Alan Swann’s guide to the Championship clubs 2021-22. Who’s going up? Who’s going down?
Predicting the final Championship table for the 2021-22 season is fraught with danger because of the financial nightmare for many clubs following the Covid march through the country.
By Alan Swann
Published 25th Jul 2021, 13:55 BST
Updated 6th Aug 2021, 07:29 BST
But I’ve had a go...
13. STOKE CITY
13th: Stoke City. Major signings: Jack Bonham, Mario Vrancic, Ben Wilmot. One of my favourite stories of the summer concerned Stoke’s inability to bid for Posh striker Jonson Clarke-Harris because of financial restrictions in place at the club. That’s not wishing ill on Stoke, but it does hint that Posh will be playing on a more level footing than normal in the Championship. Stoke are backed by one of the richest families in the country as well.
14th: Blackpool. Major signings: Reece James, Richard Keogh, Callum Connolly. The best side in League One in the second half of last season are determined to carry that momentum into the Championship. They’ve signed plenty of players again this summer and kept hold of their better ones. The Seasiders will probably have a roller coaster of a season, but I suspect they will have illumination-strength smiles in May.
15th. Middlesbrough. Major signings: Sammy Ameobi, Uche Ikpeazu, Joe Lumley. Championship promotion specialist Neil Warnack is in charge at Boro, but I suspect he well spend more time moaning like Victor Meldrew then he will talking about a promotion bid. Boro have signed Wycombe’s low-scoring centre-forward Uche Ikpeazue to replace Turkey-bound Britt Assombalonga for a start so they might be the worst value to win the title at current odds of 18/1.
16th: Barnsley. Major signing: Devante Cole. The Tykes were the surprise package of the Championship last season as they reached the play-offs, but they’ve now lost their manager (Valerien Ismael) and best player (Alex Mowatt) and signed a striker (Devante Cole) from Scottish football which is hardly a recipe for success. Last term could prove to be a bigger fluke than Wycombe’s promotion from League One.
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