The Championship - The Race For The Premiership

[boingboing]

As a West Brom fan I must admit that this year I am quite optomistic of our chances of reaching the promised land. After last years Play-off disapointment I think that this year we have a team working as a TEAM and not just individual players with brilliance (Koumas & Kamara). Although we do seem to be losing a few games that we shouldnt, I think we have a chance of reaching the promised land.

However, there are three teams now at the top with 47 points and I would not rule out teams like Stoke (who even if we had Henry, Rooney, Ronaldo etc. in a Blue & White shirt we could not beat!), Ipswich, Charlton, Crystal Palace etc.

Gd knows who will take the top two places, but as a Baggie boy I feel that we should be there come May.......Hopefully

 

[Sonic67]

If we don't go up this time something will have gone badly wrong.

 

[Miyazaki]

Argyle are looking very tasty, especially with Sturrock back again.

I think they'd probably do a Derby if they went up, but Plymouth have been making huge strides over the last 6 or 7 years and you shouldn't write them off.

 

[Solomon Grundy]

As a Hull fan I have one hopeful eye on the playoffs. Maybe...just maybe we can do it with a couple of savvy signings in this window. Not sure what happened to Okocha, he seems to have done nothing for us so far and we had very high hopes for him.

 

[Trist]

Palace fan over here!

Personally I recon West Brom have a excellent chance of going up. IMO your the best team in the league. I think it'll be you an another as automatic. Then god knows who in the playoffs.

The thing with the Championship this season is that it's so open. Teams are beating each orther all the way through the league top to bottom.

Palace are on a great run at the moment, 13 games unbeaten taking us from the relegation placed to the edge of the playoffs. We just drew with Norwich who are 20th in the league. They were unlucky not to win. God knows how they're down there if they play like that.

There'll be plenty more teams hitting runs of form... or runs of defeats. IMO it'll be down to whoever hit form at the right time when the playoffs come around. Going into those game in a rich vein of form makes such a difference.

It should be a good few months

 

[overkill]

Tbh the Championship is much more open than the PL, although for once the prem is seeing a four horse race rather than the usual two. Or should that be one. However, the pundits all agree, and sadly I would tend to back them, is that it's a bit of a false reality really, as the same team is going to win it again regardless.

Whereas with the Championship, oh **** it, division 2, there is a host of teams who could realistically pull it off. Watford, if they could improve their home form might well shock us all and return to the pox... erm', 'wonderful' premiership. The baggies look too strong at home, and only lose to the really tough sides away, so they should be in the mix. Of the outsiders, Stoke are often overlooked, as although they are not really automatic contenders, they do dig out results and look strong as a team. As above the Pilgrims look up for at least the play-offs, while Palace are looking tough to beat under Warnock. Didn't take him long to turn things around did it?

I haven't mentioned Bristol City as they are living in a bubble at the moment and I'm not sure once it bursts, although did look as though it would after the Ipswich and WBA games and they recovered well from those, that they won't fall right away. I say this as I saw them last season (and the one before) against Tranmere and I wasn't that impressed tbh.

Charlton and Ipswich? Well, Charlton are still a good side but they've lost a lot good players, and they keep dropping silly points. Ipswich are strong at home, but look too poor away to maintain a challenge.

Hull? You never know Decedance, this is their best showing in decades, and with a good run, and with the teams above them dropping points..............

 

[Johnny Thunder]

Rooting for WBA to win the league.

Look after our next manager please.

 

[boingboing]

Rooting for WBA to win the league.

Look after our next manager please.

To be totally honest, this really worries me. TM is an absolutely fantastic manager and somebody who the players respect 110% He said when he joined us that he is very ambitious and would even like to manage Man Utd one day. Whilst I cant see that happening just yet, I would not be suprised in the slightest if he joined the Boro, am I right in saying that there is a statue of him outside the Riverside? I am always looking for Boro's results and praying that you are winning so Southgate doesnt get the push

I tell you what though there is one team that I would not discount at all............QPR, they are going on a hell of run and signing 3 players in the last 24hrs. They are only 9 points off the play-offs, dont discount them.

As many have mentioned though its certainly wide open and whilst I admit I'm very optomistic about the Baggies chances and we do seem to have strength in depth (Brunt, Miller, Teixeira, Albrechsten on the bench last week would walk into most Championship teams) things can go wrong. And after the disapointment of losing in the Play-off final to Derby (never felt so bad coming back from an away trip) surely there must be a God up there

Anyway as long as The Dingles dont make it I dont care who else makes it. Good luck to everyone in 2008 except those from The Custard Bowl

 

[ed_mcl]

Nah their ain't a statue of Mogga outside the Riverside it's just he's held in high regards by the fans. He was the Boro captain when the club was pulling away from it's dark days in the 80s.

 

[boingboing]

Nah their ain't a statue of Mogga outside the Riverside it's just he's held in high regards by the fans. He was the Boro captain when the club was pulling away from it's dark days in the 80s.

I remember mate, he did form a very good partnership with Gary Pallister from what I recollect.

 

[steviebwoy]

Argyle are looking very tasty, especially with Sturrock back again.

I think they'd probably do a Derby if they went up, but Plymouth have been making huge strides over the last 6 or 7 years and you shouldn't write them off.

Would love you to be right, but all of our players appear to be for sale at the moment. Ebanks-Blake has just signed for Wolves. We're doomed.

Of our best players recently:
Norris - wanted by Leicester, Ipswich and Norwich for 1.5M+
Ebanks-Blake - signed for Wolves today, 1.5M
Martin - left Argyle for Sheff Utd, on loan from Man U
Timar - rumoured to be wanted by a host of CCC clubs, including Leicester
Buzsaky - signed for QPR for 500k
Seip - wanted by an unnamed Premiership club
Halmosi - rumoured to be leaving for Wigan, 1.5M+
Hayles - left for Leicester, 150k
Fallon - wanted by Southend, 250k
Chadwick - Crewe bid rejected
McCormick - wanted by Leicester, no fee mentioned yet
Larrieu - unsettled by irregular team selection

Which leaves Lilian Nalis and a few ropey squad players who are so far unlinked to moves away from Home Park.

And who are we looking at, with all this money we now have?

Two blokes from Luton who can't even make their first team.

Doom and gloom at Home Park.

 

[Marc]

i wouldn't be too upset mate, you're in no danger of going down, and i think consolidating your place in the championship is a better aim than going up to the premiership way before you're ready, then inevitably getting relegated, losing all the players you bought after going up, then getting relegated back to league one the season after like several other teams have done in the past..

 

[DJT75]

Would love you to be right, but all of our players appear to be for sale at the moment. Ebanks-Blake has just signed for Wolves. We're doomed.

Of our best players recently:
Norris - wanted by Leicester, Ipswich and Norwich for 1.5M+
Ebanks-Blake - signed for Wolves today, 1.5M
Martin - left Argyle for Sheff Utd, on loan from Man U
Timar - rumoured to be wanted by a host of CCC clubs, including Leicester
Buzsaky - signed for QPR for 500k
Seip - wanted by an unnamed Premiership club
Halmosi - rumoured to be leaving for Wigan, 1.5M+
Hayles - left for Leicester, 150k
Fallon - wanted by Southend, 250k
Chadwick - Crewe bid rejected
McCormick - wanted by Leicester, no fee mentioned yet
Larrieu - unsettled by irregular team selection

Which leaves Lilian Nalis and a few ropey squad players who are so far unlinked to moves away from Home Park.

And who are we looking at, with all this money we now have?

Two blokes from Luton who can't even make their first team.

Doom and gloom at Home Park.

I'd forgotten all about him. What a goal that was, on the volley from about 600yards. Sticks in my all time top goals memory

 

[Sonic67]

And after the disapointment of losing in the Play-off final to Derby (never felt so bad coming back from an away trip) surely there must be a God up there

Yes I went to that too. Injustice that we didn't go up. Though I still smile every time I look at how they then did in the Premiership.

 

[steviebwoy]

i wouldn't be too upset mate, you're in no danger of going down, and i think consolidating your place in the championship is a better aim than going up to the premiership way before you're ready, then inevitably getting relegated, losing all the players you bought after going up, then getting relegated back to league one the season after like several other teams have done in the past..

It's such a tight league this year that I honestly wouldn't rule us out of fighting for survival come the end of the season. Sturrock is looking at C-listers to replace our highly rated departures. It's just not good enough to trade a player sold for £1.5M for 2 Luton players who can't even make their first team. Even Preston are looking at our players, and they're bottom!

Luggy needs to act fast to bring in some players of equal worth, or I fear we'll be looking at the wrong end of the table come the last few weeks of the season. We've made a fortune in transfers recently, where's the re-investment!?

 

[CaptainCook]

A few weeks since the last post, so time to dig this one back up.

As a Bristol City fan, I'm still gobsmacked by our league position, even more so after the Stoke result today. 2 points clear with a game in hand , but the next four games (Charlton, Leicester, Watford and Plymouth) will make or break our run in.

Still hoping for automatic promotion, but play-off's would still be great as I would have snatched your hand-off for 21st position at the start of the season.

How's your Championship team doing? What's your prediction for the end of season top two?

 

[Kieron]

Tell you what, I really hope Bristol go up. The stuff of dreams!

 

[overkill]

Tell you what, I really hope Bristol go up. The stuff of dreams!

It would be indeed! What a comeback tbh. I remember them being the first (only?) team to crash straight from Div.1 to div.4 in successive seasons back in the early 80's, and doing so despite being 'ahead of the times' in terms of marketing and revenue generating. Until that last season in div.1 they weren't even a bad side either. I recall some pretty tough games at Highbury, with us only hammering them once, and that during a 'hot period' for the Brady side.

Be great for the SW, and for Bristol to see them climb back to the peak again.

They just have to be wary of doing a 'Stoke'. As soon as everyone started talking about 'automatic' promotion the Potters went off the boil!

 

[Kieron]

It would be indeed! What a comeback tbh. I remember them being the first (only?) team to crash straight from Div.1 to div.4 in successive seasons back in the early 80's,

Seem to remember Swansea doing this as well. No, I think the game needs such clubs as Bristol City, it's a shame that Barnsley/Charlton etc couldn't make it stick in the Premiership. Clubs like Bristol are the salt of the earth, down to earth supporters and a club that's been through thick and thin.

Good luck to them.

 

[boingboing]

Be wary, there is a curse installed for every team that tops the Championship!
As a West Brom fan rather stupidly thought that once we were top we would start to pull away. However, the curse has hit Watford, West Brom, Bristol City and now Stoke.

The top places really are anybodys from the four I have already mentioned plus Charlton I would say but who knows Ipswich or even the Dingles could make a late surge too. Personally I think that it will go to the last game and I dont fancy ours......QPR Away!