By Paula Marcus

With Christmas fast approaching, its easy to get distracted by everything going on; shopping, parties and of course the overload of games coming up. But even before we get to the games it has been an interesting couple of weeks in the Championship, so here is a slightly festive look back at what has been making the news.

Miracles can happen: One of the major talking points this season (other than Leeds) has got to be the turnaround at Brighton and Hove Albion. Few clubs go from relegations candidates one year to front runners for automatic promotion the next, but Brighton have not just done it, but they have made it look easy. Consistency is often said to be the key to promotion from the Championship and, with zero losses this season, they have taken it to a whole different level.

Brighton seem to have tapped into a much overlooked key to success that has been serving those clubs in the know for the past few years. A good squad of players that work hard together and a manager that knows how to get the best out of his team is far more valuable than a couple of stand-out stars. If they can turn a few of their draws into wins they should have the title sown up with time to spare.

Scrooge is in town: While we are on the subject of miracles, the idea of Leeds United owner changing his ways certainly falls into that category. It probably takes very little thought as to who in the division could be described as Scrooge (it was a very tough choice between that and the pantomime villain, but they at least tend to be amusing), trying to make money however he can. Having already done everything possible to anger his paying customers, Cellino announced a new pie tax of £5 ($10) per ticket in the south stand. This extra money could then be used to purchase food up to the same value. The reason behind this; apparently fans aren’t spending enough .

Already feeling they are paying too much for the football on offer, fans took to a walk out on the 17th minute to show their continued displeasure at Cellino’s running of the club. For those who can’t remember back to the beginning of the Cellino sage (it feels like it started many, many years in the ago) it was announced he had a very strong dislike of the number 17. It might not be the ghost of Christmas yet to come, but this walkout might give him a glimpse of what could be in store. The big question still remains, does he care?

Santa Claus is coming to town: The month began with Reading’s very own Santa, John Madejski, celebrating 25 years since he took over the club. What he has done for Reading should never be overlooked, taking a club with spiralling debts to the Premier League for the first time in their history. He probably never thought his anniversary week would be commemorated with another loss and the search for a new manager, but then I am still waiting for Santa to deliver the My Frosty I asked for every year. Goes to show you don’t always get what you want.

He knows if you’ve been naughty: Sometimes in football you get exactly what you pay for. Rotherham United’s newest addition Simon Lenigan has been banned by the club without even kicking a football. Lenigan, who has been playing in the lower leagues, was last week found guilty of head butting a woman whilst out celebrating being found not guilty of rape. Whilst nothing excuses Lenigan’s behaviour, you do have to wonder what exactly Rotherham thought they were getting? The case was already pending, they knew about it, so it’s somewhat baffling they couldn’t hold off signed him without waiting for the case to be heard.

He knows if you’ve been nice: Whilst this isn’t technically Championship related, it is a feel good story from the Football League. This week, after severe flooding due to Storm Desmond, Carlisle United players stepped up to prove that a football club really is part of the community. Shocked at what was happening, the players decided they wanted to help in a meaningful way by donating their time to help people in the area.

This included moving damaged furniture, cleaning and offering food and support to other volunteers, despite the players themselves being affected. Most of the squad saw the events unfold on TV after a 5-0 away win at Welling, but goalkeeper Mark Gillespie was forced to flee the rising water through an upstairs window after missing the game through illness. The players returned to find their cars and Brunton Park under water. It isn’t clear when the ground will reopen, but fans will be ready and willing to show their appreciation to the players.

Santa is a…: Once December hits, out come the hats declaring Santa really is a fan of your team. But which Championship club does Old Saint Nick really follow? Well much as I would really love to believe he secretly wears hoops under his coat, I think we can instantly exclude all clubs that don’t play in red and white. It is also pretty safe to assume he would probably find the south a little on the warm side, and for that reason I think Santa is probably a Middlesbrough fan.

A quick look at their boxing day results seems to confirm this. With an impressive six boxing days wins out of six since their arrival in the Championship (ok, one game was played two days later, but you get the point), it’s hard to believe there isn’t a little Santa magic at work there, Blackburn you have been warned.

Listen  to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

The trees are up, fridges are full and stockings are hung by the chimney with care, which must mean we are now only days away from Christmas and its many traditions. In the case of sport, these traditions largely run deep and are something for fans to look forward to. 

What is great is that many of these traditions, like games over the festive period, have been around for as long as people can remember and are an integral part of football. Others, on the other hand, like Christmas jumpers and Santa hats, have sprung up more recently and probably need to end soon. Some are not even that linked to football, and this includes all Christmas themed articles that are full to the brim with poor puns and Santa jokes. Not wanting to be left out (and as we are now just days from Christmas), here is yet another.

Before getting too into the festive spirit cabinet, a quick look at one of the biggest stories over the last weekend: Brighton and Hove Albion are beatable, although you might have to be top to do it. Middlesbrough finally ended Brighton’s club record of 21 games without defeat, with a  comprehensive 3-0 win at Falmer. One advantage for Brighton is that the pressure is finally off, as most of the nations press will now go back to an overwhelming feeling of indifference. This is nothing against Brighton, it’s more about the focus of the press on being there to cover a teams sudden demise, and it happens to every club on a good run.

That said, their next game is vital, and their whole season may hinge on the result. Ok, that might be a tad over dramatic, but how they respond to the loss will certainly dictate where they finish in the league. It might take a good few mince pies to bribe Santa for the win though, as Brentford have themselves found some form and currently sit 10th in the table with just one loss in their last six games.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are doing so well Santa will probably skip over visiting them altogether. After all, what else could he give them? They are two points clear at in first place and are top of the form table over both the last six and the last ten games. If that isn’t enough to put a smile on the most hardened Boro fan’s face, in the last ten years the team top at Christmas has sealed promotion eight times, winning the division in seven of those years.

As a child, when you write a letter to Santa, you are always encouraged to be as realistic as possible with your requests. You might want have wanted a toy car you sit in, that you can actually drive, but your more likely to get a lego car you have to build yourself. Well, on Sheffield Wednesday’s fanciful list this year is a chance at promotion and Emmanuel Adebayor.

Even though Adebayor is currently without a club after leaving Spurs in September, it still seems slightly unlikely he would be willing to drop a division (and a pay grade) to play in the Championship.

Apparently Wednesday are willing to pay £50,000 ($75,000) a week until the end of the season to help them climb the table. This might not be much for a Premier League club, with their hefty TV deal, but if Wednesday are willing to pay that they might hope their stocking contains ‘An idiots guide to administration’ as well.

Not every club will be having a merry Christmas, with things getting difficult for teams at the bottom (or some of those teams struggling to find some form). Starting at the bottom, Bolton continue to have problem after problem, as this week they were forced to undergo an internal investigation into allegations manager Neil Lennon threatened someone. With a winding up order issued and things going from bad to worse, they will probably be hoping for a bag of cash delivered on Christmas morning. However, for the moment they will just have to settle for help from the PFA.

Moving a little further up the table, Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill has just had the dreaded vote of confidence from his owner Steve Lansdown. Generally, this would leave a manager expecting an E45 (or confirmation of termination of employment) attached to his Christmas card, but this isn’t really likely at City. They are currently clinging onto safety in the Championship, with safety now just the main goal for this season. An extension at Ashton Gate is due to open in a few months, and will certainly increase revenue next year.

Another manager feeling the pressure is Wolverhampton Wanderers Kenny Jackett. Wolves have hit some average form, and can’t seem to turn draws into wins. Their recent 4-1 loss against Sheffield Wednesday was probably not on the Christmas list of any Wolves fans (maybe Santa is on good terms with someone at Hillsborough) and fans are starting to voice their displeasure. Jackett will be hoping Santa brings a nice shiny three points on Boxing Day, although as they play Reading I’m obviously looking for something a little more blue and white.

The Boxing Day fixtures are, for most, the highlight of the football calendar with an almost complete schedule combined with the added bonus that you can escape family for just a few short hours. This years list doesn’t disappoint as we have relegation battles and promotion match ups to keep everyone entertained. Although, spare a thought for the poor Brighton fans who will be facing an early, and probably hungover, trip to Brentford to see if they can start a new unbeaten run going.

So with that there is nothing left but to wish you a merry football filled Christmas and a very happy new year. Hopefully Santa brings you lots of nice things, and a point or two.

By Paula Marcus

If anything has come out of the last few Championship seasons it is definitely that chairman and owners are no longer happy sitting in the shadows. Not so long ago, the only chairman you could usually name was your own, but now they take up more headline space than some managers.

Obviously the big news over the past few days has been the transfer window shutting and Middlesbrough’s less than subtle attempt at buying promotion, but there has been more going on that just big spending. The first story involves Brentford, Fulham and the Oakland Athletics. As announced last season, Brentford owner was opting for a statistical method to player scouting, drawing many comparisons with the Oakland A’s and the movie Moneyball.

Well apparently Fulham have now decided if you can’t beat them join them as they hope to finally get to grips with life in the Championship (let’s face it, things haven’t been going great so far). Tony Khan, son of their owner, has brought in American Craig Kline to act as an analyst when selecting players. Whilst Brentford had Moneyball, Fulham’s approach has been tagged the ‘Football Manager’ plan, instead using analytical modeling to select players. With Micheal Madl already signed on loan using this method, we may finally see if the technique every fan uses to rate players actually works.

This does, however, bring up the question of who exactly is picking players to sign? In the case of Brentford, then manager Mark Warburton apparently wasn’t part of the new plan and he left before the Moneyball method started and so far it isn’t clear how happy new Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic is with the power Kline has. But these aren’t the only clubs where owners seem to be opting for a much more hands on approach. Rumours of just who is in charge of player selection have been circulating round Elland Road from the moment Cellino sacked his first manager. Then, just days before the transfer window closed, former Charlton Athletic manager Chris Powell came out to help pile the pressure on disliked owner Roland Duchatlete.

Powell, who was incredibly popular at the Valley, stated that Duchatlete would sign players between his network of teams without even giving the manager a heads up. Duchetlete apparently even went as far as trying to select players and pick them team. This of course isn’t new. Reports were flying around years ago that Dave Whelan used to try and take Wigan Athletic training sessions. In 1998 Brentford owner Ron Noades even went as far as appointing himself manager, earning the manager of the year award after steering his side to promotion.

But things are different now. At that time the lure of big money was less and managers had time to try and turn things around. As we have seen over the past two years, a manager’s job in the Championship is barely good for a year. Currently we have the bizarre situation whereby owners pull all the strings yet managers are the ones facing the chop when things don’t go to plan.

There is of course some ground between a manager having full control and the situation at clubs like Leeds and Charlton, where owners seem to have control issues. An influx of new players as the last window shut saw the Royals become one of the more fancied teams in the division. By the end of the January window two of those signings and the manager were no longer at the club and all that is left is a lot of questions mainly surrounding exactly who wanted the players in the first place.

The answer to this question may come thanks to the Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony. Reading were linked with Posh striker Conor Washington before his eventual move to QPR.

According to MacAnthony, Brian Mcdermott was keen to bring Washington to Reading, but was unable to complete the signing as the clubs Thai owners instead wanted to sign a striker from Poland. That striker turned out to be Deniss Rakels, who signed last week amid many questions for McDermott. It was difficult from pictures to see who was the least happy of the pair.

Obviously going for the truth is the best policy, McDermott never hid from the fact he is a huge fan of Washington, or that he wanted him at the club. He also suggested that, whilst Rakels was not scouted by him originally, he would not have been forced to sign the player. What is interesting from his interview is the assertion that the owners themselves have a scouting network that is independent of the club. This goes beyond the statistical modeling ideas of Brentford and Fulham and is even more defined than Duchatlete just picking players form other clubs he owns.

This all comes back to comments made a few weeks ago by Charlton, where it was suggested that owners can basically do what they want, after all they own the club and they pay the bills. This is very much a shift in policy from a time where football clubs were owned by people with little knowledge of football. The role of many Directors of Football was to act as a link between managers and owners who were unable to tell if that striker was good value for money or not.

With the influx of foreign owners, and the money incentives that go along with English football, it seems likely that managers will be having less say in the player recruitment. But as Bill Parcells once said ‘if I’m going to be asked to cook the meal, I’d like to pick the groceries’ and with accountability for on field performances at the managers feet, a few may want a little more say.

Listen  to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

You can run, but you can’t hide. Think you have been doing well? Results have been going your way? No one is safe from the sacking, just ask Paul Clement or many of those that have gone before him. It is a worrying trend when a fifth place team sack their manager for not playing the right way, despite the team apparently not even targeting promotion, but that’s the Championship.

It probably now seems like overkill to still be debating manager sackings, but since the beginning of the 2014/15 season there have been 35 managerial changes covering both sackings and resignations. To put it in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 76% of the teams in the division changing manager (although Leeds, Watford and Charlton are responsible for a large portion of those). In the Premier League over the same period the rate was just 40%.

The ‘why’ of sackings has been done to death, but what about the impact this is having in the League and the possible solutions to the excessive turnover at Championship clubs? The problem is the effect filters down the division as the Championship clubs constantly look to replace their managers. Whilst Premier League teams are mainly looking to Europe and out of work ex-Premier League managers, the Championship clubs seem to be looking down, causing instability in other levels of the Football League.

How to convince clubs to retain their managers is another issue entirely, and one that many managers think needs to be addressed. Reading manager Brian McDermott has two suggestions how to stem the rate of sackings; a manager transfer window and minimum time contracts. Selecting specific times for managers to be relieved is an interesting proposition, but how easy would it be to implement?

When the original transfer window was introduced, there was concern in the lower leagues that teams would not have the financial backing to ensure they had large enough squads to cope with a full season, giving bigger teams a clear advantage. But in reality that hasn’t happened. Football League teams rely on youth players to fill some gaps, and the emergency loan system (where an emergency seems to include ‘we really want a new midfielder as ours are useless’) means that players can be brought in when needed. The window has meant that rumours and disruption are limited over the season, which has made a nice change. In fact it seems the only ones struggling from it are the newspaper gossip columns.

That doesn’t mean this can, or should, be implemented for managers. The biggest issue is the restricted pool of managers to select from. Having just one month over a season to change your manager would cause complete chaos, with the managerial merry-go-round in overdrive. Almost all clubs would be disrupted as everyone tries to lure the perfect manager. It would also result in a situation where those managers sacked and not selected before the window shut would be unable to get work until the next window opened.

It seems probable that the idea of replacing ‘Arry at the car window on deadline day with a club owner is unlikely, but what about the introduction of minimum contracts? One of the biggest issues facing managers, other than the obvious lack of job security, is the knowledge that you will never be given time to set things right. The increase in the number of clubs sacking two or more managers in one season highlights this.

McDermott suggested that the introduction of minimum term contracts, whereby the manager cannot be removed for the first year of the contract (or the first two transfer windows were they introduced) would alleviate this and allow managers to just manage. Unlike the idea of introducing transfer periods, the minimum contract also allows for movement of managers throughout the season. You could still allow contracts to be broken when clubs are willing to pay for a manager who is under contract somewhere else. It is a much more practical solution, and it has at least two clear benefits.

Firstly, it increases the stability at all clubs. Everyone knows where they stand, and players wont be concerned with having to impress multiple managers over a season. Fans would also have to get behind the new manager, as complaining and whining about the choice would be a waste of time for at least a year. It would also give managers a time to settle and implement their own style on the team.

Owners and chairman seem addicted to the new manager effect, whereby changing manager results in an increased number of wins over their first few games in charge. But this no longer seems to be happening, so they have to keep sacking managers to try and get a boost. Teams often go through difficult spells over the season, even Middlesbrough and Brighton have faced periods without wins, but both have stuck with their manager, and both are still in the promotion hunt.

The second point is that it will really make clubs think hard about who they get in to replace a sacked manager. The idea that you can try something for a few months and if it doesn’t work, get someone new would be gone. Teams would have to manage their expectations better and hire accordingly. For example, no one was expecting Rotherham to be battling in the top half this season, yet they have already sacked two managers for failing to get them out of a relegation battle. Redfearn may have only won five of his 21 games in charge, but that is about the same as their record last season.

The managers association is obviously concerned at the situation in the Championship, but whether anything will change over the next few years remains to be seen. For the time being fans may just need to get used to the managerial revolving door and having no idea who the manager is this week.

 to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry

By Paula Marcus

It’s hard to believe that we have just over 1000 minutes of Championship football left in this season before attention turns to the playoff. But before that happens there are still two very important months ahead, especially for the teams at the top and the bottom of the table. With everything up for grab it’s time to look at the battle for safety and promotion.

With the playoffs offering so many teams the chance at promotion, there are still far too many permutations to make it easy writing, so let’s start this week with the situation at the bottom of the table. For most of the season Bolton Wanderers have been rooted to the base of the table and, despite finally moving up on goal difference, things look particularly bleak. The new bottom placed team, Charlton Athletic, also have an uphill battle to avoid the drop and it seems increasingly unlikely either team has the ability to overcome a seven point gap to safety.

Over the past few seasons it has become harder to prevent off-field problems from creeping into the day to day running of the club, this is particularly true when it comes to poor management of the club. Portsmouth’s relegation in 2012 was due to a ten point deduction, the result of years of over spending, whilst Wolves become the first club to do the double after failing to cope with a return to the Championship. And no one will forget Blackpool United’s Chairman deciding last season that seven players on day one of pre-season was more than enough.

Bolton’s situation is much more in the Wolves bracket, where years of uncontrolled spending have resulted in a situation they just can’t seem to turn around. Excessive spending and failure to reduce their wage bill after relegation has seen the club limp from one struggle to another with off and on-field merging into a mess that included something to do with manager Neil Lennon a knife and his mistress. For now the best Bolton can hope for is a repeat of Wolves, whereby relegation and a loss of their parachute payments at the end of the season will result in a much needed clear out and a quick promotion and a chance to rebuild.

Sadly for fans of Charlton they seem to be mirroring Blackpool this season, where a clueless owner has resulted in a much weakened side with multiple managerial changes doing little to help the situation. Attempts to force a change in ownership have so far been resisted with weekly fan protests that have been organised to a level far beyond anything seen so far. Sadly the team hasn’t been able to follow their lead. To make matters even worse for Charlton, if that’s even possible at this point, their -35 goal difference would need to improve by at least six goals just to be close to any of their rivals.

Now that it seems two places are settled, who is most likely to gain the last place? In the last ten years 10% of the clubs relegated were in the bottom three on the first of January (8% if you exclude Portsmouth, who would have survived without their ten point deduction).

Going with previous stats, that would mean the third relegation place would fall to Bristol City, but things in the Championship don’t always follow the rules.

Only two teams bottom on March 1st have managed to turn things round; Sheffield Wednesday in 2007/8 and QPR in 2006/7. United’s move to safety came at the expense of Leicester, as a great end of season run saw them make up a four point deficit, whilst QPR only had to make up two points. With that in mind, any team more than five points clear of the relegation zone can probably be seen as safe, leaving just MK Dons and Rotherham to fight it out.

Rotherham United have faced a mixed season so far that has seen three different managers in charge, despite many expecting them to spend the season in a relegation battle. Current boss (as of a month ago) Neil Warnock is certainly used to a dog fight, but is this challenge a step too far? Looking at their upcoming fixtures, it might be. In the next month alone Rotherham face three teams in the top six and an Ipswich Town side looking to nick that last playoff spot. Add in games against Bristol City and MK Dons in April and it really looks like a tough run-in for United.

Unlike Rotherham, MK Dons still have the same manager they started the season with (in fact he is the longest serving Championship manager) and that continuity may well help them in the end part of the season. They have a largely unchanged squad from the one that sealed promotion last year, and a manager that knows how to get the best out of them.

In terms of their final few months, MK Dons also have a slightly easier time of it, if that’s possible.  Assuming that Charlton will go to form and not put up much of a challenge, and that Ipswich may be out of contention on the penultimate game, MK Dons only play three teams that theoretically have something to play for, aside from that Rotherham home game.  They also have a slight advantage in the current form tables over both the last six and ten games, even managing to grab a point against table topping Middlesbrough.

The Championship relegation battle usually provides as much entertainment as the push for promotion and, despite only really featuring two teams, this year could be just as good. The real D-day could be the MK Dons v Rotherham game, although I wouldn’t bet against it going to the wire. With the battle at the bottom fully dissected, join me in two weeks for a look at the top.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Whilst the Championship relegation battle might be a two horse limp to the finish line, the situation at the top is far more exciting. With less than ten games to go, everything is still to play for at the top of the table.

Currently the promotion battle seems split into two; those close to the automatic places and those hoping for the playoffs. At the top of the table, it seems four teams are probably fighting for automatic promotion, stretching from Burnley at the top to fourth place Hull City who sit two point off second with a far superior goal difference. Whilst Burnley may be sitting pretty at the moment, two of the three teams directly below them do have games in hand, coming down to the age old question of the value of points on the board against games in hand.

Not only do Burnley sit in first place, but they are also the form team of the division with an impressive six wins in a row. Whilst it is somewhat unlikely they will keep that form for the remainder of the season, the big question now is have they peaked too early? After getting off to a less than impressive start, despite being installed as one of the favourites for promotion, Burnley have taken full advantage of some recent ‘wobbles’ by the other teams at the top as they moved to top spot.

With Burnley looking set to take one of the auto promotion places, who is best placed to take the other? That’s a difficult question, largely due to the topsy-turvey way the league has unfolded this season. No-one expected Brighton and Hove Albion to go from 20th place last season to top of the table this year, but a run of 22 games without defeat at the start of the season set them up as the team to beat. That run might have ended with a spell of very poor form, but they have been gradually improving again, and only one loss in the last ten games has put them right back in the hunt.

Middlesbrough and Hull City were both expected to be involved at the top of the table, and neither has disappointed, with both teams spending extended periods in first place. However, both have recently undergone downturns in form that have seen them loose top spot. In the case of Middlesbrough, a great spell over Christmas and the start of 2016 has been undone by recent losses. With Hull arguably having the easier run in, a win for the Tigers against Boro could see them finish above them. That said, at the moment the automatic promotion spot really is Brighton’s to lose.

Of the teams currently occupying the play-off spots, Derby County are probably the only side that are relatively comfortable (if that’s even possible when it comes to chasing promotion). A three point cushion might not seem that impressive, but factor in a goal difference that’s seven ahead of seventh place, and that equates to another point. Their fate is also very much in their own hands, as they still have to play all their lower placed play-off rivals before the end of the season.

As for the four teams below Derby, there is very little between the sides. All have spent periods in the playoffs, and all are separated by just four points. Sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday, another of this season’s surprise packages, seemed certain to be claiming one of the playoff places. But a recent drop in form has seen them claim only six points out a possible 18, the poorest return of all the top eight teams. That said, depending on results over the next few weeks, half their remaining games could be against teams with nothing to play for and they have had good returns against other promotion candidates so far.

Cardiff City, Birmingham City and Ipswich Town are certainly not out of the playoff hunt just yet. Cardiff are the form team in the playoff picture, with only Burnley having a better return from their last six games and a recent win over Ipswich Town will certainly have boosted their chances. After a tumultuous few years that have seen financial issues and a failed attempt to change the clubs colours, things are finally looking up for Cardiff fans. This season however may be a tad too soon for them to make the playoffs as the majority of their fixtures are against sides with something to play for (even if it will probably just be pride in Bolton’s case).

Last season’s playoff semi-finalists Ipswich Town, have had a somewhat up and down season. They have always looked capable of finishing in the top six, but their form has been hard to predict, and a particularly bad spell in October could still come back and haunt them. Whilst Ipswich might be a model for how a club can be run without risking bankruptcy, their inability to keep a clean sheet has also hurt them this season.

Like Ipswich, Birmingham City have also had a very mixed season, but after struggling for large parts of the 2014/15 season, this is still probably a welcome change. Whether they can finish in the top six will very much depend on their ability to maintain their fine home form that has seen them loose only twice in the last eight games. They have four of the teams above them still to play, but will be buoyed by the fact three of these games are at home (although both Burnley and Cardiff aren’t too bad away from home).

What also makes this season interesting is the effect cup runs have had on the division. Normally by this point in the season every team would be on equal points. But the success of Championship sides in the FA cup has resulted in games in hand for three of teams in the top nine; Birmingham, Hull and Middlesbrough. With these outstanding games set to be played in a month, it’s likely the playoff picture will go down to the wire.

 to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Whilst many Premier League teams may feel relegation to the Championship is the end of the world, it’s nothing compared to relegation to League One. That’s has nothing to do with the level of the football, but it is a result of how difficult that division is to get out of. Relegated teams tend to struggle as the size of the club and the cash available do little to aid in promotion.

In fact, the three teams promoted this season have all spent considerable time in League One and none of the teams relegated the year before finished above tenth place, with Yeovil suffering a second successive relegation. A quick look at the division below shows last season’s inductees have also had a very mixed year. So in what is probably more ‘A View from League One,’ what do the bottom teams this year likely have to look forward to?

Well obviously the first issue they have to face is that extra relegation place. Not generally considered much of an issue, it is certainly something a struggling team from this year has to face. Failure to adapt quickly to the new division can easily result in a long, hard season looking over your shoulder.

First up are Charlton Athletic who are looking more and more like Blackpool as the season progresses. Last season, Blackpool FC managed to make all the headlines before a ball was even kicked and technically before players even managed to reappear for pre-season training, mainly because they had just eight first team players report back for the club in July. This started a long season for the club as the fans tried in vain to remove Chairman Karl Oyston.

Whilst Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet may not quite be at the level of Oyston, he is obviously reading from the same manual. He has removed key players from the club without replacing and seems completely oblivious to any protests the fans have made. He, and his team, seem unable to make a statement without putting their foot firmly in their mouths due to a complete lack of understanding how football in England works. One of the most organised fan movements has failed to have any effect though, other than distracting fans from a season that’s gone from bad to worse,

This season things have not improved on or off the pitch for Blackpool. The club is just one place and one point from a double relegation and attendances are at a ten year low. An impressive 90% of fans have apparently stated they will not go to games next season no matter which division the club is in. It has even got to the point where ex-player Brett Omerod has snubbed the clubs offer of Bloomfield road for his testimonial this season as the club is ‘too toxic.’ Part of his decision came from the fact large numbers of Pool fans are actually banned due to comments made on social media.

The second to bottom team in the Championship last season were Wigan Athletic.  It might seem like Bolton Wanderers have far more in common with last season’s Blackpool than Wigan, but that really isn’t the case. Ok, so there are a few big differences. Bolton Wanderers have had one of those years where the fans probably wish they could just erase it, coming perilously close to a winding up order. But, like Wigan, they have had a lot more off field issues to deal with that ultimately will have resulted in their relegation and have little to do with money.

The hiring of Malky Mackay last season brought an abundance of the wrong kind of attention due to his infamous sacking at Cardiff for making racist comments. They had a squad still containing some Premier League big earners and ended with Dave Whelan stepping down as chairman. Aside from the obvious ownership issues Bolton have had this season, they have spent far too much time in the news for the wrong reasons this season.  Their inability to have the funds necessary to remove manager Neil Lennon, despite some questionable incidents, captured many headlines at a time when the club didn’t need them.

One of the biggest advantages to a season in League One is a chance to rebuild. The teams that use relegation to rebuild and remove ‘dead weight’ are generally the ones that make the quickest, and most successful, returns to the Championship. Over the past few years this has included Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leicester City and Leeds United (pre-Cellino). Currently Wigan sit in second place, on a more even financial footing than 12 months ago. Whilst third place Walsall may have some games in hand, Wigan’s impressive +30 goal difference should see them through.

The final team relegated last season were Millwall, one of the favourites at the start of the season for relegation having spent the previous few seasons stuck firmly in the bottom pack. This is very much like the Rotherham/MK Dons/Whoever else gets relegated situation. After narrowly avoiding relegation last season (admittedly not helped by a points deduction), Rotherham were one of the bookies top picks for bottom three, whilst MK Dons recent promotion and low spending also put them in the same bracket.

This is usually the hardest team to predict how they will cope after relegation. Their fate is usually not known until the very end of the season so they have little time to adjust after spending a whole season fighting to survive. In the case of this season, Millwall had a pretty slow start, losing four of their first ten games. But results have improved over the season and, since the start of the year, they have lost just two games. They are currently in fifth place and are one of the top scoring teams in the division.

So relegation isn’t necessarily the worst thing that can happen at the end of the season, and this season looks like bucking a trend when it comes to quick exits from League One (although Blackpool are looking the wrong way). However, that will be little comfort to those currently at the bottom of the Championship.

Listen   to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

In a season that has been marked by strange things owners say and do, it seems one of the most vocal of the group has been quiet for a while. But there is an issue brewing that began months ago and has to do with the way in which games are selected for TV, mainly the fact that Leeds United feature more than they probably should.

Without going into the reasons his Leeds side are selected so much (namely the fan base of the club), this is an issue that isn’t going away. Cellino’s dispute with Sky Sports has become more and more public over the past few months. In October last year he initially opted to refuse full allocations for away games saying he wanted to do this to stand up for the fans, obviously oblivious to the fact that his fans have to pay some of the highest prices in the Championship. A cynic might suggest that he hoped this would increase spending on home games, but I’m sure he was doing it for the fans. Eventually he relented after sustained pressure from angry fan groups.

Cellino states that the constant moving of games effects players preparation for games and greatly inconveniences fans. Whilst the first may be true, it’s hard to suggest someone who has added a pie tax as fans aren’t spending enough at games, really cares about the fans. In fact when he first started his anti-TV campaign crusade his number one reason was fan inconvenience combined with money lost due to the effect on attendances.

Obviously, games featuring on sky will affect attendances, but just how much? Taking just Leeds  highest priced Category A games (ranging from 28 to 41) and removing away fans, there is almost no difference between attendances in games airing on Saturdays (21,491), midweek in general (21,636) and those moved for Sky on a Tuesday (21,609).

On average 3,100 more fans attend Saturday Category B games than those in the higher bracket, although a full comparison cannot be performed as no Category B home games have been moved for TV purposes. So it seems the price charged has much more influence on ticket sales than moving games for television. Then there is the argument that Leeds loose commercial revenue from TV games, but again it is unclear how much money is actually lost compared to the money given by Sky for the change in day.

In December he then refused to allow camera crews in 24 hours before the home clash with Derby County despite the Football League’s deal stating that access is allowed to set up for the broadcast. Finally there was February’s Middlesbrough game, where the date and time for the game was only confirmed on the 20th of January, despite Sky notifying Leeds of the fixture selection on the 10th of December. Unhappy with the game being moved to the Monday, again due to disruption to the fans, Cellino tried to block the move meaning that the games selection had to be kept quiet until after the dispute was settled.

During the arbitration process, the League apparently suggested a more suitable 12.30 kick off, so the day could remain the same, which was turned down by Leeds. Playing the martyr is always one option, but it’s probably not the right one when you are responsible for thousands of people, many of whom had already made plans for the Saturday, unaware the game was already scheduled to move.

But teams do get something out of the televised games, other than the extra exposure, as teams are compensated for the change to their fixtures, to allow for disruption and any decrease this may have on revenue. As part of the Football League’s deal with Sky Sports, every team gets a portion of the money outright, with the rest given each time the team features, with £100,00 for every home game (£120,00 if it’s moved to a Sunday) and £30,000 for away games. Considering clubs no longer have to split income with travelling teams, in effect that means Leeds will have raised £270,000 for just moving their away games this year.

There is obviously a bigger picture here. I have complained before about the lack of coverage for Reading who, as a team with traditionally smaller base, get far less games on TV than clubs like Leeds (four v fourteen this season). This was fine when Leeds were good, but last season we spent most of the year in a relegation battle with them. Whenever money is involved there really needs to be care in how it is distributed.

Despite finishing in the playoffs last season, and spending most of the season in the top ten this year, Ipswich Town have will have featured just three times (for £230,000) this year, 11 times less than Leeds. Moving further up the table, Leeds have been televised more than all of the top four, with the exception of Middlesbrough, who top the ratings war with 15 games selected. Hull City on the other hand have had just four big pay outs from home games airing, with the remaining seven away from home.

As is expected with Cellino, there are of course whispers of ulterior motive, namely dissolving the Football League’s current deal that doesn’t expire until 2020. With Leeds apparently looking for any way to break up the deal, sympathy for their excessive number of games moved is going to start waning. Obviously, as one of the few Football League teams with the fan base to make it possible, it is probably no surprise Leeds want to go it alone. But how much would someone realistically pay for Leeds games in the Championship? Plus, single team deals would never work unless the League removes the ban on 3pm games being broadcast in the UK (ironically in place to protect lower league sides).

With no end in sight for the dispute, Cellino may need to take on the whole Football League if he really wants to change things. Although if he thinks the current deal is bad he will love the Premier League, assuming Leeds make it there.
Listen   to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

With just two games to go it’s hard to know what 2015/16 will be known for in years to come. Will it be the multi-way battle for top spot, the surprise survival push or the outside contenders staying the distance? As we look back, it’s a good time to see what lessons we have learnt over the season.

Change isn’t always for the best: OK, this is probably a bit of a follow on from last season, but it is still surprising just how many clubs have changed their managers in the last 12 months. Last season really seemed out of the ordinary for manager sackings, but it now looks like a worrying trend that doesn’t seem to be really achieving what it’s supposed to.

A new manager hasn’t changed Derby’s quality of football, Reading and Huddersfield Town are still mid-table and Charlton are still in the bottom three (although it’s a little hard to blame the manager for that one). Nottingham Forest may also be regretting their decision to sack Dougie Freedman, as his replacement has won just one game out of eight. The only club that can probably see their manager change as a success is Rotherham United who defied logic to stay up, and even then it took two sackings to get it right.

It’s tough at the top: if there is one thing to take away from this season it’s that no one really seemed to want to win the division. In the past few seasons there have been teams leading from the front, managing to cling to that top spot for large chunks of the year. This season we have had four different leaders and, with the exception of Brighton and Hove Albion (sorry Seagulls, but more on that later), all have quickly been installed as the team to beat, only to struggle a few weeks later.

After Hull City dropped off the race completely last week, we are left with what is one of the closest Championship battles in recent memory, with two goals separating the top three. Even with just two games left it seems the only way to work out who to put your money on is to throw a dart at the table and go with the team it hits.

Unpredictability is the only predictable thing: Every year before even the first manager is sacked, pundits everywhere set out their predictions for the Championship, and every year around this time we see just how wrong they were. Whilst Leicester City have probably taken the ‘who would have thought’ title for this season, there have still been plenty of strange occurrences.

No one would have predicted that Brighton, the team that spent much of last season trying to stay out of the bottom three, would this year spend the first half of the season undefeated and top of the table. Most pundits had Wolves finishing well inside the playoffs and almost everyone had Rotherham ending at the foot of the table.

Attack isn’t always the best form of defence: Pundits say it, managers say it, players say it, even fans say it. But this year Fulham have tried as hard as they can to prove it just isn’t true, managing to come in with one of the best attacks and worst defences in the division. In fact, star striker Ross McCormack is up for Championship player of the season after contributing 21 of their 65 goals so far. Yet they have only three clean sheets to go with those goals.

If you are looking for slight positives in a sea of conceded goals, unless something goes drastically wrong in the next two games they will end the season with less goals conceded than the 83 they let in last season. If Fulham really want to prevent another season of relegation battles they need to completely refit their defence and fast.

Relegation isn’t always the end: Ignoring Fulham’s impressive attempts to not get promoted back to the Premier League, this season we have really seen that leaving the top flight doesn’t doom you to years of lower league obscurity. After shaky starts, Burnley and Hull city have been pushing for promotion this season. Both teams restructured well, making changes that were needed, and both teams will now finish the season in the top six. That’s a lesson Aston Villa may want to start learning if they want to avoid being the next Fulham.

Be careful what you wish for: Ever since Abramovich started throwing money at Chelsea, every club from the Premier League to League Two has been searching for a sugar daddy of their own. But as we are now learning, there is always a catch. Just a few years ago, most clubs were run by millionaire Chairman or consortiums comprising of local businesses. Now they are the rarity as money men from all over the globe have invested in Championship clubs hoping for a chance at the top division.

Generally, it isn’t working. This season has seen far more disgruntled fans than ever before, with protests at clubs including Hull City, Leeds United, and Charlton Athletic. Despite some of the most organised fans protests ever seen, particularly at Charlton, clueless people are still running Championship clubs.

Finally, you don’t have to be good to have a job: it is still bewildering that Steve Evans is managing a Championship club, and for once it has nothing to do with the fact his boss is Massimo Cellino. Whilst his win percentage is actually far better than it seems at around 40%, performances haven’t been good enough with some embarrassing heavy defeats and strange press interviews.

But even more baffling than the fact he is still employed by Cellino is the fact that he has been linked with the soon to be vacant Celtic job. Having previously managed the mighty Boston United and Crawely Town, it seems mystifying that he would even be linked with the Scottish Champions, but then this is football.

Listen   to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

I hate the playoffs. Actually, that’s not really accurate, as a neutral they are exciting. Your entire season coming down to just three games, winner takes it all. In the case of the Championship, that all is the biggest prize in football, and the pay off of a lifetime.

As a Reading fan, I hate playoffs; we are beyond bad. In fact we are so utterly useless it would probably be funny if it didn’t make you want to jump off something. In my time following the club we have reached the playoffs four times with two semi losses and two in the final. There could have been another final loss on that list if I hadn’t decided that going to see shire horses was far more exciting than a football final (it might have actually been the right choice considering we lost after leading 2-0 with 15 minutes left).

So who are this seasons lottery entrants? First up we have third versus sixth in the match up of the underdogs featuring Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield Wednesday. Even though at first glance it might not seem it, there are actually a lot of similarities between the way the two clubs enter the playoffs.

All season the Seagull’s have been defying expectation. When they first took top spot it seemed unlikely they would retain it, not with bigger clubs around. But they did. When their unbeaten run stretched from weeks to months, it seemed unlikely they had the squad to sustain it. But they did. When they finally lost, it seemed unlikely they would recover. But they did. And except for one goal on the last day, they might have sealed that second spot.

It’s still too early to categorise Brighton’s season as a success. Should they manage to win the playoffs, the turning of relegation battlers to Premier League new comers will see the season as an awe-inspiring victory. However, failure to win would probably see the season marked as an unmitigated failure. This team was, after all, top at Christmas and did have the longest unbeaten run in the division.

Like Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday have far exceeded expectation this season. This is a team that has finished 18th, 16th and 13th in the last three seasons and showed little sign they were likely to improve on that in 2016. But it all change with a new Thai owner and the appointment of Portuguese coach Carlos Carvalhal seemed to change that.

Foreign managers in the Championship are always a risk, but the man who has managed 15 different clubs in 17 years (and was unemployed for the past three seasons) has had no difficulties adjusting to the Championship and English football. He even managed to do the impossible and make wholesale changes work.

Unfortunately going into the first leg Brighton will be without defender Lewis Dunk after his red card in the final game of the season. The highly rated defender has already caught the eye of top flight clubs, and his absence will create a hole in the Brighton defence. Otherwise Hughton has almost a fully fit squad, with Bobby Zamora the only other major absence. Sheffield Wednesday are also almost at full strength with Carvalhal able select his favoured starting 11.

Head to head results generally mean little going into the playoffs, but considering both games have been 0-0 it’s fair to say there is little separating these teams so far. What may be a little more telling is current form: Brighton are undefeated over the last 10 games with an impressive seven wins. Sheffield Wednesday are sixth in the form table, but with only one win in their last six games, Brighton are my favourite.

If the Seagulls and the Owls are a good match up in terms of pre-season expectation, then Hull City and Derby County are perfect for each other. Before the season began both were installed as title contenders, yet neither one has really dazzled on the pitch. Despite the contenders tag, over the past few seasons Derby have started to get a reputation for failing to live up to their potential (that seemed a much nicer way of saying they are becoming known as bottlers). This time out their season never seemed to get started, despite a good spell at the end of 2015.

Unlike previous season, this time round it seems Derby have gone for the ‘if you can’t beat them join’ them approach to transfers, spending more in the last year than they have in the last five combined. But even big money wasn’t enough to help them to the top of the table. They are also responsible for one of the most bizarre sackings in a season of bizarre sackings, as they relieved Paul Clement of his duties, despite the club sitting in fourth place.

Hull City were also expected to be pushing for the title, and for large chunks of the season it looked like the bookies were going to be right. Then they just imploded. A boxing day victory over Burnley saw the Tigers start an impressive run of form that saw them score 11 goals in January, conceding just one as they topped the table. A month later and things had gone into reverse as Burnley moved up towards top spot and City fell away.

Just what went wrong isn’t clear. Hull did well to keep large parts of the Premier League squad together, so personnel wise they had it more than covered. Whisperings that manager Steve Bruce was wanted by Aston Villa may have unsettled the club slightly, but Hull were already falling adrift by then. It seems just a few losses was all it took to completely knock the confidence out of the side, something they will need to find fast if they want to make it to Wembley.

Darren Wassell has one new injury headache in the build up to this game, as it was revealed George Thorne suffered a double leg break in the final day loss to Ipswich. He joins long term casualty Craig Forsyth on the sidelines. Steve Bruce is somewhat more fortunate as he has a fully fit squad to pick from. With both teams almost tied in the form table, Hull will be hoping for a slight improvement in their results against Derby, as the Rams lead the season 2-0 with an aggregate of plus six. That aside, I still think Hull have enough to take this round.

So there are my predictions for the unpredictable game of the year. However, I wouldn’t rush to the bookie just yet, I have been wrong the last three years.

Listen  to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

This weekend will see the richest game in Football taking place with a prize of over £200 million, and no I don’t mean the Champions League Final. Just a few hours before the ‘other’ final kicks off, Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday will challenge for the last spot in the 2016/17 Premier League.

For fans of both clubs, this has been an unbearable week contemplating what might happen come Saturday. And I’m sure it hasn’t been that much fun for the players either, with constant interviews and the knowledge that they are one game away from being Premier League players. For those in charge of the club, the payoff is something that can only be dreamed of. The guaranteed income for this game has more than trebled in the last few years, truly making this the biggest game anywhere.

Even as someone who has yet to watch their team actually win the playoffs, despite more than a few chances, there is something special about the playoff final. A whole season comes down to just one game, and where you finish over the season now means very little. The games may be torture for those involved, but for any neutral fan, with so much on the line, they can be truly thrilling to watch, and this year should be as good as they come.

Aside from the nine points that separated Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the season, there is very little between these sides. They played out two draws over the season, have almost equal goal scoring records and over the last ten games very similar form. Most of the available polls can’t seem to split the teams, with it coming in about as close to 50:50 as you can.  Both teams have also experienced the joys of playoff final victories as well.

Hull are the bookies favourite heading into the game, but only just. For Hull, this Saturday marks the stressful end to a season where the club seems determined to remove the weaker of their fan base.

Top and looking good at Christmas, they just seem to have experienced a baffling lack of confidence over the past few months, culminating in last week’s debacle against Derby County in the playoff second leg. It really does take a special kind of team to make hard work of reaching the final, despite winning the first leg 3-0.

Arguably, Hull have one of the best squads in the division. This isn’t a case of ‘on paper’ or ‘on their day’, player for player they can match any other team in the Championship. It’s just they don’t quite seem to be able to actually do it.

It’s not even down to simple inconsistency, they have been very consistent for both halves of the season; the first part they won a lot, the second part not so much. They need to get their confidence in check fast if they want to win.

Sheffield Wednesday on the other hand have been slow and steady all season. That’s not a criticism; in fact it’s the opposite. Any team that can build on their results each week and push through to end in the playoffs has a very good chance of reaching the final. They used momentum gained through the season to peak at the right time, and for the last few months there has been no doubt they would make the top six.

The way they made it to the final exemplifies this. Whilst they may have been fortunate to end with two goals in the first leg, after injuries to four Brighton players reduced the side to ten men, the second leg they did exactly what they needed to. Hillsborough has been a fortress for them this season, but they have struggled somewhat away from home. Like Hull, Wednesday also went down to an early goal in the second leg, but unlike their opponents this week they managed to stay in control, equalising before the break and eventually drawing the game.

The Owls defence might not be as sharp as Hull’s, but they have players capable of scoring all over the pitch. The real concern for me though, is their away form. With just six wins away from home all season, they are amongst the poorest travellers in the division. With around 38,000 of their own fans in the stadium, it could maybe be argued that it will feel like a home game, but I am still not convinced.

So who is most likely to win? Over the course of the season I have shown my absolute inability to predict anything accurately, but here goes anyway. For Hull to win, they need to attack from the start and pressure Wednesday, with their low confidence, conceding early would be a disaster.  The challenge for Steve Bruce is to get the players confidence in check. Any weakness and the Owls will score. But this week they have nothing to lose, and I see them really coming out fast. I would like to apologise to all Hull City fans for now jinxing them, but I think they have enough to win the game. Just.

Of course the playoff fun doesn’t stop there. With the fans of Millwall and Barnsley from League One, and AFC Wimbledon and Plymouth from League Two it really is a special weekend. There is no other point on the football calendar when so many fans of different teams are in the same place at the same time. So good luck to all involved.

Listen   to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

More than 30 players from England’s second tier will be representing their countries at Euro 2016.

By Paula Marcus

It’s that time of year when most Championship players are packing their bags ready for their summer holidays, but this year some have been packing for a very different reason. 

This summer, thanks principally to Northern Ireland’s qualification, over 30 players from the Football League will be heading to France to represent their countries in Euro 2016. So who are these players and how likely is it that they will be making it onto the pitch?

The success of the home nations this year has certainly helped boost the Football League’s interest in the Euro’s. Whilst it is no surprise that these players feature heavily for some of the teams, the fact that one has made it into the England side is slightly unexpected. It’s probably fair to say that had Jack Butland not fractured his ankle, there would not be a Championship inclusion, but that should not detract from the huge achievement of Burnley’s Tom Heaton. It always seemed most likely that were England to come looking outside the top flight, it would be for someone to fill in between the sticks, after all, goalkeepers face shots and it doesn’t really matter if it’s a Premier League or Football League player behind them.

With almost half the Northern Ireland squad coming from the Football League, that’s probably the best place to start. When looking through their squad, there is one player that really stands out, and the fact he plays for Reading is just a slight coincidence. Oliver Norwood was one of two players to feature in all 10 group games and he played the most minutes during qualification. He was also selected for all of the team’s record breaking unbeaten run and, having seen his right foot in action, it’s no surprise. What would be a surprise is if he begins next season in the Championship.

Also likely to feature is veteran defender Chris Baird, who spent last season on loan at Fulham. The popular defender has been a key part of the Northern Ireland set up for the past 13 years, and has really earned the chance to play in the finals. Up front Birmingham City’s Kyle Lafferty is the main goal threat, and he finished qualifying as the group’s top scorer with an impressive seven goals. Despite an injury scare in training, it is expected he will be fit for the opening game against Poland.

One of the big stories leading into the finals is the performance of Fleetwood Town’s Conor McLaughlin. The League One player missed just a single game in qualifying, and is one of only a handful of players outside the Championship to feature (another being his team mate Luke McCullogh from Doncaster Rovers). A good performance in France and it’s likely McLaughlin will be snapped up by a higher placed team.

Next up are the Republic of Ireland and their nine Championship selectees. The most likely of these players to feature for the boys in green are Derby duo Richard Keogh and Jeff Hendrick. With the Reublic of Ireland finishing third in their group, Keogh played a key part in both playoff games against Bosnia and Herzegovina, picking up a lot of credit for his performance and a Talksport man of the match award, Hendrick has been touted as ‘the next big thing’ as the 24 year old has grown into his position in the senior side.

Wales selected an impressive ten Championship players in their final squad, although like the Republic of Ireland, only two of these players are likely to be starters for the side. Whilst highlighting the efforts of Norwood might have been based purely on his outings in qualifying, discussing the merits of Chris Gunter, also of Reading, is probably done with a tad more bias. I’m not going to lie, if I could have a team of Gunter’s I would. He isn’t a flashy player, and probably doesn’t have the skill of some, but he is a player that will always give his all and I respect that about him. At the age of 26 he is the most capped player in the Wales squad, so apparently I’m not the only one who loves him.

Soon to be ex-Reading forward/midfielder Hal Robson-Kanu is also expected to feature heavily. He tends to play ahead of Bale and Ramsey in a lone striker role, where his running and ability to hold up the ball are a lot more vital than his ability to score goals (he currently has just two goals in 30 games). Likely back up options include Burnley’s Sam Vokes and MK Don’s Simon Church, two other players with less than ideal scoring records.

It isn’t just home nations that have selected players from outside the top flight. Iceland midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsoon is at League One bound Charlton Athletic, and he featured in seven of the ten qualifying games. He is likely to play alongside his Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson of Cardiff City. Gunnarsson may not have ended the season in the best club form, but he is a key player for the national side.

Although slightly less likely to start for the first team, the Czech Republic have included Jiri Skalak from Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford’s Daniel Pudil, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. Skalak only made his international debut a year ago, but has been used to great effect as an impact sub and is expected to get some time on the pitch. Pudil is also expected to add to his 32 caps during the tournament, with coach Pavel Vrba tending to pick him in an attacking midfield role.

It’s great for the Football League that players selected for this years Euro finals aren’t just there to make up numbers, and now it’s up to them to do the Championship, and their countries, proud. So good luck to all involved, may you have a successful, injury free tournament.

Listen  to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

What an amazing few weeks it has been. We have had goals, controversy, flares, plenty to talk about and, maybe somewhat surprisingly, we have also had plenty of success for the Football League players strutting their stuff in France.

First up is the unsurprising news that, so far Tom Heaton hasn’t made it onto the pitch for England, although with the way we go through goalkeepers it might still happen. Next up, in probably more surprising news, Wales topped the group and made it through to the next round. Don’t get me wrong, I had them to get out of the group, but their performances have been fantastic. Who knew Chris Gunter could spend so much time that high up the pitch without getting a nose bleed? We will just overlook the image of him on his back as England scored the winner.

Not wanting to be outdone, Hal Robson-Kanu probably added a few extra pounds to his next contract with a goal that saw Wales see off Slovakia in game one. He was replaced in game three by another Championship player, Sam Vokes. Whilst he gave a good all round performance, he did miss a great opportunity to add to his goal tally.

Northern Ireland also made it through to the knockout stages. Predictably, few players rated well against Germany, as they spent large parts of the game defending. QPR’s Conor Washington has been playing ahead of usual striker Kyle Lafferty for the last two games, and he has not let his side down. And a big congratulations to Fleetwood Town’s Conor McLaughlin, he started game one against Poland and did himself and his team proud.

Republic of Ireland’s Jeff Hendrick has again been showing why he has the ‘next big thing tag’ with two solid performances. He was one of the few players to come out of the Belgium defeat with a good rating and he will need to perform well in the final group game. There has so far been no game time for Stephen Quinn or Richard Keogh, who will both be hoping to feature against Italy.

In terms of small team doing well, there is probably no better story at these finals than Iceland. The smallest country in the competition has created a few headlines, helped by solid performances from Charlton man Johann Berg Gudmundsoon. It was his cross that led to the equaliser against Portugal. Cardiff City’s Aron Gunnarsson also played well in that game, although all talk after was on Ronaldo’s apparent snub to his request for a shirt swap. As for our last Championship selectees, It was a tournament to forget for Czech Republic duo Jiri Skalak and Daniel Pudil, as their side finished bottom of goup D.

It may have seemed unlikely, but after the group stages we still have a large number of Football League players in the competition. And with the Republic of Ireland and Iceland still to play, that number could rise further.

Listen  to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

I generally try not to mention Reading too much (I did say too much), but sometimes that just goes out the window. On the day Wales qualified for the knockout stages of Euro 2016, Reading’s academy manager Eamonn Dolan died after a brave battle against cancer at the age of 48. What links these two events is that Dolan never got to see a Wales squad featuring two players he coached (Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu) top their group and go on to the quarter finals.

A few months ago the club decided to allow fans to rename our North Stand, and the suggestion to now call it the Eamonn Dolan Stand may seem like a knee-jerk reaction, but it is far from that. Reading Football Club is better for the time Dolan spent here, and it’s not just me that thinks that. Everyone from the fans, local journalists, ex-players, current players even up to Sir John Madejski himself has confirmed as much. It is what he has done on and off the pitch that has really resonated. I don’t remember hearing so many kind words said about one person, he truly was a special man and we were lucky to have had him at our club.

Dolan has been at Reading since 2004, a time which has seen the most successful period in the clubs history, and that’s no coincidence. Our academy is without doubt one of the best in the country and it has played a big part in getting us to where we are now. From the time Dolan took over the academy in 2004 (five years after its creation) we have seen an impressive 32 players make first team debuts, 14 of those in the last three years. We ended last season with five academy players in the first team, the stand outs being Jordan Obita and Jake Cooper who have become key players in our back four despite being 22 and 21 years old.

Things are pretty good on the international front too, with multiple players capped at youth levels, including for England. Along with the Welsh contingent, Gylfi Sigurdsson of Iceland and Shane Long of the Republic of Ireland are also academy graduates at Euro 2016, whilst Michael Hector played for Jamaica in the Copa America tournament. Whilst Dolan may not have seen Wales top the group, hopefully he was able to see Robson-Kanu and Sigurdsson both find the net in a major international tournament, something I’m sure he would be proud of.

For clubs outside the top division, academies provide more than just the next generation of players, they can also be a lifeline for the club. The sale of just three of our players made around £15 million at a time when the club really needed the money (especially in the case of the last two sales). Another academy graduate, Aaron Tschibola is reportedly wanted my multiple clubs as well.

The effect Dolan has had on the academy and players can’t be highlighted enough. A large number of Reading graduates can be found around the leagues, with Sigurdsson (Swansea), Long (Southampton) and Hector (Chelsea) currently in the top division. Whilst as fans we obviously want to retain our best players, it must be somewhat fulfilling to see players you have coached playing at the highest levels.

It might be too soon to talk about what happens now to the academy he worked so hard to create. We have retained our top level status which is a key component and obviously the people he worked with are all still here. What we need to do is ensure that the academy continues to encourage excellence in his name.

But his legacy will live on at the club, and round the country as players he coached ply their trade. A little bit of every award, promotion and title won by our academy graduates will always belong to Dolan. So thank you Eamonn Dolan for everything you have done for my club and the most heartfelt condolences to your family and friends.

As former academy player Ryan Edwards said ‘once a Royal, always a Royal.’ RIP.

The funeral will take place at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Wokingham at 11am on Tuesday 5th July.

Donations can be made in Eamonn’s memory to Action on Bladder Cancer UK (ABC) or Cancer Research UK here 

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Who would have thought that by the last week of the tournament I would be writing about Championship players involved in the semi-finals? It has been a fantastic few weeks for the Football League players, who have never really looked out of place in a tournament that is supposed to show case the best of Europe.

Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were knocked out in the last 16, but it was still a great showing from the lower league players. Leeds United midfielder Stuart Dallas caused Wales plenty of issues, whilst his midfield partners, Nottingham Forest’s Jamie Ward and Blackburn Rover’s Cory Evans, worked equally hard. It was a great showing from a side made up mainly of Football League players. The only down side from Northern Ireland was that, despite fans singing his name for most of their time over there, Will Griggs never made it onto the pitch.

The Republic of Ireland also gave it their all in a tough game against hosts France, as they struggled for large parts of the game to hold onto their lead. Richard Keogh from Derby County and Burnley’s Stephen Ward were unable to stem the flow, a task made all the more difficult after Shane Duffy saw red. Keogh, in particular, was incredibly solid against the impressive French attack, getting in the way of almost everything. Up front Ipswich Town’s Daryl Murphy played well, but was unable to get on the end of a perfectly placed cross. Derby’s Jeff Hendrick has continued to live up to the pre-tournament hype, putting in yet another solid display, even managing to play on despite a heavy knock.

Last up is the fairy tale team of the tournament and their Championship representatives. It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been routing for Iceland, the underdogs of the tournament, especially since they disposed of England with relative ease. The real star for me in that game was captain, and Cardiff City midfielder, Aron Gunnarsson. He really gave a captains performance and his long throws will probably never be forgotten by England fans. Sadly he didn’t fair quite as well in the quarter final defeat to France, where Iceland rarely had any control on the midfield (or probably any part of the pitch).

So that takes us to Wales. The talk of the quarter finals was Hal Robson-Kanu and ‘that’ goal. The man himself modestly described it as Cruyff like, Reading fans described it as a fluke, the stats lean towards the fans. Robson-Kanu, whose ego probably didn’t need any inflating, has certainly done his prospects no harm, with the now out of contract forward having options for where to go next. Aside from the goal, he has been showing the one asset he does have; his ability to hold up the ball.

There was another unlikely Championship player stepping up with the third and final goal, Burnley’s Sam Vokes. Like Robson-Kanu, Vokes has somewhat struggled to be a consistent scorer, his real strength coming in his ability to hold up the ball and cause the defense problems. He certainly made his presence felt in his ten minute appearance with his seventh goal for Wales putting the game to bed.

The inch perfect cross for Vokes header was supplied by Chris Gunter, another player who might not be at Reading for long if rumours are to be believed. The defender, playing in more of a wing position, was as influential as he had been in Wales’s previous games, again showing why he is the most capped player in the Wales squad. His performance was even more impressive considering Friday was his 65th game of the season. He coped well with Eden Hazard and was able to balance his attacking and defensive duties well.

With the semi-final against Portugal billed as Bale v Ronaldo, it was easy to forget that there were plenty of Championship players in the Wales squad worthy of praise.  Sam Vokes (Burnley) and Simon Church (currently of MK Dons) both came on as substitutes in the 2-0 loss, but unfortunately the Championship roll call will not extend to the final.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

The transfer window might just have shut, but the ramifications of one of the most excessive transfer periods in Championship history will go on for quite a while. Big spending in football is obviously not something new. Year on year records are being broken and more money being spent on the path to success. 

What makes this window so unique in terms of the Championship is the considerable increase in spending over previous seasons. Premier League spending has always been linked to increases in TV deals, and has generally seen slight increases each season. But this hasn’t happened in the Championship. TV money does not bring in the big money seen in the top flight, and overall income is significantly lower.

Just a few years ago there was shock at multiple clubs spending upwards of £5 million on a single player. Now we have clubs spending more that double that amount, all in the hope of gaining promotion. The increase in spending each year is occurring at a fair greater rate than any other division, with the kicker being that most clubs don’t have that sort of money to begin with.

The introduction by the League of a version of Financial Fair Play (FFP) has done absolutely nothing to limit the amount clubs are spending on the hope of promotion. We have seen both QPR and Leicester breach the rules on the way to the top flight, along with a host of clubs still in the Championship. It seems slap on the wrist punishments and idle threats of banning clubs from the League upon relegation do little to discourage clubs to stop over spending.

Then there are the parachute payments. Once intended to help clubs cope with high wages and lower income after relegation, they now seem to allow clubs to spend excessively on the hope of a quick return. With the probable exception of Villa and Newcastle (who let’s face it weren’t favourites to go down), most smaller clubs in the top flight are prepared for relegation. There are release clauses in players contracts, and wage cuts tied in so that should the club go down, the players earn less.

That said, Newcastle have done a pretty good job of demonstrating how you cope with relegation; sell big earners and re-invest the money on players that might get you promoted. Their incoming and out going transfer fees are very close, not to mention the fact they have removed most of the high earners at the club.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, have decided to attempt to buy promotion, spending almost three times more than they have received in fees.

Yesterdays signing of Jonathan Kodjia from Bristol City for £11 million wasn’t even their biggest deal of the window. That honour went to Ross McCormack, in his second big money trade after joining Fulham from Leeds United in 2014. And the best bit of Villa’s spending spree; thanks to the parachute payments they won’t breach FFP.

The big question here is does spending big actually guarantee promotion? Fulham and Leeds have both failed FFP in the past few seasons, and both clubs have finished up in the lower part of the table (although in one of those cases you can probably blame a questionable owner for on field failures). Then there is Nottingham Forest, who have been proving money doesn’t equal success for the past few seasons.

It seems that there’s a balance between spending on the right players and building a cohesive squad if you really want to gain the holy grail of instant promotion.  There has been a clear shift over the past few seasons in how Championship clubs are spending their money. Clubs are no longer trying to lure big names from Europe and the Premier League. There are also far less big money transfers from the divisions below. Instead people seem to want players they know can play at this level, and they are will to pay extortionate amounts to get it.

It is possible to argue that after the Kodjia transfer Bristol City are actually the club in the better position. They have a manager with experience at this level and the basis of a squad that is able to compete.  Thanks to selling Kodjia, they now also have more than £10 million in the bank should they need to improve things in January. Aston Villa, on the other hand have a new manager and a squad that will need to gel fast if they want to make a quick return to the top division.

Should Villa succeed in gaining automatic promotion at the end of the season, there will be a lot of questions asked about the role of FFP and parachute payments in the Championship. One of the major joys of the Football League is its unpredictability and the simple fact that every team has a chance. But how can clubs like Rotherham and Burton Albion really complete with Clubs like Villa and Newcastle who have far greater spending power without the aid of the parachute payments?

Even though the window is now shut, the consequences of the big spending are likely to go on for a while yet. There will never be a truly level playing field, but it is starting to feel like the balance is really shifting down here. The League need to redress things before it goes too far.

By Paula Marcus

There is a regrettable perception that if everything is quiet in the press, everything must be fine. Unfortunately in the Championship, that isn’t always the case. 

Exiting through the Premier League trap door is like moving to the other side of the world before the internet; people are aware you are alive but that’s about it.

Who can forget the site of a chicken at a Blackburn Rovers game, complete with flag, as they were relegated to the Championship in 2012. Since then you could be forgiven for thinking all is well, after all a quick search doesn’t reveal much, probably due to Rovers position outside the top division. But three years on and it seems little has changed behind the scenes at Blackburn. Right now they sit bottom of the table without a win and with fans planning on taking their protest global.

As with most takeovers, there was optimism when the Venky’s took over the club in 2010. But since then the clubs debt has increased as they have been transformed from a stable Premier League club to one that looks likely to be playing in League One next season. One fan, Glen Mullan, has been investigating the ownership of the club, and his findings are disturbing for football fans in general.

The takeover appears to have been fated from the start, with concerns about agents involvement in the deal. Since then there have been strange things going on at the club with underhand deals and excessive lying to fans. It’s hard to summarise all the findings here, but it is worth every fans reading the Sportskeeda write up. Blackburn fans are hoping that the FA will investigate the Venky’s but based on history it seems unlikely that the governing body will do anything.

One of the major characteristics of British football fans is the fact they are never really happy and, when it comes to owners, it is important to push through what is a real crisis and what is perceived (Blackburn, real crisis, failing to buy that multi-million pound striker, not a crisi). Many fans cite failure to invest as much as they want as a sign that owners are not supporting the club, but the issue in many Championship clubs goes far deeper than this.

Many fans of Cardiff City are also concerned about their current ownership, with accusations owner Vincent Tan is in the process of asset stripping the club with a view to sell. Asset stripping is one of the more complex issues in the Championship. With increasing debts and a reduction in parachute payments Cardiff obviously will be to reduce wages, but when does this become something else?

To try and bring fans on Board the club have been performing some face saving gestures in the media. Chairman Mehmet Dalman has given interviews to mainstream media suggesting Tan is a saviour and not preparing to sell the club. He also suggest that, as a club that faced a transfer embargo last season for breaching Financial Fair Play, they are keen to avoid a repeat this year.

Then there is Tan’s hope to promote a ‘Cardiff Brand.’ All this would be great if he hadn’t done more over the past few seasons to destroy the ‘Cardiff Brand’ than anyone else. His failed attempt to change the club badge and change shirt colours is hard to forget, especially when the addition of an all red extra tier to their blue Cardiff City Stadium is still all too visible.

One of the major flaws that the FA (including the Football League and Premier League) have is an amazing ability to shut the door once the horse has bolted. They seem to have no idea what to do for clubs until well after the issues have arisen. The rules to prevent clubs moving only came in after Wimbledon FC were moved to Milton Keynes. Wrexham, Chesterfield and Portsmouth were almost ruined by their owners before the Fit and Proper Person test came in. It was ok for Birmingham City to have an owner in jail for financial reasons before the decided to ban Cellino for a similar crime.

In the last two years we have seen Blackpool relegated after starting the season with half a squad, and Charlton Athletic face the same fate after asset stripping and other off field issues. The FA and the League have failed to intervene at any of the clubs that have faced issues with their owners and something needs to change. The Football Supporters Trust helps as much as they can, but without League involvement little will change.

Of the 24 Championship clubs, half have changed ownership over the last six years, with varying success. That’s a ridiculous number of changes, and the majority of these takeovers involved either foreign owners or consortiums. Going down the divisions this number increases further (Bristol Rovers were taken over just last week by a consortium form Jordan) and The League seems to have no idea how to cope with this increase in buyouts.

By banning Cellino after his conviction the League have proved they have the ability to remove ownership, and maybe it is time they start using this. Prospective owners should know that if they do not take their role seriously there will be consequences. The FA also need to be more involved in mediation between fans and the club. In the case of Blackpool, the owner Karl Oyston has been reluctant to meet fans over the years (probably because he was well aware of the reaction he would get).

As for Blackburn Rovers, their fans are taking a page from Charlton’s supporters by taking the fight to their owner’s home country. They have been advertising in Indian papers and are planning a trip to get their message across: the Venky’s need to leave the club before any more damage is done.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Not content with spending last year revamping the name of the Football League to the EFL and trying to ruin the now EFL Trophy, the League seem to want to go a step further and completely change the whole league system.

The basic premise is that instead of four divisions of 24 teams, there would be a switch to five divisions with 20 teams. This would reduce fixture congestion and allow most games to be played on weekends. Here’s a look at some of the key points of the proposal, along with my opinions.

Reduced squad sizes with reserve football gaining more significance.

A look down the leagues shows that most teams don’t exactly have large squads. In fact it is only really teams in the Championship that seem to have anything approaching large squads. The only way that reducing the number of games will actually have any effect on squad size is that clubs will have a reduced level of income, but more on that later.

As for the reserve league, I wasn’t actually aware that still existed. All reserve football has been replaced by development leagues and other means to apparently improve the number of players coming through capable of getting England to a World or European cup final (maybe we need to concentrate on making good managers next).

Reduction in midweek games.

There are two main reasons the League seems keen to reduce the number of teams in each division; to reduce midweek games and introduce a midweek break. On the first point, there doesn’t really seem to be a huge benefit of this as you move down the leagues. The Tuesday night floodlight games are generally loved by fans.

As part of the restructuring, the League has also suggested moving FA cup games to midweek, which just shows how clueless they really are. The biggest issue with fixture backlog at the end part of the season is actually FA cup replays. They become impossible to schedule due to UEFA’s insistence that they not be played on days when Champions League matches are occurring. Asking UEFA to relax this rule for FA cup games and you can probably solve most of the fixture issues.

The point of a winter break isn’t clear. In the Premier League, and maybe even the Championship, it has been mentioned as a way to keep players fresh for international matches, and across Europe the role is to prevent games being played in the harshest weather. But in England there aren’t actually that many games called off over winter, and when there are games postponed it can occur any time from December to February.

Increase in season ticket sales/attendance.

Now apparently the reason all teams aren’t selling out all of their season ticket is that fans don’t like the midweek games. Obviously, due to work, not all fans can make the midweek games, but the drops in attendance are probably less significant that they would be if you remove four home games from the schedule.

There is also no proof that fans are less likely to buy season tickets due to midweek games. Most season ticket holders live and work within a reasonable distance of their club to be able to attend midweek games without any real issue. Over the past few years many clubs have allowed fans to upgrade children’s tickets for midweek games as well to ensure better value. Then there is the fact that buying a season ticket means you can miss a few games and still save more than buying every home game individually.

Improved chances of relegation and promotion.

This is where the League really seem to be scrapping the bottom of the barrel to try and think up reasons. Yes, everyone loves promotion, and still having something to play for on the last day of the season is great. But the con version is that there are increased relegation places available too.

They also seem to be forgetting that to set this up, four teams would need to be relegated from the Championship, and either from the remaining two leagues, something the teams near the bottom might not be keen to endorse. The only happy fans would probably be from the Conference. After concern that these extra teams were going to be Premier League B sides, the League came out this week and insisted these teams would actually be promoted from the Conference.

Money

With less income from TV revenue and sponsorship as you move down the pyramid, losing four home games a season means a significant loss of income for teams in the lower divisions. The League have thought of this, and proposed restructuring how money is divided between clubs to cover the suggested £20million reduction in income clubs would experience.

There is also one big point the League seem to have been very quiet on; adding an extra division will make getting to the promised land that is the Premier League all that much harder. Portsmouth have already said that this alone would prevent them from voting for the new system, and they probably won’t be alone in this line of thought.

As I have mentioned previously, the current League can barely support the 72 professional clubs, so how they would maintain an extra eight clubs isn’t clear. What is also concerning is that, despite this being one of the biggest changes in English Football since the introduction of the Premier League, there seems to be no interest in contacting supporters groups to gauge the opinion of the people paying the money.

For the changes to be implemented 90% of clubs have to vote in favour of the five league system in June. That gives fans a few months to try and ensure their opinion are heard.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Train-wreck? Car crash? However you want to describe them, the Aston Villa side of the last few years has been nothing compared to the Villa side of old. We may only be 11 games into the new season, but with just one win so far they certainly seem to be carrying on from where they left off last season. If they want to make a quick return to the top flight, they will need a real change in fortunes, but is it too late?

New start, new beginning?

The biggest problem that Aston Villa have is that in reality nothing has changed from last season on field. Whilst Newcastle have managed to completely overhaul their squad over the close season, Villa haven’t been as lucky. In their defence, Newcastle were able to cash in on many of their players, whereas Villa struggled to even give them away, but whatever way you look at it, Newcastle currently have a squad to challenge at the top of the table.

The fact that a train-wreck of a club can be installed as one of the favourites for promotion from the Championship above teams that finished last season strongly says everything about the lack of respect for the League. After all, a club that was beyond bad in the Premier League, and has kept many of those same players, is obviously going to be winning the league.

Change at the top

The past summer has seen so many changes at every level of the club I wouldn’t be shocked to hear the tea lady has been transferred. Aside from starting this season a division down for the first time since 1987/88, the biggest change over the last year was at the top, with Tony Xia buying the club from unpopular businessman Randy Lerner. This is Xia’s first foray into football, and it has certainly been an enthralling transition if his twitter feed is anything to go by.

Apparently there is a very fine line between keeping fans informed and way too much information. A clubs dirty laundry probably shouldn’t be aired in public, and some things that occur at a club really shouldn’t be advertised. As a neutral, I do find many of Xia’s tweets amusing, but I’m not sure they are supposed to be. It certainly does make him seem both approachable and crazy.

Wrong manager

Obviously everyone is searching for a great manager. However, in this division, if you can’t get a great manager (and you probably can’t), it’s worth looking at one that at least has Championship experience. Hiring Roberto Di Matteo was always an interesting choice. He has hardly been a success at any of his previous clubs, and his longest position was only two years at West Brom. Xia admitted the hiring of Di Matteo was entirely his decision, again showing his inexperience when it comes to Football.

Reading may have taken a similar gamble in the summer, opting for a manager whose reputation was earned predominantly as a player. But, unlike Villa, Reading’s only aim this season is to try and avoid a third relegation battle in a row. With Villa pushing for promotion, they should have been much smarter about their selection process. Much as I hate the man, Neil Warnock would have been a much better choice, along with Steve Bruce. He knows how to get teams promoted.

If rumours are true, the hiring of Steve Bruce is a smart one; he has experience at this level and knows how to get teams promoted. He might not have had the same success in the top flight, but right now that’s not Aston Villa’s problem. How well he settles may depend, in part, how quickly Villa fans are willing to forget his time at local rival Birmingham City, and the game in a few weeks might help with that.

Throwing money at the problem

It’s becoming normal that the biggest spenders in the League are generally the relegated sides, in part a result of multi-million pound parachute payments. As already mentioned, Newcastle broke even thanks to some good business, whilst Norwich felt their squad was competitive with minimal adjustments, Villa on the other hand have overspent, particularly in attack, spending around £25 million ($30 million) for Ross McCormack and Jonathon Kodjia. They have spent far less on a defence that sprung a major leak last season, yet seems to have coped much better with a drop in division.

Assuming Aston Villa don’t manage to get promoted this season, and let’s be honest, it’s  looking like they are more likely to leave this division via the trap door at the moment, then money does become an issue. They spent almost three times what they earned through transfers, and the season isn’t over. They will have to be aware of Financial Fair Play to prevent any transfer embargos in the next few seasons. They just need to look at Fulham to see how quickly things can go from bad to tapping on the door to League One.

Where next?

With the (possible ) appointment of Steve Bruce as manager (thanks Villa for dragging your heels on this one), his obvious target is a quick return to the Premier League, a enormous ask considering they currently sit in 19th. It might not be over till the fat lady sings, but she has certainly been starting her warm up. The issue at Villa is that they need to change a losing mentality that has been building for a few years now. Bruce’s first job is to steady the ship and start turning their League leading number of draws into wins. A big part of this will be getting their overly expensive strike force to start repaying; a combined three goals in 18 starts isn’t really what you expect considering the outlay.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.

By Paula Marcus

Every year, after promotions are sealed, there are fans of a few teams clinging to the slight hope that what goes up really must come down. These are the fans of the perpetual relegation battlers; the fans from teams who have become accustomed to near misses and last day drama. In the Championship this team is Rotherham United. 

For the past couple of seasons they have defied pre-season predictions to retain their Championship status when few thought they would. This season, however, things really aren’t looking so good. Two 21st place finishes in their two years since promotion have hardly made them look like a team that is really going to challenge for mid-table, even if one of those finishes did come with a points deduction.

Obviously, by October absolutely nothing has been decided, but it is getting awfully close to the time of the year where you really don’t want to be too far removed from those teams in safety. With just one win and a change in manager things are hardly looking rosy for Rotherham fans at the moment. Ironically, their new manager Kenny Jackett was previously at Millwall, the last club to stutter at the bottom of the League. Eighteen months ago Millwall finally fell through the Championship trapdoor after four years trying to keep it locked.

But what of the three promoted clubs (one of which is usually expected to fill a relegation place)? It may be a strange thing to fans of Wigan Athletic, a club deemed by many to have no history, but, due to performances over the past few years it was expected they would be the one promoted club to do well. Sadly, so far, this really hasn’t been the case. Wigan have struggled to find any form or consistency so far this season despite topping League One just a few months ago.

Aside from generally poor form, an issue that needs addressing fast is a inadequate defence that has cost points. Whilst Wigan have scored in all but six games so far this season, they have kept only four clean sheets, and only one of those resulted in a win. They may not quite have the issues of Fulham and their impressively permeable defence of the past two years, but they certainly need to improve. When you are losing games by just one goal, and don’t have the attack to score more than your opposition you will always struggle, especially when teams with below average scoring records are managing to find the net against you.

Currently, Wigan Athletic are sat in 23rd place, with just two wins and no manager. Gary Caldwell was sacked on Tuesday after just 18 months in charge (which is actually quite long for a Championship manager) and one promotion. It’s a big risk for a team whose last season in this division was overshadowed by off field issues and managerial changes. They will need to get the replacement right and fast or they will be looking at a quick return to League One.

The second team to arrive thanks to automatic promotion were Burton Albion. With this marking Albion’s first foray into the second tier after back to back promotions, it probably isn’t surprising that they were installed as relegation certainties. But so far, they are proving to be anything but, with some impressive home form and an ability to grind out draws away.

Burton are using home advantage well, losing just two home games so far, and one of those was against high flying Brighton. They may have a slightly worse defence than Wigan, but the key is they possess a little more up front, scoring late equalisers in three games to push themselves up the table. It is still incredibly close in the lower part of the table, but I certainly wouldn’t bet against them still being in the Championship next season.

That leaves just playoff winners Barnsley. As is often the case, they are actually the highest place team so far, continuing their fine form from the end of last season. Unlike Burton Albion, Barnsley are doing it the hard way, not only picking up points away from home, but doing it at grounds you would expect them to struggle at.

Clearly fans of the age old ‘score more than you concede’ school of football, Barnsley have teamed one of the worst defences in the League with one of the best strike forces to pick up wins. In fact, in eight of their 14 games they have managed to score two or more goals. In seven of their last 14 games they have also managed to concede two or more goals. At least it is never boring.

One of the biggest issues for Football League clubs, compared to those in the Top Flight, is squad size. Neither Wigan or Rotherham really have the players available to enact any great change in the way that they play. They are also two clubs that don’t have real pull to aid with signing players capable of bringing about a change in fortune in January.

You just need to look at Aston Villa last season to know that too many years spent circling the drain will eventually lead to you being sucked in. As much as winning can be a hard habit to break, loosing is even worse. Rotherham have been so used to poor form over the past two seasons, they will need an impressive dose of ‘new manager effect’ to pull out of this one.

Listen to Paula’s latest Championship podcast at Premier Punditry.