Source: Daily_Mail
Championship special: Welcome to Hell, where nobody is safe...
DAVE JONES knows the Championship as well as anyone. Here the Cardiff manager explains why it’s a nightmare as well as being compulsive viewing - and just why he loves being involved in such an unpredictable division.
Last updated at 1:33 AM on 07th August 2009
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This division is unpredictable. It’s a slog. It’s relentless. I hate it with a passion. No
wonder the shelf-life for a manager at this level is little over a year.
Michael Chopra
Most expensive summer signing: Michael Chopra cost Cardiff £4m
But one thing is for certain: the quality of football may not be as good as the Premier League — but the Championship is more exciting. You don’t believe me? Let me ask you a question: how many people would have bet on last season’s three relegated clubs being Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton Athletic?
When the season kicked off you would have expected at least two of that three to be challenging for promotion. You couldn’t say that in the top flight, could you?
This is my fifth season in the Championship and I believe that Cardiff City are light years ahead of where they were when I arrived.
We now have our own training ground. And a state-of-the-art stadium. I can, however, see a marked difference elsewhere. Everyone is scrambling forwards, inch by inch. Three teams can win promotion, which makes it extremely competitive. There are 15 clubs in this division who have reached that top level since the inception of the Premier League and they want to return. And quickly.
TEN BIGGEST SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP DEALS
1 MICHAEL CHOPRA - £4m (Sunderland to Cardiff)
2 ALEJANDRO FAURLIN - £3.5m(Instituto, Argentina, to QPR)
3 CHED EVANS - £3m (Manchester City to Sheffield Utd)
4 DEXTER BLACKSTOCK - £2m (QPR to Nottm Forest)
5 = MARK HUDSON - £1.75m (Charlton to Cardiff )
CHRIS GUNTER - £1.75m (Spurs to Nottm Forest)
7 SIMON COX - £1.5m (Swindon to West Bromwich)
8 RICHIE WELLENS - £1.2m (Doncaster to Leicester)
9 DAVID MCGOLDRICK - £1m (Southampton to Nottm Forest)
10 SHAUN BARKER - £900,000 (Blackpool to Derby County)
All are building their infrastructure. All clubs are upgrading their stadiums, adding to their squad, pushing the boat out. The next step may be to introduce a Premier League II.
I’m surprised, actually, that we haven’t got there already. I know I won’t win any fans at the Football League for saying that, but when you look at what’s around, the top
two divisions are starting to pull away.
I know there are at least four big clubs in League One, such as Leeds, but if you leave them out of the argument, I do believe there’s now a gap between the top two divisions and the rest because of the money that’s being paid to players.
And what may turn out to be a surprise for the men in power is the interest in the Championship when matches are screened on terrestrial television on BBC1. I hope it gives the competition a boost.
I’d be amazed if it didn’t because of its unpredictability.
You can go to a lot of Premier League games and you know who’s going to win. Man United, Chelsea . . . You can read the script. You can’t in ours. It’s tough, it’s a battle. Every game is a fight.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest's new signings: (left-right) David McGoldrick, Paul McKenna, Dele Adebola, Radoslaw Majewski, Lee Camp, Dexter Blackstock, Paul Anderson, Joel Lynch and Chris Gunter
In the Championship, a manager can go to scout a team one week and come away from it thinking: ‘They are poor. We should be OK.’ Yet when you actually get around
to playing them, it’s completely different. So, while I may dislike being involved in it, I can see why people are drawn in.
The favourites will undoubtedly be the three relegated teams because of the parachute payment and the advantage it gives you.
Everyone will be writing Newcastle off — but they shouldn’t. They can still pay the wages. For them it will be a question of how the players handle wanting to be shot at week in, week out.
TEN BIGGEST SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP SPENDERS
1. Nottingham Forest ..............................£6m
2. Cardiff City ......................................£5.25m
3. Sheffield Utd ........................................£4m
4. West Bromwich ...............................£3.7m
5. QPR......................................................£3.5m
6= Bristol City .....................................£1.75m
6= Ipswich Town................................£1.75m
8. Leicester City ...................................£1.4m
9. Derby County.....................................£1.3m
10. Coventry City......................................£1m
TOTAL £29.65m (and that’s less than
Real Madrid paid for Xabi Alonso)
Every single Championship player will be looking forward to going to St James’ Park. Of the three clubs who have come up, it’s difficult to say what will happen to them.
Peterborough United will be looking to move on — they’ve got some money. Leicester City will be wanting to grow. But Scunthorpe — and I’ve got to watch my words here because we play them on the opening day — would be happy to get a foothold in the division, I would think.
Roy Keane’s arrival at Ipswich Town may have given them some momentum. I’m pleased to see him back. It adds to the profile. But it’s not about the managers, it’s about the players.
Sheffield United will be a force due to the size of the squad Kevin Blackwell has at his disposal. His biggest problem might be finding his best XI from that lot. What a great position to be in!
There are others looking for a big season. Preston, Reading . . . Billy Davies has been spending some money at Nottingham Forest and I expect that they will improve. As will Derby County, a big club with a huge tradition.
There will be expectation levels for us managers to deal with. The fact of the matter is that no one can say they are untouchables in this division — at either end of the table.
And that’s why it is compulsive viewing. And that’s possibly also why I hate it.
