Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

[Bathtime For Rupert]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 So Snodgrass is off. Hold your horses.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

So Snodgrass is off. Hold your horses.

The sooner you get rid of Bates the better.

[aliando]

Just something to keep an eye on here for Cardiff as differing opinions on the Malaysian investment and change of strip colour threatens to cause in-fighting amongst our own fans http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/cardiff-city/cardiff-city-fc/2012/07/25/keep-cardiff-blue-call-on-cardiff-city-to-guarantee-safety-after-threats-91466-31472798/

[south_eastern_ram]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

Just something to keep an eye on here for Cardiff as differing opinions on the Malaysian investment and change of strip colour threatens to cause in-fighting amongst our own fans http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/cardiff-city/cardiff-city-fc/2012/07/25/keep-cardiff-blue-call-on-cardiff-city-to-guarantee-safety-after-threats-91466-31472798/

The day Derby change their club colours, nickname and basis of their badge is the day i stop going, shocking what's going on at Cardiff imo.

[ONEDUNME]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Yeah, you'd never catch Derby County changing their colours hey?:lol

[south_eastern_ram]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

Yeah' date=' you'd never catch Derby County changing their colours hey?:lol[/quote'] Well apart from a period of blue and white for about 17/18 years, then no you wouldnt. The main colour was still white though and has been for over 100 years. Changing the secondary colour is a bit different from changing the traditional colour of a club that has been in place for generations.

[ONEDUNME]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 If you say so. It would make sense to me to say that Derby's colours are black and white and they changed them to blue and white and then back again. Of course, if you like to think that Derby's colour is white and it doesn't matter what they wear with it, you're perfectly entitled to think that I suppose.

[waynecoyne]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 A quick update on sheffield wednesday: the michail antonio transfer farce continues, mandaric still haggling. He did this last year with lefondre and ben marshall and lost out on both. Lip service is paid to paying fees to string along the fans and when they fall through, we matched the bid but the player was offered more elsewhere (greedy player being the implication). I hope my skepticism is misplaced. Wednesday are about 5 first choice players short of being competitive in terms of the top 6. We need a centre back, two wingers, centre midfield and striker. There is alot of dead wood to be shipped out also. I certainly wouldn't back wednesday at present but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

[aliando]

It's now being reported that Kim bo-kyung has signed for Cardiff with international clearance expected after he has completed his Olympics duty. Looks to be a significant singing for us and there's talk of a couple more players to be added to the squad. Reports coming from the squad and those around it are of a squad that is gelling well, united and with an excellent work ethic...

[kal_Dhillon]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

The sooner you get rid of Bates the better.

Amen to that.Can't wait for him to piss off....

[maliniok]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

Certainly think Huddersfield are worth a mention at their price. Grayson has bought well so far investing wisely in the likes of Oliver Norwood - who stood out at this level for Coventry last season - Sean Scannell from Crystal Palace who can be useful and also the signing of Dundee United full back Paul Dixon. Obviously the main task is to keep Jordan Rhodes and if they do I feel they have a strong solid spine of a team in Bennett/Smithies, Peter Clarke, Oliver Norwood and Jordan Rhodes. They have a very ambitious chairman who is a fan of the club and he is willing to pump money into signings also.

Started looking at this yesterday and think I rounded the championship down to one of about 16 teams :lol Gonna be another tight to call season :clap I'll put a detailed post on Cardiff closer to the time as there loads going on both on and off the field. I looked at Huddersfield too at such a big opening price. Whilst they may not have won as many as they perhaps should have done, they rarely lost either. In league one, they were one of the big boys and a number of teams played them not-to-lose. The championship is a different league. Huddersfield are no longer the big boys and this may be to their advantage. Whilst the top clubs fight amongst themselves to go up, teams like Swansea, Norwich and southampton have found they have been able to waltz through almost unwatched. This looks like it's gonna be a bettors nightmare league again with coin tossing being as successful as hard work studying teams. There are better teams than Huddersfield but it's looking a very open league and their price ATM represents value IMO.

Following from the above posts and for the record, here are Huddersfield's signings so far this season: 1. Midfielder Adam Clayton from Yorkshire rivals Leeds. The 23-year-old former England Under-20 international played under Terriers boss Simon Grayson at Elland Road after being signed from Manchester City. 2. Manchester United midfielder Oliver Norwood on a three-year contract. Barnsley were optimistic of signing the 21-year-old, but he has instead chosen to move to the Galpharm Stadium. Northern Ireland international. 3. Dundee United full-back Paul Dixon. The 25 year old defender made 44 appearances for the side who finished fourth in the SPL last season. He was tempted by several Championship teams but chose the Terriers. 4. Defender Joel Lynch. The 24-year-old left Nottingham Forest at the end of last season after failing to agree a new contract. 5.Crystal Palace winger Sean Scannell. The 21-year-old has agreed a three-year deal with the Championship newcomers. Scannell, who has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level, made 41 appearances for the Eagles last season, scoring four goals. 6. Keith Southern - 31 year old midfielder from Blackpool. In the last decade he has made over 330 appearanced for the Tangerines and was managed there by current Hudds gaffer, Grayson. Huddersfield have also ended their interest in 25 year old Leicester full back Lee Peltier after the price quoted by Foxes was too high. There's silence on Jordan Rhodes so I reckon he's staying at Hudds.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 The signing of Joel Lynch was important because I felt they needed to add a championship grade CB to play with Clarke. Should also be noted that they have signed Keith Southern from Blackpool which is also a very important signing as they needed a bit of experience and steel in those central-defensive midfield positions. If they can keep key players fit I feel they will be a top 10 side this year and at best maybe even challenging for one of the lower playoff spots. I personally still have one or two question marks over Grayson's ability to balance defence with attack but we will just have to wait and see on that. Out of the 3 promoted teams they look the strongest at present but Charlton in my eyes are the biggest enigma of the division, it's just so hard to gauge where they will end up this year. Despite having Dave Jones as manager Wednesday look the weakest on paper, I expect they will consolidate and survive but they'll be bottom half unless they make 3 or 4 decent signings.

[maliniok]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Thanks Phantom, I have added info on Southern to my post. I quietly hoped you would tell us a thing or two on Scannel! ;)

[RedDevil92]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 To me, Sheffield Wednesday has also made some quite good signings with keeper Kirkland, defenders Gardner and Mattock and midfielders Amado and Pecnik and winger Maguire. If they could add one more good striker to their ranks, I believe they will also have good chances of a top half finish. There are other teams that will have relegation problems with the likes of Barnsley, Peterborough, Derby, Ipswich, Bristol and Millwall.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Oh right, Sean Scannell is a pacey, energetic player whose technical ability is not too shabby either. Unfortuantely he couldn't adapt to the 4-2-3-1 system that Freedman plays, quite frankly he wouldn't be anygood playing midfield in a 4-4-2 either because his end product is simply not good enough to deliver consistently from wide areas. The area where he should be developed (and this is where I think Grayson will play him) is upfront alongside a striker partner. He showed promise in this area when we played with 2 strikers early doors last season. I believe he has the finishing ability just a question over whether he can time his runs correctly which is something Freedman has mentioned in the past. A decent player to have in your squad at this level if you play him in a 2 man strikeforce. Otherwise I don't think he has the correct mentality to play other positions effectively. I believe if played regularly he could reach double figures in the champ as a striker, I don't think he has the footballing brain to play at a level higher than he is now but he could prove everyone wrong. Unfortunately for him Palace are churning out very talented youth players like they're going out of fashion so if you start to stagnate even as young as 21 you'll be out the door as there will be 3 or 4 more guys ready to step-up to the plate.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

To me' date=' Sheffield Wednesday has also made some quite good signings with keeper Kirkland, defenders Gardner and Mattock and midfielders Amado and Pecnik and winger Maguire. If they could add one more good striker to their ranks, I believe they will also have good chances of a top half finish. There are other teams that will have relegation problems with the likes of Barnsley, Peterborough, Derby, Ipswich, Bristol and Millwall.[/quote'] If Gardner stays fit he is an excellent signing but I don't think he has a viable centre-back partner for this level yet. Kirklands' spinal column will probably get a walk on part for the next Terminator movie so whether he can play 36 games a season I don't know, I don't rate him that much anyway. I don't know much about Pecnik to be fair so perhaps he will add some creativity to that midfield, which they desperately need with the players they've got at present. Maguire should be able to do the job at this level but Madine still looks lonely in the forward areas imo.

[waynecoyne]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

A quick update on sheffield wednesday: the michail antonio transfer farce continues, mandaric still haggling. He did this last year with lefondre and ben marshall and lost out on both. Lip service is paid to paying fees to string along the fans and when they fall through, we matched the bid but the player was offered more elsewhere (greedy player being the implication). I hope my skepticism is misplaced. Wednesday are about 5 first choice players short of being competitive in terms of the top 6. We need a centre back, two wingers, centre midfield and striker. There is alot of dead wood to be shipped out also. I certainly wouldn't back wednesday at present but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

fee now agreed with reading for antonio should sign over the weekend jones talking about bringing 4 or 5 more in antonio is an important signing and gives me a bit more confidence that we will be having a go but i'll wait for more signings before getting involved and then probably looking at spreads on finishing positions

[Kenton Schweppes]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Scannell has been the stand out performer in our friendlies so far and has scored once.I think Grayson see's him more of a striker than a winger to be fair.We haven't signed another striker yet and if Grayson had Scannell down as a winger he'd have signed another striker by now,he hasn't so I assume Scannell is going to be playing up front. Grayson has made some decent signings but as for challenging for a promotion spot even a play off place is a pretty tall order. I would expect a top 10 finish with the signings we've made so far, we are really good value at the price but if you want my honest opinion we won't be challenging for promotion.I hope I'm wrong and we are but can't see it, top 10 finish will do for me. I also wonder if Grayson has something else up his sleeve maybe a season long loan,he's mentioned it our local rag but as yet we've made no move in that direction.The signing of Southern is pretty important for me as well,a solid holding midfielder is a must at this level and I'm pleased he's on board. One things for sure is all this guff about us being favourites for relegation way off the mark.

[maliniok]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Arterrier - I had a bet on you to win po final last season and I think Huddersfield are a bit underrated again so I fancy playing Hudds but on a matchday market. Again, looking at the first fixture of the season I think that cardiff are slightly overrated so will consider backing Terriers in some way. Could you give us some insight on the way you've been playing at friendlies? I thought your biggest weakness last season was 1) defense 2) giving away goals too easily especially when leading (Leyton at home, Franchise in the PO semis to give just two examples). Do you think Grayson has managed to improve in these areas? And also is rhodes staying with you?

[Kenton Schweppes]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 So far Rhodes is still with us and hopefully that will remain the case. I haven't actually attended any friendlies as yet but in the last 2 friendlies we have lost 1-0 to Crewe and drew 0-0 with Oldham today.Grayson has voiced his displeasure at todays 0-0 draw on our official website. I agree we probably will be under estimated by other teams and will spring a few surprises on unsuspecting oppositions. Yes last season we did throw a lot of points away from leading positions more than any other team in League One. The defence was also a bit of a problem,hopefully with the arrival of Lynch and Dixon things will tighten up but its too early to say whether these shortcomings have been remedied. As for the Cardiff game we are deffo worth a punt over the last few season we have been excellent away from home, although I realise its a step up but I would definitely say we are capable of getting a draw at Cardiff.

[waynecoyne]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

fee now agreed with reading for antonio should sign over the weekend jones talking about bringing 4 or 5 more in antonio is an important signing and gives me a bit more confidence that we will be having a go but i'll wait for more signings before getting involved and then probably looking at spreads on finishing positions

antonio signed today we still need a centre back gardner sounds like he is decent as is miguel llera but need a back up the rest of defence is fine midfield lines injured against west brom in a friendly centre mid still required another winger also needed pecnik has been playing out wide but may move inside he sounds a good signing at the moment madine will be playing with maguire up top but another striker needed marlon harewood has been on trial but would be disappointed if we offered him a contract so 4 more players needed kirkland has impressed in pre season and with gardner and semedo, madine up front the spine looks solid

[The Dublin Red]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Starting to get a little excited about my team Nottingham Forest. I would have said top 10 a couple of weeks ago but O'Driscoll has certainly worked his magic in the transfer market. Signing Daniel Ayala from Norwich on a season long loan is a real blow your socks off signing. It also looks like Simon Cox is also on his way and there are rumours regarding Nicky Maynard. Okay the minus points are there in that he is basically assembling a team from scratch after a season of misery last year. However I think we are good shout for a play off spot. There is a real feel good factor around the club. It actually reminds me of Billy Davies's first play off season where nobody expected us to do well.

[aliando]

Gerrard has gone from us (Cardiff) to Huddersfield for £350k. I'd put that as a decent signing for the terriers. He's a solid enough championship player, probably not quite good enough for premier but will do a good job for you guys. He had a year with hull (season before last) and did well for them. I'd have happily seen him stay but he would've been second fiddle to Hudson and turner. We've been linked with a cb throughout the summer and with dekel keinan also been given permission to leave, I'd like to think we'll sign a replacement cb.

[maliniok]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13

probably not quite good enough for premier

You're counting your chickens too early mate! The season hasn't even started.

[waynecoyne]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 a message from a bolton supporting mate benik afobe scored a hat trick tonight against tranmere on a season long loan from arsenal and apparently 25 for top scorer

[aliando]

You're counting your chickens too early mate! The season hasn't even started.

:lol I was thinking more from a Huddersfield angle. They look a potentially tasty value bet but if they were to follow Norwich, Swansea and Southampton, I don't think he'd make the grade. At championship level though, he's fairly solid. A

[waynecoyne]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 More fun and games at Blackburn. Sky have shown a Q & A session with a supporters action group questioning director of football 'shebby' singh who stated that steve kean would definitely be sacked if he loses 3 consecutive games-to widespread cheering.

[wisey10]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 To Win The League: Brighton @ 18/1 (1 Point) The championship looks as tight as a gnats arse this year and any 1 of 10 or so clubs are in with a shout of winning the league and even more in with a chance of the play offs. The 3 relegated clubs are all near the top of the betting but I think they all have flaws. Blackburn look to be doing the best business in the transfer market with Danny Murphy and dickson etuhu forming a solid middle. But there is too much unrest there and the chairmans comments today about sacking Keane if he loses 3 consecutive games is comical. What a way to start the season and motivate the new players. So though they look decent on paper, you can't run a club like that. Their main striker signing Leon best is also now out for a good few months aswell. Wolves are set to lose their best players in fletcher, Jarvis and Kightly and I don't think their squad is that strong if you take those players out. Their new manager was a strange choice and there is talk that some players are struggling to adapt to his tactics. I don't fancy them much at all. Bolton are favs for the league and they certainly have a good chance but I don't think they look that much better than anyone else. This is such a tough, relentless league and I do think they will finish top6 but their price is too short. You then have the cluster of teams who have had/ due for a takeover such as forest, Cardiff, Leeds, Leicester. All teams should have a chance but there has been too much upheaval at forest and I don't think their signings have been that impressive considering they've lost some key players. Leeds have also had a number of comings and goings and their takeover hangs in the balance. They have made some good signings and I think they will have a real go this year but I don't know if they will be good enough for top 2. Leicester probably have the best chance of these sides as this is their 2nd season with the new board and are more settled. They have a good squad but I don't know if they have enough cutting edge to come out on top after a long season. De laet is a poor signing and I think they have a couple of weak links in their squad. Then you get to the next tier of sides and the one I like is Brighton. They are a team on the up after a decent return to the championship last season, a new stadium and a good young manager. They had a great start last season but hit a really bad patch as they just didn't have enough depth. But I like the signings they have made this season which should make a big difference. Kuzcheck (sp) from man utd is a great addition in goal whilst Bridge from man city and Saltier from Valencia are 2 great signings at fullback who have great experience. Vincente is one of the best midfielders in the league and if he stays fit, he could be absolutely crucial player. To add a bit of steel alongside him, they ave re signed Crofts from Norwich. He's not a world beater but he's got the attributes you need in the championship as well as the experience of being promoted with Norwich. He should do the dirty work which will allow Vincente to play his proper game. Up front Poyet is still after a new striker and if he can get in someone decent to compete with mackail smith, Barnes and Hoskins, I really do think they will have an impressive side. Buckley, Noone, and lua lua also give them good attacking options on the wing. They might not look the obvious choice but they have a steady ship with a good manager and they have made some great signings this summer. A new centre half and striker would really see them looking solid. It's a very tight league this year with plenty of clubs splashing cash. Brighton haven't got that money but do have much in their favour and @ 18/1 they are the most appealing option for me to finish top come the end of the season.

[wisey10]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 To Be Promoted: Burnley @ 12/1 (1 Point) Again, it is a very difficult league this year and any side putting a good run together is in with a shout of the play offs. I like the way Burnley have been quietly going about their business and they have invested well this summer. They lost Jay Rodrigues but in 7m they got a very good price for him. They have signed Sam Vokes who is a promising striker and with also having Charlie Austin and Martin Patterson, they have some very good attacking options. All 3 are good, young and hungry strikers who I think will cause problems. A good strike force in this league will always put you in with a chance. In defence they have signed Jason Shackell who has come in as captain and I rate him highly. He's not a big fancy name but he's a good championship centre half. Today they have also signed Brian Stock who was captain at Doncaster. He again is a good championship player who should add a bit of composure and creativity to the Burnley midfield. I like Eddie Howe as manager and it was only a couple of years ago they were in the premier league. There is usually one unfancied team who makes the play offs and of the teams in the bottom half, Burnley are the side who I like the look of and who I think are worth a speculative punt on.

[Lodge]

Re: Antepost > Championship > 2012-13 Havent looked through the whole of this thread but there seems to be plenty of differening opinions! Here's my selection. To win the Championship: Blackburn @ 12/1 Ladbrokes Think theres abit of value here, especially as some of the aquisitions the club have made over the past month look very good. Although the club have lost top scorer Yakubu, and the impressive Hoilett the majority of the relegated side from last year remain intact. They have added to the squad some players with plenty of experience at a higher level, the likes of Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu, Leon Best, Nuno Gomez and Colin Kazim Richards, and there is also more deals in the pipeline by the looks of it too, one of which could be the signing of the prolific Jordan Rhodes. Although many will question the manager Steve Kean i do not think he is all that bad and some good early form should see some of the critics off his back. There early season fixtures dont look that easy on paper playing a few of the other promotion hopefuls but this could be their oppotunity to prove their title credentials. Overall i feel that the price of 12/1 offer alot more value than the teams around them.