2016-17 Championship: Newcastle United and 23 other teams

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Very compelling league got even more interesting with the additions of Newcastle, Aston Villa (first time relegated since the Premiership started), and Norwich. Well...maybe Norwich isn't that interesting.

Wigan, Burton Albion, and Barnsley join the fray from League One. Wigan and Barnsley are obviously familiar, but Burton Albion is pretty new to all this- they played non-league football from 1950-2009, before getting promoted to League Two under Nigel Clough. Two seasons ago Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink led them to promotion and had them in 1st just before Christmas before leaving for QPR. Nigel Clough returned to lead them up to the Championship.

Looking at the Roll Call thread, I found (yes, including Newcastle fans) over 15 posters who root for championship teams. Social media and the modern media landscape allows us to consume the games better and better each year...I'd love to see this thread get a little more love from folks. Tell us how your team is doing and what we can expect.
 

swiftaw

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As a Wigan fan my first concern is can they hold on to Will Grigg (there is rumored interest from Celtic) and Emyr Huws (who was on loan at championship Huddersfield in 2015/16 and who IMO has the potential to be a very good player).
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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As for Norwich (and in the Championship we're always interesting, pal), so far it seems like we'll be holding on to most of our players. Pinto is staying, Naismith, Whittaker and O'Neil as well. Klose might even stay, even though he's undoubtedly EPL material.

Redmond will likely be the subject of transfer rumors (he's young, pacy and British, a real fav) but I'm hopeful he stays.

Howson might go. Ruddy might be gone as number 1 keeper, he got benched at one point this past season and his performances haven't been very steady.

I fully expect us to be competing for a promotion spot all year and to go up again at first opportunity. A real issue facing the club is that Chief exec David McNally unexpectedly resigned in the wake of relegation, which leaves a huge hole in running the club.
 

Titans Bastard

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Coyle was an utter failure in MLS. Maybe he'll do better in back in the British Isles.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Wednesday sign Steven Fletcher and are rumored to be th front runners for Ross McCormack.

Nathan Redmond signs with Southhampton, Cameron Jerome resigned.
 

Stanley Steamer

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Leeds sign Robert Green. QPR benched him last year when it appeared he'd make an appearance trigger in his contract for another year, which was a pretty shitty thing to do.
Great news! So we're going up this......aw shit, we're going nowhere again.
Like rooting for England in major tournaments, I'm beginning to wonder why I should care.
Seems like Wednesday are in GFIN mode, as they should be, and the big clubs aren't going to take relegation lying down. But as we all know, in this league, fortunes change and something unexpected will happen.
I'll have to research a bit, but we could do a promotion/relegation prediction thing before it all kicks off.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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I think we'd be best off waiting a few weeks to see who signs, but I'm in.

I know Newcastle is going 46-0 with a 920-1 GD. It will be an own goal though, so Geordies will argue the GD should be 921-0.

Edit: and everyone should be going for it now. people are scared of how much loot Newcastle and Villa are spending, but that's pennies compared to what the 3 relegated clubs will have next season. I think that if you don't go up this year, the glass ceiling will be almost unbrekable.

This year I believe that Newcastle, Villa, and Norwich (who may be different because they were down a few years ago) receive ~60m over 3-4 years. Next seasons teams will get ~80m over two years, estimated ~50m in the first year(!!!!).

We're going to see a lot of seasons with the same three that came down going back up.
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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I think Villa is in the worst shape of the three. di mitteo is a huge get, but none of their signings really impress. And they were such a complete disaster last season. But it's far to early to tell right now.
 

Infield Infidel

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I think we'd be best off waiting a few weeks to see who signs, but I'm in.

I know Newcastle is going 46-0 with a 920-1 GD. It will be an own goal though, so Geordies will argue the GD should be 921-0.

Edit: and everyone should be going for it now. people are scared of how much loot Newcastle and Villa are spending, but that's pennies compared to what the 3 relegated clubs will have next season. I think that if you don't go up this year, the glass ceiling will be almost unbrekable.

This year I believe that Newcastle, Villa, and Norwich (who may be different because they were down a few years ago) receive ~60m over 3-4 years. Next seasons teams will get ~80m over two years, estimated ~50m in the first year(!!!!).

We're going to see a lot of seasons with the same three that came down going back up.
Only 20 goals per game?

Newcastle has the benefit of having Ashley opening the wallet, so they know that whatever over budget they go this year will likely be recouped and then some if they are promoted. They were close to avoiding relegation last year and played worse than their roster, and obviously the coaching will be better.

Villa, who knows? On top of being dreadful, the players were lifeless for stretches last season. They need to clean house more than Norwich and Newcastle combined. I feel like Norwich was unlucky last season (lots of 1-0 losses) but I'm not sure. Brighton should be good again I'd imagine, doesn't seem they lost much off a team that was -2 GD from automatic promotion.
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Brighton, Derby, and Wednesday were the other playoff teams, all of whom should be right there. Nigel Pearson probably the best move any of those three made so far.

Bristol City has had a nice offseason. L**ds has been busy but that place is a GD funny farm, so who knows.

With the money Newcastle have from selling off all their players, they're playing on cheat mode.
 

Mayday Malone

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Nov 1, 2003
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Newcastle have not spent(net) much so far with the players they have already sold off. Also they will be able to pay EPL wages which should help player recruitment a lot. It will be interesting who wins the stare down between Rafa and the agents of Sissoko/Wijnaldum.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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Brighton re-acquired Glenn Murray on loan from Bournemouth. He went from Albion hero to turncoat when he signed with Palace a few seasons ago. After some turbulence and a few clubs, he's back. If he's scoring, he's welcome.

Wednesday shaking it up in the kit department...
 

candylandriots

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Brighton re-acquired Glenn Murray on loan from Bournemouth. He went from Albion hero to turncoat when he signed with Palace a few seasons ago. After some turbulence and a few clubs, he's back. If he's scoring, he's welcome.
Glenn Murray is a little like Ramiro Mendoza or Alfredo Aceves :)
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Much consternation on the Wednesday home kit...I think it looks too Millwall, but if it's only for a year, all good. The chairman has professed a dislike for stripes (!), but has shot down any Vincent Tam comparisons. 150th anniversary is next season, I'd expect either hoops (as they debuted in) or I'd like a nice throwback to the mid 60s with a solid blue with white sleeves.

Hey @Vinho Tinto - Benfica plays at Hillsborough tomorrow, first time the two clubs have met. With the heavy Portuguese influence in the proper part of Sheffiled, this should be a fun match. I'll try to post any reaction I see from attendees.

edit: word is game is streaming on BenficaTV. Is that something I could track down using, um...covert methods?
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Preseason is preseason, but Wednesday beat Benfica 1-0 (same side that smashed Derby 4-0) and just beat CD Nacional in Portugal 4-0.

Wednesday's biggest strength is going to be their continuity and they've looked tight all preseason (7-0 GD). A fast start will be key to challenging for auto.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Pshaw...think we're worried about beating your lot? Rotherham is the Yorkshire club you should be concerned with. See you August 20th at Hillsborough.

All joking aside, a fast start is huge. With Newcastle spending like a drunken democrat, the opportunity for an auto spot looks pretty slim. After last season, that's my preferred method of promotion. As I mentioned before and will all season, I think this is one of the most important seasons in 2nd division history. If you don't get up now, it's going to be real difficult.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Wednesday sign Watford CM Almen Abdi who passed his physical and agreed to a 3 year deal.

Joke is we're just signing Watford's promotion squad.


Edit: I may have jumped the gun.

Edit Edit: Nope, was right. Signed Abdi and Daniel Pudil from Watford. Abdi is really going to open some things up...we still need a CB, another LB, and maybe a CDM, but otherwise looking good for kickoff against Villa in 9 days.
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
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Everything I'm seeing has Norwich winning the Ross McCormack sweepstakes at ~12m. Leaving the price aside, the dude is a perfect championship striker and should bang in bundles of goals for SJH's crew.
 

thehitcat

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Nov 25, 2003
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My Royals are having another quiet offseason as we continue to dig out from the fiscally disastrous Zingarevich era. Danny Williams of occasional Team US fame has had the brightest start this preseason under new manager Jaap Stam in his 4-3-3. Recent rumors out of Reading have them in as a suitor for Rafael Van de Vaart (what?)who now at 33 feels perfect for somewhere like MLS rather than the Championship. This is a lower half club with designs on mid-table. Hopefully with another season of consolidation we can get the books cleared and do some buying to supplement what is still considered one of the best Academy setups outside of the Premier league, threatening to crash out of the Championship will certainly cost Jaap his job (he's the 4th full time manager of Reading in the past 24 months) and a drop to League One would almost certainly cause the Thai ownership group to look to dump the club as well causing even more turmoil. A good season outlook would include blooding some of the youngsters and finding the next group to build around. I'm not looking for Betts, Bogaerts, Bradley but I'd take a couple of youngsters able to hold their own at this level while the club won 12 of their 23 home matches in the league (we only won 8 at home last year and only 13 overall.) Also the FA Cup run to the Quarter Finals was fun but it always comes down to the league.

Euro hero and former Royal Hal Robson Kanu is still available out the market. I've seen recent links in the rags to mid-table Spanish sides along with some of the less fancied Premier league teams. I hope he signs for a ton of money. He never really did it for us outside of one glowing year but I can't help rooting for him.
 

Stanley Steamer

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This is me grasping at straws.....
Leeds defeat Serie A squad Atlanta 2-1 at home on the weekend.
They also are picking up 31 year old Pablo Hernandez, a nifty midfielder whom you may recall from Swansea a few years back.
I guess all I can hope for is that Garry Monk proves to be an inspiring leader and we get off to a strong start. Once winning becomes the norm, anything is possible.
thc, four managers in 24 Months? Please. Talk to me when you get to double digits!
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Everything I'm seeing has Norwich winning the Ross McCormack sweepstakes at ~12m. Leaving the price aside, the dude is a perfect championship striker and should bang in bundles of goals for SJH's crew.
Now we're looking at Villa winning with a 14m(!) pound bid, and if he passes his physical tomorrow, he'd be ready to go at Hillsborough on Sunday.
 

Infield Infidel

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Newcastle snapped up Ciaran Clark for £5m. NUFC all of the sudden has a solid young core at CB.

This helps Villa pay for McCormack but Clark seemed like a bright spot for them. I'm seeing £12m for McCormack, a 29 year old journeyman striker. It's a whole new world.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Clark isn't that young. Diame is a beast at this level though.

Seriously though, Newcastle is unfair. I still think the league will be tougher than people think, and having a whole new team may make it tough for them to gel, but they're just buying everything in sight. Can't imagine to many folks outside of the northeast will be fond of them.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Also- Oliver Norwood from Reading to Brighton. @thehitcat can speak more to him, but Norwood is a very good MF. I wonder if Brighton is expecting to lose someone?
 

Schnerres

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Apr 28, 2009
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Jon Dadi Bodvarsson from Kaiserslautern to Wolverhampton.
He played here for only a half season after joining on a free transfer and now leaves for a rumored fee of 3mil.€.
He´s from Iceland, scored a goal at the Euro (vs.Austria) and if I remember correct, he played in every of their matches. This basically led to this transfer and this transfer sum. He is a runner, a fighter, a workman, but really doesn´t score goals. If I remember correct, he had 2 goals in about 12-15 matches for us at Kaiserslautern (one being a penalty) and about the same (2 goals in 25) for Iceland. Be lucky if he plays a lot and scores 10 goals. I would expect 5 goals and a lot of work. He´s made for a 4-4-2, as he needs a strong finisher next to him.
 

thehitcat

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Also- Oliver Norwood from Reading to Brighton. @thehitcat can speak more to him, but Norwood is a very good MF. I wonder if Brighton is expecting to lose someone?
Really good center mid who can pick a pass and still do a good job covering. A true box to box player for Reading. He's a Northern Ireland international who had a solid Euro and was on the last year of his deal so we didn't expect to keep him. I think he'll play well for Brighton (though I don't know what needs they have) and was a little surprised to see him go to a Championship side. The rumours all summer were about Prem teams that were looking at him hard. The good news here pending word of the fee which I doubt will be that high is that Reading has decent cover in the middle of the park especially with Danny Williams looking like a top option this fall (also sadly on the last year of his deal...)

I have a question for the board. Reading is currently negotiating (it seems) with Leicester in an attempt to get Liam Moore into the fold. Now Center Half is a place where the Royals are desperately short so I'm hopeful that they can get the business done and that he's good. The other options including Martin Keown's son Niall are all young and inexperienced or needed elsewhere on the pitch. Any word on Moore? Or should I just hope the Jaap suits himself up... :)
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
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Joe D Reid

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Jesus, I'm finally going to have to learn about pirate streams, now, aren't I. I am about 3 technological leaps behind that. Does anyone know of a good telegraph feed?
 

Joe D Reid

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Thanks.

This all presumes they don't get relegated again, because I assume the only coverage available for the third tier is transmitted via drums pounded by woad-covered men stationed at intervals on the old Roman roads.
 

soxfan121

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This all presumes they don't get relegated again, because I assume the only coverage available for the third tier is transmitted via drums pounded by woad-covered men stationed at intervals on the old Roman roads.
First, this might be the line of the year and we just kicked off. Fuckin brilliant, dude.

Second, good luck to you @Dummy Hoy - I hope your boys make it up this season!
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I forgot the officiating is worse.
One of many things that are sub par.

I think you clowns will be fine; little bit of time to gel and get used to the league and you'll be up top...too much talent. You lost a championship game tonight- on the road, crowd up for a big team, determined opponent with less skill than you that has good defensive organization, shit refs, mediocre pitch, and a set piece goal. Add on 5 new players in the starting lineup, and it's tough. This league is brutal.

I thought NUFC was clearly the better team. I thought lascelles was very good, janmaat impressed if not in unspectacular fashion. Anita, ritchie, and Perez all looked quality too. Hayden was the guy who really pressed me though- dude was all over the place.
 

Infield Infidel

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Fulham has some ballers, Aluko was tough to mark, and Odoi, man, he should be on a higher level. He abused Dummet all night. On one play he received a lofted pass by redirecting with his back and then turned around the defender. Every time he made a run he was a threat
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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Ayite was good too. And that Odoi play off his back...so great.

I had higher hopes for Fulham than most, despite their losses, but the new guys were outstanding. Good for them.

Edit: here's the Odoi move:

 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
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Operation Piss The League off to a good start for SJH and his canaries. 3-0 lead at Blackburn just 25 minutes in.
 

thehitcat

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My Royals banked three points against a decidedly average and deep lying Preston North End squad at the Mad Stad today. I didn't get to see any of it and only heard a little but this seems to sum it up well "No pressure or worries. Wonderful weather, an encouraging display, some delightful individual skill and, fittingly on the day the club paid their respects to former academy manager Eamonn Dolan, another promising debut from a homegrown player. There will be questions and worries to come, but they can wait for another day."