Championship 2013/14 > Winner

[bowles10]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Cup winners Wigan must have a chance this season although losing Martinez, have an ideal replacement Leicester also should go well this year and dont forget how well Charlton finished the season. I may look at some ew value around Charlton this year who could do a Watford.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner

Reckon Pitman will score goals for Bournemouth as well' date=' could be wrong, but seem to remember he was played out wide a lot for Bristol City and remember reading their message boards where a few of them thought he wasnt given a fair chance.[/quote'] Oh right, that's interesting, he certainly can do the business at L1 level. Didn't realise he had been played out wide during his time at City. I shall be interested to see how he does this year then, I always call him Brett The Pubman Pitman because he looks like a Sunday league player. Brett if you're reading this, which you wont be, I'm sorry.

[RedDevil92]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner I' stay away from Charlton as they haven't signed anyone so far and look really short up front. Leicester could also struggle as manager Pearson already confirmed that they won't be signing anyone else now given the fact the the Financial Fairplay Rules start this season and they are having a huge wage bill. As QPR played so far, Redknapp wants to force players such as Taarabt, Remy, Cesar and Barton out of the club as for example they haven't featured in their last match and I think that the pair of Johnson and Zamora look weak.

[south_eastern_ram]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner I agree about Charlton, feel like they massively over achieved last season, would be shocked if they can get close to repeating that again. On paper their squad looks far inferior to many others, I wouldnt be surprised to see them near the bottom actually.

[John Ball]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Good write up mate nice one. Some of my pre season thoughts/predictions: The three relegated teams to do relatively well, all be in and around the top half. The three promoted teams to be all bottom half. Blackpool to struggle, they have lost a few first teamers and are sorely lacking strikers. I don't fancy Leicester to have a good season, I can see their board replacing Pearson. Be interesting what they do if they sack him, Martin O'Neill maybe? Bolton, Forest, Reading all to be promoted. Harry Redknapp to undergo neck surgery due to an excess number of interviews in his car window. And to not see the season out at Qpr. Garry Birtles to say 2419 cliches in one match during commentary.

[Mindfulness]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner

Garry Birtles to say 2419 cliches in one match during commentary.

"Why's he done that? All he's gotta do is get the ball, kick it in the goal - Simple!"

[Ladotelli]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner I think Birmingham will have a fantastic season personally. They have sold their best players but have signed some quality as well with Kyle Bartley and Andrew Shinnie. Dark horses for promotion. I have Reading, Bolton and Forest in the top three with QPR, Watford, Brum, Brighton, Ipswich and Leeds in the chasing pack. Wigan have Europe to contend with this year so I can't see them putting in a serious challenge. Huddersfield and Wednesday to go down perhaps? Yeovil to stay up is a great bet in my opinion, Johnson is a great manager and he will instill a real spirit into his squad.

[Jase82]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Watford Championship 2013/14 Winner @ 11 - Coral As said previously I pretty much agree with everything Das Phantom has said above, and the top six "should" consist of Reading, Watford, Q.P.R. Wigan, Bolton, Forest/Leicester maybe. As always with the Championship it's very hard to pick a winner and you can probably make a case for several sides in there this season. I also like Reading to win, but in terms of value I'd have to go with Watford. Purely because I think they have an advantage over their rivals this year, and that is the ability to feed talented European players into a market filled with Englishman. They've kind of carried on what the Premier League started, and the players they have, whether on loan or frees, will be technically better than their opponents. As far as I can tell they've either made further signings, or re-signed the players that were here last season as well. All except top goal scorer Matej Vydra. They weren't far off gaining promotion last season, and were a bit inconsistent. This season I fancy them to have enough in their tank to score the goals that will ultimately win the title. I'd take Reading but I think their price has taken a hammering and 10s would be fairer. Rangers just haven't done enough business for me either, which makes their price far too short as they're still a work in progress. (Although they should still make the playoffs).

[mowgli77]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Brett Pitman to be top scorer - 1pt EW @ 40-1 Ladbrokes (1/4 odds first 4) I'm a big admirer of this player. I've seen him a few times against Bradford and been impressed. Looks a natural goalscorer, can bang them in from distance, tap ins, headers. Just has a real knack of being in the right place at the right time. He made the transition from L2 to L1 easily enough and can do it again with another step up to Championship level. Eddie Howe knows him well and how to get the best from him and it won't be on the wing. Expect to see him on the scoresheet regularly for Bournemouth, a decent underrated side that play nice football and will spring a few surprises.

[kevshat]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner 2pts ew Wigan to win the Championship 12/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1-3) If Wigan can balance Europe and Championship well enough I think they have the personnel to go very well this season. If they can make it to September with their squad intact then I think they are very dangerous contenders for the title this season. They already had sufficient quality in James McCarthy, James McArthur, Shaun Maloney and Calum McManaman among others but the signings of Leon Barnett, Grant Holt, Scott Carson, James Perch and Marc Antoine-Fortune are all excellent ones which makes their squad look very strong. Owen Coyle should be able to continue the footballing style they have and he knows how to get out of this division so if Europe doesn’t hamper them Wigan look strong runners to me. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/championship-betting-wigan-can-bounce-back-to-the-promised-land-at-the-first-time-of-asking

[kevshat]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner 1pt ew J.Beckford Top Goalscorer 25/1 Betfred (1/4 1-4) Jermaine Beckford is a natural goalscorer and showed at Everton that he knows where the back of the net is at a higher level. Dougie Freedman has a good reputation for getting the best out of strikers and he turned Glenn Murray into the best striker in the division last season. Bolton have a number of players to create chances for Beckford and with his pace and calmness in front of goal I see no reason why Freedman can’t get Beckford up towards the top of the scoring charts. While Rhodes is a standout standard bearer in this league, I’m not convinced Beckford is a third the player so at 3 times the price he’s the call here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/championship-betting-jermaine-beckford-can-be-revitalised-by-dougie-freedman

[kevshat]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner 3pts Huddersfield to beat Doncaster, Barnsley and Yeovil (Group F) 7/4 Stan James Of the four sides in this group the most progressive to me looks to be Huddersfield. Generally Mark Robins improves every side he has been at and if you look at the fallout at Coventry since he left you can tell he is a very underrated manager. He has made some good signings especially Jon Stead and Adam Hammill and they look much more equipped going forward which should prove dividends. They have a talented core of players at the back and I would expect them to finish a few positions above the other three in this group. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/championship-betting-huddersfield-look-to-have-plenty-of-improvement-in-them-under-mark-robins

[wisey10]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Winner: Brighton @ 17.00 Bet365 (1 Point) This seasons league looks tougher to call than ever and realistically, anyone from 8/9 clubs could win this. Initially Reading were my big fancy and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win it. But their price has fallen enough to put me off them. I can't back anyone below 10's to win the championship which also rules out QPR. You've then got. A large pack close together with Watford, Forest, Wigan, Bolton and Leicester who all have chances but who are all shorter than Brighton. Its worth noting that Brighton picked up more points in the champ than anyone else during 2013. It's no coincidence that this is when Ulloa signed as they had been desperate for a decent striker. Since the sesaon and Poyet finished though, the Seagulls seem to be unfancied and have slipped under the radar. Yes they have a new manager and have lost Bridge but they've made a couple of steady if unspectacular signings to what was already a very good side. I wasn't looking to back Brighton initially but they came close last season and their second half of the season form was solid. If their new manager can start the season how they finished the last one the Seagulls could be the value pick here.

[wisey10]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Top Goalscorer: Ulloa @17.00 Coral (2 Points) Having signed in January 2013, Ulloa scored 9 goals in 17 games. Not bad for a player coming from Spain to hit the ground running like that in a new league like the championship. I've already stated that I think Brighton are being under rated and what we know about them is that they enjoy plenty of possession and will create chances. With a proper pre season behind him and his first full season in England, I think Ulloa could suddenly become hot property and expect to see him firing in plenty of goals.

[Fader]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner 2pts Wigan to win the Championship 12.00 Bet365 1pt G.Holt to be top goalscorer in the Championship 17.00 Bet365 Wigan have the majority of their cup winning team in tact. They are actually a stronger team then last season because now they have proven premier league goalscorer Grant Holt. They have also brought in Scott Carson so I would side with them as a nice outsider at 11/1 to be crowned the kings. Holt scored 21 goals when he was in the championship for Norwich and is now in an arguably better team with creative players around him so he should have a great chance for Golden boot.

[wisey10]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner Top Goalscorer: Marvin Sordell @ 67.00 Bet365 (1 Point) Sordell is a player I've liked for a while and I don't understand why he never really got a chance at Bolton. He plays for the England under 21's which usually results in lots of hype but apparently not for Marvin. He had a decent goal scoring record in the championship when at Watford but then started to stagnate at Bolton. A couple of seasons on and now back in London on loan at Charlton, I think this could be the season he really pushes on. He should be number 1 choice for Charlton up front and as such I expect to see him starting the majority of matches. And as their focal point I can see him getting in the goals. Powell started to get Charlton playing at the end of last season and if Sordell can hit the ground running, then they could both surprise a few people.

[Primevil]

Re: Championship 2013/14 > Winner

1....WATFORD...84 2.....READING...79 3....LEICESTER...78 relegation 22....BARNSLEY...46 23....DONCASTER....45 24....SHEFFIELD WED..42 GL

All top3 won....all bottom 3 lost...if only it stays like this...lol