It's All to Play For!

Season's Greetings

Well, here it is - the first day of the new season. Well, OK, I know the first game took place last night (Blackpool won 1-0 at Hull), but today is the first full set of fixtures. Except for the Bluebirds and West Ham United, of course, who don't play until tomorrow due to the demands of TV (and the Metropolitan Police, I suspect). But anyway, it is the first day proper of  the season. Remember the old days when matches always kicked off at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon?

All I know is that by 7.30 am on a Saturday morning at the end of a week's holiday I am wide awake - the football season is here today.

In Malky We Trust

A new season, a new manager, and quite a lot of new team. 9 new signings to add to the 12 players left by the old regime mean a lot of changes and a lot of getting used to. However, I'm quietly confident that  we can do at least as well as the last 2 seasons, and at least get a playoff place.

 

At the time of composing this entry, West Ham are obviously the strongest team on paper in the division. If no more of their Premier League stars such as Paul Parker get snapped up by the existing Premier League clubs, then they are clearly in a strong position to go up over the course of a season. Leicester City have been spending money to acquire large numbers of players and appear to be stronger than last year and on paper at least look like they will be challenging. However, I'm not so sure they will be a lot better than many of the teams in the Championship, a division with many teams close to each other in terms of ability.

 

In my opinion, we are no weaker than last year, when we finished 4th in the league. Apart from the 2 teams mentioned above, I don't think there are any teams who are obviously better than those teams left from last season. Of the teams coming up, I think Brighton will be challenging. Gus Poyet is an excellent manager, and the new stadium factor may well inspire them to do well, possibly all the way to the playoff. Poyet is the key to Brighton, and the main danger is if there is an early sacking of a Premier League manager, and that Poyet is looked for as a replacement.

Gus Poyet - going places.

 

My Predictions for the Championship Season

Top 6, in no particular order:-

West Ham United

Leicester City

Cardiff City

Brighton And Hove Albion

Reading

Middlesborough

Relegation:-

Doncaster

Derby

Peterborough

Who will be our stars?

 

We still have a nucleus of very good players, and I'm sure Malky will bring out the best in players such as Peter Whittingham, a proven matchwinner on his day. The new young players he has brought in look exciting, and I'm sure Kenny Miller will score goals again at this level.

Of course, if Craig Bellamy is able to extricate himself from Manchester City and return, who knows?

But no matter what, despite the good runs and the bad runs, the trials and tribulations of the football season are here again, and all true football fans are happy and excited.

West Ham Utd v Cardiff City

BBC Championship page