The Championship 2018/19 - Play-off final

duffer

Sensible and not a complete jerk like most oppo's
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Didn't see a thread. It starts tonight with Reading v Derby.

As usual, some very interesting teams. For me, Lampard at Derby and Bielsa at Leeds are ones to watch.

Club football is back!
 
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I wonder how long it will take Bielsa to get them used to his style. Bielsa in the Championship is the most interesting thing about that league in years IMV.
 
Boro and Stoke my top 2. Stoke surprised me how many decent players they've actually kept (Butland, Joe Allen etc) so they're favourites of title. Boro second as they'll grind their way to many 1-0s.

Fancy a surprise for play off winner, either Brentford or Preston who both did well last year but just fell short of top 6.
 
I’ve got a Forest fan mate who’s adamant they’re going to win the league this year with the signings they’ve made. I don’t really follow the Championship too closely.

My question is; how hard should I be ridiculing him?
 
littlepeasoup said:
I’ve got a Forest fan mate who’s adamant they’re going to win the league this year with the signings they’ve made. I don’t really follow the Championship too closely.

My question is; how hard should I be ridiculing him?
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They're an outside fancy for a few people. I wouldn't rib him just yet.
 
littlepeasoup said:
I’ve got a Forest fan mate who’s adamant they’re going to win the league this year with the signings they’ve made. I don’t really follow the Championship too closely.

My question is; how hard should I be ridiculing him?
Click to expand...

Lewis Grabban is a very good striker at championship level. Haven't seen much of Dawson in the Championship but he'll had a bit of experience to their backline and is probably decent enough at that level. Colback is trash but might do something with the drop in level? Not really sure. Pantillimon is a bit meh but again .. decent enough at that level, and then Jack Robinson had a really good season at QPR. At least when I watched them he seemed to play well and the one QPR fan I know was very annoyed he left on a free after nailing down a place there.

Not sure about the arrivals from Benfica, but I imagine (like the players who came to Wolves) they'll do well. Not going to pretend I've watched them play but they should be better technically than the vast majority of players in the league. Overall they could do pretty well, lots of solid players who are proven at championship level, complimented by a few who could potentially look a step above. Will be keeping an eye on them.
 
littlepeasoup said:
I’ve got a Forest fan mate who’s adamant they’re going to win the league this year with the signings they’ve made. I don’t really follow the Championship too closely.

My question is; how hard should I be ridiculing him?
Click to expand...

Think Forest's best signing was Karanka. Guy plays dull football but he turned Boro around from a mid table team going nowhere to top 6 contenders in a year.

Forest have gone down the Wolves path of signing Portugese players. Don't know huge amount about them. Their domestic signings are Michael Dawson, Jack Colback and Ben Watson.

Think they'll be challenging for top 6 but no more than that.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
Lewis Grabban is a very good striker at championship level. Haven't seen much of Dawson in the Championship but he'll had a bit of experience to their backline and is probably decent enough at that level. Colback is trash but might do something with the drop in level? Not really sure. Pantillimon is a bit meh but again .. decent enough at that level, and then Jack Robinson had a really good season at QPR. At least when I watched them he seemed to play well and the one QPR fan I know was very annoyed he left on a free after nailing down a place there.

Not sure about the arrivals from Benfica, but I imagine (like the players who came to Wolves) they'll do well. Not going to pretend I've watched them play but they should be better technically than the vast majority of players in the league. Overall they could do pretty well, lots of solid players who are proven at championship level, complimented by a few who could potentially look a step above. Will be keeping an eye on them.
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This is awesome, thanks a lot! Lots of business with Jorge Mendes then?
 
FootballHQ said:
Think Forest's best signing was Karanka. Guy plays dull football but he turned Boro around from a mid table team going nowhere to top 6 contenders in a year.

Forest have gone down the Wolves path of signing Portugese players. Don't know huge amount about them. Their domestic signings are Michael Dawson, Jack Colback and Ben Watson.

Think they'll be challenging for top 6 but no more than that.
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They also brought in Robinson + got Pantillimon on a permanent deal. I think how well they do will depend on the Benfica arrivals, if they're at a similar level to the likes of Jota and Neves then they could surprise people.
 
FootballHQ said:
Think Forest's best signing was Karanka. Guy plays dull football but he turned Boro around from a mid table team going nowhere to top 6 contenders in a year.

Forest have gone down the Wolves path of signing Portugese players. Don't know huge amount about them. Their domestic signings are Michael Dawson, Jack Colback and Ben Watson.

Think they'll be challenging for top 6 but no more than that.
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Funny thing is friend is very anti-Mourinho, but is waxing lyrical for one of his biggest disciples in football, which I’ve also taken great pleasure in.
 
littlepeasoup said:
I’ve got a Forest fan mate who’s adamant they’re going to win the league this year with the signings they’ve made. I don’t really follow the Championship too closely.

My question is; how hard should I be ridiculing him?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't say they're favourites but they could and should be right up there. My Dad's a Forest fan and reckon's they'll get play offs as opposed to automatic. They've done good in the market and their owner is seemingly willing to spend to get them up so with Karanka still there they should be very solid.
 
Santos J said:
Wouldn't say they're favourites but they could and should be right up there. My Dad's a Forest fan and reckon's they'll get play offs as opposed to automatic. They've done good in the market and their owner is seemingly willing to spend to get them up so with Karanka still there they should be very solid.
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Tbf, I would love to see Forest back in the top flight. One of those old historic clubs with so much romance surrounding them.
 
Tom Lawrence :drool:

Was disappointed that Villa didn't get promoted last year. Mainly because I love Villa Park, Steve Bruce, wanted to see Grealish in the PL (which seems to be happening anyway) and @FootballHQ
 
Derby have looked pretty woeful. Haven't been able to get anything going in the game.
 
The only thing lacking from that first half was any sort of quality. Bloody awful.
 
Poor game so far. Derby are shaky at the back and toothless up front. Reading play like a L1 team.
 
Derby don't look great, 1-0 down now too.

The hype around a high profile player going into management is to be expected, but I get the feeling from pundits and fans that they somehow expect more of their teams than they do from those of unknown rookie coaches.
 
I've missed the Championship. Such a fantastic league to follow. I think it's gonna be a fight for promotion with Villa, Middlesbrough, Nottingham and Stoke.
 
Yagami said:
Tom Lawrence :drool:

Was disappointed that Villa didn't get promoted last year. Mainly because I love Villa Park, Steve Bruce, wanted to see Grealish in the PL (which seems to be happening anyway) and @FootballHQ
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Well we have hope again with the new owners but we still have got FFP hovering over us. Think it will be a case of just trying to keep in touch with the top 6 up to xmas while owners sort out the mess behind the scenes (Xia decided to sack our CEO and director of football over the summer while he was trying to pay tax bills in instalments).

If we can be a couple of points off play offs by new year I'd like to think we can push on second half of the season, probably with a new manager. Would be amazed if we're in the mix for top 2.
 
Last kick (header) of the game and the howler from Mannone has cost reading big time
 
Draw would've been fair result. Still Lampard won't complain at opening three points.
 
Well done Lamps. Always seemed like a decent bloke. Wish him well.
 
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Robbie Boy said:
Well do Lamps. Always seemed like s decent bloke. Wish him well.
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Agreed. Played for a club I despise but as a person he's always come off quite well, by all accounts meant to be an intelligent guy too. Would be nice to see a young, English manager come in to the Prem.
 
Got bored after the first half but good result for Lampard. They looked shaky trying to play from the back but he's got his first win under his belt.
 
The first and the third goals were 2 quality headers. Reading were stupid to defend in that way in the last minutes though.
 
It was a good win for Lampard. Derby had looked very good in pre-season and the fans were expecting a lot. Reading came to press and spoil and Derby really stuggled .They barely created anything and were largely poor but took the win. It should give them confidence going forward. A loss would have changed the pre-season narrative and optimism.
 
Any idea why Blackburn are favorites today against Ipswich? The tractor boys have always been tough to play at home and B'burn after all are promoted..
 
Watched lamps post match interview this morning, he's like a Cheshire cat and can't stop grinning from cheek to cheek, understandably.
 
Off to the Bristol City v Nottingham Forest game today. Should be interesting, two teams with high aspirations this season.
 
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