Outside 90’s Tom Harle dissects the week’s action from the Sky Bet Championship, England’s second tier.
Yorkshire yardstick
In the lunchtime kick-off, Yorkshire rivals Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday shared the spoils in an unseemly 1-1 draw at Elland Road. Wednesday were fortunate to come away with a point and are entirely indebted to Marco Matias’ stunning strike, which gave them the lead in a dour first-half.
The Owls are searching for consistency under Carlos Carvalhal, while Leeds could even be described as over-consistent, with securing four straight draws at the start of the season. Both teams already seem destined for a mid-table finish.
The sole hope for a Yorkshire representation in the top flight comes from Hull City, who themselves fell foul of Guy Luzon’s impressive Charlton Athletic. The Tigers are still shaping their squad, but will not go far wrong with a centre-back pairing of Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson.
Are the Trotters mincemeat?
Already the phrase ‘relegation fodder’ has been applied to Bolton Wanderers, who are now very much stuck in purgatory. Majority shareholder Eddie Davies, who earned his money by developing temperature controls on kettles, is owed £172.9 million by the club, which is only surviving through his philanthropy by not calling in the debt.
Neil Lennon is an excellent manager whose hands are entirely tied. Although many had condemned the Trotters after their 3-0 surrender on Teeside, they could easily have put Forest away at the weekend. If they stay up, a statue of Lennon should be stuck up next to Nat Lofthouse, such is the improbability of their survival.
Brighton on the move
Brighton sit in second place after four games, having secured their third victory of the season against Blackburn Rovers last week. Kazenga Lua-Lua, who scored the winner, has really hit the ground running and the Seagulls must look to dismiss the predatory advances of Derby County towards their influential playmaker Dale Stephens. Connor Goldson is a cracking signing who could dominate the league at centre-back, alongside Lewis Dunk, in the next few years.
If this purple patch continues, pessimistic projections for Chris Hughton’s side will be quickly revised.
Bees in bother
It has hardly been an ideal start to the season for Brentford. While embarking on their ‘Moneyball’ experiment under owner Matthew Bentham, they failed to fulfil the fairly uncomplicated task of providing a playable pitch, as their game against Birmingham was farcically postponed due to the state of the surface. It was so bad that it directly resulted in the long-term injury of record signing Andreas Bjelland.
Losing Jonathan Douglas and Andre Gray has ripped-out the heart of last season’s playoff success and while it remains early days, there are some questions to be answered at Griffin Park.
Kitted Out?
Kit Symons is treading on thin ice at Fulham, who were booed-off after a 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield Town. Symons assured disgruntled fans that he “understands” the jeers and is “still looking for more additions” to his squad before the transfer deadline next week. This may not be enough to save him.
They have long been in need of heavy investment in central-defence and Tim Ream must be parachuted in to the side immediately. Although compromises are inevitable, surely it is clear that Tom Cairney is wasted out wide – Blackburn got the best out of him last year in a central role. Certainly on the field, and perhaps off it, change is required.
Forget the favourites
It is a well-worn adage that in the Championship, anyone can beat anyone. Yet, this fact is proven repeatedly, week-in and week-out.
Middlesbrough made changes for their game against Bristol City and were royally punished. Joe Bryan’s early goal enough to guarantee the visitors three points to take back to the southwest and their first win of the season.
Derby County showed signs of grinding into action against Birmingham, but had to work hard to scrape out a 1-1 draw on Friday night. Paul Clement’s team are often allowed two-thirds of possession, but have looked clueless as to how to use it at times. However, Tom Ince’s return to form on the weekend bodes well.
Tractor Boys grind it out
“There were one or two doing real selfless jobs for us. It’s not what we want to do but if we end up getting enough points to get in the Premier League, nobody will complain.” This is the raison d’etre of Mick McCarthy, whose Ipswich Town are top of the table after four games.
He has a squad of around 15 senior players who break their backs for the cause every week. Moreover, they are a living testament to the value of defensive solidity. Theirs is the best unit in the league and therefore they won’t be far away come May.
Reading? Better off in a library…
What motivates Reading fans to go to the Madjeski every week? The atmosphere isn’t great, the ground is soulless and the team is pretty lifeless at best. I can already place them in mid-table this season.
They drew 0-0 with MK Dons at the weekend and have gone seven home games without a win. Steve Clarke isn’t going to get anyone’s blood up, either. Oh, for the days of Brian McDermott!
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
