We have heard before that the Premier League is considered by many to be the best league in the world. But if so then the Npower Championship must surely be number 2, or maybe even number 1A.
England’s second tier has long been seen as one of the more exciting on offer. It is shown on TV’s as far afield as Germany, France, Sweden, Brazil, Australia, Canada, India and many more. It has been suggested that worldwide the Championship garners more viewers than Italy’s Serie A. For the most part it can’t compete with the technical competence shown in Spain, France or our own Premier League. But for shear excitement it’s hard to beat.
We are currently nearing the ‘business end’ of the season but still there is much to be decided. Realistically one of three teams could still win the league, as well as there being 11 teams still fighting for 4 play off places. Compare this to the top flight, where the league title looks all but sewn up and three teams are in the race for fourth. This despite the fact that the Premier League teams all have 5 or 6 games left, compared to just 4 in the Championship.
And things are no simpler at the foot of the Championship table, where 7 teams are still very much facing the threat of relegation. Nail biting to the last, as the Championship always is. There’s something fantastic in seeing a team sat in mid table in March, hitting good form at the right time that will see them into the play offs. Whereas a bad patch could see them relegated to League 1.
The dominance of our top 6 in England, Madrid and Barca in Spain, the same three or four clubs fighting for the league in Italy, France, Germany or Portugal just goes to show that there really is no other league like this in the world.
The Championship just seems to have this quality where genuinely anybody can beat anybody. Just over the Easter weekend, relegation threatened Millwall beat promotion chasing Cardiff City and second from bottom Portsmouth picked up a great result at top of the league Southampton, drawing 2-2.
And it’s the same every week. I love the Premier League, who doesn’t? But the chance of a surprise result of any magnitude is unlikely. It’s a lot more formulaic than the Championship, where a surprise result is a weekly occurrence.
The unpredictability of the Championship is truly enough to ruin anyone’s betting slip. But it’s not without substance. Just look at the performances of sides promoted from the Championship last year.
Norwich City have established themselves in mid table Premier League safety and recently enjoyed an impressive win away at Spurs. This success has been mirrored by last years play off winners Swansea City, who have also all but secured Premier League football for a second year and triumphed over Arsenal and Manchester City at home.
All of this with minimal investment in their squads. Proof that the quality of the Championship is such that their best sides are ready made to compete at the top level. Norwich’s Grant Holt is a perfect example of this. Holt has terrorised an array of Premier League defenders since Norwich’s promotion last season and some are even calling for him to receive a late England call up.
After coming through the football league his success could well be mirrored next season by high flying Southampton’s Ricky Lambert. Lambert has lit up Leagues 1 & 2 and now the Championship, and with his side well in the automatic promotion hunt then who’s to say he can’t follow Holt’s example in the top flight next season?
Similarly, on the other end of the scale, formerly established Premier League sides such as West Ham and Birmingham City have fitted quite nicely into Championship life. Challenging at the right end of the table but hardly setting the world alight. West Ham may be forced to settle for a play off berth, Birmingham may not even get that. These ‘Premier’ sides are not a guaranteed cut above.
The Championship has proved to be just as good an advert for English football as the Prem. Year in year out the only thing predictable about it is its unpredictability! As the top two, Reading and Southampton, prepare to meet in front of the Sky cameras on Friday night I’d urge you to check it out. If you’re not already a fan of the Championship then you soon will be.
PS. Keep watching, it’ll be just as close next year. It always is.