da aposte e ganhe： The Championship is often described as the hardest league in the world because there are so many teams, so many games, and so many chances to slip up.
da 888casino： Brighton and Newcastle meet tonight in a game right at the top of the league, with both sides expected to gain promotion, but whoever drops points – one or both – could see their season take on a very different complexion. And they’re not the only ones.
David Wagner’s Huddersfield Town are Terriers waiting to pounce. Sitting in third, they could find themselves only two points off an automatic promotion spot if the result goes their way. Granted, they’d have to win their own game in hand, too. Their match against Wolves has been postponed owing to an FA Cup fifth round replay with Manchester City; but that just illustrates how dangerous a side they are. Victory is vital for the top two.
To understand a little bit more about just how Newcastle United – the most expensively assembled second tier side in history – are feeling the pressure from Huddersfield Town and Brighton and Hove Albion, I’ve spoken to Sam Rourke, Editor-in-Chief of Football League World to gain a bit of insight.
Rafael Benitez’s side have spent more than most clubs around Europe, and although most of that money has been recuperated through the sales of Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum, their squad is probably the best the second division has seen in quite some time. Arguably ever.
“Money certainly has an impact on the success of clubs in the Championship, but it’s not the be all and end all,” Rourke tells me. “The perfect example is Aston Villa.” Relegated last year as one of the worst teams in Premier League history, Villa find themselves uncomfortably close to a relegation scrap again this time around.
“This is a club that has spent tens of millions of pounds in the summer and January, luring the best talent from the Championship, yet it’s failing miserably.”
Newcastle, though, for all their struggles, can’t really be described in the same terms. Whereas Steve Bruce has inherited a club with a recent change in ownership and clear systemic problems, Benitez has had a while to think about how he can turn around a club that shouldn’t really be anywhere near the position in which they now find themselves.
“11 talented individuals will not win you the Championship,” Rourke adds. “Aston Villa are a side comprised of individuals who can’t seem to operate as a cohesive unit, whilst Newcastle, to an extent, have a pretty similar side to the one we saw in the Premier League.”
It’s about that consistency. Villa’s struggles were never going to be solved with cash alone, but neither were Newcastle’s. If they’re competing at the upper echelons of the league, it has a lot to do with the fact that Benitez has been able to name a starting lineup with a similar vibe every week.
Brighton, too, have been lucky with their ability to field an unchanged team most weeks. A solid 4-4-2 with a mix of experience and flair have seen them rise to the top, and the performances of playmaker Anthony Knockaert have been a big part of that. But that’s where their similarity with Newcastle ends.
“Chairman Tony Bloom has not been lavish with transfer funds in recent seasons, and has been incredibly shrewd with his money. The £2.2m signing of Anthony Knockaert from [Belgian club] Standard Liege is perfect proof. He is now arguably the Championship’s most formidable attacking midfielder. What a coup!”
If Newcastle needed further proof that money isn’t everything in this league, then the reality of their situation should do the trick: if they are to suffer the ignominy of the Championship playoffs this season, it’ll be because of Brighton and Huddersfield.
“Huddersfield are another perfect example of a club that is not dictated by money, but is excelling due to the fantastic job David Wagner has done, by instilling a united, close-knit ethos around the club,” says Rourke.
That’s how you get out of the Championship. Not through money, but through a we’re-all-in-this-together attitude, especially for a recently-relegated team. In the end, a season in the second tier is a season spent roughing it in the wilderness, with no running water and no electricity. It’s a far cry from the Premier League, but it’s exactly how Wagner’s side spent their week off in September. The secret isn’t so much the money as acknowledging the fact.
If that’s getting out of the Championship, though, it’s certainly not the end of the road. Reaching the Premier League shouldn’t really be the goal. More of an assist. The goal is staying there.
“The Seagulls have the infrastructure with the stadium, training facilities, manager and chairman, to become a successful, sustainable Premier League outfit.”
Brighton’s route to the top isn’t the Newcastle route. The Premier League’s recent TV rights deal sees the top division drift further and further away from the Football League, and getting to the big time is that bit more important. But any Premier League club that thinks TV money and parachute payments alone will see them bounce back instantly need only look at the varying degrees of struggle that Newcastle, Villa and Norwich City have had to endure this season.
Whoever wins tonight will jam their foot in the Premier League’s door, and whoever does it will have done so because of their attitude and their consistency. But come the end of the game, defeat could see Newcastle’s head on a pike as a warning to others: getting out of the hardest league in the world certainly isn’t about the money you spend, only about how far you make it go.
Follow Sam Rourke on Twitter @samrourke_ or click here to read more Football League news and views on Football League World.
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