| Rest of the Championship thread 11:07 - Aug 10 with 68789 views | Hunterhoop |
Toyed with this idea last season. Shall we have a thread to discuss, comment on, cover the rest of the league? A place to discuss other teams’ results, performances, financial implosions, etc?
For example, last night, anyone catch either of the first two games? I didn’t. But somewhat surprised/worried Blackburn scored 4 given how they are meant to struggle. Was it Derby being utter sh*te?
Sounds like Preston are continuing in the same vein of being incredibly dull.
Clive, what do you think? Worth making a sticky? Might reduce the number of threads to manage. |  | | |  |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 18:32 - Aug 25 with 5087 views | Northernr |
I mean, my main conclusion so far is this is a fcking dire league again.
Sunderland looked very good against Sheff Wed.
Oxford look better than I expected.
Coventry played well in the game I saw.
Everything else has been sludge. |  | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:17 - Aug 25 with 4924 views | Antti_Heinola |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 18:32 - Aug 25 by Northernr |
I mean, my main conclusion so far is this is a fcking dire league again.
Sunderland looked very good against Sheff Wed.
Oxford look better than I expected.
Coventry played well in the game I saw.
Everything else has been sludge. |
it's a good, competitive league, as it always is. Dire in comparison to what? I can never work out that stuff. While we see some poor play, some bad mistakes etc, overall, taken across the world, this is a very high standard of football, with some pretty astonishing players imo. |  |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:20 - Aug 25 with 4915 views | Northernr |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:17 - Aug 25 by Antti_Heinola |
it's a good, competitive league, as it always is. Dire in comparison to what? I can never work out that stuff. While we see some poor play, some bad mistakes etc, overall, taken across the world, this is a very high standard of football, with some pretty astonishing players imo. |
It's competitive, I agree.
I just feel like every year we're told, or we convince ourselves, it's THE TOUGHEST CHAMPIONSHIP EVER. Look at Leeds, Sheff Utd, Burnley, how are we ever gonna get near them. Gary Weaver does his whole "this division means more, this division changes lives" hype. We're told it's somehow more difficult, more challenging, more intense than other leagues. And then it starts and it's all much the same. Same teams, same players, slogging away. The season is long and hard as you and I love to quote. And if you actually put your foot on the ball and play a bit of attacking football then, lo and behold, even Sheff Utd are gettable as it turns out, and we're able to go there and play them off the park for 45 minutes. Mostly though teams just sling crosses in, rely on set pieces (as we did in the second half yesterday). And it's just... attritional.
It's all relative. Is it better than League One, the Conference, Ligue 2, my Monday night sevens. Yeh, course. But my God it's a slog. Maybe I just watch too much of it. Or have just suffered through Swansea Cardiff and it's coloured my opinion.
This post has been edited by an administrator | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:28 - Aug 25 with 4877 views | joolsyp |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:17 - Aug 25 by Antti_Heinola |
it's a good, competitive league, as it always is. Dire in comparison to what? I can never work out that stuff. While we see some poor play, some bad mistakes etc, overall, taken across the world, this is a very high standard of football, with some pretty astonishing players imo. |
I'd tend to agree with Antti on this - for example all three promoted teams have looked decent to me, Plymouth were the better team yesterday when 11 v 11 (apart from the first 15 mins). Even Cardiff are playing out from the back. If anything the standard of the Championship is improving year on year and our summer recruitment up to now has recognised that - we needed better players, more pace, athleticism, quality on the ball etc. I don't think just being well organised or good at set pieces is going to get you very far in the Championship these days. Watch me be proven wrong now and 'Wawhl and Stoke get promoted! |  | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:31 - Aug 25 with 4864 views | Northernr |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:28 - Aug 25 by joolsyp |
I'd tend to agree with Antti on this - for example all three promoted teams have looked decent to me, Plymouth were the better team yesterday when 11 v 11 (apart from the first 15 mins). Even Cardiff are playing out from the back. If anything the standard of the Championship is improving year on year and our summer recruitment up to now has recognised that - we needed better players, more pace, athleticism, quality on the ball etc. I don't think just being well organised or good at set pieces is going to get you very far in the Championship these days. Watch me be proven wrong now and 'Wawhl and Stoke get promoted! |
I think it's different. Almost all the teams try to 'play out from the back' now as you say. Does that make it better? Does that mean it's improving? Nah, it's just a different way of playing football. There's a snobbishness to this that basically unless you're playing Pep Guardiola football you're not doing it right, but I'm every bit as bored watching Russell Martin football as I am watching Tony Pulis ball.
Occasionally a team comes along that is doing things a bit different and really excite me - I could have watched that Ipswich team last season every game. I thought they were brilliant. Which is why they scorched straight through it.
Look at some of the teams that survived. Millwall, Stoke, Watford. And how they did it. | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 20:41 - Aug 25 with 4658 views | derbyhoop |
The quality isn't there, but the competitiveness certainly is.
6 of the 12 games this weekend finished level. Of the others, only 1 had more than one goal between the teams.
However, parachute payments slew the whole thing. Ipswich were the exception last season but the 3 relegated teams ( with full parachute payments) finished 1st, 3rd and 4th. The 3 teams promoted to the PL all got relegated. |  |
| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 21:57 - Aug 25 with 4501 views | QPR_Hibs |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:31 - Aug 25 by Northernr |
I think it's different. Almost all the teams try to 'play out from the back' now as you say. Does that make it better? Does that mean it's improving? Nah, it's just a different way of playing football. There's a snobbishness to this that basically unless you're playing Pep Guardiola football you're not doing it right, but I'm every bit as bored watching Russell Martin football as I am watching Tony Pulis ball.
Occasionally a team comes along that is doing things a bit different and really excite me - I could have watched that Ipswich team last season every game. I thought they were brilliant. Which is why they scorched straight through it.
Look at some of the teams that survived. Millwall, Stoke, Watford. And how they did it. |
Ipswich gave away a silly goal yesterday with their "playing it out from the back" and getting caught out. It seems all teams will continue to do this even after being high pressed into errors. |  |
| "Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous." |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 21:58 - Aug 25 with 4498 views | joolsyp |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:20 - Aug 25 by Northernr |
It's competitive, I agree.
I just feel like every year we're told, or we convince ourselves, it's THE TOUGHEST CHAMPIONSHIP EVER. Look at Leeds, Sheff Utd, Burnley, how are we ever gonna get near them. Gary Weaver does his whole "this division means more, this division changes lives" hype. We're told it's somehow more difficult, more challenging, more intense than other leagues. And then it starts and it's all much the same. Same teams, same players, slogging away. The season is long and hard as you and I love to quote. And if you actually put your foot on the ball and play a bit of attacking football then, lo and behold, even Sheff Utd are gettable as it turns out, and we're able to go there and play them off the park for 45 minutes. Mostly though teams just sling crosses in, rely on set pieces (as we did in the second half yesterday). And it's just... attritional.
It's all relative. Is it better than League One, the Conference, Ligue 2, my Monday night sevens. Yeh, course. But my God it's a slog. Maybe I just watch too much of it. Or have just suffered through Swansea Cardiff and it's coloured my opinion.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
Agreed, that Swans v Cardiff was largely bereft of quality. Ronald (minus the o) was quick but his shooting was worse than mine. I've always liked Harry Darling, proper centre-back, leader and dangerous at set-pieces. You're right we mustn't revert to Ainsworth/Rednapp-style deference to the big teams, we proved last season that we can compete with, and beat, the big boys in one-off games. But we need that consistency that top 6 teams seem to find over the whole season and that's going to require a big improvement in our home form and for our big players to stay injury-free as much as possible. We still look a bit under-cooked fitness-wise but I wonder whether that's intentional as it appeared to be at the start of last season? | | | |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 23:04 - Aug 25 with 4360 views | Myke |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:17 - Aug 25 by Antti_Heinola |
it's a good, competitive league, as it always is. Dire in comparison to what? I can never work out that stuff. While we see some poor play, some bad mistakes etc, overall, taken across the world, this is a very high standard of football, with some pretty astonishing players imo. |
It's competitive because the overall standard is poor and most teams are much of a muchness. It's dire due to the high quantity of mis-placed passes, mis-controlled balls, poor decision making and lack of composure in front of goal.
Playing out from the back either 'works' because there is no pressure on the team coming out, or fails because there is, there is rarely evidence of a team playing out from the back, breaking a high press and creating a genuine attacking opportunity.
I rarely watch any Championship games not involving us and even then become frustrated with the lack of quality on show |  | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 03:12 - Aug 26 with 4178 views | Hoopsie |
It is competitive because most teams are of similar quality and strength, and there can be a drastic change in ranking if teams goes on a mini streak (wining or losing) and find themselves at nearer the top or closer to the bottom in a whiff.
Last season relegation battles were probably one of the most competitive where quite a few teams were caught up into it. Teams seemingly "safe" (Blackburn, Stoke, Plymouth) were sucked into it and Birmingham and Huddersfield were relegated where neither in any kind of trouble 2/3 into the season. The cellar dwellers for much of the time QPR and Sheffield Wed managed pull themselves out in the final stretch - and if you recall, we were the form team and winning more than losing but we just could not pull away into safety, taking 3 steps forward but then 2 steps back in batches of a few games in succession.
Although the top teams are seemingly untouchable (being freshly relegated from the premier league with parachute money etc) they are certainly not uncatchable unlike the Man Citys. Arsenals and Liverpools.
Competitive it is if a big chuck of teams are of similar quality and strength, notwithstanding the poor standard of football or if it has to be nail biting stuff in every game.
So is the championship competitive?
I think it rather is. [Post edited 26 Aug 3:16]
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 11:39 - Aug 28 with 3353 views | Damo1962 |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 03:12 - Aug 26 by Hoopsie |
It is competitive because most teams are of similar quality and strength, and there can be a drastic change in ranking if teams goes on a mini streak (wining or losing) and find themselves at nearer the top or closer to the bottom in a whiff.
Last season relegation battles were probably one of the most competitive where quite a few teams were caught up into it. Teams seemingly "safe" (Blackburn, Stoke, Plymouth) were sucked into it and Birmingham and Huddersfield were relegated where neither in any kind of trouble 2/3 into the season. The cellar dwellers for much of the time QPR and Sheffield Wed managed pull themselves out in the final stretch - and if you recall, we were the form team and winning more than losing but we just could not pull away into safety, taking 3 steps forward but then 2 steps back in batches of a few games in succession.
Although the top teams are seemingly untouchable (being freshly relegated from the premier league with parachute money etc) they are certainly not uncatchable unlike the Man Citys. Arsenals and Liverpools.
Competitive it is if a big chuck of teams are of similar quality and strength, notwithstanding the poor standard of football or if it has to be nail biting stuff in every game.
So is the championship competitive?
I think it rather is. [Post edited 26 Aug 3:16]
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Nailed it 👍 | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 12:05 - Aug 28 with 3291 views | Watford_Ranger |
Ipswich will have the 2026 title wrapped up in March at this rate. | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 12:32 - Aug 28 with 3198 views | QPR_Hibs |
That BBC football reporter has an unfortunate name. | |
| "Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous." |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 14:19 - Aug 28 with 3003 views | HAYESBOY |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 12:32 - Aug 28 by QPR_Hibs |
That BBC football reporter has an unfortunate name. |
Middle name? Up!  |  |
| Smells like a trout farm in here |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 15:03 - Aug 28 with 2936 views | kensalriser |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 12:32 - Aug 28 by QPR_Hibs |
That BBC football reporter has an unfortunate name. |
Someone missing a bathroom fixture?
Tremendous parenting there. |  |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:58 - Aug 28 with 2814 views | QPR_Hibs |
Cardiff taking the absolute p!ss with their cup line up tonight. I don't think I've heard of any of them. Only checked to see if Willock was playing. Obvs not.
EDIT - I just realised that I HAVE heard of Colwill who just scored with a screamer. [Post edited 28 Aug 20:09]
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| "Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous." |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 20:46 - Aug 28 with 2691 views | Watford_Ranger |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 19:58 - Aug 28 by QPR_Hibs |
Cardiff taking the absolute p!ss with their cup line up tonight. I don't think I've heard of any of them. Only checked to see if Willock was playing. Obvs not.
EDIT - I just realised that I HAVE heard of Colwill who just scored with a screamer. [Post edited 28 Aug 20:09]
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Lumley is playing so they must have a chance | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 21:39 - Aug 28 with 2590 views | joolsyp |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 20:46 - Aug 28 by Watford_Ranger |
Lumley is playing so they must have a chance |
Cracking goals all of them - Saints now winning 5-3 | | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 14:49 - Aug 30 with 2128 views | HAYESBOY |
Jebbison on loan to Watford. Now that would have been nice for us. Good signing that. | |
| Smells like a trout farm in here |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 15:52 - Aug 30 with 1982 views | HAYESBOY |
Josh Coburn gone to Millwall on loan. | |
| Smells like a trout farm in here |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 16:12 - Aug 30 with 1892 views | QPR_Hibs |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 15:52 - Aug 30 by HAYESBOY |
Josh Coburn gone to Millwall on loan. |
So the Transfer Centre X account turns out to be wrong ...... AGAIN. Quelle surprise. | |
| "Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous." |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 16:13 - Aug 30 with 1886 views | QPR_Hibs |
Mikey Johnston from Celtic £3 million to WBA. Good player. | |
| "Remember to listen to me but look at her. Don't get it the wrong way round. That would be hideous." |
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| Rest of the Championship thread on 18:50 - Aug 30 with 1714 views | dmm |
Ex QPR Josh Laurent has gone from Stoke to Burnley. He's one that got away. |  | | |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 18:57 - Aug 30 with 1676 views | Mick_S |
| Rest of the Championship thread on 18:50 - Aug 30 by dmm |
Ex QPR Josh Laurent has gone from Stoke to Burnley. He's one that got away. |
Stop it 😂 |  |
| Did I ever mention that I was in Minder? |
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