A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT
Leon Wobschall on the start made by the region’s six Championship clubs
WHEN IT comes to defining the Championship landscape for Yorkshire’s clubs at around the quarter-mark of another intriguing season, a curate’s egg is probably the most apt phrase.
The sight of Sheffield United and Leeds United in the top six provides the main sustenance and while the positions of two other sides with upwardlymobile aspirations in Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough is slightly underwhelming, time remains a friend partway through the exacting Championship marathon.
The ‘it is not how you start, but how you finish’ maxim is something that Hull City and Barnsley will also be mindful of, especially given their summer overhauls, with the pair’s presence in the bottom eight not exactly reason for cheer, but hardly reason for serious doommongering either.
The Championship can change, does change and how. Perhaps the best example in recent years comes in the shape of Bournemouth.
Going nowhere fast in 15th spot after 10 games of 2014-15, the Cherries ended up not just getting promotion, but winning the title.
So what of the progress of Yorkshire’s clubs so far?
BARNSLEY
So far, so good? Early evidence suggested the longest of seasons at Oakwell, but the new signings are starting to gel.
Some doom-merchants had even suggested the Reds would be a 2016-17 version of Rotherham United, but the Reds have emphatically – and thankfully – dispelled such fears.
It was always a season which was likely to be a ‘slow burner’ as unproven players assimilated into Championship life and Paul Heckingbottom’s methodology and all things considered, Barnsley have not done too badly, given that expectations were relatively low back in the summer. Room for improvement?
Game management and being ruthless in both boxes. Barnsley are a young side with not too much Championship savvy and sometimes that naivety has shown. The players should get better with more experience.
Likely destination? Bottom eight, but safe.
HULL CITY
So far, so good? Disappointing current position,
but Hull have displayed evidence, certainly on home soil, that they have two bonafide matchwinners on the flanks in Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki.
If others can work in harness with them and some defensive resolution and consistency is found, Hull will move upwards. Room for improvement?
Away form. Two points from a possible 15 on their travels thus far, which has added to their away malaise from last term.
All told, Hull have not picked up three points away from home in 23 matches, with the run stretching back over a year to August 20, 2016 – 411 days ago.
Likely destination? Lower top-half.
LEEDS UNITED
So far, so good? Three weeks ago, it was pretty pictureperfect with Leeds moving up to the top of the Championship for the first time since May 1990. It represented United’s best-ever start to a second-tier season, with their momentum seemingly inexorable and their form looking ominous.
Perhaps too ominous, with Leeds heading into a well-timed international break with a few bruises after painful away defeats at Millwall, Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday. A kingsized reality check. Room for improvement?
Leeds need to harden and wisen up on their travels if they are to sustain their progress, more especially as they head towards the late autumnal and winter grind on heavy pitches, which separates the wanabees from the contenders.
Leeds, at their flowing and silky best, look as good as anyone in the division on their day, but they have looked soft and too easily roughed up in their past three away outings. Likely destination? Play-offs.
MIDDLESBROUGH
So far, so good? Early days and while it is not particularly prudent to look at tables this soon, Boro clearly have issues.
Garry Monk – despite possessing an embarrassment of riches at his disposal – does not currently seem to know his best line-up, with the chemistry and cohesion in both central midfield and the final third somewhat lacking as it stands. Still hardly a disastrous start for Boro, either. Room for improvement?
See above. Boro need to start dictating games on their own terms, having fallen behind and played catch-up in a number of early season matches.
Away form is an obvious issue, the Teessiders have won just once on their travels in 13 months, while the Fortress Riverside factor – which served them so well under Aitor Karanka at second-tier level – needs to make a re-appearance. Boro have won just three out of six home matches this term.
Likely destination? Play-off contention.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
So far, so good? The irresistible winning mentality of last season has extended into the new campaign, with the Blades having rewound the clock to their halcyon days under Dave Bassett and Neil Warnock with their togetherness and team spirit having few peers at this level.
There is quality in abundance too with the likes of John Fleck, Chris Basham, Paul Coutts and Jack O’Connell having all stepped up impressively and seamlessly to the Championship plate, with the Blades’ also possessing one of the best young players outside of the top-flight in the shape of the prodigiously-gifted David Brooks.
Room for improvement?
Ticking along just nicely and it would be churlish to find fault with what has been a uniformly excellent start to the season.
The Blades, as Chris Wilder has opined, have competed in every game this term, with the plus point being that several of their wins have arrived without Billy Sharp or Clayton Donaldson being on the pitch. Likely destination? Play-off
contention.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
So far, so good? After a poor opening-day when their players were booed off at Preston, the Owls headed off the pitch with cheers ahead of the latest international break after a fine display against Leeds, which started to sooth the pain of events against Sheffield United seven days earlier – and ease
the pressure on manager Carlos Carvalhal.
The Owls have been consistently inconsistent so far this term, as they were last season. But on their day, with Gary Hooper, Barry Bannan and Steven Fletcher at their best, they are a match for anyone. Room for improvement?
Consistency. Wednesday appear to be a temperamental and slightly Jeykll and Hyde side, with their wholly contrasting displays against Sheffield United and Leeds United being a case in point.
Carvalhal may be a big fan on the ‘long game’ when it comes to the Championship, but he will be streetwise enough to realise that the Owls need to find a happy medium in terms of results and performances if he is to prosper again at Hiillsborough. Likely destination? Play-off
contention.