The highlight of the summer for every football supporter is the release of FourFourTwo‘s season previews that went through each division from Premier League to League Two in great detail before predicting where every side would finish.
When it came to predicting the Championship, the ‘fan’s view’ section for each side would see supporters of 20 of the 24 teams suggesting they had a ‘decent shot’ at getting into the top six, highlighting just how unpredictable this league can be (and also how optimistic football fans can be). This inherent unpredictably combined with the elongated transfer window has made this season as hard to call as any before it, but someone needs to be hung out to dry come May for predicting the league winners would get relegated – so I am taking one for the team.
With Leeds, West Brom and big spenders Fulham no longer with us, it is fair to say the league has no outstanding candidates for automatic promotion. Play-off finalists Brentford will likely lose at least one part of their BMW (Benrahma, Mbuemo, Watkins) that scored so many goals for them last season but have the ideal recruitment team to make the most of the hefty fee they’ll receive. Norwich look best placed to bounce back of the sides relegated from the Premier League but the likes of Derby, Cardiff and Swansea will feel they have a shot at challenging them following strong showings post-lockdown.
The play-off charge will be as chaotic as ever, with a plethora of sides all capable of being in the end of season shake-up with a good run of form. Millwall and Preston look both solid and settled under talented young managers, Stoke surely can’t be as bad as they’ve been over the previous two campaigns and Nottingham Forest have added further experience to a good squad.
Barnsley, only spared the drop thanks to Wigan’s points deduction, looked a far better side under Gerhard Struber than their points tally suggested and could well be looking up the table rather than down should they continue to thrive under his brand of hard-pressing football.
Birmingham, Bristol City and Huddersfield all have new managers and will be hoping for better showings this term but the lack of movement in a transfer market that is being paralyzed by clubs lacking funds thanks to the pandemic will make it harder for them to climb the league table. It is likely to be a long old season for Reading, QPR and Luton who have also struggled to strengthen.
The 12 point points deduction Sheffield Wednesday look set to begin the season with will likely make it a grim season for the Owls and should serve as a warning for others that chasing the promotion dream through expensive signings on big wages is no longer the safest way to go about things.
Of the promoted trio, Coventry City look the most exciting with their innovative 3-6-1 formation that saw them comfortably crowned League One champions on points-per-game. The EFL’s newest ‘yo-yo club’ Rotherham will want to end a run of relegation, promotion, relegation, promotion over the past four seasons and begin to establish themselves in the second tier. But, the real story is Wycombe Wanderers, who are playing at this level for the first time in their history under manager Gareth Ainsworth. In 2014, they avoided relegation out of the football league on goal difference.
24. Wycombe Wanderers
The Wycombe miracle machine (helped by a chunk of investment from American businessman Rob Couhig at the start of last season) rolls into the second tier as former player, current manager and lifelong rockstar Gareth Ainsworth continues to defy expectations in Buckinghamshire.
Most familiar to the majority of football fans as a train station en route to London away games, the Wanderers should not be underestimated. FourFourTwo predicted them to be relegated from the third tier last term and they ended the season beating Oxford in the play-off final. On the night, Ainsworth even suggested that such predictions had been a huge motivating factor for his players. There were no supporters at Wembley that evening but hopefully they will be back at Adams Park in time to witness at least some part of this historic season.
They play a direct brand of football that relies on hard running and superhuman work-rates from the likes of Alex Samuel and David Wheeler as well as a well structured and organised defensive shape. The experience of Matt Bloomfield who has the best part of 500 games under his belt in League One and Two undoubtedly helps the side maintain it’s organisation.
New signing from Hearts, Uche Ikpeazu, will provide physicality up front but he will need to chip in with goals if Wycombe are going to stay up – they were the second lowest scorers in the top half of League One last season. If all else fails, Adebayo Akinfenwa – now 38 – can be thrown on to teach the Championship’s new breed of young, ball-playing centre-backs a thing or two about aerial duels.
In the past week, Wycombe’s transfer business has stepped up a level as they’ve added goalkeeper Curtis Anderson, who won the Under-17 World Cup with England in 2017. Winger Daryl Horgan has arrived from Hibernian and defender Ryan Tafazoli has signed from relegated Hull. These could be shrewd pieces of business if they buy into the atmosphere that Ainsworth has created at Adams Park but none are yet proven at Championship level.
The squad is mostly made up of players that League One sides cast aside meaning the step up to the Championship could be difficult. Ainsworth has created an incredible team spirit at the club that makes it hard to bet against them but surely survival in the Championship will be a step too far?
Player to look out for: Joe Jacobsen – the left-back scored 12 goals in all competitions for Wycombe last season, several of them came directly from corners. The Welshman’s set-piece delivery will be a vital weapon if Wycombe are going to get the goals they will need to compete.
23. Sheffield Wednesday
On Christmas day 2019, Sheffield Wednesday were third in the Championship and looked in good shape to at least reach the play-offs come seasons end. They won only five league games in the rest of the campaign and finished in 16th, looking far more like relegation candidates than play-off hopefuls.
This season will be even more of a challenge as they start on -12 points (pending appeal) for including revenue brought in from selling Hillsborough to their owner, Dejphon Chansiri, in the wrong financial year in order to comply with FFP regulations. They have also lost the likes of Steven Fletcher, Fernando Foriestieri and Sam Hutchinson who were all key players in previous seasons.
Moving on players who were both expensive and on massive wages will be good for the financial health of the club, but every big signing that walks out of the door on a free serves as a reminder of how promotion to the promised land was so close at one point but is now seemingly so far away.
Garry Monk is quickly becoming a Championship nomad rather than a promising young manager as Wednesday became his fourth different job at this level in four seasons when he was appointed back in September last year. A promising start that saw him get the best out of the likes of Fletcher and play-maker Barry Bannan, dissipated as he seemed to have no solution when form slumped.
He eventually changed to a back three when football restarted after lockdown and picked up enough points to avoid any serious threat of relegation. Adam Reach and Moses Odubajo are suited to the wing-back roles and the increased number of bodies in the midfield helps prevent Bannan being exposed. New signing Chey Dunkley from Wigan should form a decent defensive trio with Dominic Iorfa and Julian Borner but Wednesday will need goals if they are to overcome their points deficit and as it stands, Jordan Rhodes, new arrival Elias Kachunga and Josh Windass, who made his loan from Wigan permanent, are their only options and none of them have been prolific in recent seasons. There will be a lot of pressure on Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown to stay fit and create goals.
The Owls have ultimately bet the house on getting promoted over the past five seasons and it now looks like the debt collectors are at the front door. It was going to be a tough season regardless of the points deduction and they will need to mirror their form from the first half of last season to stand a chance of survival. If they play as they did in the second half of the campaign, they’ll do well to be on 0 points by the New Year.
Player to look out for: Dominic Iorfa – The Wolves academy product was one of the few to stand out for Wednesday in the second half of the season. The rangy centre-back looked at home in Wednesday’s defence when they changed to a back three and even picked up the clubs’ player of the season award.
22. Huddersfield Town
Danny Cowley and brother Nicky seemed to do an okay job at Huddersfield last season. Their win over a West Brom side that would go on to be promoted, on the penultimate day of the season secured safety after a harrowing start to the campaign under Jan Siewert that made back-to-back relegations seem like a real possibility. The squad looked unbalanced and completely lacking in confidence, meaning securing survival and going again this season seemed like a decent start to life at the club for the brothers Cowley. But they won’t be going again next season because they were sacked the day after the West Brom win.
Chairman Phil Hodgkinson cited a ‘different vision for the way we operate, and how our ambitions can be achieved’ as the reason for the dismissal and moved swiftly to replace the Cowleys with one of Marcelo Bielsa’s former assistants at Leeds, Carlos Corberan. Corberan arrives highly rated thanks to his relationship with one of the most influential coaches in modern football and it looks as though he will attempt to implement the high-pressing, high-intensity football of his mentor at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Based on their pre-season matches under Corberan, the Terriers will be lining up with a back three this season which will massively suit Harry Toffolo at left wing-back as he will be able to get forward more often. The likes of Richard Stearman and Tommy Elphick may not be so comfortable playing out from the back in the new system, but their experience will be invaluable in helping talented youngsters Matty Daly, Josh Koroma and Demeaco Duhaney develop.
Keeping hold of Karlan Grant’s goals will be vital as the rest of the squad only managed 33 between them in 2019/20.
As of yet, Huddersfield’s only signings have been forward Danny Ward on a free from Cardiff and goalkeeper Joel Pereira on loan from Man United, making it hard to see how Corberan will have a squad that can play the style of football he will look to implement. This was a similar problem for the Cowleys as although results were okay, the team never played with the aggression or tempo that their successful Lincoln side did.
The Premier League dream of 2017/18 has been followed by nothing short of a nightmare and it will be a difficult season for Town with or without Grant. Corberan may well prove to be another David Wagner – previously untested at this level but takes the league by storm with an entertaining brand of football and energetic fist pumps all round – but the playing squad at his disposal means that the toil and trauma of Siewert’s reign looks more realistic.
Player to look out for: Lewis O’Brien – 2019/20 was a fantastic breakthrough campaign for the industrious midfielder, his energy and drive provided direction for a side that stumbled through much of the season. He is currently injured and heavily linked with a move to Burnley, but Corberan will need the local lad if he is going to be a success in West Yorkshire.
21. Rotherham United
The last man to ensure Rotherham stayed in the Championship for more than a single season in a row was Neil Warnock. It was not as long ago as that fact may make it sound (2014/15), but fans at the New York Stadium will surely be hoping Paul Warne’s charges can establish themselves in the second tier for good.
They are a big, physical side very much in the mould of a typical football league climber. 25 of their 61 goals last season came from set-pieces (10 more than any other side) and they will look to impose themselves on sides who have adopted a more continental approach. The centre of the pitch is where the Millers’ look strongest as centre-back Michael Ihiekwe will look to build on an impressive year in League One in his first full season as this level, paired with new signing Angus MacDonald from Hull. Ahead of them Matt Crooks and Ben Wiles look like a midfield duo who could compliment each other well to make up for the departure of Dan Barlaser, who impressed so much on loan from Newcastle last season.
Paul Warne is the real star of this Rotherham outfit though, his calm and compassionate style of leadership undoubtedly helps get the best out of his team. He experimented with a three man midfield in the first half of the last campaign before reverting to his tried and tested 4-4-2 for the post-Christmas run-in – they lost only three games from then until the season was brought to an end in March.
Warne’s side were perhaps slightly fortunate to secure automatic promotion on Points-Per-Game after a run of only one win in five before the pandemic hit, but they have wasted no time in strengthening the playing squad for the Championship. Jamal Blackman has arrived on loan from Chelsea to take the place of last season’s outstanding Leicester loanee Daniel Iversen in goal. MacDonald and Wes Harding have been recruited to provide more depth in defence and Kieran Sadlier will look to make the step up after averaging a goal every three games from wide areas in League One with Doncaster.
This current Rotherham side look better placed to survive than in their previous season at this level two years ago. Warne may well have moved on to bigger things by now if he didn’t have such a close relationship with the club (over 250 appearances as a player) and his continual development as a coach should serve the Millers well as they seek to put an end to the ‘yo-yo-ing’.
Player to look out for: Matt Crooks – The game can often look too easy for Crooks, particularly in the third tier. His physical profile (6 foot 3 and well built) combined with his superb technical ability allow him to dominate games from the middle of the park. He looks to have found a permanent home at Rotherham after a series of injuries put pay to his time at Rangers – he will hope that home is in the Championship for the foreseeable.
20. Reading
Reading’s third place finish and subsequent play-off final defeat to Huddersfield in 2017 is a complete outlier from their form over the past five seasons. Since 2014/15 they have finished 19th, 17th, 3rd, 20th, 20th and 14th – whilst this can be seen as the topsy-turvy nature of the Championship in full-swing, it is fair to say Reading have been pretty underwhelming in recent years and there is little to suggest this season will be much different.
Mark Bowen was brought in last summer as sporting director and was involved in the decision to sack manager Jose Gomes in October with the Royals in the relegation zone. What happened next was slightly peculiar, as Bowen recommended himself to the board as the man to take the management hot-seat. He was given the job and guided the team to a respectable 14th place finish but even more bizarrely, he will now be moved on after turning down the chance to become sporting director once more, to make way for Serbian Veljko Paunovic. Paunovic was last in work at Chicago Fire in MLS in 2019 and was coach of the successful Serbia Under-20 side that won the World Cup in that age group in 2015 by beating Brazil in the final in New Zealand.
Reading had been playing a 3-5-2 in pre-season under Bowen after preferring a back four for most of last season. A back three may be persisted with under Paunovic as centre-backs Michael Morrison, Liam Moore and academy product Tom McIntyre could be a solid defensive unit at this level and it will allow at least two of George Puscas, Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite to play upfront. In midfield, the exciting Ovie Ejaria looks set to return on a permanent deal from Liverpool and will provide some much needed creativity, particularly if John Swift departs. Goalkeeper Rafael was voted the club’s player of the season and his history of spells at Napoli and Sampdoria indicate he is probably playing at a level below his ability.
There have been suggestions of massive investment being provided for Paunovic to lead a promotion charge but as of yet the only addition has been Josh Laurent on a free transfer from Shrewsbury. Reading’s Chinese owners invested over £10 million last summer in Puscas and Joao. 18 goals between them was an acceptable return but they will need to both be looking to get into double figures if the Royals are going to threaten the top half. The club had a 226 per cent wages-to-turnover ratio in 2018/19, a Championship record, meaning a spending spree will surely lead to FFP issues.
It looks as though Reading have no clear idea of what type of squad they are trying to create or the type of manager they see leading the club to success. The fiasco with Bowen has ended with the club appointing an eighth manager in six years and whilst the squad has quality in some areas, it lacks options in wide areas and any sort of depth in key positions. It would be no real surprise to see them make another management change during the season if Paunovic struggles.
Player to look out for: Michael Olise – the former Chelsea academy player made 19 Championship appearances last season and is still only 18 years old. Should Swift move on, Olise could form an exciting and creative midfield partnership with Ejaria that could light up the Championship.
19. Luton Town
‘I betrayed you and myself’ were the standout words from Nathan Jones’ press conference confirming his return to Kenilworth Road at the end of May. He left the club in January 2019, with the Hatters looking set for promotion to the Championship, for Stoke in order to chase promotion to the Premier League. He was sacked after only six wins in nine months in the Potteries and Luton didn’t quite find the same spark with their new man Graeme Jones after club legend Mick Harford had led them to the Championship. This resulted in the re-kindling of the marriage between the original Jones and Luton as neither could make it work with their new partners, and it worked out as they miraculously avoided relegation with only one defeat after the return of the Welshman.
Luton had stood out in the lower divisions under Jones as his favoured 4-4-2 diamond midfield could both outplay and overwhelm the opposition. Last season, they struggled to cope with the departures of adventurous full-backs James Justin and Jack Stacey to the Premier League, as the diamond became increasingly narrow and Luton offered almost no threat from wide areas. There is plenty of industry in midfield and the energy of Harry Cornick upfront compliments target-man James Collins well as the pair notched 26 league goals between them last term. Sonny Bradley and Matty Pearson provide experience and leadership at the back and Simon Sluga will hope his second season in English football is more consistent than his first, as the keeper cost his side on too many occasions in 2019/20.
The Hatters have signed winger Jordan Clark from Accrington, which suggests Jones may possibly be looking to move away from the diamond or that Clark will be converted into more of a forward as Cornick was. Right-back James Bree has re-signed after spending last season at the club on loan from Aston Villa and excitingly, attacking left-back Rhys Norrington-Davies has joined on loan from Sheffield United to try and fill Justin’s boots. Tom Lockyer has also been brought in to provide another option at centre-back after doing reasonably well at Charlton last year.
Their form post-lockdown suggests Luton are still the same side that eviscerated the lower leagues and with the man who masterminded their rise back at the helm, there will be quiet confidence at the club that they can avoid relegation again this season. Jones’ quality as a coach will ensure he gets every last drop out of his current crop of players.
Player to look out for: Elliot Lee – the son of former England and Newcastle midfielder Rob, he managed to score double figures in Luton’s promotion campaigns from both League Two and League One. He was marginalised by Graeme Jones last season but restored to the team upon Nathan Jones return and scored in the vital win at Huddersfield that went a long way to securing survival. Playing either upfront or at the tip of the diamond, it will be interesting to see what he can do in a full season at this level.
18. Queens Park Rangers
QPR have had a pretty rough time in the Championship since relegation from the Premier League in 2015, never finishing above 12th and toiling under FFP constraints. Last season under Mark Warburton, a new style of patient, possession-heavy football was introduced and although there were initial teething problems playing out from the back, they played great stuff at times. A play-off push looked realistic at one point but losing Nakhi Wells to Bristol City in January saw the goals dry up and their form slump – leaving them in 13th place.
Warburton looks to implement his style everywhere he goes so they are almost certain to continue playing the same way next season, regardless of the playing squad at his disposal. The loss of Ebere Eze (14 goals and 8 assists last season) to Crystal Palace is a massive blow and with Bright Osayi-Samuel also looking like he might move on as well, Rangers will need to invest the fees they receive wisely to avoid being dragged too close to the relegation zone.
Ryan Manning and Luke Amos provide real quality in midfield but Warburton will be relying on youngsters like Conor Masterston, Osman Kakay, Paul Smyth and Aramide Oteh to learn quickly if he is going to replicate last season’s mid-table finish. There could be real issues in defence as Grant Hall was probably the only centre-back who performed well consistently last season, and he has just joined Middlesborough. The arrival of Rob Dickie from Oxford will hopefully fill that gap.
Lyndon Dykes has been brought in from Livingston to replace the goals of Wells and Jordan Hugill but this will be a big step up for the Australian-born striker who impressed in the SPL last season – his physicality helping to bring 9 goals and 8 assists. The signing of Welsh international George Thomas after he was released by Leicester provides another attacking option for a side that will be more exciting in the final third than stingy in their own box (they had the third worst defensive record in the Championship last time out).
The success of QPR this season is very much dependent on how they replace Eze and possibly Osayi-Samuel. They lit up the Championship at times last season and if quality replacements aren’t found, the R’s porous defence won’t be bailed out as often as in 2019/20. The young players showed enough signs of promise last season to indicate survival is achievable, anything more is dependent on good work in the transfer market.
Player to look out for: Ilias Chair – The Morocco under-23 international has a full season of Championship football in his legs now after standing out in League Two on loan at Stevenage the year before. His trickery and penchant for scoring screamers make him first in line to replace Eze and he will need to show the same level of consistency his former team-mate found if he is going to become the man Warburton builds the team around.
17. AFC Bournemouth
2020 will see Bournemouth begin a season without Eddie Howe in the dugout for the first time since 2012. The Cherries looked like a team in need of a change last season, particularly based on how they performed post-lockdown. Relegation from the Premier League seemed like a good opportunity for both parties to go their separate ways, whilst still being able to cherish their unlikely rise through the divisions. We may not see an overly different Bournemouth this term though as continuity candidate and Howe’s long-term assistant Jason Tindall was given the top job.
An immediate return to the Premier League looks a tough ask as something of a fire-sale has begun on the South Coast. Aaron Ramsdale and Nathan Ake have both departed for Premier League clubs, David Brooks, Callum Wilson and Josh King all look likely to join them, but most surprisingly, older heads in the shape of Charlie Daniels, Simon Francis and Andrew Surman were all let go. Whilst they all struggled in their final seasons in the Premier League, their experience could have been useful for Tindall in his first senior role in management. There now looks to be a lot of pressure on defensive stalwart Steve Cook to guide a young squad in an unforgiving league.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Cherries though, Dominic Solanke finally showed some signs of life during the post-lockdown run-in after his £18 million move from Liverpool in 2019 and youngsters Sam Surridge and Nmadi Ofoborh both had productive loan spells at Swansea and Wycombe respectively last term and look ready for the the first-team. The likes of Lloyd Kelly, Lewis Cook and Jack Stacey are likely to be more comfortable developing in the Championship than they were in the heat of of a Premier League relegation battle – Tindall retaining Howe’s philosophy of open, attacking football should serve them well also.
There have currently been no incomings at Bournemouth but with almost £60 million brought in from transfer fees so far and more expected to come, you would think Tindall will be able to bring players in before the window shuts. The issue may be that the recruitment will mirror the latter years of Howe’s reign where big fees were spent on the likes of Jordon Ibe and Jefferson Lerma, a contributing factor towards their relegation.
It looks unlikely to be a storming first season in management for Jason Tindall but he does have talented players at his disposal that could upset a few of the the more fancied teams on their day, particularly if Brooks ends up staying at the Vitality. A lack of experience combined with a fire-sale of players that seems well under way is likely to make the first few months of the campaign tricky, but there is enough quality to suggest survival will be achieved. Building a Howe-like legacy for Tindall will depend heavily on how much of the money they receive is made available to him over the next few seasons.
Player to look out for: Arnaut Danjuma – Brought in last summer for over £15 million following 15 goals and 20 assists in only 40 games for Club Brugge in Belgium from the wing. He struggled massively with injury last season, making only five league starts, but is a full Dutch international and his combination of trickery, pace and two-footedness should make him a real threat in the Championship.
16. Middlesbrough
Oh Neil, wasn’t your last job in football supposed to be three jobs ago?
The Championship’s most beloved/loathed pantomime villain arrived in June to secure survival for the Teesiders in typical Warnock fashion. But it was something of a surprise to see him stick around for a full season as Boro look unlikely to have either the finances or playing squad to mount a serious promotion push.
Last season’s experiment with former player Jonathan Woodgate at the helm became increasingly unpopular among supporters, as a good run of form over Winter ended abruptly and they looked like they could sleepwalk into relegation from a seemingly comfortable position. Woodgate did blood a group of talented youngsters though and Djed Spence, Aynsley Pears, Hayden Coulson and Marcus Tavernier will all be better this season for the experience.
Warnock came in and rotated between a back four and a back three as the playing style became noticeably more direct. A 3-5-2 looks a good fit for this current squad as Coulson and Spence are suited to the wing-back roles, Tavernier can be used in a free role between midfield and attack and the partnership of Ashley Fletcher and Britt Assombalonga showed signs of promise towards the end of season (6 goals between them in the final 5 games). Paddy McNair continued his evolution from centre-back to goal-scoring midfielder last season with six goals and his energy and physicality in midfield is likely to typify Warnock’s pragmatic approach.
Grant Hall has arrived from QPR to provide another physical presence in defence but Boro look like a side suffering from failed promotion charges and the end of Premier League parachute payments. They released five players who were all presumably on Premier League wages and there is no sign of any imminent arrivals.
A glorious swansong for Warnock in the North-East looks unlikely thanks to the lack of business being done in a Coronavirus effected market and a fairly underwhelming playing squad being weakened by the departures of Daniel Ayala, George Friend and Rudy Gestede. They will be hard to beat, and probably not great to watch, but they are unlikely to be dragged into the relegation dogfight thanks to the man in charge.
Player to look out for: Djed Spence – One of the youngsters blooded by Woodgate last season, his combination of quick feet and athleticism make him a great attacking threat from either right-back or further up the pitch. The winning goal in a man-of-the-match display against Huddersfield on Boxing Day was testament to that. There are few better placed than Warnock to help him hone his defensive skills.
15. Bristol City
Last season was a massive disappointment for Bristol City. Manager Lee Johnson regularly described them as a ‘Premier League club in waiting’ and last season looked like a real opportunity to at least make the Championship play-offs for the first time since 2008. Money was spent on the squad following Adam Webster’s move to Brighton and Lloyd Kelly joining Bournemouth, with Han Noah Massengo, Tomas Kalas, Kasey Palmer, Jay Dasilva, Adam Nagy and Daniel Bentley all joining for significant fees. The season became increasingly underwhelming though and Johnson was sacked post-lockdown with the Robins in 12th and realistically out of the play-off hunt.
His assistant, Dean Holden took temporary charge and guided them from 12th to erm, 12th. This was deemed enough to get him the top job on a permanent basis after a prolonged search for a new manager led them no further than the man already at the club. It is fair to say the decision was greeted with a negative response from City fans as the likes of Chris Hughton had been linked with the post.
The Robins had the leakiest defence in the top half and that will surely be Holden’s biggest concern ahead of this season. Bentley in goal can be erratic and whilst centre-back Kalas is a good player at this level, his potential partners in defence have all looked less than convincing. Jay Dasilva will create goals from left-back but a new face at right-back would be welcome.
The squad looks particularly bloated in midfield as Nagy and Massengo have been joined by new signing Joe Williams from Wigan, who should provide athleticism and bite that can often be missing, as well as Joe Morell and Liam Walsh – both returning from impressive loan spells in League One. The wide options look interesting as Niclas Eliasson will be hoping to nail down a regular starting place after being on the periphery under Johnson and Callum O’Dowda will want to build on the promise he showed in 2018/19 after an underwhelming campaign last time out. There is great onus on Nakhi Wells to get the goals up top as their other options in Diedhou and Weimann have never fully convinced as goalscorers in the Championship. New signing Chris Martin may be able to chip in but his most prolific days at this level look behind him.
Holden’s time at the club should mean he is aware of the talented youngsters like Walsh and Morrell, as well as Antoine Semenyo and Tyreeq Bakinson, and building the team around them could help to get the fans back onside as well as providing purpose for a season that isn’t looking like promising much. The arrival of Keith Downing and Paul Simpson as coaches after they both experienced success with the England youth sides should provide support for these promising young players.
Bristol City seem to have lost the positive momentum they looked to be building under Lee Johnson over the past couple of seasons. An inability to replace key players that had moved on culminated in a real slump in the last campaign and not enough is known about Holden to suggest he will be able to turn the tide. A season of consolidation that allows the young players to establish themselves looks like a realistic target, before looking to challenge the top-half again the season after.
Player to look out for: Liam Walsh – was excellent last season for League One winners Coventry. He played in the middle of the park and controlled games with his passing, helping his team get on the front foot with long diagonals and midfield splitting through balls in equal measure. At 22, the Everton academy product is more than ready for a full season in the Championship.
14. Birmingham
The appointment of Aitor Karanka has to be seen as an ambitious move by the Birmingham board as they look to secure a top half finish for the first time since 2016. Karanka is used to competing at the top end of the Championship from his time at Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest and usually has a fair amount of freedom, and cash, to shape the playing squad. The £20 million plus sale of Jude Bellingham to Dortmund has created money for him to play with and their business so far, coupled with Karanka’s ability as a coach, should see the Blues spending more time looking up the table than down for once.
Pep Clotet’s reign was brought to an end in the final weeks of last season as he presided over a 10 game winless run in the league. The emergence of Bellingham was the only real source of enjoyment for the St. Andrews crowd as Clotet served up pretty turgid football for the most part and his team lacked the defensive solidity to pull clear of the relegation dogfight. It is hard to imagine they will match last season’s total of 75 goals conceded under Karanka as he has become notorious for prioritising a strong defence over free-flowing attacking.
Birmingham have defenders who will thrive in Karanka’s rigid and organised system. Harlee Dean, Marc Roberts and new arrival George Friend are all physically imposing and will be comfortable sitting deep and clearing long. Ivan Sunjic will want to show he is worth the £7 million the club paid for him last summer after a so-so first year in front of the defence and Odin Bailey looks like he could be the Blue’s next great academy product in midfield. Adam Clayton has signed after leaving Middlesbrough and Karanka knows his from his time in the North-East, he should provide experience in the middle of the park.
Karanka will likely prefer a direct approach which will suit Lukas Jutkiewicz down to the ground. The big forward looks to have finally found a home at Birmingham and was their top scorer last term with 14. Getting the best out of the flair players behind him could go a long way to making it a successful first season for the former Real Madrid player and coach; Jonathan Leko, Jon Toral and Ivan Sanchez have been brought in to provide alternatives to Dan Crowley and Jeremie Bela, who both impressed in flashes last season.
Goalkeeper Andres Prieto has joined from Espanyol and he will almost certainly be an upgrade on Lee Camp. A real lack of depth in several areas looks to be a big concern for Karanka though. Should Jutkiewicz go through a dry spell, it is hard to see who will score the goals to compliment an expected improvement at the back.
Mid-table should be seen as a more than respectable first season for Karanka at Birmingham. There are players at the club who will fit his playing style nicely and he will have no shame in ‘parking the bus’ when needs be to pick up the points that will see his side improve on last season’s underwhelming displays.
Player to look out for: Jonathan Leko – Impressed at the start of last season on loan at Charlton from West Brom, his season was brought to a halt by a serious knee injury in December and then completely overshadowed by an FA investigation after Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla racially abused him during a game at The Valley. Nearly back to full fitness, the England youth international will want to put last season behind him and showcase his undoubted talent.
13. Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn looked in the driving seat to secure a play-off spot at one point last season. A 3-1 win over Bristol City in the first game back after lockdown left them in eighth with a favourable fixture list and good home form to rely on. Two wins from their last eight games saw them slide down the table and a feeling of frustration marred a positive few seasons under Tony Mowbray who led them back from League One in 2018.
The playing squad looks settled with a nice mix of experience in the likes of Stewart Downing, Elliot Bennett and Bradley Johnson complementing promising young players like Lewis Travis, Jacob Davenport and John Buckley. A partner for Darragh Lenihan at the back should be top of Mowbray’s shopping list but a new goalkeeper has arrived in Thomas Kaminski from Gent. Versatile, and brilliantly named youngster Joe Rankin-Costello could be one of the divisions breakthrough stars in either defence or midfield. The midfield options look good with Travis, Downing and Joe Rothwell all impressing in central roles last year.
Adam Armstrong had a great campaign scoring 16 league goals, primarily from wide areas but Sam Gallagher or Ben Brereton will have to step up to replace the departed Danny Graham and prove they are worth the hefty fees that Rovers spent on them. Bradley Dack should return from injury by October and will bring a new dimension to the team with his ability to drift into the box and score goals.
Rovers are another side that look to have little money to play with and it will be difficult for them to improve on last season’s 11th place finish without new blood being added to the squad. They appear a side that is not entirely sure of it’s identity as one week they look like a great passing side and the next they use Downing to fire crosses into the box for Gallagher and Brereton – a more consistent playing style may bring more consistent results.
Mid-table security should not be sniffed at by Blackburn, they are more than aware of how easy it can be to slip into the third tier. A good partner for Lenihan will give them an outside shot of the play-offs as they scored enough goals last season to compete – more than top six finishers Fulham and Swansea. Dack returning will be a massive boost but I’m not sure there are enough quality options on the bench to win tight games and push them into the top half.
Player to look out for: John Buckley – The Rovers academy graduate was in and out of the side last season as he was moved around the midfield. A silly red card in a 3-0 defeat at Derby in the final game before lockdown looked to be held against him after the restart as he rarely featured, but the quality is clearly there as he showed with the opening goal in the win at Charlton in February. With Johnson and Downing not getting any younger, there is a growing responsibility on the shoulders of Buckley to provide forward thrust in midfield.
12. Coventry City
In 2017, Coventry City were in the fourth tier of English football for the first time in almost 60 years and with absent owners Sisu in control it was hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel for Sky Blues supporters. Their rise under Mark Robins has been nothing short of sensational – a League Two play-off victory was followed by an eighth place finish in League One before they comfortably won the title on Points Per Game last season.
Robins’ initial success was built on a solid 4-4-2 that would grind out results but last season he changed the shape drastically and it had a transformative effect – the 3-6-1 was born. The most intriguing aspect of the new set-up was a box shape in midfield consisting of Liam Walsh, Liam Kelly, Callum O’Hare and Jamie Allen. This quartet would completely overwhelm opposition midfields with their constant passing and moving, they also provided the ammunition for striker Matt Godden to average more than a goal every other game.
Marko Marosi deserves a shot at the Championship after two good seasons in League One with Doncaster and then Coventry. Kyle McFadzean provides the experience at the back and both Dominic Hyam and Michael Rose impressed in the wide centre-back roles.
Left wing-back Sam McCallum’s departure to Norwich looks to have been made up for by the extension of Ryan Giles’ loan from Wolves and another loan in the shape of Leo Ostigard provides another option for the back three. The club’s other transfer business looks great on paper – Gustavo Hamer has been brought in to replace Walsh, who returned to Bristol City – the £1.35 million spent is the most they’ve paid for a player since 2001. Even more excitingly, Tyler Walker has been brought in from Forest after scoring bundles of goals for Mansfield and then Lincoln in the past couple of seasons and he will provide genuine competition for Godden.
I expect Coventry’s unorthodox system to be too much to handle for a lot of teams that have prioritised physicality, particularly in midfield where the ‘box’ are good enough to go toe-to-toe with even the division’s best sides. They will catch teams cold in the first few months of the season as they are forced to adjust to how they play. Godden making the step-up to the Championship will go a long way to having a successful season but there are enough alternative options to keep him honest.
It is disappointing that Coventry will again be playing at St. Andrews as issues with the local council over the use of the Ricoh Arena continue but the better the team perform, the more likely they are to find new owners and a more secure future. Robins seems the perfect man for this job, he won’t let the players get ahead of themselves should they start well and is experienced enough to not let them get too low when bad patches of form arrive. I think Coventry and their story will be one of the most exciting aspects of the 2020/21 Championship season.
Player to look out for: Callum O’Hare – It was a massive coup for Coventry to get O’Hare back permanently after a stellar loan spell at the club last season. The twinkle-toed attacking midfielder provides the magic as his fast feet and dribbling help him either score or create goals, it will be interesting to see how long it takes him to adapt to the Championship.
11. Barnsley
Barnsley would be starting the campaign in League One had Wigan not received a points deduction for going into administration in the final weeks of last season. It therefore may be a surprise to see them up in the top half of the table in my predictions but under Gerhard Struber they looked a good side and were unfortunate to be so low in the table. Defensive errors massively undermined the pressing game Struber was trying to implement but when it worked, it was more than effective – the 3-0 win at Fulham in February was testament to that.
The squad is interesting as it contains some exciting young talents like Jack Walton, Jacob Brown and Callum Styles as well as a collection of players brought in by Struber thanks to his time in Austria. Michael Sollbauer, Marcel Ritzmaier and Kilian Ludewig all arrived in January and all played a significant role in helping keep the Tykes in the Championship as they seemed in tune with Struber’s desire to play a high-intensity pressing game. They rotated between a back three and a back four and you would expect them to continue to be flexible this season as Struber will adapt his game-plans to suit the opposition.
The more time the manager has with his players, the better you would expect them to be as they become more and more familiar with his system of pressing and the rapid counter-attacking that compliments it. Captain Alex Mowatt looks to have developed into a good Championship midfielder and he and Cauley Woodrow, converted into a number 10 under Struber, are arguably the sides most important players as they not only provide quality in the middle of the park and goals, but the former England youth internationals now both have a tonne of experience at this level which should help a young squad through difficult moments in the season.
Similar to Coventry, I expect Barnsley to take teams by surprise in the opening months of the season with just how intense they are after a pre-season under Struber. That should set them up to have a great campaign.
In terms of transfer business, the only arrival so far has been winger Dominik Frieser from Austrian side LASK – it would be no surprise to see him settle in just as well as a lot of the January arrivals. More depth in midfield could be useful as the amount of pressing they do will surely take it’s toll on the legs at some point. Importantly, none of Barnsley’s best performers from last season have departed as of yet.
Barnsley’s biggest concern should be keeping hold of Struber. He has already been linked with jobs higher up the division and a good start to this season will surely see links with bigger clubs in this division and above. The playing squad is full of promise and after surviving by the skin of their teeth in July, they should have the Championship know-how to be more comfortable this time around.
Player to look out for: Jack Walton – The young goalkeeper was drafted in to the team post-lockdown after both Brad Collins and Samuel Radlinger failed to convince during the season and was impressive in keeping five clean sheets in the final nine games. The Championship can be a difficult league for keepers as one week you are bombarded by long throws into the box and the next you can come up against a side that will only take a shot once they have carved open your defence, but Walton looks to have a combination of qualities to succeed at this level.
10. Nottingham Forest
Much was made of Sabri Lamouchi’s first year in English football with Forest until a potentially good first season was blown to pieces by a final day 4-1 defeat to Stoke that saw them slip out of the play-off places on goal difference. That may suggest they were a victim of fine margins, but the underlying numbers show that Forest weren’t actually very good last season and much of their success could be put down to Brice Samba performing miracles in goal and clinical finishing from Lewis Grabban.
Based on their expected goals ratio, Forest should have finished 15th rather than 7th and a defensive style of play under Lamouchi was effective in standout wins over Leeds, Fulham and Brentford but an inability to score goals or even create chances in the final weeks of the season ultimately cost them a place in the top six. Last season’s total of 58 league goals – one more than bottom of the table Hull City – will have to be improved on if Forest are serious about ending a run of 21 years outside of the top-flight.
They were defensively sound until that final day collapse – only conceding more than twice in a game on two occasions beforehand – as Joe Worrall impressed. The loss of Matty Cash will be significant, as he often provided some much needed attacking impetus from right-back.
Joe Lolley was consistent on the right of midfield and Sammy Ameobi had a good season but Lamouchi’s insistence on playing a midfield trio of Samba Sow, Ben Watson and Ryan Yates often led to a lack of creativity. Play-makers Joao Carvalho and Tiago Silva were both marginalised as Forest prioritised solidity over imagination.
The arrival of Lyle Taylor should provide genuine competition for Grabban upfront, and possibly more goals for the team. Lamouchi has added two more conservative midfielders in Jack Colback and Fouad Bachirou from Malmo, possibly suggesting the pragmatic approach of last season will be persisted with. However, the arrival of Luke Freeman on loan from Sheffield United should bring ingenuity to the side, if he can avoid the same fate as Silva and Carvalho.
There was serious talk about Lamouchi losing his job after the calamitous end to last season and a slow start this time around could see him out of a job as Forest are infamously impatient with managers (The Frenchman is the first manager to last a full calendar year at the City Ground since Billy Davies in 2011). Either Lamouchi or a new man taking the handbrake off and allowing the creative players more opportunities, and freedom on the pitch, is probably Forest’s best hope of breaking the play-offs this time around.
Player to look out for: Luke Freeman – Was great at this level with QPR in 2018/19 but found opportunities limited in the Premier League as Chris Wilder’s side rarely rotated their midfield. His ability to create and score goals should make Forest a far more watchable side.
9. Stoke City
Stoke have been among the bookies’ favourites for automatic promotion going into the last two seasons but have ended up finishing 16th and then 15th last season. Gary Rowett and Nathan Jones both came in with great expectation but delivered very little as regardless of how much the club spent on players, they seemed to find themselves closer to the drop than a return to the Premier League. Michael O’Neill is the latest to have a go at lifting the ‘Stoke curse’ after working wonders with Northern Ireland and now he’s had half a season with the players and time to shape the squad, a top half finish should be a minimum requirement.
The squad is enormous with remnants of the Pulis, Hughes and Lambert regimes all still at the club as well as expensive mistakes made under Rowett and Jones. They went ‘back to basics’ under O’Neill after Jones’ meddling with tactics and personnel failed to deliver results. They mostly played a 4-2-3-1 that relied on a solid and organised back four with the the experience of James Chester and Danny Batth at its heart. Sam Clucas, James McClean and Jordan Thompson provide a secure midfield base that allows Nick Powell to cause problems ahead of them. Keeping Powell fit and interested will be vital as there is not a great deal of creativity in the squad without him.
Steven Fletcher has been brought in on a free transfer and if he can replicate the form he showed at the start of last season with Sheffield Wednesday, the Potters could have a 20-goal a season striker on their hands. Sam Vokes and Lee Gregory will chip in with goals every now and again when called upon.
The profile of O’Neill’s signings – experienced, older, proven at this level – suggests that Stoke are aiming to have a real go at promotion this time around. John Obi Mikel, Morgan Fox and a permanent deal for Chester have followed the signing of Fletcher and are all surely attempts to create a squad that has similar know-how to O’Neill’s Northern Ireland. It does look like these moves may be at the expense of game time for talented young players like Tyrese Campbell, Thibaud Verlinden and Harry Souttar though.
O’Neill has made Stoke harder to beat but he will need Jack Butland to find some form again, Joe Allen to hit the ground running when he returns from injury and the new signings to settle in quicker than they have in previous transfer windows, if they are going to reach the play-offs. But, after a few years of misery, this looks like being a more promising campaign in the Potteries.
Player to look out for: Steven Fletcher – The Scottish striker had 12 league goals by Christmas last season and looked fitter and sharper than he has since his Wolves days. A knee injury put an end to his impressive start to the season but he will want to show he is still a top player at this level after being written off by many following his time at Sunderland.
8. Preston North End
The signing of Scott Sinclair in January looked like being the catalyst for Preston to go from play-off hopefuls to play-off certainties. A statement signing like Sinclair has often been perceived as the missing piece for Alex Neil’s side but despite the impressive early form of the former Celtic and Chelsea winger, North End ended the season poorly and missed out on the top six once again. Despite falling short, it is clear that Alex Neil is doing a good job in Lancashire on a modest budget and this season is likely to be a continuation of the steady progress his side are making.
Ben Davies and Patrick Bauer formed a decent partnership in central defence last season but improvements could be made in the full-back areas. Not having a decent Championship goalkeeper has been an issue over the past couple of seasons and there has been little talk of a new face arriving.
They have lots of options in midfield, Ben Pearson, Daniel Johnson and Alan Browne all had good spells of form in the last campaign and together they have a nice combination of industry, creativity and goals. Sinclair brings the stardust on the left, if he can replicate the season he had at this level with Swansea a decade ago Preston will have a great chance of a play-off berth, and he is nicely complimented by Tom Barkhuizen’s industry on the right.
Striking options Jayden Stockley and Sean Maguire offer good variety as one is a big target man and the other a speedy, off the shoulder forward. Neil could perhaps show greater tactical flexibility by pairing the two on occasions.
Preston have not yet brought anyone in, but importantly none of their top performers from last season have departed and keeping the squad together has proven to be difficult in the time that Neil has been at the club. Centre-back Davies undoubtedly has admirers in the Premier League – keeping him will be vital.
Preston look settled under Alex Neil and that could be important in a season when so many other sides are making changes. Additions at the back could make them a a good shout for the play-offs but it looks like money is understandably even tighter than usual – the loan market could potentially prove fruitful once Premier League sides have a clearer idea of what they want their squad to look like.
Player to look out for: Daniel Johnson – 12 goals and 8 assists last season was Johnson’s best return at this level yet and at 27, the Aston Villa youth product looks in the prime of his career and ready to lead a Preston play-off push from central midfield. He has added consistency to his previously inconsistent ability to drift past opposition midfielders and create goals.
7. Swansea City
Predicting where your own team will finish is one of those unwinnable situations where you will inevitably be lambasted for either being far too optimistic or far too pessimistic, I’m not sure which one this is.
Whilst last season was incredibly successful if viewed from afar – Oli McBurnie and Dan James departed and a team of loanees and academy players finished in the top six after a last-day miracle – for the majority it was a difficult watch, only brightened up by players like Rhian Brewster and Conor Gallagher who won’t be there next season.
Steve Cooper learned a lot before settling on a back three with wing-backs after the restart and it breathed new life into Swansea’s season. Freddie Woodman has returned on loan after impressing in goal last season, Joe Rodon and Ben Cabango look like a future defensive partnership for the Welsh national team and Conor Roberts and Jake Bidwell’s form improved drastically when they were converted to wing-backs. Matt Grimes is quietly one of the best midfielders in the league and the arrival of Korey Smith should provide some physicality next to him. Creating goal scoring opportunities was difficult for much of last season, meaning there will be a great deal of responsibility on the young shoulders of Wolves’ loanee Morgan Gibbs-White.
Andre Ayew at times looked like the only Swansea player capable of scoring a goal before the arrival of Brewster in January and keeping him could be the difference between a play-off push and mid-table mediocrity. Options up front look rather light as it appears Cooper will use a wide player like new signing Jamal Lowe or the experienced Wayne Routledge as Ayew’s strike partner. Whilst both have undoubted quality, neither look likely to match Brewster’s 1 in 2 goal rate and Cooper bringing in another forward on loan could be vital.
There will be more learning this season for Cooper but the transfer business so far has been proactive and promising. Expectations have been heightened by the end to last season but a top half finish would be more than respectable for a club that has sold so many key players since relegation from the Premier League and invested very little in the current squad.
Player to look out for: Marc Guehi – Another beneficiary of the change of formation as the young defender on loan from Chelsea became Swansea’s most consistent performer on the left side of the back three. He struggled to hold down a place in the team after his arrival in January but his aggression coupled with his reading of the game and calmness in possession in the final weeks of the campaign made an extension of his loan one of the best pieces of business Cooper could have done.
6. Millwall
Gary Rowett and Millwall look like the best manager-club fit since, well, Neil Harris and Millwall over the last couple of seasons. Rowett replaced the Millwall legend back in October last year and oversaw a rise from 17th in the league to 8th and the verge of the play-offs. His preference for direct, effective football made him a great match for a club that seemingly prioritises substance over style.
They ended last season playing a 3-4-3 that got the best out of defensive triumvirate Shaun Hutchinson, Jake Cooper and Murray Wallace, who dominate in both boxes. Bartosz Bialkowski was one of the best goalkeepers in the league as he returned to form after a bad season at Ipswich. Ryan Woods, loan from Stoke newly extended, has helped bring a new dimension to the Lions play as he is just as good at keeping the ball moving in midfield as partner Shaun Williams is at loading it into the box.
Jed Wallace is their key player, he got 10 goals and 12 assists from the right-wing as he established himself as one of the best wide players outside of the top flight. Mason Bennett has signed permanently, after doing well on loan from Derby in the second half of last season and is another goal threat from attacking midfield. Most excitingly, Troy Parrott has joined on loan from Spurs after Rowett beat a host of other Championship teams to his signature. Whilst there is little senior football to judge the 18-year old on, his record at youth level suggests he could well be the man to get the goals that fire Millwall into the top six. Big Matt Smith is still around to provide a threat at set-pieces as well.
Millwall’s transfer business has strengthened a settled squad with Scott Malone also joining to provide a good option at left wing-back. A few injuries to key players could be an issue and an empty New Den definitely removes a key home advantage, but Rowett will not be fussy about how this side pick up points and that makes them a dangerous proposition.
Player to look out for: Troy Parrott – The Irishman has more international appearances that senior career goals (1 vs 0) but the queue of clubs asking to borrow him from Spurs shows how highly he is rated. If he can have the impact of someone like Brewster at Swansea last season, Millwall will have a striker who can break the 20 goal mark and get them into the play-offs.
5. Watford
Watford’s unique Premier League survival method of never having a manager for consecutive Christmas’s finally came unstuck last year as they succumbed to relegation with a final day defeat to Arsenal. Nigel Pearson, Quique Sanchez Flores and Javi Gracia all had a go at keeping them up, and they looked safe at one point under Pearson, but a leaky defence and misfiring forward line meant a return to the Championship for the first time since 2015.
Vladimir Ivic is the latest man in the incredibly hot-seat at Vicarage Road after doing well at both PAOK in Greece and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel playing a possession-heavy brand of football. It looks as though a raft of players who played well for them in their time in the Premier League will move on but they have a group of Championship ready replacements waiting in the wings.
The likes of Ben Wilmott, Will Hughes and Andre Gray have all done well in the second tier before and are likely to be heavily involved this season. Ben Foster, Craig Dawson, Craig Cathcart, Tom Cleverly and new signing Glenn Murray provide an experienced spine but whether they can adapt to Ivic’s playing philosophy is up for debate. There is a group of exciting youngsters at the club who are far more likely to feature in the Championship; Luis Suarez (not that one), Joao Pedro and Domingos Quina have all either been out on loan or on the bench in the past couple of seasons but all are highly rated and have been involved in pre-season.
Troy Deeney looks set to leave after 10 seasons with the Hornets but Murray is almost a like-for-like replacement. Jeremy Ngakia appeared a promising right-back for West Ham last season so Watford securing him on a free looks a good piece of business. Keeping Ismaila Sarr would be their best piece of business though, as the man who brought Liverpool’s unbeaten run to an end last season is clearly good enough for the Premier League, meaning he should stand out at this level.
Watford look to have a promising squad at their disposal and should have money to spend once the likes of Etienne Capoue and Abdoulaye Doucoure have moved on. Ivic is unproven in the Championship but that was no problem for the likes of Marcelo Bielsa or Nuno in previous seasons. It may take a while for him to get the team playing the way he wants but the young players are likely to be willing to learn. Should such a talented squad start playing exciting and effective football, they will be hard to stop.
Player to look out for: Ismaila Sarr – The £30 million signing from Rennes took a while to get adjusted to the Premier League last season but was genuinely outstanding on his day. Man of the match displays against both Man United and Liverpool made it clear how much quality he has and his pace and directness should be too much for Championship defences to handle. A move to join fellow Generation Foot graduate Sadio Mane at Anfield has been mooted.
4. Derby County
The arrival of Wayne Rooney transformed Derby’s season last time round. They were 17th in the table before his first game in January and had been through a tumultuous few months at the start of Phillip Cocu’s reign that saw club captain Richard Keogh sacked for his involvement in a drink-driving incident. Rooney immediately took the armband and led a group of promising young players to the verge of the play-offs before a late stutter saw them finish 10th.
They have avoided a potential points deduction after being cleared of breaking FFP rules but the days of big-money signings look to be coming to an end – Cocu even has a clause in his contract that means a certain percentage of academy graduates have to be involved in the first team. The likes of Jason Knight, Max Bird and especially Louie Sibley will all play significant roles for the Rams this season as all impressed in their first year of senior football in 2019/20.
The biggest concern last season was an inability to defend set-pieces and balls into the box. Neither Kelle Roos nor Ben Hamer looked convincing in goal, meaning sloppy goals would undermine an increasing improvement in performances. David Marshall has been brought in from Wigan and is a solid keeper at this level. Derby’s issue at set-pieces may be helped by the arrival of the Scotland international and the likes of Andre Wisdom and Matt Clarke in front of him will benefit from having a keeper with Marshall’s experience helping them through games.
Bird and Rooney make a good partnership in midfield and Krystian Bielik will provide a physical alternative when he returns from injury. There will be responsibility on Sibley and Knight to create goals but the early months of their careers suggest they are more than up to the task. A run at the automatic places looks unlikely unless a clinical striker is brought in, Martyn Waghorn is industrious but only managed 12 league goals last season and Cocu doesn’t seem to fancy Jack Marriott. It would be no surprise to see academy product Morgan Whittaker given a chance to lead the line.
Centre-back Mike te Wierek has arrived on a free transfer but Derby’s transfer business may be ramped up a level after a soft embargo was ended following the clearing of the EFL charge.
After so many near misses, Rooney is surely Derby’s best hope of making it to the Premier League at last. Whilst he is certainly the figurehead and still possesses so much quality, the home-grown starlets around him will be just as important and they will need to show consistency above their years to make this a memorable campaign.
Player to look out for: Max Bird – Rooney gets the headlines, Sibley will be linked with the biggest teams in the country, but Bird makes Derby tick. Cocu prefers a possession-based game and Bird’s ability to progress the ball up the pitch is vital in starting attacks. His rangy frame also means he is developing into a decent ball-winner.
3. Cardiff City
A real challenger to the Rowett-Millwall best manager-club fit has to be Neil Harris and Cardiff. Harris is in your face, direct and takes no prisoners, which is a pretty apt description of the type of football that got the Bluebirds into the play-offs last season. A battling defeat to Fulham in the semi-final would have felt disappointing but with a bit of added quality in the transfer market, Cardiff look well placed to chase promotion again this season.
Claims that Harris has revolutionised the style of play may be a tad optimistic – Cardiff averaged the least possession in the league and the most set-piece goals – but he undoubtedly did a great job replacing Neil Warnock. They looked like a side running out of ideas towards the end of Warnock’s time at the club but the appointment of Harris, not an entirely popular decision at the time, introduced a new voice and the players responded brilliantly.
Alex Smithies has been impressive since taking Neil Etheridge’s place in goal. Sean Morrison has to be considered one of the best captains in the league as his form improved dramatically once Harris arrived and he popped up with a series of vital goals towards the end of the campaign. Wes Nelson impressed alongside him in his first year at this level. They are part of a solid defensive unit that regularly overpowers opposition forward lines with their physicality. Cardiff will hope Arsenal loanee Jordan Osei-Tutu is the answer to their problems at right-back.
Will Vaulks will be looking to nail down a place in midfield next to Joe Ralls to boost his chances of playing at the Euros with Wales. He was in and out of the side last season but there appears to be a consensus among supporters that he offers more than Marlon Pack in the engine room. Harris will need Lee Tomlin to stay fit to provide imagination and quality in the final third, as the lack of attacking threat when he is missing is noticeable. There are a lot of good options in wide areas though, as Josh Murphy, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Gavin Whyte and Junior Holliett are all decent players at this level.
Kieffer Moore could well be one of the signings of the season as his goal-scoring instincts coupled with his ability in the air look to suit Cardiff’s style down to the ground. Robert Glatzel struggled in his first year in South Wales but he could be a decent back-up for Moore.
Cardiff’s biggest strength is the depth of the squad. The likes of Sol Bamba, Aden Flint, Callum Paterson and Leandro Bacuna have all done well in the Championship in the past but all look like they will only be squad players for Harris next season.
It is easy to compare this side with the one that got promoted under Warnock in 2018, a lot of the players from that side remain and the football they play is similar. This squad is arguably better though, and with the team spirit and consistency Harris garnered last season, they will be hard to stop once they get on a roll. Genuine competition for Tomlin will probably prevent them challenging the top two.
Player to look out for: Kieffer Moore – It took Moore 13 games to get his first goal for Wigan last season, but in the Latics’ remarkable end of season run Moore looked like one of the best strikers in the division. His two goals in a 2-2 draw at the Cardiff City Stadium showcased his ability to his new employers, he even opened the scoring with a trademark, deft back-heel.
2. Norwich
Norwich suffered a record fifth relegation from the Premier League last season as a promising start to the campaign unravelled thanks to a myriad of defensive errors. They were great in 2018/19 as they unexpectedly romped to the Championship title under Daniel Farke with a team mostly made up of inventive transfers and promising academy players. The Premier League looked a step too far for Farke’s fledglings but if they can keep their key players and integrate some interesting new signings, they look set for another good year in the Championship.
Tim Krul surprisingly impressed more in the Premier League than he did in the Championship the year before. Jamal Lewis, Max Aarons and Ben Godfrey all are linked with big moves after their performances in defence last season, despite Norwich conceding 75 goals, and holding on to them is likely to be the difference between automatic promotion and a play-off spot. They do look to have a ready made replacement for Lewis in the shape of Sam McCallum though. The likes of Grant Hanley, Christoph Zimmermann and Tim Klose staying fit could go a long way to improving the Canaries defensive record.
Kenny McClean, Marco Stiepermann and Mario Vrancic were some of the best midfielders in the league in Norwich’s last season in the Championship and will be looking to recapture that form after all struggling in the top tier. New signing Oliver Skipp, on loan from Spurs, should provide some much needed protection in front of the back four.
The advanced midfield options are the most exciting aspect of Farke’s squad. Emi Buendia was exceptional in Norwich’s title-winning campaign and Todd Cantwell showed last season that he has the quality to play in the Premier League. Onel Hernandez provides a pacier alternative and Kieran Dowell has arrived on a permanent deal from Everton after some good loan spells in the Championship over the past couple of seasons. Young winger Josh Martin looks like being the next academy product to break into the first team.
Teemu Pukki was unstoppable in the Championship in 2018/19 and for about a month or so of last season. If he performs anywhere near as well as he did in helping the Canaries win promotion, and picking up the golden boot, Norwich will score plenty of goals again. New signing Jordan Hugill and young Irish striker Adam Idah look to be adequate cover for the Finnish international.
Norwich followed the ‘Burnley model’ last season by investing their Premier League riches in a new training ground rather than new players. In director of football Stuart Webber, they have one of the shrewdest operators in English football and he will hope new signings Xavi Quintilla, Jacob Lungi Sorenson, Przemyslaw Placheta and Daniel Sinani can prove to be as successful as previous pick-ups from the continent.
Farke looked a man out of ideas at the end of last season as he accepted relegation rather too early for some supporters liking. However, with all of his best players still at the club despite relegation and a raft of new signings, there is expectation of a much more enjoyable campaign this year. They conceded a staggering 57 goals when they won the title in 2019 and you would think they won’t be able to pull off as many last-minute 4-3 wins this season, but with the attacking talent at their disposal you couldn’t really put it past them.
Player to look out for: Emi Buendia – Cantwell and Pukki got more of the headlines last season but Buendia was quietly very good in a struggling side. He created the fourth most chances of any player in the league (83) and has been linked with big-money moves to stay in the top division. On his day, there is no player in the Championship that is on Buendia’s level.
1.Brentford
Opinions of Brentford seemed to drastically change during their play-off campaign last season. A sense of self-belief and confidence following a failure to secure automatic promotion suddenly saw them transform from neutral’s favourites to an arrogant side to be shot at. There was even a sense of jubilation from rival fans after they lost at Wembley to Fulham. In truth, they were the best side in the division along with Leeds and more than merited promotion.
An impressive defensive unit was the most significant change that made Brentford successful. They went from conceding 59 goals in 2018-19 to 38 in 2019-20 after the arrival of David Raya, Ethan Pinnock and Pontus Jansson. Rico Henry and Henrik Dalsgaard are two of the most impressive and consistent full-backs in the league and both will be looking to build on good seasons.
The midfield of Henrik Dalsgaard and a combination of either Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen or Emiliano Marcondes would regularly control games with a great mix of athleticism and pinpoint passing. It was clear that Brentford’s midfield gave the front three a fantastic platform to thrive from. There is plenty of depth in central areas now as well after Shandon Baptiste’s arrival in January after impressing at Oxford.
You would expect at least one of Said Benrahma or Ollie Watkins to depart but Brentford’s recruitment team have acted fast in securing League One’s best player, Ivan Toney. The striker was in sensational form for Peterborough last season and it would be no surprise to see him take the Championship by storm. He will do well to replicate Watkins 26 goals last campaign but the Bees’ could have hardly found a better player to try.
It would be no surprise to see Thomas Frank and his forward-thinking staff find the perfect solution to the loss of key players. The likes of DaSilva and Bryan Mbuemo will need to continue to build on promising campaigns last time round and potentially fill the void left by a departure.
The Brentford B team provides a competitive environment for the club’s fringe players to develop in and the likes of Marcuss Forss, Jan Zamburek and Mads Roerslav Rasmussen have all benefited from the game time and look ready to step up to regular first-team action.
Playing at the new stadium could prove to be a spanner in the works, but the move from Griffin Park to the Brentford Community Stadium doesn’t look as drastic as a move such as West Ham’s from the Boleyn Ground to the Olympic Stadium. The lack of supporters also means the change is likely to be less noticeable for the players anyway.
Brentford will want last season’s play-off final heartbreak to be another step on their journey to the Premier League rather than the end of the story. Under Frank and with so many talented players still in the squad, regardless of departures, they look better placed than any other side to dominate this league and make up for falling short at the last in 2020.
Player to look out for: Josh Dasilva – The Arsenal academy product really came of age last season, scoring 10 times. He provides midfield control, energy and a fantastic ability to beat opposition midfielders with a piece of skill or drop of the shoulder. He can play either in central midfield or further forward and has proven to be a goal threat playing both – he will only get better this season.
Awards/Milestones
Player of the season: Emi Buendia (Norwich)
Young Player of the season: Josh Dasilva (Brentford)
Top goalscorer: Ivan Toney (Brentford)
Manager of the season: Mark Robins (Coventry)
First manager to be sacked: Sabri Lamouchi (Nottingham Forest)
Signing of the season: Kieffer Moore (Cardiff)
Dan Evans 