No more hiding…

As a huge Coventry fan, I am preparing myself for the possibilty that the Sky Blues really could get relegated this coming Sunday. The league table doesn’t lie, and it does not make pretty viewing right now.

Pos	Team	Played	GD	Pts
18	Blackpool	45	-5	53
19	Coventry	45	-9	53
20	Sheff Wed	45	-4	52
21	Leicester	45	-3	51
22	Southampton	45	-17	51
23	R Scunthorpe	45	-23	45
24	R Colchester	45	-24	37

Southampton are in big danger of the drop and their minus 17 goal difference means that even if they end up on level points with another team, they are likely to go down due to their abysmal defensive record, and with their final match against the in-form Sheffield United, they are the 1/1 favourites to go down

Leicester have the best goal difference out of the five teams that could be relegated, but they are away to Stoke City, who know that a win would seal their promotion to the Premiership. You can get odds of 6/4 on Leicester to go down, but their impressive goal difference (considering the circumstances) really could prove vital.

Sheffield Wednesday have arguably the easiest game of the lot, at home to Norwich who have nothing to play for but pride. However, saying that it’s an easy game means nothing – Wednesday still have to do the business on the pitch. Odds of 13/2 are very good value. 

So we come to Coventry, just two points clear of safety, and with the second worse goal difference of the five. We are away to Charlton, but with Addicks boss Alan Pardew saying that he’s ready to give “the kids a run out” that could spell disaster for Chris Coleman’s men – young, hungry teenagers willing to prove a point.

I can only hope and pray that results go our way, because I can’t see us winning. Coventry are actually the outside bet to go down at 25/1, which is superb value, and well worth a quid or two (even if I say so myself!). 

I’m even half tempted to put £10 on Coventry to go down myself, that way, even if we are relegated I’ll have enough money to drown my sorrows!

Meanwhile, 18th placed Blackpool face play-off candidates Watford, at home, in a far from easy clash. Despite odds of 22/1 to go down, I wouldn’t say that Blackpool are totally safe. Anything could, and probably will happen.

See you on the other side…

(All odds courtesy of http://www.bet365.com)

 

Welcome back Derby, but who’s next?

 

A year is a long time in football, just ask Derby County. Just under 12 months ago they were celebrating an unlikely, but all-the-same impressive victory over West Brom in the play-off final at Wembley.

Now, with a new manager at the helm and having won just one league match since that date, they are back in the Championship.

Some will say that they are in a much better state financially, but is a few quid really worth seeing your team thrashed week in, week out? I’m not so sure!

So with Derby having secured the bottom of the league spot, two more spaces remain.

I would like to see both Reading and Fulham make the drop down – not because I don’t like them, but because I feel that they are both clubs who could compete at a decent level in this division.

Roy Hodgson has gone some way to sorting out the mess that Lawrie Sanchez created in his short spell as Fulham boss, while Steve Coppell has more than enough Championship experience in order to master-mind a Reading promotion charge.

We was robbed!

As if Southampton don’t have enough problems!

Unfortunately it has emerged that several members of the playing staff from both Southampton and Burnley football club were the victims of theft during Saturday’s clash at the St. Mary’s Stadium.

Rumours are circulating that up to £2,500 was taken as well as other personal belongings.

One question must surely be asked… Where were Bradley Wright-Phillips and Nathan Dyer during the robbery? Do they have solid alibi’s? Because let’s face it, their track record isn’t exactly wonderful!

“Police were called to St Mary’s Stadium shortly after the end of the match against Burnley on Saturday.

Five home and nine away players had cash stolen from their belongings in the changing rooms during the second half of the Championship match.

Hampshire Constabulary said it was investigating whether the doors were unlocked and was studying CCTV footage.”

Let’s hope that the culripts are caught, but in the mean time, Southampton will be hoping that that they aren’t robbed on the pitch during their vital next match against table toppers West Brom.

Tough at the top, tight at the bottom

Well, what a superb weekend of Championship football. Things are getting uncomfortably close for teams both vying for promotion and dreading the drop.

West Brom moved one step closer to finishing within the top two while Leicester climbed out of the bottom three with Sheffield Wednesday taking their place.

Stoke moved in to the second automatic promotion spot with a 2-1 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Bristol City at the Britannia Stadium.

Mamady Sidibe grabbed both the goals for Stoke and in doing so doubling his season’s goals tally! One wonders if ‘Big Mama’ will make the grade in the Premiership, should Stoke get there.

Elsewhere Coventry boosted their survival hopes with a thumping 5-1 win at relegated Colchester while Southampton remain in big trouble after a 1-0 home defeat to Burnley. Coventry’s win took them from 21st in the league to 17th. What a difference an hour and a half makes, hey.

Hull missed the chance to cement their place in second spot after a 2-0 defeat at 10-man Sheffield United and Crystal Palace boosted their play-off hopes with a 2-0 success at Watford. Any of the teams down to 9th placed Wolves still stand a chance of promotion.

Down at the bottom, things are equally, if not more tense:

Pos	Team	Played	GD	Pts
15	Preston	44	-3	55
16	Blackpool	44	-2	53
17	Coventry	44	-9	52
18	Norwich	44	-10	52
19	Barnsley	44	-13	52
20	Leicester	44	-1	51
21	Southampton	44	-17	50
22	Sheff Wed	44	-6	49
23	R Scunthorpe	44	-24	42
24	R Colchester	44	-23	37

With six points still left to scrap for eight teams still face the prospect of relegation. Looking at the table now, I feel that Southampton will have to work very hard to secure their Championship status and with games against West Brom away and Sheffield United at home, they will do very well to grab a win against either.

Let the relegation battle commence

Just three games remain of the 07/08 English Championship season and remarkably still nine teams face the possibility of playing League One football next campaign.

Unfortunately both Colchester and Scunthorpe already have their fate’s decided and will be plying their trade in England’s third tier of football come August.

A quick look at the table shows that Leicester currently occupy the dreaded 22nd position, but they have games against both Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday which if won, would surely see them clear of trouble.

Pos	Team	Played	GD	Pts
14	QPR	43	-2	55
15	Preston	43	-3	54
16	Norwich	43	-9	52
17	Barnsley	43	-12	52
18	Blackpool	43	-3	50
19	Southampton	43	-16	50
20	Sheff Wed	43	-5	49
21	Coventry	43	-13	49
22	Leicester	43	-2	48
23	R Scunthorpe	43	-25	39
24	R Colchester	43	-19	37

Coventry look a side in real danger of the drop. A goal difference of -13 is far from ideal and with games against play off candidates Wolves and Charlton, an easier run in would have been much the preferred option for manager Chris Coleman.

In reality, it is impossible to call. It really will go down to the wire. From a personal point of view, I believe that 52 points will be the benchmark for safety. But we’ll see…

Lower league talent is out there!

People often talk about the need for Premiership clubs to delve into the Championship in the hope of picking up a few gems. But something that I find can often get overlooked is the need for Championship teams to cast their nets down towards the lower divisions in search for gems of their own.

If this started to happen more often, then I believe that the English game would be in a much better position. If Championship clubs signed the best that Leagues One and Two had to offer, then Premiership sides will be surely alerted to the talented young players much more quickly. In turn, these players are effectively upwardly fast tracking the football league, perhaps on the way to International stardom? Ashley Young is a good example of a player who plyed his trade for Watford during his teenage years, was spotted by a number of top clubs, opted to play for Aston Villa and he is now knocking on Fabio Capello’s England door.

This practice would be much more effective than what we see week in week out in the Championship. Managers signing 30 something Premiership has-beens in order for a quick-fix, when in actual fact, all they are really doing is blocking the way for young English talent to emege.

From experience I can tell you that Coventry City signed 38-year-old Arjan De Zeeuw in the summer, and when fit, he was almost guaranteed a place in the starting 11. In doing so he was keeping youngsters such as England Under-19 International Ben Turner out of the team.

Fortunately, come January, it became evident that De Zeeuw couldn’t hack it any more. A wonderful pro he may have been, but his glory years are well and truly behind him.

So the Sky Blues popped over to Midland rivals Walsall to see what they had to offer, and signed two of their best young players; Danny Fox and Scott Dann. Fox at left back has been a revelation, his delivery is second-to-none and I really cannot fault him. As for Dann, he has absolutely shone - I am yet to see him shirk out of a challenge of even lose a contested header, seriously.

So the talent is definitely out there, and it’s not even a case of going out and finding it. I would imagine that most lower league clubs have a couple of ‘Fox’s’ or ‘Dann’s’ in their ranks, it’s just a case of the big boys taking the plunge and signing them!

Welcome

Hello and thanks for joining me on my blog as I look to examine and explain the English Championship. 24 teams currently reside in England’s second tier of football, and whilst the glitz and glamour of the Premier League may dominate the back pages of the papers, the Championship boasts a wealth of talent and many thousands of fans.

My team? Well that would be Coventry City. I say ‘team’, they are more like a collection of middle-aged men thrown together and told to chase ‘that round thing for an hour and a half’.

I will obviously remain as unbiased as I possibly can as I talk you through the good, the bad and the ugly. Over time I will discuss stars of the future, stadium guides and teams to watch out for. I’m not going to bore you with copied and pasted match reports from the BBC or Sky, i’m looking to take a step back from the mainstream and try and give as much insight towards what goes on behind the scenes.

Who does the best pies? Who has the best fans? What is the appeal of the Championship? All topics i will cover. I would also like to pursue the possibility of publishing video’s, pictures and polls in the hope of promoting the appeal of teams such as Scunthorpe and Barnsley.

In the mean time, thanks for taking a look at my blog, I will be updating it shortly.