2010/2011 Championship Preview Q-W

Queens Park Rangers

Manager: Neil Warnock
Key Player: Adel Tarrabt

There were times last season where QPR threatened to become a huge player in the Championship. Come they end they flattered to deceive and drop way off the pace when finishing down in 12th place. Considering a substantial amount has been ploughed into the club without any sort of return, the pressure is really on manager Neil Warnock to deliver this season by guiding Rangers to promotion. Every manager which has tried and failed so far has seen the sack, so will Warnock follow suit or will he be the joker in the pack?

We feel it’s fair to say that Warnock has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal and that failure with this bunch won’t be tolerated by this spoilt rotten and expectant QPR board. The former Crystal Palace manager has been handed more transfer funds than most and has actually, at least in our opinion, spent some of it wisely. The Goalkeeper has proved a difficult area to fill in recent seasons but the acquisition of a refreshed, sharper and fitter Paddy Kenny from Sheffield United could prove one of the purchases of the season if Kenny is half as good as what he was during his peak at United. Clint Hill has also reunited with his former manager and will bolster a defence which so often proved their achilles at times last season. In terms of fire-power, Bradley Orr, Leon Clarke and Jamie Mackie have all been dragged into Loftus Road to compliment the already talented attacking options at the club; your Adel Taarabt, Akos Buzsaky, Alejandro Faulin.

We feel Neil Warnock could still do with adding a few more to his squad, mainly for cover really, but his starting eleven will be very competitive and should really be challenging for automatic promotion, with the play-off’s at the very least the minimum they should walk away with at the end of the season. On paper anyway, QPR are a team with plenty of goals in them, so providing they get it all together at the back, something they never really did during the previous campaign, then QPR could finally deliver what they promised several years ago… Premiership football. They will, however, need to some some consistency, something they definitely had little of last season.

To Be Promoted: 4/1 BetFred
To Be Relegated: 28/1 totesport

Reading

Manager: Brian McDermott
Key Player: Jobi McAnuff

Reading made a drastic start to the previous campaign and by Christmas time were genuine candidates for relegation. Were it not for Brian McDermott’s intervention, who didn’t just steady the ship but enabled Reading to excel with a near-miss play-off pursuit and an FA Cup adventure which seen them claim the scalp of Liverpool and Burnley before eventually succumbing to Aston Villa in the quarter’s. It was, though, their late charge for the play-off’s which will have been eye-catching for the punters, as that late surge up the table, when winning 12 of their remaining 20 fixtures after Christmas, gave many of us the impression that Reading are still a gifted bunch and that a possible push for promotion in 2010/2011 might be on the cards.

Brian McDermott’s appointment just before Christmas really did prove to be an inspirational move by the board of directors, as the 49 year-old worked his motivational magic in dragging the team out of the slump they were in, which at the time was relegation, and into some eye-catching form which would later ensure the club would at least salvage their season with safety. However, the problem now being that because Reading finished the last season so strongly, big things are to be expected of McDermott’s players. Looking through his squad, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be a tidy little force in this division. Jobi McAnuff is an exciting little player and could be the player to lite the touchpaper at the Madjeski. He was so often the player which turned dull and drab games into lively affairs. Sigurosson’s 16 goals proved more than useful as Reading fended off relegation, but there are a number of individuals who must play to their full capacity if The Royals really are to be taken serious this season. Simon Church being one of them. He bagged himself 10 Championship goals last season but will need to better that in 2010/2011, as will Irish duo Shane Long and Noel Hunt. Adam Federici is a fine keeper so we have no reservations whatsoever with him, but it’s all about some of these Reading players fulfilling their potential for the club to really excel and push on from a patchy and sometimes unconvincing 2009/2010 campaign.

Reading could enter into the reckoning for promotion this season but are a side which should be backed with extreme caution. They struggled to get out of the starting blocks last season, with their form at home in particular going array. It wasn’t until November Reading actually registered a win at the Madjeski and a similarly lacklustre start would almost certainly see them fall right out of the reckoning, Form and momentum is crucial it would seem, as shown in their final few months of last season when picking up nine wins from their last 11 home games. We feel Reading are best left as viewing material in the early stages – Backed if they hit it off early on and opposed if they make another sluggish start similar to a year ago. There’s enough potential mind for a big season.

To Be Promoted: 4/1 totesport
To Be Relegated: 25/1 VictorChandler

Scunthorpe United

Manager: Nigel Adkins
Key Player: Joe Murphy

The objective every season is to avoid the drop, but this season could prove too much for The Irons, who did remarkably well to remain in the league with an average squad last term. The gap then was just five points, but with both of their first choice forwards leaving the club over the summer, Nigel Adkins faces an uphill task guiding the club to safety for the second season running.

You have to feel for Nigel Adkins. He did a tremendous job last season in keeping the club up and yet has almost seen his valiant efforts go in vein, as Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes both moved to bigger and better things with Celtic and Preston respectively. The Irons were so reliant on the pairs goals last season, with Hooper and Hayes accounting for 28 of their 62, that without them you struggle to see where their goals will come, and now where and when the points will arrive. Even with two handy forwards, Scunthorpe barely had enough in the tank to fend off relegation, so without them they appear doomed. The bookmakers are of the same opinion and have Scunthorpe as favourites to drop back down to League One. We wouldn’t disagree with their quotes of around 11/10 for this to happen as we simply hold no hope whatsoever for Adkins’ men. Chris Dagnell was drafted in as a replacement for the departing forward duo but surely this is too big a step up for the former Rochdale striker. As well as Dagenll, Adkins transferred in Jim McNulty, Robert Grant, Eddie Nolan and Michael Collins of which neither particularly scream Championship quality, more like second tier uncertainty.

It was always going to be a big ask for Nigel Adkins even with Gary Hooper and Paul Hayes, but without them they really do have their backs well and truly against the wall. Chris Dagnell, Jonathan Forte and Bobby Grant, Adkins’ likely choice of strikers, simply aren’t going to score enough goals to keep ‘Scunnie’ in the league. While at the other end, Joe Murphy will need to perform wonders in between the sticks as his goal is likely to be bombarded through the course of the season. The one thing you do get with Nigel Adkins’ teams is a steely attitude, that never say die approach, but with his numbers taken a serious hit over the summer, we fear the absolute worst for him and Scunthorpe this season. Relegation beckons unfortunately.

To Be Promoted: 40/1 PaddyPower
To Be Relegated: 6/5 PaddyPower

Sheffield United

Manager: Kevin Blackwell
Key Player: Darisu Henderson

The Blades will no longer have to content with playing their arch rivals Wednesday this season, which can be seen either way really, but they’re a big club, bigger than most I would say, and fans will expect nothing less than a strong promotion push this season and are praying Kevin Blackwell’s men fair better than their 8th place showing last season.

Blackwell has seen many noteworthy names leave during the summer and not an awful lot coming in the other way. Of those which have left; Gary Speed (retired), Jordan Stewart, Paddy Kenny, Glen Little, Kyle Reid, Billy Sharp and Gary Naysmith, while the likes of James Harper and Henri Camara were released. Steve Simonsen will replace Paddy Kenny as United’s No.1 shot-stopper, while Leon Britton and Danile Bogdanovic were signed on free transfers with the aim being to improve United’s goal return. Blackwell has retained his key elements though, with the Sheffield United defence in particular looking strong and study. Any forward will come over a little hesitant when they face up to Nyron Nosworthy, Chris Morgan and and Nick Montgomery. There’s a lot riding on Ched Evans and Darius Henderson’s broad shoulders, as the pair really do need to find the back of the net more often. Henderson scored a respectable 12 last season but Evans only managed four, and the latter will be under immense pressure now following Daniel Bogdanovic’s switch to Bramall Lane.

We’re very impressed with the defence and optimistic that the forward three of Henderson, Evans and Bogdanovic will play an instrumental role for the club this season, hopefully in guiding the Blade to at least a play-off finish. However, our concerns lye with their midfield, especially now that winger David Cotterill has returned to Swansea following an impressive loan spell with United last season. I like the signing of Leon Britton, but I’m unsure of another fellow newbie in Johannes Ertl while I’ve never been impressed with Mark Yeates. Players like Stephen Quinn, Lee Williamson and Leon Britton will really need to make things happen this season by continuously supplying the forwards with opportunities. They have a decent mixture of power and raw energy up front that they simply must make full use of if they’re to challenge this season.

To Be Promoted: 6/1 SkyBet
To Be Relegated: 16/1 Coral

Swansea City

Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Key Player: Darren Pratley

The Swans played some lovely football during last season when narrowly missing out on a play-off berth by a single point, but with the man that everything possible now deserting them, with Paulo Sousa leaving Wales for Leicester, are we right to predict that Swansea will begin to radpily fall down the pecking order and out of promotion contention following an exciting season which promised so much but in the end delivered nothing. In fact, you could argue that Swansea’s seventh place finish was the worst possible outcome for the club, as with Sousa working wonders in lifting Swansea that far up the table he was always going to alert the ‘bigger’ clubs.

So how will Swansea fair without their Portuguese architecth? We certainly can’t wait to find out as we were one of the many of admirers of the Swans last season. Their football at times was breathtaking considering this is the Championship, a league were at times the tackles are brutal and the football can be dull and boring. You might even say that Swansea set the standard last season, and had they had a quality forward in their midst would have definitely made the play-off’s and possibly been promoted. Enough of the ‘If, Buts or Maybes’ as the reality is Swansea have been deprived of a quality manager and been dumped with Brendon Rodgers, who could barely win a game at Reading. Talk about drawing the short straw. The good news is Rodges does at least have a half-decent squad to pick from, with a large bulk of the team which worked so hard during last seasons exciting campaign still at the club. Those which have left include Steven Dobbie, Leon Britton, Federico Bessone, Marcos Painter, Besian Idrizaj and Guillem Bauza. Some of the new recruits include Scott Donnelly from Acldershot, Neil Taylor from Wrexham, David Edgar, Criag Beattie from West Brom, Lee Trundle from Bristol City from Burnley and Shefki Kuqi, who spent last season on loan at the Liberty Stadium. David Cotterill has also returned to the club following his return from a loan move at Sheffield United.

To be fair, Swansea don’t have a bad squad and could actually cause a few problems if they keep to their pretty football regime. However, if Brenda Rodgers tries to convert them then we fear the worst. Their midfield is where the Swans are at their strongest, with Darren Pratley anchoring the midfield as David Cotterill, Nathan Dyer and Jordi Lopez create the chances for Kuqi, who so often fluffed his lines last season, and another new signing, Cedric Van Der Gun, whose played in the Dutch top division but doesn’t exactly have the most prolific of scoring records. I do like their midfield and I especially love how they play their football. My worry is how they’ll take to their new manager following on from a hugely successful spell under Paulo Sousa. It’s going to be a huge change for some of these players, especially for the likes of Rangel, Orlandi and Lopez who were all introduced to the Championship by Sousa. I’ll be shocked if this lot go down, but at the same time I’ll be surprised if they get close to their eight position finish of last season.

To Be Promoted: 8/1 SkyBet
To Be Relegated: 9/1 totesport

Watford

Manager: Malky Mackay
Key Player: Danny Graham

The Hornets somehow evaded the drop last season when finishing seven points above the drop. While the final gap may have seemed comfortable, the season up till then certainly wasn’t. Watford needed a couple of big wins in the final stage of the season to ensure they survived another season in the Championship and will probably require more heroics this term if they’re to escape relegation yet again.

Watford finished the 2009/2010 campaign in style when recording back-to-back wins over Reading and Coventry City, but for large parts it was nervy and fans would appreciate a much smoother ride this season, if that’s at all possible. With money tight at the club and several leaving over the summer, fans are likely to face another topsy-turvy season at Vicarage Road. Watford’s ability to avoid the drop in recent seasons has been down to the club acquiring some decent youngsters on loan from the Premiership clubs, more notably from Manchester United in recent campaigns with the likes of Tom Cleverely and Ben Foster, while it was Adam Johnson, now of Man City, a few years ago which propelled them away from relegation. This season, though, Malky Mackay has struggled to lure some of England’s rising stars to the club, even on a temporary loan. Tom Aldred and Rene Gilmartin are Mackay’s two only signings of the summer so far. A big blow looks to be losing Jay Demeritt in the centre of midfield. Mackay is now down to the bare bones with this current Watford squad, with nothing special waiting in the wings at Vicarage Road.

This is a poor Watford team and they will struggle to stay up once again this season. Their defence looks a shambles in fairness, with only a decent Scott Loach in between the sticks allowing some room for optimism back there, while it’s anyone’s guess who and where the goals will come from. Danny Graham will be the main man up front but unless he betters his 14 from last season by some considerable distance, we don’t see how Watford will defy the odds this time around. That is unless the club discover and lure another Premiership talent to the club before the close of the window, although they’ll be too late to make Watford’s opening game on Friday 6th August, what is the Championship curtain raiser.

To Be Promoted: 33/1 SkyBet
To Be Relegated: 9/4 PaddyPower