20-21 Championship: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Season starts tonight with Watford/Boro at 2:45 EST.

As always the league is a gigantic clusterfuck of teams and styles that slogs on for 46 games plus cup competitions. There's absolutely no use predicting this league, although I was asked to do so for a podcast I'm on and I thought Brentford, Norwich, and Stoke will go up (see also Watford, the Welsh teams, Milwall); Wycombe, Rotherham, and QPR will go down (see also Hudderfield, Wednesday, Birmingham, Coventry, Luton). I wish I had picked Huddersfield over QPR, but it's too late now.

I'll go into the Wednesday situation (starting the season on -12) sooner than later, though I'm crushed with work right now and not in the mood to get into it. Athletic subscribers can read Nancy Frostick's explanation. I will say I'm fairly confident of them surviving this season, as there are a few teams they are better than, and of 46 games, you can make up that difference.

Here are some resources for people interested in following along:

Not The Top 20. Podcast looking at the unwashed 72.
The Second Tier. Podcast focusing on the Championship
(cheap plug warning)
Owls Americas. Podcast and (supposedly) revamped blog looking at Sheffield Wednesday. I'm on board as a full time host this year, which is cool...unless I suck.

ESPN+ has a weekly game (sometimes more than one) and EFL's iFollow charges a bundle for single team packages. Worth it if you're a fan of that team, not worth it otherwise.

Good luck to all the SoSHers who have to deal with this, except for @Smiling Joe Hesketh who should be happily sitting in the prow of the HMS Piss The League.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Ouch. QPR dropping. That stings.

I dont see us going down. I dont think we are very good, but I think we are in that 13-14 range. I see Wednesday, Rotterham, Reading, and Wycomb as the most likely.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Ouch. QPR dropping. That stings.

I dont see us going down. I dont think we are very good, but I think we are in that 13-14 range. I see Wednesday, Rotterham, Reading, and Wycomb as the most likely.
Yeah, as I said, I kind of regret that call. You were so bad when I saw you after the restart, Eze was the driver of your offense and he’s gone, while Hall left too and your D was suspect to begin with. That said, I think I was a bit harsh and I wish I had put Huddersfield there instead. I know NTT20 loved the Dickie transfer and if Dykes works out, you should be okay.

Wycombe has the budget of a non-league team, and going back down is what Rovrum does. I’m guessing that 3rd slot is either a small club (Coventry/Luton type) or a disfuncional club (Huddersfield/Birmingham type). Or a club on -12.

At least we’ve got a better GD than Boro.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Yeah, as I said, I kind of regret that call. You were so bad when I saw you after the restart, Eze was the driver of your offense and he’s gone, while Hall left too and your D was suspect to begin with. That said, I think I was a bit harsh and I wish I had put Huddersfield there instead. I know NTT20 loved the Dickie transfer and if Dykes works out, you should be okay.

Wycombe has the budget of a non-league team, and going back down is what Rovrum does. I’m guessing that 3rd slot is either a small club (Coventry/Luton type) or a disfuncional club (Huddersfield/Birmingham type). Or a club on -12.

At least we’ve got a better GD than Boro.
All good. I'll miss Eze but I also am excited that every year is one year closer to financial solvency. I'm hopeful that IF we can hang on this year 2021-2022 is a year we may actually be able to build a club that can compete to go up.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
All good. I'll miss Eze but I also am excited that every year is one year closer to financial solvency. I'm hopeful that IF we can hang on this year 2021-2022 is a year we may actually be able to build a club that can compete to go up.
£20m can go a long way in this division if spent wisely. I’d pump that into the academy- didn’t you guys finally get a training ground squared away?
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
£20m can go a long way in this division if spent wisely. I’d pump that into the academy- didn’t you guys finally get a training ground squared away?
Yes.

100% agree. That said...Id rather build slowly. Last time they got up it was on the backs of a big Fernandes spend to get to the EPL but then left us a mess and with no chance to stay.

The Leicester model is the one to follow.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Yes.

100% agree. That said...Id rather build slowly. Last time they got up it was on the backs of a big Fernandes spend to get to the EPL but then left us a mess and with no chance to stay.

The Leicester model is the one to follow.
Brentford. you gotta trust they’re going to spend that Watkins money well. I didn’t like how the baggies or Fulham went up. Speaking of them going up, this is ugly. Imagine what Bury could do with £34m?

View: https://twitter.com/matthughesdm/status/1304322337580474368?s=21
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I thought Parker was over his head all year, Fulham fans (who worship him) thought he was over his head, and then set up and closed down Brentford in the final. I still think he’s over his head.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Week One Recap:

Cardiff 0-2 Wednesday (real solid D, quick counters, clinical finishing, good FK, good effort...Wednesday in control most of game after taking early lead)
Huddersfield 0-1 Norwich (Took a bit to grow into game, score flatters Huddersfield who are bad, Young Adam Idah looks the real deal and scored the winner)
Barnsley 0-1 Luton (1 shot on target, 1 goal. Shrug)
Preston 0-1 Swansea (1 shot on target, 1 goal. Shrug)
Milwall 0-0 Stoke (pretty active and entertaining nil-nil.)
Watford 1-0 Boro (Not an active or exciting one-nil. Watford looked a bit shakey at the back but held on)
Bristol City 2-1 Coventry (One early and one late wins it for the Robins who played on the counter. Solid return after 8 years for the sky blues.)
QPR 2-0 Forest (QPR= Good, Forest= Bad. Ilias Chair the next Eberechi Eze?)
Derby 0-2 Reading (New manager Veljko Paunovic sets up dynamic side, Lucas Joao unplayable, Derby boring)
Bournmouth 3-2 Blackburn (exciting up tempo game)
Birmingham 0-1 Brentford (Brentford fans hoping they avoid a slow start like last year. Missing a few key players. Still should have won)
Wycombe 0-1 Rotherham (a 6 pointer in the first matchday of the season. Could have been a draw if Wycombe finished easy chance)
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
-8.

Better than Watford in the first half by a mile, couldn't put anything too dangerous together, though the ref missed a clear pen on Windass getting hauled down.
2nd half Watford was the better team...not quite sure what happened. Easy answer is Wednesday ran out of steam and Watford's depth of talent came out, but I'm going to rewatch the 2nd half...I'm guessing I'll see Wednesday's press dropped off and Watford marked Izzy Brown out.

Still, if you told me 4 from 6 with two clean sheets against promotion candidates, I'd have taken that for sure.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Reading wins again 2-1 at Cardiff (with what appears to be a bit of smash and grab based on xG) to go top of the table with 3 straight wins. Bristol City could join them with a win over Wednesday tomorrow morning.

Big one for me today was Blackburn pumping 4 past a sickly looking Derby squad a week after putting up a 5 spot against woeful Wycombe. Rovers were 3 up inside of 15 minutes including two Bradley Johnson bombs from outside the box. I didn't see the game, so I'm curious to see how much was Blackburn tearing it up (and they do have some offensive threats) v. Derby lookling shitty yet again. Between them and Forest (lost 1-0 to Huddersfield on Friday and looked overwhelmed, which is bad b/c HTFC sucks) it's an ugly, ugly start for the big East Midlands teams.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
and Bristol City go joint top with a 2-0 win over Wednesday.
Tale of two halves much like the Watford game. Wednesday completely control the midfield and boss the first half, no finish in the final third, Windass with the best chance. Second half Bristol City controlled the ball and really showed their skill, Wednesday got a bit rattled, Izzy Brown sent off with a knock, and Bristol City was in control right through the 90th.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Ouch. QPR dropping. That stings.

I dont see us going down. I dont think we are very good, but I think we are in that 13-14 range. I see Wednesday, Rotterham, Reading, and Wycomb as the most likely.
whats QPR bringing to the table this weekend?
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Ned a win.

Who knows. They are erratic. They are a top 10 capable club but inconsistent. That said, i feel better than last season so Im staying hopeful.
Didn't know what to expexct...I mean that could be written about 80% of Championship clubs ;)

You'll be looking at a 3-5-2 which will largely play out that way unless you've got a threat on the wings, in which case one of the WB will track back and help, Kadeem Harris will be one of the WB and it's a guess who mans the other side.
3 man midfield should be Luongo in the (roughly) 6 role, breaking up play, working off the ball, with Bannan looking to create with longer passes and Izzy Brown looking to create on the floor. Brown left the last game with a bit of a knock, so hopefully he's back in. If not I'd expect you'll either see useless lump Joey Pelupessy or young and impressionable brick shit house Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (AKA Fizz).

I'd expect Windass and probably Kachunga up front.

Wednesday has been very effective pressing in the 1H of each of their last two games- they really flustered Watford and Bristol City (two of the better teams), caused a lot of mistakes, and had some good chances. Problem is, no one to finish. Unfortunately the 2nd half of each of those games didn't go as well for Wednesday...some combination of tiring and (I think) adjustments by opponents to pressure that midfield 3.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Derby pulls another no-show this morning but an even more mystifingly toothless performance by Norwich leaves the door open a crack for Wayne Rooney- Number (Bet) 32 in your program, first in your hearts to dump in a beautiful free kick with 5 to play and help Derby get their first points of the season.

@Smiling Joe Hesketh - wtf is going on? It's a marathon, no doubt, but I didn't see this team as a candidate for the relegation blues.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
QPR scored a header in the 93rd minute to scrap back a deserved point against Wednesday in a 1-1 draw. Wednesday was playing with 10 men as Tom Lees had gone off injured with about 5 to go and all subs used up (including injury subs in the 4th and 46th minutes :rolleyes:).
The conditions were horrendous, absolute downpour, although QPR looked comfortable on the ball in the first half, were clearly the better side and probebly should have been 1-0 up, as they got very unlucky on a corner that Geoff Cameron put off the post. I thought Wednesday allowed QPR too much time and space on the ball and when they had the ball the gap between the front line and the midfield was too large so they were just hoofing it downfield right back to QPR.
Thought Wednesday were probably the better team in the second half, they closed up that up and started playing with more comfort on the ball. The D was excellent and I thought they should have closed it out even down to 10, as QPR showed nothing until the great ball in and header that knotted it up. Draw was a fair result but a crushing one for Wednesday as they were about to go into the first break just 6 points off safety. Alas. Good thing there's 42 games to go...
 

thehitcat

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
2,376
Windham, ME
OK so my Royals are top of the league right now (no seriously stop laughing.) They have been solid at the back and opportunistic going forward including this amazing hit by Yakou Meite today to secure the points against Rotherham.

I know it'll never last but it's been a much more fun start to the season than I expected. Oh we have another new manager Velijko Paunovic... I know seriously stop laughing. Anyway as always in this league I'll enjoy the good times while they last which will probably be until the trip to Ewood Park and Rovers midweek.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Paunovic is such an unrelenting asshole, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t sink it himself. Not that I wish it on Reading fans.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
From what I've seen and heard (and expected), Reading is playing above their heads, their schedule has been easy, and their form won't last.

But they've only dropped two points all season, and while they have played most of the bottom, they've done what good teams do and taken all 3 points. They've also beaten Cardiff and Watford who are both legit promotion candidates. In fact, the only points they dropped were to a typical Warnock side that was content to let Reading have the ball and close up shop. Typical Championship.

Any time you can bank points its goes a long way in this league. A close friend of mine is a Reading fan and while we go back and forth, I'd love to see a good season for your mighty Royals.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Wednesday puts in one of the worst performances I've ever seen from them, get destroyed by Rotherham 3-0. First time all year I've started to legit worry about staying up. Complete meltdown going on, just a disaster- injuries piled up, red cards in back to back games, 3 straight losses including two shocking performances. Hard to have a shred of confidence even seeing Wycombe on the horizon...looks a good shout for them to pick up their first win.

Football sucks.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Yep. Wycombe win their first ever game in the 2nd tier.

I fucking hate my football club right now. Hate them. I can fucking smell the stench of League One seeping into my nostrils. I regret everything.
 

Stanley Steamer

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 11, 2012
1,436
Rossland, BC
Yep. Wycombe win their first ever game in the 2nd tier.

I fucking hate my football club right now. Hate them. I can fucking smell the stench of League One seeping into my nostrils. I regret everything.
Yeah, shitty fortnight for Wednesday. The struggle is real, and I feel for you DH. Take 2 months off, then check out the table at New Year's.
 

thehitcat

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
2,376
Windham, ME
So the Royals win midweek at Ewood Park 4-2 and then go under the lights on Friday night and drop a 3-2 game at Coventry. This team is fun to watch at present but 5 goals against in the last 2 really gives lie to the defensively solid start. It's a rollercoaster in this league.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
And of course Wednesday look good handing Bournemouth their first loss in the Championship, picking up their first home win since February. And now the arbitrary panel for the EFL has ruled that Wednesday's points deductions should only be -6, so we're suddenly out of the cellar and only 1 point from safety on GD.

This club is such a goddamn roller coaster.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
It sure looks that way.

About to hop on our podcast, so I'll spit it all out then, but quite the week.

A bit tough on Monk, but the record is what we judge on in the end and the record wasn't good enough. So now the move is to bring in the Man That Has Never Been Relegated and make sure we save the season. The football will be dull, although we may have the right parts to be successful. I'm okay with this IF...and it's a big if, we have a long term plan lined up for next year. We need someone with a 3-5 year plan building up to the top flight, preferably one who plays modern football. I'm good with Pulis if we then get Ryan Lowe or the like. But i'm skeptical.

Supposedly Pulis wants a large "survival" bonus in the contract. I didn't think we were going down with Monk once we got the 6 points back, but Chansiri would be taking no chances if he brings in Tony Pulis, and that's fine.

The Phil Neville and Sol Campbell rumors are enough to keep me sleepless...gotta pray that's just some good old boy media networking.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I like Monk, but he's now something like a 3 or 4 time loser in the Championship, so I wonder what his future holds. He needs to win, somewhere.
I've always thought he was better than he's given credit for...took Swansea to the top half of the Premiership, fucking Leeds was a disaster at the time he took over and I thought he improved them, had horrible situations at Brum and Wednesday, etc. But at some point you gotta see the common factors in every story- him getting canned for not doing the job. Or for that shady agent shit.

He should take the rest of this season off and have another go at whatever he's doing wrong.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
It sure looks that way.

About to hop on our podcast, so I'll spit it all out then, but quite the week.

A bit tough on Monk, but the record is what we judge on in the end and the record wasn't good enough. So now the move is to bring in the Man That Has Never Been Relegated and make sure we save the season. The football will be dull, although we may have the right parts to be successful. I'm okay with this IF...and it's a big if, we have a long term plan lined up for next year. We need someone with a 3-5 year plan building up to the top flight, preferably one who plays modern football. I'm good with Pulis if we then get Ryan Lowe or the like. But i'm skeptical.

Supposedly Pulis wants a large "survival" bonus in the contract. I didn't think we were going down with Monk once we got the 6 points back, but Chansiri would be taking no chances if he brings in Tony Pulis, and that's fine.

The Phil Neville and Sol Campbell rumors are enough to keep me sleepless...gotta pray that's just some good old boy media networking.

Can you put a link in this thread to the podcast mate?
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Can you put a link in this thread to the podcast mate?
Ah, Cheers Fletch. I thought I had at the beginning but I had not.

You can get it here, or by searching for Owls Americast. TBH it's mostly just a bunch of Wednesday chatter and I wasn't thrilled with the one from last night, so no worries. I do think the 10/14 episode (Project Post the Pod Before it's Out of Date) was excellent, as we took a longer look at Project Big Picture and spent most of the pod weaving in points relating to the heart of football.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
And to update, it's looking like Pulis would NOT just be a short term signing, which leaves me...underwhelmed.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
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Dec 15, 2002
14,446

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
To be fair to the Millwall supporters in the stadium, they did actually applaud the QPR players at the start of the game when they kneeled.
I haven't seen it yet, but I read earlier that they were applauding the decision of some of the Millwall players to not take a knee... obviously won't ever know for sure, but I'd be surprised if the Millwall faithful declared their unwavering support for racial justice overnight
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,667
I haven't seen it yet, but I read earlier that they were applauding the decision of some of the Millwall players to not take a knee... obviously won't ever know for sure, but I'd be surprised if the Millwall faithful declared their unwavering support for racial justice overnight
Could very well be. Obviously racists are really stupid; but how do these racists expect to be competitive at the highest level if black players aren't comfortable playing for their team?

There was a coming together before the game where players held up an anti-racism banner before the game:

View: https://twitter.com/ed_aarons/status/1336396540924092421?s=20
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I knew what we were getting and was loudly against it. I’m thrilled to see the backside of Pulis, but it’s the bigger picture that’s the issue. Ill advised and impulsive decisions have become a hallmark of Chansiri’s tenure. We just had the second issue of players not getting paid (although word is that will be settled), there’s no revenue coming into the club, we’re in 23rd place, and we’re about to get our 3rd manger of the season.

It’s a fucking circus run by clowns,