Connect with us

Championship

Warnock names the six Championship sides he expected to compete for promotion

The Cardiff manager has spilled the beans on the teams he expected to be at the top of the Championship this season.

(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

By Alex Beard

City manager Neil has outlined the unpredictable nature of the by revealing the six teams he expected to challenge for promotion before a ball was kicked this season.

The experienced boss has seen a lot in his time, and he told talkSport that he expected Aston , , , Middlesbrough, Fulham and Derby to be challenging at the top of the division this year.

Eight games in, however, and no-one foresaw Warnock’s own team being joint-top of the table with the aforementioned Leeds and Wolves.

“You couldn’t have bet on it,” he told The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show.

“For me, the six clubs I thought would be up there to start with were Villa, Derby, Fulham, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Wolves.

“We’ve played Wolves and they were very good, although they’re spending a lot of money, it’s still pretty even.”

While Thomas Christiansen’s Leeds and ‘s Wolves have so far lived up to Warnock’s billing, the other four teams haven’t made quite the same impact as of yet.

Boro have made a decent start under , sitting in seventh place in the table and just three points off the trio of joint-leaders.

On the other hand, Aston Villa, Fulham and Derby have yet to really get going this season – each under managers who know the second tier well.

The three teams sit 13th, 14th and 15th respectively, with just goal difference separating them after they all claimed 10 points from their opening fixtures – although ‘s Rams do have a game in hand on the other two.

Related Topics
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tackle the News

- Sign Up for our weekly Football League Newsletter Today!
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Best Betting Sites at Betinireland.ienew-UK-football-betting-sites-banner

More in Championship

  •

    Florian Bianchini can be fab for Portsmouth – John Mousinho

    Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is tipping French loan capture Florian Bianchini to make a major impact at Fratton Park. Pompey have borrowed the versatile 24-year-old attacker from divisional rivals Swansea. The former Amiens and Bastia man netted three goals in 36 Championship games for the Swans last season, but only...

  •

    Chris Dunlavy: Big-hitters and rookie bosses join Championship madhouse!

    The FLP looks at the key Championship talking points The Championship season hasn’t even kicked off yet, and already we’ve seen transfer embargoes, unpaid wages and a host of other off-field issues. Then there’s the arrival of two big-hitters from League One in the shape of big-spending Birmingham and Hollywood-backed...

  •

    John Lyons: Sheffield Wednesday’s plight raises fears

    Concerns are growing as to whether Sheffield Wednesday will be in a position to kick off their Championship season at Leicester City next Sunday. There have been a raft of player departures in the past fortnight at the crisis-hit club. Wages were delayed in both May and June and the...

  •

    John Lyons: Closing in on the Championship…

    A host of Championship clubs put the finishing touches to their pre-season preparations yesterday. Stoke warmed up for their curtain-raiser at home against Derby next Saturday by earning a morale-boosting 1-0 win against Premier League new-boys Burnley. Ben Wilmot notched the Potters’ first half winner. Birmingham rounded off their pre-season...