rest of the league) in a number of players he knows well from his time at Celtic. Indeed, Middleboro is starting to resemble ‘old firm lite’ with a whole army of former Celtic and Rangers players on their books. A lot of the players may look decidedly journeymantastic, but all are solid hands and should be more than good enough to get the club out of the division. Kris Boyd is a pure goal scorer, and the likes of Kevin Thomson, Barry Robson, Nicky Bailey and Gary O’Neill make up a highly combative midfield. There’s little in the way of flair and imagination, but more than enough nous and grit (as well as ability) to see them promoted.

Exactly why Burnley appointed Brian Laws last season is still a mystery to me. Hopelessly out of his depth in the Premier League, you’d think he’d be more at home at this level, but then again ask Sheffield Wednesday fans what they think about that. Despite the presence of a less than stellar manager, Burnley’s squad is pretty much similar to the one that gave a good fist of staying up last season, and I think they will be there or there about. One thing is for sure though they will have to shore up a defence that often looked terrible last time out.

Nottingham Forest pushed the front two all the way last year, and many are predicting them to be a favourite again this time out. Personally I’m not so sure, they spent heavily on their squad last summer, but the only key pieces of business they’ve done this year has been selling rather than buying. Robert Earnshaw is prolific at this level, and young Polish midfielder Radosław Majewski is a real diamond, but, Billy Davies volatile personality (and the fact he’s a nasty little man) means you can easily see a fall out between manager and board scuppering their chances along the way.

Stay tuned for those likely to be in the playoff chase...

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