Hello and welcome to another edition of Team Talk. Today I'll be turning my eye towards the south coast and having a look at newly-promoted, high flying Southampton.
Manager: Nigel Adkins
Adkins joined from League One side Scunthorpe in September 2010, and since then the Saints have been on the up. In his first season at the club he got them promoted to the Championship in second place, and they show no signs of letting up as they have stormed the league so far, and are currently in second place again behind, funnily enough, last year's League One champions Brighton. Despite having relatively little experience at this level, Adkins has got his side playing excellent football and dismantled one of the pre-season favourites Leeds on the opening day. He has got a good record with his teams, getting Scunthorpe promoted at the first time of asking and then kept them there for the season, and another promotion with Southampton where they won many plaudits. If he can keep this up, Southampton may be able to replicate Norwich's achievement of last season of back-to-back promotions.
Star Player: Rickie Lambert
Southampton's top scorer nabbed 21 goals last term in an extremely impressive year, forming a formidable partnership with Lee Barnard. Lambert finished as League One's third top scorer and shows no sign of slowing as he is already the top scorer in the Championship, with five goals. The former Bristol Rovers man has scored 61 goals in 95 games for the Saints, which is a hugely impressive total, and the fans will hope he can continue his goalscoring form throughout the season to push Southampton towards promotion.
Other important players:
Lee Barnard - Mentioned above, Barnard got 16 goals last season and combined well with Lambert.
Jack Cork - Young central midfielder already looks at home in the Championship.
Adam Lallana - Exciting winger making real strides so far, full of potential.
Strengths:
The team plays very attractive football which has so far been a success, and this has won them many fans country-wide. This is, unfortunately, rarely seen in the Championship, and those who use it often don't get the recognition they deserve (see Doncaster). However, with Swansea's success last season, Southampton will be emboldened, and hopefully will continue to entertain. They also have a relatively young squad, meaning that if they can retain their players they will have good chemistry in future seasons. The young age of the squad also helps their speed of play, as they will be less likely to get fatigued than older players. Despite this, they have also got a fair amount of Championship experience in the likes of former Palace duo Jose Fonte and Danny Butterfield, David Connolly and Dan Harding, which will certainly help.
Weaknesses:
Southampton can rely too much on Lambert and Barnard, which last season worked, but they may not be able to get as many goals this season as they did last. I'd also say that they don't have the best goalkeepers, a choice of Bartosz Bialkowski or Kelvin Davis, although Bialkowski is certainly decent, but they may want someone with more experience at this level. The midfield can be a little lightweight, although Morgan Schneiderlin and Jack Cork help with this.
Conclusion:
Southampton have the potential to do very well in this league. They play exciting, attractive, football, and have plenty of people who can score goals. If they can keep clear of injuries and possibly make a couple of signings in January, they should be able to keep up at the top of the table. I doubt they'll get promoted, but they may well make the playoffs.
Monday 12 September 2011
Friday 9 September 2011
Transfer Window Round-Up
Hello and welcome back to The Championship Chat. Today I'm having a look at the best (and a couple of the worst) transfers involving Championship teams. So let's get started.
Good Signings
Michael Chopra from Cardiff to Ipswich, £1.5 million.
I believe that Ipswich may have picked up a real bargain in Chopra. 27 goals in 73 games between 2009 and 2011 for Cardiff is a good record, and he has consistently proven himself to be a formidable striker in this league. I am surprised that Cardiff let him go, as he could have still done a job with Kenny Miller and Rob Earnshaw, however he was apparently deemed surplus to requirements at Cardiff and Ipswich will have a signing they are delighted with.
Kevin Phillips from Birmingham to Blackpool, free.
Will he ever stop scoring? Already on four for the season, Kevin Phillips has defied age by continuing to score goals at every level. Released by Birmingham (who may well regret that decision), Blackpool have snapped him up in the hope that he will lead their front line after the loss of DJ Campbell. His age may catch up with him eventually, but the fact that he is already joint top scorer at this early stage of the season suggests that this may well have been an excellent signing.
Vicente from Valencia to Brighton, free.
Wait, what? Vicente? Former Spanish international Vicente? To Brighton? Oh my God.
This was my reaction when I heard that the Seagulls had signed the 30 year old winger. This could turn out to be an incredible signing, as he played 243 games for Valencia and a a further 38 for Spain, giving him vast amounts of experience at high levels. Of course, whether Vicente will adapt to the rough and tumble style of the Championship is yet to be seen, but he may be able to stun the Championship's defences across the country.
Luke Varney from Derby to Portsmouth, free.
I really rate Varney. After a series of impressive performances on loan at Blackpool last season, he earned a move to Portsmouth, where he may well be seen as Dave Nugent's replacement. Often underrated, he has a decent scoring record at this level and should do well when paired with Dave Kitson. Portsmouth needed a striker, and they have got a good one.
Michael Johnson from Manchester City to Leicester, season long loan.
Let's face it, I could've picked any of Leicester's recent signings as impressive, but I believe that the capture of industrious midfielder Michael Johnson is one of the best. Despite a series of horrendous injuries, Johnson has always impressed in his small number of matches for Man. City and he should quickly adapt to this league. In fact, this loan spell may be exactly what Johnson needs to finally establish his reputation. He may not be at Leicester permanently, but he should be able to make a big impression if he avoids injuries.
Jonathan Parr from Aalesund to Crystal Palace, undisclosed fee.
I had to mention one Palace signing! From what we have seen of Norwegian Parr so far, he seems to be a real find. Comfortable at left back or in midfield, he has already got a goal and a couple of assists in his five games for the Eagles, and is quickly becoming a fan favourite. Linking up with fellow Norway international Steffen Iversen, Parr has shown signs of very high quality.
Bad Signings
Jimmy Bullard from Hull to Ipswich, free.
Whilst Bullard obviously has a lot of talent, the main problem is usually with his wages. He has a reported £50,000 a week wage, which is ridiculous for a Championship player, and forced Hull to get rid of him in order to stop them from becoming bogged down with that payment. It is possible that Ipswich have negotiated him down to a more reasonable wage, which would make this a good signing. However, if he is still on those exorbitant wages, I'm afraid it's a bit of a bad deal.
Matt Mills from Reading to Leicester, £5 million.
Again, this isn't a problem with the player himself. Mills is a good player and a fine leader on the pitch, and Leicester have done well to get him. But he is simply not a £5 million rated player! I'm positive that they could find players just as good for less money, but it seems that when Leicester are involved the price of players suddenly increases as they can afford to pay that much more. I'm not sure that Mills is much better than Palace's Paddy McCarthy, whom I rate extremely highly (and not just through Palace bias), who would never command that fee. This seems to be poor financial judgement from Leicester.
George Boateng to Nottingham Forest, free.
This signing confuses me on so many levels. Firstly, Boateng is 36, so is unlikely to play for too much longer. Secondly, could Forest really not find a better player to spend those probably high wages on? Thirdly, whilst he used to be a good player, I have never really rated Boateng, so I doubt that he's that much better now. This just seems to be a marquee signing, and Forest are really signing a name rather than a player.
Good Signings
Michael Chopra from Cardiff to Ipswich, £1.5 million.
I believe that Ipswich may have picked up a real bargain in Chopra. 27 goals in 73 games between 2009 and 2011 for Cardiff is a good record, and he has consistently proven himself to be a formidable striker in this league. I am surprised that Cardiff let him go, as he could have still done a job with Kenny Miller and Rob Earnshaw, however he was apparently deemed surplus to requirements at Cardiff and Ipswich will have a signing they are delighted with.
Kevin Phillips from Birmingham to Blackpool, free.
Will he ever stop scoring? Already on four for the season, Kevin Phillips has defied age by continuing to score goals at every level. Released by Birmingham (who may well regret that decision), Blackpool have snapped him up in the hope that he will lead their front line after the loss of DJ Campbell. His age may catch up with him eventually, but the fact that he is already joint top scorer at this early stage of the season suggests that this may well have been an excellent signing.
Vicente from Valencia to Brighton, free.
Wait, what? Vicente? Former Spanish international Vicente? To Brighton? Oh my God.
This was my reaction when I heard that the Seagulls had signed the 30 year old winger. This could turn out to be an incredible signing, as he played 243 games for Valencia and a a further 38 for Spain, giving him vast amounts of experience at high levels. Of course, whether Vicente will adapt to the rough and tumble style of the Championship is yet to be seen, but he may be able to stun the Championship's defences across the country.
Luke Varney from Derby to Portsmouth, free.
I really rate Varney. After a series of impressive performances on loan at Blackpool last season, he earned a move to Portsmouth, where he may well be seen as Dave Nugent's replacement. Often underrated, he has a decent scoring record at this level and should do well when paired with Dave Kitson. Portsmouth needed a striker, and they have got a good one.
Michael Johnson from Manchester City to Leicester, season long loan.
Let's face it, I could've picked any of Leicester's recent signings as impressive, but I believe that the capture of industrious midfielder Michael Johnson is one of the best. Despite a series of horrendous injuries, Johnson has always impressed in his small number of matches for Man. City and he should quickly adapt to this league. In fact, this loan spell may be exactly what Johnson needs to finally establish his reputation. He may not be at Leicester permanently, but he should be able to make a big impression if he avoids injuries.
Jonathan Parr from Aalesund to Crystal Palace, undisclosed fee.
I had to mention one Palace signing! From what we have seen of Norwegian Parr so far, he seems to be a real find. Comfortable at left back or in midfield, he has already got a goal and a couple of assists in his five games for the Eagles, and is quickly becoming a fan favourite. Linking up with fellow Norway international Steffen Iversen, Parr has shown signs of very high quality.
Bad Signings
Jimmy Bullard from Hull to Ipswich, free.
Whilst Bullard obviously has a lot of talent, the main problem is usually with his wages. He has a reported £50,000 a week wage, which is ridiculous for a Championship player, and forced Hull to get rid of him in order to stop them from becoming bogged down with that payment. It is possible that Ipswich have negotiated him down to a more reasonable wage, which would make this a good signing. However, if he is still on those exorbitant wages, I'm afraid it's a bit of a bad deal.
Matt Mills from Reading to Leicester, £5 million.
Again, this isn't a problem with the player himself. Mills is a good player and a fine leader on the pitch, and Leicester have done well to get him. But he is simply not a £5 million rated player! I'm positive that they could find players just as good for less money, but it seems that when Leicester are involved the price of players suddenly increases as they can afford to pay that much more. I'm not sure that Mills is much better than Palace's Paddy McCarthy, whom I rate extremely highly (and not just through Palace bias), who would never command that fee. This seems to be poor financial judgement from Leicester.
George Boateng to Nottingham Forest, free.
This signing confuses me on so many levels. Firstly, Boateng is 36, so is unlikely to play for too much longer. Secondly, could Forest really not find a better player to spend those probably high wages on? Thirdly, whilst he used to be a good player, I have never really rated Boateng, so I doubt that he's that much better now. This just seems to be a marquee signing, and Forest are really signing a name rather than a player.
Monday 5 September 2011
Team Talk: Crystal Palace
Hello, and welcome to what will become a hopefully weekly segment called Team Talk, where I will take a look at one Championship team, their strengths, weaknesses, and just general bits and bobs. And where better to start than the team I support, Crystal Palace. So without further ado, let's have a look at the Eagles!
Manager: Dougie Freedman.
Freedman took over struggling Crystal Palace in January after a 3-0 loss to Millwall prompted Palace's new owners into sacking George Burley. Freedman was put in charge of keeping Palace in the Championship, and to many's surprise, managed it, saving Crystal Palace with two games of the Championship remaining. Freedman then set about rebuilding the squad, and has brought in many of his own faces over the summer.
Many will point out Freedman's inexperience as a manager, but he has more than most people think. He served under Paul Hart and George Burley as assistant manager, both of whom are well-respected within the footballing world. A football career of 16 years will obviously help, a lot of which was spent at Palace. The fans adore him, and the players will have nothing but respect for him, so he will hopefully be able to unite the squad and get the belief flowing through Selhurst Park again.
Star Player: Julian Speroni
3-time Palace Player of the Year Speroni has performed key defensive duties in goal for Palace, and his spectacular saves have won the hearts of the Eagles' fans. After a shaky start when he lost his place to Gabor Kiraly, Speroni came into his own after the Hungarian's departure, and solidified his place in the team, being almost ever-present for the past four seasons. One of his best attributes is shot-stopping, and he is excellent in one-on-one situations which can be useful behind an occasionally leaky defence. Perhaps his weakness is in coming to claim crosses, as he can sometimes be hesitant or show signs of his past faults.
Other important players:
Darren Ambrose - The midfielder can come up with a goal from nothing.
Paddy McCarthy - Captain is an influential leader and one of the first names on the team sheet.
Nathaniel Clyne - Ever-present last season, the young right back surely has a bright future.
Strengths:
The first thing to mention is the academy. Palace's academy has churned out the likes of now-Premiership players Ben Watson and Victor Moses, as well as Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne and Sean Scannell who are still all at the club. The fact that a fair few of the first team are academy players shows how good the system is, and with the likes of Jonny Williams, Matthew Parsons and Ryan Inniss coming through it should be able to sustain Palace well into the future. The defence is solid, although lacks strength in depth. McCarthy is an excellent centre back at this level, and Dean Moxey and Nathaniel Clyne provide good cover on the flanks. The squad also boasts a fair number of international players, with Kagisho Dikcagoi (South Africa), Mile Jedinak (Australia) and Steffen Iversen and Jonathan Parr (both Norway) probably being the most significant.
Weaknesses:
It is difficult to see where the goals will come from in this side. Darren Ambrose, who scored 20 goals two seasons ago, struggled for form and fitness last year and probably cannot be relied on to get the goals again. Palace fans hope that a partnership of Scannell and Glenn Murray will net their goals, but this partnership is still developing and, of course, Scannell is still young and so will not be able to play every game this season. Steffen Iversen is a very good hold-up man but for him to score goals, service will be needed from the wings.
The lack of a regular centre back partner for McCarthy is also cause for concern, as Freedman was forced to bring in Alexander Tunchev and Andrew Davies two days before the start of the season. The permanent signing of Antony Gardner will be some relief, but they will need games together to re-gel. The midfield is also a tad lightweight, but Jedinak may help to solve this.
Conclusion:
Palace have a good squad, and the signings they've made over the summer should be good enough to keep them up, and even push towards the mid table, which is surely the aim for the fans and players. As an avid fan, I seriously hope we keep the academy products, as they will be vital to future success.
I hope you enjoyed this instalment of Team Talk, which I will be writing on a regular basis from now on. Next up will be a look at recently promoted Southampton. Thanks for reading!
Manager: Dougie Freedman.
Freedman took over struggling Crystal Palace in January after a 3-0 loss to Millwall prompted Palace's new owners into sacking George Burley. Freedman was put in charge of keeping Palace in the Championship, and to many's surprise, managed it, saving Crystal Palace with two games of the Championship remaining. Freedman then set about rebuilding the squad, and has brought in many of his own faces over the summer.
Many will point out Freedman's inexperience as a manager, but he has more than most people think. He served under Paul Hart and George Burley as assistant manager, both of whom are well-respected within the footballing world. A football career of 16 years will obviously help, a lot of which was spent at Palace. The fans adore him, and the players will have nothing but respect for him, so he will hopefully be able to unite the squad and get the belief flowing through Selhurst Park again.
Star Player: Julian Speroni
3-time Palace Player of the Year Speroni has performed key defensive duties in goal for Palace, and his spectacular saves have won the hearts of the Eagles' fans. After a shaky start when he lost his place to Gabor Kiraly, Speroni came into his own after the Hungarian's departure, and solidified his place in the team, being almost ever-present for the past four seasons. One of his best attributes is shot-stopping, and he is excellent in one-on-one situations which can be useful behind an occasionally leaky defence. Perhaps his weakness is in coming to claim crosses, as he can sometimes be hesitant or show signs of his past faults.
Other important players:
Darren Ambrose - The midfielder can come up with a goal from nothing.
Paddy McCarthy - Captain is an influential leader and one of the first names on the team sheet.
Nathaniel Clyne - Ever-present last season, the young right back surely has a bright future.
Strengths:
The first thing to mention is the academy. Palace's academy has churned out the likes of now-Premiership players Ben Watson and Victor Moses, as well as Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne and Sean Scannell who are still all at the club. The fact that a fair few of the first team are academy players shows how good the system is, and with the likes of Jonny Williams, Matthew Parsons and Ryan Inniss coming through it should be able to sustain Palace well into the future. The defence is solid, although lacks strength in depth. McCarthy is an excellent centre back at this level, and Dean Moxey and Nathaniel Clyne provide good cover on the flanks. The squad also boasts a fair number of international players, with Kagisho Dikcagoi (South Africa), Mile Jedinak (Australia) and Steffen Iversen and Jonathan Parr (both Norway) probably being the most significant.
Weaknesses:
It is difficult to see where the goals will come from in this side. Darren Ambrose, who scored 20 goals two seasons ago, struggled for form and fitness last year and probably cannot be relied on to get the goals again. Palace fans hope that a partnership of Scannell and Glenn Murray will net their goals, but this partnership is still developing and, of course, Scannell is still young and so will not be able to play every game this season. Steffen Iversen is a very good hold-up man but for him to score goals, service will be needed from the wings.
The lack of a regular centre back partner for McCarthy is also cause for concern, as Freedman was forced to bring in Alexander Tunchev and Andrew Davies two days before the start of the season. The permanent signing of Antony Gardner will be some relief, but they will need games together to re-gel. The midfield is also a tad lightweight, but Jedinak may help to solve this.
Conclusion:
Palace have a good squad, and the signings they've made over the summer should be good enough to keep them up, and even push towards the mid table, which is surely the aim for the fans and players. As an avid fan, I seriously hope we keep the academy products, as they will be vital to future success.
I hope you enjoyed this instalment of Team Talk, which I will be writing on a regular basis from now on. Next up will be a look at recently promoted Southampton. Thanks for reading!
Saturday 3 September 2011
Who will be the Championship's next big scalp?
Charlton. Norwich. Southampton. Leeds. What do all of these teams have in common? The answer is that they have all spent time in League One in recent years, despite being proclaimed to be big teams in the Championship who should be able to reach the Premiership again. These, then, are scalps, big teams that have been relegated despite the hype given to them pre-season, and this post will discuss who may be the next one. So without further ado, let's kick off with...
Birmingham City: Recently-relegated Birmingham at first glance had very little to worry about at the beginning of the season, with a squad filled with Premier League experience and a Carling Cup under their belts. However, during pre-season, owner Carson Yeung was arrested, and a mass exodus followed. Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Cameron Jerome, Barry Ferguson, Ben Foster and others have all left, leaving what may look like a rather mediocre squad.
I seriously doubt they'll go down, but promotion will be extremely difficult, and a bottom half finish beckons.
West Ham United: This may look ridiculous on paper, but bear with me. Yes, their squad is surely too talented for the Championship, but the deadline-day loss of influential captain Scott Parker to Tottenham will be huge. The crushing disappointment of last season also hangs over the squad, and Sam Allardyce has an axe hanging over his neck, waiting to drop if he cannot fulfil the high expectations of the Hammers' fans and board.
West Ham will not go down unless there is a major shock. They have far too many talented players, and plenty of money to spend. However, should this "Premiership-or-bust" strategy fail, there could be serious trouble at Upton Park, as players will grow restless and money will become more of an issue.
Cardiff City: Play-off semi finalists Cardiff have had a difficult summer. The inability to get Craig Bellamy back will hurt them. However, they have managed to retain a lot of their squad. The main problem will be their failure in previous seasons, as the fans will be impatient and the board, who have already got rid of Dave Jones, will want new manager Malky Mackay to provide the journey to the Premier League they have wanted for so long. With all of this pressure, will they be able to deliver? Sometimes over-expectation can destroy a team, as Charlton saw a few seasons ago.
Once again, it is extremely difficult to say that Cardiff will be relegated. But I do not think they will do well this season, and perhaps a few seasons of mid-table mediocrity are in the future.
Crystal Palace: Yeah, yeah, I know it wouldn't be particularly shocking if Palace went down, but hey, we're still a fairly big club. Palace have struggled in the last two seasons and many were predicting another difficult season, but their early start has confounded critics. The only major loss to the team is that of energetic midfielder Neil Danns to Leicester, whereas big names Nathaniel Clyne, Darren Ambrose, Julian Speroni and Wilfried Zaha have all been retained. Palace have also been able to add to their side, with Jonathan Parr and Kagisho Dikgacoi being the major new faces.
Palace are definitely in danger of relegation. Despite a new look to the side, they are still weak in defence and lack real strength in depth. But a good start helps, and Palace appear to have a new found belief in manager Dougie Freedman, so they should survive another season.
Birmingham City: Recently-relegated Birmingham at first glance had very little to worry about at the beginning of the season, with a squad filled with Premier League experience and a Carling Cup under their belts. However, during pre-season, owner Carson Yeung was arrested, and a mass exodus followed. Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Cameron Jerome, Barry Ferguson, Ben Foster and others have all left, leaving what may look like a rather mediocre squad.
I seriously doubt they'll go down, but promotion will be extremely difficult, and a bottom half finish beckons.
West Ham United: This may look ridiculous on paper, but bear with me. Yes, their squad is surely too talented for the Championship, but the deadline-day loss of influential captain Scott Parker to Tottenham will be huge. The crushing disappointment of last season also hangs over the squad, and Sam Allardyce has an axe hanging over his neck, waiting to drop if he cannot fulfil the high expectations of the Hammers' fans and board.
West Ham will not go down unless there is a major shock. They have far too many talented players, and plenty of money to spend. However, should this "Premiership-or-bust" strategy fail, there could be serious trouble at Upton Park, as players will grow restless and money will become more of an issue.
Cardiff City: Play-off semi finalists Cardiff have had a difficult summer. The inability to get Craig Bellamy back will hurt them. However, they have managed to retain a lot of their squad. The main problem will be their failure in previous seasons, as the fans will be impatient and the board, who have already got rid of Dave Jones, will want new manager Malky Mackay to provide the journey to the Premier League they have wanted for so long. With all of this pressure, will they be able to deliver? Sometimes over-expectation can destroy a team, as Charlton saw a few seasons ago.
Once again, it is extremely difficult to say that Cardiff will be relegated. But I do not think they will do well this season, and perhaps a few seasons of mid-table mediocrity are in the future.
Crystal Palace: Yeah, yeah, I know it wouldn't be particularly shocking if Palace went down, but hey, we're still a fairly big club. Palace have struggled in the last two seasons and many were predicting another difficult season, but their early start has confounded critics. The only major loss to the team is that of energetic midfielder Neil Danns to Leicester, whereas big names Nathaniel Clyne, Darren Ambrose, Julian Speroni and Wilfried Zaha have all been retained. Palace have also been able to add to their side, with Jonathan Parr and Kagisho Dikgacoi being the major new faces.
Palace are definitely in danger of relegation. Despite a new look to the side, they are still weak in defence and lack real strength in depth. But a good start helps, and Palace appear to have a new found belief in manager Dougie Freedman, so they should survive another season.
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