Over and underachievers

Welcome again to Championship Chat. Of course, it has been absolutely ages since I last updated, so you may well have forgotten entirely about this. No matter, on with today's post.

We're into January, and the Championship is shaping up nicely into an extremely competitive and entertaining league, with plenty of teams still vying for the top six positions and plenty still in danger of relegation. But some teams are exceeding the expectations given at the beginning of the season, perhaps they were relegation candidates but are now thriving. On the contrary, some teams would have been tipped for promotion at the beginning of the season but something just hasn't clicked. I'm going to examine these teams today, please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you think.

Overachievers

Peterborough United.
At the beginning of the season, many people (including, I must say, me) doomed Peterborough to relegation due to the combination of poor performances the last time they were in the Championship and the loss of top-scorer Craig Mackail-Smith. However, they have done very well so far, and are currently nine points outside the relegation places in 16th place. A fair amount of this success has been down to the form of George Boyd, who is getting admiring glances from other Championship teams. Goals have also not been hard to come by for Peterborough, Grant McCann has got eight goals from midfield and the captain has been extremely influential in their success this far, while Emile Sinclair has got seven and Boyd, Lee Tomlin and Paul Taylor have contributed six each.

Can they keep it up?
There's no reason why not, although retaining their key players in this transfer reason will be key. They're still not going to be troubling the top teams, but they have a solid squad and as survival is surely the main objective, they can build and mount a push for the top half next season.

Southampton.
League leaders Southampton have stunned Championship fans this season, with the Saints currently placed for successive promotions and a return to the Premier League. Ricky Lambert is currently the league's top scorer with 15 goals in 26 games, an excellent tally. However Lambert is not the only reason for their success, as Nigel Adkins has built a talented squad that are hungry to prove their excellent form so far has not been a fluke. José Fonte and Jos Hooiveld have formed a formidable partnership in the centre of defence, and the midfield is full of talents such as Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin.

Can they keep it up?
A month or so ago, I'd have said definitely, but now I'm not so sure. A bit of a sticky patch for the Saints has seen West Ham draw level with points with them and they've suffered a few losses. Having said that, I watched them beat Palace 2-0 and they were unfortunately excellent, looking disciplined and dangerous. They'll be there or there abouts come the end of the season.

Barnsley
Nobody was expecting much from Barnsley at the beginning of the season, with some (once again, including me) believing they could suffer relegation. But some excellent signings and good performances has seen them comfortably in mid-table, above big-spenders Leicester. Ricardo Vaz Te has been the star, the former Bolton man having scored 10 goals at this point. Craig Davies and Andy Gray have also contributed 15 goals between them, and captain Jacob Butterfield has been one of the Championship's stars this season, although he is now unfortunately out for the rest of the season. Barnsley have been impressive at times, although they have conceded a high number of goals compared to the teams around them.

Can they keep it up?
Eh. A lot will depend on the form of Vaz Te, who's scored some vital goals. In places the squad looks a bit weak, such as the slightly leaky defence. However, there are definitely worse teams in the Championship, and their good first half of the season will certainly help them survive.

Underachievers


Nottingham Forest.
I'm really not sure what's happened to Forest this season. They got rid of McClaren early on and replaced him with Steve Cotterill, who, despite initial success, has not been able to drag Forest away from that bottom three, and they currently find themselves two points from safety. Last season's sixth placed team have suffered a complete capitulation, and it's confusing to see why, as they still have plenty of talented players such as Lewis McGugan, Jonathan Greening and Luke Chambers. I think the real problem is the loss of last season's manager Billy Davies, who was an excellent manager for them, and why the board sacked him is a mystery.

Can they get better?
A lot will depend on whether Cotterill can get the best out of his squad. Many strikers have not been firing, like Ishmael Miller with just four and Robbie Findley with five. The worst thing for Forest is that these are among their top scorers, Marcus Tudgay being top with six. They've also got the third worst defence in the league, conceding 42 goals. These problems need to be addressed in this transfer window otherwise it could be a long, hard and ultimately disappointing season for Forest.

Leicester City.
If there's one team that's the epitome of underachieving, it's Leicester. With an extremely competent squad, and a talented manager in Sven-Goran Eriksson, many (*sigh* again, me) predicted huge success for the Foxes. However, they couldn't get going, and Eriksson was sacked fairly recently and replaced by Nigel Pearson, but this hasn't changed Leicester's fortunes, and their most recent result was a disappointing 2-1 loss to Barnsley. Jermaine Beckford has not been able to score the goals that were expected of him, and much has been left to Dave Nugent and Paul Gallagher.

Can they get better?
Pearson has been saying the right things, as he intends to trim the fat of his squad and bring in some players who want to play for the team. Some players may have been accused of complacency, and Pearson will have none of that when he is in charge. However, this season may be a lost cause for Leicester, and they may have to focus on next season. I say this because they're seven points of the playoffs and a whopping 15 off the top, where everyone expected them to be. Right now, fans will hope for a playoff push and look forward to the 2012/13 season.

Ipswich Town.
With a very talented squad, Ipswich were seen as dark horses for the playoff spots. However they've really struggled to succeed despite their players. Sitting in 19th, just four points of the relegation spots, the Tractor Boys' fans must be casting nervous glances down the table. Like Leicester, some players have struggled to score goals, such as Jason Scotland with five and Lee Bowyer with two. Michael Chopra has managed to get seven but he has been more prolific for other clubs. However their clear problem is their defence, the worst in the Championship conceding a 51 goals in 26 games, an average of almost two every game.

Can they get better?
That defence must be sorted before Ipswich can push up the table. As said before, they have some talented players but they will get nowhere if they keep conceding. They were unlucky to lose David Stockdale back to Fulham as he really is an excellent 'keeper, and they don't really have a particularly good replacement fit. I doubt they'll be relegated, but it could be close.