Season Preview – Part I (1st – 8th)

As QPR embark on a new season in the Sky Bet Championship, Vital QPR aims to predict and speculate over the outcome of the most unpredictable league in the world…

Name: Reading
Manager: Nigel Adkins
Stadium: The Madejski Stadium
Also Knows As: The Royals
Last Season Finish: 19th (Premier League)
This Season Prediction: 1st
Last Meeting: April 2013, Reading 0-0 QPR
Summer Transfers (Out): (Signed on free unless stated)Noel Hunt (Leeds), Uche Ikpeazu (Watford), Ian Harte (Bournemouth), Jay Tabb (Ipswich), Joseph Mills (Burnley), Daniel Carrico (Loan, Sevilla), Nick Arnold (Loan, Wycombe), Mikkel Andersen (Loan, Randers FC), Ryan Edwards (Loan, Perth Glory), Michael Hector (Loan, Aberdeen) Nicky Shorey, Nicholas Bignall, Angus MacDonald, Simon Church, Charlie Losasso, Brett Williams (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Wayne Bridge (Manchester City), Royston Drenthe (Aliana Vlad.), Daniel Williams (£1.7m, Hoffenheim)
One to Watch: Alex McCarthy
A Few Thoughts: QPR and Reading competed admirably in acquiring the right to label themselves the worst team in the Premier League last season, let alone in a blue and white hooped shirt. While QPR were throwing money around aimlessly at players that need little introduction, Reading were quietly adding to their squad with shrewd acquisitions that could well see them bounce back up at the first time of asking. Chris Gunter, Adrian Mariappa and Garath McCleary have added to the quality possessed by Alex Pearce, Jimmy Kebe and Adam Le Fondre and Reading look like a team well built for another Championship success. Add to this the experience and level-headedness of physio-turned-manager Nigel Adkins and it is not hard to see why John Madejski was not wrong when he concluded Reading were a club run in the right way: ‘We`ve built this club brick by brick and we haven`t gone for a quick fix. QPR have got all the hallmarks of a quick fix or allegedly quick fix`.

Despite Madeski sitting on his high horse claiming Reading are in a far better position than their hooped counterparts, let`s not forget that Reading too, are burdened with an owner who has been known to fire and hire in the blink of an eye and would not be disinterested in splashing the cash like it`s worth less than Liam Ridgewell`s toilet paper. Anton Zingarevich bought the club for £25 million last summer and has been linked with bids of up to £8 million for the likes of Jermaine Defoe and Gylfi Sigurdsson. The financial pragmatism displayed by Reading in recent times seems to have been immobilised at Adkin`s insistence; the signing of rebellious Royston Drenthe fails to quell any of these speculations. Another foreign owner`s antics could well be the downfall of a stable club like Reading, but for me a well-balanced squad with a talented manager and the experience of previous Championship promotion campaigns sees Reading the prominent favourites for the Championship title this season.

Name: Brighton & Hove Albion
Manager: Oscar Garcia
Stadium: Amex Stadium
Also Knows As: The Seagulls
Last Season Finish: 4th
This Season Prediction: 2nd
Last Meeting: March 2006, QPR 1-1 Brighton (Ainsworth – Bignot OG)
Summer Transfers (Out): Anton Rodgers (Oldham), Stephen Dobbie (Crystal Palace), Roland Bergkamp (FC Emmen), Torbjorn Agdestein (Inverness) Vicente, Marcos Painter, Yaser Kasim, Charlie Oatway, Gary Dicker, Daniel East, (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Matthew Upson (Stoke), Adam Chicksen (MK Dons)
One to Watch: Leonardo Ulloa
A Few Thoughts: Managing a club who enjoy one of the biggest home crowds in the Championship, in a stadium that cost £90 million, with a chairman willing to back you in the transfer market and the prospect of a new state-of-the-art training ground on the horizon would rank quite highly on most football managers` list of things to do. For Gus Poyet though, the lure of greater things finally led to his downfall and his unremitting reproach to the board`s reluctance to back him in the transfer market initiated a somewhat comical break-up between the two. I guess we`ll never really know what happened during the summer, but Poyet has left behind him a talented Championship squad who have been improving ever since their promotion to the league two years ago and are in a prime position to take their on-going adventure to the next level.

Poyet`s successor, Oscar Garcia, brings with him the experience of being nurtured at Barcelona and a year`s stint at Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he led them to a first national championship after a ten year wait. I don`t expect to see a massive transformation in the way Brighton are setup on the pitch and Garcia`s football philosophy cultivated at Barca could well see Brighton turn from playoff contenders to automatic promotion challengers. Look out for a stylish manager exhibiting jeans and fashionable blazers in charge of a team taking the plaudits as they grab that second automatic promotion spot.

Name: Bolton Wanderers
Manager: Dougie Freedman
Stadium: The Reebok Stadium
Also Knows As: The Trotters
Last Season Finish: 7th
This Season Prediction: 3rd
Last Meeting: March 2012 Bolton 2-1 QPR (Pratley, Klasnic – Cisse)
Summer Transfers (Out): Gary Fraser (Loan, Partick Thistle), Kevin Davies (Preston), Robert Lainton (Bury), Sam Ricketts (Wolves), Jack Sampson (Morecambe), Greg Wylde (Aberdeen), Alex McQuade (Shrewsbury), Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina), Jan Gregus (Loan, FC Banik Ostrava), Joe McKee (Greenock Morton), Adam Blakeman, Ben Dennis (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Gary Fraser (Hamilton), Connor Wilkinson (Millwall), Robert Hall (West Ham), Alex Baptiste (Blackpool), Hayden White (Sheff Wed). Marc Tierney (Norwich), Jermaine Beckford (Leicester City)
One to Watch: Rob Hall
A Few Thoughts: They say everything happens for a reason, and perhaps Bolton may be revelling in this expression following the story of the 13th May 2012 miracle. While QPR now face the arduous task of regrouping and making sure they avoid the same fate suffered by Wolves, Bolton, having regrouped themselves last year, now appear a stronger and more organised outfit than they did under Owen Coyle two years ago. Dougie Freedman, to his credit, was always adamant results would come when things didn`t start as well as first expected and only two draws against Cardiff and Blackpool saw them miss out on the playoffs at the back end of last season. Wanderers` fans were initially unsure of the appointment of Freedman but have slowly warmed to his confident managerial style and subsequent improvement in results.

Having previously replaced the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Johan Elmander with David Ngog and Marvin Sordell, Bolton now appear to be on the right track with the smart signings of Jermaine Beckford, Marc Tierney and Rob Hall (if Hall can break his way into the first team, he could well turn out to be a superb acquisition). Despite the concern of balance sheet difficulties lingering over them, Freedman will be given time and support, and a club of Bolton`s stature will embark on a campaign that will see a finish amongst the playoff places.

Name: Wigan Athletic
Manager: Owen Coyle
Stadium: DW Stadium
Also Knows As: The Latics
Last Season Finish: 18th (Premier League)
This Season Prediction: 4th
Last Meeting: May 2013, QPR 1-1 Wigan (Remy – Maloney)
Summer Transfers (Out): Antolin Alcaraz (Everton), Arouna Kone (£6 million, Everton), Mauro Boselli (Leon), Maynor Figueroa (Hull City), Roman Golobart (Cologne), Ronnie Stam (Standard Liege), Piscu (Montreal Impact), Franco Di Santo, David Jones, Ryan Watson, Albert Crusat, (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Juan Carlos Garcia (Olimpia Tegucigalpa), Grant Holt (£2.5m, Norwich), Marc-Antoine Fortune (WBA), Scott Carson (£700k, Burzaspor), James Perch (£750k, Newcastle), Thomas Rogne (Celtic), Stephen Crainey (Blackpool), Chris McCann (Burnley)
One to Watch: Shaun Maloney
A Few Thoughts: The Great Escape theme tune can no longer be heard ringing round the DW, and Wigan, having essentially been pretty rubbish for the past four seasons, finally find themselves in the Championship having flirted with Premier League relegation season after season. The departure of the likeable Roberto Martinez has seen fellow players jump on the Everton bandwagon and Wigan perhaps pose the most interesting question as to how they will fare next season. Plaudits were quick to praise Wigan for their playing style, but meetings between QPR and Wigan in the Premier League brought about a direct, lacklustre, poor approach from the Latics; it seems they only turned up when playing the big teams and they certainly won`t find any Manchester City or Arsenal`s in the Championship.

Martinez`s replacement Owen Coyle certainly has a level of Championship pedigree, yet it is Whelan`s latest managerial appointment that raises questions over Wigan`s ability to return to the top flight straight away. Sitting on the bench in long socks shouting with fingers around your mouth will only get you so far. Despite this, Coyle (or the board) seem to have made several smart Championship signings. Call him a pub striker all you want but Grant Holt has posed frequent difficulties to even the best defenders over the past two seasons and Antoine Fortune, Perch and McCann all have a sensible, solid aura about them. It may be just as well Wigan look to expand their squad as they also embark on a Europa League campaign that even the likes of Spurs and Newcastle don`t even want. A heavy fixture pile up could present another problem for Wigan, but I predict a campaign that will finish in a playoff position – should they get to Wembley, last year`s FA Cup win could give them the edge they need to win the final.

Name: Nottingham Forest
Manager: Billy Davies
Stadium: The City Ground
Also Knows As: Forest
Last Season Finish: 8th
This Season Prediction: 5th
Last Meeting: February 2011, QPR 1-1 Forest (Smith, McGoldrick)
Summer Transfers (Out): David McGoldrick (Ipswich), Lewis McGugan (Watford), Matty Regan (Tamworth), Dimitar Evtimov (Loan, Nuneaton)
Summer Transfers (In): Jamie Mackie (£1m, QPR), Djamel Abdoun (£2m, Olympiakos), Dorus DeVries (Wolves), Jamie Patterson (Walsall), Gonzalo Jara (WBA), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa), Jack Hobbs (Hull City)
One to Watch: Jamie Mackie
A Few Thoughts: The last time QPR and Nottingham Forest met the fixture was a first versus second clash. The game turned out to be a 1-1 draw but Rangers went onto win the league whilst Forest failed in the playoffs (for the second season in a row) – leading to then manager Billy Davies` departure at the end of the season. Twenty months and four managers later Davies finds himself back at the City Ground with new owners and a squad in a pretty similar state to the one he left it. It`s just as well Davies has new owners to report to, as his incessant moaning and whimpering in that repetitive and dreary Scottish accent about the club`s ‘player acquisition panel` was a real drain on any football fans` ears the last time he was at Forest. The Al-Hawasi reign has been labelled a shambles with the number of managerial changes since their takeover but having reverted back to Davies they have made an astute appointment.

Bar the constant moaning and fear he could lose his temper at any moment, Davies is a talented manager and has always performed wherever he has been in charge. Forest experienced a late charge towards the playoffs last season following his arrival and given a full season to implement his ways once again, Forest will be a force to be reckoned with this season. A couple of quality acquisitions may be required to add some class to the squad, but the likes of Simon Cox, Jack Hobbs and of course Jamie Mackie, point to a team that will beat most and have another crack at the playoffs. Whether they can turn their playoff failures into success remains to be seen, but you can`t fault them for lack of trying.

Name: Watford
Manager: Gianfranco Zola
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Also Knows As: The Hornets
Last Season Finish: 3rd
This Season Prediction: 6th
Last Meeting: May 2011, Watford 0-2 QPR (Taarabt, Smith)
Summer Transfers (Out): Mark Yeates (Bradford), Craig Forsyth (£150k, Derby), Jack Bonham (Brentford), Chris Iwelumo (Scunthorpe), Stephen McGinn (Sheffield United), Carl Dickinson (Port Vale), John Eustace (Derby), Leed Hodson (MK Dons), Jonathan Hogg (Huddersfield), Prince Buaben, Piero Mingoia, Fitz Hall (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Essaid Belkalem (Loan, Udinese), Reece Brown (Man Utd), Ikechi Anya (Granada), Diego Fabbrini (Udinese), Davide Faraoni (Udinese), Lars Ekstrand (Udinese), Daniel Pudil (Granada), Marco Cassetti (Udinese), Christian Battocchio (Udinese), Lewis McGugan (Nottm Forest), Uche Ikpeazu (Reading), Iriney Santos (Loan, Granada), Javi Acuna (Udinese)
One to Watch: Almen Abdi
A Few Thoughts: Only QPR could look to Italy to find upcoming talent and end up with players that would struggle to even get into my Sunday league team. The likes of Di Carmine, Pellicori and Tommassi bring back painful memories for most QPR fans and so hats off to Watford who not only walked over the Football League like they weren`t even there and signed fourteen players on loan, but actually managed to sign players who looked half decent in the Championship. The Pozzo family have caused some controversy since their takeover at the beginning of last season as their connections with Udinese and Granada have led to an influx of Italian players making the trip to sunny WD18. Should Watford have continued their fine tradition of Championship mediocrity I doubt anyone would have batted an eyelid at their questionable transfer policy, but the capable Gianfranco Zola managed to pull off a miracle and get the Hornets actually playing some decent football which led to a fine season only ending through a 1-0 playoff final defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Football League have acted this season and placed Watford under a transfer embargo, an embargo that isn`t really a transfer embargo, as Watford have signed 50 loan players already this summer, 45 of them coming from Udinese. The attacking prospects of Ikechi Anya and Daniel Pudil as wing backs, with the likes of Almen Abdi and Troy Deeney providing attacking flair to Zola`s bold 3-5-2 formation make Watford an attractive side to watch. The losses of Matej Vydra and Nathananiel Chalobah will be costly to Zola`s side but they posses enough hunger to pose another threat to the Championship this season. Admittedly only Reading in recent years have recovered from a playoff final defeat to make a significant impact on the league the following this season, hence a last playoff place prediction for The Hornets, but Zola`s tactics and a young eager team could see them have another crack at the playoffs.

Name: Leicester City
Manager: Nigel Pearson
Stadium: The King Power Stadium
Also Knows As: The Foxes
Last Season Finish: 6th
This Season Prediction: 7th
Last Meeting: March 2011, QPR 1-0 Leicester (Miller)
Summer Transfers (Out): Joe Jones (Yeovil), Jermaine Beckford (Bolton), Conor Brennan (Kilmarnock), Steven Smith, Karlton Watson, Richie Wellens , Connor Clifford (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Zoumana Bakayogo (Tranmere)
One to Watch: Chris Wood
A Few Thoughts: I don`t think any football fan could quite fathom the despair felt by the Leicester fans, not only from Anthony Knockaert`s missed penalty but the astonishing response from Watford, in the 93rd minute of the playoff semi -final last season. Most were probably thinking ‘thank god that wasn`t us`. Despite being knocked out in such harsh circumstances, it was perhaps inevitable Leicester`s Championship season would eventually come to an end in the playoffs, as a dramatic turn in form saw The Foxes plummet from 2nd to 6th as they managed only 4 wins from their last 18 league games. Their impressive early season form potentially undone by the lack of any recruits in the January transfer window.

Leicester`s transfer policy over the past 18 months, since Pearson`s return, has largely been spent cutting the squad and shipping out players on large contracts in preparation for the Financial Fair Play rules that come into play at the end of this season, hence the significant lack of transfer activity this summer. Due to the folly from the Sven era, they now possess a much smaller, more youthful squad with an average age of approximately 25. The potent strike partnership of David Nugent and Chris Wood is arguably one of the best in the league; whilst the enthusiasm radiating from the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp and Andy King mean Leicester possess a good, solid squad. The back end of last season will have hit Leicester hard and the lack of summer recruits will also add to their troubles; a season that will culminate in a spot just outside the playoffs for me. Should Pearson fail to deliver for another season, he could well be looking for a job next summer, if not sooner.

Name: Leeds United
Manager: Bryan McDermott
Stadium: Elland Road
Also Knows As: United
Last Season Finish: 13th
This Season Prediction: 8th
Last Meeting: May 2011, QPR 1-2 Leeds (Helguson – McCormack, Gradel)
Summer Transfers (Out): Steve Morison (Loan, Millwall), Paul Connolly, Davide Somma, Patrick Kisnorbo, Leigh Bromby, Sanchez Payne, Paul Rachubka (All Released)
Summer Transfers (In): Noel Hunt (Reading), Luke Murphy (£1m , Crewe), Matt Smith (Oldham)
One to Watch: Sam Byram
A Few Thoughts: Nobody QPR fan quite remembers the last time these two sides met; a considerably irrelevant 90 minutes sandwiched in between the ecstasy of finding out Rangers would not be receiving a 10, 20 or 50 point deduction from the Football League and the wild celebrations of a Championship title win afterwards. And much like those 90 minutes, Leeds have in recent times rarely threatened to make any impact or pertinence on anyone outside Elland Road. Their well documented financial problems are about as wildly inconsistent as mine were at university, and only last season were fans ringing in to 606 with the club sitting in 12th adamant they would be getting relegated. Yes, Leeds are a massive club (although long gone are the days of European Cup semi-finals against Valencia), but unless they sort out who the hell owns the club and can hold onto a manager that is not only half decent, but actually likes the club, they will have to settle for mid-table Championship finishes for the next few seasons.

Bryan McDermott gets a crack at the Championship once again having been dismissed at the first opportunity by Reading last season and despite being about as exciting to listen to as a sedated Steve Claridge, the uncanny Byran Gunn doppelganger has all the attributes to lead a successful Championship team. The instantly unlikeable El Hadj Diouf and Michael Brown are supported by the youthfulness likeability of Sam Byram and Luke Murphy and despite lacking a strong enough squad to maintain a triumphant playoff push, Bryan McDermott will be able to lead Leeds to a respectable top half finish.


Abuse me on twitter @harrod11. A special thanks to @N_Harrod for his valued help and assistance