Why the Championship is my favourite league in world football
The Championship is, in my opinion, the hardest and most unpredictable league in the world.
Here is the league table and some context.
https://twitter.com/SkyBetChamp/status/1764218372101750859
League leaders Leicester City have lost three games in a row, losing to Queens Park Rangers 2-1 last Saturday, who climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since September.
Sheffield Wednesday only managed to record two points in their opening 13 league games, but a run of four wins in their last five games sees the Owls three points from safety.
And Ipswich Town, only promoted from League One last season, won their fifth successive game last Saturday to move into second place.
This puts the Tractor Boys above the likes of Leeds United and Southampton in third and fourth place, whose squads total more than triple the price of Ipswich’s squad, according to figures from Transfermarkt.
As for the play-off places, it looks like two places are up for grabs between five teams.
West Brom beat midlands rivals Coventry City 2-1 on Friday night, with Norwich City all but eliminating Sunderland from the play-off race after a 1-0 home win and Preston North End played out a tight stalemate against Hull City.
With the relegation places, it’s virtually impossible to predict who will be relegated in May.
Rotherham United in 24th are the only team whose fate is settled, 19 points from safety with a -37 goal difference.
Five points separate Sheffield Wednesday in 23rd and Plymouth Argyle in 16th place, with the bottom three changing every game week.
So there’s the league table and some context. Now let’s look at some of the best stories from the season.
Leicester light up the Championship
With the exception of the last three games, Leicester have led by example.
The Foxes, managed by former Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca, have highlighted why they were tipped by many to go straight back up to the Premier League.
Maresca immersed himself in the club’s culture when taking the job last June, spending his first two months living at the club’s training base.
He won EFL Championship Manager of the Month in August, October and December, with his team scoring the most goals in the league with the highest goal difference.
As for players, the Foxes spent £37 million in the summer transfer window.
Former England internationals Harry Winks and Conor Coady were brought in, alongside overseas wingers Stephy Mavididi and Issahaku Fatawu as well as the highly rated young goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen. The blend of youth and experience has been a resounding success.
Mavididi in particular has thrived in this fluid Leicester set up, a direct winger with terrifying pace and power that will surely make it into the Championship Team of the Season.
Leicester’s leading scorer this season is none other than their Fantastic Mr. Fox, Jamie Vardy.
The 37-year-old has scored twelve goals in all competitions this season, and with Vardy’s contract expiring this summer, he could provide Leicester fans with the perfect send-off after an incredible journey.
However, there is news that Leicester may face a points deduction next season. This means an uphill battle could be coming, but if we’ve learned one thing about Leicester over the last decade, it’s to never write them off.
Reports that Leicester City could face a potential points deduction in the Premier League next season.
Premier League and Championship clubs are said to suspect #LCFC broke top-flight £105m limit on losses over three years. https://t.co/ZwZ2jtEQsU
— Josh Holland (@josh_hollandd) March 4, 2024
Can Ipswich go back-to-back?
The last team to secure back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League was Southampton in 2012. Ipswich could achieve this feat if they maintain the momentum they currently have.
Managed by Kieran McKenna, the Tractor Boys play a style of football that’s fresh and modern, with McKenna one of the best young managers in the country.
When talking on the Official EFL Podcast at the start of the season, the former Manchester United first-team coach explained how he sets up his team and what he wants from the players.
The names of the Ipswich players may not be familiar to Premier League fans, but we may be hearing the likes of Conor Chaplin, Harry Clarke, Luke Woolfenden and Wes Burns a lot more next season in the top flight.
Hoops have hope
After scraping survival last season, QPR fans would’ve hoped for a calmer season this campaign. However, there very rarely seems to be a calm season for any team in the Championship.
QPR lost their final pre-season game to League One Oxford United 5-0, then found themselves 4-0 down at half-time on the opening day against Watford.
Financial struggles have also been an issue for QPR, who were unable to spend any money in the summer and are still hampered by the one of the largest fines in Financial Fair Play history.
Gareth Ainsworth was dismissed as Hoops boss in late October, replaced by the relatively unknown Spanish coach, Martí Cifuentes.
There were question marks surrounding Cifuentes because he had never managed in England before. However, the former Hammarby boss has so far been a success.
Three successive wins against Bristol City, Rotherham and Leicester have propelled QPR up to 19th place, but there’s the looming issue surrounding top scorer, Ilias Chair.
The Moroccan was sentenced to a year in Belgian prison for breaking a man’s skull, but remains playing for QPR while he appeals the sentence.
There’s even speculation that Chair is still in the UK because Belgian prisons are currently over-crowded. A bizarre story in a league full of crazy scenarios.
Röhl’s reversed
There are three teams that have won each of their last three league games: Ipswich and QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.
Danny Röhl is the current Sheffield Wednesday manager, taking over from Xisco Muñoz, winless in his ten league games in charge of a team who only scored five goals.
Prior to managing Wednesday, Röhl had been a coach at RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich and assistant manager of the German national team. An impressive resume for a 34-year-old, who along with former England assistant coach Chris Powell, has masterminded a resurgence.
Wednesday are three points from safety, and staying up would be a real achievement amidst the antics of crazy chairman, Dejphon Chansiri.
Why I love the Championship
A league full of great stories, twists and turns as well as real quality on the pitch, summarised well by Liverpool boss, Jürgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp loves a bit of Championship football!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/aqno7zdbWG
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 27, 2024
(P.S There’s also no VAR, what more could you want!)
