da supremo：
da betsson：
As we all know the Championship fixtures were released this week and, I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to see names like Bolton Wanderers, Leeds United and erm, Barnsley, among our list of opponents next season.
I mean, no offence to the teams that we were playing in League One, but a lot of the guys we’ll be against next season have recent Premier League credentials.
Bolton, Wolves and Blackburn were all Premier League outfits last season and there’s no doubting the history and heritage of the likes of Nottingham Forest and Derby County.
When you look at the Championship table ahead of the 2012/2013 campaign, 13 of the 24 teams who will be involved have been in the Premier League in the past 10 years and have at least a bit of a brand about them. Also, if you look at some of the teams who haven’t been in England’s top flight in the last decade, such as Wednesday and Forest, we at least have a big name behind us.
Our first four games of the season will see us take on Derby, Birmingham, Millwall and Crystal Palace. While only one of the above (Birmingham) challenged for promotion last season, they are all tough sides to break down and will be a stern challenge for a Wednesday side that will be finding their feet in new surroundings.
I’ve said it many a time, especially to my colleagues in South Africa, that the English Championship is possibly the toughest league in the world. I by no means think that it’s the best league with regards to quality, but with regards to the excitement and the unpredictability of who will make the top six come the end of the season, you never really know. It’s as open as a 24-hour McDonalds.
Look at the Premier League, for years it’s been dubbed a two, or three, or four horse race, and understandably so. We all know that the top spot in the division is only really up for grabs by a certain hierarchy. Now take The Championship, there are a whole host of teams who could take the title, and even more who will feel that they can genuinely challenge for at least the playoff places.
We’ve just gone up, we know in our heads that we ‘should’ struggle. Yet even so, the odds on us winning the league, or at least getting into the playoffs, are not that high. For this reason, among others, I’ve always said that England’s second division is near on impossible to bet on.
However, despite all of this good news. Despite the fact that we’ll now be sparring with the cruiserweights instead of the welterweights, there is a hint of sadness when I look at next year’s fixtures. The reason is, even though I do like to see Sheffield United fail a tincy bit, Derby Day is epic, even for little old me listening to Wednesday World in Mzansi.
Yes, we’ll get to play Barnsley and Huddersfield. Of course, beating Dirty Leeds will be great fun, but none of these derbies quite pack a heavyweight punch like our red and white rivals. I’ll admit it, I’ll miss them… only a little bit though.
When the fixtures came out this week I checked the opening day and then skipped right through to December. I’m coming home for Christmas and I needed to see when I could end my Hillsborough drought. I did hope that we’d have Leeds while I was back, but to be honest, I’m happy with a home game against Charlton as long as I get to sing Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday in the blistering cold once again.
To sum it up folks, I’m looking forward to next season. There’s still a few transfers on the cards for Dave Jones, and we’ve signed well so far. There’s still reason for us Wednesdayites to believe that, when I do come home in December, I’ll be seeing a side that are at least sitting comfortably in mid-table.
Anyway, as a parting note, in true Wednesday fashion, we’ve already found ourselves in the relegation places, 22nd, after just 0 games. We’re yet to hit the back of the net and have racked up no points, however on the plus side, we are yet to concede.
Come On Wednesday
Can we kick it? @YesWeCrann
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